Chapter 13: Sister Su Miao, Don’t Be Afraid

In truth, Fei Chengqiang hadn’t received any particular news; he was here for the sole purpose of seeking out the entrepreneur Zhang Li. This old fiend had, in his youth, made a fortune from the food industry, advertising his products nationwide as clean, nutritious, and made with conscience, filling his coffers to the brim. But his products contained large amounts of prohibited additives, and those who consumed them over time fell ill.

It was especially dangerous for children—excessive consumption led to epilepsy, cerebral palsy, renal failure, and other ailments.

His own daughter had died in just this way.

Because of this, he abandoned a job with a million-yuan annual salary and began a campaign for justice, filing lawsuits in hopes of winning compensation and seeing the old fiend behind bars.

But no one could have foreseen the depths of Zhang Li’s power and cunning. Not only did Fei Chengqiang lose in court, but the old villain managed to turn the tables, accusing him of extortion and blackmail, resulting in a six-year prison sentence for Fei Chengqiang.

After his release, Fei Chengqiang appealed numerous times, but justice never came.

Eventually, he gave up on the system and resolved to seek justice in his own way.

He sold his last apartment, using the money to hire a private investigator, who uncovered every detail of Zhang Li’s daily life.

According to the investigator’s report, Zhang Li came here to vacation every two years. Fei Chengqiang managed to rent a shop in the area, running a small business as a cover, preparing to wait patiently for his prey.

Heaven took pity on him, for Zhang Li did indeed show up.

Even better, a once-in-a-century torrential rain struck, plunging the world into a disaster of floods and deluge.

With meticulous planning, Fei Chengqiang orchestrated his “counterattack,” and succeeded in killing the entrepreneur, Zhang Li, the old fiend himself.

The only regret was that Zhang Li’s family hadn’t been present; otherwise, he could have settled the score with all of them at once.

As for the restaurant workers he brought along, they would only believe they had avenged their old chef, striking down the man who threatened their livelihood. In their eyes, they stood on the side of justice.

Even if suspicions arose, the supplies seized from the villa would quiet any objection.

After all, with more than a hundred people banded together, survival without food or drink was impossible, no matter their numbers.

As long as there was food and a chance to survive, who would pursue the matter any further?

No one.

Dawn began to break.

Fei Chengqiang glanced at the other villas through the driving rain, gave a signal, and led his group back to the ruined area.

The strongest faction within the villa district had been eliminated. As for the other groups, a nightly sweep would suffice to keep them in check.

He refused to believe these wealthy villa dwellers hadn’t hidden away at least some stores of food.

Zhang Li, for example, had brought plenty of choice goods.

...

At seven in the morning, Su Miao awoke with a start.

Since the apocalypse had begun and the torrential rains had become endless, she had not enjoyed a single restful night. Each day, she worried that some starving soul would brave the storm and break in, threatening her very life. Those on the brink of starvation were capable of anything.

Su Miao dressed, glanced out the window as usual, brushed her teeth and washed her face, then entered the living room.

Xia Xiao’an was already in the living room.

But Xia Xiao’an looked utterly petrified, clutching her phone as she trembled.

“What’s wrong?”

“Sister Su...”

Xia Xiao’an’s voice shook, “Someone died.”

What?

The phone on the table belonged to Xia Xiao’an, but it was locked now—had she seen something?

Su Miao took out her own phone and opened the tourist district’s group chat.

There were several videos posted.

The videos showed a bloody scene in the villa where entrepreneur Zhang Li had lived. The main gate had been violently forced open, blood was everywhere, and a corpse lay in the center of the blood pool, limp and contorted like a broken rag doll—a horrifying sight.

“The people over there have gone mad!”

“Does anyone have medicine? Please, give me some antibiotics.”

“President Zhang was such a good man, and those beasts killed him like that.”

“We can’t just sit and wait for death. We have to unite. I suggest joining Brother Long’s team.”

“Heh, who says the old man was a good person? How many people has he killed? It’s only natural he’d be taken down in a situation like this.”

“The tourism company claimed these villas had top-level security. What a load of crap.”

“We have to demand answers from those people. You men should do something.”

“Yeah, if you’re a man, step up.”

“Screw off!”

“If you don’t want to die, prepare to defend yourselves.”

“Is there a doctor? My husband’s wound is infected again.”

“Does anyone have quick-acting heart pills? It’s urgent!”

“...”

After watching the videos and reading part of the chat, Su Miao felt a wave of anxiety and terror.

Would these people attack her villa?

She was deeply worried.

Su Miao was still unaware that, due to the landslides and mudflows, her villa and the eight neighboring ones had been cut off from the rest of the villas and the restaurant area.

If anyone wanted to reach her, they would have to brave the mud and treacherous torrents left by the landslides, or else risk their lives circling the mountain through deadly rain and dangerous paths.

...

Instinctively, Su Miao huddled in a corner, trembling with fear.

Xia Xiao’an, her voice quivering with tears, was so consumed with panic that she didn’t immediately notice Su Miao’s reaction. Only after a long, delayed moment did she realize that her sister Su Miao had been utterly petrified by what she’d seen.

Xia Xiao’an blinked, at a loss for what to do.

Suddenly, she remembered: although Sister Su Miao had seemed terrified when the burly man broke in, she had shot him with her crossbow without hesitation. Later, she’d even pulled the bolt from the corpse and pushed the body into the rain, showing no fear at all.

Was this really the same Su Miao standing before her?

Xia Xiao’an’s voice trembled as she said, “Sister Su Miao, don’t be afraid...”

“Hmm?”

Su Miao, shivering, shifted her gaze and saw Xia Xiao’an, teary-eyed and blinking.

Ah, yes—there was still Xia Xiao’an here.

She’d forgotten about her.

It seemed she’d worried Xia Xiao’an without meaning to.

Su Miao blinked quickly, stood up, and forced herself to sound calm. “Don’t be scared. We’ll be fine.”

Xia Xiao’an nodded, unsure whether to believe her, but in this moment, she had only Sister Su Miao to rely on.

Su Miao said, “Right, let’s have breakfast. We should eat.”

Breakfast?

A look of confusion appeared on Xia Xiao’an’s face.

In fact, she’d woken up early to prepare breakfast for Su Miao, grateful for being rescued and taken in. But after searching the refrigerators and cupboards upstairs and down, she hadn’t found a single scrap of food.

Just yesterday, Sister Su Miao had produced beef slices for hot pot—had that been the last of their supplies?

Now, with no food left, how could they possibly have breakfast?

While Xia Xiao’an puzzled over this, Su Miao entered the kitchen. Five minutes later, the microwave chimed.

Xia Xiao’an stared in astonishment as Su Miao emerged, carrying two bowls of fish congee, two potato pancakes, two tea eggs, and two sticks of fried dough.

There hadn’t been any food in the kitchen, but as soon as Sister Su Miao went in, breakfast appeared.

Where had all this food come from?

Su Miao handed her a pair of chopsticks and said, “Let’s have breakfast.”