Chapter 33 The Lone City (33)

Chapter 33: The Isolated City (Part Thirty-Three)

Huang Qiang broke into a cold sweat. Just as he was about to speak, a gunshot rang out from within the room. Jiang Songnian fired a decisive shot.

Huang Qiang thought he was done for, only realizing belatedly that the shot had been fired into the air.

After Jiang Songnian fired, everyone instantly ducked for cover.

"If you want your things back, line up properly to collect them. After tomorrow, everything will be confiscated!" Jiang Songnian holstered his gun, his cold, stern eyes scanning the crowd. Seeing no objections, he started to head back.

Huang Qiang, hands clasped behind his head and trembling with fear, actually stood up again. He stammered, "T-this isn't fair!"

Jiang Songnian's hand tightened on the gun butt.

Huang Qiang shrank back, then pointed at Lin Yanqing, who was standing by the elevator entrance. Summoning his courage, he said, "The supplies Chief Xue seized were all used by his brother! Their family still has a lot of canned food and antibiotics. Those are our supplies too! They should hand them all over!"

A murmur ran through the crowd, and people began nodding in agreement.

From within the crowd, Hong Yafen also stood up. She said impassively, "We can accept that supplies are short. But we can't let Lin Yanqing's family take advantage!"

With Hong Yafen stirring things up, the crowd also started accusing Xia Li.

"Everyone knows Xue Xiaofeng was keeping a man at home, pampering him with good food and drink."

"That's right, that's right. He used our things. He's just a parasite."

Huang Qiang suddenly broke down wailing. "That Xue Xiaofeng went around killing the infected everywhere! My old man was just wandering in the garden, perfectly fine, and they insisted on killing him! He could have had a chance to be saved! Xue Xiaofeng is a murderer! Xia Li is an accomplice!"

Chen Xian frowned. "You can't say that. The situation was urgent then. If it wasn't brought under control, more and more people would have been infected."

"Of course you'd defend him! You're a murderer too!" Hong Yafen's tears flew as she glared at Chen Xian with red, swollen eyes. She pointed at Lin Yanqing, her voice hoarse. "And you! You murderer! If you had brought the medicine downstairs back then, my husband wouldn't have died!"

Lin Yanqing was left speechless. His calm, unruffled gaze fixed on Hong Yafen's face. Hong Yafen met his stare defiantly, tears welling up and rolling down her cheeks. Eventually, she guiltily averted her eyes, covered her face with her hands, and crouched on the ground, weeping bitterly.

Lin Yanqing walked into the crowd and spoke up. "I'll hand over all the supplies in my house!"

As soon as he spoke, the crowd fell silent, looking at him in disbelief.

"But I want to make one thing clear: my brother is a victim! He didn't use any of your supplies! Nor did he need to. If anyone dares to slander him, they'll have me to answer to!" Having said that, with a seemingly casual motion, he raised a fist and punched the wall. The wall shook several times, and dozens of cracks snaked out from the point of impact. With a loud crash, countless pieces of rubble fell from the wall.

The crowd was terrified, shrinking back timidly. Lin Yanqing's strength was even greater than Xue Xiaofeng's.

"All the supplies in my house—antibiotics, canned food, compressed biscuits, seasonings... everything—I will hand them over. They will be combined with the supplies you surrendered and distributed proportionally." Lin Yanqing's gaze raked over the faces in the crowd. He pointed at Huang Qiang and said sternly, "I will hand everything over to him. From now on, everything in this complex has nothing to do with us. Everyone is on their own for safety and food! No one will save you anymore."

Chen Xian frowned. "Lin Yanqing! Let's talk this through properly. Don't make yourself a target."

"There's nothing to talk about." Lin Yanqing asked Huang Qiang coldly, "Wait here. I'll organize the things and bring them over. Once you confirm everything, don't bother me again."

Huang Qiang's eyes widened in pleasant surprise. "Okay! Give them to me. I'll distribute them properly! My name is Huang Qiang. I used to be in charge of a warehouse!"

Chen Xian's frown deepened. "With so many things, it might be better to let me handle it. I'm familiar with the situation in the complex."

"No, no, no! Can't give them to you!" Huang Qiang said urgently. "You were a member of the Self-defense Team before. Who knows how much you took advantage?"

The crowd once again began muttering accusations against Chen Xian. Chen Xian's face tightened, feeling quite hurt inside.

"That's all I have to say. Once the things are sorted, I'll deliver them to you." Lin Yanqing turned and left.

Jiang Songnian shrugged and strode after him.

Lin Yanqing slammed the door shut upon returning home and stormed into the storage room. He dragged out the folded cardboard boxes from the bottom and found the clear packing tape.

Jiang Songnian scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly. "Those people are so rude. Why aren't they afraid of me? Is it because I'm too handsome?"

"Because they know you wouldn't really shoot. They can tell good people from bad. No matter how tough you act, you're still a good person." Lin Yanqing walked past him, studied his face, then pursed his lips into a slight smile. He sat down on the floor and unfolded the cardboard boxes.

Jiang Songnian sighed and sat down beside him. He took Lin Yanqing's hand and asked, "How is it? Did you hurt yourself?"

Lin Yanqing tried to pull his hand back, but Jiang Songnian stubbornly refused to let go. Holding Lin Yanqing's soft, slender fingers, he couldn't help but ask, "Does this count as us holding hands?"

Lin Yanqing yanked his hand back sharply and muttered, "Why would we hold hands? You're always saying whatever comes to mind."

Jiang Songnian smiled, reached out to help him press down on the cardboard box, and asked, "Are you really planning to give away all these things from home?"

"Of course not. I'm not a fool." Lin Yanqing sealed the box with tape, recalling the earlier scene. "This Huang Qiang is strange. How did he know my family has antibiotics and canned food? Even Doctor Xiao doesn't know, but he does. He also knows about Lili. He wasn't a member of the Self-defense Team."

"You suspect someone is behind him, inciting him to cause trouble?" Jiang Songnian asked.

Lin Yanqing nodded hesitantly. After sealing the box, he filled it with medicine and compressed biscuits until it was packed full.

"That's not surprising either. Things like this will only become more frequent in the future," Jiang Songnian said.

Lin Yanqing handed him the box and instructed, "Take these few boxes to your place first. Help me fill the other boxes with stuff, find a few people, and move them to Huang Qiang's place."

"No problem. So, how are you going to thank me?"

Lin Yanqing shoved the box into his arms and handed him a can of cola.

Jiang Songnian smiled, tucked the cola into his pants pocket, stood up, and walked out.

*

Lin Yanqing packed the boxes and called Xia Li and He Yuanshan over to help. When He Yuanshan arrived, he brought Zhuang Jiaxi along. Zhuang Jiaxi, still far from realizing he had become a little giant, forgot to duck when entering and exiting the elevator, banging his forehead with a series of thuds, raising two large red bumps.

Lin Yanqing was putting gummy bears into a box. Xia Li and Zhuang Jiaxi crouched nearby, drooling.

Xia Li swallowed hard. "I can't bear to eat the gummy bears."

"Are you still a child? Always thinking about candy." Lin Yanqing handed the box piled high like a small mountain of snacks to Zhuang Jiaxi. "Xiaoxi, can you help me carry this box?"

Zhuang Jiaxi nodded obediently and cradled the box in his arms.

He Yuanshan borrowed two small carts, loaded the remaining dozen or so barrels of water onto them, and pushed them into the elevator first.

Jiang Songnian pushed a cart with one hand. Seeing Lin Yanqing approaching with a box, he quickly reached out to take it.

"No need, I can carry it myself." Lin Yanqing took two steps to the side.

Jiang Songnian strode forward and unceremoniously snatched the box from his arms. "Let me handle the heavy lifting."

"Yay, thank you, Uncle!" Xia Li swiftly stacked the box in his hands onto the pile in Jiang Songnian's arms. Jiang Songnian, now holding two heavy cardboard boxes with one hand, felt his center of gravity plummet.

Lin Yanqing pursed his lips, suppressing a laugh.

Jiang Songnian shot him a glance, cleared his throat, and adjusted the boxes in his arms. "No problem. Don't mention it."

The five of them went downstairs in two separate elevators. The carts were stacked with boxes and purified water, and their arms were also full of supplies. They marched in a grand procession toward the sales office.

Zhuang Jiaxi crouched down to pick them up. Xia Li ran over to help. The three of them worked for a while, gathering the scattered supplies from the ground back into the boxes before setting off again.

During the hottest part of noon, there were very few pedestrians on the road, but many residents were observing from their windows. They witnessed Lin Yanqing and the others delivering the supplies to the sales office.

Huang Qiang had been waiting for a long time. Seeing Lin Yanqing enter, he perked up, but soon put on a stern face and said pompously, "Did you bring everything?"

"That's all there is. Count it," Lin Yanqing said.

Huang Qiang took a look. Apart from over a dozen barrels of purified water, there were only four cardboard boxes. He gave a disdainful look and asked scornfully, "That's it? No hidden stash?"

"My home isn't a supermarket. If you think I'm hiding anything, you can go search my place right now," Lin Yanqing said coldly.

Zhuang Jiaxi stood behind him, tilting his head somewhat foolishly. Yet even so, his towering height of over two meters still made an imposing presence, especially since he had a history of mental illness, which made Huang Qiang wary.

He coughed a few times and opened the boxes to check. One whole box was filled with snacks—gummy bears and compressed biscuits on top, but junk food underneath. It looked like a large box, but there wasn't much inside. Another box contained bottles and jars of seasonings—such a big cardboard box, yet it only held a few packs of spices and a few bottles of soy sauce.

Huang Qiang was very dissatisfied until he opened the other two boxes: one full of vitamins, the other full of antibiotics. Although they were small cardboard boxes, a rough estimate showed over twenty boxes in total.

Huang Qiang casually opened a box of antibiotics, checked it, then hefted the cardboard box in his hand, concealing his inner delight as he said gravely, "You *should* be handing this over. Don't think that just because you've given up some supplies, you've contributed to the neighborhood."

Jiang Songnian kicked him in the shin. Huang Qiang cried out and fell to the ground. As he tried to sit up, Jiang Songnian grabbed him by the neck and slammed him back onto the floor, his head hitting the ground hard.

"Quit your posturing. This is my final warning—don't bother us again! Next time, I'll break your neck!" Jiang Songnian angrily kicked him again, then, while Huang Qiang was distracted, snatched the gummy bears from the box and hid them in his pocket. "Let's go home."