Chapter 25: Hello, Sister

“Dad, I’m going to say something a little harsh and unfilial, but if you die now, can you even afford to die?!
Haven’t you seen the owners’ group? Hospitals, police stations—even the crematorium lines are all busy!

The mother of old Liu in Unit 403 had a heart attack directly triggered by the extreme heat and is now stiff as a board lying at home!
At this temperature, who knows—her body might start to rot by tonight!

So if you die, where am I supposed to bury you?! Not to mention, the trash rooms in the complex are piled high and already swarming with green-headed flies!”

He Chunmei’s words weren’t just harsh—they came like a machine gun, rapid-fire, no pause between them.

“Chunmei, you’re being unreasonable and making a fuss!!”

Zhou Shangyou, fuming, slammed his cane into the floor tiles, then threw his head back and sighed, “Ah, what kind of curse has our Zhou family brought upon itself?!”

After saying this, whether from the heat or being provoked by He Chunmei’s words, his vision went black and he collapsed to the ground.

Beside him, Jiang Lifen shuddered and reached to grab his sleeve: “Old man!”

“Grandpa!”

“Grandpa!”

The two children also dropped their stools with a “thud” and ran over.

“Dad!”

The tall Zhou Guangfu stepped forward and supported Zhou Shangyou.

He Chunmei panicked for a moment, then regained composure and organized:
“Zhou Guangfu, you take Dad home to rest!! I’ll stay here and hammer on the door. I refuse to believe she won’t open it this morning!!”

In her eyes, it was one thing for her mother-in-law Jiang Lifen, whom she didn’t get along with, to be left behind—but her father-in-law Zhou Shangyou had a high pension; he couldn’t just die. He was the family’s money tree!

“Wife, forget it, let’s just go home together,” Zhou Guangfu said, frowning deeply and sighing.

Their daughter had been born with jaundice and pneumonia. At such a young age, she had to undergo lonely blue-light therapy with needles in her forehead every day…

Recalling that scene always left the couple heart-wrenched and in tears.

Since then, whenever their daughter was seriously ill, He Chunmei became extremely anxious, sometimes even borderline irrational.

Hearing that heatstroke could be fatal in 20%-70% of cases, and seeing BaoBao vomiting and running a fever, He Chunmei panicked:
“Go home if you want! If this continues, BaoBao will die. Today, even if it means going to jail, I’ll turn on that air conditioner for them! BaoBao, you stay with Mom, no going home!”

Her eyes bulged with anger as she pounded on Jiang Yan’s door, “Little sister! Open the door!!”

Zhou Guangfu shook his head helplessly, took Jiang Lifen with him, and helped Zhou Shangyou back home.

The two children didn’t dare wander off and stood near the door of Unit 3202, staring blankly at their mother.

The HD camera displayed everything clearly.

Jiang Yan watched the screen and exhaled quietly.

Was this the punishment of a virtuous man for having treasure?

If it were in her past life, or under normal circumstances, she would have opened the door without hesitation.

But now, she knew this was only the start of the apocalypse, not its full arrival.

Many people thought that if they survived the next few days, they’d be fine.

Only she knew that the days ahead would be harsher and more difficult.

If she softened now and let them in, don’t expect them to ever leave.

Especially given their aggressive, irrational stance.

It could easily turn into them claiming the place as their own.

The screen showed He Chunmei yelling again:
“Little girl, stop pretending! Open the door now, or I’ll break it down!!”

He Chunmei didn’t know Jiang Yan had already left the house. Seeing the door still closed, she raised the small hammer in her hand.

Looking at her aiming it at the keypad lock, she was clearly preparing to smash the lock and force her way in.

But only Jiang Yan knew that even if the keypad was destroyed, the door still wouldn’t open—unless the lock cylinder was blown up or the entire door removed.

On the screen, He Chunmei raised the hammer again.

But she didn’t strike immediately; she placed her other hand on her waist and panted heavily.

The heat, combined with her prolonged yelling, had left her breathless and flushed.

Jiang Yan furrowed her brow and swiftly activated the anti-intrusion system.

She didn’t go too far—just the lowest 110V shock, enough to teach her a lesson.

The apocalypse hadn’t fully arrived; it wouldn’t be appropriate to electrocute her fatally.

And two children were watching.

“Little girl, I’ll knock one last time. If you don’t open, don’t blame me for being rude!” He Chunmei said, pounding on the door again.

“Zzzzzt!” When her palm hit, a piercing, tingling sensation, as if millions of ants were biting, shot through her body.

He Chunmei screamed in pain, staggered back, and dropped the hammer from muscle weakness with a clatter.

“Mom, what’s wrong?!”

“Mom!!”

The children panicked and tried to rush over to help.

“Don’t come!” He Chunmei wasn’t ignorant; that sensation was clearly an electric shock.

Her hair was loose today, not tied up, and for a moment she saw it flare slightly from the current.

She took deep breaths to steady herself, then peered at the metal mesh, but saw nothing.

“Mom?” the little boy called as she stood dazed.

He Chunmei’s eyes flashed with grim determination as she ground her teeth:
“Little girl, you’re vicious! We’ll see about this!”

She carefully picked up the hammer and said to the two children:
“Come on, BaoBao, BeiBei, we’re going home.”

If she couldn’t break in alone, what chance did the group have?

In this complex, hundreds of households had elderly, young, or sick members in need of air conditioning.

With numbers comes strength. She didn’t believe they couldn’t manage!

Whether it was moral coercion or simply occupying the house, having more people made it easier!

Act first, think later!

He Chunmei handed the hammer to her son to take his sister home, then quickly sent a message in the owners’ group:
[A-3203: Families, does anyone need air conditioning today? If so, PM me! Note: Only for households with elderly, sick, or pregnant members!]

Almost immediately, a woman with the profile “A-701” added her as a friend.

[Hello, sister, I’m the newly moved-in Zhang Qiqi :)]