Zhang Yi sat quietly at home, waiting for his crazed neighbors to arrive.
His expression was serious, and a variety of weapons were laid out in front of him.
At that moment, he received a message from Uncle You, the guard.
"Xiao Zhang, you better run! They're coming for you with weapons."
Zhang Yi felt a slight warmth in his heart. In such troubled times, it was rare to encounter good people.
He smiled and replied, "Uncle You, don't worry. I can handle it."
Uncle You was silent for a moment, seemingly understanding that there was nowhere to run at this point. Resistance was the only option.
He said, "Xiao Zhang, I hope you can survive. I'm sorry I can't help you this time."
Uncle You felt deeply ashamed. He owed Zhang Yi a favor. When Zhang Yi had warned him to stock up on supplies, Uncle You had prepared a lot of instant noodles and sausages at home, allowing him to live fairly comfortably now.
But now, seeing Zhang Yi about to be attacked by so many people, he was helpless.
Zhang Yi responded calmly, "The fact that you didn't join them already shows your kindness. Don't worry about me."
Uncle You had made the best choice. If he had come over to help Zhang Yi now, he would likely have been hacked to death by the hundred or so residents.
After exchanging a few words with Uncle You, Zhang Yi remained cautious, avoiding revealing any details about his home.
You can never be too careful. No matter who it was, Zhang Yi would never fully trust them!
Not long after, Zhang Yi felt a slight tremor beneath his feet.
A loud rumbling noise came from outside.
"They're here."
Zhang Yi spoke calmly.
He knew that it was the sound of over a hundred people rushing up the stairs.
But Zhang Yi lived on the 24th floor!
With no electricity for the elevator, those people running up the stairs must be exhausted.
Of course, the attackers weren't just from the lower floors.
At the very least, through the large monitor controlling the cameras for the entire building, Zhang Yi saw that his next-door neighbors in apartment 2402 were also coming out, armed with a kitchen knife and a wrench.
The couple next door had the woman hiding behind the man, holding a kitchen knife.
Their eyes glowed with envy as they stared at Zhang Yi's door.
No doubt, upon learning that their neighbor had been living in luxury for the past two weeks, their jealousy had consumed them!
The crowd slowly gathered, completely blocking the hallway in front of Zhang Yi's door.
A few people opened umbrellas, holding them over their heads to prevent Zhang Yi from pouring water on them.
Before long, someone couldn't resist and rushed forward to bang on the door.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Zhang Yi, get out here! If you don't want to die, this is your last chance!"
"Don't wait for us to break in, or it'll be too late for anything!"
Zhang Yi didn't see any sign of Sun Zhichao or Chen Zhenghao through the surveillance, though.
The way these people were pounding on the door confirmed his suspicion—Sun Zhichao and Chen Zhenghao hadn't told them about the real situation inside his home.
In other words, they were using the other neighbors as cannon fodder, letting them take the brunt of Zhang Yi's crossbow shots and high-voltage electric attacks first.
Zhang Yi didn't hold back. With ample energy reserves at his disposal, he certainly didn't mind using some electricity.
He connected the high-voltage button directly.
The young man who had been angrily banging on the door was immediately jolted by the electric current, his face contorting in agony!
The most terrifying part was that, with over a hundred people crowded together, the entire hallway was packed.
So, when he got electrocuted, the shock spread to the crowd behind him!
"Ah!!"
"It's high-voltage! Get away!"
The people behind him felt as if they'd been bitten by a tiger, and quickly let go.
If it hadn't been for their thick clothing, they wouldn't have had a chance to break free.
Everyone was zapped by the high-voltage shock, their muscles twitching in pain.
But the young man and the seven or eight people closest to him were the worst off. They had no chance to escape, and their bodies were charred black by the electric shock.
The rest of the crowd stared at them in horror, but no one dared to help.
After a few seconds, Zhang Yi cut the power.
Nine people were left smoldering, with smoke rising from their bodies. The air was filled with the smell of grilled meat and burnt fabric.
Thud!
The nine people collapsed to the ground, their bodies charred black. It was unclear whether they were dead or alive.
But everyone understood that, given the current situation, even if they had a breath left in them, they were already as good as dead.
Everyone's eyes widened in horror as they stared at the scene in front of them.
They had never expected so many people to die in an instant, right before their eyes.
The expressions on the faces of the electrocuted victims were grotesque, their eyes bulging wide open.
Several women in the crowd couldn't take it anymore and let out shrill screams, bending over to vomit.
Unfortunately, there was nothing in their stomachs, so all they could do was retch up bile.
Some people, overwhelmed by fear, tried to flee.
But when they reached the stairs, they found that Chen Zhenghao had blocked the exit with his men.
"What are you doing? Get back there!" Chen Zhenghao said coldly, holding a gun in his hand.
The stairs were the only escape route. Chen Zhenghao had blocked it to force everyone to fight Zhang Yi.
The more of them died, the easier it would be for Chen Zhenghao to seize their resources.
Sun Zhichao was also present, dragging his sickly body. He gazed coldly at the nine charred corpses.
It was clear that he and Chen Zhenghao shared the same plan.
Seeing the crowd's fear, Sun Zhichao shouted, "That bastard Zhang Yi is a monster! He killed his own neighbors!"
"Brothers and sisters, we must kill Zhang Yi and avenge them!"
"Don't be afraid, just use wooden beams to ram the door. As long as you don't touch it, you'll be fine!"
"He's out of tricks! We're almost through!"
"Once we break this door, there's warmth, food, and a good life waiting for us!"
Sun Zhichao's words fired up the crowd once again.
Having lived in hunger and cold for over two weeks, they were willing to do anything for a bite of food and a moment of warmth!
Soon, someone found a wooden beam, probably torn from a cabinet or bed.
"Let's go, brothers! Break that door down and kill Zhang Yi!"
A group of people picked up the beam and started ramming Zhang Yi's door.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The violent impacts made the glass of water on Zhang Yi's table tremble.
But Zhang Yi didn't feel like it was enough.
He took out a large Sennheiser speaker from his dimensional storage, connected it to his phone, and started playing one of his favorite songs, "Love While Doing."
As the crowd outside desperately rammed the door, upbeat music blared from inside, infuriating them even more.
"Zhang Yi, you arrogant bastard! We'll kill you soon!"
"You're dead today! You're going to pay for my brother's life!"
They continued ramming the door with increasing intensity.
But after dozens of strikes, they realized in despair that the door hadn't budged.
A dozen grown men, exerting over a thousand pounds of force, had only left faint white marks and barely noticeable dents on the black iron door.
The neighbors were starting to lose hope.
"What kind of door is this? Why is it so strong?"
"At this rate, when will we break it down?"
Everyone was panting heavily.
They were working in temperatures below -70°C, and due to hunger, they had little strength left.
After a while, many of them felt their legs go weak, and they had to rotate shifts.
But at this pace, it seemed they would tire themselves to death before breaking through.
At this point, someone approached and examined the door for a while before exclaiming, "This... this is a bank vault door!"
The man worked at a bank and immediately recognized the door's structure.
Hearing this, everyone around became even more desperate.
"Does that mean we can't break it down?"
The bank employee shook his head bitterly. "Forget about using a wooden beam. Even with explosives, you wouldn't be able to blow it open!"
"Without the key, only the world's top lockpicking experts would have a slight chance of opening it."
By now, Zhang Yi had already picked up his crossbow and positioned himself at the shooting port.