Chapter 5: Unpleasant Guests Arrive at the Door, Debt Collector!
The sky was just beginning to lighten.
The clanging that had been going on all night finally stopped.
Lin Jianguo slumped to the ground, clutching several oddly shaped pieces of iron in his hand. His eyes were bloodshot, yet they shone like two lamps.
He looked at the nascent "iron frame" on the ground as if it were a newborn child.
Although it was pieced together from discarded sickle blades and broken bearings, the structure of this thing is simply ingenious.
The intricate connections at every joint were so sophisticated that they gave this veteran scout a chill down his spine.
"Amazing..."
Lin Jianguo's lips were chapped, and he muttered to himself.
This is not just a doodle my daughter drew casually; it's clearly a gift from God!
Just then.
A loud bang!
The already dilapidated wooden door was kicked open from the outside.
The wind and snow, mixed with a nauseating smell of tobacco, instantly filled the cave dwelling.
Before Lin Jianguo could hide the iron weapon in his hand, several dark figures rushed in.
The one in the lead wore a tattered cotton-padded jacket that was shiny with grease, had a bald head, and a face full of menacing features.
Lai Tou Li.
He was a notorious good-for-nothing in the village, always idle and domineering, relying on his kinship with certain people in the commune.
"Hey, Lin the Cripple, you're still alive?"
As soon as Lai Tou Li entered the room, his triangular eyes darted furtively toward the kang (a heated brick bed).
His eyes widened instantly when he saw the half-empty bottle of AD calcium milk on the kang table.
"Good heavens! I knew you cripple would hide things from me!"
Lai Tou Li strode over and grabbed the white and green bottle.
"What's this? I've never seen anything like it before!"
He didn't mind the mess and tried to pour the contents of the bottle into his mouth.
"lay down!"
Lin Jianguo, leaning on his crutches, suddenly stood up from the ground and let out a loud shout.
That's my daughter's food!
Lai Tou Li was startled by the shout, his hand trembled, and the bottle almost fell to the ground.
But he quickly realized what was happening and, in a fit of rage, smashed the bottle on the ground.
"Smack!"
The remaining half bottle of milk spilled all over the ground, white and seeping into the yellow soil.
Zhao Di was sleeping soundly in bed when she was startled awake by the loud noise.
The little girl rubbed her sleepy eyes, and when she saw the milk on the ground, her little mouth twitched and tears welled up in her eyes.
"Sweet juice... spilled..."
That was given to me by a fairy uncle; it tastes delicious.
Lin Jianguo looked at the milk stains on the ground, his heart ached, and a surge of anger rose to his head.
"You scoundrel Li! You barged into my house, smashed my things, what do you want?!"
Lai Tou Li chuckled, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.
"What are you doing? Lin Jianguo, stop pretending with me!"
"You borrowed twenty yuan from me to pay for your dead wife's medical treatment two years ago. It's time to pay it back, principal and interest."
Lin Jianguo gritted his teeth, his cane creaking in his hand.
"I told you, I'll go up the mountain to gather herbs when spring comes and I'll definitely pay you back!"
"Spring? By the time you say spring, the daylilies will be too cold!"
Lai Tou Li spat a mouthful of thick phlegm on the ground.
"Either pay me back today, or..."
His cloudy eyes swept around the room before finally settling on Da Bao, who was huddled in the corner.
"It's okay if you don't have money. I think your baby is quite robust."
“The landlord in Wangjiazhuang next door has no son and is looking to buy a son to carry on the family line.”
"Give me your baby as collateral, and that twenty yuan will settle the matter!"
The moment those words were spoken, the air in the cave seemed to freeze.
Da Bao was so frightened that his face turned pale, his whole body trembled, and he clung tightly to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).
"Father...I don't want to go...I don't want to go..."
Lin Jianguo felt a rush of blood to his head, and his eyes instantly became bloodshot.
Selling children?
Even if Lin Jianguo starves to death, even if he has torn his bones apart and sell them, he would never do such a heinous thing!
"You scoundrel Li! You dare touch my son and see what happens!"
Lin Jianguo raised his cane and smashed it.
But he had a leg injury and had been hungry for several days, so he was weak.
Lai Tou Li dodged to the side and then shoved him with his backhand.
"thump!"
Lin Jianguo lost his balance and fell heavily to the ground.
His leg, which had just been sprayed with medicine and was healing, hit a rock, causing him to groan in pain and break out in a cold sweat instantly.
"father!"
Da Bao cried and rushed over.
Lai Tou Li winked at the two lackeys behind him.
"Get him! Drag that kid away!"
Two lackeys rushed up with sneers and grabbed Da Bao by the collar like they were catching a chick.
"Let me go! Let me go!"
Da Bao struggled desperately, kicking and biting.
"You little brat, you dare to bite people!"
One of the lackeys slapped Da Bao across the face.
The crisp sound of a slap was particularly jarring in the cave dwelling.
Da Bao was stunned by the beating, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
Zhao Di, sitting on the kang (heated brick bed), saw all of this.
Although she was only three years old, she didn't understand what usury was or what debt settlement was.
But she understood.
These bad guys beat up my father and then tried to kidnap my brother.
That was her brother who was warming her feet.
That was her brother who gave her the sweet potato.
"Wow--"
Zhao Di finally couldn't hold back anymore and burst into tears.
"You bad guy! Don't grab my brother! Get away from me, you bad guy!"
The little girl climbed off the kang (a heated brick bed), grabbed a pillow, and threw it at Lai Tou Li.
The pillow was so soft that when it hit Lai Tou Li, it didn't even stir up any dust.
Lai Tou Li waved his hand dismissively, almost dragging Zhao Di off the kang (a heated brick bed) with him.
"Where did this worthless thing come from? If you cry again, I'll sell you off too!"
In that very instant.
In Zhao Di's mind, that always cold, mechanical voice suddenly exploded.
[Warning! Warning!]
[A violent threat has been detected against the host's immediate family members!]
[Host's emotional fluctuations have exceeded the threshold!]
[Damn it! These uncivilized, inferior creatures dare to touch the cubs of this system?!]
The system's voice carried a chilling rage.
It disliked the host for her low intelligence and her runny nose.
But this is its host!
It is its only binder in this space-time!
No one can bully it except it!
[Emergency defense protocol activated!]
[Searching for non-lethal deterrent weapons...]
[Ding! Mission item issued: Holographic Projection Deterrent (Disposable).]
Zhao Di felt a sudden warmth in her palm.
Several round, cool objects appeared out of thin air.
It looks like the glass marbles we played with during Chinese New Year, but it looks like there's fire burning inside.
The system's voice became urgent and stern, like an instructor issuing orders.
【Zhao Di! Listen up!】
See that bald-headed scoundrel?
Throw the beads you're holding right at his face!
[Throw it accurately! Let him know why the flowers are so red!]
Zhao Di sobbed, her little hands tightly clutching the few "glass beads".
"Did the fairy uncle... just throw away the bad guy and leave?"
[Yes! He'll be terrified if you throw him away! Throw him away now!]
Zhao Di sniffed.
A hint of determination flashed in her large, teary eyes.
To save her brother.
Zhao Di is going all out!
"You bastard! I'll beat you to death!"
The little girl used all her strength to throw the few glowing beads in her hand hard at Lai Tou Li.
Lai Tou Li Zheng was smugly directing his men to tie up people.
Suddenly, he saw the little girl on the kang (a heated brick bed) throwing things at him.
He instinctively tried to dodge, muttering curses under his breath: "You little bastard, you dare..."
Before he could finish speaking...
The beads collided in mid-air.
There was no dull thud like a stone hitting flesh.
Instead, it emitted a strange electrical sound.
"Sizzle sizzle sizzle—"
Immediately afterwards.
The originally dark and cold cave was instantly illuminated by an eerie red light.
The light was not firelight; it carried a chilling, eerie quality that sent shivers down one's spine.
The air seemed to be distorted.
A strong smell of sulfur and blood suddenly exploded out of nowhere.
"roar--!!!"
A deafening roar, as if from the depths of hell, shook the earth off the roof of the cave dwelling.
Lai Tou Li's sinister smile froze.
The two lackeys who were holding Da Bao trembled and let go.
Everyone stared in horror at the center of the cave dwelling.
There.
A raging fire suddenly burst into flames.
In the firelight, a black behemoth the size of a calf slowly poked its head out.
It has three heads!
Each head was dripping with magma-like saliva, and its fangs were longer than a butcher's knife.
Those six eyes, burning with eerie green flames, stared intently at Lai Tou Li.
This is the most visually striking holographic image that the system specifically selected to protect the cubs—
Cerberus!
"A ghost...a ghost!!!"
Lai Tou Li felt a heat in his crotch, and a warm current flowed down his thigh.
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