Chapter 59: Killing Is Simple

Chapter 59: Killing Is Simple

Li Aixue fell to the ground in sheer terror, her hand cut by a shard of glass, though she felt no pain at all. "Don't kill me, I was wrong. Gu Pan, I was truly wrong, please spare me just this once."

Gu Pan did not waste any breath, nor did she spare her even a single glance. She walked straight over and slit Li Aixue's throat, then immediately used Li Aixue's scarf to block the spurting blood so it wouldn't stain her clothes.

After a few twitches, Li Aixue quickly lost her breath.

Gu Pan and the others searched all the way up to the top floor. While there were no people, there were plenty of supplies gathered on the topmost level: two bags each of rice and flour, two boxes of dried noodles, about two boxes of instant noodles and self-heating hot pots combined, a box of small snacks, two boxes of frozen vegetables and fruits, a box of frozen dumplings and buns, and a box of cooking oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.

There were also quite a few other daily necessities, such as toilet paper, washing powder, body wash, and facial cleanser.

Looking at these supplies, Gu Pan waved her hand. "Take everything back."

There was a utility cart in the building used for going up and down stairs, and a sled on the ground floor. Before long, all these items were transported back. After all, with no one guarding the place at night, things were easily stolen.

Cheng Yang and Chen Lang went upstairs first, dragging the corpses blocking the hallway down and throwing them outside the building entrance.

Then they carried the captured supplies upstairs, leaving the remaining bodies to be dealt with the next morning when there was daylight. At this point, they didn't care about other people's gazes or opinions; they did whatever was most convenient for themselves.

Throughout that night, none of the other residents in the building slept. Knowing the scale of the battle outside, they had blocked their doorways with everything movable in their homes, because who wouldn't fear someone suddenly breaking in?

Besides them, people in the neighboring buildings didn't sleep well either. The gunshots had been too loud and too numerous. After the apocalypse, who didn't know what that meant? Fear filled their hearts. They didn't know what all this signified for them, but they all knew one thing: surviving was becoming harder and harder.

Gu Pan and her group were truly exhausted today. After washing up upon their return, they went straight to sleep. It wasn't until past nine o'clock the next morning that people finally started speaking over the walkie-talkies.

After eating breakfast, they went out together to clean up the hallway, only to find that the corpses had already been cleared away by someone.

The building manager saw them come out and hurried over, wearing a flattering smile. "We've taken care of all the corpses. From now on, this residential complex is under your control. We're neighbors in the same building, so please look after us in the future."

Gu Pan looked at the thin building manager. "We never had any intention of carving out a territory or acting as overlords. We won't do anything to you."

This caught the building manager off guard. "Then you're not going to collect protection fees?"

Gu Pan replied, "I'm not going to protect you either, so what fees would I collect?"

The building manager wanted to say something, but didn't know what words to use. However, one thing was very clear to her. "With you folks living in this building, we feel much more secure. We're benefiting from your presence one way or another, so lending a hand to help out is only right. Well, you must be busy, so I'll be heading back."

Gu Pan acknowledged to herself that this building manager still had some brains. She had stopped trying to impose moral constraints, realizing that the apocalypse could indeed change a person.

After the manager left, Gu Pan and the others used snow to clean the steps once more, preventing the blood from becoming a source of pollution when the weather warmed up.

At that moment, the female homeowner from Apartment 301 walked up. "Need any help?"

Gu Pan answered, "No need, it'll be done in a minute."

The female homeowner of 301 said, "I guessed you'd be able to beat Li Dong and his people."

Listening to these words, Gu Pan felt something was off. A guess—that certainly wasn't something arrived at just by seeing the corpses today. "Did you guys know beforehand that Li Dong was coming to attack us?"

The female homeowner of 301 suddenly realized she had spoken out of turn. She hurriedly waved her hands. "No, no, you misunderstood. I was just speaking casually. My family has water boiling on the stove, I'm heading back first." With that, she rushed downstairs.

Her family had indeed known about this yesterday. Because their son had been murdered by Li Dong, they kept asking around about Li Dong's affairs every single day. They knew some of Li Dong's subordinates, so they had traded supplies for the information.

When they found out Li Dong was going to attack Gu Pan's group, she had been overjoyed. Although she didn't know which side would win, the person who killed her son would inevitably suffer injuries or death—that was the outcome she wanted to see.

Naturally, they hadn't shared this information with Gu Pan, fearing that Gu Pan and her group might find out and run away, leaving her son's revenge unfulfilled.

Today, her family had moved the most corpses because they were overjoyed. Overcome by excitement in that moment, she just wanted to look at the scene again. Even looking at the blood made her happy, so in her brief moment of euphoria, she let slip more than she should have.

Watching the woman from 301 leave, Gu Pan turned to Lu Ruicheng. "I guess they found out in advance, but didn't tell us, probably afraid that if we knew, we'd run away and no one would avenge their son."

Lu Ruicheng nodded. "That must be it. But whether to say something or not is their right; it's hardly worth wiping them out over."

Gu Pan agreed. "Indeed, with people like this, it's best to just keep your distance."

Cheng Yang and the others had heard it all too. In fact, not just them, but quite a few households in the building had been pressing their ears against the door cracks to listen to what was being said. By now, they were all aware of the little scheme pulled by the third floor, and secretly discussed what might happen to the third floor for offending Gu Pan's group.

However, Gu Pan and her group didn't take the third floor seriously at all. After cleaning up, they returned inside, divided the supplies captured yesterday, and spent the afternoon resting. After all, after a battle, recovery was necessary.

Later, Gu Pan and Lu Ruicheng took some dried noodles and frozen vegetables and went to Ding Weiguo's place.

They knew which building he was in, but not which apartment, so they stood downstairs and called out his name.

Ding Weiguo quickly opened his window to answer, then came downstairs to welcome them.

Gu Pan and Lu Ruicheng hadn't planned on going upstairs, so they waited for Ding Weiguo at the bottom.

By now, Ding Weiguo basically understood what had happened. He felt extremely fortunate to have been found and bought over by Gu Pan's group in advance, otherwise, he probably wouldn't have survived yesterday either.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs and walking up to them, Ding Weiguo said, "I thought you guys would run away, but you're truly formidable. Eight people against more than thirty! It seems justice always triumphs in the end, just like in a spy thriller. I'm so glad I chose the side of the light."

Gu Pan and Lu Ruicheng felt a bit awkward. This guy really had watched way too many spy thrillers. Still, he was kind-hearted at his core; but given that this was the apocalypse, it was hard to judge whether this was good or bad.

Therefore, Gu Pan didn't dwell on the topic with him. "These supplies are what you've earned. If you decide to join any team in the future, make sure you observe them carefully before making a decision."

Ding Weiguo accepted the supplies. "I understand. Thank you. You're a righteous team—can I follow you?"

Gu Pan directly refused. "We aren't considering taking in new members."

Knowing he didn't have anything impressive enough to make them accept him, Ding Weiguo said, "Then I hope that when I become capable in the future, I'll have the chance to follow you."

Gu Pan smiled. "Strengthening yourself is the right path. Once you have genuine ability, you'll have many more choices. Keep it up."

Ding Weiguo acknowledged her words.