[edited]

There were only two women at home: Grandma Zhong and her daughter-in-law, both of whom were especially cautious. “Who is it?”

Upon hearing Mother Zhong’s voice, Jiang Ning replied, “It’s me, from the 18th floor.”

Mother Zhong opened the door, surprised and a bit nervous. “Anning, has something happened?”

Before Jiang Ning could answer, her dog rushed in first, followed by the sound of gnawing and biting.

To prevent misunderstanding, Jiang Ning quickly explained, “A few red-eyed mouse have invaded the 18th floor. They are particularly aggressive, they’re not afraid of humans, and they bite everything.”

Grandma Zhong walked out of her room. “Are there really rats?”

From the looks of Grandma Zhong and Mrs. Zhong, they did not expect the rats to be so ferocious, and they were frightened for a while.

On the balcony, a fierce battle ensued between the dog and the rats, creating a loud screeching noise.

The balcony was filled with flowerpots and planting troughs where sweet potato vines were growing, which the red-eyed mouse had gnawed through.

The dog displayed its impressive skills, killing three rats while the other two escaped. Fresh rat droppings were scattered on the floor.

The rats had also invaded the living room, tearing open the sofa to expose bags of stored grain inside.

The bags had been chewed open, spilling the grain everywhere.

The Zhong family were horrified by the rats’ ferocity, fearing the worst for their food supply.

If the grain was destroyed, how would their Zhong family survive?

Grandma Zhong was still frightened. “Little Jiang, thank you so much for tonight.”

“It’s nothing,” Jiang Ning replied, feeling awkward as her dog continued marking its territory. She explained, “The rats may not fear humans, but they’re definitely afraid of dogs.”

“Afraid of dogs? That’s good,” Grandma Zhong understand the dog’s valuable contribution and praised it generously in front of Jiang Ning.

Having done all she could, Jiang Ning left with her dog.

After closing the door, Mrs. Zhong expressed her lingering fear. “Mother, big cockroaches were already frightening enough, and now there’s even a fearless red-eyed mouse! How are we supposed to live like this?”

Grandma Zhong sighed. “What else can we do? We just need to work hard every day.”

Grandma Zhong and Mrs. Zhong couldn’t sleep. They took out all their stored food supplies and locked it in metal cabinets.

Using a flashlight, they cleaned the balcony, replanted the bitten sweet potato vines, and brought them inside for protection.

“Mother, what do we do with the dead rats?”

Each rat was quite large—about a pound each.

Mrs. Zhong felt conflicted, both fearful and a bit hopeful, this was still meat.

But just imagining what the rats ate made her feel sick.

After some thought, Grandma Zhong reluctantly said, “Butcher them first, dry the meat, and keep it. We’ll only eat it if there’s no other option.”

Who would willingly eat rat meat if they had a choice? But they had no other option now.

They had some grain stored, but who knew what the future held? It was better to be prepared.

Following her mother-in-law’s instructions, Mrs. Zhong endured her discomfort and got to work.

……

With the dog around, Jiang Ning slept soundly through the night.

After breakfast, she sat on the sofa, reading with the air conditioner on.

Sometime later, a commotion next door broke the silence, followed by an urgent plea from Lu Yu over the walkie-talkie: “Anning, we need fire support. Quickly send Coke over. More red-eyed mouse have come in.”

The front door wasn’t locked, so the dog deftly opened it and dashed next door.

Those damn red-eyed mouse had invaded the room, scurrying around and outsmarting the humans. The trio and the dog chased them. The vase was broken, and the lamp was smashed.

The three of them, plus the dog, fought the rats for two hours, finally killing several and throwing them onto the rooftop in anger.

Tired from reading, Jiang Ning got up to stretch.

Through the glass door, she saw three rats, who had gnawed through the stainless steel mesh last night and were now openly chewing on the glass. The rat poison nearby had already been eaten.

These creatures were so brazen that they dared to come out in broad daylight and blatantly taunt her.

Did they really think she was not as intimidating as a dog?

Opening the door, she found the rats were not completely afraid, and they continued to gnaw at the mesh and glass with their sharp teeth. Their red eyes were gleaming ominously.

Jiang Ning was furious, and the consequences were severe.

She took some boiling water from her space and poured it over the rats.

The rats let out screeching cries as they fell from the high-rise balcony into the water below.

The 18th floor was relatively calm, but downstairs was a different story, with all sorts of noises echoing constantly.

It was a mixed reactions.

The worry was that the rats were ferocious and not afraid of humans, but the good news was that once they were killed, they provided meat.

As for what the rats had been eating, people were so close to starving to death that they couldn’t afford to be picky.

So, the survivors not only hunted the rats at home but also opened the other doors to search the empty apartments and hallways.

Some even made simple rat traps.

Of course, there were also those who were bitten awake in the middle of the night and borrowed rubber boats to get to the hospital.

With great power comes great responsibility.

Coke kept running back and forth between the two floors, peeing everywhere to enclose its territory.

Its scent did indeed have a warning effect, but the hot weather caused it to evaporate quickly.

Seeing that their balcony was damaged, the dog promptly marked it again.

Then, exhausted, it collapsed on the ground, tongue hanging out: “Poop scooper, bring me a bottle to drink. I’ve given so much to this family. If I don’t rehydrate, I won’t be able to pee anymore.”

Jiang Ning brought out an extra-large washbasin and filled it up.

Huo Yishen wasn’t idle either. He opened the triple doors on the 17th floor and let Doudou out.

He accompanied her the whole time, allowing his sister to freely practice.

At dinner, Doudou was very excited. “Sister, I killed several rats today.”

Jiang Ning was surprised. “How did you kill them?”

“With a crossbow.”

With Coke around, there weren’t many rats on the 17th and 18th floors, so Doudou had no chance to practice. Her brother took her downstairs instead.

In two hours, she killed 12 rats.

Jiang Ning knew Doudou was skilled with a bow, but she didn’t realize just how talented she was. It was no surprise, though, since Huo Yishen had taught her.

“What happened to the rats?”

Doudou looked at her brother, who nodded before she continued, “There were a lot of people downstairs who wanted the rats I shot. My brother said we couldn’t give them away because it would create bad habits.”

Those people were dirty, thin, bald, and smelled bad.

Though frightened, Doudou also cherished her current life even more. “Sister, I didn’t give them the rats. I threw them away instead.”

Whoever picked them up and got sick from eating them had nothing to do with her.

Jiang Ning praised her, “Good job, Doudou.”

Feeling validated, Doudou was very happy. She not only volunteered to wash the dishes but also insisted on mopping the floor.

For several consecutive days, the red-eyed mouse continued to wreak havoc and even became bolder at night.

Grandmother Zhong, being wise, came up with a mineral water bottle to ask for dog urine.

Sprinkling it where the rats appeared proved to be very effective.

The people in 1803 were astonished. Zhang Chao also brought some several basins over. “Coke, we need your help urgently.”

Coke was so shocked that it started retreating; it really couldn’t produce any more!

Luckily, the city council released the latest news: after testing, they found that the meat of the red-eyed mouse was not toxic, but the rats carried many bacteria that could cause dengue fever or other diseases. It was not recommended to eat them privately.

Starting immediately, food factories would recycle freshly killed rats. Residents could bring them to the community office for registration and exchange, with ten pounds of rats earning one can of rat meat or other items based on a point system.

The announcement caused a stir.

Rats could be eaten, so people hurried to catch more and save them, or else others would snatch them away.

Handing them over to the community office? No way; they barely had enough to fill their own bellies.

Zhang Chao showed interest. “Anning, should we participate?”

Jiang Ning picked up the walkie-talkie. “You guys can do as you please. I’m not interested in this project.”

She had heard that many people in the community had been bitten, so she preferred to lie low and stay safe.

That night, there was a knock on the door of the 18th floor…

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