Chen Zhenghao and the others spent an entire morning hammering away at Zhang Yi's house.
However, after digging through the walls, floor, and ceiling, they were met with thick steel plates.
The 20cm thick steel was like a nightmare for them!
Using only manpower, there was no hope of breaking through.
With the extreme cold outside and no way to replenish their strength with food, they were simply accelerating their deaths.
Many people were exhausted and collapsed on the ground.
The sound of growling stomachs filled the air.
They touched their empty bellies, hunger slowly conquering them.
But there wasn't much food left to begin with.
Some people glanced at their neighbors, and through the gaps in their clothes, they saw the pale flesh beneath.
A thought suddenly sprang into their minds.
Isn't that… meat?
The terrifying thought sent shivers through them, and they desperately tried to banish it from their minds.
But once the idea emerged, it presented them with a grim option in this desperate situation.
They probably knew deep down that if things came to that point, cannibalism would be inevitable.
"Is there really no way out?"
Sun Zhichao's face was filled with pain. He even felt like his arm was starting to fester.
Without antibiotics or even basic anti-inflammatory drugs, and with no way to clean the wound, death seemed almost certain.
Rust still clung to his wound.
In this situation, death was almost unavoidable.
"Damn you, Zhang Yi! Why are you so cruel?"
"How is your life worth more than all of ours? Why can't you sacrifice yourself? Why??"
Sun Zhichao screamed to the sky, his soul completely twisted by despair.
At that moment, one of Zhang Yi's neighbors suddenly spoke up.
"Maybe you should try the balcony."
"When they were renovating their house, they turned the balcony into a large glass window. There might be a way in!"
The other residents couldn't see the back of Zhang Yi's house, but his neighbor could.
Building 25 had some units with small balconies, and Zhang Yi's home on the 24th floor happened to have one.
Normally, Zhang Yi used it to grow flowers and dry his clothes.
Upon hearing this from the neighbor, the group of people, on the brink of despair, raised their heads in sudden hope.
"A window? Hahaha, yes! If there's a window, then there's definitely a way in! It can't all be sealed off!"
"As long as there's a window, we can break in!"
Without hesitation, the group rushed into Zhang Yi's neighbor's house.
There was a 15cm gap between the two balconies, and a metal fence between them.
But that wasn't going to stop this crazed crowd.
However, the balcony was not like the hallway.
The hallways were sealed up by each family, somewhat insulated, and still offered a bit of warmth.
But outside, the north wind howled, snow fell heavily, and after just a few hours, a person could freeze to death.
Chen Zhenghao and the others didn't care anymore. As long as they could get into Zhang Yi's house, they would have everything they needed!
They howled like madmen and jumped onto Zhang Yi's balcony.
Naturally, Zhang Yi noticed this scene.
Their eyes met for less than a second.
The neighbors waved their tools madly, smashing them against the large floor-to-ceiling windows.
Zhang Yi calmly dragged his white recliner over to the window, leisurely lying down while pouring himself a steaming cup of coffee.
The small balcony quickly became crowded with more than ten people.
Their faces were pale, resembling the living dead, and their twisted expressions made them look nothing like living humans.
Zhang Yi thought to himself, if there really were zombies, they'd probably look something like this.
"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Clang!"
The deep sounds of tools striking the glass echoed across the balcony.
Braving the wind and snow, the crazed group continued smashing the windows.
Even when they accidentally hit their own hands, they didn't feel any pain, letting the blood flow and freeze over.
When they were hammering the walls earlier, their desire wasn't as intense.
But now, with only a glass window separating them, they could clearly see just how luxurious Zhang Yi's life was!
Inside, the fireplace was burning bright, Zhang Yi wore only a thin layer of clothing, lounging like a landlord on a white recliner.
Next to him sat a cup of freshly brewed coffee, still steaming. Judging by the foam, it was likely a cappuccino.
The coffee table was piled high with weapons, but that wasn't the point.
The point was the pile of half-eaten snacks underneath the table.
Potato chips, burgers, cola, pizza, roast chicken, roast duck, even oil-drenched noodles!
Seeing these things drove the neighbors on the balcony completely mad!
They had only been without such luxuries for half a month, yet seeing them now made them act as if they'd found their long-lost parents!
"Roar!!!"
"Aaaaahhh!!!"
Their excitement was so overwhelming that they couldn't even speak properly. They simply screamed and wailed, using every ounce of strength they had to smash the window.
Zhang Yi sipped his coffee, watching the spectacle unfold.
He casually remarked, "Who said glass is always weaker than metal?"
The cost of this wall was extremely high. For the sake of his living standards, Zhang Yi had rejected War Dragon Security's suggestion to use metal.
Instead, he spent a large sum to custom-build an entire floor-to-ceiling wall of bulletproof glass.
He still remembered what Wu Huairen, the manager of War Dragon Security, had said, "This wall isn't just bulletproof, it could withstand artillery fire!"
The bulletproof glass used in the cars of heads of state in Western countries was made of the same material.
But the thickness of those windows was less than half that of Zhang Yi's wall.
Sure enough, as the group continued to smash the glass, they started to realize something was wrong.
At first, they thought it was just some regular acrylic glass, and a few hard blows would shatter it.
But after ten or so people had been hammering away for half the day, not even a crack had appeared!
"What kind of glass is this?"
"Could it be… bulletproof glass?"
"What? Bulletproof glass?"
That word croaked out of a bespectacled man's throat, filled with despair, like a cry from the depths of hell.
If it could withstand artillery fire, how could mere hand tools break it?
"No! I don't believe it!"
A young man screamed to the sky, "My fate is in my hands, not in the heavens! I refuse to believe I can't break it!"
"If I break it, all the food and warmth inside will be mine! I have to break it, ahhhh!!!"
Perhaps in this freezing cold, as hope and despair clashed, everyone's minds had frozen as well.
They chose to abandon reason and act recklessly, hoping for a future!
Zhang Yi clapped for them, genuinely touched.
However, he was starting to feel a bit hungry.
So, he pulled out some more food from his space, like soy-braised pork knuckles and caramelized bananas, along with some snacks and pure cocoa butter chocolate to enjoy.