Chapter 27: A Flying Kick to Lin Xiaohu

Soon, Zhang Yi heard Grandma Lin’s ear-piercing, pig-like screams.

After Chen Zhenghao burst into the apartment, he landed a brutal slap across Grandma Lin’s face.

"You old hag, you’ve been swindling the neighbors for their supplies. I’m just delivering justice on behalf of heaven!" Chen Zhenghao declared with a booming laugh.

Grandma Lin was knocked to the floor, her head spinning; she couldn't utter a word for a long time.

Chen Zhenghao commanded his men, "Search the place! Take every bit of food and drink we find! These were all painstakingly saved by the neighbors, so we can't let them go to waste on her!"

His men snickered and gestured to one another, swarming into the kitchen and bedroom to ransack every possible hiding spot in Grandma Lin's home. Before long, they unearthed a large stash of instant noodles, bread, crackers, and bottled water.

Grandma Lin crawled over, sobbing, and clung to Chen Zhenghao’s leg. "You can't take everything! Some of that belongs to my own household. If you take it all, how are my grandson and I supposed to survive?"

Chen Zhenghao stared at her coldly and sneered, "That's none of my business! Get lost!"

With that, he used his good leg to kick her squarely in the face.

"Argh!"

Grandma Lin let out another shrill scream as she collapsed backward.

At that moment, a shout erupted from the bedroom: "You bastards, get the hell out!"

It was Grandma Lin’s grandson, Xiaohu. Seeing the chocolate biscuits he had secretly hidden being dragged out, his eyes turned bloodshot. He pulled a fruit knife from a drawer and stabbed it into the rear end of one of Chen’s lackeys.

In such extreme sub-zero temperatures, any injury could be fatal. The lackey let out a yelp of pain. When he turned and saw that it was just a little kid who had stabbed him, he was so enraged his eyes seemed to burn with fire. Dammit, if word of this got out, how would he ever show his face again?

"Damn you to hell!"

The lackey, furious beyond measure, put every ounce of his strength into a kick aimed at Xiaohu’s stomach.

A full-force kick from a grown man was far more than a six-year-old child could withstand. Xiaohu let out a wretched cry, his body lifting off the ground as he flew through the air, slamming hard against the wall before sliding to the floor like a heap of garbage.

It was a perfect real-life depiction of the saying "hitting a man until he hangs like a painting." The sight sent Chen Zhenghao and his crew into fits of laughter.

"Hahaha! Lao Wu, when did you practice such impressive legwork?"

"You actually sent that little brat flying! Nice, very nice!"

The lackey, nicknamed Lao Wu, pulled the knife from his backside and boasted triumphantly, "Looking sharp, right? You guys really should have recorded that!"

Grandma Lin, already injured, had been trying to lie on the floor and play dead. But seeing her beloved grandson kicked so violently, she let out a cry of pure despair: "Xiaohu, my grandson!" and lunged toward him.

Chen Zhenghao pointed at Grandma Lin, declaring with self-righteous grandiosity, "This is the price you pay for scamming the neighbors. I am acting in the name of justice!"

With that, the group left Grandma Lin’s apartment, laughing as they carried off their spoils.

Zhang Yi raised an eyebrow, watching this brutal scene unfold. Seeing the despicable Grandma Lin family get their comeuppance was satisfying; he felt absolutely no pity for them. However, this incident also signaled that the rules of civilized society within the apartment building were beginning to fracture. From here on out, things would only get more savage. After all, once a solid sheet of ice cracks at the edge, the fissure spreads rapidly.

"Well, it doesn't really have much to do with me," Zhang Yi mused, smiling as he lounged on his imported sofa. "Watching them fight to the death over a few supplies while I just lie back and take it easy... honestly, it’s a bit boring."

He then uploaded the recorded video to the residents' group chat.

In the chat, the neighbors who had been swindled were still cursing Grandma Lin incessantly—until they saw the video Zhang Yi posted. Watching Grandma Lin’s home being raided by Chen Zhenghao and seeing both the grandmother and grandson get beaten while their stolen supplies were seized, the residents were overjoyed.

"Hahaha, that big swindler, she deserved it!"

"Brother Hao is mighty! This is exactly how you deal with people like her!"

"That’s the price of being a scammer!"

"Hehe, trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice—too funny!"

Even though those who had lost their supplies knew Chen Zhenghao wouldn't return them, they felt a genuine sense of relief watching Grandma Lin get battered. Some even began to praise Chen Zhenghao as a hero.

"Brother Hao is a legend!"

"As expected of a man of the streets, he truly has a sense of justice!"

"If it weren't for Brother Hao, we’d have no way to deal with a shameless wretch like her."

"Brother Hao, be careful—that old hag is incredibly shameless, watch out for her calling the police."

Some were even worried for Chen Zhenghao, offering him strategic advice. In this instance, Chen Zhenghao had gained both fame and fortune; he hadn't faced a collective backlash from the residents and had secured a large amount of supplies.

Zhang Yi watched the chat with a curl of his lip and a dismissive shake of his head. The residents failed to realize one crucial thing: if Chen Zhenghao could break into Grandma Lin’s home to rob her today, he could just as easily break into theirs tomorrow. As people gradually lost hope for the outside world, that day would arrive sooner than they thought.

However, the fact that the residents were still chatting away in the group proved one thing: everyone still had a certain amount of supplies on hand. The situation for most families wasn't as dire as they claimed. Many residents of the Yuelu complex worked in the warehouse district and were accustomed to hoarding supplies. Even those who didn't work there had purchased discounted goods through various channels. A box of expiring instant noodles, if rationed, could keep a family of three alive for four or five days.

Therefore, while it was difficult to be well-fed and warm, people could still survive for a while if they were frugal. In his past life, Zhang Yi had held out for a full month before the starving neighbors finally broke down his door to tear him apart and eat him.

Everyone knew the rule: don't let your wealth show. The only reason they were all crying poverty was to keep others from asking to borrow their supplies. Of course, they were only barely maintaining their survival; quality of life was a concept that had nothing to do with them anymore.

Zhang Yi stopped checking the messages. He took an archery target out of his interdimensional space and mounted it on the wall. He then picked up his crossbow and compound bow to practice his marksmanship. Even though his safe house was as sturdy as an iron fortress, one could not afford the slightest complacency in the apocalypse. Only by practicing survival skills tirelessly every day could he ensure he would be the last one standing.

Moreover, practicing shooting was a decent form of entertainment for Zhang Yi. As for firearms, there was no need to practice; he held a membership with a shooting association and knew how to handle them. While he wasn't a sharpshooter, simply holding a gun was an immense deterrent. He only had a hundred rounds, and unlike arrows, they couldn't be recovered and reused, so it was best to be thrifty.