Chapter 17: The Battle Begins

All the purchased seeds had been planted, leaving nothing behind. Meng Ran touched the soil, sensing the immense vitality contained within the space, which resonated faintly with her affinity for plants.

“It’s truly remarkable.”

In over twenty years, she had never encountered anything like this.

Nian Nian imitated her and touched the soil but felt nothing.

“Mom, it seems like the fog outside has thinned a bit.”

Nian Nian had noticed earlier; she had been trying to leave through the courtyard gate, but the fog formed an impenetrable wall. Today, however, the fog was different from before.

Meng Ran washed her hands and went over, pressing her palm against the wall. To her surprise, the hard barrier softened slightly—though only just a little.

This change had occurred after her plant affinity manifested. Perhaps when her affinity grew stronger, she would unravel this mystery.

Her phone vibrated. She opened it to see a message from Ten Years of Grinding a Sword, who had mentioned her in the group chat.

Ten Years of Grinding a Sword: “Has the corpse you saw shown any unusual signs these past couple of days?”

Unusual signs? She hadn’t visited the corpse in the abandoned warehouse on the first floor for a long time. Besides, the first floor was now blocked by accumulated snow, so she wouldn’t risk venturing out lightly.

“Are you experiencing something strange over there?”

Meng Ran didn’t answer directly but asked him instead.

Ten Years of Grinding a Sword replied quickly.

“Yes, yesterday I saw someone downstairs from upstairs. I thought it was someone looking for food, but after looking through the telescope, I realized it was the corpse we had seen before. Their movements are indistinguishable from ours, but since they are dead, their complexion is certainly different.”

Listening to this voice message, Meng Ran couldn’t help but worry about the corpse on the first floor.

She stepped out of the space, standing behind the curtain to look outside. The residential area was still blanketed in white.

As she pondered this, another message popped up in the group.

Confused and Panicked: “This is deadly! I was bitten by that thing. Will I turn into one of them?”

Though they all suspected zombies, none had ever seen one in reality, so anxiety was inevitable.

From the voice message, it was clear that person was fleeing, though where they encountered the creatures was unknown.

Meng Ran tapped her arm thoughtfully. Whether one could be assimilated was uncertain, but the viruses and bacteria within those corpses were certainly harmful to humans.

The number of dead in the community would surely rise. Many people lived in her building, so she must become stronger quickly.

---

Ten Years of Grinding a Sword: “While you’re still lucid, please give us as much useful information as possible.”

Amidst all the anxious messages, this one lacked much warmth.

However, Confused and Panicked didn’t reply, focused instead on treating his wound, only warning that the smell of blood would attract the corpses.

Meng Ran recorded all this information and then returned to the space.

With power and water cut off for several days, some were barely holding on.

Several property management staff hid on the second floor of the management office, staring at the snow piled outside.

“If this keeps up, the snow will reach the second floor soon. Our daily clearing efforts are wasted,” Wang Ruixiang sighed, his face full of worry.

Beside him, Qu Zixuan thumped the floor. “That damned Zhao Weijie spread the word about our food supply. Thankfully, with all this snow, no one could come and snatch it.”

Those people were unscrupulous, no matter how well they thought they knew them.

Shaocheng, wearing glasses, shook his head. “No, that fluffy snow can’t hold them back. We should have sent people out to clear it earlier. At least then, we could have escaped. Now, we can only take turns guarding at night to protect ourselves.”

Qu Zixuan took out his phone. Although it had little battery left, before shutting it off, he learned of Fang Weiwen’s misdeeds.

Shaocheng was right. In this endless snow, they could only safeguard themselves for now.

Food supply would last a while; they just had to wait for rescue.

Crying echoed through the community. Nian Nian gently lifted her earmuffs, curious about the faint sounds.

“It’s so scary outside,” she whispered.

Meng Ran pulled the earmuffs back down.

“If it’s too noisy, keep them on. I don’t want your ears to suffer.”

Nian Nian likely had a special ability herself, though she didn’t need to use it yet.

“I hear someone crying.”

Meng Ran sat, holding a hot water bottle. By her reckoning, it had been nearly half a month—someone else might have passed away.

She wondered how the family whose food had been stolen by Fang Weiwen was faring now.

The property management group chat was much quieter than before. Those who used to argue in the chat had now developed real conflicts.

Meng Ran’s WeChat received friend requests daily—people asking if they could trade food.

---

These people were casting a wide net, hoping a kind soul would respond.

Nian Nian fiddled with her earmuffs when she heard Fang Weiwen downstairs.

“No food left. Didn’t that person from Building 13, Fourth Floor say the property management had plenty? Maybe we should ask him.”

Fang Weiwen rubbed his face, his eyes dark and unreadable.

Chen Yun dared not speak, casting a glance at the kitchen knife in his hand.

For now, Fang Weiwen ruled everything. He had become the rogue of the fifth floor, gathering a few like-minded scoundrels. Chen Yun was powerless to resist.

They exchanged glances, clearly targeting the property management.

“I’m friends with that Zhao Weijie.”

One of them pulled out a phone and called Zhao Weijie, who answered quickly. Seeing they were inquiring about the property management, he glanced at the famished Sun Jia and Song Yujun.

“You want to tell them? I have to come along.”

The snow had fallen for so long; no news came from outside. With order collapsing and Fang Weiwen stirring trouble, those desperate to survive naturally took action.

Fang Weiwen pondered Zhao Weijie’s request before agreeing.

Having an ally was better, and someone to send out as cannon fodder was useful.

Since they were in different buildings, they discussed it over the phone. The management office had three people, but they were numerous and confident they could take control.

They planned to act tonight to seize more supplies.

After hanging up, Sun Jia grabbed Zhao Weijie’s arm.

“It’s too dangerous. You know what kind of person Fang Weiwen is.”

Zhao Weijie pushed her away, fastening a small hammer to his waist.

“Don’t worry. I’m not easy to mess with either. Stay home and wait for me to bring back food.”

They needed to dig through the snow, so they had to set out immediately after dark or they wouldn’t have enough time.

Hearing Nian Nian relay this, Meng Ran understood their plan clearly.

Tonight would be lively. She intended to watch as well, mainly to keep an eye on the corpse in the warehouse on the first floor.