Was she some kind of lawless outlaw?
Ever since her awakening, Jiang Cheng had always felt that the most important thing was to get through the present. Then the zombie outbreak hit, and her goal became simply to survive.
She had zero interest in “who I am,” “where I come from,” or “what kind of person I used to be.”
Because all of that was “the past.” Her eyes were fixed only on the “present” and the “future.”
The past was over—not worth the time to look back on.
But now, she found herself faintly curious about what kind of person she’d been before.
These thoughts flickered through her mind in an instant. What lay before her now was Su Yu, her expression tinged with unease and confusion.
[Companions are meant to be filtered.]
This idea surfaced unbidden in her mind—
Useful to me, or useless to me.
Very useful, or not very useful.
By comparison, if it were Li Jiangbing standing there confused, Jiang Cheng would break through his uncertainty and pull his reasoning onto the same wavelength as hers.
Li Jiangbing’s strength alone could do the work of two people. Plus, his physique and presence were incredibly imposing—just standing at the pharmacy entrance had kept the old folks at bay with zero hassle.
If it were Song Jingshuo, Jiang Cheng would also have ample motivation to invest her energy.
Because among the building leaders, his organizational and mobilization skills were clearly a cut above the rest.
He was also very useful.
Compared to Su Yu, the two of them held more “value” for Jiang Cheng.
Su Yu had shown courage and composure last night, and Jiang Cheng had thought highly of her for it—willing to give her a hand up, a push forward.
But when she showed even a moment of weakness, Jiang Cheng found herself losing interest.
Still, rational people couldn’t make decisions based on interest alone.
Jiang Cheng suppressed her emotions and offered reassurance: “In extraordinary times, you can’t stick to the old rules.”
“If we’re not the ones to break down that door first, someone else will. And when that happens, the leverage won’t be in our hands anymore.”
Her comfort to Su Yu was remarkably brief. She had the feeling that saying even one more word would cost her an enormous amount of effort.
Su Yu seemed to want to say something else, but just then the elevator arrived.
Jiang Cheng said, “Elevator’s here. Let’s go.”
She took the lead, pushing her cart inside. Su Yu quickly followed.
Jiang Cheng lived on the third floor—just a few seconds up in the elevator. When it stopped, Jiang Cheng said, “See you tonight.”
Su Yu echoed, “See you tonight.”
Jiang Cheng pushed her cart out of the elevator.
Su Yu rode the rest of the way up in silence.
Back in her own apartment, she didn’t rush to organize her things. Normally, she was a neat and tidy person who loved cooking and organizing. But now, covered in all sorts of disgusting fluids—maybe even still carrying bits of biological tissue—she felt nothing.
A whole cart full of supplies sat by the door, and she couldn’t care less about sorting it.
Like Jiang Cheng, she stripped off her “combat clothes” at the entryway, changed into loungewear, opened the fridge, grabbed a carbonated drink, and gulped it down—the icy fizz spreading through her, making her let out a satisfied ahh.
She sat down at her computer, turned it on, and opened the messaging app. She reached out to another girl in the complex.
She hadn’t known her before—they’d only met in the past couple of days. They’d fought together, looted together, and hit it off. The girl was brave and independent, so they’d exchanged contact info.
The girl had gotten back to the complex earlier than Su Yu and was currently sorting through today’s haul.
[I got four jars of fermented bean curd!] the girl messaged. [This stuff is a lifesaver with rice. Goes with anything—steamed buns, porridge, even plain rice. I feel like we’re not gonna be cooking the way we used to for a while.]
Su Yu agreed with her, then told her about the temporary committee raiding the pharmacy.
The girl: [The committee’s badass! That’s exactly what we should be doing!]
Su Yu: [Jiang Cheng said the medicines held by the committee members in each building are roughly the same. People in each building should go to their own building’s committee first, and if needed, we can coordinate between buildings. But I also have some on hand—if the guys in your building give you a hard time, come straight to me.]
She paused, then added: [Or to Jiang Cheng.]
The girl replied: [Thanks! So glad to have you guys! I thought of that as soon as you mentioned it. Ugh, being in the minority as women, you do worry about that stuff. Some guys really will take advantage of the situation. Thank goodness Jiang Cheng is a woman.]
Su Yu paused for a moment.
Truth be told, Su Yu didn’t really have any say in things. She was even worried about being sidelined, which was why she’d been trying so hard to stay close to the committee’s core.
But that didn’t stop her from understanding and accepting Jiang Cheng’s reassurance.
It also didn’t stop her from keenly and sensitively sensing the perfunctoriness in Jiang Cheng’s words just now.
Last night, when they were clearing the buildings, Jiang Cheng had trusted her to be useful in that critical moment—and she’d delivered. When Jiang Cheng had reached out her fist afterward, and Su Yu bumped it back, there’d been a warmth in her chest.
Today, Jiang Cheng had gone even further and pulled her into the committee.
Without realizing it, Su Yu had started to feel close to her.
But just now, Jiang Cheng had shown her a coldness.
The same coldness as when she’d said in the pharmacy that heart disease wasn’t worth saving.
Su Yu felt uneasy.
She couldn’t help typing: [Don’t you think Jiang Cheng is…]
The other girl was tidying up her haul, occasionally glancing at the computer to check for replies. She turned her head and saw the “typing…” indicator in the chat box.
She waited a moment, but the indicator disappeared. Su Yu hadn’t sent anything.
A little while later, the indicator appeared again, and Su Yu sent: [Yeah. Thank goodness.]
Over in Building 2, Su Yu was biting her knuckles in her apartment.
She hadn’t sent that sentence—she’d deleted it.
It’s not Jiang Cheng’s problem, she thought. It’s my own.
Yes, it must be my own fault.
I shouldn’t have said those things, right? Jiang Cheng must have thought I was being hypocritical.
Su Yu felt she should reflect on herself.
Because she’d been watching Jiang Cheng since yesterday morning. She admired every step Jiang Cheng took.
Last night, when that wounded person went hysterical, trying to take everyone down with him—if it hadn’t been for the trust and encouragement in Jiang Cheng’s eyes, she might not have mustered the courage to attack a living person who hadn’t yet turned.
And today, Jiang Cheng had brought her into the committee.
How could she ever doubt Jiang Cheng?
No wonder so few people stepped up to lead—because those who do have to face all the opposition and criticism head-on.
Su Yu thought about how she’d almost sent a message questioning Jiang Cheng to someone else, and guilt washed over her.
Little did Su Yu know that at almost the exact same moment, Jiang Cheng was also reflecting on her own perfunctoriness.
Jiang Cheng got home, closed the door, and the half-shattered mirror by the entrance reflected her face.
She stared into her own eyes in the mirror—
What kind of person were you before?
Whatever you were before, right now you’re just an ordinary person in this world—no power, no resources.
You can’t afford to have that dismissive attitude toward others anymore.
[That’s the mindset of someone in a high position with power and resources at their disposal. You’re not that. You have nothing.]
Peng Ze wasn’t in the same building as Song Jingshuo, so they’d parted ways and headed to their respective buildings.
Song Jingshuo and the Building 4 crew arrived at the elevator lobby together, waiting for the elevator.
As they chatted idly, someone suddenly laughed and said, “Jingshuo, I’ve been thinking—with all us men on the committee, how come we let a woman take the lead? I really think it should be you.”
The elevator lobby went quiet. Everyone turned to look at the man.
This man was the same one who’d muttered at the pharmacy entrance, “What makes them the ones giving orders?”—the one Peng Ze had rolled his eyes at.
His name was Wang Haotian. Before this, Song Jingshuo had seen him around the building now and then—just a familiar face among neighbors. Now they’d both joined the temporary committee, and in a day and a half, they’d become acquainted enough to call each other by name.
But that day and a half had been too busy to really get to know anyone.
Yet with just one sentence, his character was exposed.
Song Jingshuo glanced up at him.
He remembered that last night, Wang Haotian had joked, “I wouldn’t dare have a girlfriend like Jiang Cheng.”
He’d had some competitive feelings toward Jiang Cheng yesterday, true—and it wasn’t surprising that others had noticed.
But now, Song Jingshuo truly regretted it.
Because Jiang Cheng must have noticed too. What had she thought of him back then? Probably the same way he was looking at Wang Haotian now—like he was an idiot.
When it came to office politics, he wasn’t afraid of anyone. A low-level schemer like Wang Haotian was no match for him. This kind of petty provocation was child’s play.
But at a time like this, still playing politics?
Yesterday, when Jiang Cheng had to deal with him, she must have felt the same speechless exasperation.
The moment that thought hit him, Song Jingshuo felt a wave of embarrassment and irritation.
It wasn’t that he feared stupid people couldn’t understand him.
But being looked down on by someone equally sharp—that was genuinely humiliating.
“What’s it matter, male or female, at a time like this?” Song Jingshuo said dismissively. “You’re a man too—how come you didn’t step up and lead with your [male anatomy]?”
When no women were present, men could casually drop crude anatomical terms without a second thought.
Even the ones who usually seemed polite and well-mannered were no exception.
Everyone burst out laughing.
Wang Haotian forced a dry chuckle. He thought to himself, Wasn’t it you who made a point of highlighting Jiang Cheng being a woman yesterday? Wasn’t it you who tried to win over the property management staff to compete with her?
Now you’re playing the righteous, principled good guy?
But then his thoughts turned to Jiang Cheng’s pretty face. Though he’d joked about not wanting a girlfriend like her, he couldn’t deny her beauty.
The group split into different elevators.
In the elevator, Wang Haotian said to the person riding with him, “Song Jingshuo’s doing a complete 180. You don’t think he’s got his eye on Jiang Cheng, do you?”
The guy: “Huh? You think so?”
“Otherwise why’d he suddenly start backing her up?” Wang Haotian said. “I was trying to speak up for him, and now I look like the bad guy.”
The other man chuckled vaguely, only saying, “Jiang Cheng is pretty,” and left it at that.
After dinner that evening, everyone gathered as promised at the entrance to the underground garage.
Jiang Cheng wore her cross-body bag, one hand tucked inside it.
Song Jingshuo knew at a glance: “You brought your cat again?”
Now when Song Jingshuo looked at Jiang Cheng, he saw good things everywhere. Pretty, sharp, decisive.
The only quirk was that she brought that cat everywhere.
But then he suddenly remembered—she’d said yesterday that her parents had both passed away, and the cat was her only family. He hadn’t paid much attention at the time, too focused on competing with her for the property staff’s support.
Now, recalling it, he watched Jiang Cheng smile softly, her hand stroking the cat’s head inside her bag, and say, “She won’t slow me down.”
Even as an adult, without parents, she was essentially an orphan.
So lonely she couldn’t bear to part with her cat.
Song Jingshuo felt a sudden tenderness well up in his chest. He was about to say something comforting when Jiang Cheng pulled her axe from behind her back, swung it in an X-shaped arc through the air, and said, “Let’s go!”
She led the way into the underground garage.
Song Jingshuo could only hurry to catch up.
The recruited volunteer squad followed behind.
There were quite a few of them—a formidable procession.
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