novelsite Chapter 5 You will be punished!
Chapter 5 You will be punished!
Small groups of people began to gather in the small square outside the cafeteria.
Although it wasn't as chaotic as in a supermarket, Jiang Ming noticed that people's eyes lit up when they saw the three of them pushing a large cart of supplies.
"Excuse me, wait a minute!"
A bespectacled, well-mannered-looking boy ran over quickly and blocked their way.
Two companions followed behind him, all three of them staring intently at the items in the shopping cart, their Adam's apples bobbing uncontrollably.
"Where...where did you get all this stuff?"
The bespectacled man adjusted his glasses, trying to make his tone sound polite, but the tremor in his voice betrayed his inner urgency.
Wang Yang and Li Bin stopped in their tracks.
Jiang Ming opened his mouth, but still couldn't say what he wanted to say.
After all, what happened in the supermarket just now still left him with lingering fears.
Unlike Jiang Ming, Wang Yang didn't have many thoughts running through his mind. Right now, he just wanted to get these precious items back to his dorm and lock them up as soon as possible.
He raised his chin and gestured towards the cafeteria: "Second floor supermarket, go get it yourself."
Li Bin pushed the cart, a playful glint in his eyes behind his glasses. He slowly added, "Hurry up, or you'll miss out."
Upon hearing this, the three boys' faces instantly lit up with wild joy.
"Thank you! Thank you, classmate!"
They thanked them repeatedly, then ran headlong towards the cafeteria without looking back, as if all the food in the world would disappear if they were a second late.
Watching their retreating figures as they sprinted away, Jiang Ming's feelings became even more complicated.
"Let's go, Lao Jiang, stop standing there," Li Bin urged. "If you pity them, who will pity us? In this godforsaken place, survival is the only thing that matters."
Jiang Ming didn't argue, but silently followed and helped push the wobbly shopping cart.
The distance from the cafeteria to the dormitory building is only 500 meters, but at this moment it feels like it will never end.
Along the way, people kept coming up to ask questions.
"Excuse me, where did you get your things?!"
"Hey handsome, did you buy this at the supermarket?"
Wang Yang and Li Bin were too lazy to answer these questions one by one. They simply pointed with their chins in the direction of the cafeteria, then protected the shopping cart with their bodies and kept walking.
Just as they were about to reach the dormitory building, a girl in a white dress with a pure and innocent look suddenly rushed out from the side path and blocked their way with her arms outstretched.
She wore delicate makeup, but her eyes were red and her face was streaked with tears, making her look pitiful.
"Seniors, please..." Her voice trembled with tears. "I'm so hungry. I haven't eaten anything since this morning. Could... could you sell me something to eat?"
As she spoke, she hurriedly pulled a wad of crisp 100-yuan bills from her LV purse and held them high: "I'll buy it! A thousand yuan a bag of bread! No, two thousand! Just sell it to me!"
The red banknotes looked somewhat glaring in the dim light.
Wang Yang was so angry he laughed.
"Money?" He looked the girl up and down, then scoffed. "You think that thing is still useful?"
"How could it be useless? This is money!" the girl exclaimed anxiously, pushing the money forward further. "Once things return to normal, this money can buy anything! I can even call my dad and ask him to give you more!"
"Back to normal?" Li Bin adjusted his glasses and spoke slowly, his tone carrying an almost cruel calmness. "Young man, look around you, look at the sky. Do you think we can ever go back to normal? This amount of money of yours is so hard I'd even feel uncomfortable using it to go to the toilet, understand?"
The girl was speechless, her face turning pale and then red, and her tears fell even harder.
She looked pleadingly at Jiang Ming, who had remained silent, her voice growing increasingly weak: "Senior, look at me..."
"We're not selling."
Jiang Ming finally spoke; his voice was a little hoarse, but exceptionally clear.
He didn't look at the girl's face, but stared at the stack of brand-new banknotes in her hand.
Once upon a time, this was something he desperately wanted to earn through hard work.
But now, it can't even buy a sip of water.
This stark contrast shattered even the last vestiges of his unrealistic fantasies.
"Hurry up and get out of the way, don't block the way."
Jiang Ming walked around her and continued pushing the cart forward.
Wang Yang and Li Bin immediately followed.
"How...how could you do this! Don't you have any compassion?!" the girl screamed behind them, her voice filled with venomous resentment at being rejected. "You'll get your comeuppance!"
The only response she received was the rumble of the shopping cart wheels rolling across the ground.
After all, all three of them knew that this was the right choice.
Finally, the entrance to the dormitory building came into view.
However, a large crowd of people was blocking the entrance to the building.
They were discussing the earthquake and why their phones had no internet or signal when the three of them appeared pushing a shopping cart full of supplies, and everyone's attention immediately turned to them.
Those gazes were more blatant and aggressive than those I had encountered in the square before.
Some people realized what was happening and hurriedly called their friends, running towards the supermarket.
Others, not yet realizing what was happening, simply watched as the three pushed the cart into the dormitory building.
The crowd automatically parted to make way for them.
But the people around them kept getting closer and closer, almost touching them.
Whispers came from all directions.
"Holy crap, where did they get all this stuff?"
"It's the supermarket, didn't you see their shopping carts and baskets?"
"Damn it, I'm starving, and they've got all this good stuff at the supermarket..."
"Instant noodles...and bottled water..."
A boy stared intently at the things inside the car, swallowing hard.
The atmosphere was extremely tense, as if a single spark could ignite the entire venue.
Jiang Ming could feel that Wang Yang's breathing was getting heavier and heavier.
This usually carefree fat man was now tense all over, like a wild beast cornered.
A boy with a buzz cut, taking advantage of his height and size, reached into the shopping cart and tried to take a bottle of mineral water.
"What the hell are you doing!"
Wang Yang, who had been suppressing his anger the whole way, finally exploded at this moment.
He slapped the boy's hand away with such force that it made a crisp "smack" sound.
"What are you looking at?!" Wang Yangyuan glared, his fat face trembling, and roared at the surrounding crowd, "Never seen food before? Go get it yourself from the supermarket!"
His roar, powerful and full of violence, instantly silenced the restless crowd.
The man with the buzz cut who wanted to get water was startled by his shout, withdrew his hand, and a hint of fear flashed across his face.
"Get out of my way! All of you, get out of my way!"
Wang Yang, like an enraged bull, used his body as a lead vehicle, forcing his way forward.
Li Bin remained silent, simply pushing the cart with all his might, following behind Wang Yang.
The crowd was frightened by their reckless behavior and instinctively stepped aside, making way for a wider passage.
Jiang Minghu stood on the other side of the shopping cart, vigilantly scanning everyone around him to prevent them from "stealing" anything.