What kind of feeling was this?
Every pore on Jing Shu's body seemed to open. Jing Shu felt her heartbeat quicken and her temperature rise. She was excited now, not like last time. This time Jing Shu was thrilled and bloodthirsty, itching to twist their necks with her own hands.
"We cannot run. They are already here. Grandparents, Dad and Mom, Third Aunt, and Cousin, sit in the living room and stay put. Remember the traps I set with Dad last time? They cannot get in, so do not worry."
Su Lanzhi clutched Jing Shu's arm in a death grip. "No. You cannot go out. It is too dangerous outside. I, I do not want what happened to Wang Xuemei to happen to you."
As Su Lanzhi spoke, tears streamed down without a sound. What happened to Wang Xuemei had left a deep shadow in Su Lanzhi's heart.
Jing An stepped forward. "Do not be afraid. Anyone who wants to hurt you has to step over my corpse first."
Seeing how terrified Su Lanzhi was, Jing Shu clenched her fists. In Jing Shu's mind, several death packages for those men snapped into place.
"Mom, I am going to fetch something."
Jing Shu went upstairs and came back down, but in truth she took things out of the Cube Space, including repeating crossbows with bolts and a gun.
Under her family's stunned stares, Jing Shu handed everyone a crossbow and bolts. Jing Shu tucked the pistol into the holster at her waist.
"Let us move. I will explain when we have time. I did not think I would really use this one day. The crossbow is simple. Dad, show them."
Talking fast, Jing Shu led the whole family into the villa courtyard.
Since her family was this resistant and afraid, Jing Shu decided it was better to give them weapons and have them stand at the door to steady their nerves rather than tremble indoors. Everyone's first time comes like this. The apocalypse had arrived. They had to learn to accept it and harden their hearts.
Jing Shu's first time had been clinging to her mother's arms in tears. But what use was that? Before dying in her past life, Jing Shu learned that only by making herself strong could anything be relied upon.
"Cluck cluck cluck!" Today Xiao Dou let out a sharp, savage cry. Xiao Dou's blood seemed to be boiling. One order from Jing Shu and Xiao Dou would charge to the death.
Jing Shu fitted Xiao Dou with a custom one-piece stainless steel helmet. It held a fifteen centimeter stainless steel spike with a blood groove. The design ensured that the instant it pierced in, blood would spray. Wu You'ai stared at Xiao Dou with shining eyes, mind racing with who knew what.
"Mom, stay right here. Do not take a step forward. There are dangerous traps ahead. If anyone breaks in and I shout for you to shoot, aim toward the doorway and loose your bolts. Grandpa and I will trigger the traps at the chicken pen."
Su Lanzhi's hands would not stop shaking. At last Su Lanzhi took out her phone. "I will call Minister Niu. He must have connections to send the police."
…
Outside, the group drew closer and closer. Their wild laughter and chatter were already audible. Jing Shu kept her head down, watching the infrared feed on her phone while she and Grandpa Jing spread out.
The traps had been built by Grandpa Jing and Jing An. Both knew exactly what they did and where they were deployed. Grandfather and granddaughter quickly confirmed the drop points.
"I heard from Gou Yitian that this villa is filthy rich and has a warehouse full of grain. I don't know if it's true or not.."
"They are the only family in the community with an energy car. They cannot be doing badly. Brother Da Ri has his eye on that car."
"Let's climb the wall. Faster."
"Fine. Brothers, grab your gear. Follow Brother Da Bi over the wall, then pry the door."
They were finally coming. In the dark, Jing Shu's eyes gleamed.
Listening to the noise outside, the whole family trembled. Jing Shu counted shapes on the monitor. "There are more than forty of them. Most have weapons, but luckily no axes or other heavy breakers."
Thud. Thud.
"Ow, damn it, that hurts!"
"My leg, my leg. Something is stabbing all through my flesh!"
"Help!"
Bloodcurdling screams followed in a wave.
They had just scaled the one meter decorative fence, stepped onto the plank, and in the blink of an eye dropped into a two meter pit. If it were only a pit, the screams would not be this awful.
This trap had taken Jing Shu and Jing An a full month to dig, ringing the villa with a two meter deep trench, covered with hundreds of wooden planks.
And Jing Shu, without telling the family, had buried many five centimeter nails in the soil of every pit. If someone landed headfirst or chest first, there would be no saving them.
"A pity. Only eight went in." Jing Shu tallied heads while watching the phone feed.
"I cannot get up. Damn it, what is this place? Is it a trap?"
"Da Zhuang, Da Zhuang, which pit are you in? Where are you? Answer me!"
Chaos erupted outside. Those in the pits could not climb out. Those above had no way to help. The planks were laid flush, and nobody knew which pit held which man.
Even when they finally located a comrade, the wounded in the pit could not stand, and those above could not reach. At a time like this, who had ropes ready?
It was awkward, to say the least.
After several minutes of fussing, they circled the perimeter and finally said, "This villa is damn vicious. There is a whole ring of pits. We cannot cross it. Even if we get up the wall, there is a glass cover on top. I threw a stone and could not break it. Must be tempered glass."
"And what does that mean? It means they are rich. Heads up, brothers. Big score ahead. Go in through the front gate. We will rescue the guys in the pits later."
The mob marched to the front entrance.
"Brother Da Bi, there are no more traps at the gate."
"Brother Da Bi, I brought pro tools for the lock. Give me a few minutes."
"Be careful once inside. Who knows what tricks they have." Brother Da Bi spoke while taking a quiet step back. He had a bad feeling about this villa.
The rasp of tools sounded. Just as the family let out a breath, thinking the gang could not get in, bad news arrived. Everyone's hearts leaped into their throats, and their hands clenched tighter on the crossbows they had just learned to hold.
With a crisp click, the front gate was pried open.
With a boom, the door was kicked wide.
"Charge. Leave the women. Kill the men." Brother Da Bi hid at the rear, but his voice boomed. The crowd surged in.
The next second, as Brother Da Bi lunged forward, pain clamped his ankle. Something cinched tight. His momentum carried him, but his foot did not lift. He pitched face-first into the man ahead.
At the same time, a dozen men at the tail end failed to get a clean start. Inertia yanked them forward in a chain reaction. They all tipped and sprawled in a heap.