What Use Is Money in This World?

Riding a Little Yellow Bike, he cruised along the road.

He passed a storefront.

There were people on the second floor.

"Holy shit, look! Someone's riding a Little Yellow Bike on the road like he owns the place." Zhou Hao cried out softly, his face filled with shock.

He was a survivor. He had been lucky—not infected, nor had he encountered a zombie siege—and had hidden in a safe place early on.

Including him, there were four people here.

The owner of this storefront was his friend. It was a small supermarket. They had arranged to play mahjong that day, and afraid of getting caught by the police, they had closed up and played until they lost track of day and night.

Who could have imagined that everything would change the next day, never to return to how it was?

They had survived until now on the supplies from the first floor.

Their lives were fairly comfortable.

"There's definitely something wrong with you." A burly man looked displeased, his nerves slightly frayed.

"I'm serious. Look for yourselves, he's right there." Zhou Hao was so close to the window that he did not know what else to say.

While hiding here, he had watched many people try to escape by car. The noise had alerted the zombies, and they had been intercepted and chased down. Some had crashed, while a few had managed to get away.

But this was the first time he had seen someone dare to ride a Little Yellow Bike so openly down the road.

Sure enough, the other two hurried over and pressed themselves against the window to look.

"Holy shit!"

"Fuck!"

"That's badass!"

They were dumbfounded.

"Do you think it's safe downstairs? Have the zombies disappeared? Otherwise, how could he be fine?" Zhou Hao grew excited. If the zombies had disappeared, or if there was some way to deal with them, then they could leave this place.

"Stop dreaming. I'm not leaving. There's food and drink here, so why go out? Who knows what it's like outside? Maybe he just got lucky and the zombies didn't spot him. If you want to go, go. I'm not going." Someone waved his hand, unwilling to leave.

He was prepared to stay here until the end.

"That's true. It's safe here. There's no need to leave."

"Huh, where's Ma Dong?"

"Probably in the bathroom."

In the bathroom.

Ma Dong sat on the toilet, humming a song and looking completely relaxed.

"It stinks."

Even he could barely stand the smell of his own shit. It was fucking awful.

He casually reached out and opened the window behind him to air the place out and let in some fresh air.

A moment later, he wiped himself.

Just as he was about to leave, he noticed a thick gold necklace hanging outside the window.

"That gold necklace is so thick. If I wore it, wouldn't I look cool as hell?"

Greed rose within him.

He had yet to fully adjust from reality to the apocalypse, and his desire to possess gold was still strong.

He saw a corpse hanging from the outdoor air-conditioning unit, its head dangling down. The gold necklace gleamed brilliantly, dazzling to the eye.

Ma Dong's face flushed red with excitement.

Bang! Bang!

"Dong, my stomach hurts. I need to take a shit. Hurry up and come out." Just as Ma Dong was about to claim the gold necklace for himself, someone knocked on the door.

Startled, he hurriedly pulled the window shut.

Click!

He opened the bathroom door.

"What were you doing in there?" the burly man asked suspiciously.

He had been dawdling around, as if he were up to something.

"Nothing... nothing." Ma Dong tried to calm his racing heart, forcing a fake smile to hide his thoughts.

"You're acting weird." Zhang Quan glanced at Ma Dong without thinking much of it, then walked into the bathroom.

As Zhang Quan stayed inside longer and longer, Ma Dong became increasingly nervous, afraid the necklace would be discovered.

"Brother Zhang, are you done yet?" Ma Dong asked quietly from outside.

"Almost. What are you rushing me for? Get lost." Zhang Quan's voice was muffled, as though he were straining. But the stench in the bathroom was so fucking awful that he could not help opening the window.

At a glance, he spotted the gold necklace hanging outside.

It was what people commonly called a dog chain.

Damn it, Ma Dong really was dishonest. He had definitely found something this awesome and wanted to keep it all to himself instead of sharing.

So that was why he had squatted in the bathroom for so long.

That was the reason.

Zhang Quan stretched out his arm and grabbed the gold chain.

The corpse outside was already dead, not a zombie. He had nothing to fear.

"Hehe, got it." Zhang Quan held the gold necklace and weighed it in his hand. Damn, it was pretty heavy—at least a hundred grams.

If he sold it to a gold shop, it would be worth at least thirty or forty thousand.

Though he could not sell it now, wearing it felt damn imposing. It was a symbol of status.

As for Ma Dong outside the door, Zhang Quan did not care about him at all. So what if Ma Dong had found it first? He was wearing it now, and no one was taking it from him.

Creak!

Zhang Quan came out of the bathroom. "I'm done. Why were you rushing me?"

"Brother Zhang, I'm dying here. I haven't even finished yet." Ma Dong could not wait and hurried into the bathroom.

Zhang Quan smiled and swaggered downstairs to get some baijiu and peanuts, intending to celebrate properly.

"Where's the necklace? Where's my gold necklace?" Ma Dong opened the window and found that the necklace on the corpse had vanished without a trace.

Gradually, his face darkened.

"Zhang Quan. He must have taken it."

The more Ma Dong thought about it, the more likely it seemed. He left the bathroom to find Zhang Quan and saw him drinking baijiu and eating peanuts. Most importantly, the necklace around his neck was gleaming with golden light, painfully dazzling.

"Brother Zhang, drinking? Did something good happen?"

He did not confront him directly, instead probing from the side. But his eyes were fixed on the glittering gold necklace.

That should have been his.

Yet Zhang Quan had taken it from him.

He was unwilling to accept it, and rage filled his heart.

"Happy? Of course I'm happy. Look at this gold necklace. Doesn't it suit me? Makes me look pretty badass, right?" Zhang Quan had no intention of hiding it. He was blatantly showing it off, making Ma Dong see that the necklace suited him best and that Ma Dong could go to hell.

"Um... Brother Zhang, I found that gold necklace first," Ma Dong said quietly.

Zhang Quan frowned. "What, it's yours just because you found it first? Who told you not to take it? Whoever takes it owns it, understand?"

"How can you say that? I found it first." Ma Dong was angry, not only because of the gold necklace, but also because Zhang Quan's attitude made him extremely unhappy. He had always been bullied and targeted.

Smash!

Zhang Quan threw the bottle to the ground, his fleshy face twisting. "What? You fucking unhappy about it? If you're unhappy, come at me. See if I'll beat you. If you want to die, just say it. I'll throw you out right now and let you have some fun with the zombies."

The apocalypse had arrived. Who was he afraid of now?

Even if he beat Ma Dong to death, no one could do anything to him.

Ma Dong lost his nerve and shrank back. He could not beat Zhang Quan; he had already lost in terms of size. More than that, Zhang Quan had a vicious streak that filled him with fear.

"What's going on?" Zhou Hao came over after hearing the noise. Seeing the two arguing and seemingly about to fight, he asked in confusion.

Ma Dong explained what had happened, hoping to gain some support.

Zhou Hao could not help laughing after hearing it. "What are you two thinking? Gold isn't worth shit now. No one would even want it as a gift. When we get the chance, I'll take you to a gold shop and you can grab a dozen chains if you want. Don't ruin your relationship over something like this."

Ma Dong was unwilling to let it go. He lowered his head and stood there without speaking.

"Ma Dong, I'm telling you, don't think too highly of yourself. With things the way they are now, if you piss me off, I won't be polite. Don't blame me for not warning you," Zhang Quan said viciously.

Zhou Hao tried to smooth things over.

"Enough, enough. Brother Zhang, say less. There are only us left here. We can't start a conflict over something so minor."

He had not expected the two to fall out over a gold necklace.

Even if there were a room full of money now, he would not care.

Where could he use it?

What could he buy?

Who would accept money?

"Hmph." Zhang Quan shouldered Ma Dong aside and headed upstairs. "From now on, show some respect. You need to know who's the boss here."

Zhou Hao shook his head, walked over to Ma Dong, who still had his head lowered, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Forget it. Don't take it to heart."

He was trying to comfort him.

But Ma Dong did not appreciate it. Head lowered and face cold, he left.

Zhou Hao gave a bitter smile. Why bother?

A Little Yellow Bike weaved flamboyantly down the road.

The light ahead was red.

Lin Fan stopped. The traffic light across the road glowed red. He waited for a while, then crossed only after confirming it had turned green.

Even in the past, when there was not a single car on the road in the middle of the night, he would quietly wait for the green light.

Traffic rules were rules. One had to follow them and could not break them recklessly. He wanted to be a good, law-abiding citizen.

As for the fact that it was now the apocalypse, it still did not affect him in any way. Things should be done as they always had been.

"I'm here."

He parked his bike and entered the office building. It was a mess, with bloodstains on the floor, but not a single person in sight.

He arrived at the elevator.

The elevator was running, slowly descending from the ninth floor.

Ding!

The elevator opened.

He had already prepared himself to face an attack from unfriendly individuals.

But when the elevator doors opened, it was empty, and he could not help sighing in relief. The inside of the elevator was covered in blood, along with bits of human flesh.

He stepped inside.

Calmly, he pressed the button for the thirteenth floor.

The elevator doors slowly closed.

During the ride up, he used the elevator's stainless-steel walls to tidy his hair and clothes.

It had always been his habit.

Ding!

The elevator doors opened.

Lin Fan stood inside for two seconds, took a deep breath, and stepped out.

Quiet!

Desolate!

The floor was terrifyingly silent.

It had once been so lively.

Thinking back on the past.

He missed it terribly.

'Zhongming Decoration Design Company.'

That was the company's name.

Actually, he was a salesperson, specializing in finding clients. But under the boss's urging, the salespeople had also learned how to draw designs.

After running around for clients during the day, they worked overtime at night drawing plans.

As the boss's poisonous motivational speech went:

Young people should work harder. Skills never weigh you down. Only then can you afford a home of your own in Huang City.

He wanted to say, I already have a house.

He pushed open the glass door.

The wind chime hanging from the door rang crisply.

"I bought this on Taobao. The boss never even reimbursed me."

Lin Fan stood there, memories flooding his mind.

He had suggested that the boss install a wind chime at the entrance.

When clients came in, its crisp sound could cleanse their souls.

When employees returned to the company, it would feel as though the company were welcoming them back.

But... he would never get that money back.

He had brought it up with the boss, but the boss had said... this was his home. Buying a few decorations for the home, why make it about money?

Roar!

The low growls of zombies rang out.

The chime had drawn the zombies' attention.

PS: I'll keep using "Lin Fan." I'm used to writing it, and if I change the name, I'll always mistype it. You got what you wanted.

PS: Since you've conquered me, throw in some monthly votes and tips. Please.