CHAPTER 73: CHAPTER 72: THE WELL OF GUNS

Kael followed Eli and the worker toward the back of the house.

At first, he thought maybe they meant some old farming tools. A rusty machete, perhaps. Maybe even an old hunting rifle.

But no.

When they reached the back garden—the overgrown area behind the newly installed fence—he saw Yuna crouching beside a dark, circular opening in the ground. Two other workers were beside her, pulling long rectangular boxes out of what looked like an old stone well.

One of the workers grunted, dragging a crate onto the grass.

Inside the crates?

Guns.

Dozens.

Long barrels, short barrels, and things he only recognized from video games. There were AK-47s, MP5 submachine guns, grenade launchers, and even a shoulder-mounted RPG launcher that looked like it belonged in a war zone—not behind a house in rural nowhere.

"...What in the actual hell?" Kael muttered.

Yuna turned slightly toward them. "I told the workers to clear out the old well. Thought it might be useful for rainwater collection or sealing off. But after they cleared the garbage, they found... these."

Kael stepped closer slowly. The well was narrow and shallow, mostly clogged with debris—but deep enough to stash illegal goods. And old enough that no one would’ve checked it unless they were looking.

There’s a well back here? And I didn’t even know about it?

Kael stared at the crates again. The labels were faded, most in languages he couldn’t even recognize. A few had numbers etched on metal tags. This was military-grade.

"God," Kael thought. "Did Grandpa... own a private army or something?"

"This is your land, Kael," Yuna said suddenly. "Do you know anything about this? At all?"

Kael blinked. "Nope."

"Really?"

"First time in my life I’ve seen this many guns outside of a video game cutscene."

"You sure?"

"I swear. And I definitely don’t know how to use any of this stuff. Unless aiming with a mouse counts."

Eli, who had been silent until now, gave a low chuckle.

Then, to Kael’s shock, Eli crouched beside one of the crates, reached in, and pulled out an AK-47 like he was grabbing a gardening tool.

Kael straightened sharply. "Whoa—you’re not just gonna pick it up like that, are you?"

Eli grunted, inspecting it with surprising ease.

Yuna’s eyes widened. "Dad! What are you doing?"

She took a step forward, clearly alarmed. "That thing could be loaded!"

"I know," Eli said simply.

Click.

Kael flinched.

Then—

Bang.

The sharp crack of the gunshot echoed through the trees.

Birds scattered from the branches. One of the workers actually ducked.

The round punched harmlessly into the dirt pile beyond the well—but still, Kael’s heart was hammering in his chest.

"Are you crazy?!" he snapped.

Yuna turned to her father, mouth open. "Dad—what the hell was that?!"

Eli didn’t flinch. He calmly lowered the rifle, keeping the muzzle pointed at the ground, and flicked the safety on.

"Still works," he muttered. "Little rusty, but solid."

Yuna stared at him, like she’d never seen him before.

"...How do you even know that?" she asked quietly.

Eli shrugged. "I’ve seen a few rifles in my time."

"That’s not an answer," she said.

But Eli didn’t elaborate. He placed the rifle gently back in the crate.

Kael glanced between the crates, the well, and the calm look on Eli’s face.

"This is military-grade stuff," Kael murmured. "Why... why the hell was it hidden here?"

No one had an answer.

Kael looked at Eli. "You said this house was abandoned for forty years, right?"

Eli nodded. "That’s right. No one’s lived here since your grandfather left town."

"So how did all this get here?"

Eli just spread his hands. "How do I know?"

There was a long silence.

Then Yuna said, "We need to report this. Right now."

Kael went still.

"...To the police?"

She nodded. "Of course. This is serious. Someone could’ve been planning something. This could be part of an old smuggling operation. Who knows what else is buried here?"

Kael hesitated.

That was exactly what he couldn’t let happen.

If the police came and started searching the house, they might find the strange mirror in his basement—the one that opened the portal to another world.

If they found it, things could get out of control.

He didn’t know what the government would do with something like that—but it wouldn’t be good. They’d take over the house. Lock everything down. Study it. Maybe even lock him up for knowing about it.

Kael couldn’t risk that.

Eli glanced at Kael, then shook his head slowly. "It’s not that simple."

"Why not?"

"We’re not exactly in the middle of town, Yuna. Closest police outpost is in Zhou City—200 kilometers east. And if you want full investigators? Capital’s 300 kilometers the other way."

Yuna frowned. "Still. These are military weapons."

"I know," Eli said, looking down at the launcher. "But you know how it goes. You’d need to file paperwork, explain the find, get clearance just to bring them here. That could take weeks... maybe a month."

Kael cleared his throat. "Maybe... we don’t call the police."

Yuna looked at him sharply. "Excuse me?"

"I mean—what if this just brings more trouble? What if they think I put it here? It’s my land now, remember? They’ll assume the worst. Also, I’d rather not have police crawling over the house I just finished fixing."

"And if we don’t tell them?" she asked. "What then?"

"We keep it safe," Eli said calmly. "Store it somewhere secure. Quietly. It’s not going anywhere."

"Dad..." Yuna’s voice dropped. "This isn’t normal. And the way you’re acting—it’s like you’ve done this before."

Eli looked at her and gave a tired sigh. "I’m saying we handle this smartly. We lock it up. That’s all. No one needs to know about it unless it becomes a problem."

Yuna clearly wanted to argue. But in the end, she just exhaled slowly. "Fine. But if anything else weird turns up, we call someone. Agreed?"

Kael nodded. "Agreed."

"Alright." She turned and walked away, calling to the workers. "Let’s finish moving the crates. Carefully."

They began hauling the boxes toward the old shed near the garden. It was dry and sturdy now, recently repaired, and had a working lock. Eli helped organize the crates so they wouldn’t be visible from outside.

Kael stood back, watching.

His grandfather had left him land. An old house. A dimensional portal.

Now—apparently—a weapons cache.

It was too much.

And yet, a small part of him wasn’t even surprised.

Just... exhausted.

Kael muttered under his breath:

"This place keeps getting weirder."

And somehow, he knew—

It wasn’t finished revealing its secrets yet.