[edited]

Jiang Ning ignored them, her gaze falling on the round stainless steel decoration on the ground. It should have fallen from the corpse, precisely the access card for the Lian Haoteng Court. 

Lu Yu and Zhang Chao thought it was useless and hadn’t taken it. 

Jiang Ning squatted down and picked it up. It looked like a backpack decoration, probably obtained from some factory and then distributed to the members. 

Back upstairs, Zheng Weili immediately opened the door upon hearing the commotion and was surprised to see the two returning together. “Why are you back so late? Did you find out anything?” 

Seeing that Huo Yishen remained silent, Jiang Ning nodded and said, “I just walked out of the neighborhood, not far away. I happened to see a team collecting the protection grain. So, I followed them quietly and found out that they entered Lian Haoteng Court.” 

After listening to her story, Zheng Weili was greatly shocked. “You mean, their base is in the neighborhood?” 

Lian Haoteng Court was huge, with over twenty residential buildings. How many people could be inside? 

Were these gangs developed from the residents of the neighborhood, or were they taken over by external criminal forces? 

If they were taken over, were the original residents still alive? 

Not only did they collect protection grain, but they also used the guise of going out to collect supplies to directly raid the homes of survivors. 

That was why the 18th floor was targeted. 

Zhang Chao and Lu Yu’s heads were buzzing. They had thought there were at most dozens of people in the criminal gang, but who knew… 

There were only five people on the 18th floor with combat capability. Even if they were chopped into pieces, it wouldn’t be enough for them to stuff their teeth. 

So, instinctively, they looked at Jiang Ning and Huo Yishen. “What should we do next?” 

What to do? At worst, they would be in trouble. 

Jiang Ning pretended to be ignorant and glanced at Huo Yishen beside him. 

Being stared at by everyone, Huo Yishen considered for a moment. “Let’s not act impulsively. I’ll go scout tomorrow.” 

The 18th floor didn’t sleep, and the 17th floor was even more terrified. 

Mother Zhong was scared out of her wits. “My goodness, when I came back just now, I almost stepped on a body on the 16th floor, and the door downstairs was smashed. What’s going on?” 

She thought something terrible had happened at home, thankfully her mother-in-law was unharmed. 

Today was full of surprises, but Grandma Zhong was still frightened. She sighed and said, “Big trouble is brewing.” 

After listening to her mother-in-law, Mother Zhong couldn’t recover for a while. “Has Zeng Nianlun gone mad? We agreed to face difficulties together, but instead of standing up, he’s hiding like a turtle and even stabbing us in the back?” 

And the Xu family in 1702, they had really misjudged them. 

“What should we do now?” 

Mother Zhong worried endlessly. Her husband and son were both at work, leaving only her and her mother-in-law at home. If the 18th floor didn’t care about their lives, what could they do? 

These two troublemakers had ruined everything.

“There’s no use being afraid. You’ve been busy all day. Go wash up and rest early. We’ll think about what to do tomorrow.”

Grandma Zhong didn’t close her eyes. After making sure her daughter-in-law had fallen asleep, she quietly went to the kitchen and heated a pot of water.

Opening the door, she poured it into the gap of 1702’s door.

The weather was extremely cold, and the water quickly turned into ice.

Grandma Zhong stood in the corridor, sighing deeply in the darkness.

It didn’t matter if she lives or dies, but she couldn’t leave any hidden dangers for her children.

She had lived long enough to this day. Many younger people had died before her, but her children were still young, especially Zhong Ping, who had just graduated and found a job, and hadn’t married or had children yet.

Oh, when would the calamities end?

After calming down, Grandma Zhong closed the door and went back to her room and stayed awake all night.

…

Feeling drowsy, they were awakened by the banging and smashing downstairs.

Both humans and the dog were accustomed to it, as long as it wasn’t the 18th floor’s door being pried open.

They wrapped themselves in blankets, covered their heads, and went back to sleep.

Waking up, Jiang Ning heard some noises in the hallway. Opening the door, she found Lu Yu listening intently to the activity downstairs. “What’s going on?”

Lu Yu chuckled. “The Xu family in 1702, who refused to open their door yesterday, suddenly moved out today, for some reason.”

Jiang Ning shrugged it off. “They’re probably afraid of those people coming back for revenge, they worried about getting caught up in it.”

“It’s better that they moved out. We don’t need any more backstabbers.”

Lu Yu relayed what she had heard. “I just heard Grandma Zhong talking to them. It seems the Xu family is planning to move to the shelter.”

Indeed, in response to the unprecedented cold wave in the south, the government had reorganized the shelters.

Houses in the south didn’t have heating, so they could only resort to the most primitive methods of warming up. While the shelters were crowded with survivors and provided warmth, they were also filled with various odors. Which makes it difficult to even stretch one’s limbs, let alone lie down to sleep or take a warm bath.

People would collapse without sleep, but falling asleep and waking up might mean having nothing left but themselves.

With no surplus food even in the landlords’ homes, and with so many people in the city, the purpose of the shelters was temporary relief. Survivors were only granted one month of residency upon entry. After that, they had to move to public heating areas, which only provided warmth during the day. Turning off the heat at night could turn people into ice pillars.

So, many people preferred to go outside to receive relief supplies, chop wood on the mountains for warmth, rather than go to the shelters. At least at home, they had blankets, and with firewood, they could sleep.

Lu Yu asked Jiang Ning, “With only the Zhong family left on the 17th floor, what should we do now?”

“Before the Zhong family moved in, we already had our discussion,” Jiang Ning said flatly. “Nowhere is safe. Let’s see how the Zhong family protects themselves, but don’t expect us to be their saviors.”

The 18th floor was made up of people, not gods, and they had no idea how long they would survive.

Just then, Huo Yishen opened the door and stepped out. “Anning, are we scouting today?”

Huo Yishen wasn’t from Fengcheng City and didn’t even know where Lian Haoteng Court was. Jiang Ning happened to want to gather more information, so she nodded in agreement.

Scouting required discretion. Jiang Ning put on some old clothes, and Huo Yishen, despite his attempts to remain inconspicuous…

Well, he was too tall, with good proportions and unbelievably long legs. No matter how inconspicuous he tried to be, he stood out from the crowd.

Jiang Ning was curious. “How tall are you?”

“189 centimeters.”

This height was outstanding even in the northern regions, let alone in the south. Huo Yishen was definitely a standout among the crowd.

Jiang Ning felt a bit worried. “Shouldn’t I go alone?”

Huo Yishen’s lips twitched slightly. “It won’t be a problem; I won’t hold you back.”

At this point, Jiang Ning didn’t know what else to say. Anyway, Huo Yishen was skilled enough that even if discovered, he wouldn’t be trapped.

So, they left the two kids in the care of 1803.

The demons had emerged, and the survivors of Jinrong community had developed keen eyes. Despite their attempts to remain inconspicuous and disguise themselves, they were still recognized.

No one dared to approach them.

News of yesterday’s fight had spread like wildfire.

Despite their fears, they were unusually united this time. Without exception, everyone hoped they would win, even if it seemed unrealistic.

The 18th floor was indeed formidable, but as long as they weren’t provoked, they didn’t kill people or demand protection grain.

If they could eliminate those who collected protection grain, they could make some compromises. After all, there were only a few people on the 18th floor, so how much could they eat?

Unfortunately, Jiang Ning had no inkling of their thoughts.

Even if she knew, she wouldn’t care. They were just a bunch of people enjoying the shade of a big tree.

It was better to wash up and sleep early and just dream of success.