Ch65 Sorry, It's All My Fault
"Xiao Ci, I've told you everything I know. Can you let me in now?" Liu Jie asked somewhat naively.
Meng Ci chuckled softly, then raised the bow in his hand.
"No, because I'm not satisfied with what I heard."
Whoosh!
This time, Meng Ci held nothing back. An arrow shot out, grazing Liu Jie's cheek.
Arrows weren't consumables; they could be retrieved and reused after firing. So whenever Meng Ci had nothing better to do, he'd take them out to practice her aim.
While he couldn't exactly be called an archer extraordinaire yet, his accuracy was decent enough.
Liu Jie touched his cheek, saw the blood on his hand, and was furious.
"Meng Ci, don't push it too far!"
"Saying I like you is already giving you a huge favor."
"Don't bite the hand that feeds you."
Meng Ci felt he could be even more outrageous, especially with someone as shameless as him.
But if not for Ruan Qing upstairs -whose presence would have made Liu Jie's corpse too unsightly to behold-Meng Ci would've gladly shot him dead on the spot.
Seeing Meng Ci's arrow now aimed squarely at his forehead, Liu Jie dared not linger. He scrambled away in disarray.
As he fled, Liu Jie muttered threats of revenge under his breath.
After chasing him off, both men returned to their respective homes.
Shutting the door tightly behind him, Meng Ci fed the rabbits, watered the plants, and applied fertilizer. Then, perched on the balcony, he began observing the outside.
To his surprise, he spotted the cowardly Liu Jie paddling out in a rubber dinghy.
Had the bastard decided he couldn't get anything out of Meng Ci and returned to the refugee settlement?
Meng Ci considered going downstairs to chase Liu Jie and finish him off, but the heavy rain made the trip seem like too much trouble.
If Liu Jie was determined to court death by going out, then let him go. Maybe he'd get killed by that band of thugs.
So Meng Ci abandoned his plan to find Liu Jie. Little did he know, this single act of laziness would lead to even greater calamity brought by Liu Jie.
Four o'clock in the afternoon.
Meng Ci spotted five assault boats approaching from a distance. Each boat flew a flag bearing the words "Qinglong Gang."
Unlike yesterday, these men didn't systematically search the unchecked buildings. Instead, they stormed straight toward Meng Ci's building.
Meng Ci's face hardened.
Damn it-he spotted Liu Jie on one of the assault boats!
The more he thought about it, the angrier he grew. Unable to contain himself, Meng Ci slapped his own face.
If only he'd been decisive enough to eliminate Liu Jie earlier, how could he have let Liu Jie bring reinforcements?
"Meng Ci! Meng Ci!"
Shen Que's voice crackled over the walkie-talkie.
"Meng Ci, are you there?"
"Those bandits are here. We need to start preparing."
Meng Ci took a deep breath and answered the radio.
"I see them. I'm coming right now."
"Good." Shen Que detected the unease in Meng Ci's tone. He too had spotted Liu Jie on the assault boat with the group and could roughly guess what was infuriating Meng Cl.
"Don't overthink it. Even if Liu Jie hadn't brought them, they'd have found this place sooner or later." Shen Que tried to reassure him.
Meng Ci replied, "I'm fine. Go tell Teacher Yun and the others first."
"I'll come out once I'm ready."
"Got it."
Hanging up the radio, Meng Ci holstered his pistol behind his waist and even slipped a flashbang into his pocket.
Truthfully, there was also a grenade in his space. If he weren't afraid of its overwhelming power, Meng Ci would have tossed it straight out to blow these people to bits.
Especially Liu Jie-if he couldn't take him out this time, Meng Ci would just jump off the building himself.
Before stepping out, Meng Ci glanced outside. The bandits had already reached the building's base.
By the time he reached the stairwell, Yun Jingcen and the others had already arrived.
"Sorry!" Meng Ci felt he had to explain Liu Jie's situation to them.
"This is all my fault. If I hadn't let Liu Jie go, these bandits wouldn't have arrived so quickly."
Mao Xinyu held a long knife in her hand, still wearing high heels and sporting meticulous makeup.
Even though the temperature had dropped to around 1-2 degrees Celsius, she wasn't bundled up like the others.
"You said it yourself that the robbers wouldn't come this fast. Does it really matter if they came earlier or later?"
"Exactly," Yun Jingcen offered comfortingly. "The sooner they came, the sooner it would be over. At least we wouldn't have to live in fear anymore."
Reassured by several teachers, Meng Ci's mood lifted slightly.
Yet he silently reminded himself: Never show mercy again. Never leave any loose ends.
Soon, the group heard footsteps growing clearer, ascending from below.
Five assault boats, each crammed with five men.
Ruan Qing emerged from the house at that moment, scrambling along the wall. "Teacher Yun, I can help too!"
Before Yun Jingcen could respond, Duan Yan glared at him. "Get back inside. Lock the door."
It was only yesterday that Meng Ci learned why Duan Yan was so strict with Ruan Qing-he was a student in his class.
Duan Yan excelled academically in school. After graduating and joining their high school faculty, he didn't start with regular classes like other teachers. Instead, he was assigned one honors class and one regular class.
Ruan Qing was in the honors class. It was said that while his other subjects were quite good, his physics performance was poor, consistently ranking near the bottom on every exam.
To prevent his student from falling behind, Duan Yan frequently gave Ruan Qing extra lessons. When Ruan Qing got problems wrong, Duan Yan would sometimes tap his palm with a ruler.
Even now, amidst the torrential rain and the apocalyptic world, Duan Yan insisted on tutoring Ruan Qing for an hour every day.
He even took on the responsibility of homeroom teacher, arranging for several other teachers to find time to teach Ruan Qing as well.
Fortunately, Ruan Qing excelled in other subjects, making daily life somewhat bearable.
For these reasons, Ruan Qing harbored a lingering fear of Duan Yan.
Though he understood Duan Yan's intentions were good, the fear remained.
Thus, the timid Ruan Qing could only reluctantly retreat to his room after hearing Duan Yan's brief, unquestionable command.
But his ear remained pressed against the door, thinking that if the teachers outside couldn't handle the situation, he'd rush out and go down with them.
"Brother Long, they're eating a ton in there, and there's definitely some good stuff hidden up in their room."
"You sure? If you're lying to me, I'll tear you limb from limb!"
"Rest assured, rest assured, I wouldn't dare lie to you."
Liu Jie led the way, thinking to himself: Since Meng Ci doesn't value our past friendship, don't blame me for being ruthless.
If Meng Ci knew Liu Jie's thoughts, he'd spit on him in disgust.
What is the friendship between the two of them? Stop flattering yourself.