Chapter 125: Dead Silence, Decay

Chapter 125: Dead Silence, DecayThe leaders of each building sent people to collect the food in an orderly manner. Zhang Yi also distributed food to the residents of his own building and returned home as usual.

The next day, apart from Li Jian, none of the building leaders distributed any food to the ordinary residents.

That night, seeing their last hope completely destroyed, the residents of the community went utterly mad!

The community became unprecedentedly chaotic.

At some point, the sounds of shouting and killing began to emanate from each building. The desperate screams and furious curses echoed through the corridors, barely muffled by the northern wind.

The pitch-black night was their only cover. When these cowardly ordinary people no longer feared for their lives, the ruling leaders of each building finally realized how powerful they were!

Not everyone had Zhang Yi’s perfect defensive fortress and terrifying firepower. Still stuck in the era of cold weapons, the advantage of numbers had a massive impact on the battle.

Zhang Yi sat on his warm, cozy white velvet quilt, quietly watching out the window.

The lights were off, creating a tranquil silence that starkly contrasted with the howling wind, snow, and agonizing screams outside.

He had no idea what was happening outside but knew that the more people died tonight, the better it was for him.

Before going to bed, Zhang Yi checked the security of his room one last time, reloaded his handgun and assault rifle, and then lay down with a satisfied sigh.

...

The next morning.

When Zhang Yi stepped out of his building, the sight before him made him gasp in shock.

What had been a pristine white snowy landscape was now covered in blood.

In the courtyard’s center, fifty or sixty bodies lay strewn about haphazardly! Judging by their appearance, it seemed they had been forced to jump from high places.

Some curled up into balls before they died, not killed by the fall but frozen to death from their injuries in the icy snow.

Zhang Yi lifted his head, scanning the surrounding buildings. He saw darkened, congealed bloodstains on many windows.

It was clear how brutal the battle had been the previous night!

By this morning, no one had come out to shovel snow, not even to remove the pile of bodies.

Residents of Building 25 stood at the entrance, terrified, not daring to breathe too loudly. They felt incredibly fortunate to be under Zhang Yi’s protection. Otherwise, they too would have faced a similar fate.

Uncle You approached Zhang Yi and asked, "Zhang Yi, do we still need to work today?"

Zhang Yi glanced at Uncle You, and then at the nervous neighbors behind him. He replied calmly, "If you want to keep eating, you have to work!"

"Unless," he pointed to the bodies on the ground, "you want to end up like them."

The crowd shuddered. Compared to the dead, they were extremely fortunate! At least they didn’t have to fight for scarce food or risk their lives.

"It’s just work. As long as we’re alive, it’s fine!" they thought.

"Yes, yes, we’ll get to work right away!" The neighbors, stimulated by the grim scene, eagerly grabbed their tools and started shoveling snow. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the Nʘvᴇl(F)ire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Seeing the scene around him, Uncle You asked Zhang Yi, "It seems like no one from the other buildings is out shoveling snow. Should we notify them?"

Zhang Yi glanced at him and then smiled, "Do you think they have the time for that now?"

Uncle You was puzzled, "Huh?"

Zhang Yi explained, "Last night was just the beginning. This conflict is between the ruling leaders and the ordinary residents of each building."

"Unless they can solve the food distribution issue, one side must be completely eliminated!"

"One night isn't enough for that!"

Hearing Zhang Yi's explanation, Uncle You felt a chill run down his spine. "Is this what they call the strategy of killing with borrowed knives?"

"So, what do we do next?" he asked.

Zhang Yi replied nonchalantly, "What does it matter to us? Let them kill each other slowly!"

The right moment had yet to arrive, and he wasn’t in a hurry. In the afternoon, Zhang Yi returned and distributed food to his residents as usual. However, he noticed that the people from some buildings had changed; they were no longer the same group he was familiar with.

It seemed that control over some buildings had shifted hands during the scramble for food. But it didn’t matter to him who the leader was; he would cooperate with whoever was in charge.

However, that night, Zhang Yi sent a message to the building leaders’ group chat.

"If I don't see any labor results tomorrow, I can't guarantee there will be food, including cigarettes."

The next day, when Zhang Yi stepped out, he saw everyone gathering to work once again. However, today, the number of people had decreased by at least a third compared to two days ago! In other words, the issue of unfair food distribution had resulted in the deaths of at least 400 people in two days.

Uncle You, unable to comprehend the scene before him, asked Zhang Yi, "These people clearly know that there are only ten portions of food per building, not enough for everyone. Why don't they resist and fight for a chance to survive?"

Zhang Yi chuckled, "Maybe they haven't reached the point of life and death yet."

"Or perhaps, in extreme despair, they’ve accepted their fate and see death as a form of relief."

"Human nature is a complex thing, beyond anyone’s complete understanding. Not even mine."

Shaking his head, Uncle You murmured, "But this can’t last forever. Are we just going to watch them continue like this?"

Zhang Yi shook his head, smiling. "It won’t last long. Whether due to a lack of resources or continuous conflict, they’ll quickly perish in this apocalypse."

Uncle You swallowed hard, at a loss for words.

At that moment, a woman in a fur coat trudged through the snow towards them. "Zhang Yi, I want to discuss cooperation with you again."

It was Chen Lingyu, the leader of Building 9. She was covered in blood, clearly having survived a brutal fight the previous night.

But she had survived.

Zhang Yi smiled disdainfully, "You? What can you discuss with me?"

Chen Lingyu stared into Zhang Yi’s eyes, trying to use the skills she had honed in years of sales. "The community will collapse if it continues like this! The internal conflicts are too severe, making effective management impossible."

"Even if you can bring back more food, there will always be people using force to take more. This will only escalate the conflicts, leading to more deaths!"

Zhang Yi watched her calmly, "Oh, and then?"

Of course, he knew this would happen. The current situation was exactly what he had orchestrated.