Chapter 51: Human Punching Bags

Because of the psychological shadow An Nan had left on them before, none of the neighbors dared to underestimate any tough woman now.

Especially since this woman had just killed a crocodile.

A crocodile, for heaven’s sake!

Everyone stopped in their tracks, saying nice things from a distance, but no one dared get any closer.

Chu Peipei understood well the saying, “An innocent man gets into trouble because of his wealth.”

If she brought all that crocodile meat home, there would be countless people trying to break into her place.

She didn’t have An Nan’s skills—she couldn’t withstand a siege by the masses.

After all, crocodiles were just brute beasts; compared to cunning humans with high intelligence and the ability to use tools, they were far less terrifying.

She’d rather fight a crocodile than go up against a crowd of people.

Besides, the power was out at home, so the fridge wasn’t working. If she kept all that crocodile meat for herself, it would spoil before she could eat it all.

So, she agreed to share the crocodile meat with her neighbors, but only if they traded other food for it.

After all, dry goods were much easier to store than fresh meat.

As a compromise, she offered two pounds of fresh meat for every pound of dry goods. If they didn’t have dry goods, they could trade bottled water, candles, gas canisters, or other supplies.

People scrambled to trade with her.

No one had eaten meat in ages. Except for a few vegetarians, everyone else was sick of gnawing on biscuits, bread, rice, and coarse grains every day.

The crocodile Chu Peipei had killed was nearly three meters long and weighed over 200 pounds, yielding more than 100 pounds of meat.

Even the leftover bones and organs found takers. Within a few hours, everything was traded away.

But Chu Peipei made sure to save a portion of the meat for herself.

……

An Nan was at home practicing her punches on the heavy bag when she suddenly heard someone knocking at her door.

She walked over and opened it, surprised to see Chu Peipei standing there, holding a huge slab of fresh meat in both hands.

Seeing the crocodile skin still attached, An Nan’s eyes widened. “Is this… crocodile meat?!”

Chu Peipei nodded. “Yep. A bunch of crocodiles swam into the neighborhood today, so I killed one.”

An Nan looked at her, covered in blood. “You killed it? Who helped you?”

Chu Peipei: “I did it myself.”

An Nan: …

What a badass!

She’d figured people would start hunting crocodiles eventually, but she hadn’t expected Chu Peipei to be the first to act.

An Nan couldn’t help but praise her, “You’re pretty fierce! Took down a crocodile all by yourself!”

Chu Peipei looked a little embarrassed.

“It’s not that I’m fierce—it’s the weapon you gave me that did the trick. I soaked the nails you gave me in that bottle of knockout drug, then used the nail gun to shoot the crocodile and knocked it out.

That crocodile wasn’t too bright. It was missing a leg and fell for my tricks in no time.”

An Nan: …

Knockout drug?

Damn! That Bai Wenbin and his sister are real pieces of work! The drug they used was so strong that even the residue was enough to knock out a crocodile.

No wonder she still felt dizzy from time to time.

If it weren’t for Chu Peipei, a doctor, helping her with acupuncture therapy, would she still be suffering from side effects?

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got.

No, she’d have to go downstairs and beat them up again later!

Chu Peipei handed the crocodile meat to An Nan. “The rest of the meat was traded to the neighbors, but I saved the best part for you.”

An Nan frowned. “They took your crocodile meat?”

“No.” Chu Peipei winked playfully. “I sold it to them and got a bunch of supplies in return.”

That’s more like it.

An Nan nodded. “Selling it was the right call. It wouldn’t have lasted long at home anyway—would’ve been a waste if it spoiled.”

“Exactly, I thought the same.” Chu Peipei pushed the meat toward her again. “This is for you, no charge.”

An Nan hesitated. If she refused free food, it would look like she still had plenty of supplies at home.

It had been almost three months since the disaster began—if she still lacked for nothing, that would be suspicious.

So, even though she wouldn’t eat it, she accepted the crocodile meat from Chu Peipei.

She couldn’t just take it for free, though. As thanks, An Nan wanted to give her some dry goods in exchange.

But this time, Chu Peipei firmly refused. “An Nan, I already owe you too much. If you hadn’t reached out to help me when I was at my lowest, I wouldn’t even be here now.

This meat is just a little token of my appreciation. It’s nothing compared to the medicine you gave me.” With that, she dashed back home.

An Nan watched her leave, feeling even more respect for her.

What a great woman—strong and grateful, too.

Just… her handwriting was a bit ugly.

An Nan remembered that note that looked like chicken scratch and couldn’t help but smile. She put the meat away in her storage space, changed clothes, and got ready to go downstairs.

Fugui saw her about to leave and started pawing at her, meowing, “Aow, aow, aow!”

Sister Nan, where are you off to now? You haven’t finished your boxing practice!

An Nan crouched down and patted its head. “Be good and wait for me at home. I’m going out to find a new punching bag.”

She headed down to the eighth floor, just as Bai Wenbin and Qian Yinger were coming back from outside.

The siblings had left early that day, and when they returned to see crocodiles all over the water, they were scared out of their wits.

Luckily, the crocodiles were full and didn’t attack them.

Bai Wenbin paddled their new inflatable kayak as fast as he could, racing back to their building.

They climbed in through the seventh-floor window, only to see bloodstains and a few crocodile teeth scattered in the hallway.

What happened here?

With lingering fear, he led his cousin home.

Just as they were about to close the door, An Nan appeared out of nowhere and punched him square in the face.

Blood gushed from Bai Wenbin’s nose.

He clutched his nose. “An Nan! You’re going too far!”

Who just barges into someone’s home and starts beating them up?!

Seeing her raise her fist again, Bai Wenbin quickly tried to block her arm.

But An Nan was so strong, it was like a mantis trying to stop a car—he almost had his arm broken.

An Nan glared at him fiercely. “Don’t move. Behave, or I’ll end you right here!”

Bai Wenbin didn’t dare move. He covered his head and silently endured.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to fight back.

He’d tried a million times! It was useless!

An Nan wasn’t even using any weapons this time, but her fists felt like iron, as if she’d break his bones with every punch!

He had no idea what he’d done to piss her off again.

Just as he thought he was about to pass out, she finally stopped.

Bai Wenbin breathed a sigh of relief and looked up, only to see her turn and give Qian Yinger a beating too.

Qian Yinger, utterly confused, was left even more dazed and vacant-eyed than before.

She started crying, snot running down her face.

An Nan stopped after a while, finding her too dirty to bother with. She crossed her arms and flexed her wrists.

Ding—today’s boxing session complete."