Chapter 406 - 186: Drone

Chapter 406: Chapter 186: Drone

This villa gave off that vibe.

Xu Mo slowed his pace and approached cautiously.

BEEP BEEP BEEP!

Just as Xu Mo passed a dead tree, a shrill beeping alarm suddenly rang out.

Alarmed, Xu Mo stopped dead in his tracks. His body reacted instinctively, pulling back as he quickly hid in the shadows of a distant, abandoned house.

’Damn it, an infrared alarm!’

He never would have thought the other party would set up infrared alarms around the villa. This type of alarm wasn’t uncommon before the apocalypse, but after the outbreak, they were a real prize.

The alarm was still blaring. Xu Mo remained in the shadows, trying to conceal himself completely in the darkness.

Inside the villa, Li Rui had just recalled his drone and was about to rest when he suddenly heard the alarm from outside.

The color instantly drained from his face.

’An infrared alarm?’

’Someone’s approaching?!’

’It’s him!!!’

Li Rui leaped to his feet, rushed to the monitor, and pulled up the alarm’s video playback.

On the screen, a figure in a black combat suit flashed by before quickly disappearing off the edge of the frame.

Although the footage was just a brief flash, it was enough for Li Rui to see clearly. The person who had triggered the infrared alarm was the same one he had been observing just now—the man he thought had already run away had actually come looking for him!

Li Rui’s heart seized, and an immense sense of fear flooded him.

’This is bad. My shelter has been exposed!’

’I never should have provoked him!’

’I should have just stopped when he said I was going too far! Now look at the trouble I’ve brought on myself!’

This thought flashed through Li Rui’s mind, a mix of regret and terror. Why did he have to provoke that man? Why did he have to taunt him with the drone? Why did he blow up his car? And now, the guy had shown up at his door. What was he going to do?

But Li Rui quickly forced himself to calm down. He spun around, rushed back to the control console, and swiftly launched a drone, piloting it out the window to start searching the surrounding area.

’Just find him and eliminate him,’ he thought, ’and this will all be over.’

The drone rose into the night, beginning to circle and search, but it had been airborne for less than ten seconds when—

BANG!

A single gunshot rang out.

The image on the display screen shuddered violently, then dissolved into static for the third time.

Li Rui was stunned. His drone had been shot down again.

From a hidden corner, Xu Mo lowered his AK-47, the muzzle still smoking faintly. He had been hiding in the shadows of the abandoned house, watching the drone fly out of the villa. He knew the other party must have detected him via the alarm and was now sending the drone after him.

The moment he saw the drone take off, Xu Mo hadn’t hesitated. He raised his rifle and shot it down with a single, well-aimed shot before it had a chance to spot him.

Now, the wreckage of the drone lay in the tall grass nearby.

Xu Mo didn’t spare it a glance. Instead, he stared at the villa in the distance, knowing the man was definitely inside.

He’d just have to see how many more drones the guy had to spare.

In the dark of night, Xu Mo stood silently in the shadows, his cold gaze fixed on the villa. The alarm had gone silent; he had already dismantled it.

The villa’s lights were off, and there was no visible sign of movement inside, but Xu Mo knew the man was undoubtedly watching him from somewhere.

Xu Mo remained motionless in the shadows, waiting for his opponent’s next move. This was no longer a simple conflict.

Silence fell once more, broken only by the occasional whisper of the night wind rustling through the weeds.

Xu Mo remained where he was. He was waiting—waiting for his opponent to lose his nerve.

The night deepened, yet the villa remained still.

Xu Mo remained in the shadows, unmoving.

The standoff had only just begun.

...

「The early hours of the morning.」

Xu Mo was still standing in the shadows of the abandoned house, his gaze fixed on the pitch-black villa across the way.

Several hours had passed, but there was still no sign of movement from the villa.

The man was like a turtle withdrawn into its shell, hiding himself away completely, waiting for the threat outside to give up and leave.

Xu Mo’s brow furrowed slightly as he quickly assessed the situation in his mind. ’He’s inside the house; I’m out here. He has plenty of food and water, a fortified building for cover, and who knows how many more drones ready to go. All I have is the gear in my pack, and my rations and water won’t last forever. If this drags on, I’ll be at a disadvantage.’

’A prolonged standoff is clearly not in my favor,’ he thought. ’I have to force him out.’

’But how?’

’The villa has obviously been reinforced. The doors and windows are protected. A direct assault would put me at a serious disadvantage.’

Xu Mo’s eyes swept over the villa, his mind racing. After weighing his options, he realized there was only one solution: heavy firepower!

With enough firepower, he could blast that turtle’s shell wide open.

Xu Mo didn’t have any heavy weapons at the moment, but he had another way.

’I don’t have any on me... but I can just open a door and grab some.’

A slight smile touched the corners of Xu Mo’s lips. He then took a pen and a piece of cardstock from his pack and, with a few quick strokes, wrote a line of text on it.

"Military Heavy Weapons Depot"

After he finished writing, a ruthless glint flashed in Xu Mo’s eyes.

’Time to bring out the big guns and give you a taste of something nasty!’

After this menacing thought, Xu Mo turned and walked away.

He found a relatively sturdy-looking door, stuck the card that read "Military Heavy Weapons Depot" onto it, then took a deep breath and pushed the door open.