On the surveillance feed, Li Xiaoya gazed expectantly at Liu Jie.
"Brother Jie, what's going on?"
Liu Jie listened to the busy tone in his ear, his face turning ashen.
"His phone is turned off."
Liu Jie couldn't believe it. Meng Ci, who usually bowed and scraped before him, dared to ignore his call? He dialed the number again.
"Beep beep beep. The number you dialed is turned off. Please..."
Liu Jie hung up in fury.
"Brother Jie, don't get angry." Seeing Liu Jie's rage, Li Xiaoya offered comfort.
"Maybe Meng Ci just forgot to charge his phone. He'll definitely call you back once he sees your missed calls."
Li Shanyang and Zhang Lu hadn't noticed at first, but now that Meng Ci wasn't answering, they were both frantic, cursing under their breath.
The usually docile rabbit now showed a hint of resistance.
Of course, whether this defiance was voluntary or not, they considered it unforgivable.
"Once Meng Ci's assets are in my hands, I'll beat the crap out of him!"
"That little bitch, daring to disobey." Li Shanyang puffed on his cigarette, unable to stop his ranting.
Zhang Lu gently patted Li Shanyang's back, urging him not to get so worked up and harm his health.
Meng Ci listened to their curses. When he felt the time was right, he finally called Liu Jie back using his new phone.
"Hello." Liu Jie's voice was unfriendly.
Meng Ci said expressionlessly, "Brother Jie, it's me."
Liu Jie's tone grew even harsher upon recognizing Meng Ci's voice.
"What's your problem? Ignoring my calls? Get over here to pick us up!"
"Do you even want me to deal with you anymore?"
Meng Ci waited until Liu Jie had finished ranting before explaining in a low voice.
"I was on my way to pick you up, but my car got flooded and my phone was lost."
"I don't care! Just come pick us up now!" Liu Jie refused to listen to Meng Ci's explanation.
Li Xiaoya snatched the phone. "Brother, please come get me! I'm so scared."
"I'm sorry, little sister."
"I remember there's a bed in the house. You two can rest there
tonight. I'll figure out a way to come get you tomorrow."
Though his words were apologetic, Meng Ci's expression held a hint of amusement.
The apocalypse had begun. He intended to watch these
hypocrites tear each other apart.
Zhang Lu snatched the phone. "Alright, Xiao Ci, remember to pick us up tomorrow."
"You stay safe too."
"Got it, Auntie."
After hanging up, Meng Ci turned up the TV volume.
"Mom, why are you being so polite? He's not even coming to pick us up."
"Exactly."
Zhang Lu said, "It's pouring outside. We can't even get a ride."
"We should be nicer to him. What if he doesn't come?"
"He'd better," Li Shanyang protested first. "I'm his dad. He'd better come pick me up."
Meng Ci lost interest in watching and turned off the TV. Leaning on the coffee table, he began to piece together the plot.
On the third day after the downpour, floodwaters continued to rise. Residents on the first floor saw their homes rapidly filling with water.
Since this was a new neighborhood with many unoccupied units, people began prying open doors and forcing their way into homes.
By the eighth day, the water supply ceased on some floors. On others, the water that trickled in was no longer from the municipal system but rainwater, causing many who drank it to fall ill with diarrhea.
On the thirteenth day, the already intermittent power supply finally ceased entirely.
Simultaneously, many households exhausted their last reserves of food. Starving people began prying open doors in the dead of night.
Elderly or women living alone, unable to fight back, could only let them loot, and some were even assaulted.
Order began to break down.
Meng Ci drew a heavy circle around the sixth day with his pen.
Then he set an alarm on his phone for six days later-October 6th.
That night, the power in the entire city would be cut for ten hours, rendering surveillance useless.
For now, people were still constrained by laws and regulations, too afraid to go out and loot.
Meng Ci could use these days to start his zero-cost shopping spree.
Especially medicine.
Although it was available overseas, Meng Ci had previously only requested domestically produced drugs, so he had purchased very little.
Opening his phone, he looked up several pharmacies located on higher ground. After saving the routes, he turned his attention back to the television.
On the monitor, Li Xiaoya reluctantly let Zhang Lu sleep in her princess bed, while Li Shanyang and Liu Jie lay in the living room.
Because Liu Jie liked Li Xiaoya, he deliberately gave up the large sofa to impress his future father-in-law, settling instead on the single sofa where he dozed fitfully.
Meng Ci lay comfortably in bed, fast asleep to soft music.
"Riiing, riiing."
Meng Ci was jolted awake by the ringtone-it was barely past seven.
He didn't answer immediately. Stretching lazily in his long-sleeved pajamas, he finally picked up his phone and walked to the balcony to return the call.
Liu Jie's reproachful voice crackled through the line.
"Why did it take you so long to answer? Did you decide not to pick us up?"
Meng Ci explained softly, "No."
"This phone belongs to my roommate. He just handed it to me, so I rushed over."
Liu Jie had indeed heard the sounds from the other end of the line, which calmed him down somewhat.
"Hurry up and arrange someone to pick us up!"
"Okay."
Meng Ci hung up, yawned, went to the living room to boil a kettle of water, brewed himself a cup of coffee, and turned on the TV to continue watching Li Xiaoya and the others.
Liu Jie was furious. He hadn't slept well at all on the sofa last night, while Li Shanyang snored like thunder on the same couch.
If it weren't for Li Xiaoya, why would he put himself through such misery?
Liu Jie came from modest means. If not for Meng Ci's affection, he'd never have been able to dress like a proper gentleman.
His father had been working overtime at the company yesterday and was now stuck there, unable to help in any way.
His mother, a homemaker, only called to complain about the weather and worry if Liu Jie was in danger-she couldn't do anything either.
Fed up with the constant calls, Liu Jie simply blocked his mother.
His family was useless. Liu Jie watched as the rain outside flooded the curbs, showing no sign of letting up.
Here, there was nothing but a bed, a sofa set, and some groceries Meng Ci had bought yesterday.
"Growl-"
Liu Jie rubbed his stomach. He hadn't eaten anything last night and was now starving.
Glancing at Li Shanyang snoring like a pig on the sofa, Liu Jie tiptoed to the kitchen.
The bag contained not only vegetables but also snacks like bread and potato chips.
Liu Jie turned and shut the door tightly, devouring the food until his stomach was full.
Seeing the leftover snacks, Liu Jie lowered his eyes. Without hesitation, he stuffed everything into a plastic bag, then carried it out of the kitchen and tied it to the railing.
The plastic bag should keep it dry, but Liu Jie still felt uneasy.
After rummaging through the kitchen for a while, he finally found half a floor tile in a cabinet. Liu Jie placed the tile on top of the plastic bag.
This way, he wouldn't have to worry about the food getting wet or Li Xiaoya and the others discovering it.
Only then did Liu Jie leave the kitchen. Li Shanyang, on the sofa, was still snoring loudly, completely unaware of what had just happened.
Meng Ci witnessed the scene and let out a sarcastic laugh.
Sure enough, human hearts are selfish. He had thought Liu Jie truly cared for Li Xiaoya, yet faced with life and death, his resolve proved so easily shattered.