Aunt Lin had been robbed of her supplies by Chen Zhenghao, and both she and her grandson Xiao Hu had been brutally beaten.
The old woman, holding onto her last breath, was still able to move, but her grandson, Xiao Hu, had been kicked hard in the stomach by Xiao Kalami, one of Chen Zhenghao's men.
At just six years old, Xiao Hu couldn't withstand such a blow, and his internal organs were damaged.
In her desperation, Aunt Lin turned to the neighborhood group chat, hoping someone would help save her grandson.
However, due to her previous deception in stealing supplies from the neighbors, everyone hated her, and no one was willing to help.
"Woo woo woo, I know what I did was wrong before. But my grandson is innocent!" she pleaded.
"He's just a child, please help him!"
Aunt Lin's cries echoed in the group, full of despair.
But no one showed her any sympathy.
Instead, some people began to mock her.
"Who knows if this is real or just another lie."
"Yeah, and we're not doctors. We can't help you."
"If you hadn't tricked us out of supplies in the first place, would Bro Hao have kicked your grandson? You brought this on yourself."
Aunt Lin broke down and cried, "It's all my fault, I made so many mistakes. But if you help my grandson, I'll bow to you, I swear I will!"
At that moment, a woman named Zhou Ke'er sent a message.
"Let me take a look at the child. But I can't promise I can save him."
When Zhang Yi saw Zhou Ke'er's message, an image of a tall, graceful woman with a long ponytail immediately came to his mind.
Zhou Ke'er was a doctor at the First People's Hospital in Tianhai City.
In his previous life, she had saved many lives with her medical knowledge, making her one of the few good people in the neighborhood.
Though usually cold and distant, she rarely spoke in the group chat, but upon seeing Xiao Hu in danger, she decided to step forward.
Aunt Lin remembered there was a doctor in the neighborhood and immediately sent her thanks, rushing to send her grandson to Zhou Ke'er.
Half an hour later, Aunt Lin's anxious voice echoed in the group again.
"Does anyone have any hemostatic medicine, shock medications, or antibiotics?"
"My Xiao Hu needs surgery, please, someone help! I'll bow to you, please!"
Xiao Hu had suffered severe injuries; the kick to his stomach had ruptured his liver.
Although Zhou Ke'er was a doctor, she didn't have much medicine at home.
The neighbors, hearing Aunt Lin's desperate pleas, laughed but said nothing.
Who had these kinds of medicines at home?
Chen Zhenghao also joined the group, making snide remarks.
"How about you bow in the group chat? Is that how you're going to do it?"
A wave of "hahaha" laughter spread through the chat.
Aunt Lin's voice broke with sobs, "I'll bow right now if you help him!"
Zhang Yi raised an eyebrow.
It was true; he had these exact medicines in his dimensional space.
But he would never use them to save Xiao Hu.
First, in the apocalypse, medicines were as important as food, and he didn't want to reveal his stash.
Second, he truly disliked Aunt Lin and her spoiled grandson.
Besides, with such severe injuries, even if they managed to save him, Xiao Hu wouldn't survive the long, harsh winter.
It was better to keep those medicines for himself.
Despite Aunt Lin's continued pleas in the chat, no one stepped forward to help her.
After a long while, Zhou Ke'er finally sent another message in the group.
She said that she had temporarily stabilized Xiao Hu's condition, but it was only emergency treatment and couldn't last long.
He would need to go to the hospital for surgery if he were to survive.
She also offered to help treat any other urgent illnesses if anyone needed her assistance.
Immediately, the group erupted with praise for Zhou Ke'er.
Even Chen Zhenghao and the wealthy second-generation Xu Hao joined in, praising her for her medical compassion.
Usually, people didn't care much for this cold, distant doctor, but now, in this time of crisis, everyone was trying to win her favor.
Zhang Yi continued to observe the situation quietly, without speaking in the chat.
For the past few days, Fang Yuqing hadn't contacted him.
Zhang Yi didn't mind at all. He knew that this "white lotus" would soon come to him for help.
Right now, she was simply trying to maintain her pitiful vanity, always thinking of herself as a woman who couldn't lower her pride to ask a man for help, unless he was wealthy.
But in the future, who knows?
The heavy snow was still falling, and the entire first floor had been completely buried.
Right now, not only was leaving the neighborhood impossible, even trying to exit the neighborhood's main gates meant facing a snowdrift several meters high.
The depletion of supplies was inevitable.
At that point, with her personality, this "white lotus" would surely come to Zhang Yi to beg for supplies.
A week had already passed since the apocalypse began.
Seven days might not seem long, but for a group of people suffering in the freezing cold, confined to their homes, it felt like seven years!
At first, they all still held onto some hope.
But now, almost everyone had come to terms with the reality.
The chance of receiving any rescue was almost nonexistent.
Through the internet, they had learned that the entire world was suffering from an unprecedented snowstorm, one that could only be seen once every hundreds of thousands of years!
The entire world was buried under snow, and in some northern cities, temperatures had reached more than 100 degrees below zero. The snowstorms were even worse, and many cities had been completely submerged!
While the government was still encouraging everyone to stay united and live well through the few remaining channels, looking at the frozen cities outside, everyone's spirits had sunk.
With the shortage of supplies, the issues had only become more severe.
Aunt Lin's supplies had been stolen by Chen Zhenghao, and her grandson, Xiao Hu, lay dying in bed, sending her into a state of madness.
She had spent the entire day in the group, shouting that she was the leader of the neighborhood committee and demanding everyone give her their supplies.
But now, the other neighbors had learned to be smarter, and no one paid any attention to her.
In the neighborhood group, Xie Limei, a mother living on the 12th floor, suddenly sent a message.
"Does anyone still have food? My child and I haven't eaten for two days. I... I can buy it at a high price!"
This message caused a subtle shift in the group.
In the past, everyone thought the disaster would end soon, and the city would be reopened.
So, while there had been food transactions, the prices were only a few times higher than normal.
But now, more and more households had exhausted their supplies.
At this point, food was life—hope for survival!
Soon, someone spoke up, saying, "I still have a few packs of instant noodles. If you need them, I'll sell them to you. But one pack costs 1,000 yuan!"
One thousand yuan for a pack of instant noodles!
Such a price was unimaginable before.
They might not have realized how much this transaction would affect the entire building.
Zhang Yi, resting his chin on his hand, looked at his phone and said lightly, "The interesting part is about to begin."
Xie Limei didn't reply immediately, clearly still hesitating.
At least now, people still held onto some hope, thinking the snowstorm would pass.
Life would go on, and they would still need to make money.
At this moment, Xu Hao, the wealthy second-generation who hadn't spoken in the group for a while, suddenly chimed in.
"I'll offer 2,000 yuan per pack! How many do you have? I'll buy them all!"