ATPnovel Chapter 10: Expanding the Team, Zhong Chengyu Joins
Chapter 10: Expanding the Team, Zhong Chengyu Joins
"Knock knock knock!"
Jiang Ming kicked the door panel three times hard.
"Old Wang! Open the door!"
A heavy dragging sound came from inside, followed by Wang Yang's wary questioning.
"Who?"
"I am Jiang Ming."
"Click."
The door lock turned.
The door was barely opened a crack, and Wang Yang's fat face wasn't fully revealed yet, when a wave of bloody stench hit him so hard he leaned back.
"Holy crap!"
When Wang Yang saw the bloodstains on Jiang Ming's body and the pieces of flesh dripping with blood in his hands, he almost jumped up from the ground.
"Old Jiang! You're injured? Where are you hurt? Quick, quick, I have a band-aid... no, this amount of blood needs a tourniquet!"
This fat guy may have a sharp tongue, but he really cares about his brothers when it matters.
He hurriedly tried to rummage through the cabinet that was crammed with miscellaneous items.
"It's not my blood."
Jiang Ming squeezed into the room and closed the door behind him, blocking the probing gazes from outside.
"It's a mouse."
"A mouse?"
Wang Yang froze, turned around and stared at the pieces of meat in Jiang Ming's hand, his face contorted in pain.
"How big of a rat can it bleed so much and shed so much flesh? Has it mutated?"
"Yes, it must have mutated; its size is about the same as a Tibetan Mastiff."
Jiang Ming threw the bag directly onto the cement floor of the bathroom.
"Clatter".
A dull thud.
"Stop talking nonsense and bring me your washbasin right now."
"Washbasin? What are you going to do with it?"
Although Wang Yang was full of questions, his body had already instinctively carried out the command, kicking a red plastic basin out from under the bed.
"Pretend it's meat."
Jiang Ming put all the pieces of meat in his hand into the basin at once.
The red and white pieces of meat were piled up into a small mountain in the basin.
It has a very strong visual impact.
Wang Yang covered his mouth and gagged.
"This...this thing is edible?"
"It's better to be cooked and eaten than to starve to death."
Jiang Ming didn't have time to give him psychological counseling.
He walked toward the dormitory balcony with the still-dripping, bristly rat pelt on his shoulder and the two fangs covered in bits of flesh in his pocket.
These two things are definitely synthetic materials, but he doesn't have time to deal with them right now.
"Old Wang, listen up."
Jiang Ming placed the rat skin and fangs on the sink, not caring whether it would dirty the surface.
"You can handle this meat as you see fit. If you really don't know how, just wait until we get back. Also, don't throw away these two teeth and this skin; I have a big use for them... That's all for now; we'll talk about it when we get back."
After saying that, he casually wiped his blood-soaked clothes a couple of times, then turned and walked out.
"Huh? You guys are going out again?"
Wang Yang chased after him to the door.
"Yes, Old Li is still waiting for me downstairs."
Jiang Ming unlatched the door.
"Lock the door and don't open it for anyone unless it's us."
The door opened.
Jiang Ming had just taken a step when he noticed three more "tails" in the corridor.
Zhong Chengyu and his two roommates didn't leave at all; they stayed at the entrance of room 305.
Upon seeing Jiang Ming emerge, the three immediately surrounded him.
"Old Jiang, wait!"
Zhong Chengyu had a smile plastered on his face, an expression he only showed when asking someone to lend him his homework.
"What's up?"
Jiang Ming pulled his hand back into his pocket.
This subconscious action caused Zhong Chengyu's smile to freeze for a moment.
"Well...we're from the same hometown and classmates, look how chaotic the world is these days..."
Zhong Chengyu rubbed his hands together, his gaze shifting unsteadily.
"You mentioned it's so dangerous outside, with mutated rats and giant dogs... I was thinking, could we team up?"
"Team up?"
Jiang Ming raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, yes, yes!"
The tall boy next to Zhong Chengyu quickly chimed in.
"Many hands make light work! Look at you two, what if you encounter a pack of wild animals? With the three of us, at least we can help each other."
"And we both own a car!"
As if afraid Jiang Ming would refuse, Zhong Chengyu quickly offered his own bargaining chip.
"My little tortoise is downstairs, I charged it last night! It'll be perfect for us if we need to run away or transport stuff!"
Jiang Ming did not agree immediately, but instead looked the three of them up and down.
Although he looked a bit cowardly, he at least had a weapon in his hand.
At this stage, daring to step out of the dormitory is already better than most people.
Moreover, Li Bin's little electric scooter really couldn't carry too much stuff.
Having one more vehicle and three more human baits... no, three more helpers can indeed mitigate a lot of the risks.
"We don't support idlers."
Jiang Ming loosened his grip on the knife, his tone calm.
"You can come along, but let me make this clear from the start."
Upon hearing that there was hope, Zhong Chengyu and the other two nodded their heads like chickens pecking at rice.
"Go ahead, go ahead, we'll listen to you!"
First, don't shout randomly.
Jiang Ming held up one finger.
"The wild animals outside have very keen hearing. If anyone screams in terror and attracts the beasts, don't blame me for kicking him out to feed them."
The boy with glasses swallowed hard, his face turning pale, but he still nodded vigorously.
Second, follow orders.
Jiang Ming raised his second finger.
"Don't run around in danger. Exposing your back to wild animals is suicide. Fight when told to fight, and retreat when told to retreat."
"no problem!"
Zhong Chengyu patted his chest and guaranteed it.
"Old Jiang, you just solo-killed a beast, we definitely believe you!"
"third."
Jiang Ming pointed downstairs.
"The spoils are distributed according to work done. Whoever kills the enemy gets the spoils, and those who cooperate get the spoils according to their contribution. Don't even think about freeloading."
"OK!"
The three spoke in unison.
At the beginning of this collapse of order, finding an experienced and capable "big shot" to rely on is more important than anything else.
As for the distribution principles, that's something to consider only after you've survived.
"Let's go."
Jiang Ming stopped talking and led the way toward the stairwell.
"Old Li is getting impatient waiting downstairs."
The four of them quickly went downstairs.
As soon as I stepped out of the building, I saw Li Bin riding on his bicycle, holding the mop handle in his hand, watching his surroundings warily.
Upon seeing the three people following Jiang Ming, Li Bin paused for a moment, then pushed up his glasses, revealing a knowing look.
"Have you expanded your team?"
"Yes, labor delivered to our door."
Jiang Ming climbed onto the back of Li Bin's bike and patted him on the shoulder.
"I figured that more people meant more strength, so I didn't refuse them."
Zhong Chengyu and the other two quickly ran to push their cars.
Those were two modified electric vehicles with wide footrests and a tail box installed in the back, which could indeed carry a lot of goods.
"We used to do campus delivery, that's why we modified this vehicle..."
Seeing Jiang Ming examining his modified electric car, Zhong Chengyu wanted to explain.
But when Li Bin turned the key, a slight electrical hissing sounded.
"I'm gone."
Five people, on three electric bikes, rushed out of the school gate one after the other.
"I remember the archery club members went in that direction."
Jiang Ming pointed in a direction, and Li Bin drove in that direction.
The tires rolled over the tangled tree roots, making a sickeningly loud plastic screech.
The electric scooter, originally designed for flat asphalt roads, looked out of place in this primeval forest.