Chapter 35: Finished, Becoming the Target

Chapter 35: Finished, Becoming the Target

"Everything's fine, come in!"

Shen Que entered the house with his things and let Meng Ci inside. Then he turned around and fumbled on the ground, picking up something before closing the door.

The headlamp on his head had long run out of power, so Meng Ci couldn't see anything.

"Snap!"

With a click, Shen Que pressed something, and the room gradually lit up.

However, the light was warm yellow, not as bright as a white bulb, but it was still quite good during power outages.

Looking at the living room curtains, their thickness could effectively block any light from escaping.

"I have a small generator at home. If you need to charge anything in the future, you can come to me!" Shen Que walked into the living room with his things.

"Okay." Meng Ci nodded.

Shen Que's house was decorated much like his personality, mainly in black, white, and gray.

There were no sofas or similar furniture in the living room; instead, there was a standing punching bag, an exercise bike, a Smith machine, dumbbells...

No wonder this guy looked so muscular; he had so many workout tools.

Shen Que brought over two plastic stools for them to sit on.

"What did you pick up just now?"

Meng Ci thought about how calm Shen Que usually was, but he suddenly seemed off, indicating that something significant must have happened.

Shen Que held out his palm, and Meng Ci saw a metal plate in his hand.

"What is this?"

Meng Ci was puzzled, wondering what was so surprising about this thing.

Shen Que explained, "I heard you say someone tried to pry open your lock."

"So to prevent others from prying my lock, I put a metal plate in the keyhole whenever I go out, just in case."

"The metal plate was still in place during my previous visits today."

"This time, probably because the inflatable boat was deflated for too long, someone attempted to pry the door!"

Hearing this, Meng Ci fell silent.

They both thought it would be safer to look for food late at night, but they didn't expect to be targeted.

Seeing Meng Ci frowning, Shen Que comforted him.

"Don't worry, if there's any trouble, come to me."

Then, seemingly remembering something, Shen Que opened a nearby cabinet and took out a pair of walkie-talkies.

"Take this. If you need help, switch to channel three and call me."

Meng Ci didn't refuse and took it.

Since that person dared to pry the lock, it wouldn't be long before everyone in the building knew they had food.

That would be troublesome.

Apart from him and Shen Que who could go out to find food, there were also Si Chen and his group.

But Si Chen and his group of six men were all tall and strong, so these bullies might not dare to confront them easily.

He and Shen Que were only two people, especially since he looked slender, making them likely targets.

Now that they were the focus of attention, mutual support was crucial.

Originally, Shen Que wanted to keep Meng Ci for dinner, but after a busy night and knowing they were being watched, Meng Ci had no appetite and declined.

Shen Que didn't insist and started dividing the items.

Meng Ci noticed that after Shen Que separated the snacks he had taken, he strictly divided the rest into two portions, putting the odd items into Meng Ci's storage bag.

"You don't need to give me so much; I still have some food at home."

"And you did most of the work, so keep more for yourself."

Saying this, Meng Ci tried to take some items out.

"No need!" Shen Que held Meng Ci's hand.

"I still have food from before the storm; keep yours."

Seeing Shen Que's sincerity, Meng Ci accepted it, thinking he would invite him for more meals later.

Shen Que helped Meng Ci carry the items back to his room and reminded him.

"Remember to barricade the door tonight. Don't open it if someone knocks."

"If I need anything, I'll contact you through the walkie-talkie."

"If you need anything, remember to use the walkie-talkie too."

"Charge the walkie-talkie if its battery runs out."

Meng Ci nodded obediently with every sentence he heard.

Then he complained inwardly, "Isn't this guy treating me like a three-year-old?"

No matter what, in the real world, he was a fine young man of twenty-five.

Even this body had already turned eighteen and was an adult.

Could his appearance really be that unsettling?

However, the words others said were all kind, so if Meng Ci were to refute them, it would make him seem ungrateful.

Therefore, he nodded obediently.

This made Meng Ci feel like he was back in school!

After seeing Shen Que off, Meng Ci entered the space.

In the space, Meng Ci had already assembled the generator, and the water heater was already operational.

After taking a ten-minute hot shower, Meng Ci quickly came out of the space, then opened his phone and entered a fifty in an electronic spreadsheet.

This spreadsheet was something Meng Ci had set up specifically to track the time in the space.

It was to have a clear understanding of the time in the space to prevent being kicked out again.

Taking out a bowl of tofu pudding and two fried dough sticks from the space, Meng Ci enjoyed his meal before going to bed.

The next morning, Meng Ci was woken up by the noise of people.

"Attention residents, attention residents, those who need food should come downstairs as soon as possible to collect it."

Meng Ci yawned; it was only ten o'clock, and he had barely slept for three hours.

These people were truly excessive; couldn't they keep their voices down!

If it weren't for the apocalypse, he would definitely report them for disturbing the peace.

"How can three packets of instant noodles last for three days!"

"And there's no electricity, how are we supposed to prepare them!"

"When everything was fine, they talked about serving the people, but now when there's trouble, this is how they treat us!"

"Can the electricity and water supply be fixed!"

...

The arguments continued, and the residents' dissatisfaction was reaching its peak. Soon, break-ins and violent incidents would become frequent.

In the book, the government provided food and drink for a month, yet there were still many cases of nighttime burglaries.

Now, with insufficient supplies, once people get desperate, who knows what crazy things they might do.

If someone discovered that he went out to find food last night, they might target his place first.

In recent days, Meng Ci had also been keeping an eye on Si Chen and the others.

Apart from going out to find food initially, these six people hadn't left their home since.

If not for Meng Ci secretly using a fly surveillance to check, he might have thought they had already left.

As for the inflatable boat Si Chen left behind, after bringing back food once, Wei Heng claimed it for himself.

At Wei Heng's house, besides his wife and mother, his younger brother had recently moved in.

Judging by the amount of food Wei Heng brought back, they haven't needed to go out in recent days.

Considering all this, bullying him and Shen Que, two lone individuals, indeed seemed more feasible.

Placing a long knife at the entrance, Meng Ci also took out a long bow, a hundred arrows, and a gun with ten bullets.

If the situation really got out of control, the gun would be the most threatening weapon.

Outside, the arguments did not receive any response, and soon the sound of engines could be heard.

The boats delivering food left in an orderly manner, and the residents' questioning gradually faded away due to the lack of response.

Meng Ci yawned and went back to sleep.