Xinfeng Seed Co., Ltd.
He had just passed by, but quickly doubled back. Seeing the four adjoining storefronts occupied by a seed company reminded him of something.
Vegetables from the Vegetable Market were hard to preserve.
If he could grow his own, wouldn't that solve the problem of getting food?
Even if it didn't.
In the lonely circumstances of the apocalypse, growing vegetables could still be a pleasant way to pass the time.
It was a natural-born skill for us Chinese, etched into our genes.
Do it yourself, and you'll have enough to eat and wear.
He couldn't help looking forward to it. It seemed like a pretty good idea.
But there was a problem: growing vegetables was a technical business. You couldn't just bury the seeds in the ground and sit back waiting for a harvest. There was a lot to learn.
"Got it."
He thought of a solution, then took off running without looking back.
He was moving fast, much faster than he ever had before.
That was the effect of increasing his speed.
When he ran into a few zombies, he dispatched them with ease. Frostmourne at his back was his greatest weapon now.
A dozen minutes later.
Lin Fan looked up at the building before him.
Huang City People's Library.
The library was built in a Western architectural style. Long ago, during the War of Resistance, it had served as the invaders' headquarters. After liberation, it had become a library.
He remembered that a year ago, during the city planning process, people had argued that the library took up too much space and sat on prime land where every inch was worth a fortune. They wanted to tear it down and use the land for commercial development.
But Huang City's leader at the time was a man of culture who had a deep affection for literature and libraries.
He believed that having a library devoted to the humanities amid the surging tide of worldly affairs was a wonderful thing.
So he rejected the proposal and kept the library open, allowing the book-loving citizens to come study and read.
He climbed the steps, one after another. Dark blood had long since dried on them.
The library's entrance was an old-fashioned Western-style bronze door, heavy and steeped in history.
Now it stood half-open, with bloody handprints on it.
He could imagine how something extremely dangerous might have happened here. Many people must have fled from inside, some of them badly injured, their blood staining the door as they escaped.
"Ah, how did all this happen out of nowhere?"
He passed through the bronze doors and went inside.
The place was huge, at least as big as a soccer field. He reached the registration desk. The library staff were nowhere to be seen. A chair lay overturned, the computer had been smashed, and the desktop was a mess.
Fortunately, the registration book was still there.
He wrote his name in it and headed farther inside.
Even with no one around, he still had to do what he was supposed to.
The library's interior was classically decorated, with dark colors. Rows of deep-red hardwood shelves lined the walls, and there were three floors in all.
In the middle of the library stood a long table where people could sit and read.
"I should look for books on growing things."
Lin Fan stood in front of the subject directory, scanned the locations listed for the different categories, and finally found what he was looking for: the northwest corner of the second floor.
He arrived at the section where the books were kept.
"So many books. No wonder this is the largest and most comprehensive library in the country. It'd take more than a hundred years to read everything here."
He didn't know whether the hundred-year estimate was exaggerated or whether he'd seen it on TV. A host had once introduced the library, saying that even if someone read for eight hours every day, they still wouldn't finish all the books in Huang City People's Library in a hundred years.
There was no end to learning. That saying really was true.
Who knew how long it would take?
Rustle, rustle!
The sound of turning pages was the only noise in the quiet library.
Lin Fan sat there with a pile of books in front of him, all filled with knowledge about growing things.
Tomatoes, cucumbers, luffa, Chinese chives, spinach... and so on.
They were all vegetables he liked to eat.
They weren't hard to grow.
According to the books, Chinese chives seemed like a great choice. They could keep growing: cut one batch, and another would sprout. Given the current circumstances, they were the best food source.
At that moment, Lin Fan was immersed in a sea of knowledge. He had never imagined that accumulating knowledge and broadening his horizons could be so enjoyable.
If he'd had this kind of enthusiasm for learning when he was a student, perhaps he wouldn't have ended up in this line of work.
He might even have become a scientist, a lawyer, or a doctor.
Outside.
An armored vehicle that had been modified pulled to a stop.
It wasn't a military vehicle, but the Steel Beast, built to chase tornadoes. All its windows were made of specialized bulletproof glass. A five-ton winch was mounted on the front, and its gray-brown body was encased in five-millimeter stress-relieved steel.
Grappling anchors surrounded the vehicle's chassis. Once they were driven into the ground, it would remain as steady as a rock even in winds of 271 kilometers per hour.
"Old Mao, wait for us to come back." The car door opened, and two men and a woman stepped out. One of the young men, wearing a baseball cap, spoke.
Old Mao, in the driver's seat, smiled. "No problem. We're teammates. I won't leave without you."
Old Mao looked to be in his forties or fifties. He was a little bald on top and had a weathered air about him.
Driving a vehicle like this didn't mean he was rich.
Before the apocalypse, he'd owned an auto repair shop.
A long time ago, he'd watched a movie called Into the Storm. From the moment he first saw the Steel Beast chasing tornadoes, he'd been captivated. He'd poured everything he had into it and spent four or five years modifying this Steel Beast.
Who could have guessed that when the apocalypse came and zombies overran the world, it would become one of his means of survival?
The two men and the woman arrived at the library entrance and exchanged glances.
"Get your weapons ready. Don't split up. If there are too many zombies inside, pull out at once. Don't make too much noise," the only woman among them said softly.
She was the team's overall leader. Before the apocalypse, she had been a manager at a company and was very capable.
When the apocalypse came, she'd survived. While fleeing, she'd encountered Old Mao in the Steel Beast, and they'd formed a team. Later, while fighting zombies, she'd met the other two. In the end, the four of them had formed a squad, seeking hope together in the apocalypse.
"Don't worry, Big Sister."
The woman had short hair and a sharp, capable look. Before the apocalypse, she'd worn her beautiful hair long, but later she'd cut it off so it wouldn't become a burden.
"Remember, we're here to look for medical books. Don't let anything else distract you."
She reminded them again.
Once they had secured enough supplies for the future, they needed to look for medical books, especially ones that explained which medicines to take for specific symptoms. There was no doctor in their group, so if anyone got sick, they'd have to rely on themselves.
Before the apocalypse, no one had ever thought about how they'd deal with getting sick. They could always just go to the hospital.
But after the apocalypse came, they realized that things they'd once considered simple had become incredibly difficult.
As for searching online?
Come on, man.
Even a little cough could turn into an incurable disease if you searched for it online. It was enough to scare you to death.
Books were more reliable.
The three of them entered quietly, staying alert as they searched for any zombies hiding nearby.
"Looks like we're in luck. There aren't any zombies in the library," the young man in the baseball cap said with a smile.
But just as he was about to go in, the woman stopped him.
"Wait."
Holding a knife, the woman approached the stainless-steel railing and gently tapped it.
The vibrations carried through the air.
The two people behind her understood what Big Sister meant and stayed alert, watching their surroundings. If any zombies appeared, they would rush out, get in the car, and leave.
After a while, there wasn't a single zombie in sight—not even a fly.
"Looks safe. Go check the directory for the medical books." The woman pointed to the sign not far away.
The man in the baseball cap went over to check. At last, he found the section they needed.
"Come on, over there."
The three of them hurried over and opened the backpacks they were carrying.
They put the books into their backpacks.
The noise wasn't small, but it wasn't loud, either.
Lin Fan was studying with his head down. Hearing the noise, he frowned slightly, thinking it was a zombie. When he realized it was living people coming to read, he couldn't help smiling.
Looks like he'd met some fellow book lovers.
"Hey, hello! What are you looking for?" Lin Fan called out.
"Holy crap, who's that?"
The three of them were packing the medical books when they suddenly heard a voice beside them. Their faces changed at once, and their hearts pounded rapidly.
They were genuinely startled. Anyone would be frightened by a sudden voice in a library that had been completely quiet.
The three of them looked around warily, but couldn't see anyone.
Just when they thought they'd imagined it, the voice came again.
"I'm over here."
The three of them looked toward the second floor, following the sound, and saw a figure.
Lin Fan was helpless. The pile of books in front of him was so high that it blocked his head.
It was only natural they hadn't noticed him.
"Who are you?"
The three of them were startled. How could there be someone here? It didn't make sense.
"My name's Lin Fan. I'm an ordinary citizen. I had a problem with growing things, so I came to read up on it. I didn't scare you, did I?" Lin Fan said with a smile.
"Big Sister, what's the deal with this guy?" the man in the baseball cap whispered.
The woman didn't say anything. She kept her eyes fixed on Lin Fan.
She was just as confused.
Who was this person?
In a situation like this, showing up alone at a library to read was incredibly strange.
Before you continue