Chapter 49: The Stairwell Gets Surrounded

As soon as Jiang Xingzhi saw Jiang Yuan safe and sound, his eyes turned red.
“Sweetheart, Dad’s here to take you home.”

Such a simple and heartfelt sentence brought tears to Jiang Yuan’s eyes too.
No matter how old you are, or how far you go, in your parents’ eyes, you’ll always be the child they worry about.

Zhang Kaiyang and Ye Mianmian were also moved. Only Song Yi remained calm, tying the kayak to the window bars nearby.

“There’s no time to waste. Let’s hurry and pack things up!”

“Okay!”

With Jiang Xingzhi joining the group, the five of them quickly moved the supplies from upstairs down to the boat.

Song Yi looked visibly anxious, and Jiang Yuan was starting to feel nervous too with how strong the wind was.

“Let’s go, quickly—”

Everyone jumped onto the boat. This time, they brought plenty of rope to secure the supplies.

“Kaiyang, you steer. Jiang Yuan, you sit in the back with Ye Mianmian and stay alert.”

“Got it.”

The two exchanged glances and got to work.
Even though they weren’t all steering the boat, no one dared relax for even a moment.
The storm hadn’t let up, and the strong winds were only making things worse.

If it weren’t for road hazards or malicious strangers, the journey alone was dangerous enough.

On their way back, they had to take a detour. Zhang Kaiyang’s navigation skills were solid, and he reached the destination easily.

But the closer they got to the apartment complex, the more anxious Jiang Yuan became.

The others felt the same way. Choosing to fetch her today was a last resort.
If not for the strong winds, nighttime would’ve been safer.

Sure enough, as soon as they entered the complex, people from the buildings above noticed them and started shouting.

Song Yi looked at Zhang Kaiyang and ordered, “Head back now.”

“Oh, okay!”

Zhang Kaiyang steadied himself and paddled the boat toward Building 13, avoiding a row of buildings up front.

When they reached the unit entrance, the water had already flooded up to the third floor. They got off on the fourth floor hallway.

The window there opened easily—Song Yi had made sure of that before they left.
That way, they didn’t have to break in and attract unwanted attention.

He jumped in first, followed by Zhang Kaiyang. The two of them worked together to secure the kayak with rope. Only then did the remaining three come in.

“I’ll unload with Jiang Yuan. The rest of you bring the supplies up to the ninth floor. Zhang Kaiyang, take the lead—don’t let anyone get separated!”

“Got it. Let’s move fast…”

Everyone knew what that meant.

They hadn’t fully covered the supplies with tarp. Each person carried two large woven bags and as many boxes as they could manage.

The more they carried each trip, the fewer trips they’d have to make—and the safer it would be.

Once the three headed upstairs, Song Yi signaled Jiang Yuan.
He passed supplies from the boat, while Jiang Yuan received them through the window and stacked them in the hallway.

Not even three minutes had passed before someone appeared.

A man—someone vaguely familiar—approached them.

“Hey there, just curious… where’d you get all this stuff?”

“I can help you carry it!”

He reached out for one of the bags in Jiang Yuan’s hands.

“Don’t touch my stuff.”

Her voice was sharp and loud, startling the man.

“Whoa, calm down, I didn’t mean anything by it. Just trying to help.”

“Thanks, but no thanks. Please step aside.”

The man backed off, though he still looked eager to learn where the supplies came from.

Before he could ask more, two others showed up.

“Whoa, someone’s actually back! Look at all this stuff—moving house?”

Because they were carrying large woven bags, it really did look like a move. Since the food inside wasn’t exposed, things were still relatively under control.

Jiang Yuan glanced at them, not wanting to engage.

Just then, Jiang Xingzhi’s group came back down from their first trip. Seeing people gathered near the window made his heart sink.

“What are you doing? Move it! Can’t you see we’re working here?”

More people were coming down the stairs.

Song Yi jumped down from the boat. It was safer to keep the supplies there. If things got ugly, they could at least guard the window.

“Jiang Yuan, this time, Zhang Kaiyang and I will head up. You stand guard.”

“Okay…”

It was getting dangerous upstairs too. With so many following them, it wouldn’t take long before things escalated.

They’d only moved a small portion of the supplies—barely a drop in the bucket.

“You guys be careful!”

“Yeah!”

Regardless of everything else, they were all in serious danger now.

“Miss, I see those boxes are sealed from the factory—must be a lot of stuff inside. Could you sell me some food?”

The speaker was a bespectacled man, polite and observant.

He had spotted a box of packaged pork jerky—ten bags to a box.

Jiang Yuan knew they weren’t getting out of this easily.

If she agreed to sell, she might stall them.

If she refused, tensions would escalate fast.

Since the supplies had already been exposed, it was better to buy Song Yi and the others some time.

Once they were back in their fortified home, they’d be safer.

“You really willing to pay?”

The man lit up with enthusiasm.

“Yes, yes! I’ll pay for anything—whatever food you’ve got.”

“We’ll pay too! Anything edible!”

As they spoke, someone already reached out toward a bag.

Jiang Xingzhi had been watching closely. With only a few bags in the hallway and three pairs of eyes guarding them, he wasn’t about to let anyone succeed.

“What do you think you’re doing!”

He pulled out a red-tasseled spear from the boat and handed Jiang Yuan a Tang sword.

Ye Mianmian silently grabbed a golf club. The three of them stood ready, in full combat stances.

Their firm expressions sent a chill through the crowd.

Jiang Yuan didn’t hesitate—she unsheathed her sword, the cold steel gleaming in the light. The people nearby instinctively stepped back.

“What are you doing—trying to use weapons on us?!”

It was the same guy who had tried to grab their things.

Jiang Yuan’s eyes were cold.
“If you don’t touch our stuff, nothing happens to you.
We don’t have that much food—most of this is daily necessities.
If anyone’s still dreaming about freebies, I won’t mind sending them to the afterlife.”

With that, she pulled a black taekwondo headband from her pocket and tied it around her head.
As for the belt—she skipped it.

She had prepared this beforehand, hoping it would be useful in scaring people when it mattered.

And it worked—her sharp gaze and sudden transformation made the crowd hesitate.

Just then, Song Yi and Zhang Kaiyang returned, followed by a group of people.

“What’s this? Everyone here to help us move?”

More and more people were filling the stairwell.
Even if a fight broke out, they wouldn’t win.
Too many people—just trying to fend them off would be exhausting.

And she couldn’t use her space powers here.
What now? She started to panic a bit.

Then someone stepped forward from the crowd—a familiar face.

It was Sun Yian.