Chapter 27 Underground Garage
Looking at the strange fish with its mouth full of fangs, Qin Ziwen couldn't help but pry open its mouth. "Getting bitten by those teeth would probably hurt a bit."
Qin Ziwu agreed, "It really would hurt."
Deng Guang gestured with his hands: "It's probably not a meter long, only about 70 or 80 centimeters."
Qin Ziwen said, "That's normal. The river water refracts light, it's normal to mistake it. I just don't know what kind of fish it is."
Deng Guang tried to recall: "This thing looks a bit like an African tigerfish. If it's a tigerfish, it seems to live in groups."
"Living in groups!?" Qin Ziwu scratched his head and turned to look at the river beside him.
There were crocodiles and tigerfish in it.
This was too wild.
Deng Guang stood up. "We're going to take this fish back first and process it while it's still fresh. Brother Qin, come upstairs later. You deserve all the credit for catching this fish, I'll give you half."
Qin Ziwen waved his hand and refused. "The fishing rod is yours, the bait is yours, I didn't do anything. By the way, Brother Deng, the line on my fishing rod broke, can I still use it?"
Deng Guang took the fishing rod from Qin Ziwen. "No problem, you can use it, it's just that the line broke. I have some extra hooks, I'll get you a new one later."
Deng Guang pretended to be annoyed: "Alright, don't be so polite with me, or I won't invite you fishing next time."
Xiao Xuemei smiled: "Okay, Xiao Qin, you can accept it. Old Deng has never caught such a big fish before, this time it's all thanks to you guys."
Xiao Xuemei went home and got a large plastic bag, and put the tigerfish she caught into the bag.
The big fish was very taut in the plastic bag.
However, a small section of the fish's tail still peeked out from the edge of the bag, and just by looking at the tail, you could tell that the fish was quite large.
Deng Guang suggested, "How about we go back to Building 8 from the garage? There are too many people outside."
Qin Ziwen agreed, "Sure, I haven't been to the underground garage since I transmigrated, and I wonder what it's like now."
He didn't own a car, so he didn't pay much attention to the garage.
However, the others had driven out of the garage in SUVs when they hunted the leader crocodile yesterday.
In this forest, without roads, cars could hardly move an inch. Only a few SUVs could barely move, but even then, they couldn't go very fast, and there were many places they couldn't go.
The five of them arrived at the garage entrance. Because the buildings in the residential complex weren't very tall, the garage only had one entrance and exit, and it was only one story high.
The garage entrance was next to the east gate, and there used to be a small guard post with rising barriers on both sides.
But now the guard post was abandoned, and the rising barriers had been removed.
As soon as Qin Ziwen entered the garage, he felt the temperature drop significantly, and there was even a chilly feeling.
The garage, without electricity, was somewhat dark. Sunlight illuminated the area near the entrance, where rows of cold cars were parked on the basement level.
The five men exchanged glances.
"Should we go upstairs?"
"It's okay, I brought a flashlight." Qin Ziwen took off his backpack, reached inside, and actually summoned the daily settlement warehouse, retrieving a solar-powered flashlight.
He pressed the switch, setting it to level three.
The dark garage was instantly illuminated, the windshields of the cars parked ahead reflecting the light.
A rat scurried out from under a black car parked to the side, squeaking, and disappeared into the corner in the blink of an eye.
"Let's go,"
Qin Ziwen said, walking ahead.
The garage was quiet, with cars parked in their spaces.
Qin Ziwu suddenly had a thought: "If we dismantle these cars, could their engines be used to make generators?"
Qin Ziwen casually remarked, "If there were professionals, it should be possible."
Suddenly, he stopped, because he smelled a very unpleasant odor in the air.
It was awful, indescribable, and although it was the first time he had smelled it, he instinctively felt disgusted.
It smelled like the pungent, sweet odor of a dead fish market mixed with ammonia—it was nauseating.
Deng Wen pinched her nose, frowned, and said weakly, "Could it be the stench of corpses?" Qin Ziwen's expression turned grave: "Then you're probably right. Such a pungent smell, it's most likely..."
The further they walked, the stronger the smell became.
The source of the smell was directly ahead.
After walking a dozen meters, at a corner, a figure sat leaning against a car door, head bowed, a thick, wet liquid flowing beneath him.
A putrid stench emanated from him.
Insects swarmed in and out of his clothes, and flies buzzed around him.
"Ugh~"
Deng Wen couldn't take it anymore and let out a dry retching.
"Let's go,"
Qin Ziwen said in a low voice, shifting his gaze.
They didn't know how this person had died.
But whatever the reason, it meant there was danger in the garage.
The atmosphere became tense as the group cautiously avoided the area.
Deng Wen asked doubtfully, "It's been so long, and the body is still here. Didn't the deceased have any relatives?"
Deng Guang said, "We have quite a few tenants, some share, some live alone."
"My god, what a huge gecko!" Deng Wen pointed to the ceiling.
Everyone looked up at the garage ceiling. On the ceiling, a large gecko with "glowing" eyes lay quietly on the garage beams. When illuminated by the light, the gecko quickly climbed up and hid behind the beams, only its tail showing.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak~"
A gray rat scurried into the drainpipe in the garage wall, peeking out half its head and secretly observing the passersby.
Deng Guang sighed, "It's only been a few days, and the garage has become like this."
Qin Ziwu remarked, "It's completely become a small ecosystem."
But thinking about it, it was normal. The garage door was always open, and outside was a primeval forest; it was normal for small animals to occasionally wander in.
The environment inside was cold and damp, perfect for certain animals to survive.
Qin Ziwen suddenly remembered—did Huang Tao and the others notice the corpse when they came to pick up the car yesterday?
After traversing almost the entire garage, the five finally arrived at the stairwell of the basement of Building 8.
As they parted on the fifth floor, Xiao Xuemei reminded them again, "Remember to come back for the fish later."
Deng Guang replied, "I took your fishing rod back; I'll come back for it after I fix it."
After a short rest at home, Qin Ziwen and his brother went out to pull weeds for the rabbits.
While pulling the weeds, they attracted the attention of several middle-aged women passing by, who enthusiastically came over.
"Young man, is this grass edible?"
"No."
"Then why are you digging it up?"
"Auntie, do you have any food? I've been hungry for days; could you give me some?"
The woman smiled awkwardly and looked away.
"Oh dear, I suddenly remembered, the lights are still on." The woman slapped her thigh and hurried away.
In the afternoon, Qin Ziwen and his brother arrived at Deng Guang's house.
Xiao Xuemei warmly opened the door to welcome them and
gave them a pair of slippers.
Deng Guang's house was decorated in a modern Chinese style. When the two arrived, Deng Guang was wearing reading glasses and sitting on the balcony, carefully threading a fishing hook.
Xiao Xuemei came out of the kitchen and handed over a bag containing half a fish.
(End of Chapter)