Wang Xiuli, a neighbor in the East District, loves dogs, especially large Rottweilers. She makes sure to eat a large bowl of raw meat at every meal, plus an extra bowl of dog food.
No matter how much food they have, they can't keep up with the unrestrained feeding. By now, the meat in their refrigerator is almost all gone.
It was almost noon, and the dog was barking loudly from hunger. Wang Xiuli searched the entire refrigerator but couldn't find a single piece of meat. She remembered something Zhao Qian had mentioned not long ago, and hurriedly went to Zhao Qian's side to ask him again:
"You said last time that the woman in the building across the street secretly transported a truckload of raw meat and fetuses at night, is that true or false?"
"Of course it's true! I saw it with my own eyes. It was such a big truck, and there were five or six movers alone!"
"Is the whole cart full of raw flesh and blood?"
“I heard it clearly, and I even asked the movers, and they told me.”
After listening, Wang Xiuli blinked, remained silent, hummed a little tune, and went back to her bedroom, closing the door behind her.
Zhao Qian knew that Wang Xiuli had agreed, and he could now go all out and get things done!
As long as you take all her food, you won't have to worry about her not obeying.
The group chat had already been quite noisy all morning with people arguing about food, and then Zhao Qian dropped another bombshell:
"Stop arguing! What's the point of sharing that little bit of stuff we had last time? Our female neighbor in the East District has stockpiled a whole truckload of meat!"
This sentence silenced everyone; those staring at the screen seemed to swallow hard...
The elderly woman, whose family was large and whose legs were weak from hunger, was the first to break the silence and ask in the group chat:
When did this happen?
“I saw it with my own eyes the night before it snowed. She must have received some news and stocked up on food in advance,” Zhao Qian quickly replied, seeing that his advice had worked.
When Zhao Qian said that, everyone knew he wasn't joking, especially the words "stock up in advance," which immediately piqued everyone's interest, and the group chat exploded with excitement...
"Is she that girl who bought a lot of groceries early this morning? Does she live in the East District?"
Zhao Qian quickly added fuel to the fire: "Yes, it's her!"
The male neighbor whose father had suffered a stroke was upset. He had been the one who suffered the most last time and was still taking care of his paralyzed, bedridden father. He was full of questions:
"Didn't we check the electricity meter last time? That building is uninhabited, isn't it?"
"It wouldn't be difficult for her to tamper with the meter; we're probably being played by her!" Zhao Qian wanted to add fuel to the fire.
"She didn't show up last time we were rushing to buy food, so she must have plenty of supplies at home by now."
"What's the point of us saying all this? What if she's not even in the group?"
Zhao Qian's eyes were filled with ruthlessness as he immediately replied:
"Impossible, she's in the group. The ice that appeared out of nowhere in the elevator lobby last time was clearly something she prepared beforehand!"
"How vicious! They even managed to cause an old man to have a stroke!"
These people have forgotten that they went there to plunder, and they are blaming all the blame on a woman.
With Zhao Qian's constant instigation, fueled by hunger and panic, people's emotions surged:
"That woman is heartless! She just watches us starve to death without helping us!"
"Yes! They're so vicious!"
"That's so cold-blooded!"
We must find her no matter what!
"We must force her to hand over the food today!"
"If she doesn't show up soon, I suggest cutting off all the water and electricity to her building!"
"That's a good idea! Let's see how long she can hold out."
...
It was nearly noon when Wang Feifei finally received a message from Xu Neng: Chen Nian had been released from death row, and she was finally relieved.
When Wang Feifei looked at the group chat again, it was filled with criticisms of her, and this time the criticisms were much more intense than the last.
In despair, everyone is willing to take risks as long as they see a glimmer of hope, especially when the other party is a vulnerable woman, who is like a lamb to the slaughter in the apocalypse.
Holding onto supplies is considered a "original sin".
Wang Feifei had anticipated this day, which is why she chose an unfinished building with few residents, so these people wouldn't be able to cause any trouble.
Sure enough, someone in the group volunteered to go to the main control room and cut off the water and electricity.
After doing all this, Zhao Qian asked each family to send at least one person, led by him, to visit them again to "demand an explanation."
Wang Feifei thought to herself with a smile: They dare to make such a grand claim about robbing supplies; it would be no wonder that these people die on the way!
When the twelve people came downstairs again, Wang Feifei had already finished lunch. She had made half a braised chicken and served it with rice, which was incredibly delicious.
After finishing their meal, they also had the robot sabotage the elevator's wiring, rendering the elevator completely unusable.
"Let's see how they get up here!" This was the second time Wang Feifei had faced this group of people, but she wasn't flustered at all. This time, they didn't even have a chance to reach the door.
This time, Zhao Qian and the others learned from their experience and were all young people. The wind and snow were too strong, and it was too difficult to walk those few hundred meters.
Everyone was half-frozen; all their clothes were on, but they couldn't ward off the biting cold. The only exposed part of their bodies, their eyelashes, were covered in ice crystals...
We had to take one step and rest for ten; this time it was much colder than last time.
After finally getting downstairs, the first floor was completely buried in snow, and the unit door was buried deep in the snow.
The only way for them to get in was by climbing through a window, so Zhao Qian led them through a window in the public corridor on the second floor, eventually leading them to the elevator lobby.
Having learned his lesson the last time, Zhao Qian was extra careful this time. He was overjoyed to find that the ground was not iced at all!
Unexpectedly, the snowfall taking them directly to the second floor had some advantages, saving them from having to crawl like last time. Zhao Qian and the others breathed a sigh of relief and pressed the elevator button.
"Huh? What's going on? No power?"
"Is there a power outage?"
"No, it still had power when I left."
Is the elevator malfunctioning?
They pressed the button several more times, but the elevator still didn't respond at all.
"Could it be that the wiring froze because it hasn't been used for so long?"
"What should we do? Which floor does she live on?"
Zhao Qian's eyes darkened: "Probably on the top few floors."
"What? No elevator? Are we supposed to climb up on foot? This is over twenty floors!"
Zhao Qian was also furious and scolded:
"Of course we have to go up. It wasn't easy for us to come all this way. Are you willing to go home empty-handed? How will you explain that to your families?"
These words struck a chord with everyone. Now that the die is cast, there's no going back empty-handed.
"Fine, I'll just climb the stairs. I've already made it through wind and snow, so I'll grit my teeth and make it to the top."
"Yes! I agree. It's not easy to come all this way. As long as we can get food, it's worth the hardship."
They arrived at the stairwell and were dumbfounded. The stairs were covered with a thick layer of ice, and a misty, chilly atmosphere emanated from them...
What's going on here?
Everyone looked at each other, wondering how to get up the stairs.
A young man, refusing to believe it, pushed everyone aside and tried to slowly walk up the handrail...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
