Doomsday:I Empty Global Resources

Among the crowd were men and women, young and old, though most were mothers with young children. There were even two visibly pregnant women.

After all, in such extreme heat, adults could still endure for a while, but children and the elderly struggled to withstand it. Several mothers whose young children were already showing adverse reactions to the heat saw He Chunmei's message and, in a daze, followed her here.

However, upon arriving, they realized there wasn't an air conditioner readily available—instead, they had to collectively "besiege" someone to obtain one.

Some felt this crossed their moral boundaries and turned away before even hearing He Chunmei's full plan. But others, despite knowing such a "siege" was unethical, couldn't bear to see their children suffer.

For the sake of their feverish little ones, they decided to "fight" for it.

Having learned her lesson from the electric shock incident, He Chunmei didn't approach the door this time. Instead, she stood at a distance, holding a megaphone she had dug out from some forgotten corner. She planned to rally the crowd to shout demands, forcing Jiang Yan to come out, then use the power of the masses to pressure her into opening the door.

"Chunmei-jie, isn't this illegal?" A young woman in the remaining crowd spoke up after checking her phone.

The heat made phones overheat with just a few taps, so most had kept theirs tucked away. Now, hearing this, many pulled theirs out.

The young woman read aloud, "Maliciously blocking someone's door is a civil violation—obstructing the right of passage. It's against the law."

The others exchanged uneasy glances.

He Chunmei rolled her eyes dramatically and raised her voice. "The law? Who's enforcing it now?! Let me tell you, I just found out most of our neighborhood's security guards have been reassigned by the police station! Why? Because they're short-staffed!

We're still doing okay here—other places have already descended into looting and chaos! Haven't you seen the videos on Douyin and Kuaishou?!"

"Yeah, these aren't normal times anymore. People online are saying the Apocalypse is coming. The police probably won't bother with petty neighbor disputes. Bold folks get fed, the timid starve—and we're not even doing anything that bad!"

"Exactly! Getting an AC installed is impossible now—people are snatching up fridges and freezers just to make ice for cooling. My husband went to buy one this morning, and just as he was about to pay, someone yanked it right out of his hands!"

"Right, right! We're just saying it's too hot inside and want to chat outside—what's the big deal?! Can't we gossip in front of our own homes?!"

"At the end of the day, she's the selfish one! This building has 120-square-meter units—what's a young girl doing hogging all that space and an air conditioner alone? It's pure waste!" The furious speaker was Zhang Qiqi.

She had come alone.

Her family did have a cooling fan, but it only blew hot air—barely better than nothing. Her son, Song Xiaofei, was lying at home with a fever.

The thought of it made her hate Jiang Yan to the core.

If it weren't for her, Song Deming wouldn't have died, and she wouldn't have been forced to move out of the villa because of the debt collectors chasing after Song Deming.

Right now, she could be lying in the villa, enjoying the air conditioning and eating ice cream!

Besides, although she didn't know what had happened in between, she was certain that her younger brother's death and Song Deming's death were definitely connected to Jiang Yan.

The police actually claimed she wasn't involved in either death—clearly, they'd been bribed with a hefty sum!

Especially since that little bitch disappeared without a trace after leaving the police station. Her social media accounts, which had millions of followers, suddenly stopped updating. Wasn't that a clear case of fleeing from justice?

If she ever found her, she'd strangle her with her bare hands!

"I think Qiqi is right. After all, you all know the effects of extreme heat. Let me remind you—we all have children. Heatstroke has a high fatality rate! And right now, hospitals are completely overwhelmed. If someone gets sick, there's no way they'll get treatment.

If anything happens to the kids, we'll regret it for the rest of our lives as parents." He Chunmei glanced at the crowd, speaking with grave sincerity.

In the company, she was at least a small-time manager.

She knew a thing or two about manipulating people's psychology.

Those with strong principles or minimal needs had already left after hearing her proposal.

The ones still standing here were either undecided or desperate for air conditioning.

Besides, most people were prone to herd mentality or peer pressure.

As long as she highlighted their core concerns and appealed to their emotions, she could usually persuade (or manipulate) them successfully.

Especially now, with Zhang Qiqi—a woman of striking beauty and poise—leading the charge.

Men couldn't resist beautiful women, but sometimes, neither could women.

Sure enough, the crowd fell silent after hearing her words.

One elderly man, who had been about to leave after learning that private blockades were illegal, stopped in his tracks again.

"Chunmei, I just remembered—this morning, I saw a girl leaving your building. She was very tall, elegant, and slender, but dressed strangely. Since she was a stranger, she stood out to me.

Since you mentioned that girl was a kept mistress who likes covering her face, I bet it was her," one of the pregnant women said.

Shallow Bay had been occupied for years, and most residents in Building A had lived there long enough to recognize each other.

The only recent newcomers were on the 7th and 32nd floors.

The pregnant woman had one hand on her waist and the other gently rubbing her belly. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead, and her face was flushed.

"No wonder! This morning, I was practically screaming my lungs out, but she acted like a corpse—no reaction at all!" He Chunmei stomped her foot in frustration.

Zhang Qiqi's eyes flashed with malice as she sneered:

"Ha! Sister, isn't that even better? With the Blood Mosquitoes outside and all the air-conditioned hotels fully booked, she'll have to come home eventually. We'll be waiting!

And since we're at it—why not go all the way? If she refuses to let us in, we'll just snatch her keys! We've got plenty of trump cards here!"

As she spoke, she deliberately glanced at the two pregnant women and several elderly people, her implication crystal clear.

He Chunmei glanced nervously at Jiang Yan's door and frowned:

"Her place has both a keypad lock and fingerprint lock—no keys needed."

"Sis, doesn't that make it even easier?!"

Zhang Qiqi said with a sly glint in her eyes, giving He Chunmei a meaningful look...

(End of chapter)