65: Chapter 65 The Last Streetlight in the Old World

Zhang Qidong stood at the very back of the crowd.

"Everyone, calm down!"

"We aren't here to cause trouble today; we are here to demand an open and transparent survival plan."

His voice was steady, but he didn't budge an inch forward.

He quietly turned on his phone's camera, aiming the lens at the residents in the front row.

These self-proclaimed elites were even easier to incite than elderly women fighting for discounted eggs at the market when they ran out of food.

As long as they rushed to the front, he would win regardless of whether Lin Yuan took action or not.

"Mr. Lin!"

"We just want you to come out and explain!"

Several wealthy individuals in the front row immediately joined the clamor.

"That's right! Open the door!"

"We are all neighbors; if your house really hasn't hoarded any supplies, come out and make it clear!"

Someone, emboldened, raised a foot and kicked the security barrier.

The security barrier wobbled, emitting a harsh, grating sound.

Tiangong No. 1, living room.

On the screen, Zhang Qidong's hypocritical face was magnified.

Tang Qiqi curled her lip: "This guy is such a coward; he shouts the loudest but stands the furthest away."

Su Xiaonuan held a tablet and quickly recorded: "Mr. Lin, the people in the front are No. 7 Zhao Pengcheng, No. 9 Mrs. Liu, and No. 11 Sun Zhiyuan."

"They have many assets but little cash, and they didn't hoard supplies before the lockdown."

Lin Yuan gave a faint hum, his gaze falling on Wang Ya.

Wang Ya was wearing a blue one-piece swimsuit, draped in a bath towel, her grey-white pupils carrying an inhuman chill.

"You go," Lin Yuan said.

Wang Ya was stunned: "Mr. Lin, I..."

Lin Yuan interrupted her: "Let's see what you can do now."

Wang Ya's face turned even paler: "They are just... ordinary people."

Lin Yuan smiled, but it made chills run down Wang Ya's spine.

"In the apocalypse, it is often ordinary people who are the first to eat others."

Wang Ya gripped her bath towel tightly.

Li Hongda used to be an ordinary person, as were the parents who bullied Mo Tong.

Being ordinary never meant being harmless.

"This is an order," Lin Yuan's voice was calm.

Wang Ya's fingertips trembled.

Lin Motong stood to the side, looking up at her: "Mom, we must listen to Uncle Lin."

Wang Ya lowered her head, looking into her daughter's quiet eyes.

She remembered the way Li Hongda knelt in the basement begging for mercy, and the belts that had lashed out at her for the past decade.

Wang Ya let go of the bath towel: "Yes, Mr. Lin."

Lin Yuan pressed the intercom: "Lu Yan, load the firearms; be ready to handle any emergencies at any time."

"Understood."

Wang Ya closed her eyes.

Ripples appeared on the surface of the pool.

The drainage outlets and sprinkler system on the rooftop of Tiangong No. 1 were pulled by a force.

Su Muxue, standing to the side, noticed an abnormal drop in air humidity.

The next second, the sound of water suddenly erupted above the mountain road.

A stream of clear water slammed down from mid-air, hitting the loudest shouters in the front row squarely.

The banners collapsed into rags, and the loudspeakers let out harsh static as water entered them.

The wealthy individuals slipped under the impact, falling into a heap.

Suits clung to their bodies.

Wigs were askew.

Leather shoes were filled with water.

A woman screamed, lifting her soaked bag: "I want to call the police! This is a limited edition crocodile leather bag!"

Tang Qiqi slapped the table, laughing: "Hahahaha! Sister Wang Ya is amazing! The Water-Spraying Queen!"

Qin Yumo turned her head and coughed.

Su Muxue frowned slightly as she watched the screen: "The force is very restrained."

As a doctor, she could tell that if the water flow had been any heavier, the people in the front would have broken ribs.

Wang Ya lowered her head; she had eased up on the force at the very end of that strike.

Lin Yuan did not reprimand her.

Being able to control it to this extent was already enough.

"Pass."

Wang Ya's shoulders trembled.

[Ding! Target Wang Ya (Appearance 88), Favorability +1%, Current Favorability: 69%.]

Outside the door, the residents, soaked like drowned rats, grumbled and cursed, but no one dared to step forward again.

Zhang Qidong's face was livid; he cursed these freeloading losers under his breath, but quickly squeezed out a smile again and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Did you all see that! He's afraid!"

"Not daring to show his face only proves he has something to hide!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of police sirens came from down the mountain.

A police SUV drove into the main entrance, and Captain Han Xue stepped out, stepping into the accumulated water.

She swept a glance over the wet banners and the askew security barrier, staring at Zhang Qidong.

"Who organized this gathering?"

No one spoke.

Captain Han Xue shouted sternly: "Gatherings are prohibited during the lockdown! Disperse immediately!"

Zhang Qidong stepped forward quickly, resuming his appearance of someone concerned with the big picture.

"Captain Han, we are just communicating with our neighbors about supply issues."

"Tiangong No. 1 is suspected of hoarding a large amount of supplies."

"We hope the police can coordinate and have Mr. Lin bring them out to share."

Captain Han Xue looked at him: "Do you have evidence?"

"Wang Hongfa said yesterday..."

"Wang Hongfa has been criminally detained for breaking into a private residence with a weapon; his statement needs to be verified."

Captain Han Xue interrupted him, "That cannot be a reason for you to block the door, unless you want to go in and keep him company?"

Zhang Qidong's expression stiffened, and he said in a low voice: "One of my bodyguards went missing while walking nearby yesterday."

Captain Han Xue said coldly: "Report missing persons to the police station."

She didn't say that the number of missing people now was like water droplets falling into a river.

Captain Han Xue looked up the mountain road: "Lin Yuan, I'm here to have you sign the written statement for the Wang Hongfa case."

The bulletproof delivery slot emitted a metallic scraping sound.

The delivery slot opened.

Lin Yuan looked at Captain Han Xue through the bulletproof glass.

Captain Han Xue handed over the document: "Sign it. I don't have time to waste."

Lin Yuan took the document, signed his name, and glanced at the sidearm at her waist.

"The outer defense lines are shrinking; you really are like the last streetlight of the old world."

Captain Han Xue looked up: "What do you mean?"

"Others have started biting people, and you're still filling out paperwork."

Captain Han Xue took back the document, her eyes colder: "Procedures are the difference between civilization and beasts."

Lin Yuan smiled slightly: "Good luck."

[Ding! Target Captain Han Xue (Appearance 88), Favorability -1%, Current Favorability: -1%.]

Captain Han Xue turned and got into the car, glancing back at Tiangong No. 1; it looked more like a fortress waiting for war.

The radio transmitted an urgent call: "North District requesting support! The target has broken through the second line of defense!"

The police car's engine roared, and it vanished into the mountain road in an instant.

Seeing that even the police couldn't make Lin Yuan open the door, the residents' morale completely dissipated, and they walked back, cursing under their breath.

Zhang Qidong stood in place, trying to hold on: "Everyone go back first; I will continue to communicate."

No one responded.

Zhang Qidong stared at the gate and left with his bodyguards.

An old apartment in the west of the city; the living room lights were off.

Xia Qingqiu curled up on the sofa; her phone screen lit up with a call from Zhou Zihao.

As soon as she picked up, the other party shouted in a panic: "Qingqiu, I'm sorry, Ston School has plenty of supplies; we're going there to take refuge."

Zhou Zihao didn't mention his true purpose—Xia Qingqiu's fingerprint could open the school's cold storage; he needed this living key.

Xia Qingqiu thought of Lin Yuan's violent face and gripped her phone tightly: "Zihao, I don't know..."

A scream suddenly came from downstairs.

Xia Qingqiu walked to the window and saw four grey-faced people ramming a door; a neighbor was tackled and bitten, blood splattering on the wall.

The next second, a black shadow swept out, a short blade slashing throats and piercing brains; the movements were clean, and the four infected fell to the ground one after another.

Xia Qingqiu recoiled in terror, bumping into the corner of the table.

On the phone, Zhou Zihao was still shouting: "Qingqiu? What's the password? Say something!"

A knock on the door sounded, and the voice outside was very low: "Teacher Xia, Mr. Lin sent me to pick you up."

Xia Qingqiu forced herself to stay calm: "During the lockdown, we can't run around."

"Mr. Lin said, if you're willing to come, I'll take you; if not, I'll tie you up."

The door was kicked open, a shadow flashed inside, and a hand chop struck down.

Xia Qingqiu collapsed softly, and the phone fell to the floor.

Zhou Zihao's voice was still calling out anxiously; the shadow glanced at the screen and hung up.

In the hallway, the bitten neighbor was convulsing, fingernails scraping against the floor.

The shadow reported into the microphone: "Target secured."

Tiangong No. 1.

Lin Yuan had just finished dinner when his phone rang.

An unknown number.

He answered.

From the other end of the line came Shen Qingyue's voice.

Carrying a familiar arrogance.

"Lin Yuan."

"I know what will happen after the apocalypse."

"Only I can help you survive."

"Come to Xiangshan Villa and pick me up now, immediately! Right now!"

Lin Yuan listened.

He only replied with two words.

"Idiot."

The call hung up.

Shen Qingyue was stupid.

But that sentence just now didn't sound like pure madness.

Lin Yuan pressed the intercom.

"Lu Yan."

"Boss."

"Notify the shadow, after dropping off Xia Qingqiu, go directly to the perimeter of Xiangshan Villa."

"Investigate Shen Qingyue."

"Who she has seen, what calls she has made, and how many people are around her."

Lin Yuan put down the phone, his eyes cold and devoid of warmth.

"If she really crawled back from the future."

"Then let her die again."