With the woman from unit 3204 as their informant, they quickly learned that Ling Jiang and Lan Jin were not at home right now.
Since those two were not home, and only elders and children remained, this was the perfect chance for them to act. Plus, they had just wasted so much time earlier, afraid that if they were even a moment later, Lan Jin and Ling Jiang would return. So the group hurried up toward the 32nd floor.
However, their luck ran out. Just as they reached the 32nd floor, they ran straight into Ling Jiang and Lan Jin coming down. Seeing the fierce looks on each of them, Ling Jiang immediately sensed trouble. He quickly stood in front of Lan Jin and asked warily, "What do you want?"
"We want food. If you hand over the food in your home, we'll let it go today. Otherwise, don't blame us for being rude."
That sentence again. The moment they heard the noise, Lao Gao was ready. As he came down the stairs, he said, "Besides being rude, do you have anything else to say?"
Huang Jinghe arrived a step late, holding two weapons in his hands—a baseball bat and a watermelon knife.
Lan Jin, protected behind by Lao Gao and Ling Jiang, didn't hesitate to take the knife.
After all, Huang Jinghe might not dare to truly use the knife, but in her hands, it was different. Special times called for special treatment. If these people dared to make a move, she wouldn't hold back.
Besides, with how these people were acting today, if they didn't make a strong example, they probably wouldn't have any peace in the future.
Better to be ruthless once now and gain peace later than always living on edge.
At this moment, these people still didn't realize how serious the situation was. No one took the words of those beaten last night seriously. They thought they could always bully the few with their numbers.
So Su Han stood at the front of the group, relaxed, and said, "Put down your knives now and we can still talk calmly."
Lan Jin replied, "Why don't you put down your knives? Everyone in your group has a knife. I don't think we can talk calmly. The least we can do is all put down our knives."
But that was even less likely to happen.
One person from the group below shouted, "Talk? What is there to talk about? You guys lock the door and keep all the food for yourselves. You don't care if we die. Who does that? I'll say this one last time—hand over the food and we'll spare your lives. Will you or won't you?"
Ling Jiang sighed, "Some people just want to die. I can't even stop them. What can I do?"
He finished speaking and had already moved to face Su Han directly. Without hesitation, the moment his words ended, he lifted his foot and kicked Su Han straight in the face.
Su Han really didn't expect them to attack so suddenly. That kick left his mind blank for a moment. When he came back to his senses, his nose was already crooked, bleeding badly.
Who could tolerate Ling Jiang being so arrogant in front of so many people? Of course no one could.
Then—
The safety corridor erupted in chaos.
The four of them were skilled fighters, determined to make a harsh example, and nearly everyone struck with deadly force, leaving their opponents helpless.
The most terrifying was Lan Jin. While the others were unarmed, even badly injured they couldn't kill anyone. But Lan Jin's blades met flesh with every strike, and she aimed carefully to disable rather than kill.
Soon the scene became chaotic and dirty, the hallways filled with screams and desperate pleas.
"Stop, stop! We're sorry, really sorry."
Ling Jiang muttered quietly, "It's over here. I haven't even started. I'm just getting warmed up."
Everyone was speechless hearing that, but no one could argue.
Among the crowd, a man held his bleeding arm and said, "You guys are criminals."
Lan Jin held her blood-stained knife with no expression and said, "Then go report it."
Report what? No one could leave now. Finally, the crowd quieted down.
"We have no choice. There's no food left in our homes. We really had to do this. We don't dare anymore. Please let us go."
Seeing how fearful they were, the attackers knew they had achieved their goal. They never intended to kill everyone. After threatening them again, Lao Gao awkwardly said, "We're all neighbors. I don't want to ruin the relationship. Let's end it here today. But next time, you might not be so lucky. Oh, and remember to return my kayak. Whoever borrowed it, I'll find them."
A kayak? What kayak? Where could they even get a kayak now?
But Lao Gao insisted on getting it back from whoever borrowed it. It wasn't their problem. The people on floors 32 and 33 were terrifying. Better to get past this and worry about other things later.
The small group that had just united to push the blame away was now falling apart on the spot.
After these people left, those who had gathered belongings together returned their things to their own homes.
The middle-aged man on the 23rd floor, not wanting extra trouble, decisively kicked Su Han out.
Su Han was badly injured, with his crooked nose a serious wound. Kicked out of the house, and with his own home flooded, he had nowhere to go.
In the safety corridor, Su Han muttered angrily, "These people only come to me when they need me. When they don't, they throw me away. It wasn't me who lost the kayak. If it comes down to it, I'll pay with my life for it. If I can't live well, you won't live well either."
...
The farce ended here today, but the safety corridor was filthy. Nana, who had a keen sense of smell, couldn't stand it for long.
When Lan Jin returned home, she saw Nana curled up on the balcony, covering her nose with her front paws, clearly uncomfortable.
Lan Jin asked, "Nana, what's wrong?"
Right after asking, she noticed the smell outside and asked again, "The smell outside is so strong. You can't stand it?"
Nana whimpered in agreement. Lan Jin didn't hesitate. She quickly fetched some rainwater and grabbed cleaning tools, starting to clean the stairs in the safety corridor.
Of course, before leaving, she made sure to lock the dog and the child inside the master bedroom. Nana was smart and could open doors easily. She was really afraid they might accidentally fall into the water if she wasn't paying attention. If that happened, she wouldn't even know where to look for them.
Lan Jin said gently, "You both be good and wait inside. Mama will let you out after she finishes cleaning."
"Okay."
"Woof."