Chapter 40

The square started buzzing again.

The residents had come downstairs solely to comply with the interim committee's request—to dump their cardboard boxes, plastic shells, and bottles. When they'd been watching the commotion earlier, they'd still been holding all these things.

Now they were moving again.

Except before, everyone had just tossed things down and left, and the cleaners had sorted and bundled them.

Now many people deliberately stacked them neatly as they set them down, and some even helped organize, which lightened the cleaners' workload when it came time to bundle.

People also said "thank you" and "appreciate your work" to the cleaners.

The cleaners nodded with little "mmm"s.

The security guards had also dispersed, each returning to their post.

Actually, everyone could feel it—after this whole stir was over, the cleaners' and guards' eyes had cleared up.

So the idea of "why should we still be working" wasn't just held by that middle-aged male cleaner from earlier.

This was good too. Once things were said out in the open, people's hearts settled.

When Li Jiangbing and the others came back, they happened to run into Liu Hongwang banging his head on the ground in front of Song Jingshuo in the open space inside the main gate.

Li Jiangbing and the others were stunned: "What's going on here?"

Peng Ze moved closer and told him: "He said he wouldn't work without pay. Jiang Cheng, on behalf of the interim committee, fired him. Now he's not an employee of the property company, so he's not a resident of our compound. They told him to leave. Now he regrets it."

Liu Hongwang was a mess of snot and tears: "Brother! Mr. Song! I was wrong! I really was wrong! Where am I supposed to go if I leave? You're sentencing me to death."

Li Jiangbing and the others exchanged glances.

Song Jingshuo's expression was indifferent.

He turned and said something in a low voice to the people beside him, and a few young men went over and hoisted Liu Hongwang up.

Li Jiangbing and the others quickly pushed their carts aside to clear the way.

The men ignored Liu Hongwang's wailing, carried him to the gate, and shoved him out.

They pushed his bicycle out too.

Actually, everyone felt a bit of pity inside, and they were all diligent young people—someone had already helped tie Liu Hongwang's personal belongings onto his bicycle.

They even gave him a stick: "Take this. For self-defense."

Then they stuffed a few magazines and a roll of tape into his hands, telling him: "Wrap these around your arm. Protection against bites."

Liu Hongwang's face was ashen, watching the compound gate close in front of him. A familiar guard locked it from the inside.

Song Jingshuo walked to the gate and said through the gap: "Find a place to stay while it's still daylight. It's much more dangerous at night."

Liu Hongwang gritted his teeth, his face twisted.

In the end, he turned his head away, tucked the stick into his luggage, got on his bicycle, and rode off.

At Jiang Cheng's request, both the east and west main gates of the compound now had two people on duty.

Song Jingshuo asked the two guards: "Do you both know him?"

The two guards looked at each other, then just went "mmm."

"Even if you know him, you can't let him in," Song Jingshuo said. "His home is gone now; this place is your home. You're just like us—eat, drink, and sleep all happen here. If you let him in, he holds a grudge, cuts a wire, damages a pipe—you'll be affected too."

"Think clearly. You've got nowhere else to go either. Right now, the compound is your home."

"Guard your own home."

This guy's speaking skills weren't any worse than Jiang Cheng's, Li Jiangbing thought to himself with a silent whistle.

The guards nodded repeatedly: "Understood, understood."

The lingering discontent in their hearts had been talked through by Jiang Cheng.

The compound belonged to the residents; they weren't residents, so they needed to work for the residents, exchanging their labor for the right to stay in the compound.

The heavens were unfair in creating such gaps between people, but there was nothing to be done about it.

Whatever thoughts remained, push them down for now and just focus on staying here safely.

In the surrounding area, this youth apartment complex was the most reliable and safest option.

Song Jingshuo walked over to Li Jiangbing and looked at their carts, each one piled high and full.

"Good haul?"

"Mission accomplished. Where's Jiang Cheng?"

"In the square."

"Let's go, let's go—find Jiang Cheng."

A group of them pushed the shopping carts clattering and banging toward the small square. Sure enough, Jiang Cheng was there.

"Jiang Cheng! Look what we found!" Li Jiangbing shouted from a distance in his booming voice.

The hardware store was a real treasure trove.

Li Jiangbing and the others had found more than twenty bags of quicklime in the hardware store.

"This is good," someone said. "Perfect for disinfecting the garden."

Corpses couldn't be completely burned to ash—even a crematorium's high-temperature furnace left bone fragments. And for this open-air burning in the youth apartment complex, the temperature couldn't even come close. After burning, there was a big "pile" of remains.

There were also many places that had left behind liquids or residue. The entire compound needed a thorough disinfection.

But there would still be a huge amount of daily waste to handle. The disinfectant and sterilizing solutions they'd hauled back this time—plenty as it seemed—might not be enough in the long run.

"And there's this." Li Jiangbing had everyone bring out the items. "Take a look."

"Whoa, so many steel pipes? Where'd you get these?"

"From that hardware store on the street."

"Hardware store, huh. Figures."

Jiang Cheng took a steel pipe and tested its weight, gesturing: "If it's this long, you can really put some force behind it."

Right—as long as these were cut to the right length, as weapons for hitting zombies, the weight, hardness, and thickness were all perfect.

"Can you cut them?" Jiang Cheng asked the property staff.

Yang Xinyan said: "Probably. The engineering department has a cutter. Master Luo and the others can handle it."

Everyone got busy again.

The disinfectant supplies were all sent to the clubhouse for storage.

Jiang Cheng had already designated Zhao Yi as the person in charge of that area. He had a background in environmental engineering—perfect fit.

Cutting the steel pipes didn't even need Master Luo. A bunch of engineering types among the residents eagerly volunteered: "I can do it! I'm in!"

They even argued over exactly what length the ideal pipe should be cut to.

The square was noisy and bustling, which actually eased Yang Xinyan's uncomfortable feeling from earlier.

It was then that Su Yu came downstairs.

She was responsible for posting on the forum and then chatting in the group chat afterward. She was also meticulous about packing up her stuff, so she didn't come down with her cardboard boxes until she'd finished everything—and then she saw how lively the square was.

A lot of people were crowded around Jiang Cheng. Su Yu didn't want to squeeze through, so she went over to greet Yang Xinyan instead.

In the compound, there were more men than women, so the women naturally gravitated toward one another and banded together, forming their own group. One by one, they pulled each other into the group.

But no one pulled Jiang Cheng in.

It wasn't that they were excluding her—it was that everyone independently felt... Jiang Cheng must be extremely busy.

Even Su Yu felt that way. And since she'd joined the interim committee and was in its group, if any of the women had special needs, she could relay them.

Or they could just go talk to Jiang Cheng directly.

Yang Xinyan had already joined the female residents' group and wasn't a stranger to Su Yu and the others. Seeing Su Yu, she immediately gave her the lowdown on what had just happened—

A cleaner who'd tried to strike had been expelled.

"Miss Jiang is..." Yang Xinyan was a bit in awe. "Something else."

Here, "something else" wasn't a casual phrase; it was a full assessment.

Su Yu understood that word and that feeling very well.

This was the third time, following the smashing of Maiduo's glass door and the pharmacy.

“Otherwise, they'd be hard to manage...” she began making excuses for Jiang Cheng.

It was only then that the two of them realized the opposition of their positions—one was a homeowner, the other a property management staff member. In this incident, their stances were actually different.

Both of them felt awkward.

Yang Xinyan quickly said, “I understand, I understand.”

Now the community's above-ground and underground areas had all been cleaned up, and many homeowners could safely come downstairs to stroll around.

Of course, many people still carried “weapons” with them when they went out.

One bite from a zombie and that person was done for. Even if you didn't turn, the interim committee wouldn't let you off. So it was safer to carry a weapon while walking around.

Many homeowners who had never known each other before, lone wolves, now suddenly had a desire for social interaction.

They greeted each other when they met, proactively asked for names, exchanged contact info, and added each other to group chats.

Strangers who were neighbors turned into comrades-in-arms. Some had battlefield bonds from fighting back-to-back; some even owed each other their lives.

The atmosphere in the community had changed from before—it was almost like a giant mixer.

After Li Jiangbing handed over those disinfectant supplies to Zhao Yi, he washed his hands of that whole affair.

Apart from someone like Zhao Yi, who worked in environmental engineering, who would be interested in dealing with garbage? Li Jiangbing was even less interested.

Now the community was bustling and lively, but nothing major was going on. There was no need for him to stay by Jiang Cheng's side at all times. So he went to the property management office to watch the engineering guys cut steel pipes.

On the way, he spotted Su Yu.

He liked gentle, sweet girls. He'd misjudged Jiang Cheng on that front, but he felt he wouldn't misjudge Su Yu—she was much more gentle, the real deal inside and out.

Ahem, not that he was saying Jiang Cheng wasn't genuine inside and out. No, no.

He called out to Su Yu: “Want to go check it out?”

Su Yu had been using a frying pan as her weapon. It was a bit heavy, and not so convenient to carry around when something happened. But she had always resisted using a cleaver.

Even now, seeing her companions hack through zombie necks and chop off zombie heads still made her feel a bit sick.

With a frying pan, at least there was a full corpse.

So she followed Li Jiangbing to the property office.

The property office was very crowded. Lots of people had heard about the steel pipes and came over wanting one. Compared to chair legs or mops, steel pipes were certainly much better to use.

The cutting machine was in the engineering department, and the room couldn't hold that many people. Everyone was crammed in the hallway.

Some people got pressed against the wall or a door. When they turned their heads, they were startled to find that door welded shut: “What's going on with this?”

Someone in the know said, “That's the meeting room.”

The person in front looked up and sure enough, there was a sign reading “Meeting Room” on the door: “Ah, that one...?”

“Yeah!”

“Are those people still alive?”

“Who knows.”

“Why was it welded shut?”

“They say the people inside lost their minds and destroyed the surveillance camera. That way no one outside could see what was happening inside. So the interim committee just sealed the door shut.”

“Oh man...”

People are always curious. Someone couldn't help leaning over and pressing an ear to the door.

After listening for a moment, his expression suddenly changed drastically. He jerked upright and backed away two steps, stepping on the person behind him, who yelped in pain: “Hey! Watch it!”

Others asked, “What's wrong?”

That person said, “Listen for yourself.”

Several people couldn't help but lean in and listen too. Even the guy whose foot got stepped on couldn't resist pressing his ear to the door.

...

The sound of exhalation.

Not normal breathing.

It was the sound of someone forcefully exhaling, right by their ears.

That scared several people into straightening up. They looked at each other in silence.

“You heard it, right?”

“You heard it too?”

Everyone verified with each other.

Think about it—even if they'd killed each other, in theory, there should still be one last survivor left, right?

“Why isn't he banging on the door?”

Whether they were first-generation zombies or second-generation, they all followed instinct to attack living humans. When they encountered obstacles, they'd charge headfirst into them too.

This one was clearly standing right behind the door. So why wasn't it mindlessly banging on it?

“Is it because it knows it's useless? So...”

“But wouldn't that mean it has intelligence?”

They squeezed out a tiny bit of space. Others saw them and asked, “What's wrong?”

They replied, “There should still be one zombie in there.”

Others said, “Forget it. It's welded shut anyway.”

That made sense—just don't worry about it.

But those few exchanged glances and, in the jam-packed hallway, suddenly felt goosebumps rise.

They subtly shifted their positions, trying not to lean against that door.

Li Jiangbing came down with Su Yu. As soon as they got there, they saw it was packed with people. He called out loudly, “How's it going? Let me take a look! Make way, make way!”

Everyone made way for him, and he brought Su Yu inside.

The first batch had already cut several pipes of different lengths. Many people who'd come to watch were taking turns swinging them around to try.

Li Jiangbing didn't lack a weapon himself, but he shoved others aside: “Let the girl try first. Let the girl try first.”

He pushed Su Yu forward.

Su Yu tried several pipes and found that one of them felt especially good in her hands.

Li Jiangbing waved his hand grandly: “That one's yours. Take it.”

No one objected, and Su Yu gripped that pipe in her hand: “Thanks.”

Actually, a lot of people didn't have proper weapons and wanted a steel pipe. That was why so many people were crammed in there—they all wanted to grab one. There simply weren't enough to go around.

But when Li Jiangbing spoke, nobody dared to say a word, so Su Yu got first pick.

Su Yu thanked Li Jiangbing and squeezed out holding her new steel pipe.

The property office was in the basement of one of the buildings. The air wasn't exactly fresh to begin with, and with so many people packed in, it got even worse.

Su Yu squeezed out, came up from the basement, and immediately pulled out her phone to draft a text message:

[They brought back steel pipes and are cutting them at the property office. A ton of people are crowded there waiting. If you don't have a decent weapon, come quick. I already got one—these are really good.]

She was planning to send it to a few girls she knew well. Texts cost per message, so it wasn't the cheapest option, but it was quicker than calling each person one by one.

She thought for a moment and added: [If you can't grab one, try asking Li Jiangbing. What he says carries weight.]

After editing, she sent it out as a group message.

Jiang Cheng, Song Jingshuo, and Li Jiangbing had formed a triangle.

A triangle was stable.

And the triangle formed by these three people gave Su Yu a sense of security.

This was fine just like this.

Let nothing more change.

The youth apartment was busy and lively, chaotic but orderly.

In the afternoon, on the third day since the zombie outbreak began, the government announcement that had been looping on repeat finally updated.