Chapter 45 Beware, the Visitors May Not Be Friendly

Chapter 45 Beware, the Visitors May Not Be Friendly

"Over there!"

Shen Que pointed in a direction, and Meng Ci quickly adjusted their course.

When they came out, Shen Que had mentioned that the place selling coal was a three-story building with yellow tiles on the exterior.

This area was akin to an urban village, with buildings of varying heights and a crowded layout.

There were many three-story buildings with yellow tiles, so the two of them walked slowly, careful not to miss their destination.

Shen Que had good eyesight. Upon spotting a three-story building with yellow tiles, he informed Meng Ci.

Upon approaching, they saw a sign on the third floor, hanging precariously.

But they could still make out the character "coal" on it.

Relieved, the two felt a wave of ease.

The terrain here was quite high, and since the building was self-constructed, the floors were taller than usual, which meant the floodwaters only reached the second floor.

They hadn't seen many air conditioners installed outside houses along the way, suggesting that coal was indeed needed for heating in winter. They wondered if the owner had restocked.

There was a balcony on the second floor, and Shen Que tied the inflatable boat's rope to one of the decorative pillars.

To prevent the boat from being taken, they brought it into the balcony before entering the house.

The first and second floors were already submerged, so they waded through the water directly to the third floor, hoping to find some coal.

As expected, they found half a room filled with coal, all neatly packed in bags.

They planned to take ten bags back first.

If they had more time, they would return for more, as taking too much at once risked capsizing the boat.

Shen Que carried two bags of coal down first. As Meng Ci prepared to carry some, he suddenly heard animal sounds.

"Goo goo! Goo goo!"

Curious about what kind of animal it was, Meng Ci looked around.

In one of the rooms on the third floor, he found two rabbits in a cage, with a half-eaten carrot nearby.

No one was in the room, but there was plenty of food for the rabbits.

Meng Ci guessed that the owner must have left for something and prepared enough food for the rabbits.

Meng Ci took the cage out.

"Shen Que, look, there are two rabbits."

"We can eat rabbit meat now."

Seeing Shen Que approach, Meng Ci proudly showed him the two rabbits he had found.

Shen Que came over and noticed one rabbit had a large belly.

"Is it pregnant?"

Meng Ci opened the cage, picked up the rabbit, and confirmed it was a female with a significantly larger belly compared to the male rabbit beside it.

"Wow, if we keep these rabbits, we won't have to worry about running out of meat."

"Indeed."

Something Meng Ci said made Shen Que smile.

However, Meng Ci didn't delve deeper, assuming Shen Que was simply happy about having meat.

Meng Ci usually had average strength and could only carry one bag of coal at a time.

On the last trip, Shen Que carried two bags while Meng Ci held the rabbit cage.

After settling everything, Meng Ci steered the inflatable boat back.

Shen Que held the rabbit cage tightly.

Unexpectedly, halfway through, they encountered danger.

"If you want to leave, leave the things on the boat behind."

Suddenly, a voice came from a megaphone behind them, but Meng Ci and Shen Que ignored it and continued forward.

Shen Que glanced back and saw three inflatable boats approaching them from a short distance away.

"I'm afraid they don't come in peace."

Meng Ci focused on steering the boat and didn't turn back.

"No problem; we'll fight to the death if necessary!"

The book mentioned that after the heavy rain started, many people began looting. There were instances where groups with inflatable boats would gather to rob others.

With coal on board, Meng Ci couldn't drive the boat too fast and was soon caught up by the group.

One of the boats deliberately approached closely, splashing a wave of water that drenched both Meng Ci and Shen Que.

Heaven has a path you don't take, and hell has no door yet you insist on coming.

Then don't blame me for being impolite.

Meng Ci's hand had already tightened around the long knife.

"Did you not hear us tell you to stop, or do you just not care about what we say?"

The leader sat in a motorboat with a sunshade, acting like a boss, holding a cigar as if to put on airs.

"Is there something you need?" Shen Que asked without much emotion.

"How dare you! Can't we make you stop even if there's nothing?"

Meng Ci said, "Since there's nothing, get out of our way, don't block the road!"

There were four people on each motorboat, twelve in total.

No matter whether we speak nicely or rudely, they probably won't let us go.

We might as well resolve this trouble early and return before it gets dark.

"Fine, since you refuse our kindness, don't blame me for being impolite."

"Brothers, move in."

Meng Ci thought these men would have firearms, but they only had a few knives.

However, their knives were shorter than Meng Ci's long knife. As the saying goes, an inch longer means an inch stronger, so Meng Ci struck first at the man who was close.

With one swing, the man's hand, along with his knife, fell into the floodwaters and was quickly swept away.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"

The man writhed in pain on the motorboat, causing it to become unbalanced, and he fell into the water, soon swept away by the current.

The driver of the motorboat struggled hard to keep it from capsizing.

Seeing how ruthless Meng Ci was, the others, though scared, charged forward to avenge their brother.

Shen Que didn't lag behind either. When another motorboat tried to circle around, he swung his knife.

But that person was quick and dodged in time.

"Boss, they have meat on their boat!"

Hearing the word 'meat,' their eyes lit up, and they attacked more fiercely.

After enduring heavy rain for so long, they had been eating vegetables every day, and their taste buds were dulled.

Now, with the prospect of meat, they were all excited.

But while they were ruthless, Meng Ci and Shen Que were even more so. Though they didn't strike often, every strike injured someone.

"Screech..."

One motorboat was pierced forcefully by Meng Ci and quickly began to deflate.

"Boss, save me!"

"Boss..."

However, the motorboat didn't give them a chance to react and soon deflated, leaving four people shouting for help as they were swept away by the floodwaters.

On Shen Que's side, the cleaver cut a man's arm.

A man on the motorboat saw a long pole floating by, grabbed it, and aimed to stab Shen Que.

Shen Que caught the pole, pulled it, and pushed, making the man fall into the water.

But the man reacted quickly and held onto the motorboat tightly.

"Fourth Brother, save me, I don't want to die!"

"Help me!"

The people on the motorboat wanted to save him, but when they tried to pull him up, the weight caused the boat to tilt dangerously.

So, the man, due to exhaustion, was eventually swept away by the floodwaters.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Shen Que struck several people, making it difficult for the driver to maintain balance.