The moment the man in glasses finished speaking, the long-haired man also shouted, "Brothers, don’t you want to eat and drink well? Let’s all band together! Take down those corrupt bastards from the Emergency Office and get back the supplies that belong to us!"

The words of the man in glasses and the long-haired man were incredibly inflammatory, and voices of support began to rise from among the residents in the living room:

"Is what they’re saying true? Did the government really send down a lot of food? Was it all seized by the people from the Emergency Office?"

"I just squeezed my way in to look. There really are canned goods and compressed biscuits in the second bedroom..."

"Damn it, I want to eat canned food too! I’ve been eating sand vine cakes for over a year, I’ve almost forgotten what real food tastes like!"

"Fuck, if my supplies were really embezzled, I’ll fucking kill someone!"

"..."

Hearing this chatter, Melody Summers’s expression darkened.

In a situation like this, with all the residents gathered together, the most dangerous thing was infighting.

If the residents truly started to riot, the situation would likely become very difficult to control.

’I can’t let these robbers control the narrative!’

So, Melody immediately shouted at the man in glasses, "Stop trying to stir things up! This canned food and these compressed biscuits weren’t sent by the government at all! They were bought by the very resident you robbed and assaulted!"

"We didn’t see anyone from the Emergency Office embezzling anything, but we did see you here, robbing someone of their food! You’re a robber who also tried to assault a woman, and now you’re threatening people with a knife. You know you’re facing a dead end, so you’re trying to sow discord and drag more people down with you, right?!"

Harvey Jennings snapped back to his senses and quickly shouted an explanation, "That’s right, everyone, don’t listen to him! This robber is just trying to sow discord! I, Harvey Jennings, have worked at the Emergency Office for over a year and have never done anything corrupt!"

"My family of five lives in the master bedroom of 2306, and we eat sand vine cakes with everyone else every day. We’ve never had any canned food or compressed biscuits. If you don’t believe me, you can go next door to 2306 and ask them! If I embezzled anything, I... I’ll die a horrible death! May I be struck by lightning! And be damned for all eternity!"

As soon as he finished, someone in the living room suddenly said, "Harvey Jennings is my neighbor. He’s probably not lying. To save coal, our two families were huddling together for warmth for a while, and I never saw his family eating anything special..."

Harvey Jennings looked like he was ready to swear on his life, which didn’t seem like an act. Moreover, he now had a witness. Hearing this, the residents in the living room looked at each other, unsure who to believe.

Just then, the man in glasses suddenly yelled, "Liars! They’re in on it together! Neighbors, don’t be fooled by them! You can’t trust the corrupt officials from the Emergency Office! No matter what, we have to take power and supplies into our own hands!"

The man in glasses knew he had no other choice. Today, he had not only committed robbery but also attempted rape and taken a hostage... He had to call on all the residents to overthrow the Emergency Office! If the people from the Emergency Office didn’t die, then he was a dead man for sure!

Hearing his words, some of the residents in the living room were swayed.

At that moment, Frank York, who was holding a camera, suddenly spoke up. "Neighbors, listen to me. Although this man is a robber, he has a point... It would be better if we, the residents, managed the supplies the government sends us ourselves!"

As soon as Frank York finished speaking, several other residents immediately stood up to voice their agreement.

"Yeah, these supplies were given to us by the government in the first place. They don’t necessarily have to be managed by the Emergency Office..."

"If we residents manage the supplies ourselves, we should be able to prevent the people from the Emergency Office from embezzling them!"

Melody watched the scene unfold, a headache brewing. ’This isn’t good. The residents are starting to see themselves as separate from the Emergency Office staff.’

The people from the Emergency Office were also residents of the complex; their interests should have been aligned. Yet, under the incitement of the man in glasses, they had been pushed into opposition.

She knew that the crowd’s emotions were easily stirred. Many of the residents weren’t even sure if the Emergency Office was corrupt, but they still wanted to take this opportunity to secure more benefits for themselves.

Melody didn’t rush to refute them. Instead, she asked the man in glasses directly, "Oh? So what do you want to do? You overthrow the Emergency Office, and then what? Someone still has to manage the supplies, and someone has to do the Emergency Office’s work. Who’s it going to be?"

Hearing Melody’s question, the man in glasses immediately answered loudly, "That’s easy! We residents can form a new organization!"

Melody sneered and continued to ask, "How do you form this new organization? Are you planning to hold an election? Or something else?"

The man in glasses gave a sinister laugh, his eyes burning with greed and ambition. He pointed to the long-haired man and his other captured accomplices and answered, "It was the five of us brothers who exposed the true faces of these corrupt officials today. So it’s only right that the five of us become the bosses of the new organization!"

"All able-bodied male residents present can join our organization, and members will get first priority on supplies!"

"Our organization will not only manage the supplies from the government, but all supplies brought by other residents must also be handed over for unified distribution by our new organization!"

At this point, the man in glasses pointed to the canned food and compressed biscuits scattered on the floor and continued, "See this canned food and these compressed biscuits on the floor? I’ll make the call right now to confiscate them for the public good! All members who join the new organization can have some!"

Then he pointed at Melody. "My brothers and I could never get our hands on a woman this beautiful! From now on, she’ll be the new organization’s shared wife! Everyone can have a turn with her!"

After he finished speaking, the man in glasses stared at the residents in the living room with a look of absolute confidence, waiting for the "able-bodied male residents" he mentioned to eagerly join him.

He felt the terms he’d offered were tempting enough to get most of the men present to unite and overthrow the Emergency Office.

But to his surprise, after hearing his words, the residents fell silent.

Not only that, but the people in the living room were looking at him as if he were a lunatic—

’Are you kidding me?!’

’Does this glasses-wearing idiot think we’re all fools?!’

His intentions were written all over his face. He didn’t want to manage supplies fairly; he wanted to start a gang and become a local tyrant!

The residents might have been greedy, but they weren’t stupid. Once a criminal organization like that was established, none of them would have a good life!

Most of them had come with their families; there weren’t many single men like him. They could never let their families live under the shadow of such an organization.

Seeing the living room fall into silence, the man in glasses grew anxious. He shouted, "Why aren’t you saying anything? Brothers, don’t hesitate! If you’re a man, do what a man’s gotta do! Take down these corrupt officials from the Emergency Office! We’ll share the food! Share the women!"