Su Meimei's condition was pitiful. Her body was swollen with more than thirty large welts, each purple at the center and yellow at the edges, making her look like she had gained a whole size, a grotesque inflation.
The largest lump was about the size of a fist, a throbbing mound on her forearm, and the smaller ones were still walnut sized, clustered on her neck and hands. Her face had swollen so badly from the stings that her eyes had disappeared under the swelling, the lids fused shut. A few welts had even grown so large that Jing Shu could see the fluid beneath the skin, a dark shadow of pus waiting to burst.
Jing Shu had no idea what caused this reaction, nor had she expected bee stings to be this vicious. It seemed that using Xiao Dou, who already had a level of resistance from the Spirit Spring, as a test subject had not been an accurate measure, the chicken's tolerance masking the true venom.
She was very satisfied with the results, a cold clinical assessment. Now she just wondered if the damage was ongoing, if the venom was still spreading beneath the skin.
"You? Bitch!" Su Meimei exploded the moment she heard Jing Shu's voice, the sound a distorted mumble through her swollen lips. Her words were slurred, but she cursed wildly, thrashing her arms and clawing at the air. She stumbled into the corner of a table in the guardroom, the metal edge catching her hip, fell heavily to the ground, and burst several of her swollen welts. Yellow pus splattered across the dusty floor as her screams echoed, a high, ragged sound of pure agony.
"Wuuu! It hurts!"
With her skin split open and raw flesh exposed to the air, red and weeping, even Jing Shu winced, a reflexive grimace. "See? This is called karma." Her voice was flat. "By the way, do the rest of you still want to visit my house?" She turned her gaze to the three men huddled against the wall.
The three other men, though stung less severely, had over a dozen welts each, all raised high and ready to burst, angry red mountains on their skin. They were terrified, their eyes wide with pain and fear. None had ever seen bees this venomous, a weapon from a mundane creature.
"You… you will pay for this," Su Meimei seethed with hatred, the words bubbling through her ruined lips. She had imagined countless ways to kill Jing Shu, but she had never expected to be ambushed by bees halfway through her scheme, defeated by insects.
Eventually, Su Meimei had someone call her father to pick her up, the call made with shaking hands. The others limped away too, clutching their arms. In this heat, with their bodies covered in festering swellings and no medicine available, Jing Shu could only shake her head. They were on their own now. Infection would likely finish what the bees started.
Half an hour later, the group chat finally stirred, the silence broken.
[Zhang Bingbing's Older Husband]:"What is going on? Was her place really full of eggs and vegetables?"
[Zhang Bingbing's Younger Husband]:"Yeah. Did you just eat everything yourselves? No updates?"
[Shi Zi]:"We got stung by a damn swarm of bees on the way. Su Meimei had to be carried off. We're all covered in welts."
[Wang Xuemei]:"Serves her right."
Jing Shu knew Su Meimei's words earlier that day would make some people jealous. Most of the community was out of food. A few exceptions existed, like Young Madam With a Baby's house, which still had lots of dried sweet potatoes, and Wang Qiqi and Wang Xuemei, who both had some grain. But eggs and vegetables were too tempting, a siren song of normalcy.
That evening, over dinner, the smell of braised pork filling the room, her family discussed the situation. Su Lanzhi cursed Su Meimei fiercely, her chopsticks stabbing into her rice, disgusted that she was still causing trouble despite being estranged. "Tch! Just like her heartless father. A white eyed wolf who can't be raised right." The old insult felt fresh again.
Just then, someone approached the villa. Jing Shu's phone alarm rang, a soft vibration against the wooden table.
"Even if that woman didn't kill my mom, she is tied to it. I'm definitely going to kill her. And once we get the villa's stash, you all take the bigger share, I will take a smaller one," Zhou Pancheng whispered to his friends, his voice a low rasp in the dark.
They had come running the moment they heard the villa was full of supplies. They were veterans, experienced with this sort of raid, each carrying weapons or tools, a cleaver, a hammer, a length of pipe. They had worked together many times. But recently, their own homes had run dry, and even items to trade for work points were gone. Hunger had forced them to act, a primal driver.
"No worries. We kill first, take the loot later."
"Next time you find a target like this, call us again. Damn it, I heard all the food is in the hands of the government and Qian Duoduo, and none of it is being handed out."
"Huh, the door is open. Saves us the trouble. Let us go."
"Move!"
The night was pitch black, the moon obscured by high dust. As soon as they stepped through the gate, there was a loud boom, the gate slammed shut by itself, the heavy metal clanging like a gong.
"Who is there?!"
The group spun around, startled, weapons raised. In the darkness, a pair of glowing green eyes flashed, low to the ground. Then a scream pierced the villa, cut short and wet.
…
When Jing Shu's phone alarm went off, she checked the infrared monitor, the screen showing five glowing figures moving toward the wall. Five intruders were approaching, all carrying weapons. "Someone is coming for the villa. Probably because Su Meimei ran her mouth today about how well we eat. They're here to rob us." She said it calmly, stating a fact.
Grandma Jing's hands shook, the teacup rattling in its saucer. The scene of that mob of dozens flashed through her mind, the memory vivid and terrifying.
"Don't worry. It's only a few people. I will turn on the traps." Jing Shu stepped into the yard, the cool night air a shock, and froze at the sight before her.
Xiao Dou had used its beak to unlock the yard gate, the simple latch lifted with deft precision, letting the intruders in. Jing Shu frowned, a line forming between her brows. Then Xiao Dou flapped its wings, a powerful beat, slammed the gate shut, the bolt sliding home, and turned to her with bloodthirsty eyes, the green glow dimming to reveal a sharp, focused gaze. It seemed to be waiting for a command, a soldier at ready.
Jing Shu understood immediately. She issued the attack order, a sharp thought directed outward, feeling a strange sense of suppressed willpower, a channel opening between her mind and the creature.
Then Xiao Dou launched itself at one man, a dark blur. Talons clamped down on his head, pinning him. Its beak stabbed mercilessly, a precise strike, gouging out an eyeball and swallowing it whole with a wet gulp. Xiao Dou became more excited, a shiver running through its feathers, and lunged for the other eye.
"What the hell is that?!"
"Ahhh! My eyes!"
The intruders panicked, swinging their weapons wildly, the cleaver and hammer cutting through empty air.
Xiao Dou dodged a cleaver, a fluid sidestep, took a hammer blow on its shoulder with a dull thud, and let out a furious cluck cluck cluck. Then it soared at another man, a short, powerful flight, locked onto his head, and pecked his eyes out in two swift, brutal jabs.
The battle ended quickly, a silent, efficient slaughter. The men's initial resistance crumbled as Xiao Dou gouged and devoured their eyes one by one. Soon the screams stopped, replaced by gurgles and then silence. Jing Shu stepped forward, her boots careful on the bloody ground, and saw a body lying motionless, empty sockets oozing dark fluid. Even the brain matter inside was gone, scooped clean.
In the darkness, Xiao Dou radiated a terrifying aura, a predator's stillness. It let out a triumphant cluck cluck cluck, voicing its excitement, the sound utterly alien coming from a chicken.
"Xiao Dou?"
"Cluck cluck cluck!" What? The reply felt pointed, intelligent.
Jing Shu studied Xiao Dou's eyes in the dim light from the villa door and sensed something different. After a moment, she realized it. Its eyes no longer looked like those of a chicken, blank and black. They held a spark of… human intelligence, a calculating awareness.
The eyes were windows to the soul. Through them, Jing Shu could read emotions. Now, she could almost understand Xiao Dou's thoughts, a flicker of intent crossing the space between them.
She finally understood what had felt off about Xiao Dou these last few days. Had it reached a bottleneck? Today, after eating several human eyes, had it broken past the limits of a chicken? From a cold blooded creature into a warm blooded predator? The more it devoured human eyes, the more its own eyes resembled a person's, a horrifying mimicry. What would change tomorrow if it kept eating?
Jing Shu inspected the spot where Xiao Dou had been struck with the hammer. Its thick hide had rendered the blow meaningless, not even a bruise visible. She had worried for nothing. The creature was tougher than she had guessed.
After taking photos with her phone, the flash stark in the dark yard, she disposed of the bodies in the prepared pit, a quick and practical end. She decided to send a warning to the community chat. People needed to stop coveting what was not theirs. Let the consequences be public.
[Xiao Shu]:"@Everyone, someone just tried to rob my house. Anyone missing family members, come claim them."
She attached one of the clearer photos, showing a face but not the worst of the damage, and sent it into the silent, waiting group.