The engines didn’t even try to be quiet as they came through the broken gate, grinding over debris like the mess in the yard didn’t matter.

Or they didn’t see it.

Given who it was and why they were here, I was going with the first option.

How many occupations did that make now? Four? Five?

I shook my head. It really didn’t matter.

What mattered was who was standing at the end of the day.

And, just to be clear, that would be me.

I didn’t move from the window as the first vehicle stopped, then the next, then the one behind it, forming a loose line across what used to be my front lawn.

The smoke was still drifting, the smell still thick, and the bodies were exactly where we had left them, which made the timing feel less like coincidence and more like bad luck.

The passenger door opened first.

Because of course it did.

Meilan stepped out like she had somewhere better to be and we were already wasting her time.

Her heels hit the ground without hesitation, even with the ash and broken glass underfoot, and her gaze swept the yard once before settling on the house like that was the only thing that mattered. Her men followed her out in quick succession, forming around her without being told, each one just a little too aware of where the others were standing.

They didn’t look at the bodies for long, instead, they turned to look at us.

Commander Li got out last.

He didn’t rush. He didn’t react. His eyes moved over the yard in a slow sweep that took in the burn patterns, the spacing, the fact that nothing was still moving, and then he stepped aside as his men exited behind him.

They didn’t cluster around him the way Meilan’s team did. They spread out, not wide enough to be seen as a threat, but wide enough that if they had to shoot, they wouldn’t be shooting at each other.

I shifted my weight slightly, the vine around my wrist tightening for a second before settling again under my sleeve, and then I ignored it. This was not the time to get distracted.

Meilan walked forward like she owned the place, stopping just inside the yard and looking at the damage with a faint crease in her brow that had nothing to do with concern.

"You really let it get this bad?" she asked, like she was commenting on a messy room instead of a full yard of burned corpses.

"No," I replied, my tone flat. "You did. This mess is all yours. Or did you forget the little midnight visitors last night?"

Her eyes snapped to me, sharp and immediate, and then she smiled in that way that never meant anything good. "I don’t forget anything. But the least you can do is clean up the mess."

"Nothing is moving anymore," I replied with a casual shrug. "That’s usually the goal when it comes to dealing with zombies. Everything else is just... window decorations."

Behind her, Shen Kaiyang shifted slightly closer to her left side, his gaze flicking over me and then toward the others like he was measuring something he didn’t understand.

Tao Jun leaned a fraction forward, attention locked on the house itself, while Lin Cheng stayed just behind Meilan’s shoulder, quiet but watchful.

Guo Renwang and Huang Zedong spread out just enough to give themselves space without stepping too far from her, each one glancing at the others like proximity mattered more than anything else.

None of them looked relaxed. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Good.

I was going to make their stay as uncomfortable as possible. Stroking the vine on my wrist, I was already forming my plan for that night.

Meilan stepped closer, her gaze sliding past me and into the house like she was already deciding what she wanted to keep. "This place could have been useful if you had taken proper care of it," she said, her tone light, dismissive, like the condition of my house was a personal failure on my part.

"It was useful," I replied. "And then you arrived. Let me guess, you are planning on staying for a while?"

Her smile sharpened. "For now."

I didn’t answer that.

I didn’t need to.

Behind her, Li’s men had already started moving. They didn’t wait for instructions, and they didn’t make a show of it.

One of them moved toward the side of the house where the windows had been blown out, crouching slightly to check the frame.

Another walked the perimeter of the yard, eyes tracking the fence line and the gaps where the gate had been forced open. Two more stepped onto the porch, boots heavy against the wood as they tested the boards and glanced through the open doorway.

Li followed them at a slower pace, stopping near the edge of the porch as he looked up at the broken windows and the exposed interior beyond them. He didn’t speak right away, and he didn’t look at Meilan when she finally noticed that his men were no longer standing behind him.

"What are they doing?" she asked, her voice tightening just enough to give away her irritation.

Li didn’t turn to face her. "Checking for entry points," he answered, his tone even. "The structure is compromised."

"We didn’t come here to fix a house," she snapped. "We came here to take control of it."

"The house is part of the area," he replied, glancing briefly toward the broken sections of the wall before looking back at the yard. "As it is now, it’s a security breach. Night is coming, and the noise from earlier will draw more."

Her expression shifted, irritation giving way to calculation as she looked from him to the damage and then back to the house. "So you’re saying it would benefit us to what? Fix Shen Rouxi’s mistake?"

"I’m saying that if it stays like this, you’ll have the same problem again," he said. "Only worse."

That was enough for her.

Meilan lifted her chin slightly, her posture straightening as she turned back toward her men. "Fine," she said. "Make it usable. I’m not dealing with another mess like this."

Her team moved immediately, not because they wanted to help, but because she had said it in a way that made it sound like her idea.

Shen Kaiyang stepped forward first, heading toward the porch with a quick glance at Tao Jun, who followed a second later like he wasn’t about to be outdone. Lin Cheng stayed closer to Meilan, his attention shifting between her and the others, while Guo Renwang and Huang Zedong moved toward the side of the house where Li’s men were already working.

They didn’t coordinate so much as competed for Meilan’s attention.

Commander Li watched it happen without commenting, his expression unchanged as his men continued working with quiet efficiency.

They didn’t interfere with Meilan’s team, and they didn’t adjust their pace to match them. They just did what needed to be done, securing what they could with what was available.

I leaned back slightly from the window, letting my gaze move over the yard, the house, the people now filling it, and then I made a decision.

"You’re the one who has decided to occupy my house... again. You’re the one who said you wanted it usable," I said. "I’m letting you help. If you need me. Tough."