In the past, no one dared say it out loud. After all, how could a young woman come up with such vicious methods?
But after the tragic incident with Wang Xuemei yesterday, the entire family no longer opposed it. The decision was unanimously approved.
A once happy family of three had lost two members overnight. Wang Xuemei not only had to face the cruel life ahead but had also been assaulted by multiple men and humiliated further when the video was shared in a WeChat group. It was unimaginable how she could face the people in the community.
When Wang Qiqi and her group arrived, they found Wang Xuemei tied up on the sofa, tortured beyond recognition but still alive. Later, Wang Xuemei wanted to end her life. For her, living held no meaning anymore.
Jing Shu sent Wang Qiqi the video of Gou Yitian's death by torture and told him to show it to Wang Xuemei. She didn't say anything else.
Whether Wang Xuemei chose to live or die was up to her. If she couldn't get past the mental barrier, death might be easier. After all, there would be more natural disasters and man-made calamities ahead. She would encounter countless people, face various deaths, and never know which death would come for her.
"I think it's still dangerous if any of the survivors break through. Can we add another layer of barbed wire? That way, we can shoot arrows from the front," Wu You'ai suggested.
Jing Shu gave Wu You'ai a thumbs up. "Barbed wire alone isn't enough. It won't kill anyone. Our advantage is that we still have electricity. Let's turn it into an electric fence. The height doesn't need to be great, but it has to be wide enough to block the entire courtyard. They'll have to destroy it to get through, and it'll buy us more time."
The villa's traps were to be upgraded first. Jing Shu would go out to "find" the materials, while Jing An and Grandpa Jing prepared with what they had.
It took two full days for the family to clean up the villa. Water had to be conserved, so every drop counted. Third Aunt was a hands-on worker who barely spoke as she cleaned tirelessly. No wonder she'd managed to stay in a government department as their cook, holding onto an "official" position even in the apocalypse.
After six months of living together, Jing Shu had come to understand Third Aunt's personality. She was a strong-willed woman, efficient, a perfectionist Virgo, and a clean freak who couldn't tolerate even a strand of hair on the floor. She was the type to "do, not talk."
Wu You'ai, on the other hand, was a Libra. She embodied laziness, preferring to lie down rather than stand, and her mind was a thousand times more active than her body.
The villa's vegetable patch was partially ruined, with some produce only fit for livestock feed. The front door needed a new lock cylinder, but fortunately, there weren't many other losses.
Upon tallying casualties, they discovered that three families in the community had been killed during the Bi Ri gang's raid. Two women had been raped, one of whom was Zhang Bingbing from Building No. 4, someone Jing Shu often saw chatting in the group chat.
Three days had passed since the incident, but the traumatized residents no longer dared step outside, not even to use the public restroom downstairs.
Meanwhile, all supermarkets in Wu City had shut down, halting all sales. Families without food reserves were now completely out of supplies. Some people had even begun contemplating robbery. In this chaos, with no police presence, whoever had food would inevitably become a target.
Those with limited supplies rationed their meals daily, but panic grew as their stock dwindled. Even within the community, people began to protest, staring anxiously at their last two bags of rice, unsure how much longer they could last.
The internet was filled with complaints and fear. The apocalypse theory was now fully accepted by everyone. Just as in Jing Shu's previous life, most people hid at home scrolling through Weibo, refreshing posts every few minutes: another community had been robbed, another had been taken over, water trucks had stopped delivering to some neighborhoods. Yet the news channel remained as steady as ever, reporting only national affairs.
May 2, 2023: Food manufacturers like Master Kong officially joined central government institutions as sub-departments. Plans began for dehydrated vegetable products to resume mass food distribution to the public.
May 3, 2023: Mobile, Unicom, and Telecom officially merged into a single state-owned company under central government acquisition, ushering in the 6G era. Data services became completely free, and within a year, all call fees would be abolished, starting a fully connected network era for all citizens.
May 4, 2023: Another major incident occurred in Wu City. The Zhetian Gang's attempt to raid the police station in the new district to steal guns was exposed.
The gang had gathered over two hundred people, carrying two grenades from unknown sources. They blew open the police station's entrance and threw another grenade inside, killing or injuring over twenty officers before storming in to execute their plan.
However, things didn't go as they expected. The two hundred-strong gang was stumped by the weapon vault's safe. The various saws and hammers they brought couldn't open it, and after entering the wrong password, the safe automatically locked.
They tried to carry it away, but the safe was built into the wall. Moving it would mean tearing out half the wall.
Later, when they found another weapon vault, they had learned their lesson and asked for the password. But the system required three-party verification: leadership approval, network confirmation, and manual access. With no choice, they killed all the officers and fled.
No wonder Jing Shu hadn't encountered gun-wielding criminals in her past life. If police station weapons were that easy to steal, there would be shootouts daily like in America. Now, with three guns in her possession, all obtained through legitimate channels, Jing Shu felt a deep sense of security.
Su Lanzhi rested for a few days, then went with Jing Shu and Jing An to bring gifts to Minister Niu. Going out now required full armor and weapons.
Otherwise, they could be robbed and killed. Wu City was in chaos, with the price of iron doors and security bars skyrocketing tenfold. Every household installed extra locks and reinforcements, but to robbers, they were only a slight inconvenience.
The family had debated for a long time over what gift to bring. Gift-giving had to be thoughtful, something that touched the recipient's heart. Giving something useless was like patting a horse on the leg instead of its flank—completely pointless.
"We should match Minister Niu's tastes. What does he like?" Jing An asked.
"In my opinion, we should give him something he really needs. That's what you call a timely gift. The things he likes are just luxuries," Su Lanzhi said.
"If you ask me, instead of giving things directly to Minister Niu, why not give them to his wife and son?" Jing Shu said, recounting what had happened with Niu Mou and the chubby boy that day.
Jing An's expression was one of empathy, as if saying, "We're all in the same boat."
"His wife likes strawberries, so let's give her strawberries. We'll even gift them with the soil so they can keep growing more. Minister Niu's family definitely has no shortage of electricity," Su Lanzhi said, her eyes lighting up.
"You're giving away too much goodwill all at once. How will they remember you later? If you give them soil and plants now, won't that set the standard for all future gifts? If we just bring some strawberries every time we visit, won't that gratitude multiply?" Jing Shu sighed.