I thought today would end peacefully, but just as Xu Lai and the others put down their bowls and chopsticks, a torrential downpour started outside.

Hearing the heart-wrenching sound of the rain, the once quiet neighborhood instantly erupted in excitement.

This boiling over is not because of happiness, but because of anger and despair!

"Damn you, God! Are you trying to kill us all?!"

"Oh my God, what are we going to do!"

"If it rains again, it's going to kill us!"

...

As soon as Xu Lai and the others opened the door, they heard desperate screams coming from the corridors upstairs and downstairs.

But what can you do even if you're desperate or angry?

What should have been a happy occasion of having dinner together was suddenly dampened by the sudden downpour that swept everyone's good mood away.

The two old men, Xu Jiangming and Xiao Shan, had originally planned to continue chatting after dinner, but the downpour ruined their mood.

Both families returned home with heavy expressions.

"It seems this downpour will indeed last a long time, just like in Lai Lai's previous life!"

After the Xu family returned home, they took out some diapers and stuck them to the cracks in the window.

Song Qiu'e said dejectedly as she pasted the paper.

The torrential rain would stop for a few days at a time, or there would be a period of heavy rain followed by two days of light rain. Song Qiu'e still held a great hope that this disaster might be different from what her daughter had experienced in her previous life.

It seems she was overthinking things.

Everyone was in a bad mood, and no one responded to Song Qiu'e's words. They just silently stuck the diapers in their hands to the crack in the window.

After a night of feeling down, everyone still had to eat and live their lives the next morning.

No matter how harsh the environment is, everyone has to survive, right?

The Xu family's bad mood was instantly dispelled by a spicy and delicious hot pot meal.

Eating hot pot so early in the morning is definitely not something a normal family would do.

But the fragrant butter broth, the tender beef, lamb and chicken cooked in the broth, and one bite is enough to give you a boost of energy.

There are also freshly picked lettuce from the garden, and protein-rich eggs, frozen tofu, and other items to satisfy everyone's tastes and desires.

As the saying goes, what you crave is what your body is lacking!

When everyone's mouths are satisfied with the food, their hearts are at ease.

Who says food isn't a form of comfort?

Of course, the hot pot had a very strong smell, so in order not to cause public outrage, Xu Lai and the others cooked it in the kitchen of the space and ate it at the dining table in the space.

After eating, feeding the chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, and sheep, and watering the crops, pasture, and vegetables in the garden, the family left the space and returned to their home outside.

The training continued, and the house inspections for water damage continued. Everyone was busy with their own tasks, and everything seemed to have returned to square one.

"Ah! Help! Murder!"

As Xu Lai and her younger brother were sparring in the living room, a piercing and sharp scream reached her ears.

Xu Chao also withdrew his move and looked at his older sister.

Xu Jiangming, Xu Haiguo, and Song Qiu'e also rushed into the living room.

"Let's go down and take a look!"

To protect oneself, one must be aware of the external situation at all times.

Xu Lai told everyone to put their extendable stun guns in their pockets, and then they all went out together.

Unexpectedly, as soon as they opened the door, the three members of the Xiao family next door also came out.

"We're also going down to check things out!"

Xiao Shan spoke with a serious expression.

It was clear that they had also heard that pitiful cry.

The eight people went downstairs again, and when they reached the thirteenth floor, a large crowd had already gathered in the stairwell.

Xu Lai could smell the stench of blood even from the outside.

Xiao Rui is a doctor and has always been more sensitive to blood than the average person. When he smelled the strong smell of blood, he unconsciously stood in front of his father and wife.

"As everyone can see, I came here today to collect my debt, but he refused to pay and even tried to kill me with a knife. I was only acting in self-defense!"

That voice sounds so familiar!

Standing at the back of the crowd, Xu Lai carefully recalled her memories for a while before finally remembering someone.

The building manager of these seventeen buildings is Xiong Zhong!

Xu Lai reached out and squeezed into the crowd. Looking up, he saw that the man was burly with a thick waist, a face full of fat, and a large head, resembling a big brown bear.

As his name suggests, isn't this the same Xiong Zhong who volunteered to be the building manager in the community group chat just the day before yesterday afternoon?

They happened to be paddling a rubber boat to Wangtaishan that day, so they didn't pay attention to the messages in the group chat. They only found out about it the next day when they checked their phones.

Xu Lai knew what had happened as soon as she recognized Xiong Zhong!

Just like in his previous life, Xiong Zhong first led a group of thugs, including Wang Cai, the thug who had beaten up the property manager Yu Cheng the day before yesterday, to buy up or hoard supplies through various channels.

Then, using their position as building manager, they sold these supplies to people in need at prices ten or even dozens of times higher than the original price.

Especially yesterday, when the torrential rain poured down again and the residents of the community were in despair, these people became even more excited.

The more severe the natural disasters and man-made calamities, the better the opportunity for them to amass wealth or even take control of the building.

Through her memories of her previous life, Xu Lai knew that the man lying on the ground covered in blood was surnamed Wen and was the male owner of room 1302 on the thirteenth floor.

The man's surname was Wen. His son, who was in the first grade of elementary school, had a persistent cough and high fever, suspected to be pneumonia, and there was no medicine at home.

Anxious, Mr. Wen and his wife Fang Lili asked the building manager, Xiong Zhong, for help in buying some medicine to treat pneumonia and reduce fever.

Xiong Zhongtun does have this medicine; it's just a combination of antibiotics, fever reducers, and lung-moistening and cough-relieving medicine.

Xiong Zhong instructed his men to give the medicine directly to the man surnamed Wen.

Mr. Wen didn't think much of it at the time. He took the medicine, opened it, and fed it to his son according to the dosage.

Based on the prices of these medicines before the natural disaster, they would have cost only two or three hundred yuan in total.

In these unusual times, even if prices are high, the maximum I'd pay is around three thousand yuan.

Because of mortgage payments and renovations, coupled with the outbreak of an unknown virus, he and his wife have lost their jobs and have had no income for almost three months now.

But as long as it can cure their son's illness, he and his wife can scrape together the three thousand yuan by gritting their teeth.

Unfortunately, when the couple sought help from Xiong Zhong, Xiong Zhong took a liking to Fang Lili, who was exceptionally beautiful.

So when Mr. Wen gave his son the medicine and was about to pay Xiong Zhong, Xiong Zhong deliberately quoted a price of 20,000 yuan.

For Mr. Wen and his wife, who were not well-off, 20,000 yuan was a huge sum of money.

Their family simply couldn't afford it.

Xiong Zhong deliberately led his gang to their door to coerce the debtor, demanding either money or that his wife, Fang Lili, provide them with special services to settle the debt.

Mr. Wen and his wife Fang Lili naturally disagreed, but Xiong Zhong's henchmen, eager to show off, forcibly dragged Fang Lili out of the Wen family home.