Inside Building 25, Chen Zhenghao and his gang had already ransacked several households, directly or indirectly causing the deaths of five people.
The situation caused many of the residents in the building to band together. Their solution was simple: don't stay scattered, instead, live together in one place. They fortified the door with heavy objects to prevent Chen Zhenghao and his men from breaking in.
As for water, they found ways to collect it from outside the windows. Some floors had balconies, which could catch the falling snow.
Fang Yuqing and Lin Cai'ning had moved into Wang Min's apartment on the 18th floor. Wang Min was Zhou Peng's cousin, a strong and independent businesswoman who owned a cosmetics company in Tianhai City. She was relatively well-off and lived in a three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment, the same layout as Zhang Yi's.
The other people with Wang Min were her colleagues and close friends. After all, in the apocalypse, even if people wanted to form alliances, they only trusted those they knew well. Fang Yuqing and Lin Cai'ning were only allowed to join after Zhou Peng personally vouched for them. The "token of loyalty" they brought was the information about Zhang Yi's situation.
At this moment, a group of people sat in the living room, wrapped in thick down jackets, scarves around their necks, trying to cover as much of their bodies as possible to keep warm. The mood was heavy, and everyone felt uneasy, especially since Zhang Yi had rejected the proposal to live together.
Wang Min glanced at Fang Yuqing and Lin Cai'ning, her tone indifferent. "I let you two move in because of my cousin, and you promised to persuade Zhang Yi to let us stay in his place."
"Now, Zhang Yi doesn't agree at all. What do you suggest we do about that?"
Zhou Peng was a bit of a sycophant, but Wang Min was sharp and could tell right away that Fang Yuqing and Lin Cai'ning were not easy to deal with. If it hadn't been for the promises they made about Zhang Yi, Wang Min would never have let them join.
Fang Yuqing quickly said, "Sister Wang, listen to me. Zhang Yi's supplies are really abundant, and he's even installed a fireplace!"
"If we can move into his place, life will be much easier."
After being repeatedly rejected by Zhang Yi, Fang Yuqing and Lin Cai'ning had lost all hope of relying on him. They began to sell out every bit of information they had about Zhang Yi's apartment, including the photos and videos Zhang Yi had sent them.
Lin Cai'ning chimed in, "Yeah, you've all seen the video. You know how comfortable Zhang Yi's place is right now."
"If we all work together to move in, we won't just be safe from Chen Zhenghao, but we'll also live much more comfortably."
Hearing this, Wang Min and the others couldn't help but take out their phones and re-watch the videos Fang Yuqing had forwarded. The footage of Zhang Yi's well-prepared home was eye-catching, and their eyes lit up with desire.
Wang Min frowned. "But Zhang Yi's already made it clear—he doesn't want to let us in."
At that moment, Sun Zhichao, a bespectacled man, adjusted his glasses and said in a low voice, "Someone like him is way too selfish, caring only about his own life and death."
"We don't need to be polite with people like that. In fact, since he's all alone, why don't we use some special methods?"
Everyone turned to look at Sun Zhichao, fully understanding what he meant—break into Zhang Yi's place and force him to hand it over.
Sun Zhichao's friend, Lu Tao, voiced his support loudly. "I think that's a great idea! People like him, selfish and only thinking about themselves, don't deserve to live in such a nice place."
Wang Min hesitated, frowning. "But according to Zhou Peng, his security door is really solid. We're not exactly like Chen Zhenghao's group—we're not skilled in that kind of thing."
Zhou Peng added, "Yeah, and Zhang Yi's really sneaky. Last time we knocked on his door, he dumped urine on us from above!"
At the mention of that incident, Fang Yuqing and Lin Cai'ning felt nauseous, nearly retching on the spot. Even now, they could still smell the lingering stench on their hair and skin from Zhang Yi's disgusting act. If it weren't for the cold and their stuffy noses, the smell alone could have knocked them out.
Sun Zhichao adjusted his glasses again, smirking. "It's not that hard to handle. We just need to wrap ourselves up tight, wear masks, and use umbrellas. That way, we won't need to worry about whatever he throws at us."
"As for breaking down the door, heh."
He looked toward Lu Tao.
Lu Tao cleared his throat and said, "I used to work at a locksmith company. I'm very familiar with this kind of thing. I can open any common lock you'll find on the market."
Upon hearing this, Fang Yuqing and the others nearly jumped for joy.
"That's perfect! Once we get that door open, we can all rush in, and let's see how Zhang Yi, that bastard, can resist!" Fang Yuqing spat the words out, her hatred for Zhang Yi evident.
After all, she had begged Zhang Yi to let her in, but he not only refused her but humiliated her repeatedly. Fang Yuqing now despised him with all her heart.
"Once we break in, I'm going to shove his head into the toilet and make him eat!" she snarled.
Zhou Peng, always eager to please, jumped in and said, "I'll be the one pulling the handle, then!"
Fang Yuqing was secretly disgusted by Zhou Peng's crude behavior, but she still needed him for now. So she smiled and said, "Sure, just make sure you eat plenty of tofu and onions beforehand."
Everyone laughed, feeling confident. They were sure that with so many of them working together, Zhang Yi wouldn't stand a chance.
The group grabbed their umbrellas, bundled themselves up tightly, and armed themselves with tools to break down the door, heading toward Zhang Yi's apartment.
Zhang Yi had installed an alarm system, which would alert him to any movement on his floor. So the moment they started climbing the stairs, he knew.
Through his surveillance cameras, Zhang Yi saw the group approaching. Since they were all wrapped up tightly, he initially thought it was Chen Zhenghao's gang again.
"Perfect timing. I didn't finish you off last time. Let's give you another lesson," Zhang Yi muttered coldly to himself.
But he still didn't plan to kill Chen Zhenghao just yet. If Chen Zhenghao died, who would take care of the other annoying neighbors in the building?
No, Zhang Yi wanted to watch the drama unfold.
The group approached Zhang Yi's door cautiously, fully covered, then opened their umbrellas. Now, Zhang Yi's usual tactics of using water or gas to drive them away would be much less effective, at least for a short while.
All of this was thanks to the intel provided by Fang Yuqing. She naïvely believed that no matter how much Zhang Yi had prepared, his resources were ultimately limited. Spraying water and releasing gas bombs were surely his last lines of defense.