Chapter Twenty-Six: Thomas’s Astonishment

“Hey!” In the villa compound, Thomas and his group took in the surroundings and noticed the supermarket Guo Lang had mentioned. It seemed he hadn’t deceived them, so Thomas’s tone toward Guo Lang was now a bit more polite, tinged with negotiation as he said, “The person on the phone earlier did mention there were many undead outside his door. I had David check with the binoculars, and your house is surrounded by seven or eight. Who knows how many are inside? I think we should proceed with caution.”

“Proceeding with caution” was a modest way of putting it; in truth, Thomas wanted Guo Lang to abandon the rescue altogether. To charge in under such conditions would incur heavy casualties, even with the best command. Although the compound was comprised of villas, there were still hundreds of residents. They couldn’t simply sweep through with armored vehicles—if they attracted hundreds of undead, Thomas knew he’d have no hope of retreat.

“There are supplies inside, and to recklessly abandon civilian lives is not the conduct of a soldier, is it?” Guo Lang’s words carried a hint of sarcasm.

“This...” Thomas was at a loss for words. Guo Lang wasn’t wrong, but this wasn’t an official mission; it was his own operation. Privately, Thomas couldn’t accept risking his brothers’ lives for a stranger. Yet Guo Lang’s invocation of military honor left him little room for retort.

Seeing Thomas’s embarrassment, Guo Lang didn’t press further. He knew when to stop and waved his hand: “Fine, you stay here and keep watch. Alice and I will go in.”

“What?” Thomas was incredulous. “You’re going to rescue him alone? No—wait, with this little girl?” Despite sensing Alice was unusual, he still found it hard to believe.

The others reacted similarly, staring at Guo Lang as if he were insane. Laura included—she wrapped her arms around Alice, declaring, “She can’t go!” She’d already witnessed her daughter’s extraordinary abilities, but still couldn’t bear to let her risk herself.

Guo Lang’s expression cooled. “No, Alice must go. There may be nearly ten undead inside. I can’t be certain alone.” It wasn’t truly beyond him, but he couldn’t yield here. If he compromised now, he’d gradually lose authority over Alice. He had to be firm, gambling that the girl wasn’t a traitor like her mother.

“It’s fine, Mom. I’m okay.” Alice patted Laura’s hand and slipped out of her grasp. Laura was stunned—she’d been holding tightly, but her daughter slipped away effortlessly, without even seeming to struggle, as if it was the most natural thing.

This movement drew sharp attention from Thomas and several elite soldiers. As border special forces, they were seasoned—especially Thomas, who’d seen foreign agents use flexibility and bodily control to escape most restraints. Some experts could slip free from handcuffs, chains, even specialized tools. Yet none could escape as naturally as Alice just had, so smoothly that the woman who held her didn’t even realize what had happened.

“Alice...” Laura rose, about to argue, but Guo Lang’s glare cut her off: “Don’t worry too much. Compared to the Imperial Tower, this is nothing.”

His words made Laura pause. Though meant to reassure, the underlying dissatisfaction was clear. She hesitated, but ultimately refrained from insisting. He’d given her a promise, but also a warning. She knew if she pressed further, he might turn hostile.

Most importantly, her daughter seemed to side with him, which left Laura feeling despondent. Her child had only been with this man a few days—she’d have to find a way to break Alice away from him.

The pair quickly vanished from sight. Thomas hurried David for the binoculars. Originally, every soldier had one, but several had been lost; now only five remained. Laura quickly took one, seeking a vantage point to watch Guo Lang and Alice with anxiety written across her face.

The others stood guard, weapons ready. Only Thomas, David, and the female soldier Kelly observed through binoculars.

“David, when did the little girl get that sword in her hand?”

David paused, looking serious. “I’m not sure, but she definitely didn’t have it before.”

Thomas looked perplexed. Neither of them had backpacks, and even if they did, a single-handed sword would be hard to hide. Where did she get it? He also noticed Guo Lang now carried a gun—Thomas was certain he hadn’t had it earlier; they’d checked at the base. Did he retrieve it from the car? But Thomas had been in the car with him—he couldn’t have missed that move. When did he take the gun?

As they neared the villa, Guo Lang gestured to Alice. As soldiers, they instantly recognized the signal: “You go, I’ll cover.”

“Damn! That’s so damn sneaky!” All three cursed aloud, even Laura’s face darkened. She’d heard her daughter explain their division of labor, but seeing it for herself was another matter. What kind of people were these!

“Boss, this guy acts all dignified, but who’d have thought he’s like this. I’ve served in the military for years, but I’ve never seen such shameless tactics.” David’s comment resonated with the others; just as they were about to voice their agreement, Thomas suddenly realized Alice was no longer in his field of vision.

He froze, searching frantically, but couldn’t find her. “Where’s the little girl?” he stammered.

“Huh?” The other two were startled; they realized that, distracted by Guo Lang, the girl had vanished from their sight. Like Thomas, they searched but found nothing. The eerie scene sent a chill down their spines.

“She’s by the villa’s outer fence.” It was Laura who spoke; she alone had never taken her eyes off her daughter.

“Huh?” The others looked over and finally spotted the little girl. But what shocked them more was that Alice was only five or six meters from an undead wandering aimlessly in the yard, yet the creature hadn’t noticed her at all.

How could that be? The three were stunned. They’d fought these undead before—the monsters had incredibly wide vision, often charging from over a thousand meters away in open ground. They’d tried stealth tactics, but never succeeded. The creatures’ senses were several times sharper than humans; even Kelly, their best at infiltration, couldn’t get within dozens of meters. For Alice to be so close was unimaginable.

Only now did Thomas realize his previous instinct about the girl was right: those times she’d vanished before his eyes weren’t illusions. She was a far superior assassin, beyond any agent he’d ever seen—even in films.

She moved! When Alice came within five meters, she struck. Her explosive speed was so astonishing that Thomas couldn’t even see her clearly. Alice darted forward; at the instant the creature saw her, she surged, sword in hand, and nearly instantly closed the gap. One thrust pierced its vocal cords, her right hand twisting and pulling—its head was severed. Before the head hit the ground, Alice caught it with her left hand. The blood didn’t spray, though it flowed quickly; it wasn’t the usual fountain, and the creature hadn’t even relaxed its muscles. It died the instant it saw Alice, unable to make any normal bodily response.

Alice gently supported the headless corpse, slowly laid it on the ground, then stealthily moved toward her next target. Guo Lang followed at a distance, staying over a hundred meters away, using obstacles for cover, ready to provide fire support.

Thomas and his team were dumbfounded by the scene. Was this the monster that had cost them so dearly days before? They were the military’s elite; none of them dared claim they could defeat such a creature in close combat. This wasn’t a movie—the monsters’ explosive strength and agility were beyond human, and even a minor scratch meant infection. No one dared fight them hand-to-hand. Yet today, they saw a girl of five or six, barely thigh-high, wielding a short sword, dispatching the dreaded creature as easily as slaughtering a chicken. The monster couldn’t even warn its peers—it died without fuss.

“Was your daughter born this formidable?” Thomas asked Laura, stammering.

Laura was silent, ultimately saying nothing. That man had secrets; in just a few days, he’d transformed her daughter so greatly—he must possess extraordinary methods. Now that they were allies, she couldn’t disrupt his plans. She wouldn’t tell the soldiers the truth: that her daughter had been an ordinary person until recently. Such secrets were his to reveal. Laura understood the boundaries; her feelings were complicated. The changes Guo Lang brought to her daughter were well-suited to surviving in this world, and though she didn’t know how he did it, he’d invested heavily in Alice. That much was clear from his eagerness to claim authority over her. Unless she completely broke with him, it would be nearly impossible to separate her daughter from his influence.