CHAPTER 74: THEY ALL DESERVE TO DIE

Xiao Shu’s Villa District: "What preparations are you making?"

Jing Shu’s right eyelid twitched continuously. She had an ominous premonition. Had she missed something?

With a crisp CRACK, Jing Shu didn’t even notice she had broken her chopsticks, drawing the attention of the entire family. Wu You’ai had tried with all her might but hadn’t managed to break a single one.

"You reckless child! You had the shakes and broke a bowl yesterday, and today you’re snapping chopsticks. What’s next, trying to reach the sky? Once everything is ruined, see if you can still buy them," Mrs. Jing scolded, then turned to the kitchen to get a pair of stainless steel ones. "Here, try breaking these. Now eat your meal and stop looking at your phone; you’re always clutching that phone!"

"Oh." Jing Shu quietly took the chopsticks and shoveled her ramen into her mouth, her eyes still glued to the messages in the group chat. The lively dinner scene in the house resumed, with Third Aunt sharing gossip from her job at the government canteen.

Wang Qiqi No.13: "@Wang Xue Mei No.2??? What’s wrong? Why are you talking like that? Are you not feeling well?"

Immediately after, Wang Xue Mei’s account sent a short video.

Upon opening it, a woman, stripped bare, was exposed under the light; she was roughly held down on a sofa by four or five men.

Her body was covered with bloody welts from a belt, her forehead was bleeding from being struck, and her face bore red slap marks. She looked at the camera, tears of despair streaming down her face. Her expression conveyed the saying: no sorrow is greater than a dead heart, no grief more profound than silent suffering.

Around her, a large group was laughing and cheering continuously. Occasionally, someone would whip her with a belt, producing a sharp SMACK alongside the woman’s screams, followed by indescribable scenes. News could be heard broadcasting in the background—it was precisely 7:20 PM, during Wu City’s brief period of electricity supply.

The woman in the video was the forty-year-old Wang Xue Mei!

THUD! Unable to bear it any longer, Jing Shu slammed the stainless steel chopsticks into the mahogany table, once again drawing everyone’s attention.

The lively noise in the dining room ceased abruptly. Suddenly, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, all eyes fixed on Jing Shu.

Mr. Jing’s mouth fell slightly agape. His hands trembled as he touched his favorite mahogany table. A single look from her confirmed it: this was his daughter, someone he couldn’t afford to provoke. Best to let it be.

Mrs. Jing finally realized something was seriously wrong; her daughter’s gaze was murderously terrifying.

Several long voice messages arrived from Wang Xue Mei’s account.

The first one said, "Didn’t expect it to be me, huh?! Hmm? I’m back! You thought by tying me up and leaving me for dead, I’d actually die? Luckily, my organization had already planned to take over this residential complex today. They knew where I lived and came straight to rendezvous with me. As they say, ’What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,’ HAHAHAHA!"

Gou Yitian was the one speaking. He laughed triumphantly, but his laughter quickly contorted his face into a hideous sneer. He spat fiercely and continued sending voice messages:

"Wang Xue Mei, Jing Shu and your entire family, and Wang Qiqi—none of you in this whole complex will escape! Originally, I only planned to rob your food and let you go. But now, I’ve changed my mind! I won’t spare a single woman, especially you, Jing Shu!

"I’ll make you suffer a million times more than Wang Xue Mei! I’ll make you my slave!!"

Gou Yitian gritted his teeth as he spoke, his hatred for Jing Shu bone-deep. He wished he could grind her to dust, though even that wouldn’t quench the fury in his heart!

What could incite more hatred than being rendered impotent?

That kick from Jing Shu... Gou Yitian had taken ages to even try and recover. After countless attempts, various methods, even tests with actual people, there was still no change. His ’little brother’ was useless. He was a broken man!

"Rest assured, the main force is already heading to the villas. I advise you all to stay indoors, wash up, and wait. Every occupied building in this complex has several of our men guarding it. We’ll get to you one by one. Jing Shu, your turn is coming very soon!

"Don’t get antsy. Don’t put up a pointless struggle, or we’ll make your life a living hell—worse than death. Calling the police is useless. I reckon they’re too busy trying to save their own skins right now. The Sky Covering Party is raiding the police station for guns. Once they get them, they’ll be the top dogs in Wu City, and we, ’Biri,’ will be number two!

"Oh, by the way, anyone who wants to surrender now can still join us. All you have to do is go to the villa district and help kill that bitch Jing Shu and her entire family, and you’re in."

The voice memo ended there. The group chat fell utterly silent, its members seemingly unable to believe this was real. Just days ago, weren’t they all friendly neighbors, banding together to queue at the supermarket? Wasn’t this still a society governed by laws where murder was a crime? Did none of that matter anymore? Could people now kill with impunity?

CRASH! A bowl clattered to the floor and shattered.

The atmosphere in the room grew instantly tense. Mr. Jing and Wu You’ai replayed the voice messages, listening to them again. Mrs. Jing covered her mouth, tears of despair streaming silently down her face. "No, this can’t be real! How is this possible!"

She then hugged Jing Shu’s head and choked out, "Don’t worry, I absolutely, absolutely will not let this happen. Rest assured... don’t be afraid. Mom, Mom will figure something out right now! The knife, where’s the knife? Call the police! Yes, we have to call the police first!"

Jing Shu sighed. Her mom had lost all composure. She’s clearly terrified herself, yet she’s still trying to protect me. These people... they all deserve to die. She clenched her fists tightly.

Grandma Jing hurried over, saying, "You young ones, run first! Or find an empty house to hide in. The complex is so large, can they really search every single room?"

"That’s foolish!" Mr. Jing retorted, his voice tight. "Didn’t you hear that man? They have people guarding every occupied building! What if we scatter and one of us gets caught? If this family is to die, we die together!"

His hands trembled uncontrollably. "They’re not here yet. Let’s get in the car and drive off quickly! There are guards at the ground-level entrance; we’ll use the basement exit."

Without hesitation, Mr. Jing sent a message to the group: "We need to unite! There are over a hundred of us in this group. How many are they? I just counted—barely over thirty of them have shown their faces! They have knives, but so do we! If it comes down to it, we fight!"

A voice message from Gou Yitian immediately replied, "You can try."

After that, no one else in the group spoke.

Mr. Jing’s fists clenched. With a strangled noise of fury, he flung his phone across the room. At a crucial time like this, not one person stands up! His heart turned colder with each passing second. He remembered how he had rushed out to save people that day without a second thought, yet today, not a single person offered support.

Just then, Wang Qiqi sent a private message to Mr. Jing: "You guys need to quickly use your connections to see if you can get the police dispatched! I just called them, but it was useless; the city center is also in complete chaos. The only option now is to save ourselves! I’ll contact a few people I know well. We’ll try to take out the guardians downstairs first, then come help you!"

DING, DING! The sound of an alarm came from a phone. A faint smile touched Jing Shu’s lips. It seems all those traps I spent half a year meticulously setting up, and all those long days practicing archery and stone carving, will finally be put to use today.