Chapter 46 Revenge

The flashlight's beam wasn't a diffuse glow; it barely outlined the hallway in the dim light. Under the faint illumination, her eyelashes cast thick, curved shadows beneath her eyes, completely concealing her gaze. A faint, ambiguous smile played on her lips, exuding a silent chill.

"Settle accounts."

She spat out two words as cold as ice shards and, without looking back, headed straight upstairs.

The three men hurried to follow, but they couldn't match her speed. They were only halfway up when louder door-pounding sounds erupted from above. By the time they rushed up, Bai Xiao, wielding a cleaver, had already hacked at the lock of unit 1301 two or three times.

Unit 1301 still had the original developer-installed door. Bai Xiao was strong; after just a few chops, the lock was half-destroyed.

The couple cowering inside didn't dare let her continue. If it were truly broken, there was no way to get anyone to repair it now.

Both people inside also held kitchen knives, raised defensively in front of them. They opened the door, pretending to have been suddenly attacked, and shouted, "What do you think you're doing?! Help! Someone! Robbery!"

Seeing them open the door, Bai Xiao swung her cleaver at the lock cylinder on the doorframe.

With a sharp *clang* of metal forcefully meeting metal, several small nicks appeared on the blade of Bai Xiao's cleaver. The opposite lock was in an even more pitiful state: the keypad lock was basically ruined, and a small section of the doorframe was dented from the blow.

"Ah!" The woman, seeing the lock truly smashed, shrieked in furious anger.

The man looked ready to kill. He raised his knife, about to lunge at her. "Have you lost your mind?!"

With his meager skills, Bai Xiao didn't even consider him a threat. She held back nothing. With a powerful chop, she struck the kitchen knife he swung at her. The force was so great it numbed his hand; he could no longer hold the knife, and it clattered to the floor.

Her offensive didn't slow. She lifted her foot and kicked him square in the chest as he lunged. The man was sent flying back three meters, the first meter completely airborne without touching the ground.

Not far behind the door was the living room. The man's body crashed onto the coffee table in front of the sofa. The table let out a loud *bang*, and everything on its surface clattered to the floor.

His arm, chest, and back hurt as if they were splitting apart. The man, unable to stand from the fall, just curled up on the floor, wailing dryly.

This scene stunned the woman from unit 1301 and the three men who had followed upstairs, freezing them in place.

They could hardly believe it. A girl less than 1.7 meters tall, weighing under a hundred pounds, pretty and seemingly harmless, had taken down such a large man in just two moves. It was utterly inconceivable.

Bai Xiao twirled the cleaver in her hand, staring at the two of them as she enunciated each word: "Today, I'll teach you a lesson for free. Don't go picking on someone just because they seem easy to bully. If you mess with the wrong person, you might find you've bitten off more than you can chew."

By now, neighbors from the same floor and above, who had been hiding inside, heard the commotion. It didn't sound like a home invasion robbery anymore, more like a brawl. They started opening their doors to see what was happening.

The woman from unit 1301, seeing more and more people approaching, dropped her kitchen knife, plopped down on the floor, and began wailing: "Why are we so unlucky? We were sleeping peacefully in the middle of the night when this disaster came to our door. Our door, our lock—all chopped up! My husband's been beaten so badly he can't even stand!"

She cried with increasing fervor: "All we did was say a couple of things about you in the group chat the other day! If you were upset, we could have apologized! Was this really necessary? You're trying to kill us! Is there no justice? No law?!"

The neighbors who had gathered upon hearing the noise now crowded around. After hearing the woman's sobbing account and seeing the devastation inside and outside the door, they joined in the condemnation: "Young lady, your vindictiveness is way too strong. Causing such a ruckus in the middle of the night, disturbing everyone."

"Exactly. They just said a few words about you in the group, and you smash their door like this, even injure someone."

"What are you Patrol Team members even doing? Such a mess, and you're not stopping it? Several grown men letting a little girl wreak havoc like this."

Everyone began chattering, pointing fingers.

At the same time, Building Manager Xu Zhen arrived with a few others.

Seeing the mess on the floor, they exclaimed in shock, "What happened here? Who did this?"

With that, Xu Zhen directed two men behind him to check on the condition of the male occupant of unit 1301.

"Brother Xu, Liu Hui is coughing up blood. Not sure if his ribs are broken."

Hearing that Liu Hui was injured so seriously, everyone turned their verbal guns on Bai Xiao, accusing her even more fiercely.

Bai Xiao knew internally: a bone crack was very possible, a full break unlikely. She had held back when she kicked.

"Bai Xiao, you were supposed to be on patrol duty. Instead, you're here taking revenge. This isn't the first or second time you've maliciously confronted residents in the building. This time, you've injured someone so severely. We can't let you off easily again."

"That's right. Our building can't harbor evil people."

"Drive her out. Drive her out!"

Xu Zhen's lackeys and those familiar with the occupants of unit 1301 spoke up indignantly.

Although Zhao Fangzhe hadn't met Bai Xiao many times and wasn't close to her, based on his observations, she didn't seem like the type to pick fights without reason.

"Everyone, calm down a bit. We can't judge the whole situation based solely on unit 1301's side of the story."

Shi Jun also spoke up: "Tonight, Bai Xiao was patrolling with us. We were resting on the 10th floor when we first heard doors being smashed upstairs. Initially, it was Bai Xiao's door that was smashed."

Hearing this twist, the crowd immediately quieted by half.

"Seeing is believing. You all live on the same floor; who knows if you're in cahoots? Maybe you planned this robbery together! Look at how this family has been bullied!"

Xu Zhen raised a hand, signaling for silence. Having served as building manager for years, he commanded considerable authority. Seeing he seemed ready to speak, everyone quieted down momentarily.

He cleared his throat and began: "Bai Xiao, regardless of who smashed your door first, the facts everyone can see are that you injured Liu Hui and damaged their door. On behalf of Building 5, I'm soliciting opinions. Should we expel you? We'll convene household representatives tomorrow, clarify the matter fully, and then decide."

Hearing this, Bai Xiao almost laughed. "Whether I started trouble or not, what right do you have to expel me? What right does anyone else have? Even if the police came, they'd follow the principle of gathering evidence first before making judgments. They wouldn't have the right to expel someone from their own home. What enforcement authority do you have? You really think you're some local despot."

"You're utterly insolent!" Before Xu Zhen could speak, a lackey beside him pointed at her and yelled.

"Brother Xu, tie her up! We'll deal with her tomorrow when everyone's gathered. Let's see if she dares to mouth off then."

The woman from unit 1301 added fuel to the fire: "She must be arrested! Neighbors, she's so deranged. If we don't detain her, who knows who she'll attack next!"

Xu Zhen pointed at the crowd, using them to intimidate Bai Xiao. His tone held a hint of smugness: "We're indeed not the police. But as you can see, arresting you, expelling you—that's the will of the people!"