Footsteps echoed from the stairwell, loud and accompanied by laughter and chatter.
When the descending footsteps approached their floor, Qin Ziwen opened the door with his younger brother following close behind.
Emerging from the building unit, Qin Ziwen realized from their gathering pattern that they were two separate families.
They had very traditional modern family structures, with both couples in their forties.
The children in each family were likely high school students—one boy and one girl.
Qin Ziwen stepped forward to strike up a conversation. "Uncle, when you came down just now, did you see anyone in the hallway?"
The man he addressed had thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a medium build. He smiled and replied, "No, the hallway was empty when we came down."
He seemed to realize something and gave Qin Ziwen a closer look. "You're the new neighbors on the fifth floor, right?"
"That's right."
The man nodded and made an understanding sound.
After a few seconds, he suddenly added, "The family in unit 602 above you doesn't have the best reputation. They used to be involved with shady circles and would often cause trouble in the complex when drunk. You should be careful."
"I heard he served time before?"
The man shook his head. "I'm not sure about that."
The man's wife spoke up, "He did serve time, and it seems like 602 and 501 have some improper relationship."
The man looked surprised. "How do you know that?"
His wife rolled her eyes. "You only go to work, come home, and go fishing—when do you ever pay attention to these things? Once when I was coming home from grocery shopping, I saw the man from 602 directly unlock 501's door with a key. What do you think that means? Only a woman lives alone in 501."
Qin Ziwu, standing behind his brother, frowned. If the upstairs man had a key to the opposite unit, then they must know each other?
Why didn't the woman mention this last night, and why were both sides pretending not to know each other?
Unless... they were putting on an act.
Qin Ziwu felt he had uncovered the truth!
He secretly observed his older brother's expression but found it completely normal.
The thick-browed man extended an invitation: "Young man, want to go fishing together? I've found the fishing in this river is quite productive."
Qin Ziwen shook his head. "I don't have a fishing rod."
The thick-browed man said, "No problem, I have extra rods."
Seeing Qin Ziwen's surprised expression, the man laughed heartily. "I'm a fishing enthusiast—used to love fishing, so I have plenty of rods at home."
The man's wife found this amusing. "You're just not very good at it—poor students always have the most stationery."
"What do you mean 'poor students have the most stationery'? Sometimes the weather's just bad and the fish aren't biting." The man turned back to Qin Ziwen. "So, how about it? Come fishing with me. Based on my experience, this river has plenty of fish—guaranteed meat every day."
Qin Ziwen agreed: "Sure, I'm a beginner at fishing, so I'll need your guidance, brother."
The man laughed again. "No need for guidance, we'll work together. Besides, beginners usually have good luck."
He patted the bag on his back. "I happen to have brought an extra rod. Just come with me."
"Brother, are we going fishing later?"
"Yes, you can come learn too."
The thick-browed man called out to the other family's male head: "Old Liu, this young man is joining us for fishing. More people means more presence—yesterday I saw someone catch two fish in a row by that steep bank, then several people went over and took over the spot."
Old Liu was tall and thin: "No objections from me. More people is better. You decide, Brother Deng."
Qin Ziwen followed the group outside. He hadn't considered fishing before partly because he lacked tools, and partly because he had no experience.
Now that someone was willing to teach him, he could naturally give it a try. After all, if you want to survive in the wilderness, fishing is an essential skill.
Based on his observations, the daily settlement rating was related to that day's harvest.
Yesterday's rating reached eight points because of the wild vegetable bonus.
Now that the wild vegetables were mostly picked clean, replicating such a high rating would require going deeper into the forest away from the complex.
Compared to venturing deep into the forest, fishing by the river at the complex entrance was clearly much safer.
Arriving at the complex entrance, they found many people standing on the steps.
Pushing through the crowd, they saw a giant crocodile lying motionless on the floor of the south gate lobby. Its dark brown, bumpy hide covered its massive body. Even though it wasn't moving, its sheer size alone made many people's legs go weak just from seeing it lying there.
"It's huge—I estimate at least five meters long."
"At this size, it could probably swallow a person whole."
"What do we do with it blocking the entrance? How do we drive it away?"
"Maybe we should just kill it. This is land—crocodiles aren't as agile here."
From the crowd, a young man wearing a food delivery helmet spoke up: "I used to work at a zoo and was responsible for crocodile care. I have some understanding of their habits."
The crowd quieted down.
"This crocodile resembles a saltwater crocodile, but its head proportions are larger, meaning its bite force might be even stronger."
"Its weak points are the eyes, belly, and the area behind the head near the spine. But never provoke it head-on. While it's slower on land than in water, its short-distance burst speed isn't slow."
"A crocodile's bite force is tremendous, but the force needed to open its mouth is much weaker than its bite force. That means if you can hold its mouth shut before it opens, you might prevent it from biting."
Everyone silently observed the crocodile in the lobby that was longer than a compact car.
"Of course, those are idealized approaches. This crocodile's size is more exaggerated than the largest one I've seen in any zoo. At this level... I don't recommend attacking it. We should find a way to drive it off instead. Crocodiles generally aren't that brave."
Someone suddenly said, "If it weren't brave, would it still be lying here motionless? Buddy, you're talking about Earth's crocodiles. We're not even on Earth anymore."
"Right, I feel like this crocodile doesn't even see us as a threat."
"Didn't someone fall in the river and get eaten by a crocodile the other day? I suspect these crocodiles see us as prey."
"Damn, that's too arrogant. With so many of us, why should we fear one crocodile? In the river I won't say anything, but on land it's just a salted fish. Let's just kill it and share the meat!"
Old Liu teased Old Deng: "Have you ever caught a fish this big? This one down here is huge."
Thick-browed Old Deng chuckled. "If I caught one this big, I'd definitely drive around the city a couple times showing it off."
Old Deng's wife gently patted him. "Always talking nonsense. Don't show off. If you see crocodiles coming from the river, move back. There will always be more fish to catch—you're the family's breadwinner."
Old Deng held his wife's hand. "Don't worry, I know."
Their daughter, following behind, hugged her own arms at her parents' mushy display.
From the back of the crowd, someone brought over a thick large curtain from somewhere. "Coming through! Make way, everyone else don't block the path! Anyone ready to take on this crocodile, let me be clear upfront—only those who participate in the fight get to share the meat. Don't come looking for handouts if you didn't help!"
Qin Ziwen recognized the man carrying the curtain—it was the bearded brother who had confronted Huang Tao last night when he was returning home.
Standing beside him, he also spotted Huang Tao and the property management group.