Chapter 23 - 19: The Giant Bird Strikes Again
"Ziwen, have you ever seen that video of the Maasai people in Africa hunting elephants? Even a six-ton elephant ends up getting stabbed until it looks like a pincushion when they surround it."
Qin Ziwen, who was shoveling dirt, straightened up at Zou Sheng’s words. He wiped the sweat from his brow and said with a smile, "I’ve scrolled past it before. But the Maasai train from childhood; hunting is their way of life. We definitely can’t compare to them in that regard."
"Hey, don’t build them up by putting ourselves down. I work out a lot too. I don’t think my fitness is necessarily any worse than theirs." Zou Sheng flexed his arm, striking a bodybuilding pose.
Zou Sheng had the kind of build that looked lean with clothes on but was ripped underneath.
When he tensed his arm, his muscles were clearly defined.
On the lawn outside the Gated Community, everyone was working feverishly. As soon as someone got tired, another person would immediately take their place.
To successfully trap the giant crocodile, they planned to dig a massive 12x4x4 meter pit.
Deng Guang said worriedly, "Brother Qin, do you think this trap we’re digging will be enough to hold the crocodile? What if it just climbs out?"
Qin Ziwen hesitated. "A pit this deep... it shouldn’t be able to get out, right?"
Deng Guang shook his head. "But what if the sides collapse? Like a landslide. If the crocodile causes the edge of the pit to crumble and it turns into a ramp, couldn’t it just climb right up?"
Qin Ziwen pictured the scene and realized Old Deng’s concern was not without reason.
He found Huang Tao, who was standing at the edge of the pit, deep in conversation with a bald, middle-aged man beside him.
"This approach to digging is all wrong. The soil here is too loose. If you dig too deep, it’s very likely to collapse. Besides, a pit this big is a huge amount of work. It would take several days at least. All that time, combined with such intense physical labor, means everyone’s food supplies at home will be consumed much faster.
"Even with a lot of people participating, a project like this has ’work face’ limitations. A twelve-by-four-meter pit can only accommodate twenty to thirty people working at the same time, at most. And without any machinery, digging by hand is just too slow.
"Plus, the deeper you dig, the more difficult the engineering becomes. I did a quick calculation. Based on the volume of this pit—192 cubic meters—you’d need more than a dozen truckloads to haul away the dirt. And that’s under ideal conditions. A depth of four meters is basically a foundation pit excavation. Without sloping the sides or adding shoring, it will 100% collapse. But we don’t have the resources for that right now."
Huang Tao was getting a headache listening to all this. He had no experience in construction and didn’t understand these details. He just thought digging a big hole would be enough; after all, it was only four meters deep.
𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
But he knew the man in front of him was in the construction business, and his opinion was definitely more professional than his own.
Huang Tao thought for a moment. "We originally planned to dig this deep to trap the crocodile. Since we can’t go that deep, what about another method, like a mud pit?"
The bald man replied, "In theory, that could work. As long as you mix it to the right consistency, you can create a slurry. Slurry is a non-Newtonian fluid; the more the crocodile struggles, the deeper it will sink. But this plan has a problem too. To make a mud pit, you need a massive amount of water, and you’d have to get it from the river..."
Huang Tao said, "There’s a diesel water pump in the property management warehouse, and the cars in the underground garage have fuel."
The bald man rejected the idea. "No good. Even with the spare extension hoses, the pump’s reach is fifty meters at most. We’re at least a hundred meters from the river here. The pump can’t draw water from that far."
Qin Ziwen, who was standing nearby, spoke up. "I have an idea. What if we make a spike trap? There are some iron fences in the Gated Community, right? We could dismantle them, fashion them into Long Spears, and plant them at the bottom. When the crocodile falls in, its belly doesn’t have the same Armor as its back. These iron spikes should be able to pierce it easily."
The bald man pondered this, then nodded slowly. "That... has some merit. But if the pit is too shallow, the crocodile might be able to climb out. If it gets injured and escapes back to the river, luring it out a second time won’t be so easy."
Qin Ziwen said suddenly, "Then we’ll just add a coffin lid on top of it."
Huang Tao was confused. "Where are we going to find a coffin lid that big? Ordinary wood won’t be strong enough to hold it."
Qin Ziwen pointed behind him. "Aren’t there a ton of cars in the garage?"
"Cars..." Huang Tao smacked his fist into his palm. "Great idea! I happen to have a Jeep."
The bald man rubbed his head, saying with some reluctance, "Then I guess I’ll donate my G-Wagon, too."
Huang Tao and Qin Ziwen stared at him in shock.
The bald man sighed. "The car was exciting when I first got it, but after driving it for a while, the novelty wore off. The soundproofing is terrible, the seats are hard, and the engine is ridiculously loud."
Qin Ziwen and Huang Tao exchanged a look, taking his words as a bit of self-deprecating complaint.
The middle-aged man looked at Huang Tao and said half-jokingly, "I’m putting up my G-Wagon to crush a crocodile. When it’s time to divide the meat, you’d better give me an extra share, right? Here are the keys. Take it and do whatever you need to with it."
Huang Tao clapped his chest boldly. "You’re contributing your car to the cause, of course you’ll get an extra share of the meat! No problem at all. President Yang, we’ll have to rely on your expertise for future construction matters."
President Yang waved his hands repeatedly. "Oh, don’t flatter me. Just call me Old Yang, if you don’t mind. My stamina can’t compare to you young folks, but after so many years in construction, I’ve learned a little bit about everything. I think... if we’re going to survive here long-term, our current setup definitely won’t work. And the floor people live on is a big problem too."
President Yang pointed toward the Gated Community. "Before, when we had elevators, a higher floor didn’t matter. The view was even better. Now that there are no elevators, a high floor is a real pain to climb. For those living on the eighth, ninth, or even tenth floors... just think about it. Going up and down that huge flight of stairs is enough to kill a person. And on top of that, they have to carry firewood, haul food, and lug buckets of water.
"People can tolerate it for a short while, but over time, it’s bound to cause problems."
Huang Tao nodded. He agreed on this point, as he lived on the seventh floor himself.
He was a man in his thirties who was clearly in shape, yet even he felt tired climbing up and down every day.
Not to mention the elderly and the children.
Qin Ziwen said, "Actually, the lower floors aren’t as great as you might think. While no large beasts have broken into the Gated Community yet, that might not be the case in the future. Plus, snakes, insects, and rodents can easily get into the lower-level apartments."
Huang Tao agreed with this point as well. "True. I originally bought my place on the seventh floor because it wasn’t too low, got better sunlight, and had fewer bugs."
After a bit more commiserating, the men went their separate ways to get back to work.
As Qin Ziwen dug, he glanced back at the windowpanes of the Gated Community’s buildings.
He’d originally bought a place in this Gated Community because of its decent quality. It wasn’t one of those old complexes, and most of the apartments didn’t have security bars on the windows.
In the sunlight, the glass reflected the azure sky.
"SCREEE—"
An earth-shattering cry suddenly pierced the air from above.
"That giant bird is back!" someone yelled.
"Run!"
Qin Ziwen looked up. High above, a dark shadow was rapidly approaching their position.
He scanned his surroundings. The area was somewhat open, with no large trees. The main gate of the Gated Community was still several dozen meters away. Given the giant bird’s speed, there was no time to run for it.
Qin Ziwen quickly grabbed his younger brother and shoved him into the pit. "Get down!"
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