Zhang Yi had made up his mind to stay calm and watch how things developed.
However, he also knew that there would definitely be people who couldn't hold back and would want to take action against him.
So, he had to pay extra attention to safety in the coming days.
He had a police helmet for his head and a bulletproof vest for his body.
Zhang Yi looked at his legs and couldn't help but frown.
He had a bulletproof vest, but no bulletproof pants!
After thinking for a while, Zhang Yi came up with an idea.
He took out a bulletproof vest from his alternate space and handed it to Zhou Ke'er.
"Is this for me?" Zhou Ke'er asked excitedly.
"Help me cut the threads off; I'm going to use it," Zhang Yi said.
Zhou Ke'er pouted, slightly disappointed, but still obediently took the bulletproof vest and used scissors to cut the threads on both sides.
The threads on the bulletproof vest were very tough, as they were made from special materials to withstand strong impacts.
Zhou Ke'er had to exert a lot of effort to remove the threads from the vest.
Now, the vest had become two pieces of fabric—front and back.
Zhang Yi took them, and after measuring them against his legs, nodded in satisfaction.
He wrapped it around his legs and put on a winter coat over it—voila, bulletproof pants!
The legs also had major arteries; he couldn't afford to be careless!
After preparing the equipment, Zhang Yi thought for a moment and realized that he couldn't let the neighbors in the building get too comfortable.
He had to give them a sense of crisis, and trick them into going out and fighting someone.
After all, when Zhang Yi had organized them, he intended them to be cannon fodder, not to be kept as pampered.
Other buildings had sent him signals, and he had to respond.
So, Zhang Yi sent a message in the owner group, informing everyone of the current situation.
"@Everyone from Building 25, brothers and sisters, our family! We're facing a major crisis—someone is trying to take our food."
"Some nearby buildings, envious that I can go out and help find food for everyone, have threatened me. They claim if I don't share food with them, they will attack our building."
As soon as this message was sent, the owner group exploded.
The neighbors had just seen a glimmer of hope for survival, and now they were counting on Zhang Yi to go out and bring food back to keep them alive.
Now, other buildings were envious and wanted to come and take their food. Of course, they weren't going to agree!
"Damn, what the hell do these bastards think? If they're so capable, they should go out and find food themselves!"
"Let's fight! We must protect our food to the death, not a single grain will be given to them!"
"Yeah, after all, we have Zhang Yi! If it comes to fighting, who's afraid of them?"
However, some voiced concerns.
"But, there are only 30 to 40 people in our building. If other buildings come to attack us... can we really defend it?"
"Yeah... this is indeed a bit difficult."
"Then can we negotiate with them and ask them to leave us alone?"
"Haha, do you think that's possible? Everyone's fighting for food right now, who would negotiate with you?"
"Ah? So what should we do then?"
"Just fight! We'll die if we don't have food anyway!"
The neighbors were arguing fiercely.
They were indignant, but most also felt some fear.
If they really fought the other buildings in the entire complex, they would be facing over a thousand people. Wouldn't that be the same as seeking death?
Zhang Yi then sent another message.
"You all know the situation outside. The heavy snow has buried the low-rise buildings, including most of the food markets."
"So finding supplies is a very difficult task, it depends on luck."
"There are over a thousand people outside. If we give them our food, you all won't have anything to eat."
"I don't want to offend them, anyway, I still have enough supplies for a few more days. So, the decision is up to you."
"You can decide whether to keep the food for yourselves or give it to them for peace."
Zhang Yi's ultimatum was like holding a gun to someone's head, asking if they wanted to live or die.
In reality, there was no choice.
When the neighbors heard Zhang Yi's words, they knew they had no way out.
Without food, they would certainly die!
Fighting might give them a chance to survive.
"I understand. Let's fight them!"
"These supplies are ours, why should we give them up?"
"Let them go die!"
"Exactly, they don't have the ability to get food themselves, so they think about stealing from others. How shameless!"
"The most disgusting thing to me is people like this. Ugh!"
When Zhang Yi saw the emotions stirring, he said, "Alright, we can't let them look down on us! We must make them realize our strength."
"Tonight, Li Chengbin and Jiang Lei, you two take people and storm into Building 26. The old members of the Tianhe Gang have almost all been wiped out. Take them down!"
"One, to avenge our fallen family members. Two, to give the other buildings a warning!"
Li Chengbin: "Got it, Brother Zhang!"
Jiang Lei: "Yes, Brother Zhang!"
Zhang Yi: "As for me, I've been busy outside all day and am a bit tired. I won't go with you this time. Next time for sure."
Li Chengbin: "Brother Zhang, we understand. You've worked hard today!"
Jiang Lei: "Brother Zhang, your contribution is the greatest. We can't let you do everything, right everyone!"
Neighbors: "Yeah, yeah!"
Zhang Yi: "Alright, good brothers. Go on!"
After finishing up with the neighbors, Zhang Yi comfortably tossed aside his phone and lifted Zhou Ke'er up.
"Ah!"
Zhou Ke'er laughed and let out a shrill scream.
...
An hour later, Zhang Yi was lying on the couch, smoking a cigarette. Zhou Ke'er, exhausted, was lying on his chest, with a satisfied smile on her face.
"Ding dong!"
The WeChat message rang.
Zhang Yi picked up his phone and saw that it was a message from Jiang Lei.
"Brother Zhang, those old members of the Tianhe Gang are a bit tough!"
Zhang Yi raised the corner of his mouth.
"Of course, it's tough!"
"If it was easy, I would have already gone in with a gun and wiped them all out."
The people from the Tianhe Gang worked in construction, and they were strong, durable, and had many tools.
Plus, they were used to working with buildings and knew how to use the terrain to their advantage.
Jiang Lei and the others had gone to strike, but facing the prepared Tianhe Gang would certainly lead to heavy losses.
However, since they were cannon fodder, Zhang Yi didn't care about their deaths—he even felt like laughing.
After all, most of these bastards had shared in his meat broth.
Zhang Yi pretended to be worried and asked, "How are our people? Any casualties?"
Jiang Lei replied, "We lost eight people, but we only killed three of them."
Zhang Yi was very satisfied with this result.
The Tianhe Gang had already lost most of their members, and the remaining ones were tough. Losing three meant Huang Tianfang was almost alone now.