Chapter 32: Searching for Wood

Everyone in the building knew that the 15th floor killed without blinking an eye.
But perhaps because the day the 15th floor went on a killing spree was also the day they saved everyone’s lives, the residents held both fear and respect for them.

Subconsciously, the people had already seen the 15th floor as the leader of the building.

Now that there was a family in the building acting out of line, the “leader” was expected—and justified—to kick them out to maintain peace.

So, the moment Wen Jianfeng and his team returned, they were swarmed by residents demanding that they drive the unruly family out. A few younger folks even shouted their desire to join the 15th floor to help “maintain order.”

Wen Jianfeng didn’t respond well to coercion. These people hadn’t done anything extreme, just nagged endlessly. He couldn’t justify driving them away by force, and since they wouldn’t listen to reason, he simply acted deaf and mute, quietly hauling supplies upstairs.

After hearing the story, Xia Xiaoman instantly saw through their ploy: these people wanted the 15th floor to take the fall and act as their free muscle and security force.

She leaned over and whispered to Su Ran, “Are there still any supplies downstairs?”

“There are over twenty window panels and a dozen PVC pipes left.”

Xia Xiaoman nodded and cleared her throat. “Alright, I understand your request. Basically, you want us to drive that family out and retrieve the supplies they stole from you.”

The people in the hallway chimed in, “Yes, yes, exactly! And maybe get them to compensate us with more stuff, so they know we’re not to be messed with!”

Such wishful thinking could be heard from two streets away.

Xia Xiaoman smiled. “No problem, your request isn’t unreasonable. But we still have a lot of supplies to haul. Once we’re done, we’ll probably be too exhausted to do anything. How about we take care of it tomorrow, after we’ve rested?”

“No way!” someone blurted out. If they waited until tomorrow, who knew how much would be left? And what if the 15th floor backed out?

“Let’s strike while the iron’s hot,” someone else said. “We’ll help carry everything. It’ll be done in no time.”

“Oh, we couldn’t possibly let you…” Xia Xiaoman said with feigned politeness—while not stopping them from pushing Wen Jianfeng and Su Ran out the door, herding them like free labor toward the supplies.

Su Ran quickly caught on and led the group downstairs.

With so many hands, everything was carried up in just two trips. Xia Xiaoman moved the supplies from the stairwell into the hallway.

The residents obediently waited as she worked. Just as the last pipe was moved in—bang!—the fire door slammed shut. A moment later, bang! again, and the second steel door closed.

The group outside was stunned. They started banging on the door like crazy.

“Hey, what’s going on? Why’d you close the door? Aren’t we going to kick those people out?”

“Open the door! Are you messing with us?! Open up!”

The voices grew louder and more agitated.

Then, the door creaked open—and a speargun appeared in front of their faces.

Xia Xiaoman aimed the speargun directly at them. “You really think we’re suckers? Say a few nice words and expect us to fight your battles for free? Who the hell do you think you are?”

“I’ll give you five seconds. Anyone still here after that, don’t blame me for what happens next.”

The faces of the crowd turned pale, then green.

Damn it! The 15th floor was beyond ruthless. It was one thing to refuse help, but now they were toying with them, making them haul stuff and then threatening them with a speargun? Monsters!

They cursed silently, but no one dared to linger. They rushed downstairs in a panic, afraid they’d be skewered if they were even a second too slow.

In less than five seconds, the hallway was empty.

Xiao Zheyu gave a thumbs-up. “Xiaoman-jie, savage! You’ve just offended the entire building.”

Sun Qing laughed. “Your sister’s got a talent for making enemies. Back when we lived in Jiangshan Garden, she pissed off the whole building all by herself.”

Xia Xiaoman gave them a side-eye. “Would you rather offend people, or be their free labor?”

Wen Jianfeng chuckled and shook his head. “Makes no difference. The whole building already knows we’ve got the most supplies. Even if we don’t offend them, they’ll never wish us well.”

After everyone returned and had lunch, they gathered in the hallway to work on traps.

Xia Xiaoman’s design was solid, but the shelf boards were too light—at most, they’d cause minor injuries.

Wen Jianfeng modified them by taping dozens of bottles filled with rainwater to the backs, adding enough weight to ensure that when they fell, the embedded knives and forks would pierce flesh.

After finishing the traps, they installed the salvaged windows. Su Ran had already measured in advance, and each panel fit perfectly.

Soon, only a pile of PVC pipes was left in the hallway.

“What are you guys going to do with these?” Xia Xiaoman asked.

Su Ran explained, “They’ve got lots of uses—raft-building, rainwater collection, or even slicing them up to make beds.”

“Better to bring them home than leave them underwater,” he added. “They don’t add much weight.”

“Oh, right—Xiaoman-jie, we talked with Uncle Wen. We’re heading out tomorrow to look for some wood. Want to come?”

Xia Xiaoman thought for a moment. “Sure. My gas is running low anyway, so stocking up on firewood makes sense. You’re not going to salvage other materials anymore?”

Xiao Zheyu looked deflated. “Can’t find anything. The flood scattered everything. We searched for half a day and barely found anything useful, so we switched to construction materials instead.”

Since there was nothing valuable to fish out, they figured they might as well focus on wood.

Everyone was currently scrambling for food, so few were hunting for lumber.

Wen Jianfeng remembered a wardrobe factory he once used—he had ordered custom materials there when he got married.

The next day, Ye Xiaojie stayed home to look after the twins and Zhou Qiuyang. The others headed out to look for wood.

Just as they left the residential area, a speedboat zipped past them, spraying a wall of water and soaking them to the bone.

Xiao Zheyu wiped the water off his face and cursed, “Damn it, who the hell are these people? So arrogant! Xiaoman-jie, let’s get them!”

Xia Xiaoman: “…”

“You keep running your mouth, and I’ll be the one getting you!”

Under Xia Xiaoman’s death glare, Xiao Zheyu shut up instantly and mimed zipping his lips.

Sun Qing stared at the speedboat disappearing down the flooded street. “Xiaoman, were those new people? That boat was fast. They must be carrying some good stuff.”

Xia Xiaoman instantly understood. “They do have good stuff—so good they were being tailed before even entering the complex.”

Sun Qing said meaningfully, “Then maybe we should hang around… we might be able to pick up some leftovers.”