Early in the morning, a large crowd gathered downstairs at Building 7.
Looking from the balcony, a significant number of people were gathered at the spot where the man had jumped the day before.
After breakfast and washing up, Qin Ziwen came downstairs.
"Hey, why did he suddenly jump? This seems to be the first case in our neighborhood."
"Judging from the location, it should be Building 7. Does anyone know him?"
The deceased was face up, male, with a layer of brownish-red blood beneath him. His hair was gray, indicating he was not young.
Huang Tao pushed through the crowd and sighed, "I know him. He lives on the top floor."
One of the onlookers said, "I remember now. Yesterday afternoon, his wife was dragged down by a crocodile while fetching water by the river. By the time he got there after receiving the news, she was already gone."
"My God, that's so tragic. Didn't he have anyone else in his family?"
"It seems like only he and his wife lived there. They had a very good relationship and often went for a walk after dinner in the evenings."
"We talked about it during a walk before. It seems their son got married a long time ago, and the old couple sometimes went over to help take care of their grandson."
The onlookers pieced together the identity of the deceased from their conversation.
"What should we do with this body? Leaving it here isn't a good solution; it might rot and breed germs."
"Oh, speaking of which, I remember the basement. Someone died in the garage, and the stench was unbearable when I passed by last time."
"Isn't anyone going to deal with it?"
"Who's going to deal with it? The body's a giant, covered in pus. Anyway, I don't usually go through the garage, so the smell doesn't reach me."
An old man in the crowd stepped forward: "Gentlemen, please lend a hand. We can't just leave it here. Even if he's gone, we still have to live here."
With one person taking the lead, others gradually stepped forward.
Qin Ziwen remained silent for a while, then stepped forward, bent down, and grabbed the deceased's ankle.
The seven men worked together to carry the body outside the complex.
"Where to put it?"
"How about throwing it in the river?"
"Do you still want to eat river fish in the future?"
"Who cares about that now?"
Huang Tao said, "The pit we dug to kill that male crocodile leader last time hasn't been finished yet."
They threw the body into the pit and then covered it with a layer of soil.
One of them suddenly squatted down and took a bloodstained key from the side of the body's pants.
Seeing that everyone was looking at him, the young man weighed the key in his hand and said with a smile, "We've already helped him collect the body. There's no one at his house anyway, so let's go take a look. The dead are gone, but the living have to move on."
Qin Ziwen thought of the Xie brothers he had killed last time. He hadn't found a key on Xie Jun's body.
Wang Xiaoli said that the two of them usually used combination locks, and she didn't know the combination. She also said that Xie Jun's family had basically run out of food, otherwise they wouldn't have targeted Qin Ziwen.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel ashamed. It was his first time killing someone, and he had forgotten something as important as checking a bag. He
would have to find an opportunity to go to Xie Jun's house later. Although there was no food at his house, there must be other supplies.
The seven people arrived at the tenth floor of Unit 1, Building 7. After trying for a while, they opened the door to apartment 1001 with a key.
The
apartment was clean and simply furnished.
A faint smell of medicine permeated the living room.
A large cupboard was built into the dining room wall, filled with many bottles and jars. Two vases of flowers sat on the TV cabinet in the living room, but the flowers were wilted.
Someone found a note on the table: "There's a suicide note here."
"I'm sorry, neighbors. I've caused you trouble. Yesterday afternoon, I received news that Guilan had passed away by the river. When I rushed there, I only saw footprints on the riverbank. My beloved wife, Guilan, was timid. When she accompanied me to teach in the countryside, she would always say it was dark outside and needed me to accompany her when she got up at night.
She sat in the house for a long time that night, picking up and putting down the kitchen knife repeatedly. My old bones and trembling hands hurt terribly. I tried several times, and it was excruciatingly painful. I can't imagine how much pain she was in. Jumping off the building was quicker, less suffering. I'm sorry for causing you all trouble, and it might affect you."
There's disinfectant in my bathroom; could someone please take it? There's nothing valuable in the house, just some blood pressure medication and diabetes medication. There's also half a bag of rice and some wild vegetables Guilan picked in the kitchen; please take them if you don't mind that we old folks have used them.
I've never troubled anyone in my life, but now I have to trouble everyone to help me with my funeral arrangements; I feel really bad about it. Please take anything you might need.
My pen is almost out of ink; I should go now. Guilan has been waiting downstairs for a while; she's probably going to complain that I'm dawdling. My old legs are so stiff; it's hard for me to walk, and I've made her go get water. Actually, I should have gone.
Zhou Jingwen, the book."
After reading the suicide note, someone said wistfully, "If only I hadn't time-traveled."
Qin Ziwen went to the kitchen.
The kitchen was very clean.
There was half a bag of rice in the cupboard, and next to it was a large bag of wild vegetables in a plastic bag.
Huang Tao said, "Let's divide it among ourselves." "
In the end, Qin Ziwen received a portion of rice.
Perhaps because of the will, the group searched the house rather quietly.
There wasn't much of value in the old man's house. If it were before the time travel, perhaps the large LCD TV in the living room and the microwave in the kitchen would be worth a little.
Besides that, there were mostly clothes and quilts in the closets.
Qin Ziwen looked around and, in the end, only took a small pair of scissors from the drawer, along with a little rice.
He didn't touch anything else, and there wasn't much else to take.
Back home, he washed his hands with clean water, fed the rabbit, and released the harpy eagle out the window.
"Let's go, let's go see where we set the trap yesterday." Qin Ziwen slung his backpack over his shoulder, fully armed, holding a spear and the "machete" he had seized from Xie Jun.
Qin Ziwu carried a bag and an empty plastic bucket.
Deng Guang had been waiting downstairs for a long time.
Seeing the two of them come out, Deng Guang said, "Let's go. By the way, can you use this?"
Deng Guang pulled out a bunch of "ropes" from his pocket. "My clothesline from the balcony. I think it's pretty good quality and quite sturdy." Qin Ziwen tugged at the rope and praised, "
It's quite sturdy."
"Good that it's sturdy." Deng Guang smiled happily, seeing that what he had brought out was useful.
Arriving at the East Gate, they had only taken two steps when Zheng Yuan called out ,
"Brother Qin!" and quickly stepped forward. It had only been a few days since they last met, but Zheng Yuan had grown a short, bluish beard. "Are you guys preparing to explore?" Zheng Yuan was followed by five or six people, among whom he only recognized Zou Sheng. "Yes, it's been too noisy by the river lately, making fishing inconvenient," Zheng Yuan said. "Have you heard? Someone found that card in the wild, on an altar." Qin Ziwen thought of Wang Jun; had news of his obtaining the card leaked? But with so many people in his group, it wasn't surprising that news had spread. "Where did you hear that, Brother Zheng?" "Hey, it's from Building Four. Yesterday, someone from Building Four went north and found it in a cave at the foot of the mountain." " A cave? Isn't it an underground cavern? And Wang Jun seems to live in the same building, so it seems Zheng Yuan isn't talking about the same person. Wang Jun can find cards in the underground cavern, and there are also cards in the cave at the foot of the north mountain. It seems the altar is more likely to spawn in caves. What about the cave halfway up the mountain? " "Oh." Qin Ziwen nodded thoughtfully. (End of Chapter)