Chapter 283: Chapter 283
The commotion erupting from downstairs was even more jarring than before.
This time, it sounded like a chainsaw.
The atmosphere in the room changed instantly.
Thomas reacted first. In a blur of movement, he crossed the room and peered out the window.
When he turned back, his expression had darkened considerably.
"They’re back," he said grimly. "And they’ve brought more people. They’ve got a chainsaw this time."
His eyesight was exceptional. From a single glance, he had taken in everything happening below.
The room immediately fell silent.
Elijah was the first to break it.
"For fuck’s sake, they’re back again?"
He had assumed the earlier confrontation would at least discourage them for a while.
Apparently, all it had done was provoke them further.
Bill moved to the window and looked down for himself.
Nearly a dozen men had gathered outside the building. They carried machetes, steel pipes, and various improvised weapons.
"About ten of them," he reported, his voice serious.
Ten people. Roughly equal to the number inside their building.
The problem was that those ten were merely the ones who had shown up. It certainly did not mean the organization only had ten members.
The group’s leader had absorbed most of the surviving residents in the community into his ranks. He had also been recruiting survivors from neighboring areas, steadily expanding his forces.
From all appearances, he was building a private army. And Starlight Towers had become one of his primary targets.
The chainsaw continued screaming below.
Liam frowned.
"We can’t let them cut through that entrance."
Once the main door was gone, there would be nothing stopping these people from entering whenever they pleased.
They could lurk in the building, wait outside apartments, or ambush residents the moment a door opened.
That kind of threat was impossible to ignore.
Suzy was slightly less worried about her own unit. She had surveillance cameras installed outside her door.
The real issue was that she frequently visited the apartment across the hall.
To get there, she had to pass through the stairwell.
And the stairwell had no protective barriers. An ambush there was entirely possible.
"We’re going down," Suzy said decisively as she rose to her feet. "If they’re determined to force their way in, there’s no reason for us to sit here and watch."
The moment she stood, Thomas followed.
Liam rose as well.
The four members of the doctors family exchanged looks before getting up too.
If they had been able to eliminate one group earlier, they could do it again.
Aaron curled his lips into a faint smile and picked up the modified crossbow he still had not bothered cleaning.
The others grabbed their weapons as well.
A few minutes later, the group headed downstairs.
The shriek of the chainsaw echoed through the building. Fortunately, the machine itself appeared to be cheap and underpowered.
It had been grinding away for quite some time, yet the reinforced entrance remained completely intact.
So far, all it had managed to produce was an unbearable amount of noise.
The twins moved closer to the entrance to assess the situation.
Meanwhile, Suzy and the others remained on the upper stairwell, observing from above.
The enemy group consisted of around ten able-bodied adults.
Every one of them was armed. At the center stood a tall, gaunt man wrapped in layers of clothing.
Even at a glance, the quality of his gear was noticeably better than everyone else’s.
His eyes remained fixed on the entrance, irritation written plainly across his face.
"What the hell are you doing?" he snapped.
The man operating the chainsaw turned pale under the glare.
Sweat beaded across his forehead. His hands were visibly shaking.
Forcing out a smile that looked more painful than cheerful, he stammered,
"Chris, I’m trying. The chainsaw’s been acting up since before this..."
In reality, it was nothing more than a small household chainsaw.
No matter how hard he pushed it, it was never designed to cut through a reinforced security entrance.
"Useless idiot." Chris’s expression twisted with frustration.
Clearly, breaking through the door was going to be much harder than expected.
Just then, something caught his attention.
He suddenly looked up and met several pairs of eyes.
For a brief moment, both sides froze.
Suzy and the others were watching him. Now, Chris was watching them.
His gaze swept across Suzy, Thomas, Liam, and the rest. A calculating light flickered in his eyes.
So these were the people living in the building...
A smile slowly spread across his face. Then he raised a hand in greeting.
"Well, hello there, neighbors."
Chris stared up at the group with a pleasant smile, though the calculating gleam in his eyes betrayed his true thoughts.
This trip had turned out to be unexpectedly rewarding.
The survivors living in this building were far more impressive than he had anticipated.
His gaze lingered briefly on Suzy.
She was stunning.
Her features were delicate and refined, her skin pale and flawless. Although there was a trace of exhaustion in her complexion that gave her a slightly fragile appearance, it only enhanced her beauty rather than diminishing it.
In times like these, beauty was a rare commodity.
Even naturally beautiful women struggled to maintain their looks after months of hardship, hunger, and constant stress.
Yet this woman was clearly different.
Compared to the gaunt, malnourished women Chris had encountered elsewhere, she looked remarkably well cared for.
If Ray saw someone like her, he would undoubtedly be pleased.
And if Chris happened to be the one who brought her back... Perhaps another promotion would not be out of reach.
It wasn’t just the woman. The men standing beside her were equally striking.
Every one of them looked like they could have stepped straight out of a talent agency before the apocalypse. Their appearances rivaled celebrities who had once been carefully groomed and marketed by professional teams.
To be honest, Chris felt a twinge of jealousy. He considered himself reasonably handsome. But standing beside these people, he felt painfully ordinary.
The difference was almost absurd.
Why were some people simply born with advantages others could never match?
The thought irritated him.
Still, he quickly pushed those feelings aside.
He had business to handle. His purpose today was to take control of this building.
Officially, he would call it recruitment and integration.
In reality, it was an occupation.
He knew there were a few troublesome individuals living here. That didn’t concern him much.
A flash of confidence crossed his eyes. His gaze drifted toward several bodies lying nearby. Those men had belonged to the organization.
Technically, they had been under his command. But they were expendable. If they had been foolish enough to get themselves killed, that was their own fault.
Chris had no emotional attachment to them. Dead subordinates were simply dead subordinates. What mattered now were the people upstairs.
His eyes swept across those attractive faces again.
Killing them outright would be wasteful. Ray would undoubtedly prefer to see them brought in alive.
After weighing his options, Chris spoke again.
"My friends upstairs, there’s no need to be nervous. We’re not here to cause trouble. We just want to talk."
His smile widened.
Elijah immediately scoffed. "Then what exactly is there to talk about?"
Just minutes ago, these same people had been hammering on the entrance, threatening to kill everyone inside.
Now they suddenly wanted a friendly conversation? Did they think anyone was stupid enough to believe that?
Chris chuckled and gestured toward the nearby corpses.
"Don’t misunderstand. We didn’t come here seeking revenge for those idiots."
"Then why are you here?" Elijah demanded.
Chris’s eyes shifted thoughtfully before he answered with an expression of complete sincerity.
"We’d like to invite all of you to join our organization."
Whether anyone believed him or not hardly mattered. His immediate goal was simply to draw them into a conversation.
As he had observed them, he had become increasingly convinced that none of these people were easy opponents.
A person’s condition revealed a great deal.
Most survivors he encountered looked exhausted, hollow-cheeked, and worn down by the apocalypse.
The people in this building were different.
Their complexions were healthy. Their posture was confident. They looked well-fed. More importantly, they had eliminated several armed men with ease.
That meant they possessed both weapons and capability. Starting a direct fight right now would be a poor decision.
Now that he had finally met them face-to-face, Chris felt there was room for negotiation.
Naturally, Suzy and the others weren’t naive enough to trust him.
Still, his unexpectedly diplomatic attitude caught them slightly off guard.
Without waiting for questions, Chris launched into a description of the organization.
He spoke about their resources, their manpower, and the security they supposedly provided.
Once he finished, he subtly glanced toward one of the men standing beside him.
The subordinate immediately understood the signal.
Stepping forward, he raised his voice.
"My friends upstairs, you all seem like intelligent people. You understand what kind of world we’re living in now."
He paused deliberately.
"To be honest, we’ve had our eyes on this building for quite a while. The only reason you’ve been able to live here peacefully until now isn’t because you’re especially powerful."
A smug smile appeared on his face.
"It’s because we haven’t had the time to deal with you yet."
