Chapter 37: A Prophecy Fulfilled
1064 Words
Why?
Huang Mengying did not erupt in anger when Zhou Lin refused to involved the property management. Instead, she remained composed, awaiting his rationale.
“I don’t trust them,” Zhou Lin said bluntly. Efficiency is paramount in cooperation. If Huang Mengying could not grant him even this minimal trust, there was no point in continuing the discussion.
Cheng Yali fell silent beside him, implicitly supporting her son’s decision.
Huang Mengying pondered in silence—not because she doubted Zhou Lin, but because she wondered if there was information she lacked that made him view the seemingly reliable property management so differently.
As a businesswoman, she knew stubborn pride could be fatal, especially in times of scarce information. Jumping to conclusions might have once cost a company money; now, it could cost a life.
“Could you explain your reasons?” she finally asked.
Zhou Lin shook his head. Had she agreed immediately, he would have trusted her more. But the very act of questioning his distrust meant their partnership might end here—unless she could prove herself worthy.
“Call it intuition,” he replied gravely. “But if you decide to involve the property management, I withdraw from this entirely.”
Zhou Lin’s decisiveness took her aback. She turned to Cheng Yali for support.
“All right, all right—nothing is set in stone,” Cheng Yali interjected. “By the way, son, you have walkie-talkies, right? Give one to Boss Huang. It’ll be safer—no electricity out there, and it’s freezing cold.”
A single walkie-talkie was no treasure to Zhou Lin, especially a military-grade model. With the master unit in his hands, he could control when Boss Huang used it and what she heard—or didn’t.
None of them anticipated the device would soon prove its worth.
After Huang Mengying departed, Cheng Yali asked Zhou Lin if he had discovered some fault in the property management. He could offer no specifics. “Xiaoli, what do you think?”
Zhou Li emerged, rolling her eyes at her brother. “‘They are not of our clan; their hearts must differ.’ Property management and residents might as well be strangers forever.”
“You speak in riddles,” Cheng Yali scolded. If Zhou Li weren’t her daughter, she might have thrashed her for her flowery language.
“‘He who trusts shall live forever!’” Zhou Li proclaimed.
“Live forever? I’ll show you forever!” Cheng Yali thundered.
Cheng Yali had no favoritism between her children; her fairness extended even to her discipline. Whether it was Zhou Lin or Zhou Li, her hand fell with equal force.
Zhou Li howled and fled, accusing Cheng Yali of lacking virtue. Wu Xue stifled her laughter at the sibling squabble.
Shaking his head, Zhou Lin returned to the gym, intent on resuming his workout. He hadn’t even finished warming up when Huang Mengying’s urgent voice crackled through the walkie-talkie:
“Help! They’re killing people—help!”
Wu Xue heard it first. She reacted instantly, dashing toward the gym and nearly colliding with Zhou Lin as he burst out.
“It’s Boss Huang!” Wu Xue cried.
“I’m going!” Zhou Lin grabbed his polar combat suit and raced outside. Upstairs, Cheng Yali leaned out, shouting, “Be careful! Take a weapon!”
Even in panic, Zhou Lin remembered caution. Before opening the door, he checked the surveillance monitor to ensure no one lurked nearby.
In the apocalypse, paranoia was survival.
The elevator was powerless, so Huang Mengying must have taken the stairs. Zhou Lin calculated her likely progress — at most, she would have descended to the lower floors.
With a running start, he leapt down the staircase — not so much descending as flying. Each flight of stairs took only two giant steps, and he felt no strain. Before evolving, this would have meant sprains, fractures, or worse.
Tenth floor…Seventh floor…Third floor…
By the time he landed on the second floor, he heard voices — a woman’s terrified screams mingled with two men’s gruff replies:
“Let me go! I’m a resident here! Security! Guards!”“We are the security guards.”“A resident, eh? Lucky you!”“Who cares in this weather?”
Security guards — brazen and corrupt?
If he hadn’t heard it himself, Zhou Lin would have thought it impossible. He knew social order would collapse in the apocalypse, but not this quickly.
He turned off his flashlight and donned his night-vision goggles, then slipped out of the stairwell. In the near-total darkness, three figures struggled in the hallway.
A discarded flashlight lay at their feet; another flickered dimly in a man’s hand. In this gloom, unless the beam swept directly over him, Zhou Lin was invisible.
Drawing a collapsible baton, he tested its weight, then swung fiercely, shattering the flashlight in the man’s grasp.
Crack!
A man’s scream echoed as the corridor plunged into pitch black. Zhou Lin seized Boss Huang’s fallen flashlight, switched it off, and became the only one with sight.
The two men, panic-stricken, abandoned Huang Mengying, groping blindly for the stairs, assuming she and Zhou Lin were equally blind.
In contrast, Huang Mengying crouched in the darkness, hugging her head and curling into a ball — minimizing her target profile.
Zhou Lin approached silently and whispered, “Boss Huang, don’t speak. Follow me.”
At his voice, Huang Mengying lifted her head, recognizing him even in the dark, and exhaled in relief.
He took her right hand, gently pulled her to her feet, and guided her down the stairs.
The lobby’s lighting was slightly better; Huang Mengying could at last make out Zhou Lin’s silhouette.
“Thank you… I was so naive,” she whispered.
“No need for thanks. It’s freezing. Let’s go to the garage,” Zhou Lin replied.
“Is the garage safe?” Huang Mengying asked, her grip on his hand tight.
“I’ll see you home,” he assured her. Not knowing if more property management staff were in the underground parking, he kept the flashlight off. With Zhou Lin leading and guiding, Huang Mengying managed the darkness.
Though warmer underground, the air was thick and lightless. Even with a flashlight, she wouldn’t have dared come alone.
“It feels like hell…” she murmured as they reached the garage entrance.
- Writer
