The neighbors of Building 25, following Zhang Yi's orders, picked up their weapons and surrounded Building 21.
They were uncertain about what Zhang Yi was planning to do.
If a fight broke out, this loose perimeter seemed meaningless.
Meanwhile, the members of the Wolf Gang upstairs noticed something was wrong.
"Zhang Yi and his people are surrounding us!" one of the younger gang members warned.
Everyone immediately felt a chill run down their spines, their hair standing on end!
Just moments ago, Zhang Yi had killed many people, including their gang leader Wang Qiang, which had already left these "wolves" terrified with pale faces.
Now, upon hearing that Zhang Yi was coming for them, they grew even more panicked, almost losing their sanity.
"It's over, it's over! How can we fight that devil? He's too scary!" a young man with yellow hair covered his head and cried.
At this moment, Xiao Luchong, the second-in-command of the Wolf Gang, rushed over, grabbed the young man's collar, and slapped him twice.
He then shouted angrily at the others, "What are you afraid of? This building is our base! Even if Zhang Yi has a gun, if he charges in, he'll be skinned alive!"
"Get your act together! We're going to fight him to the death!"
With Xiao Luchong, the second-in-command, trying to hold things together, the gang members reluctantly steadied themselves. They gripped their weapons and stood watch at every trap, waiting for Zhang Yi to charge in so they could fight him to the death!
But Zhang Yi didn't come in as they expected.
Instead, he ordered people to guard every window of Building 21 to prevent anyone from escaping through the windows.
Then, he arrived at the entrance of the 4th floor of Building 21.
After a flash of white light in his right eye, a pile of freshly chopped wet wood filled the room.
Next, a large heap of cheap synthetic clothing almost filled the entire space.
Zhang Yi then took a barrel of gasoline from his space and threw it onto the ground.
After completing these actions, he stepped back from the room.
No one was at the front door, including Zhang Yi's neighbors, so no one saw what he had done.
Zhang Yi took out his handgun and fired a shot, breaking the gasoline barrel.
Gasoline spilled out with a "whoosh," flowing all the way to the door, creating a natural fuse.
Zhang Yi walked over and lit the gasoline trail with a lighter.
"Whoosh—"
The flames immediately erupted, lighting up the entire room.
Zhang Yi quickly retreated, and within a second, a roaring fire had begun to rage!
The synthetic clothing caught fire immediately, and the roaring flames quickly engulfed the room!
Next, the damp wood burned as the moisture from the surface evaporated.
However, due to incomplete combustion, thick black smoke began to billow up.
The smoke, mixed with the burning synthetic clothing, shot up to the sky!
In such cold weather, every window in the building was tightly shut.
So the thick smoke had nowhere to go but up, seeping through every crack, like a black dragon, swiftly devouring one floor after another!
The Wolf Gang members upstairs were still waiting for Zhang Yi to attack.
But they didn't expect that instead of Zhang Yi attacking, they were met with the unbearable stench of thick black smoke.
"Cough, cough, cough... They're setting fire to the place!!"
"These people are despicable and shameless! Zhang Yi, that coward, has a gun and still dares to act like this!"
"Quick, open the windows! Open the windows to let the smoke out!"
"Cough, cough... cough, cough..."
"Water, is there any water? Wet the clothes and cover your noses!"
"Water? There's only ice!"
"Pee, pee on your clothes!"
"My eyes! My eyes are burning, I can't see anything!"
"Cough, cough... cough, cough... I... cough..."
The thick smoke quickly overwhelmed the entire building.
By the time the people realized the situation and tried to open the windows for ventilation, all the windows had been sealed shut by ice and snow and could not be opened.
The building had turned into an enormous oven, with the residents as the roasted ducks inside.
Rather than roasted ducks, though, "smoked ducks" would be more accurate.
Zhang Yi stood outside the building with a rifle.
The yellow flames illuminated his face, making it feel incredibly warm.
He recalled the bonfire party held at his college once.
Everyone gathered around the bonfire, singing and dancing, and it was a time filled with fond memories.
But tonight's bonfire was far larger and wilder than that event.
At this moment, the neighbors finally realized what Zhang Yi had done.
They could hear the screams and the deathly coughs from inside the building, and it sent a chill down their spines.
The building had now become a death trap, with no possibility of escape.
The only exit had also been blocked by Zhang Yi.
They had no choice but to wait for death or try to die outside.
Soon, some of them couldn't take it anymore and, despite the smoke, rushed down the stairs, trying to escape.
But with their eyes blinded by the smoke, one of them tripped and fell into the flames.
With a chilling scream, the person collapsed into the fire.
"Crash—"
Someone upstairs smashed a window and desperately jumped out.
From the seventh or eighth floor, most people wouldn't dare jump unless they were facing death.
But when they hit the ground, before they could even feel relief, they were immediately killed by a woman waiting with a knife.
The two neighbors beside her laughed.
"Li Yun, you're getting better at this. In the past, you wouldn't even dare kill a chicken!"
Li Yun, praised for her action, smiled happily.
She casually wiped the blood from her face and said, "Everyone is doing their part, I can't fall behind!"
Just as she spoke, another person fell from above.
This person spat blood, his eyes clouded, and it was clear he was about to die. His body was still twitching.
"Ah, there's another one! Let me handle this!"
Li Yun walked over lightly, then raised a cleaver, with a "thud," she chopped off his head.
Other neighbors were doing the same work.
The people upstairs had no idea what was waiting for them below.
They only thought that breaking the window and jumping out was their only chance for survival.
Meanwhile, the neighbors were working with great enthusiasm.
They had finally felt warmth after a long time.
Looking at the blazing flames, smiles appeared on their faces.
"This fire is beautiful!"
"Yeah, it'd be great if we could have this kind of ritual more often."
While everyone was busy, Zhang Yi stood at the entrance, enjoying the warmth.
Other buildings in the neighborhood could see the commotion.
The flames were reaching the sky, thick smoke was rolling up, and the occasional scream of despair filled the air, sending terror through everyone.
"What do we do? Will Zhang Yi use the same method on us?"
Everyone in the other buildings thought the same.
Rather than waiting to die, it might be better to go out and fight Zhang Yi!
But... what would they fight with?
Their flesh and blood against Zhang Yi's assault rifle?
They could still clearly remember the scene of Wang Qiang and the others being turned into sieves.
They didn't dare!
"It's fine, Zhang Yi won't kill everyone. He won't do that!"
"We're not involved in this, it's not our fault."
They clung to this hope in their hearts.
Rather than die, they prayed for mercy from others.