Chapter 80

There were far too many empty apartments with no one to claim them.

Of course, the owners’ families might come to deal with them later. If any relatives showed up, they would hand over the keys.

But it was already clear that quite a few of the apartments might not have any family left to claim them.

Wait. There were too many things to deal with right now. They could worry about that later.

The property manager asked Guo Jun, “What exactly are you people planning to do?”

Guo Jun explained what they wanted. The property manager understood: Guo Jun and the others were reluctant to move out.

By now, everyone knew that these apartments were “ownerless,” and most people had entertained the idea of taking advantage of the situation.

The property manager understood better than anyone, because he had ideas of his own.

There were too many empty apartments. Guo Jun and the others had only occupied seven, and the property staff hadn’t taken many either. Compared with the total number of vacant units, it was nothing.

Besides, the property management office was desperately short-handed.

Everywhere was short of workers now, in every industry and every position. Too many people had died.

In the end, the property manager and Guo Jun’s group reached an agreement: they would work part-time for the property management office in exchange for rent.

After Guo Jun and the others left, Master Luo asked, “What about us...?”

The manager said, “Stay here.”

There were plenty of residential complexes where the property management companies had moved into vacant apartments without notifying the owners.

An owner might buy an apartment and leave it unfinished for a year before finally preparing to renovate it. Then, upon opening the door with the key, they would find a dozen metal bunk beds inside—the place had become a dormitory for thirty people.

That was standard practice for property management companies.

The manager said, “We’ll deal with it when the family comes looking.”

The zombie crisis had dragged on for more than a month. Work and production had ground to a halt, and now that they were suddenly resuming, there was far too much to do.

The manager asked, “What’s going on with the meeting room?”

Why had the door been welded shut?

Master Luo explained what had happened.

The manager clicked his tongue in shock.

“That Miss Jiang is ruthless.” The manager asked, “Who is she?”

Guo Jun and the others had mentioned “Miss Jiang” earlier, and when Yang Xinyan handed over the forms, she had also said that they were from “Miss Jiang.”

Miss Jiang this, Miss Jiang that—everyone kept talking about “Miss Jiang.”

Who was she?

Master Luo said, “She lives in Building Two, Apartment 0306. I’m in 0308 now, right next door to her.”

The property manager had no memory of the female owner in Building Two, Apartment 0306.

There were over a thousand people in the complex. How could he remember every one of them?

But the meeting room couldn’t simply be left unattended.

The manager asked, “What’s inside...?”

Master Luo said, “We’re not sure. Someone inside smashed the surveillance camera at the time.”

The manager didn’t want to hear any more about it. Now that it was finally over, he didn’t want to revisit that nightmare.

But the meeting room still had to be dealt with. They needed to get the door open.

The manager walked over and knocked. “Is anyone there? Is anyone still inside?”

Yang Xinyan shrank behind Master Luo. “There can’t possibly be anyone...”

It had been more than a month.

Even if someone had survived by eating human flesh, they should have responded to the knocking by now. Besides, the authorities had never said anything about people becoming infected without mutating.

But if that was the case, then theoretically there should still be at least one zombie inside.

Yet the manager knocked several times, and there was no response.

If there were a zombie in there, it would have slammed against the door long ago.

By now, everyone was thoroughly familiar with the habits of both the original zombies and the second-generation zombies.

The manager said, “We’ll have to find a way to open it.”

They needed an angle grinder to remove the welds.

Master Luo said, “The angle grinder is worn out.”

Over the past month, Cui Haiyang and the other engineering guys had been working intensely to modify their protective gear, and several tools had been ruined in the process. Now the property management office was short of both tools and people.

Besides, welding was one thing; taking welded metal apart was another. They needed a welder with experience in dismantling structures to do the job.

The manager said, “Get in touch with a welder. Find someone who can handle it.”

But welders were hard to find these days, too.

The jobs resuming that day were all essential services for people’s daily lives. Small private businesses, such as little restaurants and shops, as well as workers who found jobs independently, had not resumed operations yet. They would have to wait a few more days.

For now, the manager would first arrange shifts for the cleaners, security guards, and the rest of the staff. The priority was to restore the complex to a normal state of maintenance.

After that, he planned to inspect the ownerless apartments and think about what they could be used for.

Master Luo suddenly remembered something. “We still owe Miss Jiang and Mr. Song money.”

After hearing the details, the manager was displeased. “Why did you spend money? During a disaster, wasn’t everything free for the taking?”

Master Luo argued, “That was on the first day. No one dared take things without paying then.”

He had recorded everything they had bought and how much it had cost in a little notebook. Now he took it out and showed the manager.

In fact, the kitchen had already been due for a restocking run during those two days. The delivery person would normally drop off the supplies and then go to the accounting office to settle the bill.

It had been a legitimate expense from the start.

The manager grumbled under his breath, but because Master Luo insisted, he still had the accountant pay the money.

“Be sharper next time,” he said. “Start stealing things right from the beginning.”

What kind of thing was that to say? Was that even human?

And there was going to be a next time?

There were too many things, too complicated and jumbled together. Jiang Cheng wasn’t omnipotent, and it was inevitable that she had forgotten some matters.

The property management office’s meeting room, for example.

And all those ownerless apartments.

The matter with Guo Jun’s group reminded Jiang Cheng of something. She asked in the group chat:

【Does anyone have Peng Ze’s emergency contact information?】

She wanted to remind Peng Ze’s parents to reclaim the apartment.

She had heard that some people had gotten to know one another over the past month and exchanged each other’s emergency contact numbers.

They were afraid something might happen to them.

But no one in the group had exchanged contact information with Peng Ze.

Su Yu: 【I’ll ask around.】

After a while, she replied:

【He Tian said Peng Ze’s parents had been unreachable since the first day.】

Jiang Cheng stared at the screen for a long time before slowly typing:

【Got it. Thanks.】

At noon, Vice Mayor Zheng delivered a speech.

【Countless moving stories have emerged.】

【We stand united, sharing hardship through wind and rain.】

【I hereby announce that the zombie disaster in S City has ended.】

It was over.

One after another, cities across the country announced that their disasters had ended.

Humanity had reclaimed its living space.

Of course, it wasn’t completely over. Some areas were still carrying out extermination operations.

Even a major city like S City couldn’t guarantee that every last zombie had been cleared out. There might still be one or two hiding in some overlooked corner or alley.

But they no longer posed a threat to the city as a whole.

So it was fair to say that the disaster was over.

Jiang Cheng was thinking about this when she heard someone open a window and shout into the residential courtyard, “It’s over—it’s over!”

Many others immediately joined in.

A chaotic chorus of cheers rose through the complex.

It was just like when the temporary residents’ committee had led everyone in clearing the complex back then.

Jiang Cheng smiled.

Then she thought... Was that all?

Was the world really this simple?

It was a little boring.

That evening, Master Luo knocked on her door and handed her an envelope. “This is the money you and Mr. Song paid up front.”

Jiang Cheng had nearly forgotten about it.

She accepted the envelope and asked about the housing arrangements. When she learned that Guo Jun, Master Luo, and the others could continue living in the empty apartments, she said, “That’s good.”

Master Luo stood outside the door. For some reason, he felt that Jiang Cheng, just a step away from him, was no longer quite the same as before.

He went back inside and told Aunt Pan.

Aunt Pan was folding freshly washed clothes. “Oh, that’s because Little Jiang was in charge before. She had to be tough if she wanted people to listen to her. She doesn’t have to manage things anymore, of course she’s different. She’s relaxed now.”

Master Luo thought his wife was right.

On July 24, the bus finally brought back the last batch of militia members.

That marked the end of the militia’s final cleanup operation, and the militia was disbanded.

Li Jiangbing had returned four times in total. Each time, he rested for only a day before signing up for the next round.

This time, he was finally back for good.

Some companies had begun reopening one after another, but many still hadn’t. Some people had even lost their jobs outright. Their bosses were dead, and no one was left to manage the companies.

So there were still plenty of people lounging around at home in the residential complex.

When they heard that the last batch of militia members had returned, everyone came rushing out to take a look.

Li Jiangbing had once been a burly man. Now, he was a burly, sun-blackened man.

More accurately, he was a burly man who was black in some places and speckled in others.

His armor had plenty of holes for ventilation, which had left his arms white in some sections and covered with little black spots in others.

He carried a battered backpack on his back, a steel spiked mace in one hand, and an extra-large suit of armor in the other.

He looked absolutely delighted.

Song Jingshuo’s mouth twitched. “You really managed to bring it back?”

Li Jiangbing turned around, presenting his back to Song Jingshuo, and shook his massive body a few times.

The shabby backpack—heaven only knew where he’d gotten it—rattled loudly.

Li Jiangbing was unbearably pleased with himself. “The whole set!”

It turned out that the backpack contained the arm guards and leg guards.

In theory, the militia members were supposed to return their armor after the operation ended.

But this time, the operation was truly over. Any armor collected would only end up sitting in a warehouse, so the militia members who wanted theirs were allowed to take them home.

In fact, the armor from the Tech New District was also already in the hands of ordinary people.

Li Feng had brought it there, but when he left, he hadn’t asked for it back. Everyone had simply treated it like rice, cooking oil, and other consumable supplies.

As a result, most of the team members who had taken part in the battles still had their own armor.

Jiang Cheng and Song Jingshuo’s armor was still at home as well.

Cui Haiyang rushed over. “Let me see! Let me see! Is that a spiked mace?”

Zhao Yi leaned in. “How did they let you bring that back?”

Li Jiangbing grumbled, “Don’t remind me. I wanted a cleaver, but no matter how much I begged, they wouldn’t give me one. I had to settle for this spiked mace.”

Zhao Yi said, “Of course they wouldn’t. Knives are regulated weapons.”

Quite a few people had brought their protective gear home, but Li Jiangbing was the only one who had managed to bring back a spiked mace.

Everyone had heard from former militia members that the standard weapons issued were cleavers and spiked maces, and that people could choose whichever suited them better.

But most of them were seeing one in person for the first time.

A large group of men lined up to take turns playing with the spiked mace, pretending to beat up zombies.

The people waiting in back kept urging them on. “Hurry up, hurry up! Are you done yet? Two swings are enough. There’s a whole line of us waiting!”

Song Jingshuo and Jiang Cheng followed Li Jiangbing to his home.

After putting away his beloved armor, Li Jiangbing chatted with Jiang Cheng and Song Jingshuo. “These last few days were just cleanup. Things are pretty much settled. The whole city is more or less cleared out.”

Even if there were still a few stragglers, there was no longer any need for so many militia members.

The large-scale extermination operation was over. Any isolated cases could be handled by the police, urban management officers, and ordinary citizens working together.

It was over.

“I made a nice bit of money. Are the restaurants open yet?” Li Jiangbing asked cheerfully. “I’ll treat you two to a meal.”

But Jiang Cheng poured cold water on him. “Only two restaurants have reopened on Restaurant Street. We wouldn’t stand a chance of getting a table. I’m saving you the money.”

A lot of people were itching to splurge on food in a kind of revenge spending, but the restaurants had suffered major losses in manpower, and many had also been contaminated.

The government had stipulated that the food-service industry had to undergo complete decontamination before reopening.

Song Jingshuo said, “I got a notice from my company today. I have to go back to work tomorrow.”

“Ah, work...” Li Jiangbing sighed.

The word sounded so unfamiliar. It felt like something from a previous lifetime.

Song Jingshuo asked Jiang Cheng, “What about you?”

Jiang Cheng was just about to answer when her phone rang. The caller ID read: “Mr. Peng.”

It was her boss.

Jiang Cheng: “...”

What incredible bad luck.