Chapter 58: Despair

Following Zhang Qiqi’s gaze, Liu Dahong looked toward 3202 and said:

“3202? I remember that’s one of the units the construction company used to offset project costs. The owner is the contractor who built this complex. Not sure if it’s been rented out since then, though.”

Jiang Yan was also a bit curious.

Does anyone actually live in 3202?

As far as she could recall, she’d never seen anyone living there.

She knew the family in 3203—He Chunmei’s family.

As for 3204, it seemed to be a young, loving couple. She’d run into them once when she first moved in, taking out the trash.

Other than that, she didn’t know much. She’d always planned to keep to herself, so she wasn’t interested in her neighbors.

While they were talking, the property management staff had already gone up and started pounding on the door—“Bang! Bang! Bang!”—shouting, “Anyone in there?!”

The iron door didn’t budge, but dust from the doorframe started trickling down.

“If someone’s in there, open up! If you don’t, I’m breaking the door down!”

“Bang! Bang! Bang!” As he spoke, the property manager switched to a metal hammer and started smashing the lock.

“Creak—”

Next door, He Chunmei from 3203 poked her head out, watching the scene with a look of amusement.

“Well, what kind of wind blew Manager Liu and his crew all the way up to the 32nd floor today? Wow! Such a big show of force!”

As she spoke, she shot a sharp sideways glance at Zhang Qiqi.

She hadn’t noticed when Liu Dahong and his group came up earlier. It wasn’t until Liu Rui screamed while checking the electricity that she and her husband Zhou Guangfu realized something was up.

Seeing Zhang Qiqi, Zhang Qiming, and Liu Dahong leading a group of aggressive-looking people, she’d assumed they were finally here to settle the score with 3201.

She’d been peeking through the peephole for a while, thinking she ought to join in on the crusade against 3201. After all, everyone knew Liu Dahong had manpower and resources now, and she wanted to cozy up to him.

So, without thinking, she opened the door.

Her husband Zhou Guangfu tried to stop her, but couldn’t.

Liu Dahong ignored her flattery, just shot her a cold glance and said indifferently, “He Chunmei, since you’ve come out, don’t bother going back in.”

He Chunmei’s heart skipped a beat. “Manager Liu, w-what do you mean?”

Before she could finish, the guy with the bowl-cut and two other property staff had already rushed over and yanked her door open.

He Chunmei lost her balance and was dragged out.

Zhou Guangfu, who’d been eavesdropping by the entryway, froze. “Brother Liu, what are you—?”

Zhang Qiqi gave him a sweet, mocking smile. “Guangfu-ge, of course it’s your apartment—our Brother Liu has taken a liking to it! Hahaha!”

“Zhang Qiqi! You shameless little vixen!”

Seeing her flirting with her husband, and remembering how she’d “sold her out” in front of Jiang Yan earlier, He Chunmei’s anger exploded. She raised her hand and swung at Zhang Qiqi’s face, not even catching the second half of her words.

Zhang Qiqi nimbly dodged and laughed loudly:

“Sister Chunmei, I’ll take that as a compliment! After all, no ugly old woman has ever been called a vixen! Like you—no one’s ever called you that, right? Because you don’t deserve it! Hahahahaha!”

“You! If I don’t tear your mouth apart today, I’m not He!” He Chunmei, eyes blazing, lunged at Zhang Qiqi.

Zhang Qiming and another property staff member quickly held her back.

Inside the apartment, Zhou Guangfu was calmer than He Chunmei.

From Zhang Qiqi’s words and the hostile looks from the crowd, he sensed something was wrong. Frowning, he turned to head for the kitchen to grab a knife.

But before he could, the bowl-cut guy at the door was already on him, swinging a blood-stained hammer straight at the back of his head.

“Bang!”

“Smack!”

“Dad!”

“Dad—!”

On the sofa inside, the two kids jumped up and screamed, rushing out in terror.

He Chunmei turned at the sound, and when she saw Zhou Guangfu lying in a pool of blood, his face unrecognizable, her pupils contracted, her legs gave out, and her scream was filled with utter despair:

“Husband!!”

“How can you people be so heartless, so lawless?! I’ll fight you to the death!” Eyes bloodshot, He Chunmei charged at the bowl-cut man, flailing her arms.

But unarmed, she was no match.

“Bang!”

A hammer blow landed squarely on her forehead.

Zhang Qiqi watched her collapse and curled her lips in a mocking sneer:

“At a time like this, you’re still talking? Our Brother Liu is the law now—he’s God!”

“Mama!”

“Bang!”

...

In less than a minute, the entryway of 3203 was awash in blood.

The family of four was, as usual, dragged to the window and mercilessly tossed out.

The entire hallway quickly filled with the stench of blood.

The white tile floor was streaked with winding, broken lines of red and scattered with fallen flowers.

Some of the lower-floor residents who’d come up to get revenge on Jiang Yan were so scared they wet themselves.

But none dared to leave.

They were afraid of offending Liu Dahong’s group and suffering even worse consequences later.

Gao Dazhuang glanced at the bowl-cut man, his face darkening. “We could’ve just made them move down to 2003. No need to kill them.”

After all, there were two kids.

He was a parent himself.

He could be ruthless, but he’d never lay a hand on children.

But the bowl-cut guy didn’t even blink—he wiped out the whole family.

It was inhuman, beyond all limits.

He’d always thought himself decisive, but today he realized he was nothing.

From now on, he’d have to watch out for Zhang Qiqi and the bowl-cut guy.

“Dazhuang-ge, it’s the apocalypse—survival of the fittest. Why are you getting all soft and saintly? If you can solve a problem in a minute, why waste time talking?” The bowl-cut man, eyes bloodshot, spoke with disdain.

Gao Dazhuang frowned and took a deep breath, saying nothing more.

Meanwhile, the door to 3202 had been smashed open.

With a creak, the door swung inward, and a wave of moldy stench hit them.

Everyone looked inside and froze.

There was no one there—and no way anyone could live there.

The ceiling leaked, warping the wallpaper and flooding the living room floor.

Cracks and mold were everywhere.

But at least it was the top floor.

In the lower and middle floors, the bathrooms were already backing up with sewage.

“Damn! This was supposed to be the contractor’s compensation unit? What a joke! The developer’s a real bastard!” someone cursed.

Liu Dahong glanced around and said, “Alright, enough talk. Let’s get down to business.”

Liu Rui stepped forward and directed, “This is a load-bearing wall. When you break through, keep it small—just enough for one person to squeeze through.”"