Zhang Yi first gave Chen Lingyu a harsh warning, letting her know he wasn't someone to be trifled with.
In Unit 9, Chen Lingyu paced back and forth in her room—not out of nervousness, but because the cold made it necessary to keep moving to stay warm. She wore several layers of clothing but still tried to maintain an air of sophistication, even donning a coat with a fox-fur collar.
After receiving Zhang Yi's icy message, she took a deep breath and muttered to herself, "As expected, he's a formidable character! I can't afford to be careless."
Deep down, Chen Lingyu felt nervous, even fearful, when facing Zhang Yi. After all, his reputation had already spread—he had single-handedly killed half of the residents in his building. Moreover, he had plenty of weapons at his disposal, including a terrifying sniper rifle. Stories of Zhang Yi instilled deep fear in those from other buildings who had heard about him.
Calming her nerves, Chen Lingyu began typing a carefully rehearsed message.
"Mr. Zhang, I've heard a lot about you. Your reputation precedes you, and I've long wanted to meet you. Now that I know you have a snowmobile and can gather supplies from outside, we at Unit 9 would like to propose a partnership."
Zhang Yi glanced at the message and smirked.
"A partnership? What exactly can you offer me? Partnerships are about equal exchange, and you should understand that," he replied.
Chen Lingyu quickly responded, "Our Unit 9 is quite harmonious, and we haven't had many deaths. So, we have a lot of manpower!"
"Since you have the snowmobile and can leave the complex, you have the opportunity to explore outside!" She became more animated as she continued.
"We can offer you 76 people—the best labor force. The world outside is covered in snow, and chaos reigns. In other words, whatever is buried under the snow belongs to whoever claims it."
"You have the transportation and weapons, and I have obedient people ready to work. If we join forces, we could achieve great things!"
Zhang Yi nonchalantly cleaned his ear.
"Sounds impressive, but it's all empty talk. Let me ask you—how do you plan to survive tomorrow? There's no point in talking about 'development' when people can barely stay alive."
Chen Lingyu swallowed hard.
"That's where you come in. We need you to help gather food, ensuring our survival. After that, we'll be your best labor force for any project you want to undertake."
Zhang Yi shook his head, losing interest.
This woman was just a typical scam artist. She might be good at fooling desperate property owners, but she was wasting her time trying to deceive him. He didn't even bother typing and sent a voice message instead.
"I'm not interested in anything you've said. Goodbye!"
Hearing Zhang Yi's rejection, Chen Lingyu panicked. She gritted her teeth and quickly sent another message.
"Right now, you're the envy of the entire complex. If you can provide us with food, at the very least, we can remain neutral toward you."
"You wouldn't want us as enemies, would you?"
Zhang Yi's expression finally became serious.
This was what he wanted to hear. Why waste time with all the fluff beforehand?
These damn salespeople.
"Oh, so you're saying that many units are planning to come after me? Haha, I find that hard to believe. I'm doing just fine—no one's attacked me yet," Zhang Yi replied, testing her.
Chen Lingyu knew he was probing, but to show sincerity, she had to reveal something.
"Zhang Yi, you're smart. You know the saying 'A man's wealth is his own ruin.' The complex has thousands of residents, all waiting to starve in their homes. Only you can go out and find food. If you were in their shoes, wouldn't you feel jealous, envious, or resentful?"
"Right now, people are weighing the risks. But attacking you is only a matter of time."
"All we're asking for is basic food supplies. In return, we won't take any action against you!"
Zhang Yi squinted his eyes slightly. In a way, this was a threat.
"Oh? So, you mean to say that if I don't agree, Unit 9 will attack Unit 25, right?" His voice was cold, filled with a murderous tone.
Chen Lingyu shuddered but quickly mustered a firm response. "I believe you wouldn't make that choice. Making enemies of us won't benefit you at all."
She remained calm because Unit 9 and Unit 25 were quite far apart. If Zhang Yi tried to lead an attack on Unit 9, it would cut off his retreat, leaving him vulnerable to ambush from other buildings.
"We only need some food—nothing more," she said. "And with my abilities combined with your strength, we could dominate the entire complex!"
Chen Lingyu was excited as she spoke.
Zhang Yi's smile was filled with disdain.
"This is the first time I've seen someone beg for food with such self-righteousness."
Chen Lingyu gasped in anger.
"This… this is cooperation!"
Zhang Yi casually replied, "I'll think about it and get back to you later."
He didn't want to continue the conversation any further and closed the chat.
Zhang Yi placed his phone on his lap, thinking about what might happen next.
He didn't care much about Chen Lingyu. Unit 9 was no match for him.
They had no idea how many guns or rounds of ammunition he had. If they attacked, he could wipe them out single-handedly with his assault rifle and his sharp shooting abilities.
However, Zhang Yi realized that Chen Lingyu wasn't the only one with such ideas.
All 29 buildings in the complex were eyeing his snowmobile, and some, running low on supplies, might be desperate enough to make a move against him.
If all 29 buildings attacked Unit 25 simultaneously, Zhang Yi might grow tired from killing before he ran out of enemies.
He glanced up at his shelter, made from aerospace-grade alloy, able to withstand even missile blasts.
Even if the entire complex attacked, they wouldn't be able to breach it—unless they somehow tore down Unit 25 itself, which was nearly impossible.
"The odds of that happening?" Zhang Yi frowned, contemplating the situation.
If all 29 buildings united and launched a coordinated attack, the possibility existed.
"Right now, electricity is limited, so they can't use power tools like jackhammers or drills. Without tools, they couldn't tear down an entire building by hand in the freezing cold, especially with their low energy levels."
"In their current state, they'd freeze before they could even make a dent."
With that thought, Zhang Yi felt slightly more at ease.