After Zhang Yi and Zhou Ke'er returned to the room, they took off their winter jackets, sat on the sofa, and cursed angrily, "That damn crazy old woman!"
He sprawled out lazily on the sofa.
Zhou Ke'er walked into the bathroom and came out after a while with a basin of hot water.
She smiled as she knelt in front of Zhang Yi, gently removing his cotton socks and then personally washing his feet.
She asked softly, "Did you get a big scare just now?"
Zhang Yi leaned back on the sofa and replied slowly, "Not really. Ever since the apocalypse, I've stopped being surprised by anything."
"In these chaotic times, all kinds of absurd things can happen."
He was wearing a police-issued bulletproof vest. Unless the old woman was some kind of agile assassin who could perfectly strike his neck, she couldn't hurt him.
But Zhang Yi wasn't a block of wood; naturally, he could dodge.
"While I was out, did anything happen in the neighborhood?"
"Especially in the other apartment buildings, any activity?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ke'er slowly nodded.
"I was just about to tell you."
Zhang Yi sat up slightly, his eyes filled with curiosity and caution.
"Oh? What happened?"
While massaging Zhang Yi's feet, Zhou Ke'er said calmly, "The person in charge over at building #9 is someone who used to be my patient, named Chen Lingyu."
"She contacted me today, hoping I could introduce her to you. She wants to send you a friend request and said there's something she'd like to discuss with you."
Zhang Yi frowned slightly. "Building #9, Chen Lingyu?"
It was a name unfamiliar to him.
Even though they were in the same residential community, Yuelu Complex was quite large, spanning about 500 meters from north to south.
His building, #25, and building #9 were essentially on opposite ends, and there had never been an opportunity to interact.
"What does she want to discuss with me?" Zhang Yi asked.
Zhou Ke'er shook her head. "She just said she wants to talk about a potential collaboration with the head of building #25. But as for the details, you'll need to discuss them yourself."
Zhang Yi scoffed.
"Collaboration? What nonsense!"
"I don't lack anything right now, while they're just sitting in their building waiting to die. What could they possibly offer in collaboration?"
Zhou Ke'er looked up, her lips curling into a light smile. "So, should I tell her you're not interested in talking?"
Zhang Yi waved his hand dismissively. "No need to rush. Hmm… tell me more about her. What kind of person is she? And what's the situation in their building?"
Zhou Ke'er then shared the information she had gathered with Zhang Yi.
Chen Lingyu was the owner of a beauty and cosmetics company in Tianhai City, valued at two hundred million.
Though it was called a beauty and cosmetics company, it was really just a business run through multi-level marketing.
Chen Lingyu was 38 years old, moderately attractive, strong-willed, and a capable businesswoman.
She and Zhou Ke'er knew each other because Chen had previously been a patient at the First People's Hospital, which was how they crossed paths.
Their relationship wasn't particularly close, just a nodding acquaintance.
As for building #9, it was now completely under Chen Lingyu's control along with her subordinates.
According to Zhou Ke'er's sources, building #9 was being managed quite well, with only ten people having died so far.
After hearing this, Zhang Yi cracked his knuckles and nodded. "For a woman to be able to manage an entire building in times like these, Chen Lingyu must be quite capable."
Zhou Ke'er sighed softly.
"Well, she did run a multi-level marketing operation. She certainly knows how to brainwash people."
Zhang Yi chuckled. "Now that's a ruthless person! When someone like her gets serious, they can betray even their own family. You can't take someone like her lightly!"
Zhou Ke'er nodded in agreement.
"My impression of her wasn't great either. We hadn't been in touch for a long time, but she suddenly reached out today asking me to pass a message along."
Zhang Yi said, "That's not surprising. Word has already spread that I have a snowmobile and can go out to gather supplies."
"Who in this complex isn't jealous of me? Who wouldn't want to get their hands on my snowmobile?"
Zhou Ke'er nodded.
"So, are you going to talk to her?"
Zhang Yi stroked his chin and thought for a few minutes.
"Let's have a chat."
"I'm curious to know what the other buildings are planning."
"At the very least, I can't push them all to the point of desperation. If the residents of all 29 buildings turn against me, that wouldn't be good."
If Zhang Yi simply stayed inside and never ventured out, he wouldn't have to worry about them.
But now, Zhang Yi knew the outside world was a treasure trove, and he would need to keep gathering survival supplies in the future.
For now, he couldn't afford to completely alienate the other 29 buildings.
So, while enjoying Zhou Ke'er's delicate massage, Zhang Yi opened WeChat on his phone.
His friend requests had already exceeded 99+, but he had been ignoring them, as most people were just asking for supplies, and he couldn't be bothered to respond.
Opening the friend request list, Zhang Yi saw the first request was from "a Chen Lingyu, CEO of Furong Group."
Her profile picture was a typical businesswoman's—white blouse under a suit jacket, arms crossed with a serious expression, and an exaggerated smile. The standard avatar for someone in multi-level marketing.
Just as Zhang Yi was about to accept the request, his eyes caught sight of another somewhat familiar profile picture below.
Businesspeople usually use personal photos for their WeChat avatars, so Zhang Yi immediately recognized the person.
It was Li Jian, the financial director of Walmart's South China division.
He recognized Li Jian because he had seen him give a speech during a company annual meeting banquet.
Zhang Yi also knew that Li Jian lived in the same complex, though they had never interacted due to the lack of overlap in their work.
Zhang Yi glanced at the time of the friend request—it was sent at 10:30 AM today, right after he had left the complex.
"Looks like he's reaching out for the same reason."
Zhang Yi thought to himself.
After a brief moment of consideration, he decided to accept both friend requests at the same time.
He would see what both of them had to say and then decide how to handle the other residents of the 29 buildings.
As soon as Zhang Yi accepted the requests, replies came back almost instantly.
"Hello, Mr. Zhang Yi! I'm Chen Lingyu from building #9, currently managing the residents there. I'd like to have a chat with you!"
"Hello, Mr. Zhang, I'm Li Jian from building #18. Thank you for accepting my request. I'd like to discuss a possible collaboration on behalf of the residents of building #18."
Zhang Yi opened Chen Lingyu's chat first.
"What do you want to talk about?"
Chen Lingyu immediately responded, "It's hard to discuss through text. Can we have a voice call?"
"No, I'm not available. Text is fine," Zhang Yi replied coldly.
He was very familiar with women in multi-level marketing. Give them a chance to talk, and they could ramble on for days.
"If you have something to say, keep it simple and to the point. I don't have much patience, and I don't like small talk."