Chapter Fifteen: Open the Door! Don’t Hide Inside Eating Flatbread!

The call ended.

The meeting continued, but compared to before, the atmosphere had grown even more somber.

Everyone had assumed that humanity faced three or four apocalyptic disasters, but what they heard from Su Miao was an unknown and countless number.

Qin Xuezheng spoke up, “Everyone, let’s continue the meeting.”

...

Meanwhile, Su Miao put down her phone and blinked.

After those questions, the other side offered nothing more—no mention of shelters, no talk of rescue, nothing at all.

Yet Su Miao wasn’t disappointed by this outcome.

Because in the apocalypse, the only one you could truly rely on was yourself.

As long as no one came to disturb her, she could live quietly through the end of the world.

What Su Miao didn’t know was that after the meeting ended, Qin Xuezheng issued a secret order, dispatching a team of special forces south to the Panshan Scenic Area to rescue her and bring her to safety.

Originally, Qin Xuezheng had intended to call again to inform her of the plan, but when he tried, her phone was already out of service.

At noon, Su Miao turned on her phone, intending to check the Versailles travel group chat for the latest updates, only to find she had no signal.

“No internet?”

Su Miao was struck as if by lightning.

The apocalypse was terrifying enough—now, without the internet, it was as if her life had been cut off.

Especially for someone like her, who wasn’t good at interacting face-to-face; her very existence depended on the internet.

Now, how was she supposed to survive without it?

Had Su Miao been able to leave the tourist area, walk east a few kilometers, and climb a moderately sized mountain, she would have seen the signal tower there destroyed by lightning and mudslides.

“Sister Su, there’s no internet,” Xia Xiaoan sounded just as panicked.

“It’s all right,” Su Miao replied, glancing out the window.

At least there was still water and electricity, though she had no idea how many days they would last.

She stared out the window until nightfall, and nothing happened near the villa.

For safety, Su Miao kept the lights off, simply boiling a pot of water with electricity and sharing instant noodles with Xia Xiaoan for dinner.

When Xia Xiaoan saw the steaming instant noodles, she was stunned.

Where had Sister Su conjured up this food?

It was delicious!

...

Night fell, and the tourist area without internet sank into even deeper darkness.

Having reaped their first spoils, Fei Chengqiang led his men into the villa district under the cover of darkness once again.

This time, over eighty people came, smashing at each door in turn.

If they found someone inside, any man would get beaten first.

Women were set aside.

Any food found was taken away.

...

After breaking into several villas, they reached Wang Siyang’s residence, and a fierce battle broke out.

Wang Siyang’s bodyguard was a fearsome fighter, holding the line alone and injuring several of Fei Chengqiang’s men.

At a critical moment, Brother Long arrived with twelve men, attacking Fei Chengqiang’s rear under cover of darkness.

They were underworld types and showed no mercy, taking down several of Fei Chengqiang’s gang.

With the downpour and the pitch-black night, Fei Chengqiang’s men realized too late that, in the chaos, they had killed some of their own.

Sensing things had gone awry, Fei Chengqiang immediately ordered a retreat.

Wang Siyang and Brother Long’s group did not pursue them.

When Fei Chengqiang returned to the ruined restaurant that served as their base, now with only fifty-one people, he found those left behind lying in pools of blood, groaning—some already dead.

“What happened?” Fei Chengqiang shouted.

“It was Security Captain Chang Jieming. While you were raiding the villas, he ambushed us in the dark. Uncle Zhou and the others were killed by them,” sobbed a young man with a broken arm.

“Damn it!” Fei Chengqiang was furious.

It had taken great effort to gather this group and some food, and now, after just one outing, not only did he gain nothing, but Chang Jieming had gutted his base.

That animal!

“Tomorrow, we’ll take our revenge!” Fei Chengqiang’s eyes blazed with the fire of vengeance.

With torrential rain and frequent mudslides, it was nearly impossible to venture out for food.

Chang Jieming’s theft of his supplies meant he was cutting off their only chance of survival.

...

In the rain-shrouded darkness, Chang Jieming led a group of security guards to a natural cave. “Brothers, we’ll stay here for now. Once they’ve fought each other to the death, then we’ll go back.”

Old He, a seasoned guard, laughed, “Good. They’ll never guess we’re hiding here.”

Watching bag after bag of food being stashed in the cave, the dozens of guards all smiled.

With so much food, they could hold out for at least two months.

As for the people trapped in the tourist area, the guards couldn’t bear to see them kill each other for a bite to eat, nor watch them starve to death before their eyes. Besides, Fei Chengqiang had stolen from others; taking from him was only right.

Most of the guards had families—wives and children—they wanted to survive and see them again someday.

...

Day broke.

Su Miao prepared fish porridge, fried dough sticks, and sesame pancakes.

Xia Xiaoan stared in amazement.

Delicious.

Su Miao, out of habit, turned on her phone to see what was happening outside, but there was still no internet—nothing to see.

She had only taken a few bites of the fragrant pancake and porridge when a violent pounding sounded from downstairs.

“Open up! Open up!”

Someone was banging on the door like mad.

“Hurry up and open the door. I can smell your pancakes. If you don’t open up, I’ll kill you!” The person outside sounded like he’d picked up an iron bar, smashing the door with all his might.

Xia Xiaoan was terrified.

She looked to Su Miao, hoping for guidance from her elder sister.

But in the blink of an eye, Su Miao had already curled up in a corner, trembling.

“Sister Su Miao…”

Xia Xiaoan was on the verge of tears.

What should they do?

But Su Miao just shivered in the corner, covering her ears as if she hadn’t heard a thing.

“Open up! Stop hiding inside and eating pancakes! Give me some, or I’ll kill you!”

The pounding grew ever more violent, the curses outside more vile.

After cursing for ten minutes or more, the shouting outside turned to pleading. “Please, open the door, just a bite to eat—I’m starving.”

“My mother is eighty years old, and I have two three-year-olds at home. We can’t die here.”

“I have money, lots of it. I can pay you.”

“Please, just open the door.”

“…”

“Damn it, open up!”

Boom!

Suddenly, something seemed to explode.

The door had been broken open.

“Sister Su, the downstairs door is broken…” Xia Xiaoan’s voice quavered with tears. “They’re coming up.”

Downstairs, the intruders dragged iron pipes as they ascended. “I can smell it—the pancakes are on the second floor. You won’t open up? I’ll kill you!”

Xia Xiaoan was terrified, her hand over her mouth, listening as the two young men drew closer and closer to the second floor.

When they made it up, there would be no escape.

Only Su Miao could save them.

But—

“Sister Su…” She glanced back at the corner, only to find, to her shock, that Su Miao was no longer there.

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