Chapter 15: Conspiracy
Late that night.
Once Li Wen and Zhao Dayong were fast asleep, Wang Rui quietly turned the door handle and slipped out into the freezing hallway.
He vividly remembered the room number Zhao Youning had signaled to him during the day.
Creeping up the dark staircase, he located the unit and gave the door a few soft taps.
“Who is it?” a faint voice whispered from inside.
“It’s me,” he answered, keeping his tone low.
Muffled rustling came from behind the door before it cracked open. Zhao Youning peeked out and let him slip inside.
The moment he stepped through the threshold, Wang Rui reached for her with greedy impatience.
A flicker of revulsion crossed Zhao Youning’s eyes, and she pushed against his chest with all her strength. “Big brother… don’t be in such a rush. I haven’t eaten a single bite in two days. I’m completely starving…”
Wang Rui chuckled, reached into his jacket pocket, and pulled out a small piece of bread.
Zhao Youning snatched it and practically inhaled the food. Out of the corner of her eye, however, she noticed that his hands were empty—he hadn’t brought anything else. Disappointment immediately gnawed at her.
Hoping to maintain some leverage, she tried to play hard to get, pushing away Wang Rui’s wandering hands as he leaned in again.
Wang Rui’s expression darkened instantly, a dangerous glint flaring in his eyes. “What? Are you playing games with me? Trying to back out after taking my food?”
A cold dread gripped Zhao Youning. She realized in an instant that the man standing before her wasn’t one of the desperate fools she used to twist around her little finger.
Forcing a sweet smile, she softened her tone immediately. “No, big brother… I was just… a little shy, that’s all…”
Before she could say another word to smooth things over, Wang Rui lost the last of his patience and shoved her onto the mattress…
When it was over, Wang Rui stroked her shoulder with smug satisfaction. This little vixen is something else—way more thrilling than the women I used to mess around with.
Sore and uncomfortable, Zhao Youning felt a wave of deep disgust at his rough, selfish behavior. Yet, thinking of her survival in this brutal world, she choked down her nausea and leaned close, purring softly, “Big brother, now that I belong to you… you have to take care of me…”
Wang Rui pulled her into his arms, his large hands wandering without restraint. “Don’t worry. As long as you stay obedient and stick with me, I promise you won’t go hungry!”
Meanwhile, on the third floor.
Chu Yang caught the faint click of a door closing out in the hall. Curiosity piqued, he turned to Jiang Jue beside him. “Brother Jiang, did you hear that? It’s the middle of the night—who’s sneaking around?”
Jiang Jue watched Chu Yang’s gossipy expression without answering. Instead, he reached over to the nightstand, picked up the two milky-white crystal cores, and held them out to the younger man.
Chu Yang blinked in surprise before his face lit up with delight. “Brother Jiang, you… you really want me to have these?”
Jiang Jue gave a calm nod. “I don’t have an awakened ability right now, so holding onto them is a waste. It’s far more practical to let you use them to get stronger.”
“Brother Jiang! You’re the absolute best!” Chu Yang beamed, thumping his chest with pure confidence. “Don’t worry! From now on, I’m your number-one right-hand man. Wherever you point, that’s where I strike! Whenever you need me, you won’t even have to ask twice—I’ll jump right into the fire for you!”
Jiang Jue watched the youth’s radiant enthusiasm. An unreadable shadow flickered deep within his dark eyes, and he gave a low, deliberate reply: “Good. I’ll hold you to that.”
Immersed in his excitement, Chu Yang completely missed the heavier meaning behind those words.
Eager to progress, he took the two crystal cores, sat cross-legged, and began guiding the energy inward once again.
One after the other, the translucent cores turned into dull, brittle gray pebbles.
When Chu Yang snapped his eyes open, sheer ecstasy radiated from his face. “Brother Jiang! I… I made it! I fully absorbed the energy—I’m officially a Level 1 Ability User now!”
A rare gleam of warmth touched Jiang Jue’s eyes. The corner of his mouth curved upward as he reached out and gently patted Chu Yang’s shoulder. “Congratulations on the breakthrough. How does it feel?”
“It’s incredible!” Chu Yang gestured wildly with his hands. “My spatial storage expanded to at least twenty cubic meters! It completely doubled in size! We can stockpile twice as many supplies now!”
To celebrate, he pulled two vacuum-sealed packets of braised tiger-skin chicken feet from his storage space, neatly tore one open, and handed it to Jiang Jue. “Here, we have to celebrate! This was my absolute favorite snack back in the day—savory, tender, and packed with flavor. I used to polish off an entire plate while watching soccer matches.”
Jiang Jue took the snack. Watching Chu Yang happily nibble away while rambling on with colorful stories about old sports games, the faint smile on Jiang Jue’s lips lingered without him even realizing it.
Meanwhile, the situation outside grew grimmer by the day.
The brutal snowstorm raged relentlessly for six straight days. By now, the snowdrifts had piled up to the bottom of the first-floor windows.
Indoors, the temperature plummeted to a staggering minus thirty degrees. Every breath materialized as a thick plume of white vapor, while fine frost coated the concrete walls and windowpanes.
In the living room, Wang Rui, Li Wen, and Zhao Dayong huddled in the corner, wrapping themselves in every scrap of blanket they could find, yet their bodies still trembled violently with every passing draft.
Their supplies were practically gone: only a thin dusting of rice remained in the bag—barely enough for a single pot of watery gruel—along with four and a half packs of dry biscuits and half a bottle of frozen water.
Li Wen rubbed his frostbitten, purple hands, his voice thick with despair. “Brother Rui, I swallowed my pride and knocked on Brother Jiang’s door again earlier.”
“He said their food is running dangerously low too, and told us we have to find our own way. What… what are we going to do now? If this keeps up, we’re going to starve to death.”
Zhao Dayong spat angrily onto the floorboards, his shivering voice laced with resentment. “He’s full of it! I walked past their door this morning and clearly smelled braised beef noodles! They’re sitting in there with the heater blasting, feasting on hot food while tossing us scraps like common beggars!”
Wang Rui thought of Zhao Youning upstairs waiting for him to feed her, and his frustration boiled over.
His face darkened, and he dropped his voice to a harsh, conspiratorial whisper: “Relying on others won’t keep us alive. We have to take matters into our own hands. I have an idea.”
The three leaned in close, forming a tight circle in the shadowy corner of the room.
“Is… is this really going to work? What if someone catches us…” Li Wen whispered nervously, his face tight with fear. “That’s robbery… If someone gets hurt, it’s a crime!”
“What the hell is there to be afraid of?!” Wang Rui sneered with cold contempt. “Look at the world outside—do you think the law still exists? If anyone asks questions, we blame it on the infected. Dead men don’t talk!”
Zhao Dayong chimed in immediately, nodding with fierce approval. “Brother Rui is right! There are other people in this building who must be hoarding food! We can’t just sit here waiting to die. Instead of freezing or starving to death in this corner, we might as well take a shot!”
Li Wen gritted his teeth, the lingering hesitation in his eyes gradually giving way to ruthless resolve. “Fine! Count me in! Let’s do it! But… who are we hitting first?”
The room fell quiet as the three quickly weighed their options.
“Brother Rui,” Zhao Dayong whispered, leaning in even closer. “That heavy guy living up on the fifth floor—I’ve been keeping an eye on him for days. He lives by himself and rarely steps out, so he must have a solid stash of food inside. Besides, he’s timid. He should be an easy target.”
