Chapter 79: Subduing the Neighbors as Cannon Fodder

Chapter 79: Subduing the Neighbors as Cannon FodderZhang Yi watched the conversation unfold in the group chat. He then received a private message from Uncle You.

"Zhang Yi, what do we do now?"

Zhang Yi replied, "It's almost time. When the moment comes, back me up. We need to make these people listen to me obediently."

"A balance of rewards and threats will keep them in line. Only then will our building be safe."

Whether or not the others were safe didn't matter to Zhang Yi; he only cared about his own safety. Moreover, many of these neighbors had family members killed by him and would seek revenge if given a chance. Therefore, it was best to deal with them now.

After discussing the plan with Uncle You, they returned to the group chat.

Uncle You pretended to tag Zhang Yi, "Zhang Yi, everyone here needs you now. If you're the only one left in this building, wouldn't you feel lonely?"

"So please show some kindness and help everyone out! They will surely be grateful to you from the bottom of their hearts!"

The neighbors chimed in quickly.

"Yes, yes, if you save us, we will be eternally grateful to you!"

"From now on, you'll be in charge of the building."

"Zhang Yi, the lives of my whole family are in your hands!"

Flattering words poured in, but Zhang Yi only sneered.

"I'm only here because of Uncle You. Otherwise, I wouldn’t bother talking to you. Why should I care about you when I'm doing fine by myself?"

"Going out to risk my life for you seems pointless to me!"

The more Zhang Yi spoke like this, the more anxious the neighbors became.

"Zhang Yi, please don’t say that! We’ll do anything you ask if you save us!"

Desperate to survive, even in the face of despair, they clung to any hope of staying alive.

Zhang Yi coldly asked, "Oh? Really? Will you do whatever I ask?"

"Do all of you agree?"

The neighbors hesitated for a moment.

Someone said, "As long as you don’t ask us to die, we agree to any other condition!"

Zhang Yi questioned, "What if I ask you to take up arms and fight the Tianhe Gang? Will you do it?"

The chat fell silent.

No one spoke, each hoping someone else would volunteer.

Zhang Yi laughed loudly, "So you just want me to risk my life, right? Fine, I won't bother with you then."

"When Huang Tianfang comes with his men, just stretch out your necks and let them cut. Goodbye!"

Uncle You quickly intervened, "Zhang Yi, don’t leave us! We’ll all listen to you."

"Given the choice of certain death or fighting back for a chance to live, I’ll fight with you!"

He then began rallying the others.

"What are you hesitating for? If we fight together, there’s hope. Otherwise, we’ll be killed one by one!"

Uncle You’s encouragement worked.

Realizing they might have a chance if they fought, the neighbors reluctantly agreed to follow Zhang Yi’s orders.

Zhang Yi and Uncle You, playing good cop and bad cop, thus gained control over the entire building.

Zhang Yi calmly stated, "Alright, from now on, everyone must follow my commands."

"The situation is dire, and the enemy could attack at any moment. Any signs of lethargy or negativity will be seen as a betrayal of the entire building!"

"And when that happens, don’t blame me for killing that person first!"

He scanned the list of group members.

"Don't let me find anyone hiding and refusing to fight. If I do, I’ll kill them first! No one gets to sit back and reap the benefits without risking their necks!" sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ NovᴇlFɪre .ɴᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Zhang Yi said this because he noticed only about twenty people had spoken in the group chat. Clearly, some intended to hide and let others fight.

Hearing this, those who agreed to follow Zhang Yi were also displeased.

"Fang Lin, come out! I saw you yesterday, don’t pretend you’re dead!"

"Liang Yulu, where are you? Stop hiding and pretending not to see the messages. We’ll come find you!"

The neighbors, eyes red with anger, tagged the ones they knew were hiding.

Seeing no way out, those hiding sheepishly responded.

"I just woke up and saw the messages."

"Huh? What’s going on? Are we fighting back? Great!"

"I’m not afraid of death; I just didn’t see the messages."

A group of people offered feeble excuses.

Zhang Yi ignored them. "In any case, since you chose me as your leader, you must obey my orders. Anyone who chickens out is betraying everyone and deserves to die!"

The neighbors fell silent, knowing Zhang Yi meant business.

With over fifty people already dead at his hands, there was no doubt he’d kill them if they defied him.

After wielding the stick, Zhang Yi decided it was time for some carrot.

"Rest assured, I’m a kind-hearted person. I won’t let you starve. If you follow my orders, I’ll help you find supplies."

Zhang Yi had been planning this for a while.

With an engineering team capable of using explosives, there was no guarantee that even stronger enemies wouldn’t emerge in the future.

He lived on the 24th floor. While his house was built of metal, a collapse on the floors below could still affect him greatly.

Therefore, he intended to use the neighbors as cannon fodder, keeping them on lower floors to act as sentries and, if necessary, sacrifice themselves.

Feeding them was necessary for this plan.

But Zhang Yi wasn’t willing to use his stored supplies. He needed to go out and find more.

He also needed more weapons and ammunition, as he had used up twenty bullets in the recent fight.

Traveling was simple. With the snow over ten meters deep, vehicles were useless.

However, there were vehicles specifically designed for snow—snowmobiles.

Zhang Yi had five snowmobiles in his storage space, two with cockpits and three small snow scooters.

In this snowbound era, while others struggled to leave their homes, he could travel freely around the city.

The chat exploded with excitement.

"Zhang Yi, you can go out and find supplies?"

"With all that snow and no way to drive, are you going to walk through it? You’d freeze to death!"

Zhang Yi replied, "The environment outside is harsh, but for everyone’s sake, I’ll try my best."

"Don’t worry, I’ve worked in warehousing for many years. I know where all the warehouses, large malls, and supermarkets are in Tianhai City."

"Finding supplies isn’t difficult for me."