"So magical."
Lao Gao stared at the man lying motionless on the ground, then at the tiny worm wriggling out from the man's mouth. He looked utterly incredulous.
But that also meant Lan Jin's idea had been correct.
The only question was—how had Lan Jin known the worm feared salt?
Lan Jin explained, "Not just worms. People fear salt too. Put the same amount inside us, we'd be dead in no time."
In Lan Jin's mind, no living creature could survive a large amount of salt. So it was only natural she assumed the worm feared it as well.
Fortunately, the worm truly did fear salt. This experiment had given them the method to kill it.
But there was still a problem. "We don't have any salt."
Huang Jinghe froze in place, uncertain what to do. They had the solution now, but no salt at all.
Lan Jin almost laughed. "I have some."
After throwing the man far away, the group returned to Building 12.
The security door on the 31st floor was completely useless now—not just because the glass was shattered, but because the walls and doorframe had suffered varying degrees of damage. In the past, they could have found materials to fix it, but now resources were scarce. There was nothing to repair it with. They had no choice but to give up on it.
But losing such a strong security door meant losing a vital layer of protection. Lan Jin frowned. "We can't go without this door. If we can't install it on the 31st floor, then put it on the 32nd floor. These three floors have a similar layout. Adding a security door there won't be a problem. As for the door itself… just take one from downstairs and put it here."
The process would be troublesome, but without the door, even Ling Jiang agreed they could not sleep at ease. The 33rd floor residents were either elderly or children, so the door had to be installed today.
This job naturally fell to Lao Gao, who accepted without complaint. After fetching his toolbox from home, he called Huang Jinghe to help.
In the old days, even with both of them working together, hauling a security door up the stairs would have been almost impossible. But now, it felt effortless.
Lao Gao clicked his tongue. "If it weren't so big, I think I could carry it up by myself."
Huang Jinghe nodded. "Yeah. The old me couldn't even lift something like this. But now, it feels light."
They both enjoyed the benefits of their newfound strength, but neither mentioned how they had gained it.
By the time they hauled the door to the 32nd floor, night had fallen. The stairwell was pitch-black without electricity. Ling Jiang brought out a lamp, cranked the hand generator, and gave them enough light to keep working.
Half an hour later, the new door was installed. Lao Gao stepped back, satisfied. "Done. I added several layers of reinforcement. It'll hold for a good while."
Huang Jinghe glanced toward the rooftop door. "Want to reinforce that one too? It looks pretty run-down. Feels like one hit could knock it open."
Lao Gao sighed. "Why would anyone hit the rooftop door?"
It was true the rooftop door—and even the surrounding wall—was in bad shape. Lao Gao had wanted to fix it before, but he'd found no materials at all. Since it was only the rooftop, he had let it be. He had figured that even if danger came, it wouldn't come across the rooftop.
But now, hearing Huang Jinghe, he felt uneasy. Why would anyone want to smash such a flimsy door?
Huang Jinghe explained, "Not saying we would. But the rooftops between buildings aren't far apart. If something went crazy and jumped over from the next building, what then? We already have tools out—better safe than sorry."
Lao Gao found that far too pessimistic and cut him off. "No way. Sure, the rooftops are close, but not that close. And why would they target us specifically? Why would they even come here?"
"Then how did that man today find us so easily?"
"That's only because I lost control earlier and yelled. The noise drew them here." Lao Gao suddenly stiffened. "The smell—did we get rid of the smell? If they can follow it, we're in trouble."
He had barely finished speaking when howls and heavy impacts echoed from outside. Lao Gao shot Huang Jinghe a glare. "You jinx! Don't say another word or they'll really come."
At this point, they couldn't avoid securing the rooftop door. But with those roars outside, they didn't dare dismantle it entirely—the noise might draw trouble.
So they kept the old door but added defenses. Lao Gao and Huang Jinghe pulled the security doors from the other four apartments on the 32nd and 33rd floors, stacking them in front of the rooftop entrance.
The stair rail there made it possible to wedge the doors in a triangular arrangement. As long as the wall held, the door would hold too.
When the last of the makeshift barricade was in place, they finally relaxed. The night still rang with distant howls, but after a full day of work, all they wanted was to go home and sleep.
Before everyone left, Lan Jin handed each person a bottle of spirit spring water. "Drink one more. Just in case something changes overnight."
She gave Ling Jiang two bottles—one for Ling Jiang and one for Grandma Ling. Since they had already tasted the spring water and benefited from it, there was no reason to be stingy.
After drinking, everyone went home. At last, Lan Jin could spend time with her little one.
Entering her space, she looked around but saw no sign of her tiny bean sprout. She called toward the thatched hut. "Qiao Qiao, Mama's been so busy today. Did you miss Mama?"
But—
Qiao Qiao had handled all three meals and snacks perfectly well on her own today. Now, she was fast asleep on the big bed in the thatched hut's main room.
Hearing the voice, Nana quickly ran out and motioned for Lan Jin to stop. He didn't want his master to wake the little master.