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

"Clang!"

Before they could even reach the door, the two doors of Zhou Jianguo's house were kicked open from the inside.

The kick was extremely powerful; the door slammed against the wall, and dust fell in a flurry.

Zhou Jianguo stood at the door like a door god, holding that black iron rod in his hand.

Behind him, Banggeng was clutching his leg, convulsing on the ground, his crotch soaked, foaming at the mouth, his eyes rolling back. A grotesque, terrifying iron clamp was clamped to his right foot, blood oozing from its serrated edges.

"Oh, everyone's here?"

Zhou Jianguo looked at the approaching crowd, his face showing no panic, but rather a chilling calmness.

"Zhou Jianguo! You heartless bastard! What did you do to my son!" Qin Huairu screamed, baring her teeth and claws as she lunged at him.

"call--"

Zhou Jianguo held the iron rod horizontally, pointing it directly at Qin Huairu's nose.

The wind from the stick was fierce, and Qin Huairu was so frightened that her legs went weak, and she froze on the spot.

"Don't move."

Zhou Jianguo's voice wasn't loud, "Take one more step and I'll beat you up too."

Yi Zhonghai, wearing an overcoat and shining a flashlight, shone it on the bloody scene and trembled with rage: "Zhou Jianguo! Are you insane?! This is just a child! How could you kill him like that? That's a bear trap! You've broken the law!"

"Is it illegal?"

Zhou Jianguo chuckled, his clear voice carrying throughout the entire courtyard.

"Uncle, that's a really novel way to put a big label on someone."

He pointed with the iron rod at the half-dead stick on the ground.

"In the dead of night, I was sleeping when suddenly someone pried open the window and a dark figure jumped in."

"These days are not peaceful. I thought it was a wild boar that ran down from the mountain, or enemy agents who came from somewhere to cause trouble."

"I put a trap in my own house to keep out mice and wild animals, who knew this mouse would look so much like a stag beetle?"

Zhou Jianguo took a step forward, staring intently at Yi Zhonghai, exuding an aura of dominance.

"What's going on? This kid's up in the middle of the night, climbing up my window, what's he up to? Trying to give me some warmth? Or did he not steal enough during the day and is coming to restock?"

"You..." Yi Zhonghai was so choked up that his face turned red, and he couldn't speak for a long time.

Sha Zhu, his eyes red and neck stiff, was about to rush forward: "Stop talking nonsense! Those are children! Save them first!"

"Bang!"

Zhou Jianguo slammed a stick down on the door frame, sending rotten wood chips flying, which startled Sha Zhu, who shrank back.

"Let's see who dares to make a move."

"This is the crime scene."

Zhou Jianguo swept his gaze across the crowd: "I've already set up a series of traps. There are nine more traps in this room. Anyone who's not afraid of death, come in and try."

Everyone gasped and involuntarily took a half-step back when they saw the clip on Bang Geng's foot that was still flashing blue light.

This week, Jianguo has gone mad! He's really daring to take action!

Zhou Jianguo looked past the crowd and gazed at the night sky.

A peanut suddenly appeared in my hand—I found it in a corner of the system space during the chaos earlier; it must have been one that was missed from the newbie gift pack.

Without making a sound, he fed the virtual hamster in his mind.

[Ding! Feeding successful: One peanut.]

Pet satisfaction: Average.

[Reward: One 5-liter bottle of premium pure peanut oil.]

[Triggering a critical hit quest: Completely intimidate all the birds in the courtyard. Quest reward: A mysterious meat gift pack.]

Zhou Jianguo licked his chapped lips, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.

The oil is ready.

Can meat be far behind?

He looked down at the still twitching stick on the ground, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

"Since everyone's here, let's not leave."

"Go call the security department. In the dead of night, they broke into a house, pried open doors and locks, and stole the property of the working class, disrupting their production and daily life."

"This crime is enough to send this kid to juvenile detention for the rest of his life."

"As for this leg..." Zhou Jianguo smiled coldly, which sent chills down everyone's spine. "It's good that it's crippled. It'll save the country from crawling around everywhere in the future and saves food for the country."

"you……"

Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu's eyes rolled back, her body went limp, and she fainted with a "ga".

Qin Huairu's fainting spell caused an uproar throughout the backyard.

"Sister Qin! Sister Qin!"

Sha Zhu's eyes were bloodshot, and his reckless, unruly energy surged to the top of his head. He looked at Qin Huairu lying on the ground, then at Bang Geng, who was still foaming at the mouth and whose life was uncertain, and his reason completely collapsed.

"Zhou Jianguo! You beast! I'll kill you!"

Sha Zhu roared, swinging his muscular physique honed from years of wok-tossing, and charged through the crowd toward the door. His punch, whistling through the air, aimed straight for Zhou Jianguo's face; he was clearly serious, intending to cripple the so-called culprit on the spot.

Seeing this, Jia Zhangshi sprang to her feet, slapping her thigh and wailing in encouragement, "Beat him! Zhuzi, beat this murderer to death! I want him to pay for Banggeng's life!"

Faced with Sha Zhu's powerful blow, Zhou Jianguo didn't even flinch.

Instead of retreating, he advanced, casually thrusting the rusty fire hook forward, precisely aiming it at Sha Zhu's vital point on his chest, forcefully halting Sha Zhu's charge.

"If you miss, then hit me."

Zhou Jianguo's eyes were filled with mockery: "Shazhu, you'd better look carefully at what that clamp on Banggeng's leg is connected to."

"This thing is electrified, and it's really strong right now," Zhou Jianguo sneered. "If you were to touch the stem or these metal clamps, they could turn you both into roasted pigs. You might be thick-skinned enough to withstand it, but this kid..."

He pointed to the stick on the ground, its eyes already rolled back in its head: "If you electrify it again, this leg won't just be useless, it'll be cooked."

"You..." Sha Zhu froze on the spot, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked, but he dared not take another step forward. He was a madman, but not a dead man. Those eerie blue sparks were unsettling to look at, and if someone were to die, he would be dragged down with them.

At this moment, the old man Yi Zhonghai finally snapped out of his shock. Looking at the stunned Sha Zhu, he knew that a forceful approach wouldn't work. His face darkened, and he took two steps forward with his hands behind his back, adopting a stern and imposing posture.

"Zhou Jianguo!"

Yi Zhonghai's voice was full of energy; he no longer dwelled on Bang Geng's injury, but directly accused him: "What are you trying to do? Huh? Do you have no respect for the law? No respect for the unity of the compound?"

Pointing to the clips on the ground, he looked around at his neighbors with a pained expression: "Look at this, everyone! Who would install something like this in their house? And connect it to electricity? What kind of behavior is this? This is a tactic used by class enemies on the border! This is an illegal electric fence! They're trying to kill our neighbors!"

This hat, once it's on your head, will be quite heavy.

In this era, the words "class enemy" were enough to condemn someone to eternal damnation, ranging from public criticism to imprisonment.

"Zhou Jianguo, this is a serious and egregious ideological problem!" Seeing the change in the neighbors' expressions, Yi Zhonghai immediately pressed his advantage, shouting sternly, "I order you to open the trap right now and save the person! Then apologize to Aunt Jia and pay for her medical expenses! Otherwise, tomorrow morning I'll join forces with the neighborhood committee and the police station to sue you for intentional assault and setting up a dangerous trap, sending you to jail for the rest of your life!"

Upon hearing this, the neighbors who had initially thought Zhou Jianguo had some merit changed their expressions.

"Yeah, that's way too ruthless, that's electricity."

"What if we accidentally get shocked?"

"Jianguo, listen to your uncle. You've gone too far. If you really cripple the child, you won't be able to escape either."

Second Uncle Liu Haizhong, finding an opportunity to unleash his official power, snorted with his pregnant belly, "These saboteurs must be severely punished! A full-scale public denouncement must be held! I think this is a typical bad element!"

Public opinion overwhelmingly turned against Zhou Jianguo.

At this moment, Bang Geng, who broke into the house, became the victim, while Zhou Jianguo, who was guarding his own door, became the heinous thug.

"Oh."