Back in their room, Zhang Yi cursed under his breath. "That crazy old woman!" He dropped onto the sofa, exhaustion finally catching up with him. Zhou Ke'er quietly brought over a basin of hot water. Kneeling beside him, she gently removed his socks and began washing his feet.
"Were you scared?" she asked softly.
Zhang Yi let out a slow breath. "Not really. In the apocalypse, anything can happen." Beneath his clothes, he was wearing a police-issued bulletproof vest—without a professional assassin or heavy weaponry, no one in the neighborhood could seriously threaten him.
He glanced at Zhou Ke'er. "What's been going on in the community while I was gone? Any unusual movement from the other buildings?"
Zhou Ke'er nodded. "Chen Lingyu from Building 9—she used to be my patient—wants to cooperate with you. She asked me to introduce the two of you. Also, Li Jian from Building 18, the financial director at Walmart, sent you a friend request."
Zhang Yi scoffed. "Cooperate? What a joke. I already have everything they desperately need—what could they possibly offer me?"
Still, after a brief pause, he added, "I'll talk to them. I need to understand their intentions. I can't afford to make enemies out of all twenty-nine buildings."
He accepted both friend requests.
Almost immediately, Chen Lingyu sent a message: "Can we have a voice call?"
Zhang Yi replied without hesitation: "Text only. Be direct. I don't have the patience for small talk."
He already knew the type she was. Chen Lingyu had once run a successful microbusiness—ruthless, calculating, and exceptionally skilled at manipulating people. According to Zhou Ke'er, she had effectively "brainwashed" the residents of Building 9 into strict obedience. While other buildings descended into chaos and mass casualties, her building had suffered only ten deaths—an astonishingly low number under the circumstances.
To Zhang Yi, however, this was nothing more than another round in the survival game.
Observe. Wait. Control. Dominate.