Chapter 30: This Is What Respect Looks Like!

For safety reasons, Chang Jieming brought three security guards clad in raincoats and headed toward the villa on the opposite side of the landslide and mudflow. The rainwater on the road was deep, nearly twenty centimeters. The once beautiful tourist area, battered by floods and mudslides and crowded with new refugees, was now in chaos—filth and debris floated everywhere in the water.

Chang Jieming suddenly wished the downpour would intensify, so it could wash all this filth away.

Upon reaching the landslide zone, he couldn't help but marvel at the intelligence of the newcomers: in such a short time, they had managed to construct a rope bridge. With this bridge, as long as one crossed it carefully, there would be no safety issues.

They crossed the rope bridge. The water on this side was shallower, about fifteen centimeters deep, but much more turbulent.

Relying on his memory, Chang Jieming found the villa where Su Miao lived, only to discover that it was now occupied entirely by new refugees.

Had he found the wrong place? Or misremembered? No, the villa's main door was missing, people were coming and going—it couldn't be the villa described by those people.

He guessed something had happened recently, prompting Su Miao to move out and relocate to another villa.

There were only eight villas on this side of the landslide, making the search easy.

"Captain, look!" one of his companions called, pointing ahead to the area near the flowerbeds by the roadside. Thanks to the plants, three bodies bobbed up and down in the rainwater, unable to float away for now.

No one dared touch these corpses, fearing that one careless move would see them end up as another body submerged in the water.

Chang Jieming's expression changed. He looked toward the villa near the corpses—the one with half its front door broken, blocked by a cabinet.

"This is the place," he said. With his companions carrying gifts, he walked forward. "Remember, be polite. If anyone isn't, don't blame me if you end up dead."

The three security guards were puzzled, but seeing how cautious the captain was, they all nodded.

As Chang Jieming and the guards approached the villa, Su Miao spotted them from the second floor. She had already brought out her crossbow and descended to the first floor. If anyone tried to force open the cabinet blocking the door or broke a window, she would not hesitate to fire.

She would never repeat her previous mistake, like letting He Weixin go. These people were not trustworthy.

"Miss Su Miao, hello! I am Security Captain Chang Jieming. I came with Customer Service Officer Xiao Yan to deliver some supplies," Chang Jieming called out politely, knocking loudly at the door.

Su Miao stood trembling behind the door, saying nothing.

"We heard that someone disturbed you last night. That's our security team's negligence. Rest assured, we'll deal with those troublemakers," Chang Jieming shouted. "We've brought you some supplies—flour and rice, please accept them!"

Still, there was no response from inside.

Chang Jieming was patient. "Miss Su Miao, it's dangerous outside. You could lower a basket or open a downstairs window. I'll hand the supplies over and leave."

"Two packs of flour, five pounds of rice—not much, but it's sincere."

Before the internet was cut off, Su Miao had seen in her Versailles group that Wang Siyang and others paid a hundred thousand yuan for a single pound of flour or rice, and even then, it wasn't certain they could buy any.

"No need, take them back and eat them yourselves. I'm fine here," Su Miao finally replied, after a dozen seconds of silence, summoning her courage to speak loudly.

She sensed no malice for now. Even so, she would not accept the security team's goodwill, nor dare to eat the food they brought. If there was something in it and she and Xia Xiaoan collapsed after eating, she wouldn't be able to stop anyone from breaking in, not to mention she wasn't lacking food at all.

On the contrary, if nothing was wrong with the food, it would be better for the security team, short on resources, to keep it for themselves.

Whether or not they still maintained order, as long as they bore no malice toward her and remained present, it was good for the entire resort.

"Take them back," said Su Miao.

Chang Jieming was momentarily stunned outside the door. He looked at the flour and rice he had brought—such fine rice and noodles.

These days, almost every night, young, beautiful women came to the security team. Half a bun or a packet of instant noodles would make them do anything.

Now, carrying such heavy gifts, they were refused?

Absurd!

Originally, he had planned to see Su Miao in person and try to buy a crossbow from her. Whether facing Fei Chengqiang, his enemy, or the man-eating spiders in the mountain caves, Chang Jieming needed powerful weapons.

But since Su Miao wouldn't even accept such valuable gifts, it wasn't appropriate to ask about buying a crossbow.

"Alright," Chang Jieming called out. "Many have sought refuge in the resort lately, so things are chaotic. Our security team patrols regularly. If Miss Su Miao needs anything, just let us know. We'll help."

"Then, we'll take our leave!"

After waiting a moment with no further response from inside, Chang Jieming led his companions away.

On the way, a young security guard asked, puzzled, "Captain, isn't she being a bit disrespectful?"

Two packs of flour and five pounds of rice—enough to make many people fight to the death for it.

Chang Jieming glanced at him and pointed to the corpses still floating in the water. "That's respect! I'll warn you again: don't think of Su Miao as one of those women who come to you at night. You can ask around about what happened here last night when we get back. I don't want any of you ending up floating in the rain like that."

The young guard was startled. "Captain, are you saying Su Miao killed those people?"

"What do you think?" Chang Jieming replied, his tone grave. "I suspect Brother Long's gang in the villa district going missing is also related to Su Miao."

The young guard's eyes widened. "Captain, is that... true?"

He turned to look at Su Miao's villa, and for a moment it seemed wrapped in blood, menacing and fanged, corpses everywhere, terrifyingly gruesome.

He glanced at the new residents in nearby villas—all had drawn their curtains tight, none daring to look toward that villa.

The more he thought, the more fearful he became, quickening his pace until he nearly stumbled.

Soon after the security team left, someone passed by, casting another glance at Su Miao's villa.

"To have the security team come here especially to deliver flour and rice—who could be living inside?"

"Better tell the foreman. If they refuse such good flour and rice, there must be someone important inside—maybe they're hoarding a lot of food."