The reason they didn’t send the knives in was to prevent anyone from breaking the door down from the inside. It was also to avoid injuries to the normal people on the outside if something went wrong.
Water wasn’t a concern—there was a water dispenser in the meeting room.
The bathroom issue had been solved from the very beginning. When the first group of injured had been brought in, they had asked, “How are we supposed to use the bathroom?”
That same property management girl had found them two large plastic buckets.
Everyone had filled their stomachs a bit with ham sausages. Meanwhile, Jiang Cheng was watching the meeting room’s security feed on the computer. After watching for a while, she looked up. “We need to be on high alert when we send things in.”
“They’re too quiet,” she said. “Those two who just went in will definitely explain the situation to the others. Once everyone knows what’s happening, there’s no way they’d all stay this calm.”
“Something’s off. If it’s weird, there’s bound to be trouble.”
Li Jiangbing forced down the mouthful of meat and said, “Whatever you say.”
Following Jiang Cheng’s plan, when they unlocked the U-shaped lock and opened the door, the group formed a semicircle around the meeting room entrance. Each person aimed their “weapon” at the door.
Some inwardly wondered if all this was really necessary. But the moment the door opened, the people inside rushed out!
Li Jiangbing was ready. He lashed out with his baton, striking the person hard on the shoulder, then jabbed him in the chest with the other baton, and finally kicked him back inside!
The sequence was swift and fluid, executed in an instant. It completely crushed any attempt by those inside to break out.
The two sides faced off—
“Let us out! Let us out!”
“I don’t want to die!”
“Step back! Step back!!”
“If you don’t step back, we’ll hit you!”
The hallway echoed with the roar of men shouting at each other, deafening in the narrow space.
Weapons were thrust outward, aimed at the doorway, ready in case anyone inside tried to rush out again.
Everyone now thought, Jiang Cheng from Building 2 really called it.
Jiang Cheng stood in the middle. Li Jiangbing stepped aside, revealing her.
Her eyes met those of the man Li Jiangbing had kicked back inside. She had guessed it would be him—he was one of the leaders from Building 6. His arm had been bitten. Earlier, in the plaza, when Jiang Cheng had proposed placing all the injured under unified supervision, he had been the first among the injured to step up and support the decision.
Back then, he had said, “If I do turn, I don’t want to hurt anyone anyway. You can just kill me on the spot.”
When he said that, he must have still believed there was a way out. But once he confirmed there was none, his mindset changed.
The biological instinct to survive remained strong—even if it meant “surviving” in another form.
The unnatural calm inside the meeting room had tipped Jiang Cheng off that someone was in control, convincing the others to lie low and wait for the right moment to act.
He was a man in his twenties, with well-styled hair, handsome features, a good physique, and tasteful clothes. He wore branded items.
He looked like a successful white-collar worker with a decent salary and a respectable job. Probably a very charismatic man in everyday life.
But none of that mattered. Though the wound on his arm had already been bandaged, his fate was sealed.
Jiang Cheng’s voice cut through the shouting.
“Step back,” she said. “We’re here to bring you food.”
“You have two choices. Take the food and close the door.”
“Or we close the door right now.”
In the plaza, this girl had stepped forward on her own initiative. Now it seemed she had completely taken control of the conversation.
The man from Building 6 gritted his teeth and held her gaze. His expression was awful.
Behind him, someone was already crying, adding to the agitation and chaos.
Right then, the girl from Building 2 started counting down. “Three… two…”
“Yes!” Just as Jiang Cheng was about to reach one, he barked, “We’ll take it. Bring it in.”
Things had deteriorated to this extent—neighbors turning weapons on each other—and no one was willing to “go in.” It was like those stories of HIV patients purposely pricking others with needles. Who knew if these people might also harbor malicious intent to get revenge on society by biting someone? If you got bitten, you’d have no choice but to stay inside with them.
“Step back behind the table,” Jiang Cheng said. “Otherwise, we’re closing the door right now.”
The hallway outside was completely blocked. Who knew how many people had come? They’d packed the corridor. Every single person had a weapon. Everyone had killed mutants that day.
There was no way out. But they couldn’t starve either. After a hard morning’s work, locked in a room with nothing but water to drink, they were truly hungry. No one wanted to die of hunger on an empty stomach.
The people inside dejectedly retreated behind the meeting table.
The ham sausages and instant noodles were thrown in. They smacked against the table, scattering. Several rolled onto the floor.
The people inside scrambled to snatch them up—off the table, off the ground.
Hearts were scattered. Chaos broke out. The man from Building 6 was jostled aside by the crowd. He had to brace himself against the wall to keep from falling.
He turned his head, trying to get one last look at the doorway, but saw the people outside toss several objects clattering inside. They landed on the floor on the other side of the meeting table.
Then the meeting room door was swiftly shut. The U-shaped lock clicked back into place.
From outside came a voice: “Move that cabinet from the lobby over here…”
Inside, someone gnawing on a ham sausage asked in confusion, “Why’d they give our weapons back?”
Scattered on the floor by the door were the weapons that had been confiscated from them earlier.
From outside came the sound of heavy furniture being dragged, thudding against the door.
The man from Building 6 stared at those weapons for a long time. Then he gave a bitter, desolate smile.
The group emerged from the property management center. It was noon now. The sun was high, and the temperature had risen.
But everyone felt a chill in their hearts. Even with the sun blazing on their backs, they felt cold.
The girl walking in front had lustrous black hair that shone in the sunlight. She was beautiful, conventionally attractive.
But she herself… was not so “conventional.”
Li Jiangbing rubbed the back of his neck, trying to dispel that faint sense of unease. He glanced sideways and noticed that everyone had naturally—or perhaps deliberately—let Jiang Cheng walk in the middle.
But their expressions weren’t quite natural.
Someone sighed. “That guy lives on the same floor as me.”
Clearing out the mutants hadn’t felt like this. But locking people who still looked completely human inside that meeting room was truly disheartening.
Li Jiangbing stole a glance at Jiang Cheng’s profile. She seemed unmoved.
Someone else picked up the thread. “There’s no choice. There are so many people in this complex. If we don’t contain it, one bites another, one infects another—everyone ends up finished.”
Li Jiangbing saw Jiang Cheng turn her head slightly toward the person who had spoken.
That person was none other than the leader from Building 4. He was a tall young man, handsome, alert, and capable. Back in the plaza, when Jiang Cheng had given him a look, he had immediately caught on.
They had exchanged names earlier. His name was Song Jingshuo.
Li Jiangbing caught a glint of agreement in Jiang Cheng’s eyes. But then she turned away, lost in thought.
What was she thinking about?
At the plaza, the burning had already begun. Flames shot into the sky. Even from a distance, they could feel the waves of heat.
Fire—truly a terrifying thing.
The number of people in the plaza hadn’t decreased. On the contrary, it had grown. Those who had been watching from their homes, seeing that the mutants in the complex had been mostly cleared, had finally dared to come downstairs.
Those who had been in the garden all along and those just emerging from the buildings exchanged information.
One side shared tips on how to kill mutants. The other side relayed what the news broadcast had said and what new updates had appeared online.
Many people had come downstairs now because they were afraid that if they didn’t join the garden group, they’d be left behind—unable to get timely information, easily sidelined when things happened.
Humans are social animals, after all. Collective creatures.
The fire blazed fiercely. These were all neighbors. Many had been seen and encountered in the complex before—riding the same elevator, some even working in the same neighborhood or the same office buildings, occasionally sharing cabs together.
Now familiar faces were being consumed by flames. Their families had no idea they had already died here.
Some people couldn’t help but cry.
Men and women alike.
This community was primarily made up of young people who had left home to make it on their own. Many, seeing their neighbors being burned, felt as if they were looking at themselves.
Li Jiangbing sighed and, out of habit, turned to look at Jiang Cheng. But he saw her huddled with Song Jingshuo and the leaders from the other buildings, deep in discussion.
Li Jiangbing snapped to attention and quickly went over to listen in.
“This has to take priority. It’s the most urgent thing right now. Everything else can wait,” Jiang Cheng said firmly. “This afternoon is critical. Tomorrow won’t work.”
Li Jiangbing didn’t dare interrupt to ask what they were talking about. He just pricked up his ears.
Song Jingshuo said, “What if they don’t open the door?”
Jiang Cheng replied, “We have numbers. We’ll bring tools. Breaking down a door isn’t hard.”
Someone made a hesitant sound. “Ah…”
Jiang Cheng’s gaze shot over. Li Jiangbing had the gut feeling that her look seemed to say, “You’ve already killed people—what’s there to be afraid of?”
But Jiang Cheng didn’t say that directly. Instead, she said, “Everything happening now falls under the principle of necessity.”
The youth apartment residents were generally young and, overall, well-educated.
People like Song Jingshuo and the former leader from Building 6—the one locked in the meeting room who had tried to lead a breakout—clearly had good education and sharp minds.
When Jiang Cheng mentioned the “principle of necessity,” the building leaders all accepted the reasoning and nodded in agreement.
But not everyone was highly educated. Unfortunately, Li Jiangbing was one of those dragging down the community’s average.
He had no idea what the “principle of necessity” meant. He was so agitated he could barely contain himself. Finally, he couldn’t help but interrupt: “What are you talking about?”
Jiang Cheng turned and saw him. She raised an eyebrow. “Perfect timing. I need to say something to everyone. Jiangbing, help me shout—get everyone’s attention.”
Hey, she sure gave him orders naturally.
Li Jiangbing felt oddly reassured and pleased. “Okay!”
The vast crowd of residents in the central plaza was immersed in unease and an indescribable oppressive atmosphere when suddenly a thunderous voice bellowed out: “Come over here—everyone come over—something important is about to be announced—!”
People turned their heads one after another and saw the leaders from each building gathered under the vine-covered pergola next to the plaza.
That girl from Building 2, Jiang Cheng, stood on the bench, looking down at the crowd from a height.
“I’m Jiang Cheng from Building 2, the general liaison for our community’s temporary owners’ committee,” she said.
She avoided a title like “person in charge,” which could easily be challenged, choosing instead to call herself a “liaison.” Song Jingshuo and Li Jiangbing both glanced at her.
“…There’s a lot to do,” Jiang Cheng continued from her elevated position. “Sealing off the complex entrances, dealing with the bodies in the buildings, sweeping each floor to find any remaining mutants—all of that is urgent.”
“But one thing is the most urgent of all. It has to be done immediately, right now.”
“Our community needs to organize right away. This afternoon, we need to go to Duoduo Supermarket and stock up on emergency supplies!”
“Rice, flour, cooking oil, salt, sugar! Toilet paper! The essentials!”
“Only this afternoon. It has to be this afternoon!”
From the crowd came the inevitable questioning voice: “Why?”
Jiang Cheng’s gaze shot toward the speaker. “Because this is our community’s greatest advantage.”
“Our community,” she raised her hand and began counting on her fingers, “is young, well-educated, quick to mobilize, and highly capable of action. We know how to use the internet to communicate. And most of us live alone, with separate, isolated spaces, so the rate of secondary infection from mutant attacks is very low!”
“Think about those communities where three generations live under one roof, four or five people in one apartment. There’s no way they could clear out their mutants and create a safe environment in just one morning like we did.”
“I estimate that most communities won’t be able to do that until tonight at the earliest.”
“That means this afternoon, many people won’t be able to leave their own neighborhoods at all. This afternoon is time that we, the residents of this community, have bought for ourselves by using our advantages.”
“By tomorrow, when a massive wave of people starts scrambling to buy supplies, our advantage will be gone.”
“So it has to be today—this afternoon—that we, the residents of the Youth Apartments, organize ourselves and go shopping!”
< Previous chapter | TOC | More chapters later
Leave a Reply