Chapter 131
Chapter 131
The One-Eyed Man grunted in acknowledgment and reached out to search Cheng Miao.
Cheng Miao narrowed her eyes, a sharp gleam flashing through them.
In the next instant, the One-Eyed Man felt something icy cold and saturated with murderous energy press against his carotid artery.
The Scarred Man cursed, pulled a shard of glass from his pocket, and charged at Cheng Miao with it clenched in his hand. Then he felt slimy, foul-smelling hair wrap around his throat.
He could tell that the slightest pressure would separate his head from his body.
“Who were you about to search? Hm?” Qi Jiajia held up one hand. Shen Xin’s hair poured between her fingers, dense black strands writhing across the ground like a mass of vines.
“Y-you, I…” The One-Eyed Man was scared senseless and immediately surrendered. “Let’s talk this out. We can talk.”
The Scarred Man swallowed. Looking at the cold violence in Qi Jiajia’s eyes, he said in a trembling voice, “Everyone comes out looking for something to eat. Try to understand.”
Qi Jiajia narrowed her faintly reddened eyes, debating whether to snap the man’s neck. Then Cheng Miao’s cool, clear voice rang out, extinguishing the fury inside her.
“You’ll answer whatever we ask.”
“Yes, yes. Ask away.” The two large men huddled together, staring at Cheng Miao and Qi Jiajia in terror.
“This area belongs to you?” Cheng Miao played with her dagger as she studied the two men, who held the identities of stray “cats” or stray “dogs.”
“Yes. Everything east of this residential complex is our territory.” The One-Eyed Man nodded and gestured toward the general area.
Cheng Miao considered this. “Then where do the people you drive away go?”
The Scarred Man scratched his head. “They naturally go somewhere else to look for food, but most people eat wherever they can find something. Not everyone is strong enough to claim permanent territory.”
“What do you think is the hardest part of surviving outside?” Cheng Miao looked up at the moon rising into the sky. She had a bad feeling that they would have to spend the night outdoors.
The One-Eyed Man sighed. “Food isn’t too hard to find, but the wind gets strong at night this time of year, and it rains. I heard several brothers froze to death in the western district.”
Neither man spoke after that. They seemed both resigned to their fate and sorrowful about it.
Cheng Miao could feel the wind growing stronger, its chill biting all the way into her bones. She looked at the two men sitting dejectedly on the ground and hesitated before saying, “Come with me.”
She led the two men, who had assumed they were doomed, into the box. Cheng Miao had inspected it earlier. One side of the enormous cardboard box rested against a wall, making it fairly sturdy.
She had previously bought a lighter from the receptionist at the Hotel. It was windproof and waterproof and could be used inside instances that weren’t survival-type instances.
Cheng Miao sent the two men to gather dry branches, then carefully lit a fire.
The flame was small because they were afraid of attracting an animal’s attention, but it was indeed much warmer than outside.
The One-Eyed Man stretched with a contented sigh, only to weakly pull his feet back in when Qi Jiajia glared at him.
“Boss, where are we going to find food tomorrow?” Now that they had a warm place to rest, the two men had accepted Cheng Miao as their leader by default.
“Exactly! With you two, we’ll definitely be able to take back our territory in the western district too!”
The Scarred Man brimmed with confidence. When he looked at Qi Jiajia now, there was no longer any fear in his eyes, only pride in one of his own.
The corner of Cheng Miao’s mouth twitched. She didn’t want to spend the remaining days outdoors. Not only were the living conditions terrible, but if they encountered certain dangers, escape would be absolutely impossible.
“Have you ever considered finding a home?” Cheng Miao looked at the two somewhat filthy men without the slightest hint of disgust.
The One-Eyed Man gave a self-mocking laugh. “We were abandoned in the first place. Now that the two of us look like this, what Spirit Master would ever like us?”
The Scarred Man added from beside him, “They all like pretty ones, and they prefer raising them from a young age.”
After speaking, he glanced at Meowmeow and Qi Jiajia, who were hiding behind Cheng Miao. “See? That’s the age they like best.”
Cheng Miao said nothing. This instance resembled an eerie world turned on its head, yet its rules were also remarkably similar to those of the human world.
Cheng Miao and Qi Jiajia huddled together and closed their eyes to rest. Their twitching eyelashes proved that neither could truly sleep in the open. They merely feigned sleep while remaining alert to their surroundings.
Qin Musong leaned comfortably against a warm blanket. A uniform lay by his hand. He couldn’t understand the symbols printed on it, but he would have to wear it to work tomorrow.
When he tried it on, it fit perfectly. The uniform set off Qin Musong’s balanced, solid build and powerful muscles to excellent effect.
As a result, he spent the entire afternoon surrounded by dogs rubbing his head.
Qin Musong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when he thought about everything that had happened since entering the instance. He was touching his wrist to confirm the condition of the other three when someone nearby spoke.
“Hey, did you hear? That blond guy from Dorm Two was stolen yesterday!”
The remark caused an immediate uproar. Qin Musong sat up straight and exchanged a glance with Ah Qiang across from him.
The blond man was a player. His gleaming golden hair had left an especially deep impression on Qin Musong.
“What? How could that happen?”
“Who stole him?”
“Isn’t this place supposed to be safe?”
The speaker was a bald native. He shook his shiny head. “Sigh, I heard eating us became legal again recently, but there’s a shortage of meat humans. We have plenty of flesh on our bones, so naturally they’ve set their sights on us.”
A slightly thinner man beside him covered his mouth in surprise. “Isn’t that against the law? I heard my owner say it costs a fortune to train us!”
The bald man curled his lip. “Only if they can catch the thieves. Those people-snatchers are extremely cautious.”
“Sigh, I heard that the last time Ah Mao went out with his owner, they passed a human-meat shop. He said he could even smell his brother inside.”
“How awful…”
“Poor guy…”
Qin Musong listened coldly as the natives discussed the matter. Ah Qiang silently shifted closer and lowered his voice. “Looks like we were right. We really have switched identities with dogs.”
Qin Musong’s sharp eyes were shadowed beneath his bangs. He exhaled. “I originally thought the danger we faced would come from working. I didn’t realize we’d also have to guard against people-snatching dogs.”
The sentence sounded so strange that Ah Qiang’s face twitched. Remembering something, he asked, “What danger could there be at work?”
Qin Musong glanced at him. “What do you think formally trained working dogs are usually used for?”
Ah Qiang thought woodenly. “Police dogs… search-and-rescue dogs… riot-control dogs… Oh, hell!”
Qin Musong’s sharp gaze darkened. At first glance, their identities seemed far better than those of stray dogs. They ate well, stayed warm, and didn’t have to scrape out a living.
From another perspective, however, they faced considerable danger. Humans and animals differed greatly in size inside this instance, making it all too easy for them to die in the line of duty.