Chapter 44 Home Robbery

Water travel equipment was basically unavailable for purchase in the city center; one had to go to specialized places. Bai Xiao thought that whether the fog cleared or not, if there was any possibility of the rain intensifying, she would have to find a way to travel farther to search for it, even if there was a risk of getting lost—she couldn't afford to worry about that for now.

She first purchased the 【expander】 item, then selected a space to expand. The original 8-cubic-meter space increased threefold to 24 cubic meters. The enlarged 【storage slot】 could be freely adjusted by the player in terms of length, width, and height.

Bai Xiao wondered if the 24-cubic-meter space could fit the off-road vehicle she had rented. After looking up the car's specifications online, she found it could easily accommodate it!

She thought that if this place later became truly unsuitable for continued residence and she had to relocate elsewhere, she couldn't possibly rely entirely on her own two legs. Having a vehicle would naturally be best.

The 【storage slot】 was configured to fit the dimensions of the off-road vehicle. With the car seats folded flat, there was still plenty of space, enough to hold around 3 cubic meters of supplies without issue. Making full use of the available space was, of course, the way to go.

Most of the items originally placed in the 【storage slot】 wouldn't spoil if left outdoors. The reason Bai Xiao kept everything inside was that she couldn't go out and didn't need to free up the space.

Now, with a new goal in mind, she needed to reorganize. The 【storage slot】 originally intended for the car was filled with bottled water, which she now took out and placed in the spare bedroom that had been cleared.

The ready-to-eat food, originally categorized into the three essential groups of protein, carbohydrates, and dietary fiber and stored in three separate slots, now had to make room. She could only choose to mix the three categories evenly, keeping only one and a half slots' worth of supplies in the 【storage slot】, while placing the remaining one and a half slots' worth in the spare bedroom and study.

When it was time to go out, she would first place the car into the expanded 【storage slot】, then move the half slot of retained food into the vehicle. This would free up two complete spaces.

As for the supplies left in the room, she could only wait for the next game session and, if she won, expand the space a second time.

...

Early the next morning, Bai Xiao checked the situation outside at once. The worst had happened: the barely noticeable drizzle from yesterday had now become visible to the naked eye. However, the good news was that she felt the fog seemed to have diminished slightly—whether it was an illusion or a misjudgment due to the rain, she couldn't tell.

At eight o'clock, the 【Neighborhood Committee】 sent an important notice: the second round of relief supplies would still be distributed at the original location, and everyone was urged to collect them as soon as possible.

This time, Bai Xiao didn't go. She didn't plan to waste nearly an entire day again to collect such meager supplies. The sounds of doors opening and closing echoed outside one after another, and gradually, the residential complex fell completely silent.

After finishing two close-combat technique classes, Bai Xiao figured the complex should be mostly empty by now. Seizing the opportunity, she went downstairs to the underground parking garage. After confirming no one was around, she stored the off-road vehicle in the 【storage slot】 and filled the car with the supplies she had originally intended to move into it.

The entire day passed in training and study.

It wasn't until the third day that something was reported in the group chat.

An extremely vicious crime had occurred the previous night. A household on the first floor of Building 3 had been broken into and robbed. The victims were an elderly couple. The robbery gang took advantage of the nighttime power outage to carry out their crime in the dark.

There were no signs of forced entry at the main gate of the complex or the unit door of Building 3. Suspicion immediately fell on residents of the same building, as only someone from the same building could commit the crime without breaking the main door. It was unclear whether it was a spur-of-the-moment act or a long-planned scheme.

Once this incident came to light, the owners in Building 3 were in an uproar. With criminals hiding in their own building, who could sleep peacefully at night? Emotions ran high as everyone joined the victims in denouncing the people in the building, suspecting one person after another.

There were also onlookers who mocked the robbed household, saying they had often shown off in the group chat the food, drinks, and supplements their children sent them every few days, which had attracted unwanted attention.

This made others who had previously posted about their supplies in the group chat or on social media afraid, fearing they might be the next target.

For a while, all sorts of comments flooded the group chat, but most of those who remained silent, especially residents who hadn't replaced their doors when the complex was first handed over, began to worry about their own safety.

When Bai Xiao's apartment was renovated, she hadn't cut corners for the sake of convenience or cheapness. At the time, she had sufficient funds and, considering she would be living there long-term, she had replaced everything inside and out with the best she could afford within her budget.

Especially the door. As a woman living alone, she had installed an expensive, high-security door at the entrance—one that could withstand violent chopping and hacking. She had also added a security chain on the inside.

Those like her, with sturdy entrance doors, were grateful they hadn't minded the trouble back then.

The focus in the group chat gradually shifted back to the previously proposed patrols, with residents of Building 3 being particularly proactive.

After the victims were robbed yesterday, they called the police, but the station's line was either busy or went unanswered. With nowhere else to turn, the elderly couple sought help from their fellow residents to form an investigation team to seek justice for them.

Some agreed to the formation of an investigation team, but more opposed it, especially after hearing that once formed, the team would conduct door-to-door searches to identify who had robbed the first-floor household.

Once this was mentioned, most people resisted. It wasn't that they didn't want to uncover the truth, but no one wanted strangers entering their homes, let alone taking inventory of their supplies.

Who knew exactly what the robbed couple had lost? What if they made false claims or tried to extort something? There would be no one to verify it. Even more frightening was the possibility that members of the investigation team might be involved in the robbery, making the searched households potential targets for future crimes.

In the end, the matter was dropped.

However, the patrol issue was quickly settled. Each household would contribute one person. During nighttime power outages, groups of four would patrol nine floors each. With eighteen floors per building, two groups would patrol the first half of the night, and two the second half.

This meant four groups were needed per night. The occupancy rate in the complex wasn't 100%, but with each household contributing one person for patrols, the total came to around fifty people. Calculated this way, those participating in patrols would take turns every three days.

Households with more people benefited the most, while single individuals had it harder. Later, to prevent people from slacking off, residents agreed that except for households without able-bodied adult men or those consisting solely of elderly people, other households were not allowed to send women, the elderly, or teenagers for patrols unless no healthy adult male was available.

Once this precedent was set, other buildings followed suit.

It later evolved to the point where each building had to contribute one group daily to take turns patrolling the entire complex, with each group consisting of twelve people.

Those who didn't want to participate in patrols had to contribute one meal per shift as a substitute.

Perhaps because the robbery incident was too heinous, the entire complex, for once, united with remarkable solidarity. Even someone like Bai Xiao, who originally felt no need for others to protect her safety, now had no choice but to participate in the patrol activities.

There was no other way. With six buildings in the complex, even at a 50% occupancy rate, hundreds of people lived there. It was difficult to go against public opinion; otherwise, endless troubles would come knocking. This was different from the petty conflicts driven by personal interests, like those previously stirred up by 【Xu Zhen】.