Courtyard House: Home Alone

He quickened his pace, extending his mental energy once more to search for his next target.

On the main street outside the alley, there were few pedestrians and most shops were closed. Only a few grain stores and grocery stores were open, but business was also dismal. The shopkeepers and their employees were all frowning and watching the outside world warily.

Lin Yifan walked briskly with his head down, just like an ordinary pedestrian, while carefully exploring his surroundings with his mental energy.

Soon, he "saw" a new target—another group of puppet troops searching the street, significantly more numerous than the previous two, including two Chinese collaborators and two Japanese soldiers, totaling about fifteen or sixteen people.

They were swaggering around, kicking open shop doors and ransacking the place, clearly trying to extort money.

"Not bad for this scale." Lin Yifan's eyes narrowed, and a cold killing intent curled at the corner of his mouth.

Instead of rushing forward immediately, he first found a secluded corner to hide in, and then used his mental power to thoroughly investigate the number of people, weapons, equipment, location, and movement patterns of the puppet troops.

"Good. There are no Japanese soldiers around for the time being, and this street is relatively remote. If we make a move, it won't cause too much of a commotion. Even if there is a commotion, there may not be any support in the short term." Lin Yifan quickly made a judgment in his mind.

He took a deep breath, adjusting himself to peak condition. This would be his first time facing a large number of enemies since the system upgrade, a test of his combat skills and mental fortitude.

"Let you be my first 'gift' as I step into this new stage!" Lin Yifan licked his slightly dry lips, his eyes flashing with excitement and bloodlust, like a beast about to hunt, slowly approaching its prey.

A new killing spree is about to unfold on this desolate street.

Lin Yifan moved stealthily, like a cheetah blending into the shadows, each step treading on the edge of silence. Using the buildings on both sides of the street as cover, he quickly approached the group of puppet soldiers who were committing violence.

"Bang!" The door of a cloth shop was kicked open violently, and the shopkeeper's pleading voice and the arrogant laughter and curses of the puppet soldiers could be heard from inside.

"Sir, sir, we are truly good citizens! The shop has nothing, just ordinary fabrics..."

"A law-abiding citizen? A law-abiding citizen should act like one!" A rough, hoarse voice rang out, accompanied by the clatter of items being rummaged through. "Search! Search thoroughly! The officer said that any suspicious persons or items must be taken back to the military police headquarters! If anyone dares to harbor a murderer, hmph, their entire family will be executed!"

Immediately following were the sounds of a woman crying and a child screaming.

Lin Yifan's eyes grew even colder. These scoundrels not only acted as accomplices to evil, but also extended their evil claws to unarmed civilians. He no longer hesitated; his mental power, like the most sophisticated radar, clearly mapped the location and movements of every puppet soldier inside and outside the shop into his mind.

Outside the shop, two puppet soldiers leaned against the wall, smoking with their backs to the street, showing little vigilance and clearly believing that no one would dare to resist them on their territory. The other two Japanese soldiers stood a little further away, their hands on the hilts of their swords, watching coldly as if it were none of their business, as if they were enjoying an amusing farce.

"Take care of the ones outside first," Lin Yifan thought to himself.

He darted out of the shadows like a ghost, his target the two smoking puppet soldiers. Before they could even react, they felt a chill on the back of their necks, their vision went black, and they collapsed limply to the ground without a sound. Lin Yifan cleanly and nimbly caught their falling bodies, gently setting them down to avoid making a noise.

Almost simultaneously, the two Japanese soldiers seemed to sense something amiss and abruptly turned their heads. But all they saw were their two comrades leaning against the wall as if "asleep," and a dark figure quickly retreating into the street corner.

"Who goes there?!" one of the Japanese soldiers shouted sharply, drawing his sword at the same time. Another Japanese soldier also warily raised his rifle with bayonets fixed and approached the direction where Lin Yifan had disappeared.

Their shouts alerted the puppet troops inside the shop.

"What's going on?!" The gruff-voiced puppet army leader rushed out with several men. Seeing the situation outside, his face changed. "Damn it! Someone's dead! Quick, after them!"

In an instant, the puppet troops inside and outside the shop rushed over, and with the two Japanese soldiers, the scene became somewhat chaotic.

"Over there!" A sharp-eyed puppet soldier shouted, pointing to the street corner where Lin Yifan was hiding.

Lin Yifan's lips curled into a cold smile; this was exactly the effect he wanted. He deliberately exposed himself to lure these people out and prevent an innocent bystander from being injured in the ensuing brawl inside the store.

Instead of running away, he charged straight at the puppet army leader who was at the forefront.

"You're asking for death!" Upon seeing this, the puppet army leader grinned and raised his rifle, smashing the butt of the rifle towards Lin Yifan's head.

Lin Yifan neither dodged nor evaded, but slightly shifted his body to the side, deftly avoiding the gun butt. At the same time, he made a fist with his right hand and struck the puppet army leader in the chest with lightning speed.

"Crack!" A clear sound of bone breaking rang out.

The puppet army leader's sinister smile froze instantly, replaced by extreme pain and disbelief. He opened his mouth to shout, but only managed a hoarse, leaky sound.

Blood gushed from the corner of his mouth, and his body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into the door of the cloth shop with a dull thud before falling silent.

The power of that single punch was astounding! Lin Yifan himself was somewhat surprised by the strength of his enhanced physique.

This sudden turn of events stunned the puppet troops who rushed forward, causing them to pause involuntarily.

"Baka yarou! Kill him!" The two Japanese soldiers roared and charged forward. One of them brandished his saber, slashing at Lin Yifan with a sharp whoosh, while the other held a rifle, trying to find a shooting angle.

Lin Yifan remained calm as the military knife slashed towards him. With his enhanced dynamic vision and mental strength, he could see the Japanese soldier's movements with perfect clarity, even the cold glint of the blade. He sidestepped the blade, his left hand flashing out to grab the soldier's wrist, while his right fist clenched, and he struck again!

"Bang!" Another muffled sound rang out. Lin Yifan used all his strength in this punch, which landed directly on the Japanese soldier's abdomen, instantly tearing apart his internal organs.

The Japanese soldier's body suddenly arched up like a boiled shrimp, his eyes wide open, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. Lin Yifan also snatched the military knife from his hand.

After taking down one Japanese soldier, another Japanese soldier with a rifle had already pulled the trigger!

"Bang!"

The gunshots sounded particularly jarring in the quiet streets.

But Lin Yifan had anticipated this. The moment the Japanese soldier pulled the trigger, he pushed off with his feet, his body sliding to the side like an eel. The bullet grazed his ribs and hit the wall behind him, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Too slow!" Lin Yifan snorted coldly and lunged forward. The Japanese soldier had just fired a shot and was preparing to pull back the bolt to eject the spent cartridge and chamber a new round when Lin Yifan appeared in front of him.