Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

There was no movement for two days in a row, and it was Wei Chen's night shift again.

A dim light bulb swayed in the center of the main room, its oil-stained lampshade filtering the light to a slightly dim level, yet still enough to illuminate the room with warmth. The bowls and chopsticks on the table had just been cleared away, leaving behind the faint sweet aroma of sweet potato porridge and the refreshing scent of pickled vegetables.

Wei Chen's mother sat on a small stool, her rough fingers twisting the thread, laboriously threading the needle under the lamplight, preparing to mend Wei Chen's torn cuffs. Wei Ran, on the other hand, was hunched over the corner of the table, her little head almost buried in her book, the pencil scratching on her arithmetic notebook, her little brows sometimes furrowing and sometimes relaxing.

"Mother, Xiao Ran," Wei Chen's voice broke the peaceful warmth. He picked up the dark blue cotton uniform jacket from the security department that was draped over the back of the chair. "I'm on night duty tonight. I have to go out and patrol the perimeter of the factory. You all get some rest. Make sure the door latches are secure."

Upon hearing this, Wei Chen's mother immediately put down her needlework, her face filled with deep concern: "Chen, the autumn heat has passed, the night wind is cool, and it's pitch black... I heard from the second aunt in the front yard that there are thieves outside! You must be very careful!" She stood up, wanting to help her son put on his coat.

Wei Chen gently brushed his mother's hand away, quickly put on his coat, and buttoned it up. "Don't worry, Mom, it's my duty. Besides," he patted the thick back of the big yellow dog, which was squatting quietly at his feet like a golden hill, "it's here."

Big Yellow immediately raised its head, letting out a deep and powerful "groove" sound, its dark green eyes gleaming with a reassuring and calming light under the lamp.

"Brother, can Big Yellow really catch the bad guys?" Wei Ran looked up, her big eyes sparkling with curiosity, but also hiding a hint of barely perceptible nervousness. "Won't the bad guys have guns?"

Wei Chen walked to his sister's side, ruffled her soft hair, and smiled faintly. "Its nose is faster than a bad guy's legs, and its ears are sharper than a mouse's. Bad guys won't even have time to run away when they see it. You do your homework obediently, and go to sleep after you're done. Don't wait for your brother." His tone was gentle but left no room for argument.

"Oh..." Wei Ran responded obediently, lowered her head again, but unconsciously poked a small dot on the paper with the tip of her pencil.

Wei Chen said no more, nodded to his mother, and said, "I'm leaving."

Pushing open the moon gate, a chilly autumn night wind rushed in, carrying with it the familiar, lingering smell of bitter Chinese medicine wafting from the backyard.

Wei Chen frowned almost imperceptibly. A dim light still shone from the window of Xu Damao's house, and shadows flickered on the window paper, as if someone was brewing that incomprehensible herbal medicine again. Jia Zhangshi's sharp pronouncement of "extinction of the family line" seemed to still linger in the air, carrying an unpleasant, sticky feeling.

He didn't look again, and with Da Huang in tow, his figure quickly disappeared into the heavy night in the front courtyard of the courtyard house. Behind him, his mother leaned against the door frame with her silent, worried gaze, and Wei Ran's eyes quietly lifted from behind her book and then quickly lowered again.

……

The massive silhouette of the steel rolling mill stood silently in the late autumn night. The deafening roar of the machines during the day had completely subsided, leaving only the occasional low breathing from the boiler room in the distance, like the weary snore of a giant beast.

The biting northwest wind whipped up withered leaves and dust from the ground, swirling them around with a mournful sound. In the staff dormitory area on the outskirts of the factory, most of the windows were dark, with only a few scattered, dim lights flickering in the wind, appearing lonely and wary.

A few sparse streetlights cast a dim, yellowish light, barely illuminating a small section of the road, while most corners were swallowed by inky darkness, as if lurking with unknown dangers.

Wei Chen, with Da Huang in tow, patrolled slowly along a path backed by a tall quarry wall, piled high with discarded refractory bricks and rusted iron pipes. His steps were steady, each stomp barely audible on the dry mud.

Big Yellow followed closely behind, its massive body moving silently in the shadows like molten gold. Only its eerie green eyes, like two unquenchable will-o'-the-wisps, vigilantly and efficiently scanned every dark corner and every crevice of debris around it.

The cold wind whistled sharply as it passed through the holes in the iron pipes. Wei Chen walked seemingly casually, but his powerful mental energy had already spread outwards like an invisible and intangible giant spider web, silently covering an area with a radius of nearly three hundred meters.

Within this "net" of spiritual power: 180 meters to the east, in a dimly lit house, a man's suppressed coughs and a woman's low, comforting words could be heard. 200 meters to the west, in the shadow of a huge coal pile, several wild cats hissed and growled in a struggle for territory.

At the foot of the north wall, a few autumn insects chirped their last, intermittent calls amidst the withered grass. On the main road to the south, two workers, bundled up in thick coats and finishing their night shift, walked briskly past, their shoes making a soft "rustling" sound as they stepped on the gravel…

These were all background noises, which Wei Chen's keen perception automatically filtered out and ignored.

Suddenly! Three unusual figures, like three scorching pebbles thrown into a calm lake, created clear and rapid ripples on the "surface" of mental energy! They were located directly in front of us, less than forty meters from the wall, in the shadows of a pile of discarded wood and waist-high withered wormwood!

The fluctuation carried a sense of haste, tension, greed, and a ruthless aura unique to desperados, like a beast driven to the brink of desperation!

Their movements were extremely nimble, like real raccoons, but in Wei Chen's mental field, their heartbeats accelerated like drums, their blood rushed and washed over their eardrums, their muscles tensed and ready to pounce, and the rustling sounds of their shoes scraping against the wall and their clothes rubbing against the bricks as they climbed over the wall were as dazzling as searchlights in the dark!

These rats have finally come out of their burrows, after Wei Chen searched for them for days! Here they come! Three of them! They scaled the wall and entered, their target being the rows of low, relatively poorly defended staff dormitories ahead!

Wei Chen's steps didn't falter at all, but his eyes instantly sharpened, becoming as keen as a hawk's! He slightly turned his head, his gaze meeting the large, yellowish-green eyes at his feet in a fleeting moment, and at the same time, a clear and unquestionable mental command, like an invisible instruction, was instantly transmitted: Target: ten o'clock direction, the pile of weeds under the wall, three people! Flanking maneuver!

"Woo..." Big Yellow made a barely audible but powerful response from its throat. Without the slightest hesitation, its massive body moved silently along the cold base of the material yard wall, like a shadow blending into the night, and swiftly stealthily moved in the direction indicated by Wei Chen!

Its movements were fluid and swift; its thick paws pounded the dry mud with almost no sound, yet its speed was astonishing, and its golden fur flashed faintly in the dim light.

Wei Chen seemed oblivious, maintaining his original pace and direction, even slowing down slightly. His hands were tucked into his coat pockets, his neck slightly hunched, like an ordinary patrolman shivering in the autumn night chill, as he leisurely strolled towards the shadowy area. His mental energy field, however, acted like an invisible searchlight, firmly locking onto the three shadowy figures who had just landed and were furtively huddled together, whispering amongst themselves. Their conversation was clearly captured and analyzed by his mental energy:

"Third brother, go to the third house in the east row! I saw during the day that their window latch was loose! Fifth brother, those houses on the west side with clothes hanging on the wire, see if there's anything thick enough to wear! Get the hell out of here! Get it and leave, don't be greedy! I'll keep an eye on things in the middle!" A deliberately lowered, hoarse voice with a heavy out-of-town accent gave the order, clearly the leader.

"Got it, second brother! Damn it, this wind is so cold it chills me to the bone!" another voice complained, rubbing his arms.

"Stop talking nonsense! Hurry up! Get some food and clothes, and we'll get through these next few days! Things aren't looking good these days, if we pull off another job we'll have to find another place!" The third voice was impatient and anxious.

Three dark figures scattered quickly, like startled cockroaches, crouching low as they pounced on their respective target houses! Their movements were swift, clearly indicating they were no novices!

Just as they moved, their minds were most relaxed, and their attention was completely focused on their target!

Wei Chen made a move!

His previously slow, even somewhat timid posture vanished instantly! He exerted tremendous force with his feet, the dry, hard ground seeming to tremble slightly under his footing! He transformed into a black lightning bolt tearing through the night, like a cheetah freed from all restraints! Without creating a sound, his speed was so fast that only a faint afterimage remained on his retina! The terrifying movement technique brought by the "Nine Heavens Sun-Shooting Technique" exploded to its extreme in an instant!

The target—the "second brother" who orchestrates everything and issues orders!

The "second brother" felt a chilling killing intent, like an Arctic wind, instantly freeze his blood! Every hair on his body stood on end in a fraction of a second! He didn't even have time to turn around; relying solely on the instincts honed through countless perilous situations, he suddenly rolled forward in a pathetic, lazy manner!

"Whoosh!" A dark shadow carrying a biting wind almost grazed the back of his neck! The sharp wind made his neck skin sting and raised goosebumps!

So fast! He was horrified! But he reacted quickly, rolling over while his right hand flashed to his waist, where a gleaming, sharpened triangular scraper was tucked!

However, he was fast, but Wei Chen was even faster!

Wei Chen's attack missed, but his movements didn't falter at all. The moment he landed, he lightly touched the ground with his toes, as if stepping on an invisible spring, and bounced up again! This time, he didn't attack directly, but appeared like a ghost in front of the spot where "Second Brother" rolled, cutting off his possible escape route after getting up!

At the same time, before the opponent's center of gravity has adjusted and their old strength has been exhausted and new strength has been generated, a seemingly casual but lightning-fast, tricky and ruthless jabbing kick is precisely aimed at the opponent's right wrist, which is the main support point for supporting them on the ground!

"Crack!" A crisp, teeth-grinding sound of bone breaking rang out like a thunderclap in the quiet autumn night!