The residents who spread rumors, the ones who called her a murderer, the ones who pretended they had been attacked for no reason, they were all already dragging their own fate behind them. The apocalypse had no patience for hypocrisy. It had less patience for stupidity. Bai Li leaned forward, read one more world news update, and then sat back with a small sigh. There was a lot to do, and all of it was more important than the building gossip. Still, she knew that Yan Cijin would probably send another message later, and that thought gave the afternoon a small warmth. Bai Li liked that. She liked that somewhere in another apartment, in another room full of family noise and children's laughter, someone was worrying about her in a way that had nothing to do with greed or self interest. That kind of attention was rare now. She intended to keep it.
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