"Lao Ma? Lao Ma?"
In the corridor on the 31st floor, torrential rain poured down, splashing onto the walkway and beating against the tents.
Cai Zhi stood outside Ma Guocai's tent and called out softly.
Ma Guocai unzipped the tent flap and, seeing Cai Zhi, asked, "What time is it?"
"Almost 8 p.m."
Ma Guocai nodded. "I'll take the night watch. You should rest for a bit."
Cai Zhi glanced around and said, "No rush. There's something I need to talk to you about."
Ma Guocai froze for a moment, then quickly understood. He crawled out of the tent, and the two moved near the stairwell.
They first looked up at the corner where Ding Yan and Fan Meiqin were, instinctively keeping some distance.
Cai Zhi then lowered his voice. "Did you hear the commotion this morning?"
Ma Guocai nodded. "How could I not? Liu Erlong got into it with the guy on the 32nd floor and ended up taking a beating."
Cai Zhi said, "Who would've thought he still had gasoline and a gas cylinder? With those things, Liu Erlong probably won't dare mess with him for now."
Ma Guocai gave a slight nod, then looked at Cai Zhi. "What are you thinking?"
Cai Zhi's voice grew serious. "That guy still has gasoline and a gas cylinder at home—he probably has plenty of food too. My daughter can't hold on much longer. If she doesn't eat soon, I'm afraid..."
Ma Guocai's expression darkened. "Should we try fishing again?"
Cai Zhi shook his head. "Liu Erlong's men have taken over the 10th floor. No one else has a chance to fish, and even if they do, they'll just get robbed."
"Then what's your plan?"
"I want to ask the guy on the 32nd floor for help."
"You think he'll lend you food?" Ma Guocai asked with a bitter smile.
"Not for food. I want to work with him. If we don't stick together, we'll just keep getting bullied by Liu Erlong until we're dead."
"But... we've tried rallying others before. You've seen how they are—they don't trust anyone. And if Liu Erlong offers them even a little food, they'll betray us in a heartbeat. They might even sell us out..."
Ma Guocai sighed. They had tried uniting others before, but Liu Erlong had picked them off one by one.
In the end, it came down to unfamiliarity—there was no foundation of trust.
Cai Zhi whispered, "This time is different. That guy on the 32nd floor and Liu Erlong are already at each other's throats. He'd never surrender."
"I'm not asking for his food. I just want us to band together and stand up to that bastard Liu Erlong, so we don't have to worry about being robbed just for trying to fish..."
Just as he spoke, a noise came from the stairwell, and he immediately fell silent.
Ma Guocai reacted instantly, grabbing a dagger from his waist and turning toward the sound.
A timid figure emerged from the stairwell. "C-can I join you?"
"Xiao Ding?"
In the dim light, Ma Guocai recognized the person—it was Ding Yan, the woman Zhou Jiaqiang treated as a plaything.
Cai Zhi's expression also shifted. "When... when did you get here?"
Ding Yan's eyes burned with hatred. "Brother Cai, Uncle Ma, if you're going against Liu Erlong... can I be part of it?"
Cai Zhi didn't answer, exchanging a glance with Ma Guocai.
Ma Guocai suddenly asked, "Where's Fan Meiqin?"
Ding Yan paused before replying, "Dead."
Cai Zhi immediately frowned. "Dead? How?"
He'd been in the corridor the whole time and hadn't heard any commotion.
Ding Yan gave a bitter laugh. "I killed her."
"What!"
Both Cai Zhi and Ma Guocai paled, instinctively stepping back to distance themselves from Ding Yan.
Cai Zhi couldn't help but ask, "Why?" Ding Yan said mournfully, "Heh, with Zhou Jiaqiang dead, Fan Meiqin lost her protector. She was planning to find another man to latch onto."
"She even tried to force me to go with her to increase her bargaining power, hahaha... She thought I was really some weakling who couldn't resist Zhou Jiaqiang's assaults."
"If she hadn't tricked me back then, tricked me into opening the door, how could Zhou Jiaqiang have ever gotten into my home?"
"Now that Zhou Jiaqiang's dead and no one can protect her anymore, of course I had to kill her. I definitely had to kill her. Was I wrong? Uncle Ma, Brother Cai, shouldn't I have killed her?"
Cai Zhi and Ma Guocai were shocked. They hadn't known about these past grievances between Fan Meiqin, Zhou Jiaqiang, and Ding Yan.
Cai Zhi had seen Ding Yan and Fan Meiqin in the hallway several times before.
Fan Meiqin had been quite flirtatious—whenever Zhou Jiaqiang wasn't around, she'd even actively try to seduce him just for a bite of food.
At the time, he'd seen Ding Yan looking like a walking corpse, curled up in a corner, enduring Zhou Jiaqiang's abuse.
Who would have thought she'd been waiting for an opportunity all along—waiting for a chance to take revenge.
Even as a grown man standing over six feet tall, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.
"Xiao Ding, we... we were just joking earlier..." Cai Zhi instinctively wanted to distance himself from such a woman.
Ding Yan immediately fixed her gaze on Cai Zhi. "If you don't take me with you, I'll go tell Liu Erlong right now!"
Cai Zhi frowned and instinctively gripped his cleaver.
Ma Guocai's heart skipped a beat as he grabbed Cai Zhi's arm, quickly saying, "Xiao Ding, this isn't something to joke about. Look, we don't even have a solid plan yet—we still need to discuss it."
"What's there to discuss? That guy upstairs must need allies right now. We should just go up and talk to him directly."
"If you're scared, I'll go. I'll talk to him."
Ding Yan was straightforward.
After experiencing utter despair, some people collapse, while others become ruthless and decisive.
Ding Yan was undoubtedly the latter.
Having killed Fan Meiqin, she had already grown cold-blooded.
While Ma Guocai was still hesitating, Cai Zhi stared at Ding Yan and suddenly grinned.
"Alright, Ding Yan. If you can convince the guy upstairs, then we'll team up together!"
"Xiao Cai, you—" Ma Guocai started to say something, but Cai Zhi cut him off.
"Lao Ma, more people mean more strength. Xiao Ding has been through hell and come out stronger. I think we can work with her."
"Better to have one more friend than one more enemy."
"If it comes to a fight, you and I can hold Liu Erlong down while Xiao Ding stabs him from behind. No matter how strong Liu Erlong is, he'll die."
Ma Guocai fell silent. He turned to look at Ding Yan and finally smiled. "Xiao Ding, welcome aboard."
A faint smile finally appeared on Ding Yan's face. "Wait here. I'll go up and talk to him."
Cai Zhi said, "Wait, I'll go with you. Lao Ma, keep an eye on my wife and kid."
"Don't worry, leave this to me."
Cai Zhi and Ding Yan immediately headed upstairs. When they reached the corner, Cai Zhi glanced at the pile of cardboard boxes.
Sure enough, there was a large pool of blood there, but Fan Meiqin's body was nowhere to be seen.
Ding Yan seemed to know what he was thinking and said, "I threw the body downstairs."
"Brother Cai, it's been so long since the Great Flood, and government rescue still hasn't arrived. We can only rely on ourselves."
"Fan Meiqin was desperate to find a man to depend on. Hah, she never understood—if she had no value, then to men, she was just a toy."
Cai Zhi sighed and gave Ding Yan a long look. This woman seemed to have gone to the other extreme.
Soon, the two arrived at Lin Dong's doorstep.
(End of Chapter)