"Ugh~"
In the bathroom, Yang Mei dry-heaved, casting a resentful glance at Lin Dong, who was lounging on the sofa.
Lin Dong, in high spirits, chuckled and said, "Sister Mei, you still need more practice."
Blushing, Yang Mei wiped her mouth before nestling back into his arms, coquettishly complaining, "You just love tormenting me."
Lin Dong laughed heartily. This young married woman was still too inexperienced—she lacked the full repertoire of skills a seasoned woman should have.
Was it Li Zhiqiang's fault for wasting such a treasure, or was the guy simply incompetent?
As the two chatted, a knock suddenly came at the door.
Lin Dong patted Yang Mei's plump rear, signaling her to get up.
After pulling up his pants, he walked to the door and checked the peephole with a mirror. "Who is it?"
"Lin Dong, it's me, your Brother Cai. The food's ready—I came to call you and Yang Mei over for dinner."
Lin Dong opened the inner door and saw Cai Zhi standing outside through the security door.
His peripheral vision swept the area to confirm no one else was around before replying, "Ah, Brother Cai. Hold on, let me call Sister Mei."
"Sister Mei, Brother Cai invited us for dinner. Grab the beer from my fridge."
Outside, Cai Zhi froze in surprise. "Beer? Lin Dong, you… you still have beer at home?"
Lin Dong grinned. "After the Great Flood, I quit drinking. These have just been sitting around, so now's the perfect time to use them—to celebrate our alliance."
As he spoke, Yang Mei emerged with two bottles of beer.
She had changed into a more conservative outfit, seemingly her usual attire.
"Brother Cai," Yang Mei greeted.
Cai Zhi smiled in response. Lin Dong picked up the nail gun and then unlocked the security door.
Cai Zhi took a few steps back and opened the door to Unit 3202. "Come in, and lock the door behind you."
Lin Dong nodded, secured his own door, and followed Yang Mei into 3202.
The moment they stepped inside, the aroma of instant noodles filled the air.
Even Yang Mei couldn't help but swallow hard.
Despite having food during this period, the scent of such junk food was irresistible.
Unhealthy as it might be, it was undeniably delicious.
Several people had gathered in the room—Aunt Li, Wu Qian, and Cai Yao were all present.
Lao Ma was busy on the balcony, seemingly reinforcing the windows.
Ding Yan remained inside and didn't come out.
"Xiao Lin, Yang Mei, you're here! Come, sit, sit." Aunt Li took Yang Mei's hand and ushered them in.
Yang Mei looked around the familiar room, suddenly struck by how much had changed.
Her gaze instinctively drifted toward the master bedroom, but Li Zhiqiang was nowhere in sight.
She exhaled in relief before remembering something and instinctively clutching Lin Dong's arm.
Lin Dong patted her delicate hand reassuringly. "This is your home—make yourself comfortable."
"Yes, yes, this is your home, Yang Mei. Let us know if there's anything you'd like to take with you," Aunt Li chimed in.
Yang Mei smiled and shook her head. "No, I don't want anything from here anymore."
Aunt Li sensed the deeper meaning behind her words and sighed, pulling Yang Mei closer. "Yang Mei, us women… we really have it hard."
The words brought a slight redness to Yang Mei's eyes.
Quickly changing the subject, Wu Qian interjected, "Xiao Lin, Brother Cai mentioned you wanted to check these fish. I haven't cooked them yet—come take a look."
Lin Dong perked up at the words and hurried to the living room, asking, "Brother Cai, how many did you trade for this time?"
"Got lucky this round. Liu Erlong's people seemed low on supplies too. One packet of instant noodle seasoning plus some salt I'd saved got us one sardine and two bass."
"Look at these—damn things have mutated. Never seen them this big before."
In the basin in the living room, three fish the length of a forearm swam about. Among them, the sardine gleamed silver, its scales like polished stainless steel. The bass bore a golden hue, as if clad in gilded armor. Both species were far larger than anything available pre-Great Flood.
Cai Zhi couldn't help remarking, "Lin Dong, tell me—these look normal to you? Half the building's been eating them with no issues so far."
As if Lin Dong could tell just by looking. He'd need to butcher them and check the Points to know for sure.
"Let me examine them. I'll handle the cleaning—you two rest." Lin Dong carried the basin to the balcony.
Since the Great Flood, kitchen and bathroom drains had become unusable. All waste now had to be tossed from the balcony—any attempt to flush it down the pipes risked backups and reverse flooding.
As Lin Dong reached for a sardine, Cai Zhi warned urgently, "Careful! Those teeth are razor-sharp."
The words barely left his mouth when the fish suddenly thrashed, leaping from the water to snap at Lin Dong's hand. He jerked back just in time. In the dim light, the sardine's mouthful of needle-like teeth looked downright monstrous.
Thwack! Missing its target, the fish slapped wetly onto the tiles.
"See what I mean? Vicious little bastard," Cai Zhi said.
Lin Dong nodded. "Sardines are filter feeders—they strain plankton through their gills. Never heard of one biting people, let alone sporting fangs like this."
Taking the kitchen knife from Cai Zhi, Lin Dong smacked the blade flat against the sardine's pointed skull. The thrashing immediately ceased.
Still wary, Lin Dong asked, "Got any gloves?"
"Yeah, hang on—"
Before Cai Zhi could rise, a pair of rubber gloves appeared in Lin Dong's line of sight. Ding Yan had approached unnoticed, holding them out.
"What brings you here?" Lin Dong asked.
"Heard you were studying these Flood fish. Came to observe."
Kneeling beside the sardine, Ding Yan remarked, "Only ever ate them cooked. First time seeing one alive."
Gloves on, Lin Dong reached for the fish again. Just as his fingers neared, the sardine suddenly convulsed—as if it had been waiting—and lunged for another bite.
Lin Dong's pulse spiked. The damn thing was playing dead?
This time, armored by rubber, he slammed his palm down without hesitation.
Whump! The fish hit the tiles hard. Even pinned, the strength of its struggles surprised him—far more powerful than expected.
Lin Dong didn't hesitate, bringing the kitchen knife in his other hand down with force.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Three consecutive strikes sent fish scales flying, and the fish's eyes oozed blood.
Yet the sardine still refused to die, continuing to thrash wildly. Its scales scraped against the floor, producing an eerie screeching sound.
It was like tires grinding against pavement.
Lin Dong was secretly shocked. Summoning all his strength, he delivered another heavy blow with the knife's back.
"Ding! You've killed a Mutated Sardine. Obtained 5 Points."
The knife strike shattered the sardine's skull, exposing its blood-red gills through the broken fish bones.
Though it still twitched spasmodically, the system notification didn't lie.
This sardine was already dead.
Yet Lin Dong felt a growing unease as he made a startling discovery.
"This sardine is stronger than the one that accidentally swallowed my nail earlier!"
Judging by the Points he received, this single sardine was worth as much as killing a Mutated human!
During the butchering process, Lin Dong had clearly felt how troublesome it was to deal with.
Not only were its scales incredibly tough, but its teeth were sharper, its vitality stronger, and... its intelligence!
It definitely possessed some level of intellect, or at least hunting tactics.
It had played dead to lower his guard before launching a second attack.
Since when did sardines have such hunting skills?
A heavy feeling settled in Lin Dong's chest as he gazed out at the endless Flood.
This was just a sardine—a creature near the bottom of the marine food chain.
What about those at the top of the food chain?
Creatures like sharks or killer whales—how far had their mutations progressed?