“Is that person up ahead? A woman?”
“It looks like it, but we’d better stay cautious. It could be some kind of trap.”
“Boss, we should be careful.”
Shang Xinglan narrowed his long phoenix eyes and casually ran a hand through his slightly curly crimson hair. Pushing hard against the ice with his skates, he glided a considerable distance forward.
Xia Mu stared blankly as five men with different colored hair approached her.
She quietly moved the Clownfish Handgun and the hammer she was holding behind her back.
By the time the five men had surrounded her, her eyes had gone wide.
Good heavens! They were all so handsome.
Especially the young man with the crimson hair.
He looked both flamboyant and dangerously charming, leaving her completely stunned.
Shang Xinglan glanced at Xia Mu with a hint of surprise.
The girl’s aura was incredibly pure. Her bright, crystal clear eyes and snow white face gave her an unusually clean presence.
“Huh? Little sister, why are you here all by yourself?”
The speaker was Ye Lixuan.
He had a youthful baby face, yellow hair with long side swept bangs, and looked to be the youngest among the five.
Xia Mu blinked repeatedly, her long eyelashes fluttering as she spoke nervously and cautiously.
“H… Hello. I… I’m the Landlady of the courtyard up ahead. W… Would you like to rent a room?”
The five men exchanged puzzled looks.
Their gazes carefully swept over Xia Mu as though trying to see through every one of her secrets.
Xia Mu’s cheeks immediately turned red.
It was the first time so many handsome young men had stared at her all at once.
She was both nervous and shy.
Looking at the girl’s rosy face, Shang Xinglan saw that she was so embarrassed she practically wanted to bury her head in the snow.
He raised a hand to his faintly pink lips and gave a light cough.
“Sorry to trouble you. Could you show us your place… Landlady?”
Xia Mu blushed even harder.
The truth was, she only had a single room available for rent.
Walking ahead of them, she stopped when they passed the frozen zombie.
Raising the small hammer in her hand, she tightened her little face in determination.
Then she shut her eyes and swung with all her strength.
Whoosh!
The hammer flew straight out of her hand, tracing a beautiful arc before landing in a snowdrift more than ten meters away.
A series of muffled chuckles immediately sounded behind her.
Everyone was obviously trying very hard not to laugh.
Xia Mu’s face became as red as a strawberry.
She stared blankly at the zombie standing only two meters away, then at her hammer lying ten meters off in the distance.
She didn’t even dare turn around to face the people behind her.
It was simply too embarrassing.
Even System 003 wisely chose to remain silent.
It had never expected Mu Mu to display such overwhelming bravery in front of handsome men.
With both hands tucked inside his down jacket pockets, Shang Xinglan walked over, amusement flashing briefly through his eyes.
Drawing the sword from his back, he cleanly sliced through the Level 1 zombie with a single strike.
A blue zombie crystal no larger than a little finger rested quietly on the flat of his blade.
He held it out toward the girl.
“You wanted this?”
Xia Mu stared fixedly at the crystal and swallowed.
Then she looked up and saw Shang Xinglan’s ice blue eyes.
So… His eyes were actually ice blue.
They were beautiful.
“T… This wasn’t my kill.”
She looked at the crystal in a daze as she spoke.
“Take it.”
Shang Xinglan’s reply was simple.
Without thinking, Xia Mu reached out.
The zombie crystal was gently placed into her palms.
It was a little dirty, but it would be clean after washing.
“Little sister, wake up. My boss has already walked away.”
Ye Lixuan wore an expression that clearly said, I understand.
Their boss was unquestionably the most attractive man in the entire base.
From young girls to newly married women, married women, and even elderly women, there wasn’t a single one who didn’t become stunned or infatuated after seeing him.
They were all used to it.
Xia Mu’s face reddened once again.
His expression made it painfully obvious that he thought she was smitten.
“Hmph.”
She deliberately let out a proud little snort before leading Brother Ba toward the courtyard.
Brother Ba sniffed at the five men, wagged his tail happily, and followed after his master.
Since these people had helped kill the zombie, he decided not to bite them.
Looking at the dog, Ye Lixuan turned to his companions.
“Did you see that dog? It’s practically become a spirit.”
Rong Yulong and the others simply shook their heads and followed.
When Shang Xinglan saw the rather small courtyard, he frowned.
Looking around again, he noticed that every surrounding building was built in the architectural style of thirty years ago.
Only this courtyard looked strangely out of place.
Xia Mu also looked over her courtyard.
It suddenly occurred to her that she seemed to be missing a signboard.
Otherwise, how would passersby know they offered lodging?
She decided to ask System 003 later whether signboards were available.
“Please come in.”
Xia Mu hurried inside first and opened the door.
Warm yellow light instantly poured out.
Shang Xinglan glanced at her bright smile before stepping inside with his long legs.
The moment they entered, a wave of warmth greeted them.
The cold clinging to their bodies immediately faded.
“Wow! It’s so warm! This is amazing!”
Ye Lixuan immediately took off his down jacket.
A down jacket was very effective in ordinary cold weather.
But at minus seventy degrees Celsius, it offered very little protection.
Xia Mu smiled gently and went into the kitchen to prepare tea.
Shang Xinglan also removed his black down jacket.
It truly was warm inside.
Looking around at the furnishings, he found them very simple.
Even so, compared to the conditions at their base, it was already quite luxurious.
Carrying over the tea, Xia Mu handed a cup to each of the five men with a cheerful smile.
“Would the five of you like to stay here?”
The moment she finished speaking, her cheeks reddened again.
Fortunately, she had worked part time at a hotel before, so she could still manage basic hospitality.
Shang Xinglan sat down on the sagging sofa, his long legs having almost nowhere to go.
In his cool voice, he asked, “How do you charge?”
Xia Mu glanced at him.
Finding him looking directly at her, she blushed as red as his flaming hair.
“Ahem… Well… I only have one single room available for rent right now, and… the room doesn’t have anything in it yet…”
“So you’re renting out an unfurnished single room?”
Shang Xinglan looked at her quietly.
Xia Mu swallowed hard.
She wanted nothing more than to bury herself in the snow.
This was far too embarrassing.
“For now, yes. I’ll decorate it in a little while.”
She hurriedly explained.
For now. In a little while.
Those choices of words…
The five men all found the situation rather mysterious.
After looking around, Shang Xinglan pointed toward the room in front of them.
“That room?”
Seeing that he was pointing at her parents’ bedroom, Xia Mu quickly shook her head.
“No! The rental room is behind the house.”
The group already considered being able to stay here a fortunate opportunity.
As long as there was hot water and heating, they were satisfied.
Rong Yulong finally spoke.
“Take me to have a look. If there’s hot water and heating, we’ll stay.”
Xia Mu immediately looked at him with an awkward expression before stammering, “P… Please wait a moment.”
She hurried into the kitchen to call System 003.
Rong Yulong walked over to Shang Xinglan and spoke in a low voice.
“Something about this place is strange.”
Looking leisurely toward the kitchen, Shang Xinglan replied casually, “It doesn’t matter. Let’s wait and see what other surprises appear.”
Inside the kitchen, Xia Mu immediately called out, “003, I want to decorate the single room.”
She still had 350 Interstellar Federation Credits remaining.
She also had the Level 1 zombie crystal in her hand waiting to be exchanged.
That should be enough to decorate a single room.
“Exchange the zombie crystal first.”
System 003 cheerfully replied, “Okay, Mu Mu. Right away.”
“Ding ding! Crystal analysis in progress. Crystal exchange in progress.”
“Crystal purity: Excellent!”
“Exchange successful! Six hundred Interstellar Federation Credits.”
Six hundred Interstellar Federation Credits!
Xia Mu’s eyes widened in shock.
That was so much money.
Had things really taken such an unexpected turn for the better?