Chapter 216: I Recorded It

It’s been two years since the apocalypse began, and Liu Jiafeng had long since gotten used to the primitive way of life. High-tech gadgets like cell phones felt like relics from a bygone era. Even the wealthier survivors, like Chu Peipei, who still had generators and some fuel, could barely keep their air conditioning running—charging a phone was out of the question. Phones couldn’t make calls or access the internet anymore; they were completely useless.

That’s why she’d never paid any attention to the phone sitting on the shelf, which she’d always thought of as nothing more than a brick.

But now, she watched as An Nan tapped a few times on the phone, and immediately, a little girl’s voice came out:

“My real name is Liu Jiafeng. I’m thirty years old…”

An Nan handed the phone straight to Chu Peipei, then shot Liu Jiafeng a half-smile, half-smirk. “I recorded it, you know!”

Liu Jiafeng’s face turned ashen.

It didn’t take long for Chu Peipei to finish watching the whole video, and her expression grew incredibly dark.

Before she could explode, Liu Jiafeng started wailing, “Mom, I only said that because I was forced! I was just making things up! If I hadn’t spun a story to buy some time, I never would’ve lasted until you came to save me!”

But Chu Peipei didn’t believe her. “Nan Nan has no grudge against you. Why would she force you to say all that?”

Liu Jiafeng pouted. “She just couldn’t stand me clinging to Uncle Gu…”

Chu Peipei spat at her. “Clinging to him? You think you’re worthy?”

She was burning with anger. Just thinking about this woman—who was about her own age—acting all cutesy in her arms and calling her “Mom” made her skin crawl.

Liu Jiafeng was bawling, tears and snot streaming down her face. “Mom, you’re my mom! How can you not believe me and trust an outsider instead?”

Chu Peipei looked at her in confusion. “Who’s the outsider? You’re the outsider here.”

Before she could say more, there was a frantic knock at the door. “Peipei! Idol! Open up!”

It was Zhao Ping’an.

Gu Zhiyu said, “I’ll get the door.”

When Zhao Ping’an saw Gu Zhiyu, he greeted him. “Brother Gu.” Then he hurried toward 1401. “I need to find Peipei.”

Gu Zhiyu stopped him. “She’s at our place.”

Zhao Ping’an quickly changed direction. “Is Chu Xiaoguai with her too?”

Gu Zhiyu nodded. “She’s here.”

Zhao Ping’an hesitated, then said, “Brother Gu, there’s something wrong with that Chu Xiaoguai.”

Gu Zhiyu looked at him in surprise. “You noticed too?”

Zhao Ping’an was stunned. “You all know already?”

Gu Zhiyu said, “Come in, let’s talk.”

Zhao Ping’an followed Gu Zhiyu into 1402, just in time to see the little girl clinging to Chu Peipei’s leg, sobbing.

He rushed over in a few quick strides and pulled Chu Peipei away. “Peipei, be careful.”

Chu Peipei looked at his anxious face and asked, “Ping’an, what’s wrong?”

Zhao Ping’an pointed at Liu Jiafeng. “This kid’s mother never left. She was stabbed to death on the eighth floor!”

The other three immediately turned to look at Liu Jiafeng.

She lowered her head, guilt written all over her face.

Zhao Ping’an continued, “I was running low on metal in my lab, so I thought I’d check the other apartments for pots and pans. When I passed the eighth floor, I overheard a group of people talking…”

“If we’d known there was still a corpse on the eighth floor, we wouldn’t have risked eating those rain-burned ones from the first floor.”

“Yeah, my stomach still feels like it’s burning.”

“I remember this woman. She came here with us. She didn’t get caught in the rain!”

“Looks like she was stabbed to death, right? So many holes in her body.”

“Must’ve been those devils upstairs. There’s no one else left in the building—just us survivors and the original residents upstairs.”

“I remember this woman had a little girl. Where is she?”

“Who cares! Stop talking, I’m starving!”

“Good thing we found her in time. Only a few maggots so far—wait too long and she’d be completely rotten…”

When Zhao Ping’an finished, everyone looked at Liu Jiafeng.

Chu Peipei’s eyes widened. “You actually killed your foster mother, the one who loved you so much?”

She remembered how that woman had rushed over to protect the little girl, even facing down a gun without fear! If Liu Jiafeng was already thirty, then that woman couldn’t have been her real mother. But even as a foster mother, she’d protected her like that…

“How could you be so heartless?!”

Liu Jiafeng had previously claimed she’d survived thanks to the kindness of strangers, but she’d never mentioned killing anyone. She’d said her mother had gone home to get food.

Now that the truth was out, she couldn’t argue anymore. Her legs gave out and she collapsed to the floor, glaring hatefully at Zhao Ping’an.

If it weren’t for him, she might still have had a chance to explain herself.

Seeing her look at Zhao Ping’an like that, Chu Peipei grew even angrier and kicked her hard.

Liu Jiafeng screamed and begged, “Xiaoguai knows she was wrong, please, forgive me! I was just so hungry… If I hadn’t gotten rid of her and come to you, I would’ve starved to death!”

At first, she’d just wanted to try her luck upstairs. People said the women on the 14th floor were terrifying, but she’d been injured and was in terrible pain. She figured that as a cute “child,” even if they refused her medicine, they wouldn’t kill her outright.

Turned out, she’d gambled right.

The moment she saw the supplies in Chu Peipei’s home, Liu Jiafeng knew she’d found a paradise in the apocalypse. She had to move in—no one could stand in her way.

Chu Peipei looked at her with disgust. “Why should I forgive you? You should be apologizing to your foster mother.”

Liu Jiafeng was startled. “Mom, Xiaoguai…”

Chu Peipei cut her off. “Stop calling yourself Xiaoguai!”

She didn’t deserve to taint the name of her own dead child.

Liu Jiafeng shrank back, mumbling, “That really was my childhood nickname…”

An Nan asked Chu Peipei, “What do you plan to do with her?”

When Liu Jiafeng had confessed earlier, she hadn’t mentioned killing her foster mother. Clearly, this wasn’t her first time doing something like this. She’d probably survived by stepping over the bodies of those who’d helped her.

An Nan narrowed her eyes at Liu Jiafeng, who was now lying on the floor, playing the victim. She knew too much about what went on here and had already shown her true colors—there was no way An Nan would let her live.

Chu Peipei looked at Liu Jiafeng with a blank expression. “I’ll take care of it. No need to dirty your place.”

An Nan nodded. After all, Liu Jiafeng was Chu Peipei’s problem. If Chu Peipei’s solution didn’t satisfy her, she could always step in later. With the acid rain still pouring outside, there was no risk of Liu Jiafeng escaping.

Chu Peipei dragged Liu Jiafeng back to 1401. Zhao Ping’an also took his leave.

Not long after, a blood-curdling scream echoed through the entire building."