Early morning.
A ray of sunlight streamed in.
Lin Fan got up, stretched, got dressed, and washed up.
He didn't dare use water from the Water Treatment Plant now. Given how things were going, water would inevitably become precious in the future. But as far as Lin Fan was concerned, precious or not, he wasn't short of it right now.
Even if he were short on water, did that mean he could stop brushing his teeth and washing his face?
If you were ugly, you had to keep yourself neat and clean. It made you look more alert and handsome.
Of course, he wasn't ugly.
He made himself a simple breakfast, ate, then went downstairs to exercise.
It was a habit of his.
Even with the apocalypse here, he couldn't forget to exercise. Otherwise, if he hid at home every day, he wouldn't just get bitten to death by zombies—he'd waste away all on his own.
The residential complex was quiet.
Lin Fan was used to being alone, so he wasn't particularly bothered by it.
After exercising for half an hour,
he took a slow lap around the complex, mainly to survey the grounds.
There was a vacant lot in the complex, and it was fairly large. If he wanted to grow vegetables, that was the only place.
However, it was communal property, not anyone's personal land.
If he wanted to grow vegetables there, he naturally needed the residents' consent. So his next task was to inform everyone in the complex.
Even if the apocalypse had arrived and zombies were everywhere, there might not be any surviving residents left.
But he absolutely couldn't skip the proper procedure.
"This is going to be a huge undertaking." Lin Fan gave himself a pep talk. No matter how many residents there were, he had to notify every last one of them.
When you had something to do, you did it.
No procrastinating.
You had to take action right away.
Then he drew Frostmourne from his back. It wasn't to intimidate anyone, but to guard against zombies. They were dangerous, after all, and he was afraid of being bitten.
Lin Fan walked through the complex, calling out at the top of his lungs. "Hello! Is anyone there? If you can hear me, please answer."
If someone came out, that would be ideal. He could ask everyone to help spread the word.
"Hey! Can anyone hear me?"
"I'm Lin Fan, a resident of Room 704, Unit 2, Building 2. I want to grow some vegetables in the complex. Is anyone there?"
He called out for quite a while, but no one answered.
Roar!
As he passed a building, a zombie's low growl echoed from inside.
Then came the sound of things crashing.
Thud, thud!
Footsteps pounded down the stairwell.
Crash!
Several zombies came rushing down too fast, tumbled down the stairs, then sprang back to their feet and fixed their pale eyes on Lin Fan.
Lin Fan raised a hand and greeted them. "Hello."
A wonderful day often began with a friendly greeting.
Bang!
Nearby, a window shattered as a zombie crashed straight through it and jumped down from an upper floor.
Splat!
Some broke their legs, others their arms, but to zombies who couldn't feel pain, these were trivial injuries.
There were quite a few zombies. He hadn't expected so many to be lurking in the complex.
"I'm a resident here. I want to discuss something with you. Don't get rough, or I'll have to defend myself."
But his words fell on deaf ears.
The zombies roared and charged at him.
At a moment like this, Lin Fan wasn't thinking about how to handle the danger. He was thinking that once he hacked them all to death, he'd have to haul away the bodies. What a pain.
"Ah, why go to all this trouble? Even if you've turned into zombies, if we could just communicate, we could each go about our own business and leave each other alone. Maybe we could even become friends."
He had no choice but to swing his sword and kill them.
Frostmourne, the replica divine weapon, was truly formidable. Its blade was sharp.
"Come on."
He swung once. The zombie charging at him was cut clean in half, as easily as slicing tofu. It was no challenge at all.
A short while later,
zombie corpses littered the ground, proof that a fierce battle had just taken place.
[Zombie killed] [Points obtained +1] [Zombie killed] [Points obtained +1]
Little Assistant was pretty interesting. Every time he killed a zombie, he earned points. It really did sound like a video game.
"Is no one here?"
He continued wandering around the complex, hoping to find some residents.
Unfortunately,
there were no residents, only those thoroughly unlovable zombies.
When his safety was threatened, he didn't hesitate to take up the law and defend himself. The so-called law was Frostmourne, the sword said to be evil.
But in Lin Fan's hands, even an evil sword shone with dazzling light.
"I'm very likely the only resident left in the complex. According to the rules for developing vacant land, as long as I agree, there shouldn't be a problem." Lin Fan had never liked having disputes with his neighbors.
So whenever he did anything, he always asked other people's opinions.
He went to the vacant lot behind the complex. No one had planted anything there, and it had been abandoned for a long time. Weeds covered it, so it needed clearing.
"Okay, let's get to work. Keep it up."
Lin Fan found some tools and started clearing weeds from the plot. He also needed to turn the soil.
It was a huge undertaking, but it would bring great benefits in the future.
Time passed minute by minute.
In the quiet complex,
Lin Fan was the only one hunched over, working the land with his tools. He stacked the weeds neatly in one place.
This was communal property. Even if no one was around, he couldn't leave it a mess.
The sound of weeding.
The sound of turning soil.
His sweat fell to the earth—the sweat of a hard-working man.
After a long while,
Lin Fan pretended to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
He wasn't actually sweating, but acting like he was helped him get into the spirit of it.
"It's noon. Time for lunch. I can keep working this afternoon."
He was about to go home,
when he suddenly remembered the mother and daughter. He also felt the replica divine weapon they'd given him on his back.
He left the complex.
He went to the market.
The smell there was pungent. Rotten vegetables and meat gave off a terrible stench.
If a fussy person happened to pass by, they'd surely cover their nose and exclaim, "Ugh, it stinks! I think I'm going to throw up."
He stopped at the soft-shelled turtle stall and thought it over. In the end, he decided to buy one.
Thinking of the mother and daughter, who looked a little thin, he knew it was important for them to build up their strength.
He returned to the complex.
He climbed the stairs.
He gently knocked on the door.
"It's me."
He called out to let her know. It was dangerous outside now, and suddenly appearing at someone's door and pounding on it would surely scare them.
Li Mei was in the room with her daughter. Thanks to the supplies Lin Fan had given them, their lives had improved somewhat. Things still weren't like they used to be, but at least they had enough to eat.
When she heard the knock,
she clutched her daughter tightly in fright.
In the apocalypse, the slightest sound could put a person on edge. That was even more true for a helpless mother and daughter with no one to rely on. Being alive at all was already a blessing.
Last night, she'd secretly looked out at the street from the balcony and seen zombies shambling around. She'd been so frightened that she'd covered her mouth, not daring to make a sound.
Now, hearing the familiar voice outside,
she let out a breath and relaxed.
It was him...
She opened the door.
The young man who'd helped them stood outside with a smile.
Lin Fan held the soft-shelled turtle out to her. "I bought this soft-shelled turtle for you at the market. You don't look to be in very good shape, so you need to build up your strength."
He couldn't bring himself to buy one for himself or eat one, but she'd given him such a handsome replica divine weapon. He couldn't be stingy with her.
Li Mei looked at the turtle in front of her, then at Lin Fan.
She had no idea what went through his mind.
Honestly,
she found him a little strange.
But beneath his odd behavior, there was also something that made her feel safe.
"Don't you need it?" Li Mei asked.
Her daughter peered at the strange uncle in front of them, curious.
Lin Fan smiled. "No, I don't need it. I'm really strong. If I eat too well, I'll get a nosebleed."
As he spoke, he even flexed his muscles.
Just then,
Li Mei seemed to make up her mind.
"There's something I'd like to ask you to help me with. I don't know if you'd be willing."
She knew that asking for help meant having to give something in return. No one helped for no reason. This kind young man had indeed helped them selflessly, but asking him for more without offering anything would only make him dislike her.
She wasn't actually afraid of dying.
But when she thought of her daughter left behind after her death, she wondered what would become of her.
Every night, she dreamed of her child's father being knocked down and torn apart by zombies, then turning into a zombie himself and staggering off to who knew where.
"What do you need help with?"
Lin Fan asked. If it was something simple, he'd be happy to help. But if it was complicated, he'd do what he could. If he could do it, he could; if he couldn't, he couldn't. He couldn't force himself—after all, people had to know their own limits.
"I want to take my daughter and go with you," Li Mei said.
Lin Fan smiled. "Oh, you mean you want to move into my complex, right? I can help with that. My complex is an older one, and people have always rented places there. The rent isn't expensive, just one or two thousand a month."
"If you really need a place, I can ask the real estate agent for you. I know the owner."
Just then,
the room fell silent.
Li Mei stared at Lin Fan, dumbfounded. She couldn't keep up with his train of thought.
She had this strange feeling.
Were they even on the same wavelength?
Before you continue