CH 10

Except for the tail, the big rat, which was a half times longer than an adult palm, was firmly caught in the jaws of the picker. The reinforced version of the picker was slip and drop resistant, and strong. After being clamped, the big rat struggled hard but couldn’t break free and could only squeak loudly. Feng Yi was in no hurry to leave. Instead, he took the rat to the property management office.

The property management office was responsible for handling the rats caught by the property owners, regardless of whether they were dead or alive. They had to be handled in a uniform manner to prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses and to prevent greater damage.

In a car parked not far from Feng Yi’s, the driver’s eyes were wide open, and his jaw almost dropped to the ground. “Holy fuck!” he said silently.

He took out his phone and sent a voice message: “Honey, there’s an awesome person in our community! I just saw him walking back and forth with a picker by the side of his car, and then suddenly he stomped and reached out! Whoosh! He caught a rat!!”

“It’s like… like… yes, it’s just like when a snake hunts a mouse in the animal world, so fast, whoosh! He caught it! I got goosebumps!”

“I’ve never seen such a neat shot, much better than the professionals of those rat-catching companies mentioned in the group!!”

“What’s this called? A great master’s skill! Totally casual, carefree, then an instant kill!”

As he spoke excitedly, his hands mimicked the way Feng Yi had just performed the move.

“Too bad I didn’t take a picture just now, otherwise I could show you how that fat rat struggled uselessly in the picker’s clamp! I feel avenged!!”

A voice message quickly came back from the phone. “Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up and ask him for help! The rat-catching company doesn’t even know how long the queue will be. It’s rare to have such a person in our community, so hurry up and ask him to come and help!”

With this reminder, the man finally recovered from his excitement, hurriedly got out of the car, and chased after Feng Yi.

At this time, there was no one in the management office. A young female administrator was on duty. She saw Feng Yi coming from the underground garage, holding a rat in the picker in his hand. Her face turned pale, and she rushed over, took out the rodent bag she was carrying, and unfolded it.

“Throw it in here!”

After Feng Yi threw the mouse in, the female administrator skillfully tied the bag. Without looking at the struggling rat, she nervously asked, “Did you catch it in the underground garage?”

“Yes. It was under my car,” Feng Yi replied.

The young administrator became even more nervous. “Are you in a hurry? We’ll send someone over now to check if there is any damage to the wiring in your car!”

It wasn’t the big rat that frightened her. If she was afraid of rats, she wouldn’t have taken this job. She was afraid that there was damage to the owner’s car!

The monthly management fee for the underground garage was quite high. If something happened, the owners would definitely think that they were just taking the money and doing nothing, and then they’d immediately complain, report, and call the mayor’s hotline. It would just be wave after wave of trouble.

The management office received word yesterday that there was a car owner in another community whose wiring under the car was chewed by a rat, and the car broke down while driving halfway. Fortunately, the person was fine, but it was still dangerous, so the community notified them that the property management should be prepared to hire rodent control for the underground garage.

They had cleaned it thoroughly yesterday, set up traps at the entrance and exit accordingly, checked the vents of all the pipes, and the surveillance in the underground garage was always online. Unexpectedly, after only one night, another rat was hiding under a car! Since it had appeared, it was likely that it wasn’t the only one. They would have to get someone to check the underground garage again. The rats had increased in number over the past two days, and they had to be careful to avoid any unnecessary accidents.

That’s why she was nervous! If something happened to the owners’ cars, the management would be held responsible!

“I’m in no hurry,” Feng Yi said.

“Okay, please wait a moment!” The administrator then made a phone call.

The property management office quickly invited someone over to check Feng Yi’s car.

“There are bite marks, but it’s nothing serious. There are also some food remains where the rodents hid food.” One person said.

When the management cleaned the garage yesterday, they only cleaned the floor under the cars. Without the consent of the car owner, it was impossible for them to carefully check the underside of each car, otherwise it might be mistaken for tampering if someone saw it.

As the employee checked the bottom of the car, Feng Yi was waiting next to him. He asked the management staff to help clean and disinfect the picker before putting it back in the trunk.

While he was waiting, a chubby figure suddenly appeared beside him.

“Hey, hi there! I am a property owner in Building Five of our community, and my surname is Hu. I just saw you catch the rat! It was amazing! Are you a professional?” the man asked.

“No,” Feng Yi replied.”

“Ah, I see, then… um, can you help me? There is a rat in my house, but I can’t catch it!

“The property management people went to catch it once, but it got back in again. Now the management can’t spare the staff, and the rodent control company is fully booked! The elderly and children in my family have already gone to stay outside for a few days. My wife and I are so annoyed by the rat in the house every day, but we can’t even catch it. We’re almost close to a nervous breakdown. Can you please help me?”

Feng Yi felt that it was quite sudden. “I’m not professional enough, so I might not be able to help you.”

“It’s okay! You’re still much better than me! I really can’t find anyone to help me right now. When you’re free, would you come to my house and take a look?”

“I’ve never done this kind of work before. The last time a mouse came into my house, I tricked it with eggs,” Feng Yi said.

“Last time, you definitely didn’t have any tools! With your reflexes just now, you won’t lose out to a professional!”

The man then clasped his hands and bowed. “I beg you!”

Seeing this, Feng Yi knew that he was no match for the man in terms of shamelessness. If he refused, the other party would probably burst into tears in public.

Thinking that he had nothing serious going on today anyway, he could go over there and take a look, and clarify something on the way. Therefore, Feng Yi did not refuse.

“I can help you take a look, but I might not be able to solve it,” Feng Yi said.

“Thank you! Thank you so much, buddy! Then when will you be free? I’m Hu Yi in Building Five, apartment 2102. Shall we exchange numbers first?”

“I’m in Building One, apartment 3002, and am also in the group chat,” Feng Yi said.

“That’s great! We both have a two in our apartment numbers, it’s fate!”

Feng Yi: “…I have to go out for a while. I’ll have time after dinner, is that convenient for you?”

“Yes, yes! I won’t go anywhere after dinner; I’ll just stay at home and wait!” He clasped his hands together again to express his gratitude.

While they were talking, the inspection of Feng Yi’s car was finished.

“There’s nothing of concern. Our management office will clean up the underground garage again later, and we have notified the group chat. Car owners can check the underside of the car, or come to us,” the employee said.

With no further problems, Feng Yi drove away. He went to the supermarket to buy some daily necessities, stocking up on rice, flour, corn, and oil. He also bought dumplings, beef, eggs, fruits, and vegetables, and two bags of flaky pancakes. After leaving the supermarket, he went to the pharmacy next door and bought a box of masks as a backup. He had bought a lot of things, but Feng Yi knew that he really needed so much. His physique had changed.

Just like in the underground garage just now. He had used a picker to trap rodents before, but it definitely wasn’t that easy and fast. It seemed like he had some extra senses. If it was in the past, he wouldn’t have noticed that there was a rat under the car, and he wouldn’t have moved so quickly and accurately. And on this shopping trip, Feng Yi could also sense the figures moving in those small corners that weren’t easy to notice. The supermarkets and pharmacies were still relatively okay. Obviously, the people there were very diligent in cleaning and exterminating the rodents. But other places were different.

He could use tonight’s trip to the apartment in Building Five to test his perception. How far was his perception range?

Feng Yi hadn’t paid attention when he was at home. If the rat under his car hadn’t been so close to him back then, he wouldn’t have noticed this perception ability.

When he got home, he took the picker that was always in the trunk, went upstairs, and put it in a long and narrow box. Otherwise, it would easily attract the attention of passersby.

It was dark after dinner. Almost every household had entered the time for after-dinner activities.

Feng Yi arrived at Building Five, apartment 2102. The owner, Mr. Hu, and his wife had been waiting for a long time.

“Do you have shoe covers?” Feng Yi asked.

“No, no, just come in!” Hu Yi thought to himself, what if you can’t catch the rat because you can’t keep up with it wearing shoe covers?

If the floor was dirty, he could mop it. But if the rat wasn’t caught, he would have to suffer for the next few days! Even mopping the floor eighty times would be useless!

Feng Yi wiped the dust from the soles of his shoes on the mat by the door and entered the house.

“Wherever you think there is a problem, just go straight to it, you can even go into the bedrooms!” Hu Yi said.

After returning during the day, the couple cleaned up the house so that Feng Yi could move around easily. Since someone in the group chat said that rats could understand a few short sentences after living in human society for a long time, the couple did not dare to speak too loud at this time.

Hu Yi watched as Feng Yi walked from the kitchen to the living room, and then from the living room to the bedrooms. There, Feng Yi stopped, opened the box, and took out the picker. Seeing this, the young couple became nervous.

Hu Yi glanced at his wife: Here it comes! The magic trick of stomping and catching the rat!

He also took out his cell phone to record.

Feng Yi didn’t pay attention to the couple’s silent communication but walked towards one of the rooms.

Hu Yi’s wife said in a low voice, “The old man lives in this room. There have been rat noises in the house for a while now. Not long ago, the rat was gnawing on the window screen outside. Our son was scared and cried, and he couldn’t sleep at night because of the noise. The old man took him to his old homestead for a while. They’ll return after the matter here is resolved. The door of this room has always been closed since.

According to Hu Yi and his wife’s initial guess, the rat was probably in the kitchen. There were many pipes there, and there might be a hole somewhere. From time to time at night, they could hear movement inside, but they couldn’t catch it every time. Now that Feng Yi had stopped at the door of the old man’s room, they were a bit surprised.

Feng Yi nodded to show his understanding and then entered the room.

“Open the closet door,” Feng Yi said.

The couple’s faces froze.

Hu Yi began to stammer. “Is there one inside?”

Both Hu Yi and his wife were a little afraid of rodents. In addition, the arrogance of those rats, as shown in the group chat, really diminished their already small amount of courage. Poked by his wife, Hu Yi took a deep breath and opened the closet door.

Everything was neatly arranged.

“The bottom drawer,” Feng Yi said.

Hu Yi bit the bullet and pulled the drawer open harshly.

A figure leaped out from inside. At the same time, the mistress of the house screamed. But the scream didn’t last long as she realized that the rat that jumped out of the drawer was caught by Feng Yi’s picker before it could land.

Hu Yi regained his senses and quickly took out the rat bag he had prepared. Feng Yi threw the captured rat into the bag. This rat wasn’t as fat as the one in the garage, perhaps it had starved and lost weight after being locked in the room.

The now relieved Hu Yi became braver and even felt calmer after being irritated for a few days. There was a feeling of satisfaction, as if he had gotten his revenge! When he looked at Feng Yi, it was as if he was looking at the savior of the world. Fucking awesome! Great master! With such a great master, what use was there for the rodent control companies!!