So the neighbors died. What did that have to do with them?
None of the three households on the thirty-second floor spoke. Su Han wasn't offended. He simply said, "No matter what, try to come by at 3 this afternoon. There aren't many of us left, and we should at least talk about what comes next."
What comes next?
What was there to talk about? Were they supposed to tie their fates together and survive as one big group? That would only make things more dangerous. None of them really knew each other. How could they possibly trust one another?
Lan Jin had no interest in anything Su Han said, but she was curious about the current population in Building 12. How many people were actually left? What were they thinking?
So unless something unexpected happened, she planned to attend.
After giving his pitch, Su Han didn't wait for a reply. He simply turned and headed upstairs.
In truth, what he was doing was no small task. Every building was tall, with countless units on each floor, and he was knocking on doors one by one. Such effort wasn't normal. Lan Jin didn't believe for a second that Su Han was doing all this without some kind of personal agenda.
Once Su Han left, Ling Jiang didn't return to her own apartment. Instead, she came over to Lan Jin's place. Once Lan Jin sat down on the couch, Ling Jiang got right to the point.
"You going this afternoon?"
"I probably will," Lan Jin said without hesitation. "He's definitely not up to anything good. But I believe in knowing your enemy. That's how you win."
Ling Jiang considered this for a moment. "I wasn't planning to go. But you're right. And the way he was acting just now... if anyone skips out today, I doubt he'll let it go. Fine. I'll go with you. Let's hear what kind of trick he's playing."
Besides, she still had a bit of food left, but not enough to last too long. Before making any decisions, she wanted to hear exactly what Su Han planned to do about the food situation. If his plan didn't work, she would need to find another way.
Ling Jiang looked at Lan Jin for a long moment, as if making up her mind about something. Then she asked seriously, "Do you still have food? How long can you last? I'm running low."
"I still have food, sure. But enough to last too long? Definitely not," Lan Jin replied. "And it's not like food is easy to find right now. That Su Han just now... I don't think he has anything either. Probably ran out himself and now wants to squeeze it out of everyone else."
"There can't be much food left in our building," Ling Jiang said. "If we want more supplies, we'll have to go out and look for them."
Then she added, "Lao Gao has an inflatable kayak. We could use that to go out. It's small, though. No way all four of us would fit. But we could go in shifts. I was thinking, the four of us... we're all still sane. We can fight. Why not team up? I could go with Lao Gao, and you with Xiao Huang. Or if you prefer, you and I can go together, and Lao Gao with Xiao Huang. However we split it, we'll share whatever we find equally among the four households. If we stick together, we should have no trouble surviving here."
Lan Jin listened quietly. She studied Ling Jiang for a while, then asked solemnly, "So you want to form an alliance?"
Ling Jiang chuckled. "Calling it an alliance makes it sound so formal, but yes, that's what I mean. I only just moved here. The only people I really know are you and Xiao Huang. And even if we haven't said anything outright, it's pretty obvious you two are close. You teaming up makes perfect sense. But why not include me and Lao Gao too? Four is stronger than two."
She paused, then added with a half-smile, "Don't laugh at me, but if it were just me, I wouldn't be scared of anyone. I wouldn't need an alliance. But I've got my grandma. I have to think ahead. I can't risk everything.
I've been thinking about this for a few days now. You're not stupid. I'm sure you've seen it too. Things might look calm in the building right now, but if this rain keeps falling and people run out of food, it'll turn ugly fast. So we should act now, before chaos sets in. Work together. Go find supplies while we still can."
She wasn't wrong. Lan Jin could admit that.
Teaming up wouldn't cost her much. Compared to dealing with strangers in the building, at least she knew these two. They'd interacted before, and both had solid combat skills. Partnering up would definitely improve their odds of staying safe.
At the very least, on the surface, Ling Jiang and Lao Gao seemed trustworthy.
Still, trusting someone wasn't the same as speaking for someone else. Lan Jin might be able to decide things for herself, but not for Huang Jinghe. She had to consider his stance.
"I'll talk to Xiao Huang first," she said.
That answer clearly surprised Ling Jiang. "I thought Xiao Huang followed your lead. Didn't expect you'd need to ask him."
"We've always made decisions together," Lan Jin explained. "No one calls all the shots. That's the only way to last long-term. And we didn't know each other before we moved in here. It hasn't even been a full year. I can speak for myself, but Xiao Huang needs to decide for himself too. I'll go talk to him now. If we agree, we'll all sit down and figure out how to handle the supply situation."
"Sounds good."
Lan Jin left Qiao Qiao in the living room with Nana and told the dog to keep watch. Then she and Ling Jiang went their separate ways. Ling Jiang headed to Lao Gao's place, and Lan Jin made her way to Huang Jinghe's.
When she explained the plan, Huang Jinghe frowned.
"Sister Lan, do we really need an alliance? We've got so much food. We could stay indoors for years and be fine."
Lan Jin shook her head. "Same with me. I've got years' worth of food. But the problem isn't what we have. It's what others see. If we stay inside and keep eating like normal, people are going to notice. They'll start wondering where it's all coming from. If just one or two people start eyeing our supplies, we can handle it. But if the whole building sees us as a target, how can we fend them all off?
Sure, we might hold them off for a while. But what about people like Lao Gao and Ling Jiang? If they turn on us, can we stop them?
And food being stolen isn't the worst part. What if someone dies in the process? That's not worth it. So instead of letting people find out what we have, we should go out and look for food too. Make it seem like we're scraping by like everyone else.
And if we're going to look for supplies with someone, who would we trust more than those two?"
The answer was obvious.
"Compared to strangers, Sister Ling and Lao Gao are definitely the better choice," Huang Jinghe admitted. "If the four of us team up and someone's home gets targeted, the others can step in to help. That way, even if we do have food, it's safer."
===
Do you love the "misunderstood MC" trope?
You know, those protagonists who are accidentally seen as legendary figures while remaining completely oblivious? Think Momonga from Overlord, Tanya Degurechaff from Youjo Senki (Saga of Tanya the Evil), or Lin Jie from I'm Really Not The Demon God's Lackey.
Just like them, our MC is seen as a terrifyingly brilliant and powerful figure—except she has no idea why everyone fears her so much. If you enjoy watching side characters overanalyze every little thing the MC does—while the MC is just vibing—then you'll love this story!
"The Invincible Money-Grubbing Fairy"
Yao Ranran was just playing a cultivation game when she got isekai'd as a minor side character. Worse, the male protagonist ruined her cultivation, leaving her a cripple! But no worries—she's got a blacksmith shop, a laid-back attitude, and one goal: Get rich or die trying.
While others see her as an unfathomable, terrifying genius, the truth is… she's just winging it. Her disciples and allies? They're convinced every move she makes is 5D chess. Enemies? They tremble at her "ruthless schemes." Meanwhile, Yao Ranran is just sipping tea under her unbreakable 99,000-layer shield, wondering why everyone keeps calling her a peerless fairy.
Will the world ever realize the truth? Or will Yao Ranran accidentally ascend to legend while just trying to run her shop?