Zhang Yi's ostentatious display of wealth left the entire residential building's property owners bleeding inside. The wastewater pooling in Zhang Yi's home now seemed like an unparalleled delicacy to them. However, even this, Zhang Yi denied them.
In the homes of Sun Zhichao and others, the aftermath of their failed assault on Zhang Yi's residence manifested within two days. The three wounded individuals felt an unbearable itching around their wounds. The area surrounding the bandages took on an abnormal yellow hue, hinting at something sinister. Sun Zhichao, unable to resist, tore open the gauze to examine the situation, only to find that the wounds were festering. A nauseating stench, reminiscent of the putrefaction of animal corpses, assaulted them.
"No, no, no! I don't want to die!"
Sun Zhichao cried uncontrollably, tears and mucus streaming down. Witnessing this, Zhou Peng and Ge Jialiang were petrified. They, too, uncovered their wounds, praying desperately to avoid infection. Unfortunately, idealism clashed harshly with reality. While superficial injuries might have a chance at self-healing, the deep wounds they sustained, penetrated by rusted crossbow bolts, coupled with bacterial infection and a lack of sufficient nutrition and medication, ensured the inevitable deterioration of their conditions.
Several screams pierced the air, resembling madness. Inside the room, Fang Yuqing trembled, holding her phone and messaging Zhang Yi.
"Brother Yi, they've gone insane, and Qing'er is so scared! Please come and save Qing'er!"
"Once Qing'er is there, she'll be obedient. Whatever you ask Qing'er to do, Qing'er will do."
After a while, Zhang Yi's reply came.
"Qing'er, I feel pain in my heart seeing you like this! But I can't leave; Chen Zhenghao is next door."
"How about you come over! Be careful on the way; don't let them catch you. Yesterday, my neighbor next door was killed by them. You, with such delicate skin, might become their target."
On the other end, Zhang Yi wore a smirk.
Faced with Fang Yuqing's delicate plea, he harbored only one thought: to torment her by any means and let her perish in pain and despair.
Indeed, upon hearing that Chen Zhenghao was next to Zhang Yi, Fang Yuqing's face contorted in a mixture of fear and hesitation. Chen Zhenghao had killed too many people, and she lacked the courage to take such risks.
"Brother Yi, Qing'er is terrified! Can you come and pick me up? Don't you have weapons?"
Zhang Yi silently cursed.
What a pest. She's really giving me face, asking me to pick her up?
"I'd like to do that too, but I got scared by them a few days ago and feel a bit unwell. Let's talk about it later; I'm a bit sleepy now. Goodbye!"
Listening to the screams outside his door, Fang Yuqing turned pale. When she tried to message Zhang Yi again, he ignored her.
In the following days, Zhang Yi's life remained affluent and leisurely. With no need to go to work, he slept and woke whenever he pleased. No need to toil for a living, and certainly no need to cater to anyone's whims. If someone dared to provoke him, he'd retort without reservation, reveling in the joy of carefree days.
Next door, Chen Zhenghao pondered incessantly on how to kill Zhang Yi and seize his property. However, for several days, Zhang Yi did not show himself. As long as Zhang Yi stayed indoors, Chen Zhenghao had no chance to deal with him. On the contrary, the constant threat loomed over him due to Zhang Yi's bounty.
Gradually, his nerves began to fray.
After much contemplation, Chen Zhenghao finally figured out what to do next. Monitoring the entire building through surveillance, Zhang Yi observed every movement in the corridor. In recent days, he noticed Chen Zhenghao seemed to be planning something. People started entering Chen Zhenghao's home, all young, strong, and living alone. Some came willingly, while others were coerced at gunpoint.
Chen Zhenghao's team expanded to ten individuals, more than before.
Zhang Yi understood.
"He's scared, so he's trying to recruit people to avoid being killed. He hopes to send them to collect the bounty on me."
Yet, in Zhang Yi's eyes, this approach was merely drinking poison to quench one's thirst. After Zhang Yi had killed over forty people in the building, the remaining population stood around seventy. As anticipated from his past life's experience, most families' supplies were likely depleted by now. In the face of impending food shortages, Chen Zhenghao sought to exploit the last available resource: human flesh.
Recruiting a group of lackeys, Chen Zhenghao was about to embark on a spree of carnage against the remaining residents. However, this also meant he needed to provide sustenance for his newfound comrades—ten individuals to feed.
Even in the face of internal strife, this arrangement was unsustainable.
Moreover, trust among the survivors had eroded.
Chen Zhenghao, a cripple, barely maintained his authority through the threat of his gun. However, that gun probably had few bullets left. Zhang Yi messaged Zhou Kuer, inquiring about the situation with Chen Zhenghao.
After a considerable delay, Zhou Kuer replied to Zhang Yi's message.
"Chen Zhenghao and his group have gone mad. All the food is gone, and they've resorted to cannibalism! I haven't eaten anything for two days; I feel like I'm starving to death."
Zhang Yi wasn't surprised by this revelation. If he were on the brink of starvation and survival depended on consuming human flesh, he might make the same choice. Of course, considering his current well-fed state, such thoughts were merely hypothetical.
Zhou Kuer continued, "In these days, they go out every day to find people. As long as they locate a house with inhabitants, they break in and kill everyone. We've run out of supplies, and it's ironic. Those dozens of people you killed initially bought us a few more days. However, they're also facing resistance, and there are casualties among them."
After a prolonged silence, Zhou Kuer sent another message.
"Zhang Yi, can you still save me?"
Reading this sentence, Zhang Yi sensed the desperation of this once aloof female doctor. It seemed she didn't harbor much hope for Zhang Yi's intervention. In such times of uncertainty, who could spare the capacity to care for the life and death of others?
After contemplating for a while, Zhang Yi made a decision.
Zhou Kuer, this woman, still had value to him. He couldn't let her die just like that.
Finding a top-tier surgeon from a Class 3 hospital was no easy feat, especially one with such in-depth knowledge of him.
"Help me with something, and once it's done, I'll let you live."