Chapter 25 Hello, Sister

"Dad, let me say something that might sound harsh and unfilial—can you even afford to die right now?!

Haven't you seen the homeowners group? The hospitals, police stations, even crematorium phone lines are all busy!

Old Liu's mother from unit 403 had an acute myocardial infarction triggered by the extreme heat. Her stiff body is just lying at home now!

With temperatures this high, the corpse might start rotting by tonight!

So if you die, where am I supposed to bury you?! Not to mention the garbage room in our complex is already overflowing with green-headed flies!"

He Chunmei's words weren't just harsh—they came rapid-fire without a single stutter.

"Chunmei, you're being completely unreasonable!" Zhou Shangyou angrily tapped his cane against the floor tiles before sighing heavily. "What sin has our Zhou family committed to deserve this?!"

Whether from the heat or He Chunmei's words, he suddenly blacked out and collapsed.

Jiang Lifen shuddered in fright, reaching out to grab his sleeve. "Old man!"

"Grandpa!"

"Grandpa!"

The two children threw down their chairs with a clatter and came running.

"Dad!"

The tall Zhou Guangfu stepped forward to steady Zhou Shangyou.

After a brief moment of panic, He Chunmei calmly directed: "Zhou Guangfu, you take Dad home to rest! I'll stay here knocking—I refuse to believe she won't open today!"

In her eyes, it would be better if her chronically ill mother-in-law Jiang Lifen—who never got along with her—were gone.

But father-in-law Zhou Shangyou had a high pension—he couldn't just die, he was the family's money tree!

"Let's just go home together," Zhou Guangfu said with a deep sigh, his brows furrowed.

Their daughter had developed jaundice and pneumonia right after birth, left alone under blue lights with needles covering her tiny forehead...

The memory still made the couple weep with anguish.

Since then, He Chunmei became extremely anxious whenever their daughter fell seriously ill—to the point of temporary madness.

When she learned heatstroke had a 20%-70% mortality rate and saw Bao Bao and Bei Bei experiencing nausea, vomiting, and fever, He Chunmei panicked:

"Go home yourself! If this continues, Bao Bao and Bei Bei will die! I'll get them that AC even if I have to go to jail! Kids, stay here with Mom—don't go back!"

Glaring fiercely, He Chunmei began pounding violently on Jiang Yan's door. "Little sister! Open up!!"

Zhou Guangfu shook his head helplessly. Taking his mother Jiang Lifen, he supported his father Zhou Shangyou home.

The children didn't dare leave, standing dumbly by unit 3202's door watching their mother.

The high-definition scene unfolded before Jiang Yan's eyes.

She took a deep breath, staring at the screen.

Was this a case of "the innocent man gets punished for his treasure"?

In her past life or under normal circumstances, she would have opened the door without hesitation.

But now, she knew this was only the beginning of the Apocalypse, not its true arrival.

Many people thought they just had to endure these few days and things would get better.

Only she knew that the days ahead would only grow worse and more difficult.

If she softened her heart now and let someone in, she could forget about getting them to leave later.

Especially given the other party's aggressive and unreasonable demeanor.

Who knows? They might even try to seize her nest for themselves.

On the screen, He Chunmei's furious voice rang out again:

"Little girl, stop pretending! Open the door now, or I'll smash it down!!"

Unaware that Jiang Yan had long since left the house, He Chunmei raised a small hammer when the door remained shut.

Judging by the way she aimed the hammer at the keypad lock, she was ready to break it and force her way in.

But only Jiang Yan knew that even if the lock was smashed, the door still wouldn't open.

Not unless the lock core was blown up or the entire door was dismantled.

On the screen, He Chunmei raised the hammer again.

But she didn't strike immediately—instead, she paused, one hand on her waist, panting heavily.

The room temperature was too high, and after all her shouting, she was already short of breath, her face flushed red.

Jiang Yan frowned slightly, her fingers swiftly activating the anti-intrusion program.

She didn't go too far, opting for the lowest voltage—110V—just to teach her a small lesson.

The Apocalypse hadn't truly arrived yet, and outright electrocuting someone to death wouldn't be appropriate.

Besides, there were two children watching.

"Little girl, this is my last warning! If you don't open the door now, don't blame me for what happens next!" He Chunmei shouted, slamming her palm against the door again with a loud "Bang! Bang! Bang!"

"Zzzzt!" As her final strike landed, a piercing, numbing sensation—as if millions of ants were gnawing at her—spread from her palm through her entire body.

He Chunmei let out a sharp cry—"Aah!!"—and instinctively stumbled back two steps, the hammer slipping from her weakened grip and clattering to the ground.

"Mom, what's wrong?!"

"Mom!!"

The two children, startled, rushed forward to help her.

"Stay back!" He Chunmei wasn't ignorant—that feeling was unmistakably an electric shock.

Her hair, loose today instead of tied up, had visibly crackled and stood on end for a brief moment.

Taking deep breaths to steady herself, she stood still, scrutinizing the metal mesh of the door. But after a long while, she found nothing unusual.

"Mom?" The little boy, seeing his mother frozen in place, cautiously called out to her.

He Chunmei snapped out of it, a flash of malice in her eyes as she ground her teeth and spat, "You're ruthless, little girl! Just you wait!"

With that, she carefully picked up the hammer and turned to the children.

"Come on, Bao Bao, Bei Bei, let's go home for now."

If she couldn't break into this girl's place alone...

What about with a group?

This neighborhood had hundreds of households, and many of them—like her—had elderly and sick children desperate for air conditioning.

There was strength in numbers. She refused to believe they couldn't succeed!

Besides, whether it was moral coercion or outright occupation, things always got easier with more people.

No time to waste—she'd act immediately!

He Chunmei handed the small hammer to her son, telling him to take his sister home first. Then she took out her phone and quickly sent a message in the homeowners group:

[A-3203: Neighbors, does anyone need help cooling down with air conditioning today? If needed, please DM me!!! Special note: Only for households with elderly, weak, sick, disabled, or pregnant members!]

The message had barely been sent when someone with a beautiful woman's profile picture labeled "A-701" added her as a friend from the group.

[Hello sister, I'm Zhang Qiqi, newly moved in :)]

(End of Chapter)