Seeing her looking so pitiful and vulnerable, Nan Qi’s affection nearly overflowed…
A long, long time later, after the girl had closed her eyes and seemed to have drifted comfortably to sleep, Nan Qi finally, though still reluctant, got out of bed. He carefully cleaned his little sister up, tucked the blanket securely around her, then quietly closed the bedroom door behind him and left.
In the living room, the four brothers sat separately, having already reached a rough conclusion.
Since they had no idea how many enemies they were facing or what kind of firepower they possessed, they decided that, for their little sister’s safety, it would be best to temporarily agree to cooperate.
They would have to keep their precious girl locked inside the apartment at all times.
Under no circumstances could they let the slightest clue slip.
If, by some chance…
Then they would have no choice but to fight with everything they had.
Nan Qi spoke quietly, “We can’t all die. At least one of us has to survive to take care of our precious girl.”
The other three looked simultaneously at their eldest brother, Xiong Ji.
He was the one Li Tong relied on the most, and among them all, he was also the most attentive.
He was unquestionably the best choice.
The world had already fallen apart. It was far too dangerous to leave the girl alone.
Qin Shuo nodded.
“Then it’s settled.”
The atmosphere remained heavy as the four of them lowered their heads, each lost in his own thoughts. No one spoke again.
Xiong Ji let out a quiet sigh, picked up the cigarette pack from the coffee table, took one out, and lit it.
They rarely smoked and weren’t addicted. They only ever lit a cigarette when their thoughts became too tangled and their emotions too overwhelming.
A gunshot suddenly echoed from outside.
The four brothers guessed it was probably someone from the guild firing a warning shot to claim a place to stay.
Someone else had likely been the unlucky victim.
Order had completely collapsed.
From this point onward, only the strong would survive.
The gunshot startled Li Tong awake.
She instantly sat upright, gasping for breath.
Without a second thought, she threw back the blanket and ran out of the bedroom.
“I heard a gunshot!”
Xiong Ji stubbed out his cigarette, stood up, carried her back to the sofa, and settled her sideways across his lap.
“Was it those people from this morning?”
“Mhm! It’s alright, precious. Don’t be afraid.”
Jiang Xun added, “From now on, whenever your brothers open the door and go outside, you have to hide in the bedroom.”
Qin Shuo continued, “No matter what you hear or what happens outside, you’re not allowed to come out or make a sound.”
Nan Qi said, “We can’t leave any of our good girl’s belongings in the living room anymore. Move everything into the bedroom.”
The moment Li Tong heard that, she knew something was wrong.
“Big Brothers… what exactly happened?”
Seeing the fear and anxiety written all over her face, the brothers immediately began comforting her gently.
Xiong Ji smiled reassuringly.
“It’s nothing serious.”
Jiang Xun moved closer, took hold of her little hand, and kissed it several times.
“Some colleagues tracked us down. They’re all grown men. Big Brother just doesn’t want them seeing our precious girl.”
Li Tong carefully studied each of their expressions. Only after confirming they weren’t lying did she finally relax.
Xiong Ji pulled her into his arms and showered her face with kisses.
The moment he loosened his embrace, Jiang Xun immediately stole her away.
Suddenly, terrified screams rang out from the corridor.
A series of loud crashes, bangs, and heavy thuds followed one after another.
A violent fight had broken out.
Li Tong shivered in fright.
Jiang Xun held her tightly in his arms and gently kissed the tip of her nose.
With her brothers beside her, she felt completely safe.
“Ahhh!”
“Oww! Oww! Are you trying to kill me? That’s my last bit of food! Xiao Wang! I treated you so well before! You beast! You’re even robbing an old woman like me!”
“Get lost! Anyone too weak to survive deserves to die!”
“Waaah… Mommy, I’m scared…”
“I’m hungry! Mum and Dad said all of Sister’s food belongs to me! I’m the only son in the family! Everything should be mine!”
“Stop hitting me! Please stop! This is all I have left! You can have it all! I’ll give you everything! Please stop hitting me… sob…”
Outside, the torrential rain poured down even harder, cascading like water from an enormous tap.
The floodwaters had already risen to the tenth floor.
As more time passed, people’s minds steadily collapsed.
No one waited for the natural disaster to end anymore.
No one still believed rescue was coming.
Instead, humanity gradually returned to its most primitive instinct.
Survival
“Have you all eaten yet?”
The Small World contained more than enough supplies.
Jiang Xun smiled.
“Is our Little Treasure hungry?”
“I’m not hungry. I’ve barely moved around all day, so I haven’t even digested anything yet. Big Brothers, you should eat.”
She tried to climb down from Jiang Xun’s lap.
He refused to let her go, simply carrying her over to the dining table before sitting down.
With a wave of her hand, Li Tong produced a lavish lunch.
The other three soon joined them around the table.
She wasn’t hungry, so Jiang Xun simply fed her a few bites now and then.
The brothers all ate remarkably quickly, finishing their meal in less than five minutes.
“You should slow down. It’s not good for your stomachs.”
Qin Shuo chuckled.
“You mean eat like our precious girl? Tiny little bites like a kitten?”
“You always tease me.”
She buried her face against Jiang Xun’s firm chest and refused to move.
The brothers weren’t in the habit of taking afternoon naps.
After resting on the sofa for an hour, they headed into the gym to work out.
Li Tong remained curled up on the sofa watching television.
As she watched, the idea of exercising herself suddenly crossed her mind.
Throwing aside her tablet, she jogged into the gym.
The moment the four brothers saw her, they all stopped what they were doing.
“I want to exercise too…”
Qin Shuo walked over, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a towel.
“Sure! Big Brother will teach you. Come here.”
She obediently followed behind him.
However, after less than three minutes of following his instructions, she was already completely exhausted.
The four brothers burst into laughter.
Li Tong simply sat on the floor without getting angry.
After all, she really was incredibly weak.
Qin Shuo grinned. “That’s enough for today, baby. We’ll come back tomorrow and try to last one minute longer.”
Seeing the mischievous smile on his face, she let out a soft huff, stood up, brushed off her clothes, wisely admitted defeat, and left the room.
The moment she flopped back onto the sofa in the living room, she heard the two familiar female voices again.
This time, however, they weren’t knocking on her family’s door.
Instead, they were chatting with the men who had spoken to her brothers that morning.
Niu Weiwei exclaimed sweetly, “Oh my~ Are you handsome big brothers friends with the people living here?”
Zhang Jiaqi added, “They’re so cold. We wanted to trade for some supplies and knocked several times, but they never opened the door.”
Niu Weiwei pouted.
“That’s right~ It was so cold outside. Waaah~ I got sick as soon as I went back that day~”
The mercenaries didn’t even spare the two women a glance before knocking heavily on the door.
Li Tong remembered her brothers’ instructions and quietly made her way to the gym to notify them.
The expressions of all four men changed immediately.
They hurried toward the front door.
Jiang Xun took hold of her hand and, in a flash, brought her into the Small World.
His body was drenched in sweat, so he only dared hold her hand.
“Come on, precious. Keep Big Brother company…”
Li Tong’s attempts to refuse had never been effective.
When it came to her, her brothers had always been overwhelmingly domineering.