Give the living hope to you

Chen Gang was like the overlord among the survivors in this building.

He possessed an immense sense of authority.

He watched as that young man, Xiao Bin—the one who had proposed getting rid of the four elderly residents—constantly wove through the crowd, pulling each survivor into a corner to whisper to them.

He observed that the survivors Xiao Bin pulled aside for persuasion showed a shift in expression from shock to hesitation, and finally to resolve; the change in their eyes was impossible to hide.

Clearly, they had been swayed by Xiao Bin. Thinking about it, it made sense; resources determined how long one could live, and when it came to their own lives, who could truly be selfless?

There were two elderly people sitting on bamboo rattan chairs.

"Guifen, we are already old, and the survival supplies are dwindling. Those young people must be planning to get rid of us old folks who are holding them back. I think we should just leave the hope of survival to them. This country, this society, still needs the young to build it."

The old man gently patted his wife's hand.

They had been together through thick and thin for fifty years.

To leave like this was fine, too.

The old man's name was Wang Zhongguo. In his youth, he had been a soldier. At that time, the country was in ruins, and countless people were eager to build the nation with absolute conviction; he was one of them.

He had participated in battles large and small, shedding blood and sacrificing his youth for the motherland.

His wife beside him had once been a military doctor who followed the army to the front lines to save the wounded. That was back in the seventies when a war broke out; he had been wounded and saved by Guifen. Once they laid eyes on each other, they stayed together.

"Alright, I'll listen to you." Grandma Guifen smiled. Naturally, she knew the thoughts and motives of those young people. Having walked this path, there was nothing she hadn't seen. Back in her youth, she had relied on keen observation to catch several spies; she could naturally see through the schemes of these immature young people.

The reason they were able to live here was thanks to their children. They hadn't joined the military or become doctors, but had gone abroad to do business, buying them this apartment before rarely returning.

Now that the apocalypse had broken out and zombies were running rampant, they were likely doomed as well.

"Brother Wang, you really are open-minded."

At this moment, an old man sitting beside them spoke with a soft laugh.

This old man's name was Zhou Aijun, sixty-nine years old and still in good health. He was a military industry expert who had once developed many weapons for the country and received numerous medals of honor. In gratitude for his contributions, the state had awarded him an apartment at Fangji International.

Old Man Wang chuckled, "Brother Zhou, you think the same, don't you?"

Old Man Zhou replied, "I've spent my whole life giving; I don't know how to do anything else. I don't blame these children; staying alive is certainly the most important thing."

Old Man Zhou's wife looked at him, "You, you've been with your hunks of iron your whole life."

"Wife, I've made you suffer by being with me," Old Man Zhou sighed.

His wife had been a teacher, though she had long since retired. For years, the only thing she loved to do was keep track of her scholarship fund, pouring her pension into it to help poor children get an education and get ahead in life.

"I've already suffered for decades, is there any point in saying that now?" His wife rolled her eyes at him.

Just then.

The group of people swayed by Xiao Bin walked toward the four elderly people in unison.

They had been tortured to the brink of collapse by the apocalypse, and the desire to survive filled their minds. When Xiao Bin was brainwashing them, they had indeed felt a brief moment of hesitation and fear.

But as Xiao Bin analyzed the benefits, they, desperate to live, decided to throw the four elderly people off the building.

Firstly, they wanted to conserve resources.

Secondly, they wanted to see exactly how many zombies were left in the residential complex. The impact of a person falling would surely be loud and would definitely draw out the zombies hidden in the complex. If they were lucky and those zombies headed outside, that would be even better.

Old Man Wang Zhongguo stood up, "Children, we know what you are thinking. Rest assured, we will not take your supplies, and you don't need to push us off the building. Some things, once done, leave a bad mark; it would be a torture to your own hearts and minds. We old folks will just go back to our homes and wait for death."

The crowd, just about to take action, was visibly stunned by these words.

They hadn't expected to be seen through.

It left them feeling deeply ashamed.

They all lived in this building, so they naturally knew these four elderly people.

They had always been kind in the past.

"We can't let them go. Who knows if they'll go downstairs, open the security door, and lure the zombies in?"

As someone spoke up, the surrounding people suddenly snapped to their senses.

"That's right! If we let these four old fogies go, who knows what they might do? We must throw them off the building."

As they voiced their thoughts, their inner turmoil turned into total aggression. They were now unscrupulous and fearless; in their eyes, the lives of the four elderly people were no more than ants.

Suddenly.

The iron door was knocked, and someone spoke from outside.

"Mr. Chen, are you there?"

Though the voice was quiet, to the crowd preparing to commit their evil deed, it felt like a thunderclap, exploding violently in their minds.

How could someone be here?

"Mr. Chen, I'm the one who called you earlier. I want to rent your apartment," Lin Fan said softly, standing before the iron door.

Upon hearing this, Chen Gang's expression shifted instantly.

"Who the hell are you?" Chen Gang didn't believe for a second that the person was actually there to rent an apartment. Was he out of his mind? What time was it now? Who would care about where you wanted to live?

"I'm here to rent a room, just like we agreed over the phone," Lin Fan said calmly, standing outside.

"How did you get up here?"

"I walked up."

At this moment, Xiao Bin approached Chen Gang and said vigilantly, "Brother Chen, don't open the door. At a time like this, we can't just let anyone in; we don't have the resources to spare for him."

"Besides, if he's been bitten by a zombie, he'll definitely turn into one too."

Judging by the voice, he could tell the person was quite young. If they really let him in, wouldn't that just mean one more rival? The only thing that worried him was that the security door downstairs was clearly locked; without a key, how had he managed to open it?

Chen Gang nodded. "Mm, I know what I'm doing. I definitely won't let him in."

Suddenly.

Xiao Bin's eyes lit up as a scheme dawned on him. He leaned into Chen Gang's ear and whispered, "Brother Chen, I have an idea. Tell him you'll rent to him, then watch him head back downstairs. Once he's down there, we'll throw those four old geezers out to create a commotion. When the zombies come out, he'll have to run, and he'll end up drawing the zombies away for us. Won't that make this place even safer?"

Chen Gang listened, and realized it made perfect sense.

The way he looked at Xiao Bin changed.

This kid was truly clever.

And sufficiently sinister.

PS: Daily request for votes.

Thanks to: Wu Nai Lao Zhang Tianjun for the grand reward, thank you.

Thanks to: Wo Zi Fu Yao Er Shang, Bing Dong Han Xin De Lei, Huan Le Xian Zun, Feng Chen Shi Gu, AyranH, Di Jiu Bu Sheng, Ge Zhe Yan Lei Kan Ni Xiao, Da You You Ma Jia, Di ∞ Diao, and other book friends for their tips. Many thanks.