Chapter 43
The power outage, which lasted for a day and a night, made many people who complained about their current life realize that life could get even harder, so even their complaints became quieter, and they just prayed that such daytime power outages would not happen again. Many people were already waiting for their cooling points to open. They were hesitant before, but after the power outage, they decided to move in with their families no matter what. They could eat less, but the heat was really unbearable.
I don't know if it's because the cold-storage outlets can exchange goods for cash, or if this life without a clear future is too frustrating, but there are more and more crimes in the city. Some people who are not so brave gather some "like-minded" people to specifically target those closed stores. At first, their target was restaurants, thinking that if they could find some long-lasting rice, flour, grain and oil in those stores, they would make money. However, after prying the locks of several restaurants, they came up empty-handed. In addition to the chairs and benches that could not be taken away, there was not even a bottle of pepper and soy sauce. It is estimated that the boss took away everything that could be taken away when he left.
Later, they found that there was really nothing edible in such stores, so those people started to pry open the doors of some daily necessities stores, such as those selling clothes, shoes, and daily groceries. These made many people very happy. After all, they were all inedible. Some stores wanted to recover some funds. When the market was hot at the beginning, they basically cleared out the stocks that could break even. Later, when the market became hot, almost everyone focused on food and water. Prices were sky-high, and few people put money on clothes and shoes that cost hundreds or thousands of yuan at that time, so the goods were piled up. Thinking that there was no need to worry about these things not being able to be stored in high temperatures, they simply locked them in the store's warehouse, which made it cheaper for the current door-breaking thieves.
In comparison, those who break into shops still have some conscience, moral restraint and humanity, and only seek money but not life. Another type of burglary is really devoid of humanity. Some stalkers break into other people's homes and steal all the food they have stored. At least they don't kill people, but there is a group of people who just wait for someone to be home, and then not only break into the house to rob, but also kill people to vent their anger.
Those who are really rich and live in high-end communities cannot be touched with their current capabilities, so these people will set their sights on those who live in ordinary residential areas, the homes of some grassroots cadres, some self-employed people who have a little money but are not rich, and even the homes of small foremen or employees who can still work in state-controlled supermarkets after many shopping malls are closed due to the high temperature. These people are all targets of those cruel thugs.
Perhaps their goal at the beginning was to seek money and goods, because those they targeted had more channels to accumulate goods than ordinary people. But later, as life became more and more difficult, they became more and more rampant, until they broke through the bottom line of being human, from seeking money to killing people for fun. These people even named their gang the Doomsday Thugs.
Just like the news that broke out at about the same time in the previous life, a group of people began to commit crimes recklessly, lurking in the building at night, and quietly picking the locks and entering the house when others were asleep during the day. The first thing these people did when they entered the house was to cut the throat of the owner. Some people were even in their sleep and had their throats cut. Some of the alert ones naturally could not avoid a fight, but those who broke into the house all carried knives. The difference was nothing more than a death without a struggle, and a painful death by being stabbed several times.
The fight inevitably alarmed some people next door. Now that everything was shut down, no one could be seen outside under the blazing sun. There were no voices, no industrial noise, and the sound from the next door was naturally very obvious in the silence. Some people, for self-protection, wanted to move everything they could to block the door, not to mention opening the door, for fear that the people next door would come to their own house after robbing them. Most of those who dared not open the door for self-protection were fine, because the people who robbed their targets would leave immediately with the things they had. Some people who opened the door to help were either seriously injured and on the verge of death or directly hacked to death.
There are so many similar news. The four words "Doomsday Thugs" have become a shadow killer lurking around everyone. No one knows where they will appear next time and who their next target will be.
Some people complained online about the government's inaction, saying that such a terrible criminal gang was allowed to roam freely. Is it because there is no so-called order now? The government has long since stopped caring about the lives of the people. Some people even linked this matter to the charging method of the cold storage points, saying that the cold storage points are just an excuse for the authorities to plunder materials. Most people have actually been abandoned. Now they are just plundering what they have to preserve the country's elite. The current government's policy is to let the fittest survive, and first eliminate a group of old, weak, sick and useless people, so the authorities don't care at all. Otherwise, in the past, such terrible criminals, or gang crimes, would have been caught long ago.
Mu Nan knew that the government was not ignoring them, but it really could not mobilize manpower. The people in the government are also people. Just because the word "government" is attached to them does not mean that the people working in the government can do everything. In order to prevent trouble, whether it is distributing water or supplies, a large number of forces have to be mobilized to preserve these things. Otherwise, if they encounter a group of radical people, ordinary people who have not received professional training will panic long ago. As long as one place is robbed once, it will stimulate other places to follow suit. Therefore, from the very beginning, these supplies were controlled and distributed by the army and armed police, and they tried to eliminate the source of possible chaos from the beginning.
Most of the force is used to ensure the basic living of the masses, and the crime rate at this time is almost rising in a linear trend. In addition, the cameras at street intersections are exposed to high temperatures every day, and many of them are actually broken. There is no time for repairs and replacements, which also greatly increases the difficulty of investigating the whereabouts of this group of people.
But Mu Nan knew that these so-called doomsday thugs would be caught in the end, and in order to achieve the purpose of deterrence, these people were directly sentenced to death. This was the first time in history that a death sentence was broadcast live in public.
The authorities took the phrase "severe punishments in troubled times" to the extreme. After the Doomsday thugs were executed, it did shock a lot of people during that period of time, and the crime rate dropped a lot in an instant. The death penalty also made some people who were forced by today's life and wanted to take risks to get rich shrink back into the moral line.
In his previous life, Mu Nan was also one of the people who watched the death penalty online. This unprecedented thing might only happen once in a lifetime. The information of those doomsday thugs was also released at that time, but Mu Nan did not look at it carefully, just glanced at the photos casually. However, even if he had seen it at that time, he might not be able to remember it now, after all, they were people who had no intersection with his life.
But he never expected that in this life, he would actually see a living person, and even so close to him.
As usual, after the sun went down, he and Qin Huai woke up from their sleep and made some light food, which was equivalent to breakfast. After eating, they played on the computer for a while, and it was almost twelve o'clock. Now the sun sets very late, and it will disappear completely at almost nine o'clock, so they didn't stay at home for long, and it was time for them to go to collect supplies together. They have been collecting supplies every three days for almost two months, and Jian Chu is still sighing, not knowing when this day will end.
Mu Nan thought silently in his heart that the days when he could still live a normal life like this were indeed coming to an end.
When walking out of the building, Mu Nan saw several men squatting on the flower bed at the entrance of their building and smoking. There were four men in total, two squatting and two standing. They were all talking to each other and chatting leisurely, like ordinary people who came out for a walk. But Mu Nan recognized the bald man squatting and smoking at a glance. He was one of the doomsday thugs.
Nowadays, baldness is too normal. Many men shave their heads to save water and make themselves feel more comfortable, so as to avoid the greasy, itchy and uncomfortable feeling. Therefore, the bald head is not conspicuous at all. What is more conspicuous is that there is a centipede-like scar that is almost one finger long from the back of the ear to the chin. The key is that the man has a round head and a kind smile. His earlobes are big, a bit like Maitreya Buddha. Even if he has no expression, he looks like a good person. It was because of the big contrast and the scar behind his ear that Mu Nan took a closer look at the photo.
Of course he didn't try to remember them. Why would he remember a group of people who had been shot to death? But when this person appeared in front of him, Mu Nan recognized him at the first moment.
But he didn't remember anyone in his community being attacked by doomsday mobs. He didn't know whether it had never happened or it happened in other buildings but the news didn't break out. At that time, he would at most read the news on the Internet and occasionally glance at the WeChat groups in the community. He didn't pay attention to it all the time, so he didn't know now if there was any difference between the two lives or if he just missed some information in the previous life.
Moreover, these people were squatting under their building, so their target might be the people in their building. Thinking of this, he even felt a chill in his body, and his stomach ached with nervousness. They were all perverts who killed people without blinking an eye. He didn't know how many people he had killed so far. Even if he was reborn, he was still just a mortal, and he would still panic.
Seeing that Mu Nan's pace slowed down and his expression looked a little strange, Qin Huai frowned slightly: "What's wrong?"
As soon as they stopped, the three people walking in front turned around and looked over: "What's wrong?"
If Qin Huai was alone, Mu Nan would of course tell it immediately, but now there are outsiders here, so how can he tell it? If he doesn't tell it, he is afraid that his concealment will lead to some bad consequences. After all, that group of people are squatting under their building, watching them coming in and out to collect supplies, and maybe they are choosing targets.
Mu Nan grabbed Qin Huai's hand. When he was hesitating, Qin Huai turned to Yu Zibai and said, "You go first, we will come later."
Seeing that they seemed to have something to say, the three of them walked away first. Jian Chu walked a few steps and couldn't help but look back. He saw Qin Huai bending over slightly, holding Mu Nan's face with one hand, and trying to comfort Mu Nan, who suddenly turned pale for some reason, with a worried look on his face. He looked so gentle and meticulous, which didn't seem like a brother's way of treating his younger brother.
After the outsiders left, Mu Nan nervously pulled Qin Huai, and noticed that there were no people around, so he pulled Qin Huai closer and whispered to him: "I just saw that the Doomsday thugs are downstairs from us."
Qin Huai was stunned, and seemed to recall something, then said uncertainly: "Those people smoking over there in the flower bed."
Mu Nan's eyes widened slightly: "How do you know?"
Qin Huai: "The aura is a little different."
Although aura is something that is hard to explain, sometimes you can really judge a person by his aura. For example, a soldier, even if he is wearing a regular uniform, has a different aura from ordinary people. The aura of someone who has experienced something is different from that of someone who has not. The aura of someone who has killed someone is even more difficult to conceal. When you meet an experienced veteran, you can smell the bloody scent of life on the other person just by looking at him.
Mu Nan looked at Qin Huai nervously: "What should we do? Should we go home and lock the door? Should we tell Jian Chu and the others? We won't be so unlucky to be targeted, right?"
Qin Huai rubbed his head soothingly: "Don't worry."
Mu Nan frowned: "How can we not be anxious?" When he thought of the news he had seen before, these people were so rampant that when they encountered a door that they could not enter, they would just chop it with knives without any scruples, and they only acted during the day. Even if you call the police during the day, the police cannot arrive in time. So they are not worried about making noise at all. Anyone who dares to come out and meddle in other people's business will be chopped down. They are really a group of crazy thugs. No one dares to care about the life and death of other people. How can you expect the quality of your own anti-theft door, no matter how strong it is, to withstand being hacked for a whole day? Thinking of this, he became even more panicked.
Mu Nan couldn't help but hold his stomach.
Qin Huai quickly supported him: "Does your stomach hurt?"
Mu Nan nodded: "It hurts, brother, should we stay in the hotel for a day? It's scary to think that they might sneak into the building and wait for the day to attack. Everyone in the building is like lambs to be slaughtered."
Mu Nan had never thought of asking him to use the prophet to strike first. Those people had killed many people now. Even if he knew that they were the Doomsday thugs, he could not deal with them now, not to mention that his fighting ability was already very low. Even if Qin Huai had some skills, he would not let Qin Huai take the risk no matter what. As for calling the police now, what could he do even if he called the police? Apart from hiding, he could not think of any other way.
Qin Huai knew that he was panicking and frightened, so he comforted him, "It's okay, Nan Nan, look at me. Since we have discovered their identities in advance, whether we can get rid of them is secondary, but our own safety can definitely be guaranteed. Think about it, there are so many things in our space. When the time comes, all the furniture in my room will be piled up in the aisle behind the security door. Even if they come to our house and destroy the security door, there are so many things behind the door that they can't get in. Besides, it's not like we don't have weapons. Compared with the knives in their hands, our weapons can also shoot from a distance."
After hearing what Qin Huai said, Mu Nan felt that he was unlucky to be targeted, but it seemed that he was not completely powerless to fight back. He calmed down a little: "So what should we do now? Should we remind Jian Chu and Doctor Xu?"
Qin Huai said: "I will take care of these things, let's go home first."
Mu Nan glanced in the direction of the supermarket: "I haven't received the supplies yet."
Qin Huai frowned and said, "No, it's just a few bottles of water. Go back and take some stomach medicine first. Does it hurt a lot?"
Mu Nan shook his head: "Let's go get them. They are just a few bottles of water. I just suddenly realized that the group of people were nervous. Now it doesn't hurt so much."
Mu Nan insisted on going to get the things. It was only once every three days, and the two of them had six bottles of water and two large bags of noodles. It would be such a waste. He also felt that he needed a buffer period, as he might confront those people when he went back. This ordinary citizen who had never been to a police station in his life was a little panicked.
When they walked to the supermarket, it was almost Jian Chu's turn. When he saw Mu Nan and Qin Huai, Jian Chu waved at them: "Come here!"
Qin Huai said: "No need, let's line up at the back."
Jian Chu reached out and pulled them in: "It's okay, it's okay. I told the people behind us that there are still two of us who haven't come yet. I saved a seat for you. What were you doing just now? Mu Nan, are you okay?"
Mu Nan shook his head, and Qin Huai said, "It's nothing, I just suddenly felt a little uncomfortable in my stomach."
Jian Chu looked at Mu Nan with concern: "Are you okay? You do look a little pale."
Xu Ming asked, "Do you have any stomach medicine at home? If not, I have some over there."
Qin Huai smiled and said, "We have some at home. Just get some and go back to eat."
It was their turn soon, but after Qin Huai received his things, he walked to the back and said something to a few soldiers guarding the supplies. The soldier glanced at Qin Huai and seemed to be weighing something. Qin Huai smiled and said a few more words, and the soldier nodded.
When Qin Huai came over, Mu Nan quickly asked, "What's wrong?"
Qin Huai put the water and noodles in his hand into his bag and whispered, "It's okay, let's talk about it when we get back."
Perhaps thinking that Mu Nan was not feeling well, they did not walk slowly on the way back and soon returned to the community. When they arrived at the bottom of their building, those people were still there. Qin Huai held Mu Nan in his arms, put one hand on the back of his head, and did not let Mu Nan look over there. He led Mu Nan into the building as if nothing had happened.
After coming out of the elevator and everyone went home, Qin Huai said to them, "Everyone, keep the door closed tonight."
Qin Huai is not the kind of person who usually cares about whether other people close the door properly. If Xu Ming said this, they might not think there is anything wrong, but when Qin Huai said this, it felt like something was wrong. However, Qin Huai didn't say much. He just said this and took Mu Nan home.
After returning home, Qin Huai quickly took out the medicine and watched Mu Nan take it. Then he said, "I just told the soldiers that there were a few unfamiliar people in our community who didn't look right."
Mu Nan said: "Will they believe it if I tell them?" I feel like they probably won't believe it. It's just a strange sentence, and it doesn't feel right. It's too general. If they believe it, then they will probably have to deal with countless blunders caused by people's subjective predictions every day.
Qin Huai said: "I told them that I can't guarantee anything else, but those people are definitely stained with blood."
Mu Nan: "They didn't ask you how you knew that? This is too risky. What if they arrest you as an accomplice?"
Qin Huai smiled and said, "I said that I have participated in the Feisili training for three consecutive years, so I still have some predictive ability. These things can be verified, so don't worry that they will think too much."
Mu Nan was confused: "What training camp?"
Qin Huai explained, "It's a semi-military training camp abroad. The instructors there are from the world's top special forces, and there are also special mercenaries hired from outside. There are two types of training. One is official training, which gathers talents from various countries' military departments every year for exchanges and learning. The other is private training. The private training is mainly for some wealthy children. It will train personal abilities such as crisis response and self-rescue in difficult situations. After I left that man, he threw me into the training camp in the first year. It was also there that I met Lu Sen, the rich second generation who cooperated with me. Later, I went there for two consecutive years until his IVF was successful and he no longer cared about me. Later, I stopped going."
Mu Nan couldn't help but reach out and poke the muscle on Qin Huai's arm: "Your useless father did something good. At least he taught you some real skills."
Qin Huai smiled and said, "I did my best to train you in the beginning. Well, let's not talk about him anymore. Let's go take a shower and lie down for a while."
Mu Nan said: "I'll go and block the door first. I won't be able to sleep peacefully if it's not blocked tightly."
The convenience of the space was demonstrated once again. Mu Nan collected the furniture in Qin Huai's room and put it behind the security door. The security door was instantly blocked tightly, which made people feel very safe.
After finishing his work, Mu Nan went to take a shower. His stomach still hurt a little, and he felt uncomfortable. Mu Nan lay on his side with a pillow pressed against him and looked at the computer. Qin Huai frowned when he saw him pressing on him like this. After the heat in his body dissipated a little, he also got on the bed, turned Mu Nan over, and gently massaged him: "You are really emotionally ill."
Maybe it was because he felt comfortable being rubbed, Mu Nan didn't feel itchy this time. Hearing Qin Huai say this, he glanced at him and said, "You just said I'm timid."
Qin Huai smiled and said, "It's okay to be timid. At least you won't do anything rash."
Mu Nan snorted. He had just gotten up, but he seemed to be sleepy again.
Seeing that his eyelids had become heavy, Qin Huai said softly, "Go to sleep. You'll feel comfortable when you fall asleep."
Mu Nan fell asleep, but his sleep was not serene. He kept dreaming that someone broke into their house, and Qin Huai hid him under the bed, and put a lot of books under the bed to block him. After a while, a group of people found the room and said they wanted to lift up the bed to have a look. He was scared to death, and wondered anxiously why no one could get into his space. But before the group of people lifted the bed, he heard movement outside the window. Someone shouted that someone ran away, and they should chase him. Then a group of people chased out, and a chase started with Qin Huai.
It was clearly a post-apocalyptic movie, but it instantly turned into a battle between police and criminals. When the group of people blocked Qin Huai in a dead end and took out a gun from their arms, there was a bang of a gunshot, and Mu Nan suddenly woke up from his dream.
Qin Huai hugged the awakened Mu Nan into his arms and covered his ears with his hands: "Don't be afraid, I'm here, don't be afraid."
Mu Nan was still in a daze, but then he heard two more gunshots and woke up completely. How come this was exactly like what he had dreamed about? The doomsday movie instantly turned into a police and gangster movie.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
