Courtyard House: In times of famine, my hamster became a spirit.

Zhou Jianguo found it amusing. He ignored Yi Zhonghai's face, which had turned a deep purplish-red, and slowly bent down.

His hand reached towards the inside of the threshold—the spot where the stick had just been thrown in.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, he picked something up from the shadows.

It was a boning knife.

The blade was sharpened to a fine point, and the handle was wrapped with black tape; it was clearly a knife used for cutting tough vegetables. When Sha Zhu saw the knife, his expression changed—it was the one that had gone missing from his kitchen!

Zhou Jianguo weighed the knife in his hand, then made a feinting slash in the air. With a "whoosh," the sound of the blade cutting through the air made Liu Haizhong, who was standing in the front row, instinctively shrink his neck.

"Uncle," Zhou Jianguo said, toying with his dagger and glancing at Yi Zhonghai with amusement, "what did you just say? Class enemy?"

He raised his voice, which boomed like thunder: "What kind of good kid comes knocking on doors in the middle of the night, carrying a sharpened boning knife?!"

This angry shout silenced the entire courtyard.

Yi Zhonghai's eyelids twitched violently as he stared at the knife, his heart skipping a beat. Oh no!

"Burning down a house is a minor crime. But armed burglary..." Zhou Jianguo pointed the tip of his knife at the stick on the ground, "That changes the nature of the offense. It's armed robbery! It's attempted murder! If this knife hadn't fallen, wouldn't it be stuck in my heart right now?"

He turned around, knife in hand, and strode out: "Since this old man says it's class struggle, then this knife is irrefutable evidence. No need to wait until tomorrow, I'm going to the police station to report it now! I think this guy not only needs to spend time in juvenile detention, but he also needs to go to the shooting range and eat a peanut! To save the country food!"

"You dare!"

"No!"

Two exclamations rang out simultaneously. One was Jia Zhangshi's terrified scream, and the other was Qin Huairu's desperate cry as she had just woken up.

The moment Qin Huairu opened her eyes, she heard the words "shooting range," and upon seeing the gleaming boning knife, her mental defenses crumbled. She knew Bang Geng's character all too well; that knife was probably stolen from somewhere!

In this era of strict crackdowns, breaking into a house with a weapon can really cost you your head!

"Jianguo! Jianguo, please don't go! I beg you!"

Qin Huairu, abandoning all her usual reserve, scrambled forward, trying to pull Zhou Jianguo away, but a single glare from him silenced her. She turned and clung to Yi Zhonghai's leg, sobbing uncontrollably, "Uncle! Please save Banggeng! You can't report it! If you do, this child will be ruined! He'll die! Dongxu died young, he's my only son!"

Yi Zhonghai was embarrassed when Qin Huairu hugged him.

He looked at the knife and knew that this matter couldn't be handled as a "neighborhood dispute" today. If it were reported to the authorities, not only would Bang Geng's life be over, but his reputation as the head of the household would also be ruined—a knife-wielding robber had emerged from his jurisdiction; would he still have the reputation of being a respected elder in the courtyard house?

More importantly, if Banggeng is gone, the Jia family will fall apart, and who will take care of him in his old age?

"Jianguo! Halt!"

Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth and shouted.

Zhou Jianguo paused, turned around, and said with a half-smile, "What? This old man is going to help the robbers destroy evidence?"

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Yi Zhonghai's chest heaved with anger. "This...this is ultimately a matter for the hospital. The child is young and doesn't understand. Taking a knife might just be...it was for self-defense. Let's resolve this internally and not cause trouble for the government."

"Solve it internally?" Zhou Jianguo raised an eyebrow. "Sure. The old man has spoken, I have to give him face."

Hearing this, hope ignited in Qin Huairu's eyes.

"But," Zhou Jianguo changed the subject, glancing at the animal trap on the ground, "this mechanism isn't easy to open. It's a sophisticated foreign gadget I bought from a junkyard at a high price, but it got stuck because of Sha Zhu's fright. To open it, you need that special lubricant, which I can't afford."

"How much do you want?" Yi Zhonghai asked, his face dark. He knew that today he was going to have to pay a hefty price.

Zhou Jianguo held up one hand and gestured with it to show both sides.

"Five yuan?" Yi Zhonghai frowned. "Fine, I'll pay for Qin Huairu."

"Five yuan?" Zhou Jianguo laughed, his laughter full of sarcasm. "Old man, are you trying to fob me off like a beggar? Five yuan can buy your life these days? I meant fifty."

"How many?!"

The entire hospital was in an uproar.

Fifty yuan! Back then, a first-class worker only earned twenty-seven and a half yuan a month. Fifty yuan was two months' wages for an ordinary worker! How much cornmeal could you buy with that? How many kilograms of meat could you buy?

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi jumped up with a scream: "Why don't you just rob me! Fifty yuan? You want my life?! No! Not a single penny! You childless man, you're obsessed with money!"

"No?" Zhou Jianguo didn't waste any words and turned to leave again. "Then let the police comrades settle this matter and ask about the boning knife. If he gets ten or eight years in prison, consider this fifty yuan as his jail food."

"Ouch—! It hurts so much! Mom! Help me!"

Suddenly, the stick on the ground let out a bloodcurdling scream; his leg had already begun to turn purple.

Qin Huairu's heart was breaking. She frantically shook Yi Zhonghai, yelling, "Grandpa! Give it to him! Give it to him! My legs are going to break!"

He was afraid.

This kid has really changed; he's a daredevil.

"Give it to me! I'll give it to you!"

Yi Zhonghai looked ten years older, his hands trembling as he pulled a wad of warm banknotes from his inner pocket. It was his freshly received salary, barely warm to the touch.

"Fifty yuan, plus all the meat ration coupons the Jia family has for this month," Zhou Jianguo added. "If I'm missing even one, I won't be able to open this clip."

"You... fine! fine! fine!" Yi Zhonghai shouted three times in a row, then turned and yelled at Qin Huairu, "Give me the tickets!"

Qin Huairu, weeping, fumbled in her clothes and pulled out the last pound of meat ration coupons the Jia family had. This was meant to be used to make dumplings for Banggeng during the New Year!

The money and the tickets ended up in Zhou Jianguo's hands.

He counted them once and put them in his pocket.

He walked expressionlessly to the side of the stick, without any "special lubricant" at all. He simply reached out and pressed a small, inconspicuous clip on the side of the clip.

"Click."

The clamp that was gripping the leg bone of the club loosened.

"Ah!!!" As the clamp loosened, a surge of excruciating pain rushed back, and the man in the club screamed again before completely losing consciousness.

"Quick! Get him to the hospital! Sha Zhu! Carry him on your back!" Yi Zhonghai roared, giving orders.

Sha Zhu, with red eyes, carried the stick on his back, and Qin Huairu followed behind, crying. The group of people ran out in a rush.

Jia Zhangshi glared viciously at Zhou Jianguo, cursing under her breath, but seeing the fire hook in his hand, she didn't dare to make a move and chased after her grandson.

Soon, Zhou Jianguo was the only one left in the courtyard.

Zhou Jianguo toyed with the boning knife and sneered.

Fifty dollars was a huge sum of money these days. But compared to what those beasts had done to his predecessor, it wasn't even interest.

Inside the virtual cage, the silver-gray hamster had been impatiently perched on the bars, staring longingly at the bloodstained knife.

"Eat."

Zhou Jianguo silently recited in his heart.

The boning knife in his hand vanished into thin air, transforming into a streak of light and disappearing into the system.

The hamster excitedly hugged the knife, which was bigger than its body, and started munching on it, making a crunching sound like it was eating a cookie.

[Ding! Feeding successful: A murder weapon (iron) stained with malice and blood.]

Pet satisfaction: Extremely high

[Received a critical hit reward: 1 fully automatic infrared sensor anti-theft crossbow (comes with 50 powerful tranquilizer darts, effective range 50 meters, silent firing).]

[Host detected to have acquired a large sum of cash (50 yuan), meeting the activation requirements.]

[The "Black Market" module in the system shop is now activated. Currently available for exchange: Nightmare Talisman (Beginner) – When used, it allows a designated target to experience their most terrifying dream each night for three days.]

Zhou Jianguo looked at the talisman that had appeared out of thin air in his hand, and then looked in the direction where the group of people had disappeared at the courtyard gate.

Nightmare?

This is just the beginning.

"Jia Zhangshi, this first talisman is a gift for you, you old hag. I wish you sweet dreams tonight."