Soon, Zhang Ye heard a blood-curdling scream from Aunt Lin, like a pig being slaughtered.
After Chen Zhenghao stormed into the house, he slapped Aunt Lin hard across the face.
"You old hag! You dared to swindle the neighbors out of their supplies? I'm here delivering justice!"
Chen Zhenghao laughed loudly as he spoke.
Aunt Lin was knocked to the ground, her head spinning, unable to say a word for a long time.
Chen Zhenghao turned to his men and ordered, "Search the place! Take all the food and water! These were earned through the neighbors' hard work. No way we're letting her keep it!"
His subordinates chuckled wickedly and exchanged sly glances as they rushed into the kitchen and bedroom, rummaging through every possible hiding spot.
Soon, they uncovered a large stash of instant noodles, bread, biscuits, bottled water, and more.
Aunt Lin crawled over in tears and clutched Chen Zhenghao's leg, pleading, "You can't take everything! Some of that stuff belongs to my family! If you take it all, how will my grandson and I survive?"
Chen Zhenghao stared at her coldly and sneered, "Not my problem. Now get lost!"
With that, he kicked her in the face with his good leg.
"Ah!!"
Aunt Lin screamed in agony and fell backward.
Just then, a shout came from the bedroom, "You sons of bitches! Get the hell out!"
It was Aunt Lin's grandson, Xiaohu. He had seen his secretly hidden chocolate biscuits being discovered, and his eyes turned red with rage.
He unexpectedly pulled a fruit knife from a drawer and stabbed one of Chen Zhenghao's men, nicknamed Little Kalami, right in the butt.
Under such extreme cold, even minor injuries could be fatal.
Little Kalami cried out in pain.
When he turned and saw that the attacker was just a child, his eyes blazed with fury!
Damn it, if word got out that he was stabbed by a kid, how could he show his face again?
"You little shit!"
Little Kalami exploded with rage and kicked Xiaohu in the stomach with all his strength!
A full-force kick from an adult was something a six-year-old child simply couldn't withstand.
Xiaohu let out a scream, flew through the air, slammed into the wall, and then crumpled to the floor like a piece of trash.
There's a saying—"Hitting someone like hanging a painting"—and this scene was a perfect illustration of that phrase.
Even Chen Zhenghao and the others burst into delighted laughter at the sight.
"Hahaha! Lao Wu, when did you get such powerful legs?"
"You actually sent that little brat flying—impressive!"
The man called Lao Wu, or Little Kalami, pulled the knife out of his butt and proudly said, "Handsome, right? You guys should've recorded that moment!"
Aunt Lin had been playing dead on the floor, hoping to be ignored.
But when she saw her beloved grandson get kicked so brutally, she let out a heartbroken cry, "Xiaohu! My grandson!"
She rushed toward Xiaohu in despair.
Meanwhile, Chen Zhenghao pointed at Aunt Lin and said righteously, "This is the price you pay for deceiving your neighbors. I'm just carrying out justice!"
With that, the group laughed loudly and left Aunt Lin's home with their loot.
Zhang Ye raised an eyebrow as he watched this brutal scene unfold.
Seeing the despicable and shameless Aunt Lin and her family get beaten up, Zhang Ye naturally felt pleased—he had no sympathy for them.
However, this scene also marked a turning point: the breakdown of civilized order in the building had begun.
From now on, violent incidents like this would only become more frequent.
After all, once a crack forms in a sheet of ice, it quickly spreads.
"Sigh... unfortunately, none of this really concerns me."
"Watching them fight to the death over supplies while I lie around at home—it's kind of boring."
Lying on his imported sofa, Zhang Ye smiled and sighed.
Then, he posted the video he had recorded to the building's group chat.
In the chat, the owners who had been scammed were still cursing Aunt Lin.
The moment they saw the video Zhang Ye posted—
They saw Chen Zhenghao's gang storm into Aunt Lin's home, beat her and her grandson, and take back all the stolen supplies.
The owners were immediately overjoyed.
"Hahaha! That lying witch got what she deserved!"
"Brother Hao is awesome! That's the kind of justice we need!"
"That's what scammers get!"
"Heh, tried to pull a fast one and lost everything—serves her right!"
Even though the owners knew Chen Zhenghao would never return the supplies to them…
Seeing Aunt Lin get beaten up still made them genuinely happy.
Some even started praising Chen Zhenghao as a hero.
"Brother Hao, you're amazing!"
"A true man of justice!"
"If it weren't for Brother Hao, we wouldn't know how to deal with that shameless woman!"
"Brother Hao, be careful. That old hag might report you to the police!"
Some even worried about Chen Zhenghao's safety and gave him advice.
With this move, Chen Zhenghao gained both fame and profit. He didn't face backlash from the owners, and he walked away with a haul of supplies.
Zhang Ye watched the chat and curled his lips in a sneer, shaking his head.
These people didn't realize one simple truth:
If Chen Zhenghao could break into Aunt Lin's home and rob her today, he could do the same to any of them tomorrow.
As hope in the outside world dwindled, these kinds of events would only happen more and more often.
However, the fact that the group chat was still active, and people were chatting freely, revealed something important:
Everyone still had some supplies left.
Most families were not in as dire a situation as they claimed.
Many residents of the Yuelu community worked in the warehouse district and had a habit of stockpiling goods at home.
Even those who didn't work in warehouses found ways to purchase discounted or expiring products to store.
A box of near-expiry instant noodles, if rationed properly, could keep a family of three alive for four or five days.
So even though eating well and staying warm was difficult now…
If they conserved their supplies, they could still survive for a while.
In his previous life, Zhang Ye had lasted an entire month before the starving neighbors finally broke in and devoured him alive.
The principle of "wealth should not be flaunted" was something everyone understood deep down.
All the crying and complaining was just a strategy—to keep others from asking them for supplies.
Of course…
They were only barely surviving. Concepts like "quality of life" were now meaningless.
Zhang Ye stopped reading the messages in the group chat.
He took a target out of his dimensional space and mounted it on the wall.
Then he picked up his hand crossbow and compound bow, starting his shooting practice.
Even though his safehouse was as secure as a steel fortress, in the apocalypse, he couldn't afford to let his guard down.
Only through consistent training in survival skills could he ensure he would outlast everyone.
And to Zhang Ye, archery was also a form of entertainment.
As for firearms, he didn't bother practicing.
He had a membership with the shooting association and knew how to use guns.
Although he wasn't an expert marksman, a gun itself was already a powerful deterrent!
He only had a hundred bullets, and unlike arrows, they couldn't be recovered—so better to conserve them.