Madness After the Apocalypse-Chapter 16: Avoid the demoness

"Alright, alright! I'll fix it right now, I swear! It'll be as good as new!"

Liu Lao'er begged, his voice trembling as his hands shook uncontrollably while he worked on the lock.

Driven by fear, he worked quickly, almost too quickly.

"It's fixed! Sis, I've fixed it!" he said, laying down his tools, nervously watching An Nan's reaction.

When she bent down to carefully inspect the lock, Liu Lao'er seized the opportunity and dashed out the door.

He stumbled down the stairs, shrieking at the top of his lungs, "Help! Murder! 1402, there's been a murder!"

An Nan raised an eyebrow, surprised at how quickly this coward managed to flee.

She brandished her three-pronged knife, swiftly catching up to him, and lunged with a precise strike.

But Liu Lao'er, in his frantic scramble, inadvertently dodged the fatal blow, only being grazed in the shoulder.

Fueled by the instinct to survive, he sprinted, dragging his blood-soaked body back up to the seventh floor.

The residents on the fifth and sixth floors, who had been hiding in the stairwell, were petrified by the sight and screamed in panic, huddling together in terror.

Before Liu Lao'er could open his door, An Nan was upon him, knife in hand.

"Please! Don't kill me!" he cried, his eyes bulging with fear.

An Nan was unmoved. In this lawless world, sparing him would only plant the seeds of her own demise. Who could predict when and how she would meet her end?

With ruthless decisiveness, she ended his life.

She glanced briefly at the trembling residents of the fifth and sixth floors, then without a word, turned and headed home, leaving Liu Lao'er's lifeless body in the stairwell.

Having slain the proverbial chicken, she couldn't resist warning the monkeys.

In her past life, none of these neighbors were worth befriending. Order was on the brink of collapse, and it was time they learned that she was not to be trifled with.

The next morning, the other neighbors cautiously emerged to investigate.

They had all heard Liu Lao'er's screams the previous night, but none had dared to open their doors.

After all, who wanted to risk their life?

Though they had steeled themselves, the sight of the blood-splattered walls left them shaken, as if they had stumbled into a horror film.

The tale spread through the neighborhood like wildfire, growing more ominous with each telling:

"On the 14th floor, there's a ruthless female demon who kills without hesitation!"

"She's terrifying—armed with a dagger, she slashes anyone who crosses her path! I heard she's a wanted fugitive too..."

Meanwhile, Liu Lao'er's mother, upon discovering her son's body, threw herself into the hallway, wailing and demanding that someone call the police.

But the police were unreachable, the station submerged under floodwaters long ago.

With no other option, she went door to door, begging her neighbors for help.

"That girl on the 14th floor killed my son! Is no one going to do something about it?"

But the neighbors shut their doors tight, unwilling to get involved.

"Who wants to risk their life with that psycho? I'm not that stupid."

Besides, the Liu brothers had tried to break into a young girl's room in the middle of the night. Anyone with eyes could see their intentions.

"Looks like they got what they deserved!"

No one answered Liu Lao'er's mother, and she collapsed on the ground, yelling curses into the empty air.

"You scum! Not one of you will stand up for my son!"

"How can you be so selfish? I'm an old woman, and no one will help me!"

She yelled for over an hour, her voice hoarse and relentless.

Finally, someone couldn't take it any longer.

"Enough already! If you want justice, go talk to 1402. Don't guilt-trip us into doing your dirty work!"

Liu Lao'er's mother was notorious for using moral manipulation.

Every morning, she was the first to elbow her way to discounted vegetables, boasting with vigor. If no one offered her a seat on the bus, she'd scold them without mercy.

In the neighborhood, she often kicked at dogs she didn't like, then pretended to fall when the owners confronted her.

It was no surprise that the others were enjoying her misfortune.

"Yeah, why don't you go to 1402 and get answers? You're too afraid to confront her, yet you're here blaming us, old hag!"

"Need us to walk you upstairs and talk to her?"

Liu Lao'er's mother, suddenly quiet, picked herself up and gathered her son's body to take home.

"My son, I couldn't avenge you... You couldn't even defeat her, and if I go after her, I'll be dead too."

The residents outside, hearing the silence, rolled their eyes: Truly a selfish, cowardly old woman.

Meanwhile, Bai Wenbin and Qian Ying'er, who had been hiding in their home, were shaken by last night's events.

They had thought An Nan was merely intimidating them with her knife, never imagining she would actually kill someone.

They had planned to wait for her to be assaulted by two thugs and then swoop in as "good Samaritans," offering comfort and, eventually, worming their way into her home.

With hopes of future wealth through connections to her family, they were now utterly defeated.

Those two bumbling fools hadn't even managed to overpower a young girl!

Their food had run out, and now, with no plan, they were desperate.

For now, An Nan had secured the title of "first killer" in the neighborhood, and the other residents were too frightened to target her.

However, the Liu brothers' actions had given others new ideas.

In these desperate times, breaking into homes was becoming a viable survival tactic.

Residents on the fifth and sixth floors, having exhausted their food and living in poor conditions, quickly set their sights on Liu Lao'er's elderly mother.

They knew she lived alone and was an easy target.

With a group effort, they broke into her home.

The Liu brothers, who had been so bold in breaking into a young girl's room, now found themselves victims of the same treatment.

Inside the house, Liu Lao'er's mother was met with a loud, disorienting noise from outside. She shouted, but no one responded.

Before long, the door was forcibly opened.

Inside, they discovered a large sack of 50-pound rice bags.

The old woman, who had claimed to be starving for days, had lied to everyone while hoarding food in her own home.

How shameless!

Others quickly justified their actions, rationalizing that they were simply "eliminating a threat" and claiming the 701 apartment as their own.

On the fifth and sixth floors, four families moved in, and when they ran out of room, they made their way upstairs.

On the eighth floor, they found apartment 802 unoccupied and immediately took it over.

Meanwhile, Qian Ying'er, now settled in apartment 801, peered through her peephole, watching in silent frustration as a group of large men occupied her home.

She couldn't call the police, so she bided her time, planning to push them out once the order was restored and demand compensation.

The once-strong and assertive Liu Lao'er's mother now found herself at their mercy. Initially, she cursed them, but when knives were drawn, she quickly subdued.

"Please, let me take some rice with me. I'll starve otherwise."

No one responded. She was promptly thrown out, along with her two sons, once again discarded in the stairwell.

The residents of the fifth and sixth floors had set a precedent, and now others were emboldened.

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With food scarce, many began to quietly steal from their neighbors.

Some, having stolen, grew bolder, and soon the entire neighborhood descended into chaos.

Cries and crashes filled the air as moral decay spread like wildfire.

But one rule remained clear: Do not provoke the demoness of the 14th floor.

Liu Lao'er's mother disappeared, and the bodies of the Liu brothers were discarded, along with others, into the floodwaters.

When they were moved, they had already begun to rot!