Zhang Yi grinned at Zhou Ke'er. "Yes. That was me."
He slurped his noodles while she watched—her cooking was simple but honest. "Found the rifle on my run. Sniper," he said casually, as if announcing the weather.
Her eyes flickered with something like excitement. "A sniper? Can you actually use it?"
"Not just use it—use it well." He tapped the window, pride in his voice. "Seven shots, seven kills last night." Men always liked to show off their trophies; he was no exception.
Zhou Ke'er looked at him with a soft, steady admiration. She didn't ask about his past—what did it matter now? "Even if you were a killer before," she murmured, "I'm here with you. Better than freezing outside." Zhang Yi nodded once. "Smart answer. Not like those other women who ask too many questions."
Across the courtyard, the consequences were already rippling.
At Building 26, Huang Tianfang stood over the bodies of Huang Wei and the others. The Tianhe Gang had been cut down—only nine members remained. Anger flared in him, but fear ruled the moment. "They have rifles," he growled. "Snipers. We can't take that." His men begged for food and a fight; he only ordered the bodies retrieved under cover of darkness.
In Building 21, the Kuanglang Gang—young and reckless—watched Zhang Yi's snowmobile roar off. Wang Qiang, their leader, spat with greedy ambition. "We need that machine. Mobility means we can take everything." His deputy nodded. Chaos always creates opportunity.
Zhang Yi didn't waste time entertaining ambitions or grudges. He rode straight for the warehouse district—the old stomping grounds of his days working logistics. Supermarkets near residential pockets were long picked clean, but warehouses in the Economic Development Zone were different: massive, tall, and often less exposed to looters. They stored the real goods—medical supplies, bulk food, packaged essentials.
"This is where the good stuff is," he thought, eyes narrowing like a hunter reading a map. The snow swallowed the city, but the routes were familiar; the warehouses were the prize.