Chapter 64

Only a few minutes after she finished muttering, another text message arrived. It was from the telecom provider again, but this time not from the city-level branch. It was from the national headquarters.

The new message was more or less the same as the one sent by the S City Emergency Command Center, except that it covered the entire country.

It was clear that S City had taken the lead, reported the matter to the central authorities, and then had the measure extended nationwide.

But last night, it had actually been the neighborhood’s temporary committee that started compiling the statistics first.

As they were speculating, everyone saw the seven members of the temporary committee emerge from the entrance of Building Four. Everyone knew that the committee had been holding its meetings at Song Jingshuo’s home in Building Four.

As the committee members approached, someone couldn’t resist stepping forward to ask, “Does this have anything to do with us?”

He held up his phone and showed the committee members the text message.

The committee members didn’t need to look. They had received the same message.

Wu Jiancheng, the building captain of Building One, smiled and said, “Of course it does. Jiang Cheng was the one who called the city emergency command center. She even spoke directly with Vice Mayor Zheng just now. The vice mayor called her personally and told her that the matter we raised has already been taken care of.”

In truth, Jiang Cheng had handled the whole thing by herself. But now that it had been accomplished, and she had even spoken with the vice mayor, the members of the temporary committee all felt honored to have been involved.

Seeing that the seven of them continued toward the east gate without showing any sign of dispersing, someone else asked, “Where are you going?”

Normally, Jiang Cheng would have picked up the conversation in a situation like this, but today she seemed to be deep in thought. Li Jiangbing, standing beside her, answered, “Paying a visit.”

He added, “Next door.”

“Next door” specifically meant Jixiang Jiayuan.

Zhou Wang had received Jiang Cheng’s call and was already waiting for them at Jixiang Jiayuan’s west gate. The two residential compounds were practically facing each other, so they spotted one another as soon as they came out.

“Brother Zhou,” Jiang Cheng greeted him.

When Zhou Wang saw her, his heart tightened slightly. “Did something happen?”

Whenever Youth Apartments was planning some kind of operation, Jiang Cheng usually spoke with a faint smile. Her smile appeared gentle, but it often concealed the confidence of someone who had everything under control and was certain of victory.

But today, her expression was much more solemn than usual, and Zhou Wang grew tense.

They found a place to sit in the garden of Jixiang Jiayuan and began talking.

Zhou Wang was surprised. “Our neighborhood?”

“Yes.” Jiang Cheng nodded. “We wanted to understand the situation here. After all, we’re neighbors, practically shoulder to shoulder. We’re too close to ignore each other.”

Jiang Cheng wanted to learn about the current state of Jixiang Jiayuan.

“You can rest easy about our neighborhood,” Zhou Wang said with a nod. “I’m here. I can’t promise absolute security, but I’ll do my best.”

“You’re right to be concerned. Order is too important.”

Once Zhou Wang got started, he opened up. “The supplies we brought back were divided among the people who went out in teams first, and the rest was placed under communal control. Some of it was distributed to people in the neighborhood who truly couldn’t get by. We’re holding on to the little that remains for now and will see how things develop.”

“Compared to you, we didn’t get nearly as much. You made quite a haul this time,” he said. “People from several nearby neighborhoods are furious whenever they mention you.”

The members of the temporary committee exchanged glances, their expressions turning grave.

But Zhou Wang immediately added, “Still, no one dares set their sights on you. Everyone knows you’re not to be trifled with.”

He did not say that no one dared set their sights on Jixiang Jiayuan.

The few who had escaped, along with the families of those who had never returned, had already spread the word.

Youth Apartments and Jixiang Jiayuan—two places no one could afford to provoke.

Zhou Wang, like Vice Mayor Zheng, had aged dramatically in the span of a single week.

But the slick, worldly air he had once carried was gone. Now he looked like a steady, respected elder.

He asked, “What happened at your neighborhood?”

Something must have happened at Youth Apartments. Otherwise, Jiang Cheng and the others would not have suddenly come over to inquire about Jixiang Jiayuan for no reason.

“Nothing happened at our neighborhood,” Jiang Cheng said.

She told Zhou Wang about calling the command center that day and receiving a return call from Vice Mayor Zheng.

“So it was you?” Zhou Wang said.

Everyone had been delighted when they received the text message about the communications support notice. None of them had expected that Jiang Cheng and the others were the ones who had brought the matter to the command center’s attention.

“The situation may be very bad.” Jiang Cheng also told him about their suspicions.

Instead of panicking, becoming anxious, or expressing surprise, Zhou Wang looked almost speechless.

“You people...”

“You really are...” Zhou Wang was too exhausted to find the words. “You’ve really shut yourselves in and lived as though everything outside was peaceful.”

“Ah...”

He let out a deep sigh.

The seven people looked at one another.

Jiang Cheng said, “Please, tell us what happened...”

Zhou Wang said, “People from Deqingli stormed into Shanshui Yayuan to seize supplies. Quite a few people died. You really didn’t know anything about it?”

Even Jiang Cheng was stunned.

The seven of them were collectively dumbfounded.

Zhou Wang was even more speechless and could only shake his head.

Shanshui Yayuan was a low-density villa compound whose residents were owners or senior executives of various companies, large and small.

Deqingli was a public-rental housing complex. Its residents were at the lower end of the working class in terms of income.

Every household in Shanshui Yayuan had at least two cars. Most of the residents of Deqingli commuted using the three rapid bus routes—535, 578, and 611. Only a minority owned cars.

In order to obtain the supplies distributed by the government, the people of Shanshui Yayuan had taken out practically every car in their homes. Anyone with a driver’s license—or even without one—had gotten behind the wheel.

There was no need to fear hitting anyone on the roads, since the only things walking around were no longer alive. And in these extraordinary circumstances, no one cared about a few scratches or dents.

The more cars there were, the more supplies they could carry.

Most of Deqingli’s residents, however, had no private vehicles and were trapped like animals in a cage.

When people were truly pushed to the brink, their eyes became bloodshot. At a moment like this, all it took was someone to raise an arm and call out—

“Come on! Let’s make Shanshui Yayuan give us a share!”

The other nearby neighborhoods were all fairly decent commercial housing complexes. Even Youth Apartments, where the residents were too young to own many private cars, had managed to obtain vehicles—and, reportedly, a considerable amount of supplies—through solidarity and cooperation.

So why choose Shanshui Yayuan?

Because the villa compound was low-density.

There were fewer people living there.

Deqingli had the highest population density in the surrounding area.

In ancient times, the strength of a tribe was directly tied to its population.

Who would dare attack a tribe filled with able-bodied adults, united and organized? Anyone who went in without knowing what they were up against might never come back.

Naturally, people chose to attack and plunder smaller tribes.

Deqingli had a large population, which also meant it had a large number of zombies. In recent days, everyone had been forced to leave their homes in search of food, and they had killed many of them.

But unlike Youth Apartments and Jixiang Jiayuan, they had never conducted a thorough, systematic sweep of the entire compound. They had not cleared it completely and turned it into a genuine safe zone.

When so many people poured out at once, they took advantage of the opportunity to clear out many of the zombies in the compound courtyard as well. Only then did the area finally become more or less fully cleared.

Deqingli and Shanshui Yayuan were adjacent, just like Youth Apartments and Jixiang Jiayuan, with only a narrow road between them.

However, they did not face each other. They stood side by side, with both compounds’ main entrances opening onto the same major road. There were still quite a few zombies on that road.

Deqingli, however, had a high population density, so the compound had four gates—one each to the east, south, west, and north.

The lane between the two residential compounds was relatively clean. A few scattered zombies had wandered over from the main road, but the large group had trampled them to death as they passed.

Shanshui Yayuan didn’t have a gate connecting it to Deqingli.

But Deqingli had a large population, with residents from all kinds of professions. Someone had brought a hydraulic cutter and cut through the key load-bearing points where the iron railings were attached to the concrete pillars. Then everyone pushed together and knocked down a section of railing.

At first, they hadn’t intended to rob anyone. They had wanted to negotiate—even begged and pleaded in tears.

Unfortunately, the bosses refused to share their supplies.

When tempers flared and a conflict broke out, blood was shed.

By then, it was too late for the bosses to regret their decision. In several households, fathers and sons had been killed together, while the women were left alive.

Life-sustaining supplies had equalized the gap between rich and poor through violence and bloodshed.

The irony was that Shanshui Yayuan had never organized an effort to clear out the zombies.

Since every house had its own courtyard, the residents only had to keep their gates shut to keep the zombies out. So the small number of zombies had continued wandering between the courtyards. In the end, it was the people from Deqingli who cleared them away.

The seven people looked at one another.

Jiang Cheng looked at Song Jingshuo, and Song Jingshuo looked back at her.

“Why haven’t any of these things been mentioned on the forums?” Song Jingshuo asked.

Zhou Wang found the question even more ridiculous.

He looked at these young people—whom he had previously considered clever and sharp-minded—as if they were idiots.

“They’re practically starving to death...” He was utterly speechless. “Who the hell still has the energy to go online every day and give you updates?”

Besides, Shanshui Yayuan was home to wealthy business owners, while Deqingli housed low-income residents in subsidized apartments. Neither group was particularly familiar with or interested in the internet to begin with.

The young people living in the Youth Apartments were the primary users of the internet. Their incomes and education levels were relatively good, and most of them had come from elsewhere. They locked the gates of their compound and relied on the internet for information.

Only now did Jiang Cheng and Song Jingshuo realize that the people who had remained active online these past few days were, in fact, those whose living conditions were still relatively stable.

Besides, killing people and taking their belongings wasn’t exactly something worth boasting about.

When the people from Deqingli had set out, they had been empty-handed except for their weapons. They had shouted and argued, making a noisy, disorderly scene.

But when they returned, carrying, embracing, hauling, and dragging supplies, they were as quiet as ghosts. Not a single person spoke on the way back.

Some of them even left a bloody footprint with every step.

Zhou Wang lit a cigarette and exhaled a cloud of white smoke as he looked at these bewildered young people, who could eat their fill every day without worrying about starvation.

Once again, he shook his head.

Jiang Cheng clasped her hands over her mouth and nose, taking some time to digest the information and calm herself. Then she lowered her hands.

“We actually came here to warn you in advance. We didn’t expect to be arriving after the fact.”

“Brother Zhou, our two compounds are the closest to each other. You have to keep things under control in your compound,” she said. “If you can’t... leave through the east gate.”

Zhou Wang was startled by Jiang Cheng once again.

He had thought she would say that they could ask the Youth Apartments for help if things got out of control. Instead, she told them to leave through the east gate.

Jixiang Jiayuan lay to the east, while the Youth Apartments lay to the west, with only Jixiang West Street between them. The west gate of Jixiang Jiayuan and the east gate of the Youth Apartments both faced Jixiang West Street, angled toward each other.

If they left through the west gate, they would be facing the Youth Apartments.

If they left through the east gate, they would be facing other residential compounds.

The young woman’s voice was calm and gentle, but her meaning was anything but gentle—

If things fell apart, don’t come and cause trouble for the Youth Apartments.

The Youth Apartments were nothing like Shanshui Yayuan.

Zhou Wang realized then that when the Youth Apartments had rushed over last Monday to help them clear out the zombies, it might not have been out of kindness.

Perhaps they simply couldn’t allow the neighboring compound to become a breeding ground for zombies.

Zhou Wang took two heavy drags on his cigarette and answered gloomily, “All right.”