CHAPTER 72: KNOCKING OR PRYING THE DOOR OPEN

Afterward, Jing Shu posted a video of her frog sale that day, explaining to everyone how to raise frogs and how they catch insects, along with the various parts and models Mr. Jing had mentioned were needed for the BYD Song.

Now that car factories had stopped production and 4S shops had closed, maintaining and repairing cars during the apocalypse was truly difficult. Some essential parts had become very important.

After a few more years, when these cars truly turn into scrap metal along with their parts, and an energy car breaks down needing specific components, I’ll have nowhere to cry, Jing Shu thought. It’s better to stock up on the necessary parts and tires early, maintain the car every year, so it can still be used when it’s time to migrate.

Five or six years into the apocalypse, drivable cars were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

Actually, I could go and remove tires or steal from a 4S shop, but doing it myself is too much trouble, especially since I don’t know how. Besides, Dad, who does understand, disdains such work, she mused. It’s better to sell a batch of frogs to effortlessly gather everything I need. It’s convenient, saves time, and is hassle-free.

Young Master I Have a Baby No.13 piped up, "I’ll trade! My family has a BYD car, and we have all the parts. Wait for me to take off the four tires and other parts for you."

After watching Jing Shu’s video, many people sighed, lamenting how the once ubiquitous frogs had now become scarce.

Fat Girl No.25 added, "Raising frogs has really taken off recently, but the numbers are too limited. If you give one to the Doctor, you’re guaranteed to get a bed. I’ll strip my Mini of any parts you can use. Just say the word."

"I’ll trade too!"

"Count me in. I’ll pry off anything useful. This junk car is just like scrap metal."

The rotten corpse insects severely impacted normal life. Compared to cars that had been without fuel for half a year, everyone chose to trade parts from their cars for small frogs. Saving a little water could keep their houses free of rotten corpse insects, and they’d no longer have to worry about their food supplies being ruined. Everyone was very proactive.

With Mr. Jing overseeing the process, various parts were soon collected and piled up in front of Building No. 25. A group of shabbily dressed, disheveled people, holding flashlights, waited for Jing Shu to distribute the frogs.

Young Master I Have a Baby No.13’s family provided the most parts, trading for three frogs. Others traded for one each. Fifteen small frogs were exchanged for parts from several cars, various tires, and even tools—an unthinkable trade before the apocalypse. Mr. Jing was bewildered, "Are frogs really this valuable now?"

Zhang Bingbing, ignoring her own grimy and disheveled state, joyfully watched the small frogs and casually asked, "Jing Shu, doesn’t your family lack water? How can you manage to raise so many frogs?"

Her question brought a hush over the crowd. Everyone, dressed in rags, stared at this girl. Apart from a slightly tanned face, she didn’t look dirty, and her family also appeared relatively clean and quite spirited.

"What’s it to you whether they lack water or not? If they hadn’t helped us out, where else could we have gotten parts? Hurry home before your frogs die of heat!" The chubby girl, wearing slippers and clutching her small frog, entered Building No. 25.

The crowd dispersed. Just as Jing Shu let out a sigh of relief, her phone buzzed.

Luxury Car Specialist No.5 messaged, "@Xiao Shu’s Villa District, if you need car parts, come to me. Our shop has everything; I’ll trade with you."

Jing Shu remembered this person—the one who had blamed her for not dragging him to his death. She never gave ingrates a second chance. "Sorry, the trades are all done," she replied.

Luxury Car Specialist No.5 pressed, "Our shop has a lot of motor oil and snow tires, too. I’ll take you to get them, as much as you want. Just bring me more of those little frogs in return."

"I don’t do theft," Jing Shu stated flatly. "Besides, I don’t need anything anymore."

Luxury Car Specialist No.5 persisted, "Are you deliberately not trading with me?"

"Yeah," Jing Shu replied, rolling her eyes. I’m not magnanimous enough to trade with someone who cursed me out. I hold grudges, and I still remember what happened six months ago.

Luxury Car Specialist No.5 was furiously grinding his teeth. Seeing everyone in the group posting photos with their frogs made him even angrier. He began to fall back into his old habit, furiously typing insults in the chat box.

"You rotten bitch, why won’t you trade with me? Think you’re so great because you have frogs? To hell with all of you! I should have let Brother Tao come back and rob your villa, make your family end up just like Wang Xue Mei’s! That’ll teach you bitches not to give me anything!"

Usually, he would type out his anger, calm down, and then delete the message. But this time, he was too agitated and impulsively hit send.

"Holy shit, holy shit!" Luxury Car Specialist No.5 realized he’d sent it and knew he was in trouble. He hurriedly tried to retract the message. As his heart THUMPED wildly and he finally exhaled, someone sealed his fate.

Wang Qiqi No.13 posted, "@everyone, just now, with hand speed honed by 30 years of being single, I captured a screenshot of @Luxury Car Specialist No.5’s message. So it turns out, the one who called people to rob Wang Xue Mei’s house that day was this guy! I’d been wondering how, with such low occupancy in our complex, they knew exactly where to find people."

Truly hand speed worthy of 30 years of singlehood, Jing Shu thought. She had barely finished reading the message, not yet reacting, when it was retracted. Yet Wang Qiqi had already managed to grab a screenshot.

What followed was quite entertaining. The group chat instantly exploded, especially Wang Xue Mei, who had just lost her husband and daughter. Upon learning the truth, she tearfully demanded, "Why? Why would you call someone to rob our house? What have we ever done to upset you?"

Many in the group questioned and condemned him.

On the day of the robbery, there were six attackers, Jing Shu mused. If even half the people in the group had dared to rush out with kitchen knives, perhaps no one would have died. Do they even have the right to question him now? Still, their inaction wasn’t entirely wrong. If I didn’t have the Magic Cube Space as my trump card, I wouldn’t have ventured out either.

Luxury Car Specialist No.5, seeing that the secret of that day had leaked, didn’t bother pretending anymore.

"You want to know why? All my grain got eaten by insects! I begged every single one of you to sell me some grain, but no one would! If each of you had given me just one pound of grain, would I have needed to join that organization?"

"Wang Xue Mei, put away your hypocrisy! Selling a meal for 300 yuan like you were doing me a huge favor, like charity! You love playing the benefactor, don’t you? Let’s see you try that when all your food is stolen!"

"And another thing. Brother Tao taking a fancy to your daughter was a blessing for you! You should have just quietly accepted it. You all got what you deserved, dying like that! It’s the apocalypse now. The government’s bullshit about building an Artificial Sun is just a stalling tactic. The truth is, they squirreled away all the grain from the major granaries months ago, and you idiots are still clueless! Heh."

Luxury Car Specialist No.5 continued his tirade, blissfully unaware that Jing Shu and Mr. Jing had already called Wang Qiqi, gotten his address, and the three of them were now on their way.

Wang Qiqi, still a bit baffled, asked, "Do we report him straight to the police? I’m just worried the police won’t have time for this."

Jing Shu’s face was cold, and she remained silent. She preferred to deal with such troublemakers personally. Moving swiftly, she led a grim-faced Mr. Jing and the still-befuddled Wang Qiqi to Apartment 602, Building No. 5.

"Should we knock, or... pry the door open?" Wang Qiqi asked timidly.

Jing Shu, her expression impassive, nonchalantly pulled a hooked wire from a harness on her thigh. Then, wielding a broken iron bar, she slammed it forward. With a loud CRACK, the bar punched right through the peephole.

Wang Qiqi gulped, his eyes bulging. He instinctively covered his groin, a sudden chill running through him.