Madness After the Apocalypse-Chapter 27: The starving neighbors

Sun Peng of 1302 organized a meeting with the neighbors to discuss their survival options.

Apart from An Nan on the 14th floor and Zhao Ping'an and his mother on the 15th floor, everyone else gathered. Hungry and emaciated, the group huddled together, their faces gaunt and their bodies frail.

"If we don't eat today, we'll starve to death."

"There's nothing left! Those office buildings on the water have been completely scavenged."

"My family has even eaten through our belts."

Sun Peng silently watched the discussions unfold until the crowd quieted down, then he softly spoke, "Did anyone notice that neither the 14th nor the 15th floor have gone out to search for food?"

The crowd fell silent, suddenly struck by the realization.

That's right!

An Nan on the 14th floor had only ventured out once. She looked healthy, with glowing skin and shiny hair—everything about her suggested she was well-fed.

Zhao Ping'an and his mother on the 15th floor hadn't been out at all.

"Their family must have plenty of food stored up! Enough that they don't even need to go out looking!"

"They're so selfish! We're starving, and they've got plenty of food!"

"We should go take some from them. We're neighbors! How can they hoard everything for themselves?"

"But that woman on the 14th floor is a killer..."

At the mention of An Nan, the group fell quiet for a moment.

They all remembered the bloody scene in the stairwell, the lifeless bodies of the Liu brothers who had died with their eyes wide open.

The psychological trauma was too great.

"Maybe we should start with the 15th floor..."

The group decided to target the 15th floor first. After all, they hadn't seen the family leave in ages, and their supplies might last long enough to feed everyone.

The group surged with renewed energy, despite their bellies still empty. They were all weak, but the thought of food filled them with excitement.

"Let's go to the 15th floor and take their food!"

"Finally, we won't have to starve!"

An Nan could hear the shouting in the stairwell from her room.

Her brow furrowed slightly. It seemed these people had become desperate from hunger.

However, since they weren't coming for her, she didn't feel the need to intervene. As long as they didn't break into her apartment, she'd let them make their own mistakes.

In her previous life, this group had tried to raid the 15th floor for food, but An Nan hadn't been involved. She had taken Wei Wenbin and his sister out to search for supplies instead.

She hadn't joined in because, at that time, she still had a sense of morality and didn't want to take advantage of her neighbors when they were vulnerable.

Also, she had believed that one household's supplies wouldn't be enough to share with so many people, and it was better to try her luck outside.

By the time she and Wei Wenbin returned with a few bags of noodles, the hallway was quiet again.

Though she didn't know exactly what had happened, the mother and son on the 15th floor hadn't left their home until the late stages of the extreme heat, leaving the building in good health.

Clearly, the neighbors had failed.

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As An Nan recalled these events, the group reached the 15th floor.

As expected, the stainless steel door in the stairwell was locked. A few young men rushed to the front and pried it open with crowbars.

Sun Peng was the first to approach the door of 1501, and with a polite demeanor, he knocked.

"Hello, we're your neighbors downstairs."

There was no answer.

He knocked again. "Is Zhao Ping'an home? I'm the head of the unit. I'd like to talk to you."

A calm voice responded from inside, "Sorry, it's not convenient to open the door. Please just tell me what it is."

Sun Peng looked over his shoulder at the hungry crowd behind him.

Everyone was gaunt, their faces sunken, their eyes filled with longing.

He cleared his throat. "The neighbors have no food left. We were hoping to borrow some supplies from you."

Inside, Zhao Ping'an responded, "Sorry, I can't help you. We don't have much food left either."

As a devout survivalist in the apocalypse, Zhao Ping'an understood the rules of survival: the saintly never survive.

So, he had no intention of sharing any of his food.

The crowd, hearing this response, grew agitated. Someone shouted, "You're lying! You two haven't left the house, you must have plenty of food!"

"Yeah, why hide the food? Share it with everyone!"

"You and your son are evil! You want to watch us all starve to death!"

The crowd grew louder, their frustration building as many pushed forward, pounding on the door.

Sun Peng saw the situation and stepped back, letting the more passionate ones take the lead.

Just then, a powerful voice came from inside.

"Get the hell out of here! I'm not your ancestor! Why should I care about your hunger? Want me to cook some shit for you?"

"Mother, please mind your manners."

"Manners? You coward, the dogs are already at the door, and you're not doing anything about it!"

The crowd outside grew even more enraged, and the first few people began slamming the door and trying to break the lock.

Suddenly, the group felt a sharp jolt of electricity running through their bodies.

"The door's electrified!"

The front runners were immediately jolted into convulsions.

In a panic, others tried to pull them away, only to be shocked as well, starting to twitch and dance in place.

Wei Wenbin quickly used his mop handle to push the others aside, and the electric shock stopped.

The shocked individuals collapsed, unconscious.

The remaining crowd hesitated, not daring to approach.

At this moment, two middle-aged men stepped forward.

"Our hammer handles are insulated! Let's smash the lock!"

They began hammering the door with loud clangs.

Inside, a voice called out.

"Hey! If I, Hu Cuilan, don't make a move, are you fools going to keep pushing me around?"

"Son! Get the stuff for me!"

Suddenly, a small hole appeared in the door.

The man holding the hammer noticed the hole just as a sharp arrow shot out and pierced his arm.

"Ah!"

He screamed as the hammer fell onto his foot.

"Ahhh!" he yelled, now writhing in pain as he sat on the floor, clutching his foot, the arrow still embedded in his arm.

The crowd jumped back in shock, and before they could react, more arrows shot through the hole, striking those at the front.

Some were hit in the shoulder, others in the thigh, and the unluckiest one was pierced straight through the chest.

"Run! They have a crossbow!"

Being struck by a crossbow bolt was dangerous under normal circumstances, let alone in this situation with no hospital or medicine to treat them.

The group panicked, scattering and running down the stairs.

Sun Peng, standing at the back, reacted quickly, moving to a shooting blind next to the door. He watched the door of 1501 with a dark expression.

"Everyone, don't panic. Stand on either side of the door, the crossbow can't shoot at us!"