Chapter 41: Ruthless Enough!

The entire Repulse Bay had become a perfectly safe, enclosed space.

But now, Jiang Yan was about to leave this safe zone all by herself.

On her way downstairs, she passed a few people here and there, each carrying basins and thin quilts.

With her getup, Jiang Yan was basically a walking, oversized attention magnet.

But everyone was already hot and exhausted, faces flushed, necks red, panting for breath.

Though they were surprised to see her, no one had the energy to say a word. All they could do was rest their hands on their hips and silently give her a thumbs up.

Maybe it was because she’d spent so much time in the space these past two days, but Jiang Yan felt like her physical condition had improved a lot.

Even though she was wearing a somewhat heavy heat-insulation suit and a hat, and the air around her was stifling and hot, she didn’t feel all that uncomfortable going downstairs.

Still, when she ran into people coming in, she deliberately slowed her pace.

Half an hour later, Jiang Yan finally reached the first floor.

It was only about five o’clock, but in the garden outside, she could already see blood mosquitoes occasionally flying by.

After the blood mosquitoes appeared, Jiang Yan had looked up some science articles about them.

Normally, male mosquitoes only live one to three weeks, while females can last one to two months.

After mutating, these mosquitoes’ lifespans had generally increased.

But one thing hadn’t changed:

Female mosquitoes still needed to suck blood for their ovaries to develop and to reproduce.

The so-called “experts” said that when the temperature gets above seventy degrees, the blood mosquitoes might die out on their own.

What they really meant was, once it hits seventy degrees, every creature the female mosquitoes could feed on—humans or animals—would be dead.

Any surviving humans or animals would be well hidden by then.

Slowly, as mosquitoes lost their food source and the ability to reproduce, they’d eventually starve to death.

But that process seemed like it would take a long time.

Jiang Yan didn’t dwell on it. She opened the door and quickly headed toward the neighborhood gate.

The air was filled with visible waves of scorching heat.

The plastic paths in the garden had already warped from the high temperatures, and the ground was much hotter than the air.

Even with eight centimeters of insulated soles, Jiang Yan could feel the burning, squishy heat underfoot.

In some spots, her shoes even stuck to the ground like melted cheese.

Thank goodness it wasn’t asphalt.

She guessed the official vehicles delivering supplies must be special types—otherwise, in this heat, the water in their radiators would be boiling.

Looking around, the entire community garden was a smoky, filthy mess.

There were a few more grotesque, shriveled corpses in the flowerbeds—probably tossed out by family members in broad daylight, their blood already sucked dry by mosquitoes.

The lawn had long since withered, the ground covered with dried-up earthworms and all sorts of dead insects.

Most of the shrubs and flowers were wilted as well.

The pond in the middle of the garden had dried up ages ago, its muddy bottom cracked all over.

The once-dense water lilies and aquatic plants were all dead, along with some dried-up little fish and shrimp.

Everywhere she looked, there were garbage bags, soda cans, and wine bottles in all sorts of colors.

Some bags probably held human waste, and after baking in the heat, they gave off a pungent stench.

But the property management no longer had the energy to clean any of it up.

No one in the group chat was complaining anymore either.

After all, since morning, the temperature had only kept rising.

Everyone was struggling to survive—who had the energy to play the moral police?

It only took half a day for the group chat to go from righteous indignation to total silence.

Jiang Yan also saw the bodies of many birds and stray cats.

She even spotted two dried-up squirrels.

Without exception, all of them had gaping, wrist-sized holes in their bodies.

Humans and animals alike—not only killed by the heat, but also ravaged a second time by the blood mosquitoes.

The short walk left Jiang Yan shaken.

And the garden stank—of corpses, feces, kitchen waste...

Even though she was covered in herbs and wearing a heat-insulation hat, the stench still drilled straight into her nostrils.

She didn’t dare linger and hurried toward the main gate.

When she got to the gatehouse, she found that after the power outage, the access control had stopped working, and the gate was locked with a U-lock.

The guardhouse was open, but empty.

Jiang Yan had expected this.

In broad daylight, there was no way she could just whip out a chainsaw and break out.

She had no choice but to duck into the guardhouse, pull out her phone, and send a message in the residents’ group chat.

Really, it was for everyone else to see.

A-3201: [@Property Manager 1: I’m heading to the nearby official shelter. Please unlock the main gate for me, thanks.]

Property Manager 1: [@A-3201, Hello, owner. You didn’t file a request. Now that you’re filing, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow. If you go now, there’s a high chance you’ll be turned away.]

A-3201: [No need to file. I have my own way. Just unlock the gate for me.]

Property Manager 1: [Alright, please wait a moment. I’ll send someone over.]

Soon, a fully geared-up young security guard came out from the underground garage entrance.

“Miss, how are you getting there?” He quickly unlocked the gate.

Jiang Yan glanced at him and replied calmly, “I’m walking.”

The guard stared at her in disbelief, then said,

“Miss, the official supply truck will be here soon. Why not wait and see if you can catch a ride? Those are special vehicles, heat-resistant. The others who filed to go to the official shelter are taking that truck too.”

“Thanks, but no need.” Jiang Yan smiled, politely declined, and stepped out of the community.

The guard watched her strange figure disappear, silently giving her a big mental salute.

He had just relocked the gate when the HOA chairman, Zhang Qiming, and the property manager, Liu Dahong, arrived with a group.

They were all wrapped up tightly, wearing electric scooter helmets.

Behind them was a petite young woman.

“Manager Liu, Chairman Zhang,” the guard greeted politely.

Liu Dahong glanced outside the gate, frowning.

“Huh, the official truck isn’t here yet? Wasn’t it supposed to arrive at five? If it doesn’t come soon and the blood mosquito swarm shows up, we’re screwed.”

“Why don’t we wait in the guardhouse? This sun is brutal,” Zhang Qiming suggested.

No one objected, and they all filed inside.

Once the door was closed, they finally took off their helmets.

“Liu, you’re impressive. The authorities have put such a big responsibility on you,” Zhang Qiming said, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and offering one to Liu Dahong.

It was too hot to smoke, but that didn’t stop them from sniffing the cigarettes to ease their cravings.

“Come on, Zhang, you’re giving me too much credit. It’s a headache, honestly. Look at these fifteen hundred people I have to move into the underground garage in one day.

The deadline’s tight, the job’s tough.

On top of that, several of my guys have quit in the past two days.

No manpower, no money!

Damn officials just keep dumping tasks and making empty promises!

And who knows if this is really the apocalypse like the internet says—you can’t just refuse and say you quit!

And the residents are all picky about this and that. Just wait, tonight with so many people packed together, who knows what’ll happen!”

After his rant, Liu Dahong suddenly changed the subject, patting Zhang Qiming on the shoulder:

“So, Zhang, tonight and in the coming days, we’ll be counting on the most authoritative HOA in the community!”

The two exchanged flattery, and the others kept quiet.

Zhang Qiming frowned and sighed, tossing the ball back:

“Sigh, with so many people, it’s tough. The HOA doesn’t have much say. We’ll have to rely on the property staff to keep things under control.”

They both fell silent, sighing.

“Heh, you two are overthinking this,” the petite woman, Zhang Qiqi, who’d been standing quietly by Zhang Qiming’s side, suddenly spoke up.

Everyone’s eyes snapped to her.

Zhang Qiqi smirked coldly, “If there are too many people, just use someone else’s hand to get rid of a few!”

Everyone: “…”

(Starting yesterday, we’ve entered the second round of PK! Please remember to vote and keep reading, don’t stockpile chapters! (*'▽'*) )"