When Darkness Fell, Everyone Went Mad

[Zombie killed]

[Points obtained +1]

"Why does everyone have to be so unfriendly? It really puts me in a bad mood."

Lin Fan shook the black blood off Frostmourne, feeling helpless. Even though the apocalypse had come, he still hoped that everyone—human or zombie—would at least keep some sense of reason and not do anything too extreme.

The world hadn't ended yet.

Hadn't they learned anything in nine years of compulsory education?

Even if only one person remained, morality was something you couldn't throw away.

He headed toward the agency to help Li Mei and her daughter find a place to live.

Huang City had developed quite well over the past few years. Large numbers of people from other regions had moved in, contributing to the city's growth. This had also caused housing demand to soar and prices to keep climbing. Buying a home in Huang City was a little difficult for ordinary people.

When it came to renting, though, older residential complexes were the obvious choice.

Good value for money.

It didn't take long to get back to his residential complex. There was an agency right next door.

Carrying his sword, Lin Fan didn't provoke the zombies in the distance. Of course, if any zombies came after him, he would defend himself.

"Xinfeng Agency."

He knew the owner of the agency. His name was Gu Wen, a young, handsome guy who'd worked his way up from the countryside. It was really admirable that he'd managed to build his own business at such a young age.

He'd met Gu Wen's girlfriend.

A woman in her forties.

The moment he saw her, he believed that true love existed in this world, and that love knew no age. The two of them had a great relationship. He often saw Gu Wen cuddled up in his girlfriend's arms, acting sweet, though every so often he'd show off his manly side and kiss her in front of everyone.

It made everyone else envious.

Now that the apocalypse had arrived, he wondered how the owner and his girlfriend were doing.

Standing at the entrance, he looked over the rental listings displayed outside.

"Garden Residential Complex, tenth floor, two bedrooms and one living room, 2,300 a month."

That was the neighboring complex.

He kept looking.

"Sunshine Residential Complex, Building 3, fifth floor, two bedrooms and one living room, 2,000 a month."

It wasn't in his building, so he had to keep searching. The price wasn't exactly a bargain, either. Since he was helping someone find a place, he should look for something cheap and close to where he lived.

It was dangerous outside.

Zombies were everywhere.

They'd asked him for help because they hoped to live nearby and be safe. He was so strong now that chopping down zombies was like chopping vegetables—he could hack away in a flurry.

His strength was terrifying.

"Finding a place is so hard."

Lin Fan scratched his head, feeling helpless.

Creak!

As he studied the rental listings by the entrance, the agency's glass door opened.

"Oh, Boss, you're here. Where's your girlfriend?" Lin Fan looked up and recognized the boss, who had already turned into a zombie. After all, zombies all looked ugly once they changed.

But the young, handsome boss had somehow kept his good looks. His face was just very pale, his eyes clouded gray, and his movements a little stiff.

He really was handsome.

"Boss, I'm here to look at some places for someone else. I want to find somewhere in my building, somewhere cheap."

"Even though you've turned into a zombie, we were friends. Don't attack me. I really don't want to chop you up."

Lin Fan felt helpless. He knew he was just talking nonsense.

"Grr..."

A low growl came from the agency boss's throat, full of savage instinct.

Whoosh!

A flash of swordlight, and one downward slash split the handsome agency boss in two. Black blood splashed in both directions, staining the floor red.

"Ah!" Lin Fan sighed, feeling a little sad and not knowing what to say.

The damn apocalypse.

"Sorry, Boss."

He stood at the entrance. There was no one else in the agency, so he went inside. He hadn't found anything suitable outside, but there might be something inside.

A few computer desks stood in the shop, with flyers scattered on top.

"Hm..."

One listing caught his eye.

"Sunshine Residential Complex, Building 2, Unit 2, Room 804, two bedrooms and one living room, 1,800 a month."

He'd finally found a suitable place. It matched what he had in mind perfectly, and the mother and daughter should be happy with it.

As far as he remembered, an elderly person had lived upstairs. They'd passed away a few months ago, and the unit had been left vacant ever since.

The owner's phone number was listed.

"Great, finally found one." Lin Fan looked excited as he pulled out his phone and called the owner.

Beep, beep.

On the rooftop of a high-rise, a group of people huddled together, their faces full of fear.

The apocalypse had arrived so suddenly. Luckily, they lived in a high-end residential complex with a security gate downstairs, so not just anyone could get in. After some struggles, they'd finally cleared the zombies from the building.

Whenever they had nothing else to do, they watched the sky from the rooftop, hoping to be rescued. Seeing a helicopter would be best of all.

Unfortunately, they hadn't seen a soul in days.

Bzz, bzz!

Just then, a middle-aged man's phone began to vibrate.

He hadn't thrown his phone away. To people in the modern world, living without a phone was no different from being a walking corpse.

As it rang, the middle-aged man's face changed in alarm. As if he'd thought of something, he hurriedly checked the caller ID. He'd come to think of every incoming call as a rescue call.

He answered, and the voice on the other end left him stunned.

"Hello, Mr. Chen. You listed your place with Xinfeng Agency. I was wondering if you'd be willing to rent it to me?"

Smack!

Chen Gang angrily hung up. Who would make a joke like this at a time like this? Was the caller blind? Couldn't he see what the outside world had become?

At the agency.

"What's wrong?" Lin Fan asked, puzzled, then called again.

"Fuck your mother!" The moment the call connected, the other person cursed at him.

"Mr. Chen, why are you swearing at me? I just want to rent your place," Lin Fan asked calmly. He wasn't angry at the other man's outburst. He understood that his circumstances might be bad and affecting his mood.

"Get lost."

He hung up again.

"Honestly, people are so short-tempered these days." Lin Fan sighed.

This time, the other person spoke before Lin Fan could even say a word.

"Bastard, what do you want?"

Lin Fan replied calmly, "Mr. Chen, I just want to rent your place. There's no need to get so worked up."

"Heh, fine. I'll rent it to you. I'm on the rooftop of Building 3 at Fangji International. Get over here right now." Chen Gang was furious. The long, grinding apocalypse had left him under immense pressure, and his eyes were bloodshot.

Smack!

"Brother Chen, what's wrong?"

A young survivor asked. He was in his twenties, with short hair. Anyone who could live here was well-off.

His parents were powerful—one was an official, the other a businessperson—so he'd been able to live here from a young age.

A guy like him wouldn't usually call someone else "Brother," but he did now because he was so scrawny.

Chen Gang, on the other hand, was strong and burly. In an apocalypse like this, he was bound to be the one in charge.

"Some idiot."

The young man pulled Chen Gang aside. He glanced at the survivors, whose spirits were all in bad shape, then lowered his voice. "Brother Chen, I just worked it out. Even if we pool our supplies, we can last at most half a month."

Chen Gang frowned. "You mean..."

The young man spoke quietly. "Brother Chen, there are fifteen of us, including you and me. I don't think there's any point keeping those four old people around. We should just kill them."

Chen Gang looked at the four elderly people. They were two married couples.

When the apocalypse had first begun, the survivors hadn't thought food supplies would be much of a problem. Only later did they realize that food was the key to survival.

This was a wealthy residential complex, and no one kept much food at home. They always ate fresh food bought by their housekeepers. The one thing they did have plenty of was alcohol, but that couldn't exactly fill their stomachs.

When they'd been at a loss for what to do, the two elderly couples had told them they had a lot of food stored away and were willing to share it with everyone so they could get through the crisis together.

Chen Gang was a ruthless man. Even if the food had been provided by those couples, so what? Everyone wanted to live now. No one wanted to die.

The young man continued in a low voice, "Once we deal with the old folks, we can kill the men, too. As for the women, we can kill the ugly ones and keep the pretty ones. Who knows when this will end? We might as well keep a few around to have some fun."

Chen Gang said, "If we do it openly, they might not agree."

"Heh, Brother Chen, leave it to me. I'll handle it." The young man was a little unhinged. His plan was simple: kill the others, then kill Chen Gang. All the supplies here would be his.

He didn't want to die. He'd seen how terrifying the zombies were and had completely lost hope.

After years of drinking and womanizing, he couldn't outrun the zombies, and he was no match for their strength. If they caught him, he'd be dead.

As for how to get everyone to agree...

He wasn't worried at all.

After all they'd been through, none of them were human anymore. Darkness had already taken root in their hearts. Especially among people with status and wealth in society—every one of them could be ruthless.

As long as they were alive and could stay alive a little longer, they could do anything.

Even if they had to go against their conscience...

They could always come up with a convincing excuse and make themselves believe it.