Chapter 39

Shu Fu finished loading the nail gun, checked it over, and set it aside before finally sitting back down in the single armchair.

Luckily, she’d gone to bed early that night. Even though she’d been woken up at 3 a.m., she’d still managed six hours of sleep.

She could stay alert and keep watch, all while continuing to dial for rescue.

By 9 a.m., the rescue team finally arrived.

It had been a night of terror and chaos.

For some residents of Jixing Community, the night had been a blood-soaked nightmare.

But for most, it was a night of gritted teeth and steadfast defense—a night of trembling with fear yet summoning the courage to guard their homes with whatever weapons they had.

Thanks to Zheng Feifei’s messages in the Jixing Community group chat, others became aware of the situation. In fact, by the time she discovered what was happening, a few other residents had also noticed. They, too, had been unable to get through to emergency services or the police.

At first, panic reigned. Some wondered if they should escape while they still could, before the mob reached their doorsteps.

They believed that if they could just make it to the basement garage via the elevator and get into their cars, they could safely drive away from the danger.

But all that panic and chaos began to subside as more defensive tips and warnings filled the group chat.

Residents started reaching out to neighbors they knew personally, waking each other up and sharing information.

This way, when the mob began their old tricks—trying to sweep through the community before the rescue teams arrived—the quietly awakened residents were ready. They held the line, defending their homes and buying enough time for the rescuers to get there.

Cheng Yu and Liu Shuang were somewhat surprised. For the first time, outside the buildings of this community, they saw the bodies of mob members rather than just those of ordinary residents.

These people looked ordinary, but they were easy to identify: each had a white cloth tied around their left arm.

Among the refugees involved in this riot, there were clearly individuals familiar with military tactics. They had a plan. They quietly split into multiple teams, some targeting key locations like gas stations, hospitals, and banks further away.

They made Molotov cocktails, caused chaos, and took hostages, pretending to negotiate while drawing attention. Their actions were highly conspicuous, ensuring that the rescue teams and police were overwhelmed with calls wherever they struck.

This was all part of the strategy—to divert military, rescue, and police resources.

Meanwhile, the main force dispersed and operated separately. They set up roadblocks at key intersections using cars, trees, and debris. Then, under the cover of rain and darkness, they converged on pre-scouted residential communities and supermarkets to carry out the real looting and killing.

They succeeded. For the first few hours after the attacks began, no one even realized that on the eastern side of the city, hidden by the night and rain, a true massacre was unfolding.

Jixing Community was one of the furthest and most isolated of these locations.

When numerous police cars and military jeeps rolled into the community, the hearts of almost everyone sank.

At the other neighborhoods and supermarkets they’d visited earlier, they could hear cries and calls for help as soon as they approached. But here, even after driving deep into Jixing Community, there was only silence.

One team leader couldn’t help but mutter, “No way… Was it that bad here? Not a single survivor?”

Another team member, noticing the captain’s grim expression from the passenger seat, shot him a look to stay quiet.

Though only one person had voiced it, the same thought echoed silently in everyone’s minds. In less than twelve hours, from last night to now, they had witnessed far too much bloodshed and horror.

Many of the military and rescue team members had experience with missions along the border, but even for them, this night had been exceptionally harrowing.

The vehicles finally stopped. The team members disembarked one by one, quickly and silently. They were fully armed, their clothes, gloves, and helmets stained with blood. The rain was still pouring, but they seemed unfazed. After getting out, they swiftly formed ranks, crouched low, and advanced cautiously with their weapons at the ready.

Yet, even as they crossed the central plaza of the community and reached the base of the buildings, the surroundings remained eerily quiet.

Then they spotted the scattered, contorted bodies nearby.

“We really did come too late…” one team member murmured softly.

“No, wait!” another quickly corrected, “These aren’t residents’ bodies. These are the rioters!”

“Stay alert, it could be a trap.” Cheng Yu turned around, signaling to his team. The members nodded in understanding, splitting up with their groups to carefully search the area.

Liu Shuang and the other squad leaders began their own patrols in different sectors.

Inside the buildings, the residents who had been holding out since midnight cautiously peeked out through their windows. The terrifying noises within the building had ceased for some time, but no one dared to step outside, fearing it might be another trap set by the rioters.

They had barricaded their doors and kept weapons at the ready by the windows, while simultaneously boosting each other’s morale in the residents’ group chat. Some even reported that they’d finally gotten through to emergency services, and help would arrive soon.

So now, when those keeping watch by the windows heard faint movements outside, they eagerly craned their necks to look, while the group chat buzzed with excited chatter.

“Are those military personnel downstairs?”

“They’re carrying guns, so they probably are, right?”

“What if it’s the rioters pretending to be them?”

“No way, those rioters are broke. They smashed at the doors for ages and didn’t even have guns. Look at the people downstairs—their formation is clearly well-organized, and their gear is identical. They must be from the military!”

“Don’t rush. Let’s watch a bit longer—it won’t hurt to wait…”

…

Some people hesitated, but someone finally opened a window, grabbed a megaphone, and shouted outside, “Hey! You down there, are you with the military?”

Once one person called out, others followed:

“Hey, do you have any identification you can show?”

“Yeah, yeah! Show us some ID. I’m telling you, I’ve got a top-tier lie detector syndrome right now!”

“Hey, young men, why are you sneaking around the bushes outside like that? Hurry up and get inside the building! The folks next door got tricked into opening their door before dawn—go check if there’s still time to save them!”

…

The squad members outside, holding their guns and cautiously advancing: …

---

Compared to the other neighborhoods and supermarkets in East City that were looted, Jixing Community became the luckiest neighborhood in this disaster, suffering the fewest casualties.

But this luck didn’t come out of nowhere—it was earned.

The phrase “Heaven helps those who help themselves” fits perfectly here.

Though the chaos ended in a single night, the aftermath took several days to sort out.

Besides treating the wounded, clearing out bodies, reinforcing the community gates, and repairing damaged doors and windows, they had to install security doors and combination locks at the building entrances. Most importantly, they needed to check each household to confirm whether any rioters had snuck in and disguised themselves as residents.

These tasks couldn’t be completed overnight.

Several small ringleaders among the rioters were captured and revealed the escape routes in their plans. One group headed west toward the higher-altitude mountainous regions, while another went southeast, bypassing Dam No. 1, and tried to escape through gaps between two dams in the hilly areas beyond the city walls.

However, even though these ringleaders had escape routes mapped out, they knew there was no real way out. Committing such crimes in a city where law and order hadn’t fully collapsed meant that being caught would result in the death penalty.

So, when they incited more people to join, they used all kinds of speeches and brainwashing tactics, packaging this criminal act as a historical necessity—an uprising and expansion of a new era.

Of course, among those who joined, many were already on the fringes of society, craving chaos. After all, if the world wasn’t in turmoil, they couldn’t live as recklessly as they wanted.

By the end, everyone was so fired up that when they committed their crimes, not a single person bothered to cover their face. Even if some managed to escape before the military arrived, they couldn’t avoid being caught on surveillance cameras in the streets and buildings.

Every face and distinguishing feature was recorded, and they became wanted criminals.

Ironically, the ringleaders who planned everything were the only ones who kept their faces hidden. But now that Lou Yuncheng was mobilizing the entire city to capture them, escaping wouldn’t be so easy.

Additionally, several hotlines were set up for reporting suspicious gatherings, and anyone who provided accurate information would receive material rewards.

Although Jixing Community only had four buildings, each was densely populated, making the task of checking every household both complex and critical.

The inspection teams couldn’t be composed of just one group. They needed property management staff and neighborhood committee members familiar with residents’ faces and information, along with randomly assigned military or rescue team members to assist in the checks.

This was to guard against rioters disguising themselves as residents inside the buildings. It was a mix of civilian and military efforts, with clear divisions of responsibility.

Although Zheng Feifei had changed her WeChat name, profile picture, and group nickname before posting the defense warnings, the property management and neighborhood committee already had her as a friend. One glance at her profile and chat history revealed who she was.

She only made those changes that night to prevent any traitors in the group from leaking her warning to the intruders, which could have led them straight to her door.

Now that the incident had passed, she didn’t mind the property management and neighborhood committee knowing.

In fact, most of Jixing Community’s residents survived and protected their homes thanks to Zheng Feifei’s defense warnings. This was the second time she had saved people recently, and the neighborhood committee stated they would combine both incidents to recommend her for a better reward.

But this time, Zheng Feifei was smarter and asked Shu Fu for advice first.

As expected, Shu Fu didn’t hesitate to decline the credit, telling her not to mention her involvement. She insisted she had only reminded Zheng Feifei, who then decided on her own to warn the entire community.

This made the achievement entirely Zheng Feifei’s.

“This time, you might want to ask about getting a Shacheng pass,” Shu Fu suggested. If Zheng Feifei’s efforts during the waterspout incident weren’t enough, combining them with this event might just do the trick.

Zheng Feifei nodded and thanked Shu Fu again. She felt this was the real reason Shu Fu didn’t want to take credit.

She knew how much Shu Fu wanted to go to Shacheng, but a single pass could only be used with immediate family, so she gave the opportunity to her instead.

Shu Fu chuckled, “What’s there to thank me for? It’s not even certain that we’ll get the pass. I just said we could give it a try.”

“Yeah,” Zheng Feifei agreed. “One good deed might not be enough, but two could be worth a shot. Although it sounds bad to say this, if something else were to happen now and we just happened to earn credit again, maybe three times would really seal the deal…”

But Zheng Feifei was just speaking casually. Whether it was a natural disaster or a man-made one, it was always best if nothing happened at all.

Toward the end of the call, Zheng Feifei invited Shu Fu over for dinner tonight, saying that it wasn’t just her—her parents also wanted to properly thank their lifesaver.

“We haven’t finished the building inspections yet. They’re only at the 13th floor now. You know the drill—until the checks are done, residents can enter but not leave…” This time, she wasn’t just politely declining; she really didn’t know how late the inspections in Building 3 would go.

She’d heard that inspections in Building 2 went on until after 10 PM yesterday. There was no rushing this, and everyone was cooperating, even hoping the checks would be thorough enough to leave no hidden dangers.

What’s more, the two passageways connecting Building 4 and Building 3 had been temporarily sealed off, and inspections for Building 4 wouldn’t start until tomorrow.

If she went to Zheng Feifei’s place tonight, she’d have to go from outside. Getting in wouldn’t be a problem, but she wouldn’t be able to leave and would have to stay overnight.

“Then just treat it like a midnight snack! And if you have to stay over, so what? You can sleep with me, and we can chat—how great is that!”

Though Zheng Feifei extended the overnight invitation, Shu Fu ultimately declined. The residents couldn’t leave these days, and food and water were being delivered from outside. Since supplies were limited, most deliveries consisted of basic vegetables or instant meals. Showing up for dinner and staying overnight at a time like this would just be an unnecessary hassle for others.

What Shu Fu didn’t know was that her plans were about to backfire spectacularly.

Half an hour later, while she was busy arranging her rental apartment to make it look more lived-in, she felt the familiar vibration of her little “cutie.”

A new task!

Shu Fu perked up, unlocked her wristband, and pulled out her black notebook.

[Before midnight tonight, check in at Zheng Feifei’s home. Accept her dinner and overnight invitation to gain 10% progress toward Raft Level 3. (Current progress: 45%)
Note: Failure to complete this task will result in a 10% progress deduction.]

Shu Fu: …

If she called Zheng Feifei now and said she had to come over for dinner and stay the night, no matter how late it got… would that make her seem like a lunatic?