Chapter 61 - 57: Must Strike Hard
He walked over to the farmland and dug up all the Gray Sweet Potatoes he had planted. As he was digging, he discovered that some of them had already sprouted tiny white buds.
Hmm?
’So fast.’
After some observation, Qin Ziwen had a theory. It was probably because of the "Structure." This farmland, like the cellar and the lavatory, must possess some kind of special effect that either ripened or accelerated the growth of crops.
Unfortunately, the effects of these Structures weren’t displayed intuitively; they could only be inferred after they manifested.
He reburied the Gray Sweet Potatoes to let them continue to grow.
Things were usually hectic, so it was rare to have half a day of leisure. Qin Ziwen felt a little out of sorts. He thought about how he needed to test the scoring value of a Card and forced himself to resist the urge to go fishing.
He went to Deng Guang’s apartment on the eighth floor to tell him they would be leaving early the next day.
Deng Guang’s eyes widened. "What? We’re leaving at three-thirty?"
Qin Ziwen nodded. "Yeah. We got the Card yesterday, and I’m guessing that group won’t take it lying down. They’ll either post guards near the altar or set out earlier themselves. We need to catch them completely by surprise. No one would ever expect us to leave at three-thirty."
Deng Guang asked doubtfully, "But three-thirty is the middle of the night. Won’t it be too dangerous?"
Qin Ziwen said, "I’ve already used the Recruitment Card. The Blacksmith is coming with us this time. There will be four of us, so ordinary beasts won’t dare to attack us."
He paused for a moment. "Of course, Old Deng, if you think it’s too risky, you can wait for us here."
Hearing this, Old Deng hurriedly said, "That’s not what I meant. All right, three-thirty it is."
After Qin Ziwen left, Xiao Xuemei walked over. "What’s wrong? Why the long face?"
Deng Guang shook his head. "It’s nothing. We’re just leaving a little earlier tomorrow, at three-thirty."
Xiao Xuemei was surprised. "Three-thirty in the morning?"
Deng Guang nodded. "Yeah. I just think it might be too early."
Xiao Xuemei was worried too, but she tried to comfort him. "If Xiaoqin dares to leave at that time, he must have his reasons. Besides, has anything been one hundred percent safe since we got here? Just the other day, I heard someone got bitten on the hand by a poisonous snake while digging for herbs. The person chopped their own hand off right then and there."
Deng Guang sighed grimly.
After parting with Deng Guang, Qin Ziwen went to the sixth floor and stopped in front of apartment 601.
He looked at the tightly shut door of Xie Jun’s apartment and tried the handle. As expected, it was locked.
Qin Ziwen glanced around. ’The easiest way would be to climb over from the balcony of 602 next door.’
After a moment’s thought, he knocked on the door of 602.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
"Anyone home?" Qin Ziwen asked politely.
He asked several times, but no one in 602 replied.
But he heard a slight noise from behind the door.
"Hello, I’m your neighbor from downstairs. Is anyone home?"
"There’s no one home," a little girl’s timid reply came from behind the door.
Qin Ziwen couldn’t help but chuckle. He pictured a little girl on the other side. "Are the grown-ups not home? I wanted to talk to your mom and dad about something."
"No one’s here. They went out," the little girl replied in a squeaky voice from behind the door.
Since the adults weren’t home, Qin Ziwen didn’t press the issue. He just said, "All right. When your mom and dad get back, could you please tell them the neighbor on the fifth floor wants to make a trade with them?"
As he came down from the sixth floor, the door to 501, across the hall, happened to open.
Wang Xiaoli stuck her head out, her face a bit haggard. She stared fixedly at Qin Ziwen.
Qin Ziwen gave a polite smile, nodded at her, and prepared to open his door.
Wang Xiaoli suddenly spoke up: "You guys weren’t home during the day yesterday. A few people were hanging around your door for a while. They might have been casing the joint."
Qin Ziwen paused, his hand on the door. He turned his head.
Wang Xiaoli peered at him from the crack of her door, only half of her face visible.
After a moment of silence, Qin Ziwen asked, "When?"
"I think it was in the morning, but I don’t know the exact time. There were three of them, acting all sneaky. They had the same vibe as the shady friends Xie Jun used to hang around."
"Friends of Xie Jun?"
"No, I don’t recognize them."
Qin Ziwen opened his door, went inside, and came back with two ripe kiwis from a box in the living room, thrusting them toward Wang Xiaoli.
Wang Xiaoli didn’t take them. "Could I trade these for something else? Kiwis are tart—they just whet your appetite and make you hungrier."
Qin Ziwen nodded. He said to his brother, "Go get a pound of smoked meat."
Then he pressed the kiwis on her as well. "Take it all."
A complicated expression flickered in Wang Xiaoli’s eyes. "Thank you."
After a moment’s hesitation, she asked, "Do you want to come in for some tea?"
Qin Ziwen didn’t move from his spot. "No, thank you. But if you notice anything else, please keep an eye out."
Wang Xiaoli hummed softly in agreement.
Only after Qin Ziwen closed his door did Wang Xiaoli slowly pull her door shut.
After that family raised a ruckus last time, she had become well-known within certain circles in the Gated Community.
It was a bad thing, but it was also a good thing.
The downside was that people would point and whisper when she went out. The upside was that more people were seeking her out in private.
But she didn’t care. ’I just want to live. To survive. Even if I have to live like dirt, I will survive here.’
After the door was closed, Qin Ziwu asked in a low voice, "Bro, is what she said true?"
Qin Ziwen gazed out the window. "Do you want it to be true, or do you want it to be fake?"
Qin Ziwu said, "If it’s true, then there really is a group out there. If it’s fake, then that hag is up to something."
Qin Ziwen’s eyes grew cold. ’According to the scoring criteria, killing enemies with malicious intent is also an effective way to earn points.’
’Scum like that needs to be hit hard and fast!’
Qin Ziwen said to his brother, "Don’t sleep too deeply tonight. The three of us will take turns on watch."
Qin Ziwu nodded in understanding.
A little after six in the evening, someone came looking for him: the man from 601.
Qin Ziwen explained his plan: he wanted to use the man’s balcony to get into 602.
The man from 601 was stunned. ’Into 602?’
He was instinctively repulsed by the idea of letting a stranger into his home.
After a long hesitation, he finally said in a low voice, "Can I go ask my wife’s opinion?"
Qin Ziwen agreed. About half an hour later, the man from 601 came down again. "My wife said it’s okay, but only one of you can come into our home. Um..."
"I understand," Qin Ziwen said.
The man from 601 breathed a secret sigh of relief at Qin Ziwen’s understanding.
"Bro, let me go!" Qin Ziwu said. "I’m more agile than you."
Qin Ziwen didn’t argue. He just instructed, "All right. Be careful. You should probably tie on a safety rope. And be mindful when you’re in someone else’s home."
Ziwu gave him an OK sign.
A few minutes later, the door to 602 opened. Ziwu beckoned from behind it for his brother to come in.
The layout of apartment 602 was identical to their own: three bedrooms, one living room, and one bathroom. The decor was a modern take on classic Chinese style.
On the wall behind the living room sofa hung a large piece of calligraphy that read: Heaven Rewards the Diligent.