Chapter 53: Neighbors Desperately Begging Jiang Yi

Wang Min immediately spoke up, "I can assure everyone that these videos were filmed very recently."

"Zhang Yi has stocked up on all kinds of supplies at his place long ago, whether it's food or fuel. So the life he's living right now is just like heaven!"

Lin Caining also chimed in, "That's right, I can vouch for that! Back when he went shopping at the supermarket, it was me who helped him."

"His family bought so many things afterward; surely you all haven't forgotten, have you?"

Lin Caining's words jogged the memories of many people.

"That's right! Back then, large and small delivery trucks were constantly coming to Zhang Yi's place. I was wondering what he was up to."

"Could it be that he knew about the blizzard beforehand? That is just so shameless of him! To not even give the rest of us a heads-up."

"Zhang Yi is simply inhuman! How could he do something so devoid of morality?"

"We're all neighbors who have lived together for many years. He is just too selfish!"

Filled with righteous indignation, everyone heaped all the suffering they were currently enduring onto Zhang Yi's head.

Yet, not a single one of them stopped to consider whether they would have believed it even if Zhang Yi had told them the apocalypse was coming.

Naturally, they didn't ponder that. They simply felt that Zhang Yi owed them.

Someone immediately declared, "Zhang Yi must take responsibility for this!"

"Exactly! Why should we be living in such misery while he gets to live a good life all by himself?"

"He has so much food, drink, medicine, and energy in his house—he has to share it with all of us."

"Since we're having a hard time, he bears the primary responsibility!"

All the neighbors' eyes turned red with envy and rage.

They could not bear this disparity.

It would be one thing if everyone was living in utter wretchedness.

But why should we be living a life worse than animals while you alone enjoy bliss?

No way! If we are going to die, everyone dies together!

Meanwhile, Chen Zhenghao and the others also saw the videos in the chat group.

Chen Zhenghao's eyes instantly turned bloodshot.

"Zhang Yi, you son of a bitch, you've been living so comfortably!"

One of Chen Zhenghao's legs had been permanently crippled, all thanks to Zhang Yi.

Therefore, of everyone in the entire apartment building, Zhang Yi was the one he hated the most.

The reason he hadn't made another move against him later was twofold: first, Zhang Yi's apartment was extremely difficult to breach, and having suffered a loss before, he wouldn't strike unless absolutely necessary; second, he had no idea that Zhang Yi's home held such a massive stash of resources!

Otherwise, even if it cost him his life, he would have continued his assaults on Zhang Yi's home.

In the large group chat, the chat history instantly surpassed a hundred messages.

Many people began tagging Zhang Yi, demanding an explanation from him.

"@Zhang Yi, everyone is living in such misery right now, on the verge of freezing and starving to death. You have so much food at home, plus fuel to burn in your fireplace. Share some with everyone!"

"That's right, people will remember your kindness. I hope you know what's good for you."

"Zhang Yi, we've all been old neighbors for many years; you can't just stand by and watch us die!"

"Zhang Yi, I'm Aunt Wang from the 20th floor. I even lent you two scallions before. With such a good relationship between us, you have to give our family some supplies!"

"Brother Zhang, I'm your buddy Liu Wenqiang, we're like blood brothers! How about letting me move into your place? The situation is so dangerous right now, I can come over and protect you."

...

Some resorted to moral blackmail, others begged on their knees, while a few tried to reason...

All kinds of people appeared, but the core idea remained singular: demand that Zhang Yi bring out all the supplies in his home and distribute them among them.

Notifications popped up endlessly, and naturally, Zhang Yi saw them.

Everyone in the group was demanding he share his supplies, but Zhang Yi merely watched with cold detachment, in no hurry to say anything.

He wanted to see just how fascinating these people's true faces could be.

Auntie Lin: "Zhang Yi, I am the director of our residential committee! (She had promoted herself, which was hilarious) And I am also an elder of this building. I call the shots—bring those supplies out, and Auntie will distribute them to everyone!"

Mom Xie Limei: "Zhang Yi, my baby and I are about to starve to death. Didn't you praise how cute my baby was before? Save us! I can let the child become your godchild. Even... you can have other requests if you want."

Rich second-generation Xu Hao: "Zhang Yi, as long as you let me move into your place, I can give you all my assets! No, my dad is already dead, our family's assets of over a billion are all yours!"

After watching the show for quite a while, Zhang Yi finally typed a single, leisurely character.

"Oh?"

That single character instantly made everyone even more frantic.

Those engaged in moral blackmail continued their blackmail, and those begging for handouts continued to plead.

After a long while, Zhang Yi calmly asked, "Am I close with any of you? Why on earth should the things in my home be shared with you?"

At a time like this, everyone was teetering on the edge of despair.

Reasoning with them was utterly meaningless.

As long as they could survive, they were willing to abandon every single baseline of human morality.

Zhang Yi was well aware of this, and he had no intention of reasoning with these people.

He was simply—teasing monkeys!

His gaze held a hint of wickedness, and the sight of these frenzied neighbors brought back the memory of his past life.

Back then, driven by good intentions, he had opened his front door.

And then it was these very neighbors who rushed into his home and buried an axe in him.

And then, before he had even breathed his last, they eagerly tore him apart and consumed him!

He wanted revenge!

That was why he wanted to toy to his heart's content with these pitiful yet hateful bugs!

Someone in the group immediately lost their temper.

"Zhang Yi, are you speaking human words? We've been old neighbors for so many years, isn't helping each other supposed to be a given?"

"What's the point of you surviving alone? Young people shouldn't just think about lying down comfortably; you need to learn how to contribute!"

"If you hadn't hidden the news and secretly hoarded supplies all by yourself, how could we have ended up in this state today?"

"That's right, everyone is living so miserably now, it's all your fault, and you must make atonement!"

...

Zhang Yi: "Oh."

"And then?"

Below came another massive wave of pleading, threats, and curses.

They were like passengers on a sinking ship in the middle of the freezing Arctic Ocean, surrounded by roaming sharks.

Yet at this moment, they spotted a small fishing boat nearby.

The boat owner was eating hot pot, singing songs, and leisurely sailing past them.

So they swam toward it with all their might, desperately trying to get the boat owner to pull them aboard.

The closer one gets to the edge between despair and hope, the easier human psychology collapses, and the more hideous true faces become.

Watching their distorted expressions, Zhang Yi smiled as he retrieved a bottle of vintage Australian Yellow Kangaroo Tail red wine from the constant-temperature wine cabinet in his different-dimensional space, along with a portion of top-grade French foie gras.

Red wine and foie gras were a match made in heaven.

When the bitterness of the foie gras merged with the astringency of the red wine's tannins, the texture became even more sublime.

It allowed even Chinese people, unaccustomed to the taste of red wine, to savor its deliciousness.

As Zhang Yi enjoyed the foie gras and sipped the red wine, he watched the neighbors' wonderful performance.

Some people even sent him private messages, and a few made voice calls.

With keen interest, Zhang Yi opened them one by one to take a look.

Mom Xie Limei: "Zhang Yi, I'm begging you to save me and my baby! As long as you let me move into your place, you can do whatever you want to me."

Female college student Zhang Siyu: "Brother Zhang Yi, I'm still young, I don't want to die. Take me! As long as you give me a bite to eat."

Quite a few female residents also sent private messages, many of whom had husbands.

They understood the current market conditions very well, and they knew that money alone could not move Zhang Yi.

Therefore, almost by unspoken agreement, they all offered their own bodies in exchange for Zhang Yi's protection, hoping at the very least to secure some food.