Chapter 65: Fleeing Before the Fight

The sound of the lock being picked was faint but still audible.
Their front door only had a large chain and lock added — nothing fancy.
This group clearly came prepared, striking at night with obvious intent.

Right now, the residents of Building 13 all knew who they were.
It was the classic case of “the enemy hides in the shadows while we’re out in the open.”
No telling exactly who these people were, but they were definitely on the opposite side.

Song Yi glanced at Jiang Yuan and Jiang Xingzhi and gave a silent hand signal.

Jiang Yuan had left a small night light near the entrance, so her eyes had adjusted to the dark outside — she could now make out the details of the scene.

She gave a nod. The next second, Song Yi swung the door open with force.

“Ah!”
A shriek rang out — someone outside had clearly been startled by the sudden action.

“Y-You… how are you already outside?!”

What a ridiculous question. Jiang Yuan scoffed coldly.
“You’re picking my lock in the middle of the night, and you’re asking us why we’re outside?

Have you no shame? What, planning to rob us? Speak up!”

Her voice was sharp and direct. The three people outside quickly regained their composure.

“Hmph. You had someone beat up my mother yesterday. You owe us an explanation!”

Ah — so they were here on behalf of that old hag.
This entire family was trouble.

Jiang Yuan shot an apologetic look at Song Yi, as if to say, Sorry to drag you into this.

“Explanation? What kind of explanation do you want? Why didn’t you come during the day?

You pick the middle of the night to do this — you think we don’t see through your little scheme? Stop pretending to be some self-righteous victims.”

That woman from the group got fired up. Maybe because there was still a door between them, she didn’t seem too afraid.

“Hmph, you did shady things you don’t want anyone to know about, and now you want to brush it under the rug. Let me tell you — if you don’t give us a proper answer, nobody’s getting peace tomorrow.”

Oh, here comes the drama.

“Well then, you’d better be ready to face the consequences.”

Jiang Yuan spoke as she pulled out a slingshot.

She’d been practicing with it these past two days.

Say what you will — at least it wouldn’t splatter blood everywhere.

And thanks to her space ability, she could summon anything she wanted instantly. Very convenient.

“Hmph, who’s afraid of who? I’m telling you, bullying the elderly — we’ll see how you pay for it tomorrow.”

Seriously?
And she still had the nerve to act like they weren’t here to extort something?

Jiang Yuan felt a flash of wicked amusement.
She suddenly smiled.

“Alright then. Why don’t you tell me — how should I compensate you?”

The woman, thinking she’d won, puffed up proudly.

“Hmph. We can’t even get to a hospital right now, and we don’t know how bad the injuries are. If something serious happens later, it’s on you. So… let’s say ¥200,000 for medical expenses.

Also, we need nutrition. Food’s hard to get these days, right?

Just give us some basic staples — rice, noodles, oil. Meat and vegetables too, obviously.
And don’t forget fruit and drinks. Those are essentials.”

Jiang Yuan stared at her like she was insane.
Had this woman lost her mind?

“You think I’m Doraemon? You think you can just make a wish and I’ll give you whatever you want?”

“What, so you’re saying you won’t take responsibility? Then don’t blame us for being rude.”

“Oh really? I’d love to hear what exactly you think ‘being rude’ looks like.”

Jiang Yuan hugged the slingshot to her chest, clearly entertained by the situation.

“Let me tell you, the people in this house aren’t pushovers.

If we really wanted to, we could make sure you never live peacefully in this compound again.”

“Hahaha…”

Jiang Yuan laughed so hard she had to bend over.

These people were hilarious.

“You went through all that effort… just to say you’d make me unpopular in the neighborhood?
Wow — you’re really something.”

“You don’t believe me? Just wait and see, hmph!”

The woman folded her arms, full of attitude.

“Sure, let’s test it. Who’s scared of who here?”

“You… you’re refusing to toast, so you’ll have to drink the punishment wine! Don’t regret it later!”

The woman snapped, clearly losing her temper.
She grabbed the two men with her and turned to leave.

“Hold up!”

“What now? Changed your mind? Unless you’re kneeling down and begging, this isn’t over.”

The woman was getting cocky, thinking the trio had caved.

“Oh, we’ll get to that later. But you came to my house at midnight to pick my lock —
isn’t it a bit much to just walk away like that?
Aren’t you underestimating us folks from the 21st floor a bit?”

She deliberately emphasized “21st floor,” not herself —
positioning them as a unified front against these three.

Besides, that video of the 21st-floor crew taking down Scarface and Compass Woman had probably made the rounds.

“What, you think we’re the bad guys? We’re the victims here!
Just because you’ve got weapons doesn’t mean you can act all high and mighty.
We’re not scared of you!”

As she spoke, she waved the kitchen knife in her hand.

Interesting. This just kept getting more fun.

“If you don’t want to talk it out, then let’s fight.
Whoever chickens out is a loser.”

Jiang Yuan gave a cold laugh and looked lazily at the trio.

“You… You’re shameless! Just you wait!”

With that, the three exchanged a glance —
and suddenly bolted downstairs, footsteps thudding all the way down.

The three left behind looked at each other in disbelief.

“…Did they just run away?” Jiang Xingzhi asked, still stunned.

Jiang Yuan nodded. Her dad was too kind-hearted sometimes.

“They’re all paper tigers. As soon as they realized we were serious, they got scared.”

Song Yi agreed.
“That group’s nothing but trouble. They won’t cause major issues, but small ones? You can bet on it.”

“I completely agree. Song Yi, sorry to drag you into this.”

“What are you talking about? If something happens, come knock on my door.
Don’t try to handle it alone.”

“Thanks. I mean it.”

After exchanging a few words, they each went back inside.

Qin Yue had been waiting anxiously. When she heard the commotion die down, she rushed out.
Seeing her husband and daughter safe put her at ease.

Jiang Xingzhi, however, still looked worried.

That bunch clearly had thug tendencies.
There was no telling if they’d come back with reinforcements later.

“By the way, sweetheart, that kid next door — he’s a good guy. We should help each other from now on.”

“Dad, helping each other is a given. But whether he’s a good guy or not — no comment.

It’s just us and them on this floor.
If we hold down both doors at the stairwell, that gives us a layer of protection.

If their door gets breached, we’re next.
So, sticking together makes sense — it’s not about trust, it’s about shared interests. You get me?”

“Sigh…”

Jiang Xingzhi sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“I’ve lived forty-something years… and I can see what you’re saying.

But still — it hurts to see this world suddenly lose all its humanity.”

“Dad, forget ‘humanity.’ At this point, I’ll take it if people just don’t try to screw us over.”