Chapter 25: Meng Ci, Open the Door Quickly

Chapter 25: Meng Ci, Open the Door Quickly

"Mom, we have so little food. Who is it enough for?"

Li Xiaoya, Zhang Lu, and Li Shanyang were huddled in the kitchen, all staring at the pot of porridge cooking on the stove like hungry wolves.

The bang that Meng Ci and the others had heard earlier was from the residents who hadn't received any food rushing to the woman's home on the ninth floor and breaking down her security door together.

After barging in, they not only beat up the people inside but also swept away all the food in the house.

Zhang Lu and Li Shanyang followed behind and took the opportunity to search through the place.

That family probably realized that their actions had caused others to miss out on food, so they hid the food they had collected.

It took some time for everyone to find the hidden food.

Zhang Lu, with her sharp eyes, found two handfuls of rice behind a cabinet and quickly stuffed them into her clothes before pulling Li Shanyang back home.

"It's good enough that we have something to eat. Why are you complaining about the amount?"

"Why didn't you go with us when we were searching for food?"

"Hiss!"

When Zhang Lu spoke, she accidentally pulled at her cheek, causing her to wince in pain.

She was in a bad mood and wasn't being nice to Li Xiaoya.

She resented Li Shanyang for daring to hit her.

For years, she had endured humiliation for Li Shanyang, first bearing the stigma of having a child out of wedlock and then being labeled as a mistress.

After finally seeing Meng Wan pass away, she barely got to enjoy the life of a wealthy person before falling into a state of constant hunger.

And now, Li Shanyang not only showed no sympathy but even hit her!

"I had to take care of Liu Jie," Li Xiaoya defended herself.

Besides, they were fighting so fiercely; what if she had gotten caught in the crossfire?

She didn't want unnecessary wounds marring her pretty face.

"He's just a useless burden now. Why bother taking care of him!"

Zhang Lu now looked down on Liu Jie, considering him nothing more than a liability.

As they talked, they suddenly remembered Meng Ci.

"If it weren't for Meng Ci blocking our way, how could we have missed out on getting food?"

Li Xiaoya stirred the white porridge in the pot, seething with anger.

Li Shanyang and Zhang Lu both felt the same way, completely oblivious to the fact that they had started the trouble with Meng Ci.

"And he's been staying in this building all along, yet he never came to find us!"

Zhang Lu gritted her teeth. They were starving here, while Meng Ci seemed full of energy, possibly hiding a stash of food.

They then began to suspect that Meng Ci might have known about the coming storm and deliberately led them here.

"Definitely."

Li Xiaoya threw the spoon onto the countertop, feeling heartbroken.

"The house was clearly rented by Meng Ci, yet he lied to me, saying he bought it."

On the second day of the storm, Li Xiaoya received a call from a local real estate agency, claiming that the house she lived in was actually rented.

Li Xiaoya didn't believe it and forwarded the contract Meng Ci had sent her to the agency.

However, the agency provided a complete copy of the contract, confirming that the house was rented and urging her to pay the rent or move out.

Li Xiaoya called Meng Ci, who merely claimed he didn't have enough money and promised to buy the house after the storm ended.

With the rain pouring heavily outside and the agency constantly pressing for rent, Li Xiaoya had no choice but to transfer a month's rent.

Now, putting everything together, the three of them sensed something was off.

"Damn it, Meng Ci, that little bastard, dared to lie to me."

"He deserves a beating!"

Having figured this out, the three decided to confront Meng Ci.

But before doing so, they needed to fill their stomachs first.

After dividing the pot of porridge, Li Xiaoya still remembered to save a few bites for Liu Jie.

When she went in to feed Liu Jie, Li Xiaoya didn't forget to play the victim.

She told him that Li Shanyang and Zhang Lu wouldn't let her bring him food, and this was something she had secretly saved.

Liu Jie's gaze toward Li Xiaoya became even more affectionate after hearing this.

Meng Ci sighed; Liu Jie really was love-struck.

He believed whatever Li Xiaoya said without question, not realizing she might be selling him out.

Without further concern for the surveillance, Meng Ci opened the door and released a fly to monitor the stairwell, watching for when Li Shanyang and the others would come up.

Afterward, Meng Ci entered the space and went to where the weapons were stored.

Pistols, machine guns, long knives, short knives, bows and arrows...

These were all weapons that Meng Ci had purchased while in Country M.

Meng Ci picked through them and ultimately chose a long knife, as it was more suitable than firearms in the current situation.

Seeing the targets set up for shooting practice nearby, Meng Ci thought he should find time soon to start practicing, so he wouldn't end up with a useless piece of metal in his hands when the time came.

Exiting the space, Meng Ci placed the knife on the coffee table and then lifted two five-kilogram dumbbells.

Doing some warm-up exercises, just in case a fight broke out later, would increase his chances of winning.

Li Xiaoya and the others climbed floor by floor, their demeanor aggressive.

"Mom, Dad, what if Meng Ci has run away after being discovered?"

Li Xiaoya's voice came through the phone surveillance.

Meng Ci put down the dumbbells, rotated his neck, and prepared himself.

"The best thing would be for him to run away."

With such heavy rain outside and no proper tools, Meng Ci would surely be swept away if he ventured out, sparing him the trouble of dealing with it himself.

Zhang Lu thought maliciously, but to be safe, she decided to check the seventeenth floor.

Meng Ci controlled the fly surveillance to follow Li Shanyang, watching them knock on the door of 1701.

The couple inside was very cautious, first asking what was going on, and only opened the door after seeing the photo of the person they were looking for through the peephole.

"What do you want with him?"

The woman, Li Ping, opened the door slightly. Her husband, Zhao Ze, held a stick behind the door, ready for any emergencies.

Hearing Li Ping say this, it meant they must have seen Meng Ci.

"Of course, we're here to settle accounts with him."

Li Shanyang rubbed his lower back; if not for Meng Ci delaying them, he wouldn't have been hit.

Seeing the three people's angry expressions, Li Ping, remembering the previous threats, didn't hesitate to tell them that Meng Ci lived in 1706.

"And I saw him bring a lot of food into his place before." Li Ping added fuel to the fire.

That guy had so much food in his house and didn't share a bit with them; now he deserved the trouble coming his way.

Hearing this, Li Shanyang and the others stomped their feet in anger.

"Damn it, I want to see what this guy is up to!"

"He had food and didn't even think to give some to his old man, hiding it all to himself."

Li Shanyang led the way, taking a broom that Li Ping had left outside as they passed.

Meng Ci watched all of this clearly through the fly surveillance. At this point, there was no need to hide anymore.

It was already time to catch them like fish in a barrel; there was no fear of them escaping.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

"Meng Ci, open the door! Don't think I don't know you're in there."

"If you can hide inside but can't open the door, are you even a man?"

Seeing no one answer the door, Li Shanyang kicked it furiously several times.

Meanwhile, Li Ping and Zhao Ze decided to sneak behind the three of them.

They might get a chance to steal some food from Meng Ci's place.