Loud footsteps echoed from the emergency exit, accompanied by laughter and chatter.
As the footsteps approached his floor, Qin Ziwen opened the door, his younger brother following behind.
Emerging from the building, Qin Ziwen realized they were two families.
A very traditional modern family structure; both the husband and wife were around forty years old.
Their two children, a boy and a girl, were likely in high school.
Qin Ziwen approached them, "Uncle, did you see anyone in the hallway when you came down?"
The man, with thick eyebrows and large eyes, of medium build, smiled and replied, "No, there was no one in the hallway when we came down."
He seemed to realize something, glancing at Qin Ziwen a few more times. "You're the new neighbors who moved in on the fifth floor, right?"
"Yes,"
the man nodded, giving a soft "Oh. "
A few seconds later, the man suddenly said, "The reputation of the family in apartment 602 upstairs isn't very good. They used to be involved in organized crime, often causing trouble in the neighborhood while drunk. Be careful."
"I heard he's been to jail before?"
The man shook his head. "I don't know about that."
The man's wife spoke up: "He has been to jail, and it seems 602 and 501 have an improper relationship."
The man was taken aback. "How do you know?"
His wife rolled her eyes: "You only go to work and go fishing all day. When have you ever cared about these things? Once, when I came home from grocery shopping, I saw the man from 602 use his key to unlock 501's door.
What do you think? There's only one woman living alone in 501." Qin Ziwu, following behind his brother, frowned. If the man upstairs had a key to the apartment across the hall, wouldn't they know each other?
Why didn't the woman say anything last night, and why did they both pretend not to know each other?
Unless they were acting.
Qin Ziwu felt he had guessed the truth!
Qin Ziwu secretly observed his brother's expression, but found it remained unchanged.
The muscular man with thick eyebrows extended an invitation: "Hey buddy, wanna go fishing? I've noticed the fish population in this river is pretty good."
Qin Ziwen shook his head: "I don't have a fishing rod."
The muscular man said, "No problem, I have an extra one."
Seeing Qin Ziwen's surprised expression, the man laughed, "I'm a fishing enthusiast, I used to love fishing, I have tons of fishing rods at home."
The man's wife found it amusing, "You're just a noob, you've got too many fishing rods."
"What do you mean by 'too many fishing rods'? It means sometimes the weather's bad and the fish aren't biting." The man turned to Qin Ziwen and asked, "How about it, want to go fishing with me? In my experience, there are plenty of fish in this river, I guarantee we'll have meat to eat every day."
Qin Ziwen agreed: "Sure, I'm a fishing novice, I'll need your guidance, bro."
The man laughed, "It's not really guidance, let's work together, and beginners usually have good luck."
He patted the bag on his back, "I just happened to bring an extra rod, you can come with me."
"Brother, are we going fishing later?"
"Come on, you can learn too."
The man with thick eyebrows called out to the man from the other family next door, "Old Liu, this young man can fish with us too. More people means more excitement. Yesterday I saw someone catch two fish in a row on that steep bank, and then several people went over and took the spot."
Old Liu, who was thin and tall, said, "I have no objection. More people is better. You decide, Brother Deng."
Qin Ziwen followed the group out. He hadn't considered fishing before because he didn't have the equipment and also because he had no experience.
Now that someone is willing to guide him, he's willing to give it a try. After all, fishing is an essential skill for wilderness survival.
Moreover, according to his observations, his daily score is related to his harvest.
Yesterday, he got an eight-point score thanks to the bonus from foraging for wild vegetables.
Now that the wild vegetables are almost all gone, the only way to achieve that high score is to venture further into the forest, away from the residential area.
Compared to going deep into the forest, fishing by the river near the entrance of the residential area is obviously much safer.
Arriving at the entrance, he found many people standing on the ladder.
After squeezing through, he saw a giant crocodile lying motionless on the floor of the south gate lobby. Its dark brown, hard skin was covered in bumps. Although it wasn't moving, the sheer size of its body, even just lying there, made many people's legs go weak.
"Wow, it's huge! I estimate it's at least five meters long."
"That size could probably swallow a person whole."
"What do we do if it's blocking our way? How do we get rid of it?"
"Why not just kill it? This is land; crocodiles aren't that agile."
A young man wearing a delivery helmet said from the crowd, "I used to work at a zoo, where I was in charge of crocodile care. I know a bit about their habits."
The crowd quieted down.
"This crocodile looks a bit like a saltwater crocodile, but its head is proportionally larger, meaning its bite force might be stronger."
"Its weaknesses are its eyes, abdomen, and the area behind its head near the spine. But never confront it head-on. While it's not as fast on land as it is in the water, its short burst speed isn't slow." "
A crocodile's bite force is very strong, but the force with which it opens its mouth is far less than its bite force. In other words, if you can grab its mouth before it opens it, you might be able to prevent it from opening its jaws."
The others silently watched the crocodile in the hall, which was longer than a small car.
"Of course, that's all idealistic thinking. This crocodile is bigger than the biggest I've ever seen in a zoo. I wouldn't recommend attacking a crocodile of this size. Just try to drive it away; crocodiles aren't usually that brave."
Someone suddenly said, "If it were timid, would it still be lying here motionless? Dude, you're talking about Earth's crocodiles, this isn't even on Earth anymore."
"Yeah, I feel like this crocodile doesn't even consider us a threat."
"Didn't someone fall into the water and get eaten by a crocodile the other day? I suspect these crocodiles see us as prey."
"Damn, that's too arrogant! With so many of us, are we afraid of a single crocodile? I won't say anything in the river, but once it's on land, it's just a salted fish. Let's just kill it and share the meat!"
Old Liu teased Old Deng, "Have you ever caught such a big fish? This one down there is huge."
Old Deng, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, chuckled, "If I caught one this big, I'd drive around the city twice."
Old Deng's wife gently patted him, "You're just talking nonsense. Don't show off. If you see a crocodile coming into the river, just walk away. You can't catch all the fish. You're the pillar of the family."
Old Deng held his wife's hand, "Don't worry, I know."
Their daughter, following behind, saw the couple's mushy scene and hugged her arm.
From the back of the crowd, someone pulled out a thick curtain from somewhere. "Here it comes! Make way, everyone else, don't block the way. Anyone planning to take on this crocodile? Let's be clear from the start, only those who fight will get the spoils. Those who don't, don't try to take advantage!"
Qin Ziwen recognized the man carrying the curtain; it was the bearded man he'd confronted with Huang Tao on his way home last night.
Beside him, he also saw Huang Tao and the property management staff.
(End of Chapter)