179: Chapter 178 I stormed the gates of the wealthy Zhou family! I brought two little ones to collect a debt.
The taxi stopped at the foot of West Mountain.
Further ahead lay the private territory of the Zhou Family.
Lin Feng paid the fare and pushed the door open to get out.
As the female driver took the money, she leaned her head out of the window, glancing at the manor faintly visible on the mountain, then at the sword at Lin Feng's waist. Her lips moved, but in the end, she said nothing and drove off with a burst of acceleration.
The taillights flashed twice at the bend at the foot of the mountain before disappearing.
The one o'clock afternoon sun was fierce, hanging overhead like a furnace, baking the asphalt road until heat waves could be seen rolling off it.
Cicadas in the sycamore trees by the roadside screamed themselves hoarse, as if complaining about the hellish weather.
The sycamore leaves were withered from the sun, their edges curled up like sheets of paper scorched by fire.
Lin Feng stood at the entrance of the private road at the foot of the Zhou Family's mountain, looking up.
This road was built by the Zhou Family themselves, leading directly from the foot of the mountain to the hilltop manor. The road surface was wider than the national highway outside, lined with two rows of neatly trimmed French sycamores.
In the middle of the road was a median strip paved with white pebbles, looking from a distance like a white snake coiled on the hillside.
A half-person-tall stone stele stood at the road entrance, engraved with two large gold-leafed characters—'Zhou Territory'.
The iron gate next to the stele was closed, and inside the guard booth behind the gate sat two security guards in black uniforms; one was scrolling through his phone, while the other had his head tilted back against the chair, dozing off.
"This is the place."
Lin Feng withdrew his gaze and unbuttoned the left pocket of his jacket.
Xiao Guang poked its head out of his pocket, its miniature golden face shining brilliantly in the midday sun, like a small piece of gold just fished out of a furnace.
It squinted at the winding road and then at the stele engraved with 'Zhou Territory' before turning to look at Lin Feng, its eyes flashing with excitement.
"Lin Feng, are we here? Is this it? The bad guys you mentioned live here?"
"We're here."
"You said if we win, you'll buy me yummy food and fun things. Do you keep your word?"
Xiao Guang began to count on its fingers, its golden brow furrowing repeatedly.
"I want to eat that thing called 'ice cream'—Zhao Gang mentioned it on the plane yesterday, saying it's really cool to eat in the summer."
"And those things called 'potato chips.' I saw them in an ad on your phone; they're thin, piece by piece, and look so crunchy."
"And that thing called 'cola,' dark and bubbly—"
"I keep my word."
Lin Feng interrupted it, the corner of his mouth twitching into a slight smile.
This little fellow had stayed in the Taixu Dojo for ten thousand years, facing nothing but barren sands or Restrictions all day. Now that it was out, it wanted to eat everything and see everything, like a newborn baby filled with uncontrollable curiosity about the world.
"And the fun things? You said you'd buy me that square called a 'phone'!"
Xiao Guang's eyes grew even brighter as it jumped out of the pocket and stood on Lin Feng's shoulder, gesturing with its tiny hands.
"The one you used yesterday! It can glow, it can transmit sound, and it can even watch those things called 'videos'!"
"I saw a clip on your phone with someone dancing, it was so pretty!"
"I want one too! I want to scroll through videos myself!"
"We'll talk after we win."
"I'll definitely perform well!"
Xiao Guang beat its chest, its handsome little golden face turning red with excitement—no, it was turning even more golden.
It tilted its head up to look at the manor faintly visible on the hilltop, its gaze becoming serious.
"I'll set up an array to trap them! Just like I trapped those people last time!"
"Last time I used the Four Symbols Demon Suppressing Formation plus the Five Elements Spirit Trapping Array plus the Bagua Heaven Sealing Array. A triple stack! I trapped them so tight they couldn't even move."
"Although the Taotie eventually broke out, that was because the Taotie was too strong. These people definitely aren't as strong as the Taotie—right, Lin Feng?"
"Right."
Xiao Jin poked its head out from Lin Feng's right shoulder, its six golden legs scuttling a few times on his shoulder. Its compound eyes stared at the 'Zhou Territory' stele while it held half a Spirit Stone in its mouth. Its purple antennae swayed slightly in the wind like two miniature antennas.
"Squeak squeak!"
It pointed at the stele with a front leg and then patted its own chest. Lin Feng understood the meaning at a glance—I can gnaw through all their Spirit Stones.
That's exactly what it had done in the Secret Realm. The Spirit Stones that the Explorers from small countries had worked so hard to dig up were all chewed up by it as snacks, crunching away until not even a crumb was left.
"Fine, you're responsible for emptying out everything in their warehouse."
Lin Feng stroked Xiao Jin's carapace; it felt cool and smooth to the touch.
Xiao Jin nodded vigorously, its antennae swaying even more joyfully, its compound eyes full of eager anticipation.
"Good."
Lin Feng took a deep breath, unfastened the dragon slaying sword from his waist, and held it in his hand.
The scabbard was black, giving off a dim luster in the sunlight.
He didn't draw the sword, but his posture while holding it already caused the security guard behind the iron gate, who was still scrolling through his phone, to look up.
The guard was about twenty-three or twenty-four, wearing the standard black Zhou Family uniform with a silver character 'Zhou' printed on the chest. He had been scrolling through short videos with his legs crossed, but the moment he looked up and saw Lin Feng, the expression on his face changed from nonchalance to a daze, and then from a daze to panic.
"Who... who are you looking for?"
He put down his phone and stood up, his voice somewhat dry.
His colleague next to him, who had been dozing with his head back, was startled awake by his shout and instinctively hit the alarm bell.
"To collect a debt."
Lin Feng raised his left hand, palm facing the iron gate.
The guard froze for a moment, then let out a sneer.
"Collect what debt? Do you know where this is? This is the Zhou Family! What do you think you're—"
He didn't finish his sentence.
Because he saw fire.
A crimson fireball shot from Lin Feng's palm, trailing a bright tail of flame like a small meteorite smashing into the iron gate.
With a thunderous boom, the iron gate was blown away. The hinges burst out of the concrete pillars, sending fragments of cement flying everywhere.
The gate flipped several times in the air before crashing onto the asphalt road dozens of meters away with a loud clang, smashing a crater into the surface.
The two security guards were so terrified they rolled out of the guard booth.
The one who had been on his phone turned deathly pale, his lips trembling as he tried to say something but couldn't. His hand fumbled several times at his waist before finally finding the walkie-talkie.
The one who had been dozing was even worse off; he fell directly off his chair, his head hitting the doorframe of the booth. A large red bruise appeared on his forehead, and his legs were still shaking as he scrambled up.
"Enemy attack—!!!"