Chapter 77: Brothers, This Is Intense!

What Zhang Xiaohu pulled back with his right hand wasn’t just that rough homemade fishing rod.

There was also a dark, wriggling mass, one end still dangling in the air.

That thing was firmly attached to his wrist.

But it was so big and long that it covered half of Zhang Xiaohu’s hand, with much of it still exposed.

Jiang Yan, who was just about to turn and enter the fire escape, caught sight of this and her pupils contracted. She stopped dead in her tracks.

It was a leech—one even bigger than before.

When a leech first latches onto human skin, it doesn’t hurt, but it does feel itchy.

But that’s only true for normal leeches.

Now, this mutated leech was so big, the contact area with his skin was huge, and its weight and the sensation of it hanging there were obvious.

By all rights, Zhang Xiaohu should have noticed it.

Unless he was afraid of being scolded by his mother, so he didn’t dare look at what heavy thing was stuck to his hand.

The woman clearly saw it too. She let out a shrill scream, “Oh my god!”

*Smack!*

She slapped Zhang Xiaohu hard on the head.

With a tearful, furious voice she yelled, “What weird thing have you brought home this time?! I’m begging you, can’t you just let me have a moment’s peace?!

If this keeps up, you and your grandpa are going to drive me insane! Will you only be happy when I’m dead?!”

Jiang Yan was dumbfounded by this scene:

“Ma’am, your son’s been bitten by a bloodsucking leech. Shouldn’t you get the leech off first?”

When she was little, if she accidentally broke a cup or fell while walking, her parents would get angry too.

They’d scold her for not holding things properly or for tearing her pants, never first asking if she’d cut her hand or hurt herself.

But her parents actually loved her, and back then, parenting was a lot rougher.

She never thought, after all these years, that someone would still act like this.

“I’m disciplining my own kid! What business is it of yours?! Wait till you’re my age, living this mess of a life—you’ll be even fiercer than me!”

The woman glared at Jiang Yan, then her eyes darted to the wriggling black creature and she suddenly realized:

“A leech?!”

She reflexively reached out to yank it off.

“Don’t pull it!” Jiang Yan had barely spoken when the woman had already grabbed it.

“Ahhh!!”

Zhang Xiaohu shrank back, his face scrunched up in pain, letting out a scream as a chunk of skin was ripped from his wrist.

Blood oozed out like a cluster of pinpricks.

But the leech still clung tightly to his hand, unmoved, and, attracted by the blood, began writhing even more vigorously.

“Don’t pull! It’s a leech—slap it! Hard!” Jiang Yan quickly recalled what the farmers used to do.

Leeches have suction cups and stick really tight. Only by slapping them, making them feel threatened, will they let go.

But now that these leeches had mutated, who knew if the old tricks would still work.

The woman paused, then—*smack!*—slapped the leech hard.

The force, though, made Zhang Xiaohu’s already injured hand hurt even more.

But the leech finally dropped to the ground with a splat.

Smelling blood, it began crawling toward Zhang Xiaohu’s foot.

Only then did Zhang Xiaohu, finally realizing what was happening, throw down his homemade fishing rod and, shivering, ran back home.

“Zhang Xiaohu! If I don’t break your legs today, my surname isn’t Niu! Let’s see if you dare run around again!”

Terrified, the woman grabbed the stick with the fishing line and chased after him into the house.

Soon, the sound of a child’s cries and the woman’s angry scolding echoed from inside.

Jiang Yan frowned, glanced at the leech still wriggling in the hallway, and suddenly remembered—alcohol could kill leeches.

But with these mutated ones, who knew if it would still work.

She quickly pulled a 500ml glass bottle of alcohol from her backpack—or rather, from her storage space—and, suppressing her fear, walked toward the leech.

With a creak, the door to 1604 opened wider.

A disheveled, bearded man with greasy hair limped out, leaning on a stick.

His leg was wrapped in strips of old cloth, stained with fresh blood—clearly a recent injury.

“I saw it first! It’s at our door, so it’s ours!”

He glared fiercely at Jiang Yan, then stabbed the leech with his stick.

*Splurt!* A stream of pinkish-red goo shot out of the leech.

Jiang Yan instinctively took a step back, eyes wide.

The leech, in pain, began thrashing wildly.

The man, unfazed, pulled out a crumpled plastic bag, used his stick to poke the leech inside, then squatted down and tied the bag tightly. With a thud, he tossed it back into his apartment.

Under Jiang Yan’s incredulous gaze, the man leaned on his stick, hobbled to the window, and poked his head out.

He quickly turned back to Jiang Yan and said,

“Little girl, my son nearly lost half his hand finding these leeches. If you dare tell anyone else on this floor, you’ll regret it!”

“Oh? I’d like to see you try!” Jiang Yan replied coldly, not bothering to argue with someone like him, and turned to head upstairs.

It was obvious—the man planned to eat these mutated leeches.

It sounded crazy.

But back in the famine years, people ate tree bark, leaves, even clay, just to survive.

Let alone this—fresh, high-protein meat delivered right to your door.

She was afraid of leeches, but that didn’t mean everyone was.

If he took care of all the leeches, it would actually save her a lot of trouble.

Thinking this, Jiang Yan felt much more at ease.

Now that she was sure no one was around, she summoned a flashlight from her storage space, lit up the dark hallway, and hurried upstairs.

Just as she reached the 19th floor, she heard the unmistakable sounds of a man and a woman doing “unspeakable things” behind the fire escape door.

They were probably on a makeshift bed in the hallway—and they weren’t exactly quiet.

Jiang Yan frowned. In broad daylight, really?

She was just about to keep going when she heard heavy, chaotic footsteps approaching the fire escape.

“Damn, Zhang San, you’re really something! Doing it right out in the open!”

“Brothers, this is intense!!”

“Hey! The more the merrier! Count me in!”

A bunch of young men were chattering, their voices rowdy and crude.

Judging by their tone, they didn’t sound like residents of Building A.

Jiang Yan frowned, remembering the group she’d seen on that rainy night, and quickened her pace.

She was halfway up when the fire escape door banged open.

A burly, scar-faced man walked in.

Judging by the way he reached for his belt, he was probably here to use the hallway as a bathroom.

He caught sight of Jiang Yan, grinned wickedly, and leered:

“Well, well! Little lady, were you just hiding behind the door, peeking at us?”

Brothers and sisters, this is intense!!

This is the first time I’ve ever received so many monthly votes in a single day!

I know I’m still nowhere near the big names, but I’m so happy and excited I can’t even describe it! Hiahiahia~"