Chapter 236: Ow, a Lump on the Head
"Shen Que, over there! There's a house!"
Meng Ci squinted into the distance, spotting a house not far away. He quickly pointed it out to Shen Que.
Shen Que spotted it and immediately drove over.
Once they arrived, Meng Ci jumped out of the car and forced the door open, while the others rushed inside.
After everyone was inside, Meng Ci hurriedly stowed the motorhome into his magical storage space.
Meng Ci winced at the sight of the broken window, knowing how expensive the motorhome was.
Shen Que had mentioned before that they might encounter hail, but the exact timing wasn't specified in the story they were following. Meng Ci had thought they wouldn't be so unlucky, and with the house rental period expiring, leaving shouldn't have been a problem.
But they hadn't expected to actually be so unlucky.
Within minutes, the hail outside intensified.
The hail quickly grew to the size of golf balls.
Meng Ci stared in disbelief at the hailstones. If one of those hit someone in the head, it could be fatal. Wondering if putting snow into the space could create a snow mountain, he was curious if placing the hail inside would result in something good.
But nothing happened. The hail just sat there, unchanging, leaving Meng Ci to wonder if he'd ever figure out the full potential of his space.
As Meng Ci and Shen Que stepped into the house, they were struck by how spotless it was, and their faces instantly turned grave.
Moments ago, Meng Ci had stashed the RV in his storage space without checking if anyone was around to witness it.
What if someone had seen the RV vanish right before their eyes!
Meng Ci and Shen Que wasted no time inspecting every corner of the two-story house.
Fortunately, there was no one inside.
To make sure there were no hidden rooms or basements, Jianzi and Xiong Ying thoroughly checked the place but found no trace of unfamiliar human presence.
Meng Ci and Shen Que felt relieved.
The house was meticulously cleaned, with white paper neatly pasted over the walls to hide any stains, giving the impression that its former occupant had a refined sense of style.
Meng Ci retrieved two large backpacks from his storage space, packed them with canned goods and food, and set them down on the floor.
Once they confirmed the coast was clear, Meng Ci pulled out a few meals from his storage space, ate quickly, and then resumed watching the hail.
Meanwhile, the impulsive Jianzi spotted the open door and was eager to dash outside for some fun.
Realizing he couldn't hold him back, Meng Ci let Jianzi go outside.
Jianzi would soon learn that the world outside could be unforgiving.
Sure enough, the moment Jianzi stepped outside, a hailstone the size of a teacup slammed into his head.
"Yelp!"
Eggplant hurriedly backed up, grimacing in pain and shaking its head wildly.
The eagle, hearing Eggplant's howl, hurried over to check, circling around him.
Meng Ci and Shen Que were also worried that Eggplant might be injured from the fall and quickly came over to assess the situation.
Fortunately, it was just a bump on the head, with no other issues. Meng Ci then took out a piece of ice from his pocket, wrapped it in a towel, and applied it to Eggplant's head.
The ice was too cold, and Eggplant whined and squirmed, trying to avoid the cold compress.
Meng Ci slapped him on the back. "Shut up."
"Stand still."
Seeing that his master was really angry, Eggplant immediately closed his mouth and dared not move his body.
"Ao!"
"Wu!"
Eggplant's head hurt so much that he didn't dare to shout loudly. Every time he let out a small howl, he quickly closed his mouth, making Meng Ci both distressed and feeling that it served him right.
After a few minutes of applying the compress, Meng Ci finally let go of Eggplant but didn't allow him to leave. Instead, she grabbed his ear.
"Will you dare to disobey me again in the future? This time it's just a bump on the head; next time it could be your head hitting the ground."
Eggplant didn't dare to move and obediently listened to his master's scolding.
Looking at Eggplant's "wise" eyes, Meng Ci's head started to ache, deeply suspecting that Eggplant was some kind of Husky-wolf hybrid from before the apocalypse.
Letting go of Eggplant, Meng Ci then called the eagle over.
The eagle was obedient and could also keep Eggplant in check. It was better to instruct the eagle than to beat Eggplant.
After receiving the instructions, the eagle ran over to talk to the sulking Eggplant.
At first, the two conversed calmly, but slowly their voices grew louder, and it seemed like they were about to start arguing.
"Ao Wu, Ao Wu!"
"Wang Wang Wang!"
It wasn't clear what Eggplant said that set the eagle off, but the eagle howled and rushed to fight with Eggplant.
"Eggplant, Eagle!"
"Stop."
Meng Ci was frightened, as the bite force of both was formidable, and their claws were incredibly sharp. Whichever one got hurt, Meng Ci would be heartbroken.
Seeing that shouting at them to stop didn't work, Meng Ci got up to pull them apart.
Shen Que stopped him.
"Xiao Ci, don't worry, they both know when to stop."
Hearing this, Meng Ci calmed down and looked closely to see that the two were not really using force.
Despite being much bigger, Eggplant was willing to be pinned underneath, letting the eagle take control.
Alright!
Looks like these two are using a fight as an excuse to play around!
Meng Ci ignored them.
While Meng Ci was applying a cold compress to Qie Zi, Shen Que pulled out some furniture from his storage and set it up in the living room, intending to wait out the hail.
After ten minutes, the two fighters suddenly turned all lovey-dovey, with Qie Zi shamelessly nuzzling Xiong Ying's face.
"Woof woof woof!"
"Howl!"
Suddenly, both of them jumped up and started barking toward the door.
Meng Ci and Shen Que exchanged glances, realizing that the owner of the house might be coming back, so they quickly put away the things they had placed inside the house into their storage.
After a short while, they heard the sound of hurried footsteps outside.
Moments later, a frail middle-aged man carrying a backpack shuffled inside.
The man was wearing a broken pot on his head, which clattered to the ground when he spotted them.
Meng Ci and Shen Que also saw that the man's head was covered in several cuts, blood trickling down his neck and forehead.
"Who... who are you!"
"This is my house, please leave immediately."
The man looked pale and extremely weak. Despite being visibly shaken by the sight of the two tall men, he tried to stay calm and demanded they leave.
Meng Ci said, "Sorry, we didn't mean to trespass into your house."
"It's just that the hail outside was too heavy, and we wanted to take shelter."
"We didn't realize anyone lived here."
Meng Ci took out a few cans of pork from the nearby bag.
The man tensed up as soon as he saw Meng Ci pulling something out of the bag.
"Here are a few cans of pork as compensation for your door."
"Also, can we stay here for a little while? Don't worry, we'll be out of here as soon as the hail lets up."
Meng Ci spoke kindly, as the man didn't seem dangerous.