The Natives of This World Are So Fierce - Chapter 8: The Mischievous Little Sprite
Chains, rubber cords, tape, elastic bands.
Qin Xiaoxia dug out the supplies he had prepared long ago and bound the supernatural little thief, who looked like a child, in layer upon layer.
He even taped its mouth shut.
One thing had to be said: although the little fellow looked shabbily dressed, there was hardly any visible dirt on it, and it had no strange smell.
What now? Stay here and wait for the little thief to wake up?
Is this thing really some kind of spirit? Could it be an alien?
The bizarre ideas in Qin Xiaoxia's head began running wild.
One thing was certain: it sure as hell wasn't a ghost. It was breathing, after all.
He even wondered what would happen if he handed this "major discovery" over to the government, but that possibility was strangled just half a second after it arose.
He hadn't spent all that time and effort setting this trap just to settle for a commendation.
But sitting here waiting didn't feel like much of a solution either.
He had used five times the adult dose and had absolutely no idea when this thing would wake up.
Besides, when it came to what would happen after the little thief woke, Qin Xiaoxia felt sixty percent anticipation and forty percent fear.
He was terrified that the little thing would wake up, unleash its "ultimate," and kill him instantly.
As the saying went, fortune favored the bold. Qin Xiaoxia felt this was the greatest risk he had taken in his life so far. Other people couldn't even get an opportunity like this.
Since he couldn't very well leave at a time like this, all he could do was wait beside it.
And that wait lasted until four in the afternoon.
Holy shit! Is the drug really this strong? Did I poison it to death?
Fortunately, the little thief's chest was still rising and falling, which meant it was at least still breathing.
He had spent all this time in a state of tense excitement, and setting the trap, putting on an act, and tying it up had consumed a great deal of energy.
Although he had eaten plenty of cake, his stomach was already growling, even though it wasn't mealtime yet.
When he couldn't leave and wasn't in the mood to cook, ordering delivery was the obvious choice.
He unlocked his phone and checked the delivery app.
Oh, Old Liu's little restaurant is open! Then I've got to get the secret-recipe braised pork noodles and golden fried rice.
Perhaps business was slow because the restaurant had just opened, but the delivery was incredibly quick this time. Less than twenty minutes passed between placing the order and its arrival.
Qin Xiaoxia told the delivery guy to leave the food outside the door. Once the man was gone, he sprinted to the entrance, opened the door, grabbed the food, and shut it again.
He glanced back at the table more than once along the way, making sure the little thief's condition remained under control.
Old Liu's cooking was absolutely top-notch. Apparently, he had trained under a master in his younger days, and his noodles were at their best between five and twenty minutes after leaving the pot.
Which was right now.
The moment he opened the noodle container and the fried rice box, their glossy, tempting colors, rich noodle broth, and distinct strands of noodles came into view, and a savory aroma filled the living room.
Qin Xiaoxia couldn't help swallowing.
Then he picked up a piece of the secret-recipe braised pork on top with his chopsticks and took a bite.
But immediately afterward, Qin Xiaoxia paused.
He noticed that the little thief on the table seemed to have moved just now, though it could have been his imagination.
Still, Qin Xiaoxia was sure his eyes hadn't deceived him.
Heh heh heh. I was wondering why you wouldn't wake up. Turns out you've been pretending to be unconscious!
As the saying went, you couldn't wake someone who was pretending to sleep. Naturally, waiting wouldn't wake someone pretending to be unconscious either.
The fact that the little thief was playing dead proved it was feeling pretty insecure.
Knowing that made Qin Xiaoxia very happy.
Trying to put on an act in front of me? You nearly fooled me, but you're still a little short on self-control.
He lifted the noodles, picked up the braised pork, and passed it in front of the bound little fellow, paying particular attention to its nose.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Old Liu's cooking just keeps getting better. Apparently, he starts making this secret-recipe braised pork at three or four in the morning and doesn't finish until noon. There's nothing like it in Qingcheng."
Then he took a hearty bite and slurped up a chopstickful of noodles, the sounds of chewing and blowing on the hot food mingling together.
He lifted the plastic bowl and took a sip of broth.
"Ah, that hits the spot!"
During all this, Qin Xiaoxia clearly saw the little thief's eyelashes trembling fiercely for a while.
It really is a greedy little thing... Even after I drugged it once, it still can't resist temptation.
"Stop pretending. Wake up now and you can still have some. Otherwise, there won't even be any broth left."
After saying that, he waited quietly for a while, but the little thief on the table didn't move.
Qin Xiaoxia looked at the braised pork, then at the fellow on the table.
He reached over, peeled the tape off its mouth, and held the braised pork against its lips with his chopsticks.
The sauce and broth on the pork trickled down bit by bit, seeping into its mouth.
The little fellow's throat visibly bobbed.
Then it could no longer hold back. It opened its mouth and bit hard at the braised pork.
But a hateful pair of chopsticks whisked the pork away first, leaving the little thief biting empty air.
"Oh, oh, oh, you're awake?"
"Heh heh heh. Want some?"
Grinning, Qin Xiaoxia sat to one side with the noodles in his hands.
That series of reactions had almost entirely erased his fear of the "prisoner" on the table.
"If you want to eat, answer my questions. One answer, one bite!"
The little fellow on the table seemed furious.
It kept twisting its body and struggling.
Qin Xiaoxia inwardly broke into a nervous sweat. He really was afraid that it might suddenly snap the chains and cords, then get up and kill him instead.
But that worry proved unnecessary. The little body twisted a couple of times, then stopped.
"Modosala! #... Kurumandra... Kurumandrasalaman ## Guliandonimi!!!"
A rapid string of sounds spilled from the little thief's mouth, accompanied by a furious expression.
Qin Xiaoxia froze.
Those words were clearly curses. That much was easy to tell.
The intonation carried some kind of deep resonance within his consciousness. Thanks to this wondrous effect, it was as though his ears and mind were hearing the words at the same time.
No language on Earth could possibly do that.
But he couldn't understand a single word.
When you cursed someone, you certainly didn't want them to have no idea what you were saying. Otherwise, wouldn't ranting away without getting any reaction only make you angrier?
So there was a very good chance this little thief didn't understand any Earth languages at all?
Qin Xiaoxia mourned all the verbal performances he had put on over the past several days, while also having no idea how to communicate with the little thief.
Coming back empty-handed from a mountain of treasure might not have been quite the right description, but he certainly had a heartfelt "motherfucker" he needed to get out.
He watched the little thief's face flush with anger, as though it had been the one getting toyed with all these days.
"Ah, I guess I'm just too softhearted after all!"
With that, Qin Xiaoxia stuffed the entire piece of braised pork into the little fellow's mouth, plugging its nonstop chatter.
A greedy glutton was a greedy glutton, after all. It lacked the backbone to spit the food out and keep cursing, and instead chewed contentedly.
Meanwhile, Qin Xiaoxia had wandered into the bedroom.
He had prepared a plan for what to do after catching the little thief long ago.
By the time the little thief finished the braised pork, Qin Xiaoxia had appeared before it again, holding a tablet in one hand and carrying a small box marked with a red cross in the other.
There was something peculiar about the smile on his face, making the little thief, which was licking its lips on the table, feel an inexplicable chill.