Chapter 63: Let Me Tell You a Secret

At this moment, Jiang Yan neither spoke nor moved. Instead, she slowly walked, gun in hand, toward Zhang Qiqi, who lay in a pool of blood nearby.

After all, the video had already finished playing. What was left was the personal vendetta between the residents and the enemies who had killed their loved ones—none of which had anything to do with her anymore.

Guan Sanqiang was the first to get up, trying to snatch the bone-cutting knife from Sun Jingtao’s hand, but agile Ye Qing caught him in one swift move.

No one knew where Ye Qing had produced a sharp, coldly gleaming dagger—perhaps he’d been carrying it all along.

“Fuck, are you trying to get yourself killed?!” Guan Sanqiang’s eyes were bloodshot. He’d barely finished speaking when Ye Qing’s gaze turned icy and vicious. With a quick twist of his wrist, he drove the dagger forward, fast and precise.

“Pshhh!”

The cold metal pierced a vital point in his chest. Guan Sanqiang felt a stabbing, numbing pain instantly flood his entire body.

His muscles contracted, his meridians felt as if they’d been severed one by one, and all his strength vanished in an instant.

“Talk! Did you guys open the doors in the other buildings too?!” Ye Qing gripped his collar tightly with one hand, while the other hand twisted the dagger slowly in his flesh.

It was torture, no less cruel than death by a thousand cuts.

Guan Sanqiang felt as if his heart was being shredded by a fork, pain and sweat overwhelming him, his vision going black. He screamed in agony, begging for mercy:

“Please, stop with the knife! I’ll talk, I’ll talk! It was Liu Dahong who ordered us! We opened the doors in the other buildings too, then framed the residents! Said they were murderers! Once the authorities couldn’t handle it anymore, we’d keep the extra supplies for ourselves!”

“It was Zhang Qiqi who gave our boss the idea—said we should use others to do our dirty work! That way, there’d be far fewer troublesome residents!”

“Yes, yes, Zhang Qiqi was the instigator! I was just possessed by greed!”

“Liu Dahong, it was your people who carried it all out!”

“Damn it! Zhang Qiming, you spineless coward who only thinks with your dick!”

...

Soon, the property management team descended into a dog-eat-dog frenzy.

Zhang Qiqi, whose limbs were useless and who was lying in a pool of blood, had already passed out from blood loss and pain.

But when she heard her name, her body shuddered reflexively.

She was about to open her mouth and eyes, when she felt a heavy foot stomp down on her shoulder blade.

The pressure only increased.

“Crack!” Zhang Qiqi felt her bone shatter underfoot.

She’d already been numb to pain, but now she coughed up a mouthful of blood with a scream.

“Jiang—Jiang Yan, don’t—don’t kill me. I’ll tell you a secret...”

Zhang Qiqi’s whole body began to tremble, her voice weak and broken:

“Your mother wasn’t killed by me, nor did she die from a shark attack while diving. It was Song Deming—when they went out to sea, they had a fight. She refused to change her will, so he killed her, chopped her up, and fed her piece by piece to the sharks...

Song Deming told me this himself... Please, spare me, I really don’t want to die, hehehehe, hurry up and kill me! Why aren’t you killing me? Is your knife dull or are you too weak? Tell me, I’ll help you...”

Listening to her crazed rambling, Jiang Yan felt a rush of hot blood surge to her head.

She suddenly had the urge to strangle Zhang Qiqi and destroy everything around her.

But she couldn’t. She had to stay in control.

She tilted her head back slightly, lips pressed tight, but still, hot, salty tears spilled from her eyes.

Beneath her foot, the deranged Zhang Qiqi was trembling violently, like a sieve.

She tried to beg for her life, but it felt like a clot of blood was stuck in her throat.

Her whole body tensed up.

She could clearly feel a cold, sharp piece of metal sliding across her face.

Then came the searing pain of skin being split open.

Soon, the metal moved down her body.

A low, devilish voice whispered in her ear:

“Zhang Qiqi, then let me tell you a secret too. That bone-cutting knife at Song Deming’s villa—not bad. If I remember right, you bought it, didn’t you? Zhang Kai, Song Deming—they both owe their deaths to that knife.

Tsk, they died pretty horribly. I even had to put half their skulls back together. When you get to the underworld, you probably won’t even recognize them.”

“!!!!”

Zhang Qiqi’s eyes flew open, as if she’d suddenly understood something. But her broken body was already being lifted up like a helpless chick.

She felt herself being dragged by the collar.

Through her blurred vision, she saw a winding trail of blood left on the floor.

“Bang!”

The sound of a window being thrown open.

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!”

“Rumble!”

Wet rain and icy wind blasted the back of her head.

She tried to beg for her life, but her body was tossed out the window like a piece of trash.

Cold, heavy raindrops pelted her wounded body.

Amid lightning and thunder, she plummeted through the storm like a tattered leaf.

“Splash!”

A red burst of water erupted.

The combined force of gravity and her free fall shattered her already broken body, making her feel as if her organs had been pulverized.

The filthy water, full of corpses, garbage, and unknown creatures, rushed into her mouth, nose, eyes, and ears.

Soon, the fresh scent of blood attracted the hidden creatures in the water.

Black, thumb-thick leech-like creatures crawled onto her body, sucking out what little blood remained.

Rodents gathered, gnawing at her flesh and bones bit by bit.

“Ah!!”

With her last breath, Zhang Qiqi let out a final gasp of resentment. Then her eyes rolled back, her legs kicked, and she went to join her ex-husband, son, and brother in the afterlife.

Jiang Yan closed the window, took a few deep breaths, wiped away her tears, and quickly headed for her apartment.

The chaos in the hallway continued.

Everywhere she looked, there was blood.

From the latest developments, Liu Dahong’s group was almost completely wiped out.

Mainly because Sun Jingtao and Ye Qing were too strong, and they had help from a bunch of vengeful residents.

Liu Dahong’s group simply couldn’t fight them all.

The one who died the worst was Guan Sanqiang, the guy with the flaming sneakers.

The only survivor was Zhang Qiming.

Although he was an accomplice to Liu Dahong’s crimes, he hadn’t done anything too outrageous lately, and he’d always been a decent person.

But now, he was left with a crippled leg.

The remaining conflict was now between Gao Dazhuang’s group and the rest of the residents.

The residents had all witnessed how cruelly they’d killed the family in 2003 and He Chunmei’s family, and were still shaken.

On top of that, everyone was already on edge.

Many people had been holding in anger and frustration for a long time, with nowhere to vent.

Now, with no moral or legal restraints, the darkness in people’s hearts was unleashed, as if their inner demons had suddenly awakened.

The guy with the bowl cut was already torn to pieces in a corner.

Gao Dazhuang’s wife and kids, who’d been hiding on the 31st floor, had also come up.

The sounds of fists and feet, agonized screams, and children wailing filled the air.

Jiang Yan wanted no part of it.

She frowned, quickly slipped through the chaos, opened her door, and went home.

She locked the door, set her anti-intrusion system to the highest level, and collapsed onto the sofa.

The apartment’s excellent soundproofing shut out all the chaos.

Now, her world was finally hers alone.

Maybe it was because she’d finally let go of all her tension and vigilance, but her body began to tremble uncontrollably.

This was the first time she’d killed someone with her own hands.

But in this brutal, post-apocalyptic world, it definitely wouldn’t be the last.

For now, the top villain of Qianshui Bay and the crisis on the 32nd floor were resolved.

But outside, thunder, lightning, and the raging storm continued.

The prologue to the apocalypse had only just begun. She had to pull herself together.

Most importantly, compared to those struggling to survive in this hellish world, she was a super lucky one—with an invincible space and endless supplies.

This was no time for self-pity.

Thinking this, Jiang Yan glanced at the stormy sky outside, then stepped directly into her sunlit, peaceful space.

It feels like the last few chapters have been a bit dark and intense, hhh.

So, starting tomorrow, we’ll slow things down and lighten up a bit (≧▽≦).

*

P.S. Thank you all for your monthly votes and recommendations!!! With your support, I’ve been super motivated lately, hahaha!"