The Great Rainstorm had been pouring relentlessly for half a year. The thick, dark clouds blotted out the sunlight, making it impossible to distinguish day from night.
Unless one had a mechanical watch, telling time was out of the question.
Li Zhiqiang had spent last night playing with his life-sized figure, eaten some bread, and slept until now.
Sometimes, he thought the Great Flood wasn't entirely bad.
At the very least, he didn't have to go to work anymore and could stay holed up at home.
Of course, it would've been even better if he had food, water, internet, and electricity.
He vaguely drifted into a dream where that little bastard Lin Dong from next door was peeping at his wife in the elevator again.
This time, that damned guy not only peeped but even reached out to grope her.
Fury instantly overwhelmed him, and he wanted to shout at them.
But then he saw his wife not resisting—instead, she began undressing willingly, cooperating with Lin Dong.
This enraged him even more, and he started cursing loudly.
Yet, instead of stopping, the adulterous pair only got more shameless.
Lin Dong even took out a piece of bread and threw it at his feet.
For some reason, the sight of that bread instantly extinguished all his anger. Overjoyed, he snatched it up and devoured it ravenously.
"So fragrant, so delicious…"
The aroma rushed straight to his brain, making his stomach burn with hunger.
He swallowed frantically, chewing desperately, yet no matter how much he ate, he never felt full.
"I'll eat, I'll eat, I'll eat—"
BANG!
A sudden loud noise jolted Li Zhiqiang awake, his eyes snapping open in terror.
The room was pitch black. He sat dazed, still half-lost in the dream, when he noticed three figures standing at the door—one of them was Lin Dong, the very man who had harassed his wife in his dream!
"Lin Dong!"
He snapped to awareness, then immediately recoiled in fear, scrambling upright.
Cai Zhi and Ma Guocai rushed forward, pinning him back down onto the bed from both sides!
Lin Dong watched coldly, a smirk on his face. "Li Zhiqiang, had a nice sleep, huh? I heard you grinding your teeth—what, dreaming about something tasty?"
"L-Lin Dong! H-how are you in my house? Who are these people? Let me go! I'll call the police—let me go!"
Panicked, Li Zhiqiang screamed and thrashed violently, nearly breaking free from Cai Zhi and Ma Guocai's grip.
Then Cai Zhi's expression turned vicious. He grabbed a kitchen knife from behind and pressed it against Li Zhiqiang's throat.
"Don't move! One more twitch, and I'll kill you!"
His low, snarling threat instantly cowed Li Zhiqiang, who trembled uncontrollably, not daring to move a muscle.
Trembling in fear, Li Zhiqiang begged for mercy. "Spare me, Lin Dong, please! I already gave you my wife—please, for her sake, don't kill me! I'm begging you!"
His whole body shook violently. Suddenly, Ma Guocai caught a whiff of something foul and glanced down—only to see Li Zhiqiang's pants were soaked.
Disgusted, he couldn't help but curse. "This coward actually pissed himself."
Cai Zhi was also stunned. He hadn't expected Li Zhiqiang, who seemed so strong, to be such a spineless wreck.
For a moment, he hesitated, unsure what to do next.
"Lin Dong, what now?"
Cai Zhi turned to Lin Dong for instructions.
Lin Dong was also speechless. Looking at Li Zhiqiang, he shook his head and said, "You're a grown man, yet you're such a coward."
"And you dare mention Sister Mei? You sold her out for a piece of bread. You don't even deserve to say her name."
"Tie him up."
Cai Zhi and Lao Ma immediately found a belt and bound Li Zhiqiang's hands behind his back.
Li Zhiqiang begged loudly, "No, no! Please, spare me! Let me go! Lin Dong, whatever you want, I'll give it to you! I'll return everything! Just spare me, please!"
Afraid Li Zhiqiang's noise would disturb his daughter, Cai Zhi wordlessly stuffed a dirty pair of underwear into Li Zhiqiang's mouth.
Li Zhiqiang immediately gagged—the underwear was from yesterday and reeked of a foul stench, making his eyes water.
With Li Zhiqiang securely tied up, Cai Zhi and Ma Guocai turned to Lin Dong.
Neither of them knew what to do with him now.
After all, from their perspective, they were the ones who had taken over his home.
Now that they had tied up the original owner, both of them felt a moral guilt.
Lin Dong was also hesitant. He wasn't like Liu Erlong and his gang, who had no scruples.
The killings before had been forced. Now, the idea of killing someone completely defenseless made him pause.
In the end, Lin Dong thought of Sister Mei and said, "Forget it. Throw him out and let him fend for himself."
Ma Guocai and Cai Zhi both sighed in relief.
Cai Zhi quickly added, "This bastard betrayed his wife for food—no loyalty, no conscience. Leaving him to fend for himself is revenge for Yang Mei."
Ma Guocai nodded. "People like him shouldn't be kept around. It's better to throw him out."
The two of them then lifted Li Zhiqiang and dumped him on the 31st-floor corridor.
Cai Zhi said, "Don't say we didn't give you a chance. The tent and cooking gear here are what we left behind earlier."
Ma Guocai didn't say much, just patted Cai Zhi's shoulder. "Let's go. Scum like him—no loss if he dies."
Lin Dong remained silent the whole time, only giving Li Zhiqiang a cold glance before heading upstairs with the other two.
Watching the three leave, Li Zhiqiang's fear finally subsided. Struggling free from the belt and spitting out the underwear, he glared venomously at the closed door upstairs.
"Damn you, Lin Dong! Yang Mei, you bitch! Just you wait!"
He glanced at the tattered tent, his resentment deepening.
But aside from cursing under his breath, he didn't dare do anything.
Even when Lin Dong was alone, he hadn't dared to act.
Now that Lin Dong had two more allies, he was even less willing to provoke them.
Yet the hatred in his heart refused to fade.
"What now? No food, no shelter—all because of that bastard Lin Dong. Damn it! If I can't have peace, neither will you!"
He stood there thinking for a moment before his eyes suddenly lit up.
"That's right—Liu Erlong!"
"Liu Erlong's been wanting to kill Lin Dong for ages. I'll go to him now and offer to hand over that bitch Yang Mei."
"That'll definitely make Liu Erlong and Lin Dong fight. Maybe Liu Erlong will even share some food with me."
"Hah! Lin Dong, just you wait!"
Excited, he scrambled to his feet and immediately rushed toward the stairwell.
But just as he entered the dark hallway—
Suddenly, a rope wrapped around his neck.
"Guh—"
Li Zhiqiang struggled in terror, his hands desperately clawing at the noose around his throat.
In the darkness, he couldn't see the face of the figure behind him.
The hands tightening the rope were incredibly strong.
Despite Li Zhiqiang's frantic thrashing and twisting, he couldn't break free.
"Ugh... h-help... me..."
With his last breath, he let out a silent scream.
Finally, severe oxygen deprivation darkened his vision as everything went black.
In the darkness, the man pulling the rope didn't release his grip. He maintained the pressure for nearly half a minute, ensuring Li Zhiqiang had truly stopped moving before finally letting go.
Li Zhiqiang's corpse slowly slumped onto the stairwell.
The assailant looked at the dead man's protruding tongue and wide, furious eyes, sighing softly: "I really considered letting you live. You just had to choose death yourself."
"Looking for Liu Erlong, and muttering about it aloud—were you afraid I wouldn't hear?"
Lin Dong shook his head slightly as he coiled the rope.
Earlier, after seeing Cai Zhi and the others home, he'd claimed he was returning to his own place—but in truth, he'd remained uneasy about Li Zhiqiang.
He hadn't expected to hear Li Zhiqiang murmuring about joining Liu Erlong's group the moment he reached the stairwell.
That was when Lin Dong finally resolved to kill.
An enemy was an enemy. No matter how cowardly Li Zhiqiang acted, he was still a young, strong man.
If he joined Liu Erlong's team, he'd become a significant threat.
Lin Dong bent down, hoisted the corpse, and tossed it over the walkway railing.
Splash!
The water sprayed up, but the sound was swallowed by the relentless downpour.
It was as if nothing had happened at all.
Lin Dong stared at the pitch-black water below for several silent seconds before turning to climb the stairs.