Chapter 144: Revelation

After staying in the Settlement for a few days, Zhou Liming did not need to pretend anymore and moved around like a normal person.

In fact, Zhou Liming found that while being free was good, the current life was not what he wanted. He stayed in the Cave all day, or under the trees. Well, there were girls and women here, but what did that have to do with Zhou Liming? In half a year, the normal men here had long since snatched all the women away.

Especially at night, Zhou Liming could hardly bear it.

The Cave was empty and housed hundreds of people, all connected together. Under the emptiness of the night, the sounds of intimacy were simply… With Zhou Liming’s hearing and his vigorous nature, how was this different from murder? So, with Wang Ruijin’s consent, he moved directly outside the Cave to live, avoiding the interference of these sounds.

The boredom of this life drove Zhou Liming crazy.

“This is definitely not the life I need.” Undoubtedly, this sentence always hovered in Zhou Liming’s mind. The life he needed was free and full of passion. Clearly, the life in the X Squadron before was somewhat similar, if one removed the constraints of a series of rules and regulations.

Wang Lei was easy to get along with. Before Zhou Liming’s nature turned crazy, he was somewhat similar to him, and they soon became very good friends.

“The fish resources in this lake are very rich. Shall we go down and catch a few?”

Staying by the lake, looking at the emerald green water plants, Zhou Liming, who grew up in a coastal city, was a good swimmer and naturally felt an itch to act. Like the flower fish porridge from a few days ago, the flower fish was caught from this lake. The meat in the Settlement was mainly fish, all coming from this lake.

Wang Lei hesitated for a moment and said, “But my uncle doesn’t allow going into the water to catch fish.”

Zhou Liming casually took a bamboo pole from the side, sharpened it, and waved it. “We won’t go down; we’ll just spear a few from the edge of the lake.”

“Will that work?” Wang Lei shook his head and said, “Even Li An couldn’t spear fish that way.”

Zhou Liming did not explain. He walked to the edge of the lake, walked around for a while, and finally found a gravel area. He observed for a moment, his ears twitched a few times, and under the slight sound of water flow, he could not be stopped from hearing the subtle sounds of fish swimming. He waved to Wang Lei, then jumped onto a large rock. After confirming there was a school of fish here, he said, “Pick up a stone. When I tell you to smash it, you smash it hard at this spot.”

Wang Lei also became interested. He picked up a stone weighing about ten pounds, stood next to Zhou Liming, and confirmed again, “Will it work?”

Taking his position, Zhou Liming said confidently, “Don’t worry, spearing a few fish is not a difficult task. Alright, now, smash it down.”

Wang Lei raised the stone high above his head, aimed at the position Zhou Liming mentioned, and smashed it down hard. Only a “plop” was heard, and water splashed everywhere. Wang Lei was not paying attention, and his clothes were almost soaked. He kept wiping the water droplets from his face.

Only Zhou Liming remained motionless, his eyes fixed on the water surface.

The frightened fish scattered in all directions. Under Zhou Liming’s concentration, the slight, imperceptible sounds they made while escaping gave away their positions. In that instant, the bamboo pole in Zhou Liming’s hand struck out, fast as lightning, piercing into the water, and then with a sudden lift, a fish was pierced and thrown onto the grass by the lake. There was a bloody hole in its back, and it stopped moving after just a few struggles.

Zhou Liming’s movement did not stop after one strike. The bamboo pole in his hand hardly paused. In the span of a breath, he had actually thrust thirteen times.

By the time Zhou Liming stopped, thirteen fish of different sizes were already lying on the grass by the lake. None of his strikes missed. The scattering fish were pierced thirteen times before they could disperse. In fact, Zhou Liming’s movements were too fast; the trajectory was almost invisible.

Looking at the fish struggling on the grass, and Zhou Liming who had retracted his bamboo pole, Wang Lei’s shock could be imagined.

“You… how did you do that?” Wang Lei was tongue-tied. This kind of almost god-like fish-spearing technique, Wang Lei had never seen before, let alone heard of. This was thrusting thirteen times in an instant; all the movements were connected. If one didn’t pay attention, they would think only one or two thrusts were made.

Zhou Liming smiled and didn’t explain much. Could he say that this was just his performance while holding back?

Actually, it was Zhou Liming’s first time spearing fish, relying entirely on the super senses brought by the Fierce Beast Gene. But the first time would always be a bit rusty; otherwise, Zhou Liming was confident he could increase this number to around twenty-five. It sounded exaggerated, but Zhou Liming didn’t think so.

“Leizi, don’t forget, I traveled from Yue Province to here. Without a special skill, how could I have crossed two provinces to get here?”

Zhou Liming’s explanation was a bit far-fetched, but Wang Lei didn’t think too much about it. Instead, he happily used vines to string the fish together, and then joyfully went back. Tonight, he could taste braised fish again. He remembered the jar of peanut oil brought back last time; there was still quite a bit left, which should be enough.

Supplies in the Settlement were very poor. Under the provision of grain, they mostly ate porridge. In fact, no one knew how long this could last.

During dinner, Wang Lei described Zhou Liming’s magical skills with great excitement, which naturally made Wang Ruijin and the others think they were listening to a story. Li An was the most surprised. In the army, he had received such training, and he had tried it too, managing to spear one only after several tries. Even a Special Forces Soldier could stab three times at most, with a hit rate of around 90%. He believed what Wang Lei said, and that was why he was shocked. What kind of concept was striking out thirteen times?

The expressions of everyone fell into Zhou Liming’s eyes. He was laughing inside. Spearing fish was just a side note; his real purpose was to use this method to reveal some of his abilities so that they would value him. What Zhou Liming needed to do now was to use these methods, which were slightly more brilliant than ordinary people, to gain their recognition.

At least for now, this goal had been achieved.

Wang Ruijin now had some immunity to Zhou Liming. Facing the existence of this monster, what was this little skill? He looked at the few braised fish that had consumed the last bit of peanut oil, his brows knitted into a ball, and said helplessly, “The only bit of oil is gone. Next, we can only live on pickled vegetables.”

Fish? There were some in the creeks and lakes, but oil was needed to cook them. Steamed or boiled fish? No one liked eating like that after a month or two.

Zhou Liming finished a bighead carp, leaving a pile of bones. The taste was much better than the nutritional meals in the Squadron. Hearing Wang Ruijin’s complaint, Zhou Liming said, “No oil? There’s plenty in the supermarkets. We can figure out a way to get some back.”

Tang Rui glared at Zhou Liming and said, “Do you think it’s the past, where you could take money to the supermarket and get as much as you wanted? Damn it, being able to find something on the edge of the city is already a blessing. Don’t hope to enter the city; the Fierce Beasts inside will tear you apart and swallow you into their bellies.”

Only Li An licked his lips. The current life was even more bitter than in the army, and he had had enough of it.

Wang Ruijin became serious. During this time, he had thought a lot. The people in the Settlement were becoming increasingly restless. Some were getting ready to move, wanting to go out and get everything they wanted on their own. This was not a good sign. Once someone popped up, with just these few people, they couldn’t control the situation at all.

Wang Ruijin was not an idiot; he understood the current situation. If no changes were made, the Settlement would definitely become a powder keg.

Who said there was no competition here? Look at that bastard Xiao Yanse, forming cliques in the Settlement. Wang Ruijin knew exactly what he was planning. A Settlement of hundreds of people, in this Fierce Beast Era, once one grasped the power here, one would be the local emperor here. The people now could no longer be satisfied with their current life; they needed change.

“Change?” Wang Ruijin kept repeating this word. The Settlement indeed needed to change.

How to change? Wang Ruijin was also facing this problem for the first time. He used to be just a doctor and had no experience in this area.

When this Settlement first formed, Wang Ruijin had considered this problem. But the Fierce Beasts were too powerful at that time, making people feel fear. Even if the Settlement was organized, so what? In front of Fierce Beasts, they were worthless. A Level Three Fierce Beast could tear the entire Settlement apart. Because of this, Wang Ruijin had not thought about organizing any armed forces to protect themselves at that time.

After losing the initiative, the lifestyle of the Settlement was fixed, like a village.

The few people led by Wang Ruijin were like the village head and village cadres, having a little bit of binding force. This binding force was entirely based on the fear of being discovered by Fierce Beasts. Sometimes, it would shatter with just a light touch. This was also why Xiao Yanse dared to form cliques and sometimes ignored Wang Ruijin and the others. Now, they were just short of standing up and opposing Wang Ruijin’s leadership.

There were many people dissatisfied with the current life, which was exactly what Xiao Yanse could utilize. Privately, he assured everyone that he could make the Settlement better. Electricity, television to watch, no longer living in this Cave like primitive people. Silk-like bedding, dream beds, comfortable sofas… In his mouth, a beautiful blueprint for the future had already been drawn.

But in Wang Ruijin’s eyes, Xiao Yanse was nothing. Generate electricity? Dream on. Once there was any movement, the entire Settlement would be destroyed under the roar of Fierce Beasts.

Zhou Liming didn’t know what Wang Ruijin was thinking, but he just smiled at Tang Rui’s words and didn’t express anything. Now that he was fully recovered, he was enough to walk sideways in this area. Going into the city for a stroll was not a difficult thing at all. But he didn’t want to do that right now; he was still thinking about some things.