Chapter 360: 00017

The sudden change caught everyone off guard.

Fortunately, A-Fu and Huolake's ability to control the caravan was sufficient, coupled with the presence of three professionals, Xia Nan and the Black Wood Squad, so although the whole team was a bit restless at the beginning, there was no trouble in the end.

Not daring to waste time, after discussing for a few minutes in the inn and formulating a rough plan, the group started to act.

Manpower was limited. Although the caravan had hired enough guards, only three of them had professional-level combat power.

In the case of an unclear external environment, they naturally couldn't be dispersed to various parts of the team, actively weakening their combat power.

So they followed the standard three-person adventurer squad formation, with the 【Shield Warrior】 dwarf Suoerding holding a shield at the very front, while Xia Nan and Margaret fell two steps behind, side by side.

The overall formation was arranged in a triangle.

Fortunately, there were no roles in the squad that needed key protection, such as mages or archers. All three belonged to melee professions with a certain fault tolerance, and the formation could be relatively free without worrying too much.

As for the others in the caravan, after detailed discussion, for the sake of safety, they decided to wait in the inn for the time being.

Otherwise, dozens of people acting together would not only make too much noise, but if they encountered any danger, it would be difficult for Xia Nan and the others to protect them completely.

If the number of enemies was slightly larger and more difficult, the team would likely suffer heavy casualties.

Therefore, it was decided that Xia Nan and the Black Wood Squad would go out to check the situation in town first, and then discuss with others in the inn if there were any important discoveries.

As for the other members of the caravan, they took advantage of this time to prepare carriages and supplies as much as possible, and reinforce the doors and windows of the inn to guard against potential enemy attacks.

"Huff..."

The shrill cold wind whistled past.

The air, which already had a hint of coolness at the turn of summer and autumn, added a few more points of unspeakable gloom against the backdrop of the exceptionally empty and uninhabited streets.

Carriages, merchants, passing crowds... The core street of the town, which should have been extremely lively, couldn't even see a stray dog right now.

Empty.

Looking around, except for the three Xia Nan, no living creature could be found.

Looking up at the pink light curtain in the sky, Margaret turned around and exchanged a look with the black-haired youth beside her silently.

Nodding slightly, she let Suoerding lead the way and walked toward a residential building by the street.

It should be a wealthy family. The geographical location of such a core area was one aspect, and the other was because of the exceptionally neat and exquisite appearance of this three-story small building.

There were even clusters of unknown flowers swaying in the wind decorated in the mini garden in front of the door.

"Knock, knock, knock."

Margaret held her sword in a defensive posture with her right hand, and her left palm faced inward, her knuckles bent, knocking on the door lightly.

Beside her, facing the door, Suoerding held a shield in both hands, his copper-coin-like eyes wide open, subconsciously holding his breath.

Standing behind the two, Xia Nan, who used his keen perception ability to warn his teammates of potential dangers around, could even see the solid muscles on the dwarf's back that bulged out from the shirt between the armor.

The knocking sound echoed leisurely in the dead air, and soon dissipated in the cold wind.

No response.

Margaret raised her wrist again, thinking of knocking again.

But before it fell, it froze in mid-air.

Seeming to feel that there was no need to probe again.

She turned around with her sword, stepped back a few steps, and gave up the position on the side of the door.

Already communicated with the other party, and there was no need to say much now, Xia Nan clearly knew what the female swordsman wanted to express.

He stepped forward, let Margaret warn for him, and he stood in front of the door.

It was just an ordinary residential house. From outside to inside, for adventurers in this world, there were ten thousand ways to enter.

Those who mastered skills related to the rogue profession didn't need any professional tools, and could easily unlock the door with a wire; for those like barbarians who were irritable and didn't like to waste time and energy on such fine work, slamming the door open with brute force was also an option.

Xia Nan was somewhere in between.

Of course, he could also break into the door by force with his own strength, but the noise was too loud; 【Gravity Control】 might be able to open the door in a more exquisite way than picking the lock, but he didn't understand the internal structure of the door lock in this world, and his combat technique proficiency level was insufficient to be so micro-manipulative.

So he could only be relatively simple, combining strength with technique.

His left hand snake-scale arm shield protected his front, and his right hand drew a short dagger from his waist.

*Swish*—

The sharp cold light flashed in the air, and the next second, the dagger blade had already entered the deep door seam.

Moving lightly, carefully feeling the resistance of the blade, he found the position of the door bolt mechanism.

"Click."

The crisp sound, distinct from the friction of the dagger blade, drifted into his ears. Xia Nan held the dagger handle with one hand and exerted force, pressing down.

Randomly, accompanied by a clearer sound, the resistance of the blade suddenly loosened.

Knowing that the door lock had been opened, Xia Nan signaled to the dwarf who was leading at the front door.

After receiving the reply that he was ready, his body leaned forward suddenly, his shoulders leaned against the wooden door and exerted force to push forward, and then he kicked back with his feet, borrowing force to retract the dagger inserted into the door seam.

In just a blink of an eye, he, who was not holding his main weapon, had already retreated behind the two members of the Black Wood Squad.

Meanwhile, Suoerding also followed the door pushed open by Xia Nan and rushed forward a few steps into the room, vaguely seeing a few metallic colors flashing on his skin surface, clearly already prepared for an ambush by enemies.

It's just... the overly cautious performance of the three seemed to be in vain.

There were indeed people in the room.

Even sitting at the dining table facing the door.

But he himself, looking at the group of people who broke into the room, had no reaction at all.

He should be the male owner of this house, who had just returned home from work and was enjoying dinner alone. His hair was neatly groomed, and the dusty linen work clothes on his body hadn't had time to change.

From the outside, most of his body was no different from ordinary people.

Only a pair of eyes had lost their original luster.

Just like a walking corpse, staring blankly at the void in front.

Several people stepped forward carefully.

"Hey, can you still talk?"

Suoerding, holding his sturdy round shield that could withstand the attack of the Corrosive Monster, asked carefully.

No response.

He touched the other party's shoulder lightly with the prism hammer in his hand.

Still no response.

"What's the situation?" Margaret frowned, "Could it be that the current situation in Yangjiao Town is a conspiracy of some devil or demon? This person gives me the feeling that only a physical body is left, without a soul."

Xia Nan stared tightly at the man in front, and suddenly, as if sensing something, he recalled the inn owner's corpse just now.

A flash of inspiration flashed in his mind.

"Strip his coat."

He said to the two teammates beside him. ===== CHAPTER 361 =====