Chapter 79: Saving Jiang Yan Is Everyone’s Responsibility!

""Yeah, that's her! Her gun is real!""

""Boss said, in this building, you can mess with anyone except her!""

""Third Bro, you really picked the wrong fight this time!"" The last guy’s words sounded either like he was overly worried and tripping over his tongue, or just gloating.

Either way, it was the kind of comment that made you want to punch him.

Scarface listened to the chatter, staring at Jiang Yan in disbelief, the muscles at the corner of his mouth twitching. ""You—you’re really that Jiang Yan?!""

Jiang Yan ignored him, her voice ringing out sharply, ""Drop the knife!""

She was already standing on the staircase landing, holding the high ground.

Now, with a gun in her hand, even though she was slim, she radiated an undeniable sense of threat.

""Auntie, please! Don’t shoot! I’ll drop it! I’ll drop it right now!!"" Scarface babbled, his legs going weak as his knife clattered to the floor.

A fresh, acrid smell of urine wafted from him.

He’d actually come into the stairwell because he needed to pee, but when he saw Jiang Yan, his lust got the better of him and he forgot what he was doing.

Normally, he was someone who’d seen his share of trouble in the mines and nightclubs—he wasn’t usually this much of a coward.

But his bladder had been at its limit for a while now.

The shock was just too much; it was like a dam bursting—there was no holding it back.

All in all, it was just humiliating.

Especially with all his buddies watching.

""Miss Jiang, can—can I go now?"" Scarface was terrified the gun might go off by accident, and as he spoke, his hands instinctively went to his head.

He was just short of waving a white flag.

The smell in the stairwell was indescribable, and Jiang Yan had no intention of wasting any more time with them.

Besides, these guys weren’t worth even a single bullet.

But they weren’t good people, either.

If she was going to let the tiger back into the mountains, she’d at least break its claws first. With that thought, her gaze swept over the spearguns in their hands and she said,

""You can go, but all the spearguns stay!""

""This—""

""Miss Jiang, can’t you let us keep the spearguns? We’ve almost run out of food, and we were hoping to use them to catch some fish!""

""Yeah, Miss Jiang, we swear to God, we’ll never use them for anything bad! If we break our word, may lightning strike us down!""

""That’s right, Miss Jiang, please let us keep them!""

""Miss Jiang, we’re begging you! Good people get good karma!""

""Yeah, Miss Jiang, you’re a good person—please let us keep something to eat with!""

The group exchanged glances for a second, then started pleading all at once—they were practically about to kneel and beg.

Before the apocalypse, a speargun like that would only cost a few hundred yuan—not worth much.

And even if it was confiscated, you could just order another one online.

But now, it was a rare and valuable weapon.

After all, it could attack from a distance—much better than a knife or dagger.

""I don’t know if I’m a good person,"" Jiang Yan said coldly, ""but I do know one thing: a dog can’t change its ways. If you’re not willing to hand them over, then—"" She gave them a frosty look, pressing the muzzle of her gun harder against Scarface’s forehead.

Her finger was clearly halfway down the trigger.

""Do what Miss Jiang says—drop all the spearguns! I’ll explain things to the boss!"" Scarface, not daring to look back, frantically waved his hands and barked at his men.

The underlings reluctantly put their spearguns on the ground.

As Scarface finished speaking, a few figures came rushing down from the 20th floor.

Out of the corner of her eye, Jiang Yan saw them and immediately relaxed.

To her surprise, it was Sun Jingtao, Ye Qing, and Su Dai.

After all, there were twelve floors between the 32nd and 19th floors.

No matter how much noise they made downstairs, it shouldn’t have reached the upper floors.

Sun Jingtao was holding a gleaming cleaver, Ye Qing had a bloodstained hammer, and Su Dai was wielding a long riot-control steel fork from who-knows-where.

She strode over to stand behind Jiang Yan, the fork’s prongs pressing right against Scarface’s neck.

Even though all three wore masks, the thugs seemed to realize what was happening.

Two of them wore expressions of utter misery.

""Ye, go help Jiang Yan collect the spearguns. I’ll cover you,"" Sun Jingtao said quietly, raising his cleaver.

Ye Qing didn’t say a word, heading down the stairs toward the thugs.

Sun Jingtao followed, eyes wary and alert.

Ye Qing quickly gathered up the six spearguns.

""Miss Jiang, can—can I go now?"" Scarface, still pinned by the gun and Su Dai’s steel fork, looked utterly defeated.

All the humiliation he’d suffered in his life seemed to have happened today.

Once Ye Qing and Sun Jingtao had retreated, Jiang Yan finally spat out a single cold word:

""Get lost!""

Scarface, mumbling thanks, ducked away from Su Dai’s fork, scrambled backward, and dashed straight from the third floor to the fire escape door.

Maybe his legs were still shaky—he nearly tripped and fell.

""Third Bro!"" The others hurried to steady him, then nervously slammed the fire door shut.

At the same time, the onlookers upstairs and downstairs finished spectating and slammed their own fire doors shut.

Sun Jingtao frowned and glanced upstairs, then turned to Jiang Yan. ""Jiang Yan, should we head back up?""

Jiang Yan nodded, flicked the safety back on her pistol, and put it in her backpack.

In reality, she stowed it away in her storage space.

Then she pulled out a flashlight and started up the stairs.

The stairwell was dark and stank to high heaven. No one spoke as they climbed in silence.

Finally, they reached the 32nd floor and pushed open the fire door, all of them pulling off their masks at once.

The smell downstairs was even worse for Jiang Yan.

Her senses had been enhanced, which meant her sense of smell was far sharper than anyone else’s.

Good smells, bad smells—she experienced them all much more intensely.

It was a bit of a curse, really.

Su Dai couldn’t wait to rip off her mask and gulp down a few breaths of ""fresh"" air.

Sun Jingtao looked at his wife and couldn’t help but laugh. ""I told you you didn’t have to come down, but you insisted. Now you regret it?""

It was more than just regret.

None of them had flashlights, and they’d rushed down in a hurry. Now, the soles of their shoes were in a sorry state.

Su Dai glanced at her husband, lips quirking up, then thumped her steel fork on the floor and declared proudly,

""Saving Jiang Yan is everyone’s responsibility! How could I not be there?!

Besides, compared to those old security guards at the school gate, I’m way younger!

And anyway, you’ve got to take the first step and get some experience, right?!""

Jiang Yan was so amused by her words and expression that she couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

It was the first time she’d truly laughed from the heart since she’d been imprisoned in that basement in her previous life."