20: Miss, help me!

“As compensation, I’ll split all the supplies I find with you…”

“Let’s talk inside.” Jiang Fei interrupted Lu Yu, helped him into 2203, and placed her flashlight by the door to illuminate the area.

Two large backpacks were placed by the entrance.

On the living room floor were scattered corpses of several rats, all shot in the head. Lu Yu had killed them when he first came in.

Big Yellow, meanwhile, stood on the refrigerator, its fur bristling with fright.

Jiang Fei helped Lu Yu to the sofa before picking up Big Yellow: “Don’t be scared, don’t be scared.”

“He won’t shoot anymore, and all the rats are dead.”

“Meow!” Big Yellow clutched Jiang Fei’s neck with its small paws, looking aggrieved.

It wasn’t afraid of gunshots! It was afraid of the rats!

They were almost bigger than it!

It scared the cat to death!

To prevent Big Yellow from touching the dead rats, Jiang Fei put it in the cat villa and opened a can of food to comfort it.

Next, Jiang Fei used her gun to check the room for any remaining rats.

When she reached the last secondary bedroom, Lu Yu suddenly came over and blocked the unlocked door:

“I’ve checked here, there are no rats.”

“Then I’ll help you bandage it now.” Jiang Fei, understanding the hint, returned to the sofa, not curious about the secondary bedroom.

Everyone has secrets.

One must respect others’ privacy.

Lu Yu handed Jiang Fei the first-aid kit from his home and then took out a separate bag of medicine from his backpack:

“These are for you, as promised last time.”

“There isn’t much. The nearby pharmacies have all been emptied. I’ll get you more when I have a chance.”

Inside the bag were 3 boxes of fever medicine, 3 boxes of anti-inflammatory medicine, and 5 boxes of medicated plasters.

“These are enough.”

Medicine was far more precious than cat food.

Jiang Fei put the bag aside.

Lu Yu took off his wet clothes, revealing the wound on his back.

A roughly twenty-centimeter-long wound was gaping hideously.

Perhaps from being submerged in water for too long, the surrounding flesh had turned white.

Fortunately, the wound wasn’t too deep and didn’t require stitches.

“There’s a blue bottle in the first-aid kit. Just pour the powder inside onto the wound.”

If the wound wasn’t on his back, making it difficult to bandage himself, he wouldn’t have bothered his neighbor.

After rinsing the wound with hydrogen peroxide, Jiang Fei carefully poured the medicinal powder:

“Rats are very sensitive to the smell of blood. Were you bitten?”

Lu Yu shook his head: “I encountered the rats after returning to Yulan Garden.”

“If I hadn’t brought a gun, I probably wouldn’t have made it back safely.”

“It’s completely chaotic outside now. The water level has already reached the 10th floor.”

“The authorities haven’t made a move because the villages and counties below are all submerged.”

“The disaster there is even more severe than in Lincheng. The floods have submerged all buildings, leaving no place to survive. There are countless refugees, and the authorities are rescuing them.”

Lu Yu shared the news he had gathered from outside with Jiang Fei, his brows slightly furrowed.

He had originally planned to go to Zean County to find Su Liuyuan, but he encountered “rats” halfway there.

That group of people was looting supplies amidst the chaos. He had thought that after a month, they would be strangers upon meeting again, but then they suddenly attacked.

Outnumbered, and with not many weapons, he was cut by one of them and had to return.

Perhaps those people hadn’t received the message and continued to chase him?

Lu Yu’s thoughts ran wild.

At this moment, Jiang Fei finished bandaging and handed him the box she had brought:

“Inside are sticky traps, rat traps, rat poison, and some insect repellent. You can place a few in your room later, and put the rest in the corridor.”

“Remember to find something to block all the pipes, otherwise, rats will crawl up.”

“The wires at the electric door won’t be reconnected, to avoid them being bitten off by rats again.”

The fall of 2203 would not benefit her.

She certainly didn’t want to be surrounded by rats and insects every time she opened her door in the future.

Lu Yu agreed with Jiang Fei’s decision and picked up the sprayer on the floor: “If you need to go out, take this with you.”

“This is a flamethrower. The fuel is gasoline. I have another one at home. This one is for you. It’s convenient for killing rats.”

No wonder there was a smell of roasted meat in the corridor.

This thing could not only kill rats but also any insects that might appear in the future.

Jiang Fei suppressed her surprise and took the sprayer: “I’ll take this in exchange for the supplies.”

She preferred the flamethrower over supplies!

Seeing that Jiang Fei didn’t want supplies, Lu Yu didn’t argue with her.

He needed food now.

Next time he went out, he would find some gold to repay his neighbor for bandaging him.

Leaving the corridor’s defense to Lu Yu, Jiang Fei slung the sprayer on her back and went downstairs, wanting to check on Xiao Chuxia’s situation.

As soon as she opened the electric door, chaotic sounds came from downstairs—

“I’m going to fight you bastards!”

“Chu Xia, quickly chop him! He can’t open his eyes!”

“Ah! A rat bit me!”

“Get out! Let me in the house!”

Jiang Fei quickly grabbed the railing, flipped over, and jumped through the gap in the stairwell, landing on the stairs of the 21st floor.

Xiao Chuxia blocked the stairwell, holding a knife against three men.

Standing beside her, an old lady held a half-basin of reddish liquid, looking for an opportunity to splash it.

Further down the stairs, another man was being bitten by several rats that had run up, screaming and jumping, turning the scene into a chaotic mess.

Bang bang bang!

Jiang Fei directly shot and killed the three men who tried to attack Xiao Chuxia, then raised the sprayer and aimed it downstairs.

Flames roared like a beast, instantly engulfing the rats and the man.

Jiang Fei only turned off the sprayer when it started to get hot.

The rats and the man were all burned into charred piles.

Dozens of rats that were about to come up felt the terrifying heat and smartly turned and ran away.

With the crisis resolved, Xiao Chuxia, as if all her strength had been drained, slid to the ground.

The old lady also panted heavily, dropping the basin from her hand.

Water mixed with chili peppers flowed all over the floor.

“Miss…”

Still shaken, Xiao Chuxia looked at Jiang Fei with red eyes, but before she could say a second word, Jiang Fei spoke first.

“Clear out the rats first.”

“Then I’ll go help Grandma Xu.” Xiao Chuxia suppressed her fear and stood up.

Less than two minutes later.

Xiao Chuxia dashed out and hugged Jiang Fei, who had just reached 2103: “Miss, help!”

“The rats at Grandma Xu’s house are as big as basketballs! I’m scared (༎ ຶ ⌑ ༎ ຶ)!”

“…”

Jiang Fei gave the sprayer to Xiao Chuxia, telling her how to use it: “You guard the stairwell, don’t let the rats come up. I’ll go clear them out.”

Xiao Chuxia nodded obediently, and Jiang Fei went to 2102.

As soon as she opened the door, she saw red-eyed rats in the living room, as fat as balls.

Jiang Fei expressionlessly shot them, along with several others scurrying around.

The 21st floor did not have blocked drains, so many rats had climbed up. It took Jiang Fei more than ten minutes to kill them all.

Xiao Chuxia also threw the three bodies downstairs and complained to Jiang Fei, fuming: “These people are simply insane!”

“I found rats in my house just now and ran out in fright. Who knew I’d run into them, and they actually tried to take advantage of the rat infestation to rush upstairs and steal houses!”

“Fortunately, Grandma Xu came out to help me and splashed them with chili water, otherwise, I wouldn’t have seen Miss today.”

At this moment, Old Mrs. Xu gratefully held Jiang Fei’s hand: “Thank you, girl, for helping me clear out the rats.”

Jiang Fei uncomfortably pulled her hand away: “It’s nothing. Do you have any cement or foam sealant at home?”

“If the pipes aren’t blocked, the rats will still climb up.”

“I have foam sealant!” Old Mrs. Xu quickly went home and found a can of foam sealant in the cabinet.

But one can was not enough; it ran out after sealing the bathroom.

Jiang Fei went upstairs to get the last remaining bag of cement and sealed all the pipes in 2102 and 2103.

She also shared some rat-killing artifacts with Old Mrs. Xu.

Old Mrs. Xu had helped Xiao Hua Lao, and this favor needed to be repaid.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Fei helped again and even gave her things. Old Mrs. Xu felt a little embarrassed and took out a bag of hazelnuts.

There were about 10 catties.

“Girl, don’t refuse. This is just a small token of my appreciation.” Old Mrs. Xu was a smart woman, she smiled and added:

“My grandson is a retired soldier. There were floods everywhere some time ago, and he went to disaster relief. Before he left, he bought me a lot of things. I’m old and can’t eat much. Just take them if you don’t mind.”

The implication was to tell Jiang Fei not to be nervous.

When Xiao Guan brought the refugees up earlier, it caused quite a commotion, and Old Mrs. Xu, living downstairs, naturally heard some of it.

She wasn’t someone who took advantage of others, nor did she seek anything. She just wanted to thank the girl for her help today.

There were many supplies on the 22nd floor, so she wouldn’t covet her small amount.

Jiang Fei hesitated for a moment and grabbed a small handful from the bag: “These are enough for me. Keep the rest, Grandma Xu, for when I visit later.”

Supplies would become scarcer and scarcer, and she didn’t want to take Old Mrs. Xu’s life-saving food.

Old Mrs. Xu, however, only felt that—

If the child took and ate them, it meant she accepted her kind gesture.

As the rat corpses in the room still needed to be cleaned up, Old Mrs. Xu went home first.

Jiang Fei looked at Xiao Chuxia: “Rats will still come up. Do you want to stay in 2201?”

“Electricity can’t be used now, but it will be safer than the 21st floor.”

The rat infestation had appeared early, and the insect plague should be coming soon. She couldn’t go downstairs to check on Xiao Hua Lao every day.

This time, Xiao Chuxia did not refuse.

The red-eyed rats were simply too terrifying; she didn’t dare face them alone!

Xiao Chuxia quickly packed her luggage, locked her door, said goodbye to Grandma Xu, and then went upstairs.

Jiang Fei gave Xiao Chuxia the key to 2201: “2201 and 2202 are connected, but there’s an electric door that’s usually locked.”

“If you need me, you don’t have to go through the main door. Just knock on that door and I’ll hear you.”

Xiao Chuxia clutched the key in her hand, touched: “Thank you, Miss.”

“Without you, I might not have made it this far.”

Not very good at socializing, Jiang Fei habitually hummed in response, cold and distant.

Yet, her body went to 2202 and brought a box of items for Xiao Chuxia.

There were flashlights, insect repellent, water purification tablets, batteries, cat litter, and some simple daily necessities.

“Get some rest early.”

“Remember to draw the curtains when you turn on the flashlight.”

01 was unoccupied, and the curtains had always been open.

Xiao Chuxia obediently went to draw the curtains, her heart feeling warm.

Miss was really good to her; she must find an opportunity to repay her later!

The next second, Xiao Chuxia froze by the window, her face turning pale:

“Miss, come and see…”