Bai Li stepped out with one hand on the door frame and looked at the group with a calm, almost bored expression. She was taller than several of them, and the way she stood there made the men in the front instinctively feel the weight of her presence. The building manager had expected to look important. The two tool holders had expected to look brave. The people behind them had expected a woman at the end of her patience. Instead, they saw Bai Li standing there as if she had all the time in the world and could crush the whole little plan with her fingers if she wanted. Her gaze moved slowly over each face. Nobody spoke right away. The man with the hacksaw gave a small cough and then lifted his chin like he was still in charge of himself. "Bai Li," he said, trying to sound firm. "We need to talk about the supplies." Bai Li looked at him, then at the others, and answered in a level voice, "You broke the stair door to come here, and you call that talking?" The man’s face stiffened. The building manager stepped forward half a pace and tried to smooth things over. "Bai Li, please understand. Everyone is in a hard situation now. We are not here to fight. We just want a fair discussion." Bai Li looked at him and said, "You are standing in my hallway with tools meant to break a door, after spending half an hour in a group chat plotting how to force your way here. Do you really think words like fair still work on me?" The building manager’s mouth opened, then closed again. Bai Li’s expression did not change. She had no interest in their excuses. She could already hear the weakness in every one of them.

One of the women behind them tried a softer route. "You bought so much before the apocalypse. We all saw it. You clearly have enough. Since we all live in the same building, you should help everyone survive." Bai Li’s eyes drifted to her, and the woman suddenly stopped speaking for a second under that quiet, direct look. Bai Li answered in a cool voice, "You saw me buy things because I used my own money, in my own life, before your little disaster started. That does not give you the right to stand in my hallway and ask me for them now." Another man snorted, trying to recover the feeling of strength that had already started leaving his face. "What, so you would rather keep all that food while the rest of us starve?" Bai Li let her gaze move over him and said, "If you starve, it is because you did not prepare. If you die, it is because you came here." The man’s face reddened at once. The building manager immediately said, "That is too cold. We are talking about the safety of the whole building." Bai Li replied without a flicker of emotion, "No. You are talking about how to take from one person because you think a crowd can hide your shame." That made the air shift. A few people looked down. A few looked irritated. The two men in front of the group, the ones who had been trying hardest to seem tough, had already started looking uncomfortable. Bai Li’s voice never rose. She did not need to shout. She stood there with the same quiet control she would use in a boardroom and made their words sound small just by answering them.

The first man, the one with the hacksaw, tried to puff himself up again. He was one of those people who could only feel brave when he thought he was backed by other men. He straightened his shoulders and said, "You are being unreasonable. We are men. We are the ones who should be protecting the building. You should know your place." Bai Li looked at him for a second and almost seemed to think he was joking. "My place?" she repeated, her voice calm and flat. "Is that what you tell yourself when you stand outside someone’s door with a saw in your hand?" The man’s face hardened. "A woman like you should not talk like that to men." Bai Li’s expression remained cool. "And a man like you should not pretend greed is courage." The crowd behind them shifted. Some of the people who had been hiding behind neutral faces now started avoiding her eyes. The man, however, was already too proud to back down. His ego had been pinched, and he could not bear it. He took one step forward, pointing at her. "You think because you have a few supplies and know how to use a weapon, you can act above everyone else?" Bai Li finally smiled, but it was not a warm smile. It was the kind of smile that made people realize too late that they had already crossed a line. "No," she said. "I think you are standing in front of my door like a fool who does not know how short his life is."

That was the moment the last bit of restraint in the group started to break. The men in front, already embarrassed that Bai Li was not reacting the way they had expected, started leaning into their own habits of male pride. The first man let out an angry breath and said, "Fine. If you will not listen, then maybe you need to be taught a lesson. Women should know how to speak properly to men, especially when they want to survive." Another nodded behind him, encouraged by the group behind and by the fact that Bai Li was only one person. "That is right. You are a woman. You should stand behind men and be protected. Supplies should be handled by men. Hand them over, and nobody gets hurt." Bai Li listened to that with no visible reaction, but the air around her seemed to go even colder.

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TO BE CONTINUED.