Chapter 12: United Front

“Those people won’t stop with just one visit. I think we should form a united front.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

Jiang Yuan was surprised—did he mean teaming up with them?

“There are only two households on this floor—yours and mine. I’ve got a decent amount of food stocked up, and I believe you do too.”

Well duh, didn’t you already take a peek?

The guy from 2102 looked at her and continued, “We both have generators, and we’ve clearly been marked. Haven’t you seen the group chat?”

What now? Jiang Yuan belatedly pulled out her phone.

Crap. Those two shameless people actually @mentioned them in the group, accusing them of refusing to let others use their air conditioning.

“I really hadn’t seen that. What the hell’s wrong with them? Making a scene in the group chat over something like this?”

“Ignore them. But I bet they’ll come again next time.”

Jiang Yuan completely agreed—shameless people will definitely keep pushing their luck.

“That security door in the stairwell—that’s yours, right?”

“Yeah.”

No kidding. A high-quality door with a keypad lock? As if the developers would have installed something that nice.

“Let’s lock it. That’ll save us a lot of trouble.”

Exactly what she wanted. Of course, Jiang Yuan wasn’t stingy—she immediately added his fingerprint, since he had to go in and out too.

After setting it up, Jiang Yuan went back to grab some disinfectant and sprayed everything thoroughly, inside and out. The guy from 2102 accompanied her the whole time.

This guy… really has too much time on his hands.

“I’m Song Yi. What’s your name?”

“Jiang Yuan…”

“If the temperature keeps rising, more people will come knocking. Let’s stand united. Don’t help anyone. If there’s a problem, just call me.”

“Alright.”

She couldn’t deny it—just looking at his muscles, you could tell he could fight. Plus, he was a retired soldier. Better to be friends than enemies.

Her family had two elderly people, a weak one, and a small child. If they ever went head-to-head with him, their chances would be worse than winning the lottery.

Yep. A united front it is.

Jiang Yuan briefly explained the situation to her parents, but reminded them to stay alert.

“There are no eternal friends, only eternal interests.”

That said, the watermelon he brought was actually pretty good. Xiao Nuan’s favorite fruit was watermelon.

They had stocked up quite a few, but they spoil easily. Can’t keep them for long.

While the family happily ate watermelon, another group chat—the package locker chat—blew up.

Someone had gotten shingles and was taken away by emergency services. The video was shot up close—absolutely horrifying. His whole face was covered, you couldn’t even see his eyes.

People started freaking out, rumors flying everywhere. Then someone else fainted from heatstroke and got taken by ambulance. Social media was filled with complaints and fear.

Jiang Yuan sneered. These people better conserve their generator power—when the electricity really runs out and they can’t get out, that’s when real panic begins.

1101: “Dear neighbors, would any kind soul be willing to sell me some food? I didn’t stock up… willing to pay!”

And… nothing.

The group fell completely silent.

After all the previous mask shortages and the heatwave, people had definitely hoarded food. But how long that food would last was another matter entirely.

Right now, no one could say when things would return to normal. A few bucks? A few dozen? People wouldn’t sell even a pack of instant noodles—only an idiot would.

But idiots did exist.

The avatar for 1101 was a goddess-level beauty.

Probably fishing for sympathy. After a long pause, someone finally caved:

1001: “Hey beautiful, want to come downstairs for some noodles? I’ll cook it myself.”

1101: “Yay! So happy, I’ll come down right now!”

…

These people are brain-dead. Jiang Yuan started counting down silently: 1… 2… 3…

0801: “Can I come too, handsome? I’ll pay! Or I’ve got two packs of spicy chicken feet…”

See? She knew it.

Even video platforms weren’t quiet—Jiang Yuan kept seeing posts about the shingles outbreak, horrifying images everywhere. It was both pitiful and terrifying.

Rumors said over 30 people had already died in Xishi from it. Hospitals were overwhelmed.

Some were dying from heatstroke, others from the blisters. There weren’t even beds anymore—patients were being treated in the hallways.

One ambulance even broke down on the third ring road due to extreme heat. Similar stories were popping up everywhere…

It wasn’t until nightfall that the neighborhood finally quieted down. The ambulances stopped coming too.

Jiang Yuan didn’t dare turn on the lights. As soon as it got dark, she went to bed.

Xiao Nuan was incredibly well-behaved—no whining, no fuss. When told to sleep, she went right to bed. Jiang Yuan hadn’t even finished the bedtime story.

As memories flooded back, she wondered how Xia Chaoyang could’ve been so cruel when Xiao Nuan was so sweet and obedient.

She couldn’t hold back her curiosity anymore and opened his social media.

“Celebrating a new beginning…”

That was the day she moved out.

“A home, and you…”

The photo showed him, Bai Mengmeng, and their kid.

“The weather is so hot, but with you two it’s sweet…”

Ugh, more sickening love posts.

She scrolled back to an earlier one:

“Back home to escape the heat…”

That must’ve been their move-in post. It included a short video. If she wasn’t mistaken, they’d moved into Building 9, Unit 1.

Perfect. Building 9 was just in front and to the left of Building 13. So convenient.

These two had played her for years, and now they’d finally landed safely—but they better be ready to face the consequences.

Back when she asked him to post a photo of them, he acted like she was asking for his life.

Always said he was a “straight guy” who didn’t like that stuff. And now? Suddenly he’s all about it. Disgusting.

No rush. Let them enjoy a few days of peace.

When order completely collapses—she’ll get her revenge.

The humiliation from her past life, and Xiao Nuan’s death… she could never forgive.

They would pay. Just wait.

The neighborhood group chat was completely silent too. Everyone was probably exhausted from the chaos.

As for whether the goddess from 11F had gone down to 10F for noodles, or if the folks from 8F got to enjoy some AC—it didn’t matter to her.

The people coming upstairs today had stirred a strong sense of crisis in Jiang Yuan.

Since the apocalypse began, they’d been incredibly cautious—scared to make even the smallest mistake—but still ended up getting noticed.

She’d previously bought a bunch of pellets and toy guns online. Now Jiang Yuan was wondering if she, her dad, and mom should start practicing with them.

Problem was, there wasn’t space at home.

The balcony was a decent option, but with this heat, it was unbearable outside.

In her previous life, it had started raining heavily around November, followed by endless freezing cold.

If nothing deviates from that timeline, then this extreme heatwave would last just over twenty more days.

How many would die in that time? How long could the hospitals even hold out…?