Zhou Ke'er lifted the baseball bat, bit her lower lip, and swung it down hard.
Bang!
The massive block of ice—encasing Chen Zhenghao and his men—cracked violently. As a doctor, she wasn't overly afraid of corpses, but the impact still made her hands ache. She dropped the bat, went back inside, and returned with a sledgehammer.
"This works better," she said calmly.
Zhang Yi raised an eyebrow. Her decisiveness exceeded his expectations.
She smashed again. The ice wasn't very thick; fractures spread quickly. Zhang Yi recorded everything without a word.
When it was over, Zhou Ke'er climbed back across the balcony."Why are you filming this?" she asked.
Zhang Yi smiled faintly and sent the video directly into the building's owner group.
Only then did she understand."You're… warning them?"
"Not just that," Zhang Yi said. "I'm replacing Chen Zhenghao."
He continued calmly, "They feared him because he had a gun and dared to kill. They saw me as a shut-in who never left his house. If I want freedom to move later, I need authority."
The group chat exploded.
Some laughed hysterically. Some cried. Many hated Chen Zhenghao with every fiber of their being—he had killed their relatives, their friends.
Then came the begging.
"You have food—save us!""Zhang Yi, we were wrong!""Please, just a little!"
Zhang Yi typed a single line:
"Chen Zhenghao is dead. This building is under my control now."
The reaction intensified.
People noticed Zhou Ke'er in his house.
"I can do whatever she does!""I'll be more obedient!""Pick me—I'll do anything!"
Even a man sent a message, shamelessly offering himself.
Zhou Ke'er felt a chill. For the first time, she understood something clearly: she was not irreplaceable. If she didn't prove her worth, she could be discarded at any moment.
Then Fang Yuqing appeared in the chat.
Disheveled, trapped in a stinking room, she cried out, claiming Zhang Yi had promised to protect her.
"You thought I was dead! Let me in—kick her out!"
Wang Min and Lin Caining immediately fought her for the phone.
"I'm better!""I'm more considerate!"
Zhang Yi watched the chaos with amusement.
Beside him, Zhou Ke'er clutched his arm tightly—fear flashing through her eyes.
Not of the cold.Not of the dead.
But of being replaced.