"You saw Liu Erlong's men this morning. They're planning to storm my place."
"Once they break into my home, do you think they'll spare you?"
"Here's what you should do—open the door, and we'll talk this through."
Li Zhiqiang wasn't foolish enough to be swayed by Lin Dong's smooth talk into opening the door.
He just shouted back, "Lin Dong, we have no grudge against Liu Erlong. I used to go fishing with him all the time—he wouldn't do anything to me."
Lin Dong cursed inwardly—what an idiot. That was then, and this is now.
He sneered, "Oh? Then why don't you go join him? Why are you hiding at home?"
Li Zhiqiang fell silent. He was a coward and knew full well that Liu Erlong wasn't someone to mess with.
In fact, as early as the first month of the Great Flood, Liu Erlong had come knocking, trying to rekindle their old friendship.
Back then, people still clung to morality, restrained by the law.
But the entire time Liu Erlong was inside, his eyes never left Yang Mei, filling Li Zhiqiang with dread.
From that moment on, he deliberately avoided any contact with Liu Erlong.
As the Great Flood worsened, the people in the building grew increasingly desperate.
They'd fight to the death over a scrap of food.
Through the peephole, he'd witnessed countless horrors, and after hearing about Liu Erlong's growing power, he became even more afraid to step outside.
Liu Erlong had come knocking with his men several times since, but Li Zhiqiang never dared to open the door.
Once, Liu Erlong even sent men to break the door down, but Lin Dong from across the hall intervened decisively, driving them off.
That was the start of the feud between Liu Erlong's men and Lin Dong.
Lin Dong knew it was only a matter of time before Liu Erlong tried to break into his place, so he figured he might as well strike first and forge an alliance with his neighbor.
But he hadn't expected Li Zhiqiang to be such a coward—not only did the alliance fail, but he also lost a bag of rice in the process.
And now, this same Li Zhiqiang had the nerve to target his home, trying to pick the lock and rob him while he was out!
If he didn't teach Li Zhiqiang a lesson, the man would never learn just how ruthless Lord Ma could be.
Hearing no response from behind the door, Lin Dong said, "Open up now, and I'll lend you half a bag of rice."
Li Zhiqiang wasn't stupid—he'd just tried to rob Lin Dong's place and nearly got caught. There was no way he was opening that door now.
He shouted back, "Lin Dong, if you're really sincere, leave the rice outside the door. Then I'll believe you actually want to unite with us."
Lin Dong let out a cold laugh. "You think I'm begging to lend you food? Suit yourself."
With that, he turned to leave.
He knew Li Zhiqiang and Yang Mei were starving—otherwise, Yang Mei wouldn't have resorted to trading favors for food.
Before, Lin Dong had refused outright, leaving them with no hope.
But now that he'd offered, even if Li Zhiqiang suspected a trap, he'd still take the bait.
Those who've never starved could never understand the depths of desperation hunger brings.
Just as Lin Dong turned to leave, a dark figure suddenly lunged from the floor above.
A cleaver swung straight at his head!
The attack was so sudden that Lin Dong's heart nearly stopped.
Someone had been hiding on the staircase!
He dodged sideways, narrowly avoiding the blade.
But the attacker seemed prepared—in his other hand was a metal pipe.
When the cleaver missed, he immediately swung the pipe at Lin Dong's skull.
The attackers came prepared, armed in both hands. Although Lin Dong reacted swiftly enough to dodge the cleaver, he couldn't avoid the steel pipe in time.
Thud—!
A dull sound echoed as the steel pipe struck Lin Dong's head with brutal force.
A cold sweat instantly broke out down Lin Dong's back. He frantically touched his head, only to realize his electric bike helmet had just saved his life!
The assailant, unaware of this, let out a triumphant sneer upon seeing his strike land: "Hahaha! Got you, you bastard! Finally caught you—this apartment's mine now!"
But before he could react, Lin Dong's spear thrust forward with lightning speed!
Thunk!
The spearhead, welded from a fruit knife, pierced straight through the man's neck.
This strike was almost instinctive—half a year of relentless practice had honed Lin Dong's thrust into a near-perfect, devastating penetration.
Instantly, the man's artery was severed. A torrent of blood gushed forth, splattering across Lin Dong's entire body.
Lin Dong froze momentarily, his hands reflexively yanking the spear back.
Without support, the man collapsed in the stairwell, clutching his neck.
"Gurgle…"
He tried to speak, but only air whistled through his throat. His venomous glare remained locked on Lin Dong, eyes brimming with hatred.
Dazed, Lin Dong stood rooted until urgent footsteps suddenly echoed from downstairs.
Snapping back to reality, he bolted toward his apartment's security door.
Simultaneously, the stairwell footsteps grew more frantic, now clearly just one floor below.
A loud shout rang out: "Hurry up! There's movement upstairs!"
Lin Dong fumbled for his keys, swiftly inserting them into the lock.
Click—the security door unlatched. He yanked it open and scrambled to unlock the main door inside.
Just then, a figure charged up to the 32nd floor, mere steps away from Lin Dong!
The towering newcomer cleared two steps in a single bound.
"Stop right there!"
The man roared, completely ignoring the dying figure on the floor as he lunged for Lin Dong.
At the critical moment, Lin Dong finally flung the door open, leaping inside and slamming the security door shut behind him.
Clang!
The pursuer crashed face-first into the metal door, his massive hands pounding against it as he glared furiously at Lin Dong.
In the dim light, a distinctive scar became visible on the man's face—his hulking frame and bull-like eyes radiating fury.
"Liu Erlong!"
That scar made recognition instantaneous. This was the notorious Liu Erlong.
Now exuding terrifying menace, Liu Erlong hammered the security door, bellowing: "You fucking rat! Come out here! Open this goddamn door!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Not content with pounding, he began kicking the door violently, visibly denting the reinforced metal.
Lin Dong's pupils contracted. Dropping the spear, he grabbed the nail gun from the entryway and fired without hesitation.
The nail gun discharged with a sharp crack.
But Liu Erlong, hearing the mechanism, ducked just in time before rolling into the upper stairwell, pressing his back against the wall.
"Motherfucker! Lin bastard! Kill my man, will you? I'll skin you alive!"
He crouched in the corner, hurling obscenities.
Lin Dong's heart pounded wildly. The adrenaline from both the killing and the chase flooded his system, producing an eerie euphoria.
He quickly secured the inner door—just in case his enemy also carried ranged weapons.
From behind the door, Lin Dong retorted fearlessly, "Liu Erlong, haven't you killed enough people in the past six months? Come on, show your face if you dare. Let's see if I'm afraid of you!"
"You little bastard, just wait. I swear I won't stop until I tear down this shabby house of yours!"
Lin Dong sneered. Just then, several shouts echoed from the stairwell, followed by four or five more men rushing up.
They were all Liu Erlong's accomplices.
"Brother Erlong, Zhou Jiaqiang isn't breathing."
"Damn it, Brother Erlong, this bastard killed Old Zhou!"
"Fuck his mother, let's get him!"
"Don't go over there!"
A reckless young man in his twenties cursed and charged at the security door.
Liu Erlong, upstairs, shouted a warning, but it was too late.
The moment the young man appeared, the sound of a Nail Gun firing came from the peephole!
A steel nail shot straight into the young man's face.