Chapter 26: Mercy

The clumsy actions of the people outside were impossible for Yan Mo to ignore. He subtly tilted his head in Mu Qimai’s direction.

Having spent so much time together, Mu Qimai had developed an instinctive understanding with Yan Mo. Without hesitation, he pressed a nearby switch, instantly electrifying the metal door with high-voltage current. A bright arc of electricity flickered across the surface.

The man operating the cutting machine, Cang Bo, was so startled that he instinctively dropped the tool, his heart pounding as he took a large step back.

Ever since deciding to come to the twenty-fourth floor that evening, he had been gripped by an intense sense of unease. His instincts had never failed him before. From the moment they arrived, his nerves had been tightly wound, reacting to even the slightest movement.

He hadn’t missed the subtle tilt of the man’s head inside the apartment. The moment he sensed danger, he moved away from the door. In the very next second, arcs of electricity crackled across its surface. Watching the deadly sparks dance along the metal, he felt an overwhelming sense of relief.

If he hadn’t stayed on high alert, if he had hesitated even for a second, he might already be lying lifeless on the cold floor.

Getting shocked unconscious would have been the least of his worries—one misstep, and he could have been killed on the spot.

He knew his dormmates’ personalities well. After living together for so long, he was painfully aware that if he had gone down, none of them would have truly cared. They would have left him for dead without a second thought. In this cruel world, he could only rely on himself.

The high-voltage current made Zai Xinyuan’s group hesitate. No one dared to approach. They all knew how dangerous electricity was, and none of them were willing to gamble with their lives.

But simply leaving empty-handed was equally unacceptable.

Zai Xinyuan’s group lingered in the stairwell, caught in a stalemate. Should they force their way up, or accept defeat and retreat?

Yan Mo gave them no time to decide. The moment they stepped away from the door, he cut the power, then stepped out with Bu Xiangwen and Mu Qimai. The cramped stairwell suddenly felt even smaller with three more men standing there.

Seeing them emerge so boldly, Zai Xinyuan sneered. “Brothers, get them! Let’s teach them a lesson!”

His group of five gripped their makeshift weapons—baseball bats, iron rods, and wooden clubs—before exchanging glances and charging forward.

Yan Mo and the others didn’t bother with words. They met the attack head-on. Their blades remained sheathed; bare hands were enough. Within moments, all five assailants were sprawled across the floor, groaning in pain, their bodies curled up in agony.

Zai Xinyuan’s group had no formal combat training. Their strength lay in their youth, their recklessness, and the fact that most people they encountered were too scared to resist. That alone had allowed them to succeed thus far.

But their fighting techniques were sloppy and undisciplined, riddled with glaring weaknesses. Every move they made exposed fatal openings. To ignore such obvious flaws would have been an insult to their effort in charging to their own defeat.

After delivering a thorough beating, ensuring that none of them would be moving properly for at least half a month, Yan Mo gave them a final warning before letting them crawl away.

The chaos in the residential complex had only just begun. Yan Mo had no desire to kill just yet. He wasn’t some bloodthirsty maniac who took lives for the sake of it.

Once the first murder was committed, the unspoken rules of survival in the building would be completely rewritten, spiraling out of control.

For now, despite the turmoil, most people were still focused on looting supplies. No one had yet crossed the line into outright slaughter. Deep down, many still held onto the belief that if the storm stopped, society might return to normal. That belief restrained them from going too far.

Yan Mo and his group had heard about Zai Xinyuan’s past actions. They were just a bunch of impulsive young men, overly influenced by the violent fantasies of TV dramas. So far, their crimes had been limited to raiding homes for supplies. They hadn’t committed any true atrocities.

Even when they had robbed the girl on the thirteenth floor, they had only taken her belongings and left. They hadn’t done anything worse.

Their behavior was reckless but not yet beyond redemption. They weren’t a direct threat to Yan Mo’s group, which was why he had chosen to spare them this time.

Hopefully, the severe beating they had received would make them reconsider their actions. And if nothing else, it would serve as a deterrent for others who might be eyeing the twenty-fourth floor.

Anyone else thinking of causing trouble would now have to ask themselves—did they have the strength to back up their ambitions?