Chapter 125: I’ll Go With You

After saying “thank you,” Jiang Yan reached out and took the bowl.

It was her first time eating fried rice porridge.

It looked plain enough, but the moment she tasted it, it was fragrant, sweet, and soft, with a hint of grain aroma.

The wisdom of working people truly is remarkable.

“Su Dai, you’re amazing. You managed to turn such ordinary ingredients into something so delicious,” Jiang Yan praised her sincerely.

“Heh, it’s just the magic of someone else’s cooking,” Su Dai replied, a little embarrassed by her idol’s compliment.

Whenever she’d seen Jiang Yan before, her eyes had sparkled with admiration.

But lately, that starry look had almost faded away.

Instead, there was a faint trace of worry in her gaze.

“Oh, right, Jiang Yan, after breakfast and a bit of rest, do you want to join us for some exercise?” Su Dai asked, scooping another spoonful of porridge into her mouth.

Only then did Jiang Yan learn that for some time now, the three of them had been doing physical training at home every day.

Sun Jingtao had even started teaching them some hand-to-hand combat techniques he’d learned in the army.

Ye Qing had some prior experience too; back in school, he’d gone through six months of semi-military training, so he picked things up quickly.

Because he’d been physically weak as a child, his parents had sent him to learn Sanda and Taekwondo from fourth or fifth grade.

Later, he developed a strong interest in Taekwondo and kept advancing—he was probably at black belt level now.

His parents had both been criminal police officers. While their work wasn’t as dangerous as narcotics officers, they’d still dealt with plenty of criminals.

Naturally, they wanted him to have some self-defense skills.

Plus, coming from a family of police, and being diligent himself, he’d learned a lot of things most people wouldn’t even understand.

After hearing Su Dai’s words, Jiang Yan gained a deeper understanding of their backgrounds.

She also felt a bit more trust toward them.

Still, she wasn’t too keen on training with the group.

After all, she had the most advanced holographic training system—much more effective than just punching and kicking around.

But she didn’t refuse outright. “I’ll pass today, maybe another time.”

“Oh, right, your relative is still here,” Su Dai quickly remembered.

Jiang Yan gave an awkward smile.

Even though she’d declined Su Dai’s invitation, she had a newfound respect for the group.

In times like these, there were plenty of people just lying around, waiting for death.

All discipline and perseverance had to come from within.

But she firmly believed that those who prepared in advance would have a better chance of surviving when danger truly struck.

Suddenly, Su Dai remembered something. “By the way, Jiang Yan, there are new people living in 3202 and by the elevator. I haven’t seen them before—they’re probably from other buildings. You saw them when you came out, right?”

“Yeah.” Jiang Yan nodded.

Now that the buildings across the way were almost completely flooded, it was inevitable that people would move up here.

They couldn’t exactly invite everyone upstairs, but they weren’t about to drive them away either.

Just let things take their course.

However, Ma Longbiao’s group couldn’t be left unchecked any longer.

Thinking of this, Jiang Yan said, “I just remembered something—Wen Wanli has a lot of fresh cuts and cigarette burns on her arms. I even suspect she’s been assaulted. I wonder if Ma Longbiao’s group is behind it.”

Wen Wanli and Wang Jin were married.

If something really had happened, there wouldn’t be so many traces left behind.

Besides, she was clearly in her first trimester—doing anything like that would be dangerous.

Unless he was a beast.

But he probably wasn’t.

Of course, you could never rule out the worst in people.

“Pfft—” Jiang Yan’s sudden comment nearly made Su Dai spit out her porridge.

She quickly covered her mouth, embarrassed.

That was a bit of a slip.

“She is a bit odd. Every afternoon, she goes downstairs and comes back with supplies,” Ye Qing frowned.

Even though they’d been staying inside, they weren’t completely cut off from what was happening outside.

Jiang Yan glanced at them and continued, “Also, Zhou Wei’s son is probably being threatened by that group. When I asked if his son was still in the complex, he said maybe, maybe not. But he seemed to avoid the topic—probably out of fear of Ma Longbiao’s group.”

Ye Qing said bluntly, “So Zhou Wei knows something, and he’s deliberately letting you see it.”

“I was just thinking—they moved up from the 18th floor, but everyone below the 29th floor has been controlled by Ma Longbiao’s group. How come they seem unaffected?

Logically, they should have been sent out to scavenge for supplies or catch fish and leeches, but they seem pretty comfortable,” Su Dai said, feeling like she’d figured something out.

It’s easy to miss things when you’re in the middle of them, but outsiders see more clearly.

Even though they were just chatting casually, they always managed to pick up on little clues.

“If something’s off, there’s got to be a reason. That group is definitely up to something,” Sun Jingtao said, clenching his fist as he stood up.

He walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window, frowning as he looked outside, his mind racing.

The other side was clearly prepared.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have lulled everyone into a false sense of security until now.

But no matter how prepared they were, there were only about twenty of them.

Even if, as Tian Jiliang said, they’d used threats and bribes to take over the residents one family at a time, it would still take time to control so many people in the complex.

But it hadn’t been that long, and things were already spiraling out of control. It was hard to believe.

Unless—

Sun Jingtao’s frown deepened, then his eyes lit up:

“Ma Longbiao might have some powerful backing. Shallow Water Bay could just be one piece in a bigger plan.”

“Or maybe they have firearms,” Jiang Yan said, her thoughts echoing his.

Su Dai was stunned. “No way. If they did, why would they let us take their spearguns earlier? They’d have been acting way more arrogant by now.”

“Honey, don’t forget—when the rain stopped a few days ago, a lot of people went out to scavenge. Maybe they got weapons from a police station or something,” Sun Jingtao said.

Su Dai: “...”

“I’m planning to go downstairs and check things out later,” Jiang Yan said casually as she finished her last spoonful of porridge.

If there hadn’t been a torrential rain, or if the rain had stopped at the 20th floor like in her previous life, she could have just packed up and left.

But now, too many things had changed.

The future was full of uncertainty.

All she could do was stay steady and adapt.

That made apartment 3201, their safe house, all the more important.

Since that was the case, she couldn’t just sit and wait for trouble.

After all, who knew if those people would come knocking in a few days.

Ye Qing looked at her. “I’ll go with you.”

These two chapters are a bit of a breather—tomorrow they’ll go downstairs to deal with the bad guys~

P.S. Thank you all for your monthly and recommendation votes~ (づ￣3￣)づ

Time really flies! It feels like I just got your double monthly votes at the start of the month, and now it’s already the end... Shamelessly asking for more votes in advance, hehe~"