BXBX NOVEL Chapter 108: Training the Neighbors
After saying this, he waved his hand to dismiss everyone. But just then, Luan Qiang, who was standing in the crowd, spoke up.
"Zhang Yi, it\'s hard for you to find things on your own. Why don\'t you take a few more people with you?"
"I think your snowmobile can seat three people easily. If everyone helps, we\'ll surely find things faster!"
Others turned to Zhang Yi with eager eyes. The idea of going out to find supplies was very tempting. Especially after seeing Uncle You bring back clothes for Xie Limei and her daughter last time. If they could go out, they could take whatever they wanted.
"Zhang Yi, if you need help, we\'re all willing!" a woman bravely said.
Zhang Yi narrowed his eyes slightly, then laughed. "So, you\'re all eyeing my snowmobile now? If that’s the case, we might as well part ways. From now on, I won\'t be responsible for you anymore!"
Luan Qiang hurriedly tried to explain, but Zhang Yi was done wasting words. He pulled out his handgun and loaded it expertly.
"Click!"The sound of the safety being disengaged caused everyone\'s faces to change drastically. They quickly backed away.
"Zhang Yi, don\'t act rashly! We were just discussing, no other intentions."
"Right, if you don\'t agree, let\'s forget about it, okay?"
"We actually appreciate you finding food for us and were just worried you\'d tire yourself out. Don\'t misunderstand!"
Zhang Yi sneered. "In the future, don’t say things that harm our unity."
"Or maybe I’ve been feeding you too well lately."
With that, Zhang Yi raised his gun and shot Luan Qiang dead.
No one expected Zhang Yi to start shooting without a word. They thought he would reason with them, and then they could use their numbers and words to pressure him into agreeing to their demands.
But they forgot, the relationship between them and Zhang Yi was never equal. Dialogue required enough capital!
Screams erupted as the neighbors fled in terror, tripping over each other in the narrow stairway.
"Without killing a few, you won’t understand your place," Zhang Yi said coldly, firing several more shots, killing six more people before stopping. He watched the rest scatter like frightened dogs.
Only Uncle You and Xie Limei stayed behind. Uncle You stood by Zhang Yi\'s side, while Xie Limei hid behind him, playing the ostrich.
Uncle You said to Zhang Yi, "They\'ve forgotten their place, getting too full of themselves."
Zhang Yi thought, "If it weren’t for keeping them as cannon fodder, I’d have killed them all already." Outwardly, he shrugged generously. "It’s okay. I’m a kind person. I forgive them."
With his ample firepower, Zhang Yi now acted with impunity.
Xie Limei clung to Uncle You’s arm, looking at Zhang Yi with fear.
"Kind? You wish..."
"Let’s go back," Zhang Yi said, carrying his gun and walking with a disdainful stride.
He was almost ready. These cannon fodder wouldn’t last long. Even if they didn’t die in the upcoming conflicts, Zhang Yi planned to eliminate most, if not all, of them.
He didn’t care whether they lived or died. Even after killing a few, they’d still come begging for food.
...
Just as Zhang Yi anticipated, the residents of Building 25 were terrified, fleeing back to their homes and locking their doors tightly. At that moment, they recalled the fear of being controlled by Chen Zhenghao. They hid in their homes daily, unsure when death would come.
They created a new chat group privately, excluding Zhang Yi, Zhou Ke\'er, Uncle You, and Xie Limei. Since the glacial apocalypse began, dozens of groups had formed within the building, reflecting the deep mistrust and deceit among people.
"What do we do now? Zhang Yi is enraged and wants to kill us! We don’t have guns. How can we fight him?" someone anxiously asked.
After a while, the residents, recovering from their shock, began discussing.
"Zhang Yi doesn’t reason at all! We were just discussing, and he started shooting."
"What’s scary is he’s been killing so many with a gun these days. How many bullets does he have? Why does a regular person have so many bullets, even a sniper rifle?"
"I’ve been saying Zhang Yi is a city war god or a retired special forces soldier. You didn’t believe me!"
"Who cares who he is? We shouldn’t have trusted him in the first place!"
"He’s very selfish. Everything he does for us comes with a price."
"Helping us was all fake! He’s not kind at all."
"Yes, he wants us as cannon fodder, to fight for him and seize supplies and territory!"
...
The chat group exploded with curses directed at Zhang Yi, including Zhou Ke\'er, Uncle You, and others associated with him. Although they couldn’t oppose Zhang Yi openly, they regained their self-respect and became warriors against him.
After a round of venting, they felt much better, but a new problem arose.
"Though Zhang Yi is selfish and gives us food with ulterior motives, what will we eat if he stops providing food?"
The chat fell silent for a long time. Hiding in their rooms, the residents were shocked and gripped by fear. They remembered how they lived before Zhang Yi provided food—eating anything edible, even boiling leather belts and jackets. Some desperate enough to eat excrement, like dogs surviving through secondary digestion.
Nothing is more unbearable than falling from hope back into despair. If they had never seen the light, they wouldn’t fear the darkness. But having experienced Zhang Yi’s food, they couldn’t return to their former lives.
Finally, someone spoke up, "If you think about it, Zhang Yi isn’t so bad. Those he killed deserved it."