CHAPTER 122: CLOSE THE DOOR, RELEASE THE CHICKENS!

Su Meimei was a wretched sight. Over thirty large, purplish-yellow swollen bumps covered her body, making her look much fatter. The largest bumps were nearly fist-sized, the smallest like walnuts. Her face, in particular, was so swollen her eyes were almost invisible. Some bumps were still growing, and Jing Shu could even see they were filled with fluid.

Jing Shu didn’t understand the principle behind this, nor had she expected the bee stings to be so potent. It seemed her earlier experiment with the fat chicken, which already had some resistance, wasn’t a true measure.

She was very pleased with this result, though she wasn’t sure if there would be lasting damage.

"It was you? You bitch!" Upon hearing Jing Shu’s voice, Su Meimei exploded, cursing inarticulately. She flailed, clawing at the air, and accidentally slammed into the corner of the guard room’s desk, falling to the ground in a disgraceful heap. The swollen bumps on her body burst upon impact, yellow fluid oozing onto the floor, followed by Su Meimei’s agonized screams.

"SOB SOB SOB! It hurts so much!"

With the skin broken, raw flesh was exposed to the air. Jing Shu winced. "See? This is called evil getting its just deserts. By the way," she added, "would any of you still like to visit my house?"

The other three, each with over a dozen large, raised swollen bumps that looked ready to burst, were terrified. They had never seen such venomous bees.

"You, you just wait." Hatred consumed Su Meimei. She had imagined a thousand ways to kill Jing Shu but never anticipated being ambushed by bees.

In the end, Su Meimei had someone call her father to pick her up. The other few limped home. The weather was scorching. Coupled with the pus-filled bumps from the bee stings and no medicine available, Jing Shu shook her head. These people are on their own now.

After waiting in the group chat for over half an hour without any news, someone asked.

Zhang Bingbing’s Elder Husband: "What’s the situation? Are there a lot of eggs and vegetables inside?"

Zhang Bingbing’s Younger Husband: "Exactly, don’t tell me they’ve been embezzled? Not a peep."

Shi Zi: "Got ambushed by a damn swarm of bees on the way. Su Meimei was carried off, and we’re swollen all over."

Wang Xue Mei: "Karma."

Jing Shu knew Su Meimei’s words today would incite envy. After all, most in the neighborhood had no food left. There were exceptions, like ’I have a baby,’ whose family still had many dried sweet potatoes, and Wang Qiqi and Wang Xue Mei, who also had considerable supplies. Still, the lure of eggs and fresh vegetables was too strong.

During dinner that night, the family discussed the incident. Mrs. Jing openly cursed Su Meimei for her shamelessness, deliberately causing trouble even after they had cut ties. "PAH! Just like her heartless father—an ingrate!"

At that moment, someone approached the villa, triggering Jing Shu’s phone alarm.

"Even if that woman didn’t kill my mother, she’s connected to it. I’ll definitely kill her," Zhou Pancheng told the friends who had just arrived. "Then, with the villa’s food, you guys take the lion’s share, I’ll take a smaller cut." Indeed, the moment he heard that Jing Shu’s family possessed so much food, he had immediately contacted people.

Hearing the villa was rich in food, they had all rushed over. They were veterans, each carrying tools, and had cooperated many times. It was second nature to them. Recently, however, their own homes were bare, lacking even items to trade for work points, which had forced them to lay low for a while.

"Don’t worry, we’ll kill first, then rob."

"Next time something this good comes up, call us too! DAMMIT! I heard all the food is with the government and Qian Duoduo now. They just won’t give any to us."

"Hey, the door’s open, perfect, saves us some effort. Let’s just go in."

"Let’s go!"

In the pitch-black night, just as the group stepped through the front gate, BANG! The door slammed shut on its own.

"Who’s there?!"

The group, startled, immediately turned around. In the darkness, they saw a pair of glowing green eyes... followed by a series of shrill, harrowing screams from within the villa.

「...」

After Jing Shu’s phone alarm went off, she used the infrared surveillance to see that there were a total of five intruders. Each held various tools and weapons. "Someone’s coming toward our villa with weapons," she said. "They’re probably here to rob us because Su Meimei said we had so much food today."

Grandma Jing’s hand trembled. The scene of dozens of attackers flashed before her eyes again.

"Don’t be scared. It’s just a few people. I’ll go activate the traps..." Jing Shu had barely reached the yard when she witnessed something bizarre.

The fat chicken deftly used its beak to open the yard gate, letting the intruders in. Just as Jing Shu frowned, puzzled, the fat chicken flapped its wings, slamming the gate shut. It then turned to Jing Shu, its eyes bloodthirsty, awaiting her command.

Jing Shu instantly understood. Its intelligence is actually making me feel a bit outsmarted, she mused as she issued the attack command.

Then... it launched itself onto one man’s head. Its claws gripped his skull tightly as it viciously pecked at his eyes, gouging one out. The fat chicken swallowed the eyeball in a single gulp, then excitedly moved to the other eye.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS THING!"

"AHHH! My eyes!"

In their panic, the group swung their weapons at the fat chicken, striking fiercely.

The fat chicken dodged a cleaver but took a hit from a hammer. It shrieked a few BWAAARKS, then flew at another man, latching onto his head and pecking furiously at his eyes...

The battle ended quickly. Initially, the men had some strength to resist, but soon the fat chicken had pecked out and devoured all their eyeballs. The men on the ground screamed until they fell silent, completely still. Jing Shu approached and found some with empty eye sockets, even the brain matter within gone.

In the darkness, the fat chicken exuded a fearsome aura. It let out a cackling BWAAARK, expressing its exhilaration.

"Fat chicken?"

"BWAAARK! What is it?"

Jing Shu looked into the fat chicken’s eyes; something felt off. After a moment, she realized. Its eyes are no longer those of an ordinary chicken. They seem to hold a spark of... sentient, human-like intelligence.

The eyes are windows to the soul; one can discern emotions through them. Jing Shu felt she could almost understand the fat chicken’s intentions by looking into its eyes.

Jing Shu finally understood what had felt ’off’ about the fat chicken lately. Has it also encountered a bottleneck? By eating human eyeballs today, has it broken through its limits as a chicken, evolving from a cold-blooded creature to a warm-blooded one? Today it ate human eyes, and its own eyes became more human-like. If it eats... something else tomorrow, will it change even more?

Jing Shu checked where the hammer had struck the fat chicken. Its hide was incredibly thick; it was completely unharmed. I worried for nothing, she thought.

After taking pictures, Jing Shu disposed of the bodies. I need to use this to intimidate the people in the group chat, she decided. Otherwise, they’ll keep coveting things they shouldn’t.

"@everyone, someone just tried to rob my house. I don’t know who they belong to, please come claim them."