28: Change it if you want, or get out if you don't.

“The resident of 2101 hasn't come out for a long time. I've knocked on her door several times, but no one answered. I'm worried something might have happened, so I was hoping you could help me break down the door.”

Old Mrs. Xu promised, “Any problems, I'll take responsibility.”

“Only a young girl lives there, named Zhou Lili. She's sensible and polite, always smiling and calling me Grandma whenever she sees me. I don't want anything to happen to her.”

Jiang Fei didn't refuse. She went upstairs to retrieve an axe and broke open the door lock in a few swift blows.

A foul odor immediately assailed her.

Several red-eyed rats scurried around the living room, and there were centipedes and cockroaches everywhere.

Jiang Fei took out a flamethrower to deal with them, then she and Old Mrs. Xu found the resident of 2101 in the bedroom.

On the pink bedsheet lay a decomposed corpse, some parts already eaten down to the bone by rats and insects.

Old Mrs. Xu gasped, nearly falling. “How could Lili end up like this...?”

“My condolences.”

Not knowing how to comfort others, Jiang Fei finished speaking and went to clear the insects from the room, where she unexpectedly found three bottles of foam sealant, which had been used to seal all the pipes.

From beginning to end, she didn't see any food packaging bags.

Instead, two jars for oil and salt were both empty.

Jiang Fei roughly guessed the girl's cause of death: “She starved to death.”

“Rats and insects crawled in through the pipes and ate her corpse.”

Old Mrs. Xu swayed, tears falling. “This foolish child... why didn't she come to me if she had no food...?”

“That Xiao Zhou and his wife are truly heartless! They work out of town all year round, neglecting Lili. It's bad enough they don't send much money, but they don't even leave any food at home. This poor, good child...”

After composing herself, Old Mrs. Xu gently held Jiang Fei's hand. “Thank you today, Little Jiang.”

“If the Xiao Zhou and his wife return later, I'll tell them about the door.”

“Alright.” Jiang Fei closed the door, and then helped Old Mrs. Xu deal with the insects in 2102 before going upstairs to ask Lu Yu for help.

The two of them carried a large table downstairs and placed it at the stairwell on the 21st floor.

Knowing what Jiang Fei intended to do, Lu Yu also brought a round battery-operated clock. “We can't guard this place all day. We can set a trading time so those people come up punctually.”

Jiang Fei had the same idea, but she hadn't expected Lu Yu to bring a clock. “Thank you. I'll send you two bags of insect repellent powder later.”

“Actually, sometimes you don't need to be so polite. We're on the same team, and we're friends.”

His neighbor had helped him a lot; his small effort was not worth mentioning.

Moreover, they were now teammates who entrusted their backs to each other; there was no need to be too precise about small things.

Jiang Fei thought for a moment: “Then I'll just accept it directly.”

Lu Yu smiled and nodded, his eyes under the transparent mask softening, like a pool of spring water, captivating.

Jiang Fei had to admit, Lu Yu was truly handsome.

Quite pleasing to the eye.

After parting with Lu Yu, Jiang Fei went downstairs to find the man with the trash can on his head, and with a pack of instant noodles, she sent him to spread the news—

“Starting tomorrow at 12 PM, anyone who catches centipedes and cockroaches can go to the stairwell on the 21st floor to exchange them for food. We'll only collect for 3 hours each day. Gold can also be used for trade.”

“If they're dead, the insect corpses must be intact.”

“Live insects must be kept separate, otherwise centipedes will eat cockroaches.”

“A 500ml bottle can be exchanged for a bag of bread, or a pack of compressed biscuits.”

“There's a clock on the 21st-floor stairs. If anyone doesn't follow the rules, or isn't punctual and tries to cause trouble, then they can look forward to being fed to the insects.”

The man with the trash can on his head noted everything down. “How will gold be collected then?”

“100 grams can be traded. The resources that can be exchanged are the same as for insects. For over 1000 grams, you can exchange for any two types of food, plus a bottle of drinking water.”

She was desperately short of gold.

It didn't matter if she spent a little more on resources; unlocking the Supermarket would bring her even more!

After arranging the trade, Jiang Fei went to 2201.

Xiao Chuxia was already in her room processing the centipede and cockroach corpses, preparing to make medicine.

Jiang Fei didn't disturb her. She moved the almost empty water bucket from 01 to 02, filled it with water, and then returned it.

Previously, Xiao Chuxia would collect rainwater from outside and filter it with purifying tablets to drink.

Now with the insect plague, the water contained insect eggs, making it unsafe to drink.

She had hoarded so much water; wouldn't it be a waste not to use it?

Lu Yu's water buckets were still very full, and he had more of them than Xiao Chuxia, so Jiang Fei didn't fill his. She filled two hundred-liter buckets and then went to Ling Zhaorui's place.

Compared to a few days ago, Ling Zhaorui's complexion was much better, but his leg injury still needed to heal, and he walked with a limp.

Jiang Fei placed the water buckets at the door. “The standing water has insect eggs. Don't go downstairs to get water anymore. I'll bring you water during this time.”

Ling Zhaorui held his trekking pole, feeling ashamed. “I don't drink much water alone. Take one bucket back.”

“You saved me, gave me a place to live, and food, yet I do nothing. I feel like a parasite, eating and taking for free...”

Jiang Fei interrupted Ling Zhaorui. “Once the trading is stable, you can teach me how to cultivate plants.”

“Once your leg injury heals and you can go out, these supplies must be repaid to me.”

“Alright!” Ling Zhaorui finally smiled.

Owing Jiang Fei was better than taking from her for free.

At least the psychological burden wouldn't be too heavy.

—

The man with the trash can on his head was very efficient. The next day, when Jiang Fei and Xiao Chuxia carried boxes of supplies downstairs, the stairwell on the 21st floor was already packed with people.

Some held bottles or jars filled with insects, others held gold.

Everyone had found usable items and made simple protections to avoid being bitten by insects.

Perhaps too many had been killed; there were no cockroaches flying in the air today.

Jiang Fei and Xiao Chuxia set down the boxes and opened them directly in front of everyone.

Besides bread, compressed biscuits, and drinking water, there were also packaged instant noodles, ham sausages, and pork floss pastries.

Everyone wished they could rush over immediately and grab the supplies.

They knew it! There were good things on the 22nd floor!

Noticing someone pushing the table crooked, Xiao Chuxia raised the megaphone Jiang Fei gave her and shouted, “Everyone, form two lines! Those with insects stand here, and those with gold stand there.”

“No cutting in line or pushing, or no one will be able to trade!”

Jiang Fei opportunely pulled out a gun to intimidate them.

The crowd quickly split into two lines.

Xiao Chuxia was responsible for trading insects, while Jiang Fei mainly collected gold.

Each time she received gold, Jiang Fei would pretend to put it into her backpack, but in reality, she would put it into the Supermarket. Only after confirming the weight was correct and it was real gold would she give the other party their exchange.

While some were happy to exchange for food, others were naturally dissatisfied.

A man who had just exchanged gold for supplies spoke up: “Gold is worth four to five hundred yuan a gram. My ring is 10 grams, which calculates to over four thousand yuan. You're only giving me two bags of instant noodles and a bottle of mineral water, which isn't even worth 10 yuan. Isn't that taking advantage of the situation too much?”

“It must be an equal exchange to be fair.”

The people on Xiao Chuxia's side also echoed, “Cockroaches and centipedes bite people. The wounds are painful and itchy, and there might even be bacteria and viruses. We risk our lives to catch them, so how can you only give us one food item?”

Xiao Chuxia retorted, “The decision is in your hands; you don't have to trade if you don't want to.”

“Gold used to be valuable, but is gold still valuable now? Can you rely on it to fill your stomach and survive?”

“Aren't you clear how important food is?”

The three consecutive questions left the people speechless.

Someone was still unwilling to give up: “But shouldn't we help each other?”

“A few of you can't eat that many supplies...”

Bang!

The ceiling light in the corridor was shattered by a shot from Jiang Fei.

“The last person who asked me to hand over supplies for free is already dead. Do you want to go find him?”

Everyone simultaneously thought of the tragically dead Xiao Guan and quickly shut their mouths.

“Trade if you want, or get lost if you don't. No one is forcing you.”

Jiang Fei leaned back in her chair, her attitude unyielding, much like a bandit.

But no one dared to cause trouble anymore, and they honestly continued to exchange for supplies.

In Xiao Chuxia's line, a burly man draped in a large red floral curtain, after exchanging his insects, ingratiatingly said to Jiang Fei:

“Sister Jiang, I'm Zhu Zi, the one who threw Xiao Guan into the water with melon seeds last time. Do you still need enforcers?”

“Whoever causes trouble, I'll beat them. You don't even need to lift a finger or waste bullets. Just give me something to eat.”

Jiang Fei sized up Zhu Zi.

He was burly, the biggest man in the crowd.

“Three hours of work, one bag of bread, one bag of compressed biscuits.”

“Okay!” Zhu Zi happily agreed.

Seeing this, others also recommended themselves.

Jiang Fei chose two more, also from the previous enforcer group, and then resumed the trade.

When it was the seventh woman's turn to exchange gold.

System: [Ding—Detected 176 grams of fake gold. It has been automatically cleared from the Supermarket.]

Jiang Fei: ?

Fake goods???