Madness After the Apocalypse-Chapter 28: The mechanism

The crowd fell silent at his words, and those who hadn't yet descended quickly took refuge on either side of the door.

Upon seeing the injuries, their anger only intensified. Several people who had been hiding by the door stepped into the shooting blind spots and began hammering the door even more forcefully.

"Smash this damn door!"

A few others began prying at the opposite door, 1502.

"They're both in 1501. There's no one in 1502, probably full of supplies!"

At the mention of supplies, their strength grew exponentially.

Those who had retreated to the stairs, fearing the arrows, shouted their encouragement from a distance. In a moment, it became a collective effort.

From inside, a furious shout rang out: "You idiots! No one wanted to spare you your lives, but I won't hold back anymore!"

Watching the crowd as they smashed at the door, Sun Peng felt an ominous premonition and quickly retreated towards the stairs.

Suddenly, the shooting hole in the door closed, and the sound of machinery operating filled the air.

A thick metallic tube protruded from where the hole had been. With a loud hiss, a large amount of liquid shot out from the pipe.

"Ahh!!"

"My face! It hurts so much!"

Everyone close to the door was sprayed with the mysterious liquid, and the skin where it landed was instantly corroded, turning a horrifying black.

"Sulfuric acid! It's concentrated sulfuric acid!"

The crowd erupted in chaos. Two people closest to the door were severely burned, collapsing on the ground, clutching their faces in agony.

Others, who had sustained lighter injuries, screamed as they retreated toward the stairs.

Those who had already been standing by the stairs, witnessing the grim aftermath, couldn't help but feel a surge of relief. *Thank goodness they hadn't stayed on the 15th floor!*

Sun Peng, who had retreated quickly, had escaped the acid spray by reaching the stairs just in time. However, his face was pale, and beads of sweat dotted his forehead.

In just a short span, one person had been killed by an arrow, four were injured, two had been severely burned by sulfuric acid, and five more were hurt.

Half of the group had been incapacitated, and they hadn't even breached the door to Zhao Ping'an's house.

The nozzle retracting slowly, the voice of the irate "Auntie" rang through the door:

"You damn fools! Anyone who dares to come closer, I'll show you what it means to leave no survivors!"

The group stood frozen, none daring to move forward.

Hunger was bearable, but being drenched in sulfuric acid was no small matter.

Not only was the pain unbearable, but without any medicine, they could only wait for the infection to spread, rotting away their flesh.

The two men who had been burned were quickly helped back to their homes by their families.

Others, though reluctant, had no choice but to leave, their faces ashen.

Inside 1501, Hu Cui Lan patted her son's shoulder with a satisfied smile.

"Good job on the mechanism, son! I'll give you some credit for that!"

Zhao Ping'an shrugged. "Who was it who used to say I was slacking off? Who criticized me for watching too many end-of-world survival shows and making random things at home?"

Hu Cui Lan glared at him. "Stop talking! Go outside and check if anyone is still around, and hurry up and fix the hallway door!"

"Yes, mother." Zhao Ping'an bowed theatrically, mimicking an ancient concubine.

Hu Cui Lan kicked him in frustration.

She glanced at the messy doorway and muttered, "This kid was right after all. The end of the world really came?"

From the way those people had acted, she almost thought it was a zombie apocalypse!

The mother and son hadn't left their house in days, watching the outside world descend into chaos.

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Thankfully, her son was an enthusiast of end-of-world survival. They had a generator, ample compressed biscuits, and drinking water stored in abundance.

His two smaller rooms had been converted into storage areas, filled with long-lasting food supplies. They replaced the expired ones every year.

On the day the heavy rain started, she'd coincidentally bought a bunch of vegetable seeds.

As her son put it, "People with manic symptoms should nurture the seedlings patiently to calm their emotions."

He even custom-built solar lamps and farming boxes for her.

Turns out, they came in handy.

Now they had a variety of vegetables from her successful planting and plenty of supplies to last for years.

She watched her son busy with the door and called out, "Be serious! You might as well electrify this door too! Shock those fools!"

She silently thought to herself, *From now on, I won't complain when he's fiddling with his experiments, his "broken" projects. At least it's useful.*

The boy's efforts weren't in vain after all.

...

Meanwhile, Anna sat at home, munching on potato chips, listening to the commotion outside.

She could hear the shouts of "Arrows!" and "Sulfuric acid!" from the hallway, understanding the gist of what was happening.

Thinking back, she recalled seeing Zhao Ping'an's article online, *"Twenty Possible Scenarios for the End of the World."*

She couldn't help but marvel. This guy really was a genius. He'd turned the 15th floor into an impenetrable fortress.

Something to learn from, indeed.

Too bad she was bad with science—though she excelled in literature, physics and chemistry were a mystery to her.

She wouldn't know how to create a mechanism like that or even figure out what material the sulfuric acid sprayer was made of.

Well, there's always a trade-off—she might not know how to build traps, but with space as her golden finger, she was satisfied.

A little compromise here and there.

Looking down at her loyal dog, Fu Gui, who sat at her feet, she couldn't help but think, *You must think I'm secretly boasting in my heart, huh?*

...

The neighbors, bruised and battered, had returned to Sun Peng's house.

Those with serious injuries and their families had already gone home. The rest, either injured or merely frightened, remained in the house.

The atmosphere inside was thick with tension.

Wei Wenbin and Qian Ying'er, who had stayed at the back of the crowd, hadn't been hurt. However, their conditions were far from good.

Wei Wenbin's face was pale, his jaw covered with stubble, and he appeared thoroughly drained. The man who had once cared so much about his appearance was now a mere shell of himself.

Hungry for too long, he was only thinking about stuffing himself with whatever food he could find.

Qian Ying'er looked even worse.

Her once-golden hair, soft and lustrous from careful care, was now a tangled mess, as dry and brittle as straw. Her face had turned sallow, and her cheeks were sunken—her period was late.

She had become a shadow of herself.

Thinking back to the last time she saw Anna, so radiant and healthy, Qian Ying'er was filled with bitterness.

Why did Anna always have it so easy?

Why was she always the one admired?

A flash of malice flickered in her eyes. Suddenly, she spoke up, "Neighbors, how about we go to the 14th floor and ask Anna for food?"