After Xiao Jun left, Wan Qianya lazily lay on the sofa in the hotel room.
Before leaving, Xiao Jun had given her his phone and dozens of power banks to pass the time.
With a comfortable sofa, endless TV shows to watch, happy water, potato chips, life was good.
An hour after Xiao Jun's departure, furtive noises came from the door.
Wan Qianya instantly became alert, put down her phone, and quietly walked towards the door.
"Brother Qiang, this door is tricky to open. What if that guy suddenly comes back? He's got two machetes with him."
A Fatty lecherously said.
"Stop yapping bullshit. Aren't you supposedly the best lockpicker in Star City? If I wasn't backing you, you would have been locked up for decades. Now you can't even pick a simple lock?"
Brother Qiang slapped Fatty in the face. According to the butler, there was a roomful of food and water behind that door. If they could get it open, they wouldn't go hungry for a month.
"Fatty, focus on opening that lock. I've got the butler keeping watch. That guy won't be back anytime soon."
Inside the room, Wan Qianya watched everything happen through the peephole. She didn't expect anyone to actually try to break in.
From their conversation, it seemed someone knew Brother Jun had stockpiled large quantities of supplies.
What should she do now? Brother Jun probably wouldn't be back until late evening. Even the special security system on the presidential suite's door could only withstand so much.
Wan Qianya was helpless. A woman like her, if caught by them, the consequences were obvious.
She could only try to buy time.
"What are you guys trying to do?"
Might as well try to intimidate them first, even if it doesn't scare them off, it would still buy some time.
Fatty's hands abruptly stopped working the lockpick. It even dropped to the floor.
"Brother Qiang, there's someone inside!"
Before the apocalypse, Fatty was just a petty thief. Halfway through picking a lock and finding someone inside, there was no need to think - he'd naturally run away.
So after saying that sentence, he reflexively tried to bolt, but Brother Qiang grabbed him back.
Two more slaps across his face.
"Why run? It's just a woman. As long as you get that door open, she'll be yours."
Fatty's interest was piqued. Those two maids in the room were pretty hot too, but he had played with them for days and was tired of them. Getting someone fresh would get him excited again.
"I'm telling you, my brother will be back any minute. If you don't scram now you're both dead."
Wan Qianya did not give up and continued her verbal assault to disrupt Fatty's lockpicking progress.
"Girl, your brother definitely ain't coming back. You see how many zombies are outside? Be nice and open up this door, I'll even let you live afterwards."
"Otherwise, once we get this door open, I'll show you what fun means."
Wan Qianya stopped making any sounds. Intimidation was clearly useless.
While they worked on the lock, Wan Qianya started moving things.
Having taken five tier-1 variant crystals that morning, her physique had been tremendously enhanced to match a grown man's strength.
First she moved the cabinet to brace the door. Still not enough stability. She dragged the sofa over too.
Basically any heavy furniture she could see in the room went towards the doorway, piled up haphazardly. When tired, she drank some water and snacked on something, then resumed moving things.
A whole hour later, the doorway was filled with furniture, but Wan Qianya was still anxious.
You had to hand it to the workmanship of a 5-star hotel’s presidential suite – that lock sure was sturdy. It lasted all the way until noon when Fatty finally gave a yell of delight as the door lock was picked open.
“You slut, just you wait. I’m going to try all thirty-six sex positions on you... Huh, why can’t I push the door open?”
Amidst Fatty’s curses, the door didn't budge one bit.
“Get lost, you limp-dick fatty. Worn out after screwing whores the past few days? Can’t even push a damn door.”
Brother Qiang shoved Fatty aside and tried to push the door himself, but it still didn't move.
“Brother Qiang, that chick is bracing stuff against the door inside, no wonder we can't get it open!”
Peering through the slight gap, Fatty seemed to have discovered something and quickly reported to Brother Qiang.
“Tch, this wench is a tough one. I’ll be damned if I can't get this goddamn door open today. Everyone, ram together on three!”
With the addition of the butler, four men threw their weight against the door.
Inside, Wan Qianya was no longer wearing just a slip. She had on Xiao Jun’s cotton jacket and an extra pair of pants. She didn't like prancing around half-naked either.
Seeing four men outside prepare to ram the door, her heart was in her mouth, terrified that the door would burst open any second.
She frantically ran over to push against the sofa, hoping to wedge the door shut.
The four men's combined strength widened the gap, so Wan Qianya desperately leaned into the sofa to shove the door closed.
"Nice face on this chick, Brother Qiang. You promised she'd be mine."
Getting a good look at Wan Qianya inside, Fatty practically started drooling. Compared to her, those two maids were basically trash.
A trace of greed flashed across Brother Qiang's face. Once they got this door open, he'd definitely have first dibs on her.
"She'll be yours, what's your rush? Open this damn door first."
The four men shoved from outside while Wan Qianya braced against them from within. If not for the few hundred pounds of furniture blocking access, the door would probably have caved in long ago.
And so time trickled by second by agonizing second...
"What exactly are you guys doing over there, forcing open someone else's door?"
A sudden voice called out from the hallway, and a ray of hope lit up in Wan Qianya’s heart. There had to be more people on this floor. Making some ruckus might get kind souls to step in and stop them.
Things progressed just as Wan Qianya hoped. Soon there were sounds of more people gathering in the corridor outside.
"Come quick everyone! Some people here are trying to violently break down my door to take advantage of me, a helpless woman! If I don't stop them today, who knows whose doors they'll try to smash down tomorrow!"
Hearing the commotion outside, Wan Qianya immediately shouted for help at the top of her lungs.
This yell was no joke. Several men promptly stepped forward.
Fatty was just a small-time crook before all this. Faced with the present situation he practically pissed himself. And while Brother Qiang did have some street cred as a minor gang boss, he wasn't too bright either and got apprehensive seeing the crowd.
Just then, the butler stepped forward.
"Countrymen! Please listen to me. We are all fellow survivors. Why would we fight and harm our own? Aren't we gathered here waiting to be rescued?"
"The main issue is that the girl inside has got a whole room full of food and drink. All kinds of canned goods and bottled water, hundreds of boxes! In times like these, shouldn't we band together as humans? Her hoarding vital resources for herself is truly contemptible, which is why we resorted to such methods."
Wan Qianya mentally cursed out the butler ten thousand times over. He was far worse than that Fatty or Brother Qiang.
No wonder there's the old saying: what’s scary isn’t local ruffians, but ruffians with a way with words.