Ch35 It's Over, Becoming the Target of Everyone's Anger
"Nothing. You go in first!"
Shen Que carried the items inside, ushering Meng Ci in before turning to fumble around on the floor, picking up something before finally closing the door.
His headlamp had long since died, leaving Meng Ci in complete darkness.
"Click!"
Shen Que pressed some switch, and the room gradually brightened.
The light was warm yellow, not as harsh as incandescent bulbs, but perfectly adequate during a blackout.
Glancing at the living room curtains, their thickness seemed designed to block light from escaping.
"I have a small generator at home. If you ever need to charge anything, feel free to come by!" Shen Que said, carrying his things toward the living room.
"Alright." Meng Ci nodded.
Shen Que's apartment decor matched his personality-dominated by black, white, and gray.
Instead of a sofa or similar furniture, the center of the living room housed a freestanding punching bag, an exercise bike, a Smith machine, dumbbells...
No wonder this guy had such Impressive muscles-he had all this workout equipment. Shen Que fetched two plastic stools for them to sit on.
"What did you pick up earlier?"
Meng Ci recalled Shen Que's sudden unease despite his usual composure-something significant must have happened.
Shen Que held out his palm, revealing a metal plate.
"What's this?"
Meng Ci was puzzled. What was so surprising about it?
Shen Que explained, "Earlier, you mentioned someone tried to pick your door lock."
"So to prevent others from picking my door, whenever I go out, I insert a metal plate into the keyhole as a precaution."
"The previous times I came up today, the plate was still securely wedged in the lock."
"This time, it was probably because the inflatable boat had to be deflated for too long, so someone tried to pick the lock!"
Meng Ci fell silent upon hearing this.
They'd assumed venturing out late at night for food would be safer, yet they'd still been targeted.
Seeing Meng Ci's furrowed brow, Shen Que offered reassurance.
"Don't worry. If anything happens, just call me."
Then, as if remembering something, Shen Que opened a nearby cabinet and pulled out a pair of walkie-talkies.
"Take these. If anything happens, switch to Channel 3 and call me."
Meng Ci accepted them without hesitation.
If someone dared to try prying open the door, it wouldn't be long before the entire building knew they had food.
That would spell trouble.
Besides him and Shen Que, who could venture out for supplies, the others in the building were Si Chen and his group.
But Si Chen's group consisted of six burly men, each towering and Imposing. These bullies who picked on the weak probably wouldn't dare target them easily.
Meanwhile, he and Shen Que were just two people. Especially since his hands and feet looked rather slender, they were likely to be the ones the intruders would target.
Now that the two of them were the prime targets, mutual support was paramount.
Shen Que had intended to invite Meng Ci to stay for dinner, but after a night of frantic work and now knowing they were being watched, Meng Ci had no appetite and declined.
Shen Que didn't press the issue. He squatted down and began dividing the supplies.
Meng Ci watched as Shen Que set aside the snacks he'd brought, then strictly split the rest into two equal portions. For any odd-numbered items, Shen Que stuffed them all into Meng Ci's storage bag.
"You don't need to give me so much. I still have some in my room."
"Besides, you did most of the work. You should keep more."
As he spoke, Meng Ci reached to take out his own supplies.
"No!" Shen Que pressed down Meng Ci's hand.
"I still have food I bought before the storm. You keep yours."
Seeing Shen Que's earnest expression, Meng Ci could only agree. He resolved to treat him to a few extra meals later.
Shen Que helped Meng Ci carry the supplies back to his room, then gave him a final reminder.
"Remember to barricade the door tonight. Don't open it if anyone knocks."
"If I need you, I'll contact you via the intercom."
"If you need anything, remember to use the intercom too."
"The intercom's running low on power. Bring it over for charging promptly."
Meng Ci nodded obediently after each instruction.
Then he inwardly groaned. Seriously? Did this guy think he was a three-year-old?
After all, in the real world, he was a perfectly capable twenty-five-year-old young man.
Even this body belonged to an adult who had passed his eighteenth birthday.
Did his appearance really inspire such distrust?
Still, everything Shen Que said was well-intentioned. To argue back would be ungrateful.
So he nodded obediently.
It felt like being back in school!
After seeing Shen Que off, Meng Ci entered the space.
Inside, the generator he'd assembled earlier was already running, and the water heater was operational.
After a ten-minute hot shower, Meng Ci hurried out of the space. He opened his phone and entered "50" into a spreadsheet.
This spreadsheet was specifically created to track time spent in the space.
It was meant to provide a clear understanding of the space's time, preventing him from being kicked out again.
He retrieved a serving of tofu pudding and two fried dough sticks from the space. After savoring his meal, Meng Ci climbed into bed to sleep.
Early the next morning, he was jolted awake by the clamor of people.
"Attention all residents! Attention all residents! Those needing to collect food supplies, please come downstairs promptly."
Meng Ci yawned. It was barely ten o'clock-he'd managed a mere three hours of sleep.
These people were outrageous-couldn't they keep it down?
If this weren't the apocalypse, he'd report them for disturbing the peace.
"Three packets of instant noodles per person? How's that supposed to last three days!"
"And the power's out-how are we supposed to cook them?"
"When things are smooth, they talk about serving the people. Now there's trouble, and this is how they treat us!"
"When will the electricity and water be fixed?!"
The arguments raged on, residents' frustration nearing boiling point. Soon, burglaries, vandalism, and assaults would likely become commonplace.
In the books, even after a month of government handouts, many still snuck out at night to rob homes.
Now, with supplies scarce, who knew what desperate acts people might commit when hunger drove them over the edge?
Last night, when someone went out searching for food and was spotted, they might have targeted that household first.
These past few days, Meng Ci had also been keeping an eye on Si Chen and the others.
Apart from their initial foray out for supplies, the six of them hadn't left the house at all.
If Meng Ci hadn't secretly used the fly surveillance to check and confirm they were still there, he might have thought they'd already left.
As for the assault boat Si Chen left behind, after one trip for supplies, Wei Heng had claimed
it as his own.
At Wei Heng's place, besides his wife and mother, his younger brother had also moved in recently.
Wei Heng must have hauled back a substantial amount of food that time, as he hadn't ventured out in days either.
Adding it all up, bullying him and Shen Que-two isolated individuals-indeed seemed like the safer bet.
Leaving the long knife by the entrance, Meng Ci retrieved a longbow with a hundred arrows, a rifle, and ten rounds of ammunition.
If the situation truly spiraled out of control, the rifle would be the most formidable weapon.
The voices arguing outside received no response. Instead, the sound of engines roared to life.
The supply boats departed in orderly fashion. The residents' protests, unanswered, gradually faded away.
Meng Ci yawned and drifted back into a nap.