Chapter 130: Four Women

Seeing Xu Haishui insist, Su Li didn’t press the matter. He waved Xu Xuehui over. Then, Gong Xiao and Ding Longyun followed Xu Haishui off the roof and down the stairs, quickly reaching the 38th floor.

“The 38th floor only housed Tao Bingjun before. Oh… and Zhang Ying also lived here…” Xu Haishui’s heart clenched as he spoke, barely able to finish the sentence.

He had found Zhang Ying here earlier. At the time, he was ecstatic, believing he had rescued her and that she would surely see him as a savior. He had already fantasized about their future life, how he would nurture their love and protect her. He would never mention the humiliation she had suffered and would slowly heal her psychological wounds. He was certain they would be happy.

The result…

The clown was me all along.

Xu Haishui felt a mouthful of bitterness.

Ding Longyun seemed to sense the change in his demeanor. He reached out and put his arm around Xu Haishui’s shoulder. “Kid, stop overthinking things. Didn’t you say there are four women here? Where are they? Later, I’ll take charge and assign one to you. I guarantee you’ll forget all about it. And of course, I should get one too. Su Li, do you want one?”

Xu Haishui was stunned by the remark.

Gong Xiao looked at Ding Longyun. “Brother Ding, if you do that, what’s the difference between you and Tao Bingjun? Women aren’t possessions. I think you should respect their own choices, don’t you agree?”

“Er…” Ding Longyun was embarrassed for once. He gave a forced laugh. “Gong Xiao, I was just trying to lighten the mood for Xu Haishui because he’s depressed. Don’t take it seriously. How could I be a person like Tao Bingjun? Besides, doesn’t everyone know I’m the most respectful of women?”

Gong Xiao gave him a knowing smile and said, “I hope so.”

Su Li, seeing the atmosphere grow strange, said, “Let’s go downstairs quickly. The 37th floor should be where the supplies are kept. The Purple Wind Building must have collected a lot of supplies to support so many people for days.”

Xu Haishui said, “I haven’t looked closely before, so I don’t know the exact details. We can check now.”

The group went down to the 37th floor. They saw several doors ajar. They pushed them open and found that, as they had guessed, the furniture had been cleared out of these rooms. They were now being used as warehouses for various supplies.

For example, one room was piled high with clothes, shoes, socks, and bedding. Another room was filled with storage containers, buckets, and basins of various sizes, all filled with water. In the largest living room, they found a machine. It was the magnetic water purifier that Xu Haishui had mentioned, modified by the engineer, Yan Fang. Perhaps due to the sudden events tonight, the place was unguarded, and the purifier was temporarily switched off.

The group casually checked a few rooms. The scale of the supplies was indeed far beyond what they had before. After all, the Purple Wind Building had eight floors above the water, and they had collected all sorts of supplies from the surrounding buildings over the past few days, all piled up here. Their former supplies were incomparable.

“Let’s go. We’ll inventory everything tomorrow. Let’s head down first.” Su Li walked down the stairs. The group quickly descended to the 36th floor.

On the 36th floor, they saw four women.

The Purple Wind Building only had five women in total. With the deceased Zhang Ying gone, four remained.

These four women lived with Wang Zhensheng and Sun Wenbo on the 36th floor. They were forced to serve them daily, although occasionally the loyalists who followed them were allowed to have their fun. The people on the lower floors rarely even saw them.

They were still here. They knew vaguely about the upheaval in the Purple Wind Building tonight but didn’t know the specifics. They dared not run around and were waiting here for the outcome.

The four women were of various ages and looked very haggard. The youngest looked barely 17 or 18, and the oldest was nearly 40. None of them were as beautiful as Zhang Ying. Only one, who had fairer skin, was considered somewhat attractive, and she wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses.

Seeing Xu Haishui leading Su Li’s group, all four women looked nervous. Seeing these strangers, they already sensed the outcome of the night’s battle.

“Don’t be nervous,” Gong Xiao said, comforting them. Looking at the four women, pity rose in her heart.

These were four unfortunate women. Unlike Zhang Ying, who looked like she had been well-cared for, these four looked haggard. Their lives in the past few days must have been agonizing.

Seeing that Gong Xiao was a beautiful woman, and noticing the little girl, the four women’s initial fears were slightly eased. They sensed Su Li’s group was different from Wang Zhensheng and Sun Wenbo.

“The nightmare is over. We came to save you. Tao Bingjun and Wang Zhensheng’s group have all been killed by us. You are free now. You no longer have to live under anyone’s thumb.”

Xu Haishui said this in a deep voice, looking at their surprised eyes. He felt like a hero, a savior. At least, in their eyes, he must seem like one. He enjoyed the feeling of being admired and appreciated.

Ding Longyun glanced sideways at Xu Haishui, thinking the guy was quite the performer. He wasn’t cowardly now. In fact, he spoke with great conviction.

Su Li said, “Come downstairs with us. We need to meet everyone else.” Su Li had already activated the “Peering Rune” on the four women. He discovered that they were all ordinary people, not even Level 1 Spiritual Source Wielders. Tao Bingjun’s group had clearly kept them captive and prevented them from hunting monsters to evolve, to keep them controlled and unable to resist.

Xu Haishui nodded. “Alright. The four of you, come with us.”

The four women dared not disobey them and followed them downstairs.

Gong Xiao asked for their names. The oldest was Zhong Rongrong, the youngest was Zhou Li, the one with glasses and a bit of charm was Qi Mengyu, and the last, slightly plump one was Tao Yuezhi.

The 35th floor housed Tao Bingjun’s trusted subordinates. They had all fled, leaving the floor empty. The group skipped this floor and went straight down to the 34th floor.

The 34th floor was the communal dining and activity area of the Purple Wind Building. The kitchen was also located here.

They arrived around dinner time. Almost everyone else was gathered on the 34th floor to eat and await further orders.

Tao Bingjun had ordered everyone to stay put on the 34th floor and await his next command. He thought he would quickly deal with Su Li’s group, capture Gong Xiao and Xu Xuehui, and avoid wasting any time. He feared people wandering around would cause problems. He hadn’t expected the situation to spiral completely out of his control.

The people gathered on the 34th floor dared not disobey Tao Bingjun’s order. Although they had finished eating a while ago, they remained on the 34th floor.

They could hear the commotion outside, the explosions, and the screams from the roof. They knew foreign enemies had invaded and Tao Bingjun’s group was fighting them, but they didn’t know the outcome.

In fact, they didn’t dare to leave. For now, staying put on the 34th floor seemed safest.

Su Li and his group entered the hallway of the 34th floor. They saw faint light emanating from one of the rooms. As they approached, they saw a single candle lit inside.

The room’s furniture had been cleared out. Several tables were pushed together, with chairs lining both sides. The bedrooms also had tables and chairs. This was the “canteen” of the Purple Wind Building.

Many people were gathered in the canteen. Some sat in chairs, speaking in low voices. Others stood by the windows, looking outside. A few were nervously pacing.

The moment Su Li’s group appeared at the doorway, the low conversations stopped. The pacers halted. The people by the windows turned and walked out of the bedrooms.

The low hum of conversation instantly vanished. The silence was so profound that you could hear a pin drop.

Both sides scrutinized each other.

For the people inside, Su Li’s group were all strangers, except for Xu Haishui.

Su Li also scrutinized the people gathered in the canteen, using his “Peering Rune” on them.

The crowd was a mix of ages, from teenagers of 15 or 16 to adults nearing 50. The majority were men and women in their twenties and thirties, the prime of their lives.

Some were Level 3, some were Level 4. He also spotted a man sitting in a corner with his head bowed who was a Level 5 Spiritual Source Wielder. He was the only Level 5 among them.

The crowd stared at Su Li, Ding Longyun, the beautiful Gong Xiao, and Xu Xuehui, their eyes wide with astonishment. Were these few people the invaders tonight? And they brought such a beautiful woman?

Then, they saw the four women—Zhong Rongrong and Qi Mengyu’s group—following them.

These women had been taken by Tao Bingjun’s group and rarely came downstairs. Their sudden appearance could only mean one thing: these strangers had genuinely defeated Tao Bingjun’s group and won.

“Xu Haishui?” A voice came from one of the bedroom entrances. A man saw Xu Haishui and cried out in surprise.

“Bai Wenwei,” Xu Haishui replied, smiling faintly as he recognized the man.

Bai Wenwei was around the same age as Xu Haishui. Although a man, his skin was fair, and he wore a crew cut. He had a delicate look, appearing somewhat frail. Like Xu Haishui, he had likely been treated poorly and often bullied.

Because they shared a similar plight, he and Xu Haishui had been friends. He was now surprised to see Xu Haishui leading a group of strangers to the doorway.

(End of Chapter)

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