Chapter 27: What a Witty Young Lady

“Boss, did Old Cat and the others really die for nothing?”
A brother stared at the corpses on the ground, hatred burning in his heart. “Why don’t we get some gasoline, make a few Molotov cocktails, sneak over in the middle of the night, and burn that woman alive?”
“Don’t act rashly!”
He Weixin said, “I’m not stopping you from taking revenge, I’m just afraid you’ll die if you go.”
“Did you see how she used the crossbow? She looked terrified, her hands were shaking the whole time, but whether it was Old Cat or Old Dog, both took a bolt straight to the heart—instant death.”
They looked at the bodies, and only now did they notice the crossbow bolts embedded in their brothers’ chests. Cold dread swept through them.
“If we hadn’t retreated today, I don’t know how many of us would still be alive.”
He Weixin continued, “Remember the shattered villa gate and the blood at the entrance? I figure someone tried to break in before, and she slaughtered them all.”
“Think about the security guards we saw after entering the resort, the people living in the ruins—compared to them, that woman is spotless, as if she’s still on vacation.”
“She’s the kind of ruthless person we can’t afford to cross!”
The more his brothers listened to He Weixin’s analysis, the more terrified they became as they thought it through.
...
Meanwhile, the people He Weixin had driven out were weeping and shouting as they braved the torrential rain, hurrying to the parking lot to complain to Chang Jieming, the security team captain, about He Weixin’s brutality.
“You’re security! We paid you protection rations, and they stole our villa and killed people—aren’t you going to do something?”
“My husband was killed by them, it was horrible!”
“At least help us get our food back!”
The group wailed, cursed, and made a noisy scene at the security station.
Captain Chang Jieming was getting a headache.
He just wanted to collect some food and live these days in peace.
So many newcomers in the resort—the conflicts were bound to erupt eventually, but he hadn’t expected it to happen so soon.
As for the villa district, Chang Jieming knew Brother Long’s crew was tough; they’d wiped out Wang Siyang and severely wounded Fei Chengqiang’s group in the ruins. And yet, even such a powerful group disappeared in the villa district.
What did that mean? There was a real expert in there, someone no one could mess with.
“Quiet, all of you. We’ll investigate this,” Chang Jieming came out to persuade them. “Right now, the torrential rain isn’t letting up, and flooding will get worse at night. You’d better find somewhere to take shelter, or you’ll be in real danger.”
A woman shouted, “Our food’s still there! You took our rations and this is your answer? Aren’t you responsible?”
Chang Jieming replied, “Can’t you hear? It’ll be dangerous tonight. Your lives matter, but don’t ours?
“Let me tell you, before you arrived, this resort had more than 3,500 people. By the time you got here, not even 600 were left.
“Do you know why?”
“...”
“They’re all dead.”
That chilling sentence silenced everyone demanding justice.
They’d braved the flood and the torrential rain to seek refuge here, never expecting that so many had already died in the resort.
In that moment, they felt as though the ghosts of the dead were silently watching them, waiting for them to join.
For now, the group left.
They began to discuss where they might find shelter and food next.

As for confronting He Weixin, everyone kept making excuses—no one dared to step forward.
“With rain like this, where are we supposed to stay?”
The villa they’d finally found had been taken back by He Weixin, the other villas were all occupied—there really was nowhere left.
And the torrential rain showed no sign of stopping; to stay outside would mean freezing to death.
“I saw a few empty villas across the landslide, maybe we can stay there.”
“It’s dangerous to cross!”
“Better than freezing to death!”
“Let’s find a way over before dark.”
When they reached the landslide zone, they discovered others had the same idea, already trying to cross.
Someone had even built a makeshift rope bridge.
There was hope!
...
Xia Xiao’an ate her noodles, took her medicine, and went back to sleep.
She looked much better—if she was lucky, she’d be fully recovered by tomorrow.
Su Miao took a sip of coconut juice and continued eating her grilled fish.
The fish was a fresh, tender carp from the reservoir.
With a little chili, it was especially delicious.
If the apocalypse could be like this every day, with no one disturbing her, Su Miao thought she could get used to it.
Sure, there was no internet, no games, no new movies, shows, anime, or gossip to liven things up, but for her, it didn’t matter.
But just as she thought so, new noises came from downstairs.
Had those people she let go come back for revenge?
Su Miao quickly grabbed her crossbow, loaded a bolt, and peeked through the curtain.
It was evening; with the heavy rain, it was nearly pitch black outside. All she could make out were some vague silhouettes.
There were men and women, young and old—a large group.
But she could tell none were the same as the ones she’d released earlier.
Had the people she released brought these others here?
For revenge?
Su Miao went downstairs, eyes locked on the front door, afraid these people would force their way in.
“There are lights on in this villa!”
“I smell grilled fish—someone inside is having grilled fish.”
“Bastard! How can someone still be eating grilled fish and not share with others? No sense of decency at all.”
“Right, they’re probably as heartless as the ones who drove us out. They didn’t even give us any food back.”
“Don’t say that—let’s knock first. Maybe the person inside will share something.”
Chattering away, the group gathered outside Su Miao’s villa.
Someone shone a flashlight and clearly saw the cabinet blocking the door, which surprised them.

If the door had simply been locked, they’d have to knock, but with just a cabinet in the way, couldn’t they just push it open?
“This cabinet can be moved—let’s get a few people to help.”
A sturdy man stepped forward, leading the way.
Men and women, all those driven by hunger, moved up to push open the door together.
The smell of grilled fish wafting from the villa had made them desperate.
“One, two, three—push!”
A dozen people threw their weight against the cabinet, and it slid back at once.
Su Miao was terrified. Crossbow in hand, she mustered her courage and shouted, “Stop pushing! Get out of here!”
There was a moment of silence outside.
Then an older woman’s voice piped up, “Miss, it’s pouring outside and we have nowhere to go. Let us take shelter, please.”
“Yes, if you could spare us just a little food—we’ve been robbed of everything.”
“Please, you have grilled fish, just share a bite with us.”
“To save a life is a greater virtue than building a seven-story pagoda!”
They all spoke at once, making Su Miao even more frightened. “Leave now! I’ll kill you if you don’t go!”
How could those she let off earlier be so untrustworthy?
It hadn’t been long and now there were even more people.
She shouldn’t have let them go.
If she’d left a few more corpses at the door, perhaps no one would dare bother her now.
There was another brief silence outside.
Someone laughed.
Such a sweet voice—this young girl, trembling and claiming she’d kill, was almost comical.
They figured she was only joking to lighten the mood after their struggles getting here.
Originally they’d worried someone vicious like He Weixin might live here, but it was just a cute young woman—nothing to fear.
“Miss, step aside. We’re going to move this cabinet,” the lead man called, signaling everyone to push.
“Three, two, one!”
Bang!
The cabinet was shoved aside, crashing to the floor.
Flashlights swept inside and revealed Su Miao, nearly backed into a corner, clutching her crossbow and shaking with terror.
The man who had pushed open the door beamed and stepped forward, doing his best to appear harmless. “Don’t be afraid, miss. We’re not bad people—we’re just here to take shelter from the rain. All we ask is a little food.”