"So, you're saying we don't worry about anything else for now, just focus on protecting ourselves, right?" Huang Jinghe glanced at them before speaking.
"That's right. Right now, we can only stay inside and make as little noise as possible. But the warning from above only mentioned hearing. What about smell? Would they pick up the scent of food when we eat? And if they do, will they come here?"
Any kind of food gives off some smell—it was unavoidable. Not to mention, most of what they had scavenged earlier was snacks, which were even more tempting. If those people had sharp senses of smell, what if they followed the scent straight here?
With so many frenzied people roaming nearby, the four of them needed to be cautious. That meant they had to test it.
Each of them brought their breakfast up to the rooftop.
Lan Jin's breakfast was a packet of cream-filled biscuits. The sound of unwrapping it was faint, and the people below showed no reaction.
She took out the entire box and began eating slowly by the rooftop edge. The biscuits smelled sweet, but the scent didn't travel far. The sound of her chewing also didn't reach below.
Which meant biscuits were safe.
Ling Jiang's breakfast was porridge Grandma Ling had cooked early that morning. With the stove going, it was easy enough to make. Since the windows and doors had been kept shut, the rice fragrance hadn't drawn any attention. Even now, as Ling Jiang ate on the rooftop, the people below didn't look up.
Huang Jinghe ate compressed biscuits, which had even less smell than Lan Jin's cookies. Again, no reaction from below.
But for a proper experiment, they needed something with a stronger aroma. Huang Jinghe took out a packet of spicy strips. Unwrapping them didn't catch anyone's attention, but the rich, spicy scent made a few people below lift their heads to sniff the air. Still, they didn't seem overly agitated.
The most nerve-wracking was Lao Gao's breakfast. For the sake of the test, he had made instant noodles. Carrying the covered bowl up the stairs hadn't caused a stir. But the moment he lifted the lid, the aroma spread instantly. At first, the people below didn't react, but the combined smell of spicy strips and noodles finally caught the attention of a few who had briefly regained their senses.
Clutching their arms, they tried to run toward the building while sniffing the air. Then one of them looked up and spotted the four on the rooftop.
"Top floor! Someone's eating noodles!"
A middle-aged man's shout drew the attention of the others who had briefly recovered.
"Shit," Lao Gao cursed. "What is this, a bloodhound? Smells it from that far?"
They had never expected that the food wouldn't draw in the frenzied ones, but instead attract those who were temporarily sane.
Yet even as these people ran toward the building, their lucidity faded. They became frenzied again, but the awareness in their minds remained. Even in their crazed state, they still ran straight toward the building.
"Throw the noodles down!" Huang Jinghe urged.
"Too late," Lao Gao said grimly.
The men were already inside.
Breakfast was the last thing on their minds now. The four dropped their food and ran for the 32nd-floor security door.
They had just reached it when the three men arrived. Frenzied and without hesitation, they slammed into the door, eyes wild and movements desperate, like starving beasts eager to pounce on their meal.
Lao Gao and Huang Jinghe braced the door from either side. Huang Jinghe suddenly asked, "How many are out there? Just three? If they make this much noise, won't they draw the rest from below?"
At his words, Lan Jin and Ling Jiang rushed into apartment 3201. Reaching the balcony, they saw the crowd below already surging toward Building 12.
"Go home, quick!" Lan Jin urged.
Ling Jiang was too weak to fight these people. Staying would only get in the way.
She let out a dry laugh. "All my life I've fought battles, and now I'm hiding."
Without looking back, Ling Jiang returned home. Sometimes you had to be decisive—if you knew you couldn't win, there was no point in being a burden.
She pressed her weight against her front door. It wasn't that she didn't trust the others to hold the line, but with so many frenzied people, some were bound to slip through. Every barrier had to be held. She couldn't help outside, but she could at least make sure no one got in here.
Then Grandma Ling suddenly spoke. "Jiang'er, I think my strength's gotten stronger. Should I take over at the door?"
Ling Jiang stared at her, caught off guard. "Grandma… what did you just say?"
"This morning, when I woke up, my glasses fell to the floor. I tried to find them, but they rolled under the bed. I crawled over to look, and without thinking, I lifted the whole bed with one hand."
Grandma Ling was in her seventies or eighties. She hadn't been able to do something like that even in her youth. Which meant the spiritual spring water she had drunk had boosted her strength too.
Ling Jiang gave a wry laugh. "Why is it just me then? Grandma, did it feel heavy when you lifted it?"
"Of course it still felt heavy," Grandma Ling replied. Age still mattered. Even with more strength, she couldn't match young people. But compared to Ling Jiang, whose strength hadn't changed, she was clearly stronger.
Ling Jiang accepted her fate. Fine. The spring water just didn't like her.
...
With Grandma Ling guarding the door, Ling Jiang's home stayed relatively safe.
Outside the fire door, though, chaos erupted. Within minutes, the crowd below had swarmed to the 32nd floor, all ramming themselves against the barrier.
Lao Gao and Huang Jinghe held on with all their strength. Lao Gao muttered, "Sister Lan, did you count how many were downstairs last night?"
"Seventeen," Lan Jin said.
Lao Gao gritted his teeth. Even with their enhanced strength, holding back seventeen frenzied attackers at once was almost impossible.