Ch118 Fine, You Fight Eggplant
"Open the door now!"
Upon reaching the 14th floor, Li Qiang and Hat Guy still tried to resist, but Meng Ci barked an order.
"Yes."
Li Qiang reluctantly pulled the key from his pocket and unlocked the door.
After letting Li Qiang and the Hat Man enter first, Shen Que, Meng Ci, and Eggplant followed closely behind.
Bang!
Shen Que, trailing behind, shoved the security door shut with one hand.
Li Qiang and the Hat Man were like startled birds. Hearing that slam, both were scared half to death.
The hat-wearing man dared not delay. He rushed to the living room, dove beside the sofa, and frantically rummaged beneath it. Soon, he pulled out five cans of cockroach bait.
"Here, here!" The hat-wearing man stammered, his hand trembling uncontrollably as he held the cans.
Clatter.
His hands shook so badly he couldn't steady the cans, and several tins fell to the floor in quick succession.
"I'm... I'm sorry!"
Li Qiang and the hat-wearing man apologized, crouching down frantically to pick up the cans.
Meng Ci took a can, pulled the tab, and a strange odor wafted out. Three dark red cockroaches came into view.
Washed by torrential rain and acid rain, these cockroaches had grown enormous-just three filled the entire can.
Flavors included mild spicy, numbing spicy, and even seafood.
"Gentlemen, you've got your goods," stammered the man in the hat.
Meng Ci crouched down and placed the tri-flavored cockroach can in front of Eggplant.
Eggplant sniffed it, then began devouring it in large bites.
Li Qiang and the hat-wearing man watched in shock as they fed the canned food to an animal. Their eyes widened, Inwardly cursing the two for wasting food. They regretted handing over the supplies.
"What? You don't want us to stay here?" Meng Ci looked up and asked.
"No, no!"
"Gentlemen, you can stay as long as you like."" Li Qiang hurriedly replied.
"Gentlemen, would you like some
water?"
"I'll go boil some water for you."
"No need."
Meng Ci stood up, sighed, and shook his head.
"I was hoping to show you more of this beautiful world. Since you don't want to see it, then forget it!"
"What... do you mean by that?"
The hat-wearing man, standing closer to Meng Ci, hadn't even finished voicing his confusion when a sharp pain erupted in his abdomen.
Clutching his stomach in disbelief, the hat-wearing man gasped.
"You..."
"Nothing," Meng Ci replied nonchalantly, then pulled his long blade clean out of the man's abdomen.
Without support, the hat man collapsed to the ground. His eyes remained open, filled with resentment and hatred, fixed intently on Meng Ci.
But Meng Ci felt no fear.
In the apocalypse, if you don't kill others, you'll be killed.
The moment he realized these two were prying open his door, Meng Ci had no intention of letting them live.
If you don't cut the weeds at the root, the spring breeze will make them grow again.
At the beginning of the apocalypse, when people came to provoke him, Meng Ci only Injured them, not killing them. Yet later, they kept coming back to bother him.
Li Ping, Deng Yang, and Su Jie-they were all cautionary tales.
These two, however, wore their greed like a badge.
Spare them, and the trouble. would come back to bite him.
Therefore, a single fatal blow was the best course.
Li Qiang watched as Meng Ci killed the Hat Man without flinching, his heart pounding in terror.
Even through Li Qiang's thick cotton coat, Meng Ci and Shen Que caught a whiff of urine in the air.
Not to mention Eggplant, the wolf with his keen sense of smell -his face twisted in disgust.
"Big Brother! Both of you, spare my life!"
"I'll serve you both faithfully, like a beast of burden!"
Li Qiang frantically knelt on the ground, banging his head repeatedly.
Meng Ci nodded again. "Spare your life? Fine!"
Li Qiang's forehead flushed crimson. Hearing this, he hastily lifted his head, eyes brimming with hope.
But Meng Ci's next words plunged him back into despair.
"Eggplant's been bursting with energy lately. I want you to entertain him for a while."
"Once he's satisfied, you'll be free to go."
Li Qiang stared at the white wolf in front of him, tongue hanging out. He understood perfectly well. Meng Ci called it
"entertaining the wolf," but it meant he'd be the wolf's sparring partner.
One wrong move, and he could end up dead in the wolf's jaws.
But to survive, he had to fight with everything he had.
This was a lesson he'd learned after living so long in the apocalypse.
So Li Qiang stood up, accepting death as a given. "Alright."
Shen Que pushed aside the living
room coffee table and shoved
the firewood and other clutter into a corner. Li Qiang and Eggplant stood in the center of the room, becoming the main attraction.
"Eggplant, go for it!"
"Think about chicken legs."
"If you lose, no more meat for you."
WOOO!
No way I'm giving up meat.
Eggplant let out a howl, the sound sharp and powerful.
Li Qiang flinched at the sound, his grip loosening slightly.
Seizing the moment, Eggplant tilted its head and snapped at Li Qiang's wrist.
"Ssh!"
"Damn it! You beast, you dare bite me!"
Li Qiang released Eggplant's neck with both hands. With his free hand, he slapped the dog's head hard.
"You beast! Let go now!"
"Or I'll kill you."
Just as Li Qiang's rage peaked and his strength began to wane, Eggplant released its grip. Then, with a sudden lunge, it knocked Li Qiang flat onto the ground!
With a sharp snarl, it lunged for Li Qiang's neck.
"Help! Help me!"
With one hand injured and the other too weak to push Eggplant away, Li Qiang could only send desperate pleading looks toward Meng Ci and the others.
Meng Ci didn't even glance at Li Qiang. He simply said to Shen Que, "I think you were right. Eggplant's bite really isn't that strong."
"He's been biting his wrist for so long, yet he only managed to make such a small wound."
Shen Que suggested, "We could get some bones for Eggplant to gnaw on."