Lin Shurou lived right opposite the Divine Union branch, behind the building where the victims used to live before. She considered this to be a relatively safe area in Firefly Town.
Plus, ever since Lin Shurou moved in, she had never encountered anything bad and so far she had been safe from any harm.
Even though Ling Yi had said that he had a protection talisman in place somewhere at home, she didn't think that she would use it. Especially not when Ling Yi was just out for some groceries for a bit.
Lin Shurou decided to drop the thought and let herself be engrossed in whatever was on the TV. She was watching a TV series called "Overbearing Player Falls in Love" when suddenly somebody rang the doorbell.
Ding dong~
Ding dong~
Ding dong~
Somebody pressed the bell three times in a row.
"What?" Lin Shurou paused the show and turned to look at the electronic clock on the wall.
07:36.
When she looked how far into the series she was, and realized that it had only been five minutes into the episode.
"Could Ling Yi be back already?" Lin Shurou doesn't know Ling Yi all that well other than the fact that he just became a player and entered God's Path for the first time yesterday.
She didn't even know what attributes he added, what skills he had, or what level he was at.
It was hard to tell whether her housemate could come back in five minutes or not.
Just as she was hesitating whether to open the door or not, an unfamiliar voice came from outside.
"Is anyone there? Open the door." A rough male voice said.
Hearing this, Lin Shurou panicked and immediately assumed whoever was outside was not someone friendly.
After all, the big iron gate outside her courtyard was locked. That person must've forcefully barged in to get close to her door.
No member of the Orthodox Dao would cross the main door and knock on the door of the master's house.
Fortunately, as a former player, she still had some self-control.
Even though she was afraid, she still calmly took out a device with two buttons from the drawer of the wooden table. This was an alarm that the Divine Union had specially designed for ordinary people.
When you encounter a player attack or other disaster, you can press different buttons according to the situation.
'If the situation is urgent and in need of support – Please press the yellow button.'
'If the situation is critical, and requires immediate help – Please press the red button.'
But of course, she couldn't randomly press any button. She could be punished for a false alarm.
Lin Shurou flipped open the transparent cover of the alarm and placed her fair finger on the red button.
As soon as whoever outside broke down the door, she would press the red button. Compared to the unknown danger, she would gladly accept the punishment of pressing the button randomly.
"Is there anyone? Open the door!" The voice yelled once more. But this time the stranger's voice was more irritated.
Lin Shurou frowned slightly, her hand finger was still hovering above the button.
"You're not opening? Then don't blame me for breaking the door!"
Lin Shurou gritted her teeth and stared at the door, bracing herself. She promised that even if there was a crack in the door, she would quickly press the button.
However...
A few seconds passed by and there wasn't even a sound of a fist against the door.
It was as if the person outside was all bark with no bite.
While she was still in doubt, she heard two people talking outside.
"Gah! The door is protected by a barrier! Didn't you say that she's just an ordinary woman?"
"I-I'm not lying, Boss. I live next door, and for the past half year, I've only seen one ordinary woman living here."
"Then what do you think is going on with this barrier!?"
"I... Why don't we go in through the window?"
"Let's go!" Lin Shurou's brows furrowed when she heard this.
'Next door?'
She remembered that there was indeed an ordinary man living there.
It seems like the person who lived next door was involved with this "Boss" whom she's sure was a player. She just doesn't know what their goal was.
Lin Shurou doesn't think anything in her house was worth anything special. She doesn't want to sound arrogant, but the only important thing was her life.
No matter what their purpose was, she was in danger if they managed to break in.
Meanwhile right outside Lin Shurou's house, Zhou Shi led his new "brother", Zhao Ze, to the window on the side of his house.
The two of them had met last night.
Zhou Shi was about to sleep when Zhao Ze suddenly barged in to eat and drink everything in his house. The stranger even kicked him out of his bed to sleep.
Zhou Shi didn't dare to offend him, so he told him about his neighbor earlier that morning.
He told Zhao Ze that his neighbor was an ordinary woman who lived alone and how well off she seemed to be.
Zhao Shi tried to divert the disaster to her.
He was relieved that he had successfully moved the attention off of him, but what he didn't expect was for Zhao Ze to bring him along.
Zhao Ze seemed to be afraid that he would tell on him.
"I promise I won't say anything. After you go in, please let me go." Zhao Shi pleaded pitifully as he led the player towards the window.
Zhao Ze smiled and wrapped his left arm around Zhou Shi's shoulder. He put his face next to Zhou Shi's and said in a friendly tone, "Aish, Zhao Shi, you're being too polite. We're all ordinary people in the same boat. We're good brothers, aren't we? Do you think big brother doesn't believe you?"
"Y-you're not an ordinary person..."
"Ah, I just have a little bit of power. I'm only around level 10, about the same level as you guys. So there's no need to be so scared."
Zhou Shi didn't say anything else, because Zhao Ze's grip on his wrist was getting stronger.
He was like a child being bound by a stranger, and it was difficult for him to even tug his arm away.
"Ah, there are also curtains." Zhao Ze said in disappointment. He wanted to see the situation inside the house, but what could he do?
Without any warning, the next second he swung his free right hand at the window.
Bang!
An invisible barrier blocked his fist. The point of contact between the two made a subtle and dull sound.
"There's a barrier here too..." Zhao Ze's face darkened.
The information given to him by Zhou Shi was wrong. The person living here must not be an ordinary woman.
Perhaps she had player friends, or perhaps other players were living here.
Or perhaps Zhou Shi had lied to him, and the girl who was living here was actually a player. A very high-level player!
Zhou Shi brought him here to make him walk right into the trap! And the only reason why no one responded was probably because the person was out at the moment.
Zhao Ze fumed at the thought. He lowered his voice and snorted coldly. Then he quickly walked out, dragging Zhou Shi along with him.
They passed through the front yard path that was filled with flowers and grass on both sides.
Just as he was about to reach the large metal gates, a black-haired youth suddenly appeared in Zhao Ze's line of sight.
Zhao Ze's pupils suddenly shrank, and thousands of thoughts flashed through his mind.
His hurried footsteps suddenly stopped, and his left hand unconsciously released Zhou Shi's wrist.
He stared at the young man, hoping that he was not a player who lived here.
However ...
The other party's face quickly became serious, causing his heart to skip a beat. He quickly realized that things were not going well for him.
When he heard the other party's words, his heart was a mess.
...
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Ling Yi shouted when he saw the two sneaky strangers on the path in the front yard. He had just returned from grocery shopping and was about to enter when he stood still at the inner side of the large metal gate in suspicion.
For someone who was out for groceries, there were no vegetables or bags in sight. That was because he had bought a temporary space bag from the God's Path store and put all the vegetables in it.
The portal bag was in his rucksack.
He would just have to take it out later. It was very convenient.
But now…
Looking at the two people in front of him, Ling Yi was already on full alert.
His gaze passed over the two of them and looked at the house. Seeing that the house was unscathed, a guess formed in his mind.
'These two people came with ill intentions, but seeing that they can't enter or break in, they're going to leave. Or are they Lin Shurou's friends and are on their way out?'
Before he could confirm their identities, Ling Yi just frowned and glared at them.