Chapter Summaries

After power and internet access went out, desperate residents began targeting their neighbors for food. A group reached Jiang Ci’s apartment, where Si Beichen turned them away, then searched the empty apartment next door.

• Jiaxing Residential Complex announced that its backup power would end around the tenth, and residents panicked as supplies dwindled.
• Yuan Jiaojiao stopped residents from confronting Tian Jiakai, and Tian later agreed with Zhang Qiang and Zhang Shuai to stay home so no one could follow them.
• After a week of watching Tian Jiakai, seven or eight residents decided to knock on doors for food and planned to target him as well.
• On the tenth, the power and internet went out, and the government announced that water would be cut off on the fifteenth.
• The group knocked on Jiang Ci’s door, but Si Beichen refused to give them food, so they moved on to 1102.
• The residents searched the skeletal middle-aged man’s bare apartment and found no food, only strange bottles and jars.

After the water supply was cut off, the government announced weekly water rations and cash-only community supermarkets. Jiang Ci overheard a group plotting to attack Tian and others that night, then went home and teased Si Beichen about what she had heard.

• Li Wei collapsed in front of the neighbors, and Li Weiwei later met Zhang Shuai in the underground parking garage, where he said her parents would be better off dead.
• The water was cut off, and the government announced that residents could collect 20 L per person each week and buy supplies with cash at community supermarkets.
• Jiang Ci overheard seven or eight people planning a masked attack on Tian and others in the second half of the night, using the eleventh floor as their meeting point.
• Jiang Ci returned home, saw Si Beichen taking apart a radio, and asked him to guess what people had said about him.

Jiang Ci’s family discussed the planned robbery of the Tian family and agreed to defend themselves if anyone threatened them. After the robbery took place, Jiang Ci and Si Beichen went downstairs to collect government water, while her family silently accepted her unexplained supplies as a secret.

• Wen Qianyue predicted that extreme cold might follow the heat as she knitted a sweater.
• Jiang Ci told Si Jianhua and Si Beichen that people planned to rob the Tian family on the fifteenth floor, and her family urged her to fight back if anyone harmed them.
• That night, Si Beichen listened at the door as faint noises came from outside.
• The next morning, Yuan Jiaojiao cried in the stairwell that robbers had stolen the Tian family’s food and injured her husband, while Si Beichen pulled Jiang Ci away from the door and played her music.
• After the government announced a water delivery, Jiang Ci and Si Beichen took four IDs and buckets downstairs to collect water.
• Si Beichen noticed the buckets had appeared unexpectedly but kept quiet, and Jiang Ci resolved to keep her space a secret from outsiders.

Jiang Ci and Si Beichen waited in a long queue to collect water, where Jiang Ci reunited with Wu Ya and learned that she and Jiang Chengrong were doing reasonably well. The wait turned chaotic when Zhou Junming fought a man who tried to help Zhao Yunqiu, while his mother loudly accused the widow of seducing him.

• Jiang Ci and Si Beichen joined the water queue and waited in the oppressive heat.
• Wu Ya spotted Jiang Ci, confirmed that she and Jiang Chengrong were doing all right, and said she would visit her in Building 8.
• Wu Ya asked whether Si Beichen was Jiang Ci's boyfriend, and Jiang Ci told her he was her older brother, though they were not related.
• Zhou Junming tried to help Zhao Yunqiu carry her water, but his mother held him back and publicly insulted the widow.
• Zhou Junming broke free, shoved his mother off balance, and fought a man who approached Zhao Yunqiu, while the crowd watched without intervening.

Jiang Ci and Si Beichen collected water while Zhou Junming’s parents confronted him and Zhao Yunqiu over their relationship. Mrs. Zhou fainted after Zhao Yunqiu claimed she might be pregnant, and Zhou Junming helped his father take her home.

• Jiang Ci and Si Beichen queued for water, returned home with four buckets, and used their collected water sparingly.
• Jiang Ci encountered Li Weiwei with a man, and Li Weiwei greeted her despite the two women barely knowing each other.
• Mrs. Zhou and Zhou Dafu went to Zhao Yunqiu’s apartment to bring Zhou Junming home while neighbors gathered to watch.
• Zhou Junming refused to leave, and Zhao Yunqiu claimed she and Zhou Junming had slept together and that she might be carrying his child.
• Mrs. Zhou fainted, so Zhou Junming helped Zhou Dafu carry her home while Jiang Ci shut her door.

Jiang Ci shared food produced by her unexplained ability with her family, who urged her to keep it secret. Later, she went with Si Beichen to buy supplies and led Tian Jiakai and Yuan Jiaojiao to the apartment where they had committed their first murder.

• Jiang Ci produced a cleaned grass carp and pickled mustard greens, and her family told her to keep her ability secret.
• Jiang Ci gave the family four apples, one for each of them.
• Si Beichen packed cash to buy supplies at the government supermarket, and Jiang Ci joined him.
• Tian Jiakai and Yuan Jiaojiao tried to pressure Jiang Ci and Si Beichen into sharing their supplies, so Jiang Ci invited them along.
• Jiang Ci led the group to the fifth floor of an old residential complex, where Tian Jiakai and Yuan Jiaojiao recognized the home where they had first killed someone.

Jiang Ci confronted and killed Tian Jiakai and Yuan Jiaojiao for murdering an elderly couple, then went grocery shopping with Si Beichen. As they returned home, they noticed Zhang Qiang and Zhang Shuai eyeing their supplies and discussing whether Jiang Ci was Li Weiwei’s neighbor.

• Jiang Ci blocked Tian Jiakai and Yuan Jiaojiao from escaping and led them into an apartment where she confronted them about murdering an elderly couple.
• Tian Jiakai threatened Jiang Ci and Si Beichen, so Jiang Ci shot him and Yuan Jiaojiao dead with a suppressed handgun.
• Jiang Ci and Si Beichen left the apartment and went to the government supermarket, where they bought as much food as they could carry.
• On the way home, Jiang Ci spotted Zhang Qiang and Zhang Shuai downstairs and recognized them as possible accomplices of Tian Jiakai.
• Zhang Qiang and Zhang Shuai watched Jiang Ci and Si Beichen take their groceries upstairs, then decided to ask Li Weiwei about the woman and go home.

Zhang Shuai questioned Li Weiwei about Jiang Ci and her male companion, then returned to discuss them with Zhang Qiang. The brothers decided to watch the pair and avoid drawing attention, unaware that someone had already targeted them.

• After failing to find Tian Jiakai, Zhang Qiang and Zhang Shuai went to his apartment, while an unseen person hid on the sixteenth-floor stairs.
• Zhang Shuai visited Li Weiwei and asked whether Jiang Ci was her neighbor and who the man accompanying her was.
• Li Weiwei claimed Jiang Ci relied on a wealthy lover to survive, and Zhang Shuai decided to tell Zhang Qiang about them.
• Zhang Shuai returned home and told Zhang Qiang that Jiang Ci's companion seemed powerful, so they should wait before acting.
• Zhang Qiang agreed that the brothers should keep watching and go out less, unaware that the hidden observer had set his sights on them.

As the extreme heat worsened, Jiang Ci and her family suspected two men on the seventh floor were plotting against them. While taking out the trash, Jiang Ci overheard a group planning to raid the seventh floor, and realized her family might be targeted next.

• Si Beichen brought home supplies and told Jiang Ci he had encountered the suspicious men on the seventh floor again.
• Jiang Ci suspected the two men had stolen fuel and Zhou Junming's generator, while Si Jianhua urged her and Si Beichen to defend their family.
• Jiang Ci took out the trash and overheard Brother Wei's group discussing a raid on the seventh floor and their plans to seize the brothers' supplies.
• Jiang Ci hurried home, reasoning that the group would deal with the two men but might eventually target her family as well.

Zhou Junming and Wang Xiaohui agreed to an engagement, while Zhao Yunqiu showed no reaction to the news. Later, Jiang Ci wondered why the Zhang brothers had not been targeted, and Si Beichen rejected Zhang Shuai’s attempts to befriend him as they waited to collect water.

• Zhou Dafu proposed a match between Zhou Junming and Wang Xiaohui, and Wang Quan reluctantly agreed to ask his daughter.
• Wang Xiaohui insisted on marrying Zhou Junming, and their families arranged a meeting where the two liked each other and became engaged.
• Zhou Junming’s mother spread the engagement news around the building, but Zhao Yunqiu remained calm.
• Jiang Ci wondered why the promised attack on the Zhang brothers had not happened, then decided to make cold noodles and fruit slushie.
• Jiang Ci and Si Beichen lined up behind Li Weiwei and Zhang Shuai to collect water, and Zhang Shuai tried to strike up a friendship with Si Beichen.
• Si Beichen said he did not know Zhang Shuai, who left resentful and resolved to find a chance to make him pay.

Jiang Ci supported Wu Ya as she and Jiang Chengrong considered whether to continue Wu Ya’s pregnancy amid the extreme heat and scarce medical care. Wu Ya left feeling calmer and ready to make a decision with Jiang Chengrong, while Jiang Ci promised to support them either way.

• Zhang Shuai complained to Zhang Qiang about Si Beichen, and Zhang Qiang said their group of nine would wait until they had worked together before confronting him.
• Wu Ya and Jiang Chengrong visited Jiang Ci because Wu Ya had discovered she was pregnant and they were unsure whether to keep the baby.
• Jiang Chengrong feared that pregnancy and childbirth in the extreme heat would endanger Wu Ya and the child, while Jiang Ci privately felt abortion would be safer but chose not to advise them.
• Jiang Ci told Wu Ya and Jiang Chengrong to weigh the possible outcomes together, make a choice they could accept, and know that she would support them.
• Wu Ya felt calmer after talking with Jiang Ci, then left with Jiang Chengrong and said she would visit again after deciding what to do.

Jiang Ci and Si Beichen visited the municipal trading market after learning the government supermarket had closed. There, Si Beichen unexpectedly reunited with his former teammate Qian Zimo, while Jiang Ci returned and asked for the car keys.

• Residents flocked to city hall to apply for funeral home jobs offering meals and grain.
• Jiang Ci and Si Beichen found the government supermarket closed and learned that residents would now barter at the municipal square.
• Si Beichen drove Jiang Ci to the trading market, where they passed applicants and stalls exchanging goods for food.
• Si Beichen recognized Qian Zimo at a stall selling cigarettes and alcohol, and Qian Zimo explained that he had left the military to help his family.
• Si Beichen asked about Qian Zimo's family and former teammates, and Jiang Ci returned from browsing and asked for the car keys.

Jiang Ci and Si Beichen bartered for New Year couplets and liquor as the disaster worsened and violence spread. After Wu Ya and Jiang Chengrong decided to abort the pregnancy, a group tried to break into Jiang Ci’s home, and Si Beichen suddenly opened the door.

• Jiang Ci traded coarse grains for couplets and rice for liquor from Qian Zimo, who first tried to give the bottles to Si Beichen for free.
• The government announced the successful job applicants, and mounting desperation drove residents to scavenge for supplies as violence and deaths increased.
• Jiang Ci realized Zhang Qiang and Zhang Shuai’s nine-person group was preparing to target households in their residential complex.
• Wu Ya told Jiang Ci that she and Jiang Chengrong had decided to abort the baby, and Jiang Ci gave her a walkie-talkie before escorting them home with Si Beichen.
• Several people tried to pry open Jiang Ci’s door; Jiang Ci recognized the group’s voices, and Si Beichen abruptly opened the door.

Jiang Ci and Si Beichen used suppressed handguns to kill seven armed men who had come to rob them, then cleaned up and broke into Li Weiwei’s apartment to deal with the two survivors. The chapter ended as Li Weiwei’s door opened and two broadswords swung down at Si Beichen.

• Nine masked men, led by Wei Tao and Zhang Shuai, threatened Jiang Ci and Si Beichen and demanded their supplies.
• Jiang Ci revealed her guns and ammunition, and she and Si Beichen killed four men with headshots before the others fled.
• Jiang Ci and Si Beichen killed three more men in the hallway while Zhang Qiang and Zhang Shuai escaped into Li Weiwei’s apartment.
• Jiang Ci and Si Beichen dragged away the bodies, cleaned the blood, and pried open Li Weiwei’s door.
• Two people behind the door swung broadswords at Si Beichen as he pushed it open.

Jiang Ci and Si Beichen killed the three intruders, then discussed with Si Jianhua and Wen Qianyue how the family could defend itself. After the household rested, they learned the victims’ families had collected the bodies without making a scene, frightened that the eleventh-floor residents would retaliate.

• Si Beichen disarmed Zhang Shuai and Zhang Qiang, and Jiang Ci shot them and Li Weiwei before the pair removed the bodies and cleaned the blood.
• Si Jianhua asked Si Beichen to teach him and Wen Qianyue self-defense, while Jiang Ci offered to provide guns and instruction.
• Wen Qianyue asked whether Jiang Ci was scared, and Jiang Ci decided she would protect her family after reflecting on their kindness.
• Jiang Ci and Si Beichen separately wondered about their closeness, with Si Beichen deciding to observe his feelings longer.
• After the family woke and looked outside, they saw the bodies had been collected, while the victims’ families stayed quiet out of fear of the eleventh-floor residents.

After the men who had attacked the eleventh floor were killed, their families struggled to survive, while Zhou Junming grew dissatisfied with Wang Xiaohui and began reconnecting with Zhao Yunqiu. Peng Lianlian prepared to kill herself after arranging the brothers’ funerals, but Auntie Wei barged in, looking for someone to blame for her son’s death.

• Hu Cuihua and Wang Xiaohui’s mother found work at the crematorium, while Zhou Junming became the main provider for their households.
• Wang Xiaohui made her relationship with Zhou Junming official, but his passion for her faded as he compared her to Zhao Yunqiu.
• Zhao Yunqiu arranged encounters with Zhou Junming, gradually drawing him back toward her while Wang Xiaohui remained unaware.
• Peng Lianlian collected Zhang Qiang and Zhang Shuai’s bodies and arranged for Li Weiwei to be cremated with Zhang Shuai.
• Peng Lianlian prepared to poison herself, but Auntie Wei forced her way into the apartment and accused her of being the person she sought.

Auntie Wei abducted Peng Lianlian and forced her into her grandson Wei Jiankang’s room, intending to make her bear his child. Meanwhile, Jiang Ci visited Wu Ya after her abortion, celebrated New Year’s Day with her family, and learned that government water deliveries might stop.

• Auntie Wei beat and bound Peng Lianlian, stripped her apartment of supplies, and locked her in Wei Jiankang’s room so she could bear his child.
• Jiang Ci contacted Wu Ya, learned she had finished her procedure and returned home, and prepared gifts for her recovery.
• Jiang Ci and Si Beichen visited Wu Ya and Jiang Chengrong, who were grateful for the food and milk powder.
• Jiang Ci celebrated New Year’s Day with her family, taking photos and exchanging greetings with Wu Ya and Jiang Chengrong over the walkie-talkie.
• Wu Ya told Jiang Ci that government departments might have collapsed and that water deliveries to the communities could end.

After government water deliveries stopped, residents of the Jiaxing Residential Complex dug shared wells and later gathered dried fish from a nearby riverbed. Their success drew resentment from neighboring complexes, whose residents began demanding access to the wells.

• The residents of Building 7 dug a well with help from three brothers, and representatives from the complex agreed to build four shared wells with weekly water limits and rotating caretakers.
• Jiang Ci and Si Beichen helped dig and collected water, while the complex’s residents began cooperating over water use.
• After a resident discovered a dried-up river full of fish, Jiang Ci and Si Beichen filled two sacks there and later prepared some dried fish with soybeans at home.
• Nearby complexes failed to find water in their own wells, and some residents began stirring up anger against Jiaxing Residential Complex.
• A growing crowd gathered at the complex entrance and demanded that its residents open their wells to everyone.

A mob gathered outside Jiaxing Residential Complex to demand access to its well, and the dispute erupted into a chaotic fight. Jiang Ci and Si Beichen stopped the brawl with sniper fire, leaving the crowd scattered and the complex safe for the moment.

• More than a hundred people demanded water from Jiaxing Residential Complex, while the residents refused to share their well.
• As the crowd grew and armed reinforcements arrived, Si Beichen found Jiang Ci preparing an M200 sniper rifle and night-vision goggles.
• Jiang Ci and Si Beichen took concealed positions on the rooftop while more than three hundred people fought outside the entrance.
• Jiang Ci and Si Beichen shot several people in the crowd, prompting both the attackers and residents to flee when they realized snipers were present.
• Jiang Ci and Si Beichen returned home and packed away their rifles, and Si Beichen praised Jiang Ci's shooting.

Jiang Ci celebrated the New Year with her family and discovered that the Church of the God of Nature had begun distributing cards in the residential complex. Remembering that the cult had sacrificed her in her previous life, she vowed to kill its members if they crossed her path, then spent the night gathering wood for the coming extreme cold.

• Jiang Ci and her family celebrated Lunar New Year's Eve together, watched fireworks, and exchanged New Year visits with Wu Ya and Jiang Chengrong.
• Si Beichen found a card for the Church of the God of Nature outside their door, and Jiang Ci crushed it after recognizing the cult that had sacrificed her in her previous life.
• Jiang Ci resolved to take revenge on the cult and counted down the remaining months of extreme heat.
• Jiang Ci borrowed Si Beichen's Land Rover, drove to the outskirts, and spent the night sawing trees and storing the wood in her space.