1041 Empty Village

The keyboard froze! There was no response no matter how much she tapped her screen. It was as though it had completely locked up.

Xu Xun was dumbfounded. She pressed the phone's button and forcefully switched it off and restarted it. When she tried calling the number again, the screen froze again just like before.

This… Xu Xun cursed inwardly. This was really going from bad to worse! Do the heavens want me dead!? I don't believe it. How can such a good Apple phone be stuck on the dialer? Hold on. It should be fine if I wait a moment.

But after staring at her screen for nearly twenty seconds, it went black! Nothing happened when she pressed the Home button. Only after she pressed the physical button did the phone finally have a reaction. It was the startup animation!

"What's happening?" Xu Xun was dumbfounded. However, she suddenly recalled something. A cell phone would switch itself off in cold temperatures!

It was the night before Laba, the coldest day aside from Laba itself. It wasn't odd for a phone to freeze from the cold!

Xu Xun was on the brink of tears when she realized this. She felt the biting cold eat into her bones, but she didn't dare stop. She clenched her teeth as she ran forward desperately. After entering the village, she chose a random trail and made a bend to prevent being caught.

Indeed, by doing so, the duo who were running behind her were shaken off her tail…

Gradually, their vague shouts were gone. All that was left were the howling winds and pitch-black night and village. The dark houses looked like haunted houses. She saw a few yards, but didn't muster the courage to walk in. This was because many houses had dogs.

Finally, she saw a relatively bright yard. Clenching her teeth, Xu Xun walked over.

"Amitabha. Grand Supreme Elderly Lord. God… Bless me. I swear I'll never come again to such god forsaken lands! This is way too frightening…" Xu Xun mumbled as she came to the door.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!" Suddenly, there was barking from a corner of the yard. Following that, there were sounds of dragging metal chains as a mongrel rushed over!

"Ah!" Xu Xun subconsciously cried out in fright. The moment the dog rushed in front of her, the chain tightened and the dog was pulled back at its neck. Seeing the dog baring its teeth just inches from her, Xu Xun nearly cried.

Thankfully, she wasn't a little girl anymore. She calmed down immediately after the moment of fright. She hurriedly retreated as the dog barked ferociously.

With a cold wind blowing, she couldn't help but shudder. To not be wearing a down jacket in such cold weather was too much for her. Her lips were already turning purple.

She noticed a door not far from her and was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't locked.

"G… Great! I won't freeze to death! All I need to do is wait for the police to arrive." Xu Xun nearly cried tears of joy. In the face of the cold, the chained dog didn't seem that terrifying.

Furthermore, Xu Xun quickly estimated that the chain was about eight meters long. It wasn't long enough to reach the door. This meant that she could arrive at the door by circling around the dog.

With this in mind, Xu Xun flipped over the short wall of the yard, circling around the dog's attack radius, and she came to the door before entering it.

The moment she stepped in, she felt a gush of hot air inundate her. She couldn't help but shudder. She had never realized how luxurious and comfortable it was to be warm!

After she entered, the dog outside barked for a while. Perhaps knowing that it was helpless and that it could only allow the female thief to do as she pleased, or perhaps because it was too cold, the dog quickly ran back to its kennel to hide.

The dark village fell silent once again.

Xu Xun sat in the house without touching anything. Meanwhile, she wondered if she should come again in the future to thank the household for not locking the door. Just as her thoughts were running randomly through her mind, the dog outside dashed out again, barking. It was even fiercer than when it had been barking at her before.

Xu Xun subconsciously looked up and saw two figures walking over as they were illuminated by the snow's reflection.

"Ma Yuan has caught up with me?" Xu Xun's heart palpitated as she hurriedly hid herself. She stole a glance from the window as her heart eased up. The two figures were clearly stockier. One was even carrying a bag. It was obviously not a weak boy like Ma Yuan. However, the following scene left her recently warmed body turning colder!

About ten minutes earlier, a van's door slowly opened in a particular corner of the village. Two people secretly walked out. One man carried a black bag while the other man held a black object.

One of them wore thick jeans and a black down jacket. He wore a balaclava, and it was pulled down. In the darkness, his face looked completely black. There was no way to discern his appearance other than his bright eyes in the darkness.

Another man was wearing a green military coat. He wore a black knit cap which was pulled over his ears. He was blowing into his hands as he cursed softly. "F**king hell. Why is this darn weather so cold? It's no wonder the dogs aren't coming out!"

"Zheng Yuan, will it kill you to shut your mouth? It feels colder the more you speak in this damn weather… Thankfully, it's not for nothing." The man in the balaclava stamped his feet as he looked at the dark village and chuckled. "Everything is going according to plan!"

"Fang Kui, you are really impressive. You actually knew that there wouldn't be anyone in the village today! Tsk, to think I circled the village for no good reason! Hehe, we'll be making a killing today." Zheng Yuan said.

"I have a classmate from this village. I saw him post on his WeChat Moments that the entire village is heading up the mountain! There was no lack of pictures of his village on WeChat Moments. I'm telling you, this One Finger Village is a rich village around here. Nearly every house has a dog! I've long had my sight set on this place, but never had a chance before," Fang Kui wore a smug look as he said.

"Then why say so much? Let's do it! All the dogs in the village here are mine!" With that said, Zheng Yuan pricked up his brows and whispered. "You said that this is a rich village around here?"

Fang Kui immediately understood Zheng Yuan. He chuckled and said, "I'm not sure about the others, but my former classmate bought a new car recently. Besides, this is a tourist hotspot. Can they be poor? Do you see any shabby houses in this village?"

Zheng Yuan surveyed the area and grinned with a nod. "Why don't we do it together then?"

The two laughed with a tacit understanding.

Following that, the two packed their things and chose a house to walk into. The moment they entered, there was ferocious barking from the yard's kennel. Following that, a mongrel ran out. It was a huge dog with thick fur. It opened its mouth and immediately barked ferociously.