In the end, the Card fell into Huang Tao's hands.
Because his group was larger.
While other families could send out two adult men at most, Huang Tao had gathered a team of four able-bodied young men, with three security guards constantly at his side.
Moreover, during the hunt for the giant crocodile, Huang Tao had been very proactive.
Although no one had officially voted for or appointed him as leader, he had managed to get acquainted with most of the people during the process.
Familiarity was the foundation for negotiation.
Plus, after fighting over it for nearly half an hour, everyone was tired.
Three people had even died, and many were starting to back down.
Ultimately, Huang Tao offered to give every person present one jin of meat.
Huang Tao looked at the three bodies on the ground, his expression complicated. "Whose families are these three from?"
"I know the one in the white clothes. He lived in Building 10, Unit 1, on the fourth floor."
"The one with the hooked nose seems to be from Building 8, Unit 1, third floor. I think he was divorced and lived alone."
The last victim's face was purple and swollen, his eyes were bulging, and his body was covered in muddy footprints.
Dr. Lin checked his pulse, then his breathing, and shook his head with regret. "Death by compressive asphyxia."
Watching this scene, Qin Ziwen didn't know what to feel. Only three people had died killing the alpha male crocodile, but now the same number had died fighting over the Card, with even more people injured.
Besides the three dead,
many people had visible bruises on their faces and bodies.
Seeing this, Qin Ziwu felt suffocated. He thought of the changes in his brother's home and resolved in his heart that he would never, ever tell anyone their family's secrets.
These people were fighting to the death over a single Card. If they knew his older brother had so many Cards at home, they would probably never have a moment's peace.
At this thought, Qin Ziwu secretly glanced at his older brother's expression. Seeing that Qin Ziwen remained as calm as ever, he couldn't help but marvel inwardly. 'Big Brother is truly unfathomable.'
Someone in the crowd started to clamor, "Brother Huang, you got the Card. How about you let us have a look?"
"Yeah, we've never seen one of these before. Let us check it out."
With more and more people chiming in, Huang Tao couldn't openly refuse. He knew he wouldn't be able to say no today.
He smiled and said, "Alright, everyone, follow me."
Qin Ziwen was also curious. This Carpenter's Shack sounded like a real construction-type Card, different from the Beast Cage and Cellar he had used before.
The crowd arrived at Huang Tao's home.
Building 7, Unit 1, Apartment 701.
Opening the door, Huang Tao stepped inside first and took out the Card.
He then paced back and forth in his home a few times, as the onlookers urged him on.
Huang Tao explained, "I was just informed that using this Card requires a 4x4 empty space. I don't have a clear area that big in my home. A few of you brothers, could you help me move the living room sofa and table?"
With many hands helping, they quickly cleared out a 4x4 area in the center of the living room.
Then, the Card in Huang Tao's hand transformed into a white light that shot out and enveloped the large area.
This spectacle once again elicited a chorus of "Holy shit!"
Finally, when the light faded,
a small, square wooden shack had appeared in its place, its roof nearly touching the ceiling.
It was a semi-open design, with three wooden walls and one side left open.
Inside was a workbench with a vise, a bench dog hole, and a simple sawhorse. On the back wall hung several tools: a handsaw, a hammer, a chisel, a plane, a wooden square, and an ink line marker.
The scene of a shack materializing out of thin air left everyone present in awe.
Those crowded outside the door stood on their tiptoes. "Let me see."
"How magical. So the Carpenter's Shack really does build a Carpenter's workshop."
"What else did you think it was?"
"Speaking of which, since we have a Carpenter's workshop, it should at least come with a Carpenter, right?"
These words drew a ripple of laughter from the crowd.
If it could conjure up a Carpenter, wouldn't that be the same as creating a living person out of thin air?
Huang Tao also felt it was a shame. He, too, thought it would have been great if it came with a Carpenter. 'A person I summoned myself would have to be my own Death Warrior, right?' He knew very well that at this stage, having an obedient adult male who was also a master carpenter would be immensely valuable.
Hearing the conversation, Qin Ziwen mulled it over. 'I remember the information from the Home system mentioned the existence of [Recruitment Cards]. Just from the name, I can guess its purpose. So maybe creating a living person out of thin air won't be impossible in the future.'
After witnessing the use of the Carpenter's Shack firsthand, some people calmed down considerably.
Though it was magical, it wasn't as wondrous as they had imagined.
It was just an extra, space-occupying carpenter's room, after all.
Their curiosity satisfied, the crowd returned to the south gate, where they worked together to pull the three cars and the crocodile out of the pit.
Although this crocodile was even bigger, many more people participated.
Divided among more than a hundred people, each person only received 10 jin of crocodile meat.
Carrying seventeen jin of meat, Qin Ziwen prepared to head home with his brother.
'There's no need to smoke this much meat. While smoking extends its shelf life, you lose some of the texture of fresh meat.'
"Hey, young man, wait up."
Inside the Gated Community, an older woman called out to Qin Ziwen.
Her eyes were fixed on the strips of meat in Qin Ziwen's hands. She swallowed and said with a fawning smile, "You two handsome young men, how old are you? You don't look very old. You're probably not married, are you?"
Qin Ziwen stopped, wary, his brow furrowing slightly.
Qin Ziwu said impatiently, "What's it to you?"
The woman said, "No, no, that's not it. I'm here to play matchmaker for a neighbor. They have two daughters. The older one graduated from college, she's just twenty-four and is studying for the civil service exam. The younger one is still in high school, a senior this year, about to take her college entrance exams."
"They were watching at the south gate earlier today, you see. They're hoping to find good husbands for their two daughters. You know how parents are, they worry a lot. And well, they thought the two of you seemed like a good match."
Qin Ziwu blurted out, "Isn't this just selling off their daughters?"
Qin Ziwen shook his head. "Sorry, we're not interested."
'I have too many secrets. I can't bring a stranger into my home.'
Hearing their refusal, the woman wasn't discouraged. She continued tirelessly, "How is this selling their daughters? Both of their girls are very pretty, you know, I've seen them. And they're kind and well-mannered, too. You could just go and see them. Think of it as just getting to know them. If there's really no spark, you can just say so."
Qin Ziwen waved a dismissive hand and walked straight past her.
Qin Ziwu jogged to catch up with his brother.
He shook his head in disbelief. "Big Brother, that was so bizarre. I think she's probably a scammer."
An image of Wang Xiaoli flashed through Qin Ziwen's mind.
It was now the sixth day since they had transmigrated.
Even the slowest people should have realized it by now: everyone was trying to adapt to this new world in their own way.
A hundred schemes, a thousand methods—in the end, it was all for the sake of survival.
"Perhaps."
...
...