Before Jing Shu reached the gate she smelled a sharp, choking odor. Thick smoke rolled in an instant and swallowed the already dim courtyard. Everything vanished in a gray blur.
It was a smoke grenade.
She ran while pulling a gas mask from her pocket and snapping it on. For her own life, better to wear it whether the gas was toxic or not. The smoke quickly filled the yard and people began to scream.
Everyone knew something serious was happening.
She pushed harder toward the gate. In crises like this she was calm, though her heart hammered and adrenaline flooded through her. Under the smoke she could see nothing and had to move by memory. Her parents, Grandpa Jing, and several of Qiao Lian's brothers were here. Jing An still had a gun. With a few people on his side, she wouldn't be afraid of a group of people committing a crime.
The problem was the smoke grenade. Her sight was nearly useless. She had no idea how many came.
A speaker blared through the haze.
"People inside, listen up. We only want your food and supplies. Be sensible and stay where you are. Our men will take the stuff and leave. If not, heh, what are we, a group of desperate people, afraid of?"
Don't move. Keep your seats and don't resist. Under this smoke we can see every move you make. If anyone so much as twitches, do not blame us for being ruthless. If you make any move, we will kill."
The voice finished and panic rose like a tide of screams.
"Don't even think about calling the police," the speaker went on. "Wu County cops will take at least ten minutes to get here. In ten minutes you will be dead and have no grave. If we catch anyone trying to phone, heh, no mercy. We have plenty of weapons."
No one expected that after half a year without law, in this fragile peace, in a world of big data and nowhere to hide, there would still be such brazen robbers.
Wei Chang, as host, immediately shouted, "Take what you want. Just do not hurt anyone. We will not move. We will not resist."
His words put safety first and made everyone exhale. People were glad he kept his head, because in the confusion some might have shouted to rush them. But with visibility near zero, what could they do?
Coincidentally, an old cop in the crowd was also shouting for calm while sending a plea for help to headquarters.
Jing Shu frowned. Visibility in that smoke was under a meter. If the robbers actually had the vision they claimed, charging in would be foolish. She did not know whether they carried guns. They already had smoke grenades; who would be surprised if they had rifles too?
She thought of thermal imaging. Those devices can see through smoke by converting heat into an image. You cannot see details, but you get a workable view and the ability to spot motion. People used them at airports and other checkpoints. There was even a viral clip online once where thermal imaging captured someone passing gas at security and recorded the plume, making everyone learn one lesson: do not fart at checkpoints if you want to avoid global ridicule.
Quietly Jing Shu clapped her hand to herself. She had almost forgotten about the bees inside the Cube Space. When she scavenged the mall earlier, she found several pinhole cameras and infrared monitors in storage. She had put some around the community and some on the bees.
She moved to a place shielded from light, released the bees, and adjusted the pinhole cameras. She sent out scouting bees and freed the poison bees at the same time. If the other side really did have vision in the smoke, she could not rush in. These small things were her only option.
"Hopefully when the Rubik's Cube Space upgrades there will be a shared-vision feature," she murmured. She needed scouting vision more than anything.
The bees buzzed away. In the confusion no one paid attention, but shaky, unstable footage began to stream to Jing Shu's phone. Up close it was marginally useful. Visibility was still poor, but she controlled six bees to fan out and provide separate views. She still had to find her parents and make sure they were safe.
She desperately wanted to know how her parents had fared after the gunshots and what the situation was now.
Then, without warning, ten or so burning bottles flew into the courtyard. Jing Shu barely had time to react. The attackers had thrown them in from different arcs.
A big courtyard offered no corner to hide. From the gate a single strong throw sent a Molotov bottle deep inside. The blast was devastating.
They had promised not to harm innocents, but the men outside had first offered soothing words and then hit them with a sudden surprise, leaving the people inside helpless. If the victims resisted, the attackers had even more brutal ways to ensure compliance.
Screams filled the yard. Many were hit by flames. Fires spread fast.
The raiders then charged in, exposed to the surveillance cameras.
"Brothers, charge! First grab food, then other stuff. A wedding like this must have stockpiles!" they shouted.
"Ho! Ho! Ho!" followed a chorus of yells.
These men sought to use the chaos to buy time. Humanity did not exist for them anymore. Jing Shu saw plainly that these were wanted survivors who had turned to banditry.
She gave orders without hesitation. She sent the trained poison bees to sting, eight at a time, with one command: leave none standing, knock them out in seconds.
Chaos intensified. In the smoke's blind zone, the burned cried and scrambled for cover. The yard became a stampede. The oil fires were small but they spread. Some people rushed for the gate only to collide with the raiders. Those madmen did not hesitate. They swung clubs and knives, cutting down anyone in their path.
The scene became a nightmare of flame, smoke, and steel. People screamed and fell. Jing Shu's scouting feed showed several attackers down after the bees struck, but more kept pouring in. She realized their little counterattack only bought seconds.
She barked more orders, trying to coordinate rescue and cover. Someone dragged a burning person to safety. Grandma Jing shouted for water and blankets. Wu You'ai and others moved to pull people away from flames. Jing Shu fought to keep the feeders of panic out of the way and to find where her parents were.
The courtyard was now a battlefield, not a wedding. The invaders wanted supplies and they would take lives if necessary. Every second counted.