Chapter 36: Yes, For Self-Defense

Chapter 36: Yes, For Self-Defense

"Hah!"

Meng Ci hid the gun under his pillow. The military distributing food outside had likely left, and the residents' arguments gradually faded.

Finally, peace.

Meng Ci stretched lazily, snuggled back into his blanket, and continued sleeping.

However, he hadn't slept for long when various knocking sounds filled his ears again.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

"Zzzz, Meng Ci, Meng Ci, what are you doing!"

"Meng Ci."

Meng Ci was truly exhausted, half asleep and half awake, hearing all sorts of noise.

His rational mind told him he should get up and beat these people up.

But at that moment, Meng Ci felt as if he were experiencing sleep paralysis or a nightmare, unable to wake up.

Even though his mind was telling him that someone was banging on the door and calling his name, he couldn't get up, feeling as if something weighing a thousand pounds was pressing down on him.

With great effort, Meng Ci finally woke up.

"I'm here."

Taking several deep breaths, Meng Ci got up, picked up the walkie-talkie from the bedside table, and pressed the talk button.

On the other end, Shen Que sighed in relief and paused in the act of opening the door.

If this guy hadn't responded, he would have chased those people away and pried open his door to see what was going on.

"There are probably about ten men and women outside your door, some with kitchen knives, others with chairs."

"But their fighting ability is average. They seem to want to buy food from you."

Shen Que quickly described the situation outside in two sentences.

"Alright, I'll be right there!" said Meng Ci.

Buying food? Why would they bring kitchen knives?

Fortunately, he had previously asked the intermediary to replace the door and reinforce the frame.

And there was also an iron sliding door outside the security door.

Otherwise, given this situation, the door would have been broken down by now.

Putting on a black jacket, tucking the handgun into his waistband, Meng Ci grabbed the long knife near the entrance, opened the security door, and faced them through the iron sliding door.

The two who were trying to break down the door were caught off guard and almost ran into Meng Ci's long knife.

"Whoa!" The two jumped back in fright.

The others outside saw Meng Ci's long knife and took a few steps back.

Meng Ci opened the iron sliding door, stepped out, and closed both doors tightly.

"What do you want?" Meng Ci walked step by step towards them, holding the knife.

His eyes were fierce, and his voice lacked warmth.

These dozen or so people, fearing for their lives, kept retreating upon seeing Meng Ci's knife.

Even when Meng Ci opened the door, they didn't dare rush forward.

Only when Meng Ci stood at the door and closed the iron sliding door did he stop.

Then, Shen Que also opened his door.

He held a butcher knife, which looked quite old, with rust and blood stains mixed together, making it quite terrifying.

"Weren't we supposed to open the doors together after five minutes? Why did you come out early?"

Shen Que ignored the crowd and started chatting with Meng Ci instead.

After Meng Ci connected the walkie-talkie, the two agreed to come out together. At the time, Shen Que was wearing slippers.

When he heard Meng Ci say he needed to change clothes and asked him to wait five minutes, Shen Que didn't think much of it and went back to his bedroom to change shoes.

But just as he put on his shoes, he realized something was wrong and hurriedly came to open the door.

How could this person be so impulsive? What if he encountered danger alone!

Meng Ci rubbed his nose, "Isn't this something I can handle alone?"

Meng Ci thought that with Shen Que as a solid backup, he could come out first to show some toughness and see if he could intimidate them.

To let them know he wasn't someone to mess with, so they wouldn't dare cause trouble in the future.

If we can't intimidate them, Shen Que can come out then.

Seeing these two talking as if no one else was there, the group naturally became unhappy.

"Rumor has it that you went out to find food last night. We want to buy some."

The man who had banged on the door earlier cleared his throat and spoke.

Although the army delivered food this morning, they only gave three packets of instant noodles, which wouldn't last for three days.

During the previous three days, they had already been starving, barely surviving. If they continued to go hungry, they wouldn't make it until the heavy rain stopped.

Therefore, upon hearing that Room 1706 had found food last night, several people decided to come up and check.

Meng Ci raised an eyebrow, looking at him.

"Rumor? Who told you?"

"It doesn't matter who said it. What matters is not to be ungrateful."

"Exactly. Don't force us to break in and take it by force. Then things won't be so easy."

Even though they didn't reveal who had told them, Meng Ci still saw Li Ping and Zhao Ze in the crowd.

Li Ping, with her average mental fortitude, visibly took a step back upon hearing this.

Truly, they were confessing without being asked!

Meng Ci chuckled lightly, rubbing the long knife in his right hand against his left palm twice.

"Buy food?"

"Look at what you're holding. Does it look like you're here to buy something?"

"It looks more like you're here to rob!"

Seeing Meng Ci smiling, the others thought he was willing to sell them food and smiled in relief.

"We just need this for self-defense. You know how dangerous it is everywhere now!"

"That's right, that's right."

"Just for self-defense. Don't overthink it."

As they spoke, they tried to hide their weapons behind their backs.

"Young man, what food do you have? I'll pay five times the price."

"Young man, I'm not greedy. Whatever you're willing to give, I'll take. Don't worry about the money."

"Young man..."

"What if I don't want to give anything?"

In the midst of their chatter, Meng Ci suddenly spoke.

"I knew it, young man..."

"What!"

"You won't give?"

Their smiles froze, staring at Meng Ci in disbelief.

"We're all residents of the same building. As the saying goes, distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors. Why won't you give us any food?"

"That's right. This time you help us, next time we'll help you."

"Young man, don't be too selfish."

...

Meng Ci was also hungry and had heard enough of their moral coercion. He crossed his arms, his expression cold.

"My stuff, I give if I want to, and I don't if I don't. It's none of your business!"

"Besides, whether you can survive the heavy rain is another question."

"If you can't, my stuff would be feeding dogs."

Hearing Meng Ci's words, everyone became furious.

"Who are you calling dogs!"

"Who are you saying will die!"

"If you won't give, why insult us!"

"Am I insulting people?" Meng Ci's gaze swept over them coldly.

"I'm clearly insulting shameless creatures."

"Not having the ability to find food, so you come to rob others!"

"How can there be such shameless people in the world? And in a group."

Enraged by Meng Ci's words, everyone declared they would teach him a lesson.

"All right, then come on."

Meng Ci took a step forward with the knife, and the few of them instinctively retreated.

The most formidable weapon they had was a kitchen knife, whereas Meng Ci held a blade that was thirty to forty centimeters long. No matter how one looked at it, they were at a disadvantage.

Within the crowd, someone began to incite.

"Back off? If we don't take their food, we'll starve to death anyway."

"That's right; we're going to die either way. Why not fight?"

"I think he's just a paper tiger and might not dare to make a move."