Chapter 29: The Second Apocalypse
Su Tao’s face turned ashen. “Weren’t you out on a mission? Why are you back?”
Cen Tianjiao sensed something was off, quickly hung up the phone, and scratched his head.
“That mutated zombie’s been killing more frequently these days. In close combat, almost no one can escape it. You know my ability, ‘Stone Skin’—thick-skinned and tough. Normal melee attacks can’t harm me. I was temporarily assigned back to support the city defense forces.”
“Alright. Did your boss hear everything?”
Cen Tianjiao hesitated. “…If he’s not deaf, he probably heard it all.”
We’re doomed.
“So, it’s really true? I didn’t see that coming.”
Su Tao was numb, waving him off. “Nothing’s going on. Go do whatever you need to do.”
Cen Tianjiao gave a knowing smile.
“Got it, got it. By the way, Boss Su, you’ve got a one-bedroom apartment here, right? When will there be a two-bedroom? If there is, save me one. I’ve wanted to bring my mom over to live here for ages. It’d be best if it had a small kitchen—she loves to cook. When she heard there were no kitchens here before, she wasn’t keen on coming.” He shamelessly asked.
Su Tao said, “You’ll have to wait a bit. If there’s one available, I’ll save it for you.”
Cen Tianjiao agreed, greeted Guan Zining, and left happily.
Guan Zining watched him go and snorted. “They’ve all been corrupted by your sugar-coated bullets. Cen Tianjiao used to be perfectly content living in a ditch.”
Su Tao unwrapped a candy and popped it into her mouth. “Sweet?”
The candy was originally bought to placate Zhuang Wan’s two kids.
“…Sweet.”
“Good. What’s wrong with sugar-coated bullets? Not everything has to be bitter and exhausting to give life value. If you eat and sleep well at night, only then will you have the energy and strength to shed your blood and sweat during the day.”
The sweetness in her mouth spread gently, and the taste was truly pleasant.
Guan Zining became alert. “So, is this how our major general was sweet-talked by your sugar-coated bullets too?”
Su Tao’s face darkened. “Sure, if that’s what you think. Hurry up, we’ve got things to do.”
Xiang Bin was still locked up by her.
At that moment, Xiang Bin sat by the bed with his head hanging low.
He couldn’t understand how, after visiting Su Tao’s room, not only had his communicator disappeared, but the door to his own room wouldn’t open either.
He called out for help, but no one answered.
Just as he was feeling restless, the door to the room opened from the outside.
“Boss Su? You—”
Before Xiang Bin could finish, Guan Zining pressed him down by his neck, shoving him back into the room with a murderous look.
Su Tao asked, “I heard you swindled 100,000 federal credits from Su Jianming?”
Xiang Bin’s scalp tingled. “Boss Su, you must be joking. It was a gift from your father.”
“You’re the one joking. Who just gives away 100,000 credits for no reason? Especially someone as stingy as Su Jianming. Come on, tell me—why did he give you the money?”
Xiang Bin immediately understood. Su Tao was here to settle accounts.
How could he dare say anything? Of course, it was to bribe people around Su Tao to gain some leverage, and perhaps ‘buy’ some of Taoyang’s ‘specialty products’ to sell at a high price elsewhere.
But who could’ve known that Zhuang Wan wouldn’t play along, and with Su Tao holding a grudge against the Su family, there was no chance for negotiation?
Even that vending machine had purchasing limits.
He couldn’t accomplish either task and had been racking his brain for an excuse to pocket the money.
Su Tao raised two fingers:
“I’ll give you two options. First, cancel your lease, disappear from the Su family’s life, and never contact them again. You can keep the money, and I’ll pretend I know nothing. Second, you stay here, live, eat, and sleep in this room, and keep the money as your retirement fund.”
Xiang Bin was dumbfounded. He had never seen someone make a threat sound so casual, as if he actually had a choice.
Wasn’t it clear? If he didn’t take the first option, she’d imprison him—lock him up until he died!
“The first option! I’ll leave today.”
Su Tao nodded with satisfaction. “Remember the choice you made today. You should know it’s better to offend the Su family than to offend me.”
True enough, Xiang Bin immediately felt relieved.
To be honest, the Su family was the real loser here. They lost their money and didn’t accomplish anything.
That very night, Xiang Bin packed up and left.
Guan Zining was impressed. Su Tao had driven him away with just a few words, even managing to cover up the Su family’s lies.
Zhuang Wan was overjoyed, as if it were a holiday.
“You’re amazing! I’ve been worried for so long about how to get rid of him, but who knew he’d leave on his own.”
Su Tao said, “This time, I set my own trap. I didn’t expect to rent to someone connected to the Su family, let alone conspiring with them.”
Zhuang Wan replied, “We can’t possibly assess every tenant’s character and relationships with just an info form and a few phone calls. It’s unavoidable. Speaking of which, remember that couple from the Grain Bureau who rented the one-bedroom? At first, they seemed so decent. But you wouldn’t believe how dirty they turned out to be.”
“They’d eat their takeout and were too lazy to throw it away, just stuffing it under the cafeteria tables, hiding it in the corners until it stank. Qian Rongrong had to clean up a few times, and when her mom couldn’t stand it, she went to confront them. They had nothing to say and finally cleaned up their mess.”
“After that, they stopped hiding trash in the cafeteria and started piling it in their own room. You’d open the door, and the smell would hit you. You could even see bugs crawling in the garbage. They’d pick clothes to wear right next to the trash—who knows if bugs got in.”
“And Xiao Ju, Xiaobo’s girlfriend, told me that woman even threw her dirty shoes into our communal washing machine. After being told off a few times, she started sneaking in at night to wash them, and we couldn’t catch her.”
Guan Zining’s face turned green. “And they work at the Grain Bureau? Are we really trusting such filthy people with the food we eat?”
No way—she had to report this. After all, the military and public officials consumed most of the base’s food. If they couldn’t ensure food production and quality, at the very least, they needed to maintain hygiene!
Zhuang Wan shrugged.
Su Tao said, “This issue could be big or small, depending on how we handle it. If not managed well, it could really escalate conflicts. How about this, Wanwan—you try talking to them first. If they remain stubborn and continue to affect everyone’s lives, leave it to me.”
If that happened, she’d resort to “persuasive force.”
“By the way, we’ll also need to find someone who’s quick and efficient with cleaning to help Rongrong. Our number of tenants will only increase, and Rongrong won’t be able to handle it all on her own.”
Zhuang Wan nodded. “Got it. So, should we continue renting out rooms in the meantime?”
“Yes, but for now, we’ll only open up ten rooms per month.”
Su Tao planned to expand gradually, carefully selecting quality tenants to establish a foundational culture of civility in Taoyang. This way, new tenants would naturally follow and learn, promoting lasting stability.
This was her long-term strategy.
Her more immediate priority, however, was triggering the hidden mission.
Not only did Dongyang need it, but Taoyang did too. She wanted to install full surveillance, fire and earthquake alarms, and even reinforce the outer walls…
Shi Zijin’s mention of a large-scale zombie evolution wave made Su Tao feel that the outbreak of the second apocalypse was not far off.
