Chapter 117: Home Invasion

At this moment, dusk hovered outside the window—the sky not yet fully dark.

The torrential rain was still pouring down in sheets.

Through the dense curtain of rain, several colorful inflatable boats, packed with people, could be vaguely seen docking in an orderly fashion near Building A.

However, it seemed they were being blocked by people at the entrance and hadn’t managed to get inside the building.

Judging by the scene, the two sides appeared to be negotiating.

Some of the newcomers were holding sticks, kitchen knives, and the like.

“It’s not a big deal that people are coming over—the key is, this group is way too organized.” Sun Jingtao picked up his binoculars for another look, frowning slightly.

Surviving a catastrophe was already hard enough.

If you added in fighting between buildings—or, more accurately, between gangs—it would only make life even more unbearable.

“Could it be that Ma Longbiao has recruited people from the other buildings too? If that’s the case, things are really going to get chaotic for us!” Tian Jiliang’s face changed dramatically.

This clearly disrupted his plans.

After all, the more people the other side controlled, the worse it would be for those left out.

In the end, they’d be left with three choices: either rise up and fight back desperately, submit and accept oppression or expulsion from Building A, or simply leave.

But in this situation, where could they even go?

Su Dai set her alcohol lamp on the vanity, took the binoculars from Sun Jingtao, and glanced outside. “With so many people, isn’t he afraid things will get out of control?”

“Maybe he’s got it all under control,” Jiang Yan said coolly.

If the other side had managed to get their hands on some serious weapons, then no matter how many people there were, they’d have nothing to fear.

But that was just her own speculation.

“Or maybe the people from the other buildings just organized themselves and it has nothing to do with Ma Longbiao,” Sun Jingtao said. Suddenly, his gaze grew serious as he looked at Jiang Yan and Ye Qing. “Looks like a fight’s breaking out downstairs. Should we go down and check it out together?”

Ye Qing didn’t respond, instead turning to Jiang Yan.

“You guys go ahead. I’m not feeling well—I’ll head back to my room first,” Jiang Yan said. Her lower abdomen had been aching all this time; she didn’t want to move at all, just wanted to lie down.

More importantly, she really didn’t want to get involved in this mess.

Let the people of the underworld handle their own affairs.

“Jiang Yan, why don’t you come too? After all, this concerns Building A,” Tian Jiliang urged, thinking her excuse was just a pretext.

He always felt more at ease with her around.

Jiang Yan shot him a sidelong glance. “And what exactly would I do down there? Stand by and watch? Help the bad guys? Or maybe switch sides?”

Most people get irritable during their period.

She was no exception.

Plus, she hated being morally coerced, even a little.

Her tone was noticeably sharper now.

Tian Jiliang was left speechless.

He’d just wanted to scout out the “enemy situation,” not overthink it like Jiang Yan.

Ye Qing and Su Dai, hearing Jiang Yan’s words, looked at her with concern.

“Jiang Yan, what’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”

“Yeah, you haven’t looked right for a while. If something’s wrong, say so—don’t just tough it out.”

Jiang Yan gave Su Dai an awkward smile. “It’s nothing. Just those few days each month.”

Su Dai immediately understood. “Then go get some rest and drink some hot water.”

Normally, she’d have suggested brown sugar water or something similar.

But these days, even a cup of hot water was a luxury.

And science does show that drinking hot water helps during your period—it’s not just some cliché advice.

Ye Qing, meanwhile, blushed bright red.

“Let’s go,” Sun Jingtao said, not pressing Jiang Yan any further. He nodded at Tian Jiliang.

Jiang Yan returned alone to apartment 3201.

Sun Jingtao and the others headed downstairs with Tian Jiliang.

Although Jiang Yan didn’t go down, before they parted, she took a hand-crank flashlight from her backpack and handed it to Su Dai.

She’d meant to give Su Dai the flashlight for a while, but hadn’t found the right opportunity.

It was pitch black downstairs—no way Su Dai and the others could go down carrying an alcohol lamp.

After returning home, Jiang Yan didn’t enter her storage space. Instead, she added some firewood to the fireplace, made herself a cup of brown sugar water, and sat down by the fire.

She pulled out her tablet and started watching a random cartoon.

Less than a minute later, the door to 3203 creaked open.

Wang Jin tiptoed out.

He glanced at the door to 3201, then slowly walked to the fire escape, peeking downstairs before signaling near 3203.

Soon, Zhou Wei and Wang Jiamei slipped out one after another.

Wang Jiamei, looking anxious, tiptoed down the stairs.

Meanwhile, Zhou Wei and Wang Jin crept quickly toward 3204.

It was raining outside, and the hallway was dimly lit, which helped conceal their movements.

“Click!” Wang Jin took out a windproof lighter, shielding the flame with his hand as he illuminated the lock on 3204’s door.

Zhou Wei bent down for a closer look, then fished a thin, straight piece of wire from his pocket and inserted it gently into the keyhole. He then silently slid another wire, bent into a special shape, into the lock.

“Click, click.” As his thick fingers slowly turned the wires, faint sounds came from the lock.

“Kill the light,” Zhou Wei whispered, his hands never stopping.

Wang Jin turned off the lighter, glancing warily at 3201 across the dark hallway. “Fatty, are you sure this will work?”

“Shh! Keep your voice down! For Haotian’s sake, it has to work, whether it does or not!” Zhou Wei focused intently on the pin tumbler lock. “We’re lucky today—I thought they’d never leave, and we’d never get a chance.”

He was a big guy, and now, hunched over doing delicate work in the cold, his hands were stiff.

Within seconds, sweat beaded on his forehead.

It was obvious he wasn’t an expert at picking locks.

He fiddled with it for ages, testing it over and over, but the lock didn’t budge.

Wang Jin grew anxious. “Fatty, why don’t we just use the battering ram? Quick and dirty!”

“That thing’s loud as hell! Are you nuts? Don’t forget, 3201 is still upstairs! If she’d gone down too, would I need you to tell me?” Zhou Wei snapped in a low voice.

Wang Jin clamped his lips shut, saying no more.

Zhou Wei continued working the wires, brow furrowed.

Gradually, his frown eased. “Alright, just one last pin and we’re in.”

Wang Jin let out a sigh of relief, then suddenly paused. “Hey, how come Sis hasn’t come back up yet?”

“Go check!” Zhou Wei was so annoyed he nearly kicked him.

“Oh, okay!” Wang Jin replied, crouching and shuffling toward the fire escape.

He’d only gotten halfway when heavy footsteps echoed up the stairwell.

“They’re here!” Wang Jin thought, his face lighting up with excitement."