"Let me see."
Shen Yi took Jiangnan Yan's phone and scrolled through the group chat.
Then he opened the video.
It showed several naked men torturing a young woman.
The insults, the screams, the pleas... it was unbearable to hear.
A young man was in the video too, his face battered and bruised, chunks of flesh cut from his body. Tied to a chair, he was forced to watch his wife being violated.
Worse still, the brutes had placed the newlyweds' wedding photo in front of the woman, making her stare at it while they assaulted her...
After watching the video, the residents in the chat were furious. Some even cursed the brutes for having no humanity.
But the brutes did not care. Instead, they threatened every resident.
They ordered everyone else to come downstairs at once. Otherwise, once they broke down the doors, every woman would suffer the same fate!
The sheer arrogance!
They acted like they were above the law!
But that was the apocalypse.
The group chat fell silent.
Every resident was afraid of those brutes.
They were ordinary people, perhaps a little wealthier than most, but they had never seen anything so bloody and cruel.
Only after the brutes' account was kicked from the group did anyone start posting again.
Resident of 0501: "Those lunatics! They've completely lost their minds! They have no limits!"
Resident of 0501: "Where are the police? Where on earth have they gone? Why isn't anyone answering emergency calls? Can any of you get through?"
Resident of 0201: "No. I haven't been able to get through for days."
Resident of 0901: "What do we do? Someone think of something, quick! If those brutes make it up here, we're dead!"
Resident of 1001: "Where's building management? Get out here! And the security guards—where did they all go? Come protect us! You get paid four or five thousand a month, and this is how you do your jobs?"
Resident of 0901: "If I saw correctly, two of those brutes were security guards. They were still wearing their uniforms."
Resident of 1001: "Those bastards! They take my money and then turn around and attack me! Fuck, when the police get here, I'm reporting every last one of them!"
Resident of 1001: "And those thugs are all fucking poor people! Of course the poor have the worst manners. All they do is steal and rob! Disgusting!"
Resident of 1402: "Building management disappeared ages ago. We haven't been able to reach them since they delivered supplies three days ago."
Resident of 0902: "What? How can building management be unreachable? My family's out of food and water. What do we do now? Where are we supposed to get supplies?"
Resident of 0801: "How did you go through yours so quickly? Building management gave every household three days' worth of supplies."
Resident of 0902: "I have a big family. Besides, didn't building management say they'd deliver supplies every three days? Who knew they wouldn't keep their word? What are we supposed to do without food?"
Resident of 0801: "What else? Go hungry. It's the apocalypse, and instead of rationing your food, you expected someone else to take care of you."
Resident of 0902: "What's wrong with you, 0801? Did I do something to you? What's it to you how I eat my own food? Mind your own business!"
Resident of 0501: "Can everyone stop arguing? We need to figure out how to keep those brutes downstairs!"
Resident of 1402: "I have a suggestion. Every household in our building should send one person, and together we can stand up to the brutes! There's strength in numbers. I bet those thugs won't dare face us head-on. What do you think?"
1501: "Huh? But... I live alone, and I'm a woman..."
Resident of 1502: "So what if you're a woman? Men and women are equal! Every household has to send at least one person! Otherwise, when the brutes break in, we won't protect your apartment! And we won't protect any other household that doesn't help!"
Resident of 1502: "If you want protection, stand together! No excuses, and don't expect to benefit without doing your part!"
Resident of 1001: "Agreed!"
Resident of 0801: "My household will send a man too."
Resident of 1402: "Since everyone's willing to help, let's meet on the eighteenth floor! Bring weapons—baseball bats, golf clubs, anything you can use as a weapon!"
Resident of 1402: "Are we really going to let six or seven people bully an entire building? We have to put them in their place!"
Resident of 0501: "Yes! I'm fired up now! Let's get them! Show those bastards what we can do!"
The residents of Building 6 began organizing a counterattack.
To protect their families and themselves, even the most timid had no choice but to step forward.
The brutes were too savage. The bloody video they had posted had terrified everyone.
They had meant to threaten the other residents into surrendering.
But what they failed to realize was that even the most timid person would fight with everything they had when their family and their own safety were threatened!
So the bloody video had the opposite effect.
"No wonder this complex hasn't fallen into chaos. Building management delivered supplies to every household three days ago. They really were good at their job..." Xu Wanting murmured.
She remembered that the school had run out of food on the second day, sparking the violence.
But in this complex, people still had some sense of right and wrong. They even helped one another.
But...
That was before.
Now building management had vanished, the three days' worth of food was nearly gone, and the brutes were attacking. Whatever restraint remained would probably crumble.
And it was not just the other residents.
Even Xu Wanting and Jiangnan Yan, who had Shen Yi to protect them, were frightened by the brutes' cruelty.
That poor woman. What she went through was horrific!
Thank goodness we made the right choice and stayed with Shen Yi.
After seeing what had happened to another woman, the way they looked at Shen Yi had clearly changed. There was more dependence in their eyes.
Shen Yi had used supplies to pressure them, but he had not treated them badly or abused them.
He fed them and gave them water every day. He kept them safe, too.
He had even promised to help them gain supernatural powers!
When they thought about it that way, saying Shen Yi did not treat them badly was an understatement. He treated them incredibly well!
The two women found themselves moving to Shen Yi's side and taking the initiative to massage his legs and feet.
Taking good care of Shen Yi was what they should be doing, not scheming against each other every day!
Jiangnan Yan and Xu Wanting exchanged a glance, and both felt a faint sense of relief.
Xu Wanting no longer wanted to resent Jiangnan Yan.
After all, they were something like a family now.
If Shen Yi ever had to leave them alone at home, they would need to help each other.
Compared with the vicious brutes outside, the grudge between them was nothing...
Jiangnan Yan also felt there was no need to hate Xu Wanting anymore. Xu Wanting might have tricked her into coming here, but as things stood, it had turned out for the best.
Otherwise, she would have starved to death by now.
Or those boys in the school building would have hurt her.
As she thought about it, her hatred for Xu Wanting gradually faded.
"Which of you knows how to cook steak?" Shen Yi asked suddenly, enjoying the massage from their two pairs of soft hands.
The women froze, looked at each other, and began to stammer.
Clearly, neither of them knew how.
Before the apocalypse, they had both been pampered young ladies who had never had to cook.
"I... I know how to cook steak."
A soft voice suddenly came from the bedroom.
It was Bai Xinyi. Her cheeks were faintly red, and there was something awkward about the way she walked.
She was part of this little family now too.
"Good. Cook a few for dinner." As Shen Yi spoke, he took seven or eight steaks out of System Space.
Each weighed about half a pound.
"Um, can we cook them with the power out?" Xu Wanting asked uncertainly.
"Yes. I checked earlier—we can use the gas stove," Bai Xinyi said.
She did not feel much hostility toward Xu Wanting.
After all, she had been the one who had slept with Xu Wanting's man...
If anything, Bai Xinyi felt a little embarrassed.
"Oh. All right."
Xu Wanting felt awkward.
She knew nothing about cooking.
She felt as though she had embarrassed herself in front of Shen Yi.
Would he think even less of me now?
No. I can't let that happen!
When Bai Xinyi went into the kitchen, Xu Wanting immediately followed. She was going to learn how to cook!
Jiangnan Yan stayed kneeling on the sofa, massaging Shen Yi's thighs.
Shen Yi was pleased to see them getting along.
Life outside was stressful. At home, he wanted to relax completely.
Especially after killing someone today...
Before you continue