Chapter 33: Smashing the Door

Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Smashing the Door

Keeping a tight grip on her knife, Chen Momo said calmly, "We are killing each other right now, and there is only one outcome to that—we will all die. Rather than being trapped in this building and tearing each other apart, we should figure out a way to find opportunities elsewhere. There are many office buildings, malls, and restaurants across from us. Before the blizzard hit, those malls and shops definitely had supplies left behind that couldn’t be taken away in time. If we smash the front door open and head across the street from the residential complex, we can definitely find some supplies."

With everyone trapped inside the building like beasts in a cage, they had already descended into a savage battle royale. If this continued, they wouldn’t die from the natural disaster, but at the hands of their fellow neighbors. Instead of letting these people fixate on the meager supplies their companions held and tearing each other apart, it was better to redirect their attention outside to search for new resources elsewhere.

Someone in the crowd quickly spoke up. "Isn’t that just telling us to ’rob’?"

Zhang Liang countered, "We’ve already started killing each other! Is that any better than robbing? I think this lady’s suggestion is very reasonable. There aren’t many supplies left in our Building Five. We can’t just stare at the little bit of food our companions have. Rather than robbing our neighbors, we should unite and search for supplies in other empty buildings!"

Initially, Zhang Liang hadn’t thought about robbing supplies either, but after hearing Chen Momo’s words, he suddenly realized it was a brilliant idea.

By this time, Wang Jian Country and Wang Liping had also recovered from their earlier fright.

Wang Jian Country thought it was a good plan. His voice was hoarse as he said, "This is the only way to ensure we all survive now. We can’t stay trapped in Building Five, otherwise it’s a dead end for everyone. We have to smash the door open and find a way out of here!"

Gradually, the out-of-control crowd regained their rationality. This proposal allowed everyone to see a glimmer of hope. They instantly realized the truth—instead of coveting the limited supplies in their companions’ hands and hoping every day for others to die, it was far better to band together and search for new resources elsewhere!

Wang Jian Country said, "First, we need to break the door open. Who has a hammer at home? Speak up."

"I have one," Chen Momo was the first to answer.

In reality, she had several hammers of various shapes and sizes in her spatial dimension, all stockpiled before the apocalypse. However, she didn’t dare say too much to avoid arousing suspicion, so she only declared one.

"I have one too," another man said.

"I’ve got one at my place." One after another, more people reported having hammers. Generally, any household with a man essentially had a hammer on hand for fixing window screens or doing everyday repairs, so they kept one around.

Wang Jian Country tallied them up; there were twelve hammers in total. He continued, "The building’s main door is completely frozen solid right now, so breaking it open won’t be easy. We currently have twelve hammers. To make sure we bust it down, twelve of us will go up and smash it together. We’ll work in shifts of twelve. The rest of you will stand by. When anyone in the current wave runs out of strength, someone from the next group will rotate in."

After regaining his composure, Wang Jian Country immediately mobilized everyone to start breaking the door, aiming to find an exit for the trapped residents to seek out new supplies. Otherwise, this mob of lunatics was going to kill him and rob his apartment.

His method quickly won unanimous approval. Now, everyone pinned their hopes on the area across from the complex. As long as they could break open the door and get outside, they would have a chance to live!

With a new chance at survival, the crowd found their motivation and eagerly volunteered.

"I’ll go in the first batch!"

"Count me in too!"

Even the women who had just been hiding in the corners, crying in fear, wiped away the ice crystals formed from their tears and signed up with trembling voices. "Brother Wang, put me on the list too. If there aren’t enough people, I’ll help."

Now, the dawn of survival was right in front of them. The panic subsided, and they no longer acted like wild beasts tearing each other apart. The residents of Building Five suddenly became more united than ever before. Twisting together like a sturdy rope, they scrambled to volunteer, determined to work together and smash the main door open.

Wang Liping had also regained her rationality. After calming her frightened nerves, she gave Chen Momo a grateful look before immediately throwing herself into the intense task of organizing the door-breaking effort. Right now, she and Wang Jian Country were in the same sinking boat—the door had to be opened no matter what, otherwise both of them would be in grave danger!

Almost everyone volunteered. Based on the turnout, Wang Jian Country and Wang Liping divided the residents into three groups to take turns. The women were placed at the very end; if the men ran out of strength, the women would step in.

Soon, the grand "Door-Smashing Operation" began.

The twelve men in the first group stepped up with their hammers, using every ounce of strength they had to strike the ice-sealed door simultaneously. The iron hammers pounded against the door—CLANG! CLANG!—and the sheer force of twelve heavy hammers striking the iron shook the entirety of Building Five.

A young child, frightened by the scene, burst into tears.

Standing nearby, the mother could only cover the child’s ears, constantly wiping her own tears as she comforted the crying kid. "Be good, don’t be afraid. We’ll be able to get out soon. Once we’re out, we’ll have food."

Those who hadn’t taken their turn yet didn’t return to their apartments. Instead, wrapped in two or three thick down jackets, they stood aside to cheer on the men swinging the hammers.

Having endured a grueling forty-five days of lockdown, the residents of Building Five had never been as united as they were today. Everyone was working together with one heart, striving toward the beautiful vision of breaking the door down.

However, reality was far more cruel than they had imagined. After three groups of men took turns hammering for an entire afternoon, the door was left covered in countless dents of varying depths, yet it remained completely unyielding.

The men swinging the hammers gradually shifted from being full of fighting spirit to feeling dejected. The sound of smashing grew weaker and weaker. Hours passed, and everyone’s strength was nearly depleted, but the "Door-Smashing Operation" still showed zero progress.

Seeing this situation, Wang Jian Country furrowed his brows deeply.

"This door won’t open. The outside is frozen as solid as a rock." One of the men swinging a hammer suddenly stopped his actions. He straightened his back and turned to look at Wang Jian Country nearby. "Wang Jian Country, you bastard, did you organize us to smash the door just to stall for time? Are you waiting for us to use up all our strength and exhaust ourselves to death so that you’ll be safe?"

Hearing this man’s words, the others also stopped what they were doing and looked at Wang Jian Country in unison.