Chapter 124: Big Brother, Are We Going to Hunt Wild Beasts?
"Bang bang bang."
On that day, hearing the knocking at the door, Meng Ci put on his coat and came out to see it was Zhang Mingtian.
The lock leading to the stairs, which had been pried open by Li Qiang and others, was no longer locked.
After all, those who survived now knew their place and understood not to provoke certain people.
Opening the iron gate, Meng Ci asked, "What's up?"
Zhang Mingtian wouldn't come looking for him unless there was something significant.
"In the northern forest, as everyone has been cutting trees deeper into the woods over the past few days, many have been injured by wild beasts."
"Some have even died from the attacks of these beasts."
"Wild beasts?" Meng Ci was puzzled.
Recalling the plot of the novel, he remembered this incident being mentioned, but it was glossed over in just a couple of pages, so he hadn't paid much attention to it.
"Yes," Zhang Mingtian continued. "According to those who barely survived, there are wolves and tigers in there."
"And mostly wild boars."
"Wild boars are social animals; they come out in groups of five or six, sometimes even ten or more."
These animals, after being drenched in acid rain and then feeding on human flesh, had mutated and grown to enormous sizes.
"A few days ago, while on night patrol with the security team, I encountered a tiger with my teammates."
"That tiger was huge, about the size of a small car."
Meng Ci thought of Eggplant, which had also undergone a mutation, but probably due to its young age, it hadn't grown very large.
If it were an adult and grew to such a size, he could ride a wolf when going out.
"What's the current situation?" Since Zhang Mingtian had come to him, it meant there was something important.
Zhang Mingtian said, "The government issued an announcement."
"Anyone who can hunt a wild beast can exchange it for food."
"One pound of wild beast meat can be exchanged for half a pound of food."
"Of course, you can also exchange it for other things."
"Moreover, the meat of these wild beasts can be kept for personal consumption."
Meng Ci wasn't really interested in exchanging items, and he didn't lack food.
But he thought about Zhang Mingtian's pregnant wife. He must have come to him because he was interested in the items to be exchanged.
Lately, Meng Ci had been staying at home, practicing with Shen Que, but Shen Que was afraid he would get hurt, so he didn't always go all out.
When the zombie era arrived, and hiding places were no longer safe, and if the villa he had modified was taken over by someone stronger, and his own skills were lacking, he would only become zombie food.
"So, I came to ask Big Brother if you're willing to join us in hunting a wild beast." Zhang Mingtian's hands were sweating as he spoke.
After all, he knew that Meng Ci and Shen Que were powerful and didn't lack food. What if they refused?
If they refused, Zhang Mingtian could understand, but what would they do then?
"Sure!" Meng Ci nodded.
Hunting wild beasts would be good practice for him, and there was no harm in it, so he agreed after some thought.
Zhang Mingtian was very excited upon hearing this.
"Big Brother, rest assured, when we divide the spoils, you'll get the larger share."
Meng Ci didn't care about this and simply said, "We'll see."
They agreed on a time, setting out at noon the day after tomorrow.
Zhang Mingtian had to work a day shift tomorrow and needed to rest well tonight to have more strength for hunting the next day.
Actually, Zhang Mingtian didn't want to push himself so hard, but he had two mouths to feed at home.
And his wife was pregnant, so he needed to plan ahead.
Zhang Mingtian descended to the 17th floor, where two men were already waiting in the hallway on the 16th floor. They hurried over when they saw him.
"Brother Zhang, how did it go? Did they agree?"
The other man also looked at Zhang Mingtian expectantly.
Zhang Mingtian nodded, "They agreed."
"But it will still be as we discussed. No matter how much the wild beast weighs, they will take two-thirds, and we three will take one-third."
The two men nodded in agreement.
"No problem."
"Brother Zhang, we've been together for so long, don't you know us by now?"
"We'll stick to what we agreed on."
These two men, Wu Can and Huang Zhi, were acquaintances of Zhang Mingtian from the security team.
They often patrolled and worked together, gradually becoming close.
Later, to support each other, they all moved to the sixteenth floor.
With their assurance, Zhang Mingtian felt relieved.
When he returned home, his wife Song Meixuan and his mother were sitting on small stools, weaving straw shoes with ropes.
It was so cold, yet the government had started collecting straw shoes.
Twenty pairs of straw shoes could only be exchanged for half a pound of rice.
Moreover, the ropes had to be found by themselves.
Because weaving straw shoes was mentally taxing and the returns were minimal, few people took on this task.
In his spare time, Zhang Mingtian would search everywhere, taking any ropes or thin items like sheets, bed covers, and t-shirts from unoccupied houses, twisting them into ropes, and then weaving them into straw shoes.
"How did it go, Tian?" Song Meixuan asked.
Zhang Mingtian sat on another small stool and nodded, saying, "They agreed."
Hearing this, Song Meixuan and Zhang's mother were very pleased.
Zhang's mother said, "We can't let those who work hard for us go unrewarded."
Zhang Mingtian replied, "Mom, don't worry."
"We've already discussed it. When we exchange the items, we'll give them two-thirds."
Zhang's mother nodded, then began to murmur about how their family could survive thanks to Meng Ci and the others' kindness, and that they must repay them.
Zhang Mingtian listened and repeatedly assured her that he would.
After returning home, Meng Ci checked the time; it was already four in the afternoon, so he started cooking.
Lately, they had eaten too much rice, so Meng Ci decided to make noodles.
He sautéed tomatoes until they released their juices, added water to boil, and then added the noodles to cook.
He chopped scallions and garlic, sprinkled chili flakes and sesame seeds, drizzled hot oil over them, and mixed in a spoonful of tomato sauce, a spoonful of oyster sauce, two spoonfuls of soy sauce, a spoonful of aged vinegar, salt, and a bit of sugar to make the sauce.
Once the noodles were cooked, he poured the sauce over them.
He added some greens to the bowl, and a bowl of tangy tomato noodle soup was ready.
For the dog, Meng Ci cooked a pot of noodles as well.
However, he added some bones, greens, and meat, which made the dish quite delicious despite the mix of ingredients.
Since the noodles could get clumpy, even though it wasn't yet mealtime, Meng Ci called Shen Que and the others over with the walkie-talkie.
The noodles were fresh and appetizing, and a large bowl was quickly finished.
Then, Meng Ci mentioned what Zhang Mingtian had come to talk about.
"Shen Que, do you think we can fight off those beasts?" Meng Ci couldn't help but ask.
Shen Que thought for a moment and said, "We can."
"Those beasts have just grown larger in size, but their agility has decreased accordingly."