Chapter 35: He Wants It All!

At dawn, a scream pierced through the torrential rain. But the girl who screamed was quickly silenced by someone beside her, who covered her mouth and drew the curtains.

"Don't shout—do you want to get us all killed?"

The adult in the villa across the street scolded her, then everything fell silent again.

Nearby, some curious souls cautiously parted their curtains for a glance outside. What they saw was a chilling sight: starting from the villa where Su Miao lived, corpse after corpse floated in the rain, rising and sinking with the current.

There were so many bodies that the road was completely blocked, preventing the rushing water from washing them away.

Old Song was known for his nerves of steel. On hearing the scream, he had rushed to the balcony to look down. Even though he had ventured into the ruins in the dark many times and killed several people himself, he still couldn't help but frown at the scene.

The day before yesterday, only three corpses remained in the water, though more than ten people had actually been killed. Now, at least fifteen bodies floated in the rain outside—how many had been murdered last night?

"The Witch..."

Old Song took a deep breath.

If it weren't for the debt he owed to the one who had saved his life, he would have moved away long ago. After all, who would want such a dangerous person as a neighbor?

He Weixin and his brothers soon caught wind of what had happened at Su Miao's villa. A wave of dread washed over them, and they quickly wiped the cold sweat from their brows.

They had once accused their leader, He Weixin, of being too cowardly—for kneeling to Su Miao and forbidding them from seeking revenge. Looking back, they were grateful they had held back; otherwise, their bodies would have been swept away by the rain by now.

"Bro, look over there," one of the brothers said, standing on the second floor and spotting a group from the construction site braving the pouring rain.

"There were over thirty of them when they arrived. Now only eleven remain—it seems the rumors are true."

"Where are they headed?"

He Weixin peered out the window. "Doesn't matter if they live or die. We just need to keep our heads down."

He glanced toward the parking lot, a suspicion forming in his mind. But what did it have to do with them? Nothing at all.

The foreman led his remaining ten men to the parking lot. But something was different—there was no one at the security office entrance, which wasn't part of his plan. Sensing an opportunity, the foreman signaled his men, and they quietly slipped toward the security office.

After only a few steps, he overheard voices ahead.

"Why is the captain taking so long? I’m starving," a young security guard complained from inside the room.

"Relax," an older guard replied. "You think the captain would let you go hungry? There are plenty of us waiting for a meal."

"I just don’t get why the captain goes to so much trouble to hide our food in that cave. He risks the storm every few days to fetch some—it’s a hassle," the younger guard grumbled.

"Are you stupid? Have you forgotten how we used to fight Fei Chengqiang and his crew? All over a bite to eat," the older guard said. "If Fei Chengqiang ever ambushes us, we can just run for it and raid his base instead. Isn’t that exciting?"

The young guard’s eyes lit up. "Ah, I get it now."

Their conversation drifted to other topics, apparently unaware of last night’s attack on Su Miao’s villa.

Outside the room, the foreman signaled his men to retreat quietly the way they came.

The security team was impressive—to think they would hide their food in a cave. Who would have guessed?

From what the guards had said, if the security team was ever attacked and their headquarters seized, they could abandon the place without a second thought, never worrying about their food supplies becoming a burden. No wonder they had survived until now.

What a shame. There would always be fools who couldn’t keep secrets.

They had come for the security team’s food, but never expected to gain such valuable information. Originally, the foreman had only planned to make them hand over a portion of their supplies. Now, he wanted it all.

The flesh that hadn’t yet melted from the foreman’s face trembled as he whispered to his men, "Brothers, no need for a fight. I know where the security team hides their food—we’ll take it all!"

The others didn’t understand, but if the foreman said he could get the food, that was good enough. They were all in.

The eleven survivors from the construction site quickly left the parking lot, anxious to avoid being discovered by the security team.

In fact, the moment they entered the parking area, they had already been spotted.

Chang Jieming stepped out from a hidden room and, watching the departing construction crew, gave a distant, ceremonial bow.

"Captain, isn’t this a bit too ruthless?" the young guard who had played at complaining asked.

"In a disaster like this, there’s no right or wrong, no such thing as too ruthless," Chang Jieming replied. "Everyone is just trying to survive."

"If you pity them so much, you can run after them and tell them there are man-eating spiders in that cave."

"Then you’ll find out whether they throw you in or stab you on the spot."

The young guard fell silent. These days, with full bellies, even his mind had grown soft. But after the captain’s words, he sobered up immediately.

"All right, everyone but those on watch or duty, catch up on some sleep," Chang Jieming ordered. "If that gang isn’t wiped out, they’ll be back for revenge."

At his command, security guards emerged from under cabinets, inside boxes, between walls, inside cupboards, and from trash bins—each armed—greeting one another before heading off to rest. To be ready for any fight, everyone needed to stay sharp.

...

Su Miao woke to the sound of a scream from the villa across the street.

Opening her eyes, she summoned her crossbow, ready in her hand. Only when she was sure there was no attack did she breathe a sigh of relief.

She dressed and tugged open a gap in the curtain, glancing across to the other villa. The curtains there were tightly drawn; nothing could be seen.

Strange. Why all the screams so early in the morning? Had one of the villas been attacked?

A flicker of movement caught her eye, and she saw the road in front of her villa, soaked by the rain. Bodies were piled so thickly across the street that, tossed by the torrent, they rose and fell—a sight that stunned the senses.

She hadn’t expected that dumping so many corpses the night before would block the road. This torrential rain was not enough.

"Big sister, what happened?" Xia Xiaoan stumbled into the living room, still half-asleep.

She sleepily lifted the curtain for a look, and in the next second, Xia Xiaoan could not help but vomit loudly.

Su Miao blinked—she hadn’t had a chance to warn her in time.