Chapter 165 - 151: Day 31 Settlement
"While there are a few empty units in the Gated Community, there aren’t that many. Some are unfurnished, and others have been occupied by other residents. If you want to move in, I’ll have to coordinate with those residents, which might take some time," Zou Jianghe said.
"We understand. Thank you so much." Luo Gang bowed deeply.
After chatting for a little longer, Zou Jianghe went back to check on the Alliance Association’s casualties.
Yuan Ming and Yuan Dajun walked over side by side. Seeing the residents who had been killed or injured along the way, both of their expressions grew heavy.
Yuan Ming said quietly, "Captain, you and Brother Du killed them too fast. We didn’t even get to land a hit."
"I was on edge myself. I couldn’t afford to hold back."
"Captain, that’s not what I meant. These beasts are dangerous, so you were right not to hold back. It’s just... I feel like we came here and did nothing. We were just along for the ride." Yuan Ming sounded a little disappointed.
"Don’t worry, you’ll get your chance to fight."
Qin Ziwen paused for a moment before continuing, "Besides, if you’re looking for work, that’s easy enough to find."
Qin Ziwen said, "I have a batch of beast hides that need to be processed and cured. I have a tanner in my group who can teach you. If your family members are interested, they’re all welcome to learn."
Yuan Ming nodded eagerly. "Great! My mom’s forty-eight this year. She’s in her prime and ready to work!"
Yuan Dajun glanced at his "worthless" son. Then again, he thought about his wife Hu Huilan’s personality—she was the type who could never sit still. Life in the Gobi Desert was different from the forest. There wasn’t much for her to do, as jobs like foraging and fishing were basically nonexistent here.
’Becoming a skilled worker, on the other hand, would be a great option for her.’
"Captain Qin." Deng Guang’s interest was piqued. "Can my family come and learn, too?"
"Of course, Brother Deng, you’re all welcome," Qin Ziwen said with a smile. "But why are you calling me Captain all of a sudden? It sounds weird. Just call me Brother Qin."
"No, no, it’s better if I call you the same thing as everyone else," Deng Guang said, shaking his head quickly.
’This was something his wife had specifically warned him about earlier in the day. She’d said that now that Qin Ziwen’s team was growing in size and number, it wouldn’t look right if he was still calling him "Brother Qin" or "Younger Brother Qin" when everyone else was calling him Captain Qin. Qin Ziwen might not mind, but that didn’t mean other team members wouldn’t get ideas.’
Seeing Deng Guang’s troubled expression, Qin Ziwen thought for a moment and guessed the reason. "Alright, Brother Deng. Call me whatever you’re comfortable with."
"Oh, by the way, Captain Qin," Deng Guang added. "This afternoon, several families in our building came and asked me if our team is still recruiting."
"What are their backgrounds?"
"They’re our neighbors, from this same building."
"If they ask again, tell them yes. But they’ll have to start as regular members. We’ll evaluate them over time, and the ones who qualify will become core members."
"Got it." Deng Guang nodded.
Zhao Pu came downstairs with ten female students following him. He walked over and said in a low voice, "Captain, I just spoke with Teacher Luo. He found out that apartment 202 in our building is empty and wants to send ten of his students to live there for the time being."
"Let them stay there. That was Granny Li’s place." Qin Ziwen thought of the kind old woman and sighed internally. ’If she knew it was being used to help people, she would’ve agreed.’ He could still recall the taste of the apple she had given him that day.
The group with him consisted of ten female university students.
The girl at the front looked a bit familiar. She was the one who had gone up to the storeroom yesterday to carry beast hides.
They exchanged a few words, and Qin Ziwen learned her name: Pan Congning.
Elsewhere, the corpse of the Giant Hyena King was carried out. Its enormous body drew a chorus of gasps from the onlookers.
The beast king’s corpse was massive. Someone gestured in the air, indicating that the Giant Hyena King’s paw was larger than a man’s head.
A single swipe from that paw could probably smash a skull like a watermelon.
Chen Pi had been invited down by Qin Ziwu. As he stared at the Giant Hyena King’s corpse, his eyes lit up.
He exclaimed that skinning this beast would make his life worthwhile! Even his grandmaster’s grandmaster had probably never seen a beast so large!
"Captain, I’ll take them over now," Zhao Pu said in a low voice.
Qin Ziwen waved him off.
Meanwhile, Chen Pi’s skillful skinning technique began to draw a crowd.
Wielding a Willow Leaf Skinning Knife, he deftly peeled back the hide. His movements were both familiar and yet strange, like he was removing a layer of clothing, and they possessed a unique kind of beauty.
A plastic sheet had been laid out beneath the corpse. Blood trickled down from the exposed muscle and tissue, collecting in a growing pool.
A middle-aged man with a large mole by his eyebrow walked up, holding a small bowl. He approached Chen Pi and asked, "Hey, brother, can I get some of that blood?"
Chen Pi glanced at the man but didn’t say anything. Instead, he looked back toward Qin Ziwen.
Li Yue asked, bewildered, "What do you want blood for?"
The man replied, "It’s a powerful tonic! Things like tiger blood and deer blood are great for virility. This is a beast king, so its blood must be even more potent!"
Wang Yun interjected, "That blood could be full of parasites, not to mention bacteria and viruses. We barely managed to contain the last epidemic. Are you trying to start another one?"
Upon hearing this, the surrounding crowd began to chastise the man.
𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
The middle-aged man hastily scurried away, thoroughly embarrassed.
After the skin was removed, it was time to butcher the carcass. People had assumed Chen Pi was only a skinner, but they were surprised to find he was quite skilled at butchering as well.
The carcass was broken down piece by piece: the head, the four legs, the belly meat, the shoulder meat...
As Chen Pi cut, he remarked, "The grain of this meat is a little like a dog’s, but also a bit like a bear’s."
"Boss Zhang, here’s your meat." Qin Ziwen hefted a large slab of lean meat, weighing twenty-odd pounds, and handed it to Zhang Bo. "This investment paid off, eh?"