Wow, I Met a Hero

Wow... I've met a hero.

While they were discussing, a creak echoed through the air. It was the sound of the door opening.

"You old fool, you're looking for death."

Seeing Wang Zhongguo take advantage of their distraction to open the iron gate, Xiao Bin was instantly incensed. If the man got bitten by a zombie, they would all be finished. He made a move to kick Wang Zhongguo to the ground.

"What are you doing? How can you hit someone?" Lin Fan's first sight upon arriving was a young man about to strike an elderly person, and he immediately shouted in anger. As a successor of the new era, how could he not respect the elderly and cherish the young?

Xiao Bin and the others stepped back, eyeing Lin Fan warily to see if he had any injuries. If he had been bitten by a zombie, they would kill him without a second thought.

Lin Fan was quite satisfied. It seemed his reprimand had been effective, successfully preventing an elderly man from being beaten.

The four elderly people had a simple motive for opening the door: they were willing to leave the chance of survival to the young people while they returned to their homes to wait for death with dignity.

"Everyone, don't be nervous. I mean no harm. May I ask, which one of you is Mr. Chen?" Lin Fan looked at the group. Their mental state was poor and they looked exhausted; it seemed they had been living under immense pressure in this apocalypse. He felt quite helpless—he was just an ordinary person who occasionally helped others with small tasks.

"I am." Chen Gang scrutinized Lin Fan, feeling that the young man was a bit strange. The sword strapped to his back looked, if he remembered correctly, like a legendary weapon from a video game.

"Hello, Mr. Chen. I just wanted to rent a room."

"Fine, the room is yours. You can go now."

"Thank you."

Lin Fan hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a stack of cash—his wages he had withdrawn a while ago instead of depositing into the bank. He hadn't expected to spend it so soon; it really was... easy come, easy go.

"Mr. Chen, there is five thousand here. It's a bit short, but it's all I have for now. I'll transfer the rest to you later."

The people around them watched the scene, completely bewildered. Was he really being this formal? Was this guy an idiot?

"Alright, that's enough. Stay as long as you want, just hurry up and leave," Chen Gang urged. He suspected the man wasn't quite right in the head. This was the apocalypse; money was useless. Even if a room full of cash were laid out before them, it would just be waste paper.

"Thank you." Lin Fan was very polite. He could tell that the landlord, though easy to talk to, didn't want him lingering. Since that was the case, he wouldn't disturb them any further. After saying this, he turned and left, even politely closing the iron gate behind him.

At that moment, Lin Fan looked at the four elderly people and asked politely, "Are you all not going back to the rooftop? It's the apocalypse out there, and it's a bit dangerous. At your age, if you run into zombies, you might not be able to get away."

Suddenly, Lin Fan looked at Zhou Aijun, as if deep in thought, and then exclaimed, "You are Mr. Zhou Aijun, aren't you?"

Zhou Aijun, who had been prepared to go home and wait for death, looked at the strange young man with a calm expression. "That's right, young man. Do you know me?"

When the apocalypse arrived, they weren't afraid of death, but they were afraid of the loss of humanity. When a person's humanity was completely extinguished, it would be a disaster—an unprecedented, destructive catastrophe.

"I do. I saw you on the military channel when I watched TV. You are a brilliant military expert. Back when foreign countries blocked our weapon technology, you led your team to break through various technical bottlenecks, giving our country weapons we could be proud of."

"I admire you so much. I even went on forums to read what others said about you. They said your existence allowed our country's military standards to catch up to those of the major powers in just twenty years."

Lin Fan hadn't expected to see this living legend. He felt that coming out to rent a room for someone had been truly rewarding.

Wang Zhongguo laughed. "Brother Zhou, I never expected you to run into a fan during the apocalypse."

"Brother Wang, don't make fun of me." Zhou Aijun felt comforted. Although he didn't say it, he was happy inside. He hadn't spent his whole life working hard just to be remembered by the world, but if a young man could remember him, he felt content. "Young man, what is your name?"

"My name is Lin Fan. I'm a local from Huang City and I live in the Sunshine Residential Complex. I came here just to help someone rent a room," Lin Fan said hurriedly. In his eyes, this old man was a hero. He didn't really care for celebrity culture, but he loved watching documentaries about the heroic deeds of those who contributed to the country.

Lin Fan then looked at Wang Zhongguo. "This old gentleman looks extraordinary; he must have been a soldier."

"Haha..." Zhou Aijun patted Lin Fan on the shoulder. "You have a sharp eye, young man. You saw it at a glance. This Mr. Wang was indeed a soldier. When he was young, he was fierce. He once captured an enemy position all by himself with just a rifle, sending dozens of men into a rout. He's a first-class hero. Don't look at him as an old man now; a few years ago, he saw some human traffickers on the street and didn't say a word before jumping in to fight those burly men. He ended up sending them all to the hospital."

Wang Zhongguo laughed heartily at Zhou Aijun's praise, momentarily forgetting the current apocalyptic situation. Being reminded of his past made him happy; in his old age, these were his fondest memories.

Lin Fan stood with his mouth agape, filled with admiration. He hadn't expected this man to be a hero—a hero who had shed blood and sacrificed for the country, a hero worthy of everyone's respect.

"Two grandfathers, two grandmothers, aren't you going to the rooftop? It's very dangerous out there right now." He wanted to be sure.

"We aren't going back. Supplies are scarce, so let's leave that hope to the young ones. We're old and useless now; there's no point in wasting resources on us."

Hearing this, Lin Fan fell silent.

He wasn't a fool; his mind immediately conjured up various scenarios. The people on that rooftop certainly wouldn't be willing to share resources with these respectable elders, and it was highly likely they even wanted them dead.

He realized that since the apocalypse began, many people had become irritable, twisted, and dark.

The two old gentlemen before him were worthy of admiration, having made immense contributions to the country. Anyone who saw their current plight would reach out a helping hand; the life we enjoy today was fought for with their very lives.

Their twilight years shouldn't be like this.

If he knew that the supplies those people were hoarding had been provided by these four elders, he would absolutely grab a blade and go up there to give them a proper scolding: "How can you be so heartless?"

Lin Fan felt he couldn't just sit by and watch.

"Come with me to Sunshine Residential Complex. It's quite safe there, and I believe I have the ability to protect you," Lin Fan said.

This was the first time he had taken the initiative to ask others to follow him back to Sunshine Residential Complex.

"You can stay at my place for now; I'll rent rooms for you."

The four elders looked at the earnest young man before them.

For a moment, they fell into deep thought.

Wang Zhongguo: ...

Zhou Aijun: ...

Xu Guifen: ...

Liang Yan: ...

Wang Zhongguo said, "Young man, thank you for your kindness, but forget it. We'd only be a burden if we followed you. We're useless now. We're very comforted that you have such thoughts, but we only hope you can live well. The future depends on young people like you."

"Oh, don't say that. I'm very capable, just come with me." Lin Fan felt these four elders were truly something. He understood they meant well—after all, once people are old, they really can't compare to the young and are a burden in every aspect. But he, Lin Fan, had received an excellent education; how could he stand by and watch these admirable heroes suffer?

In the past, you protected us; now, it's time for the young to protect you.

This protection shouldn't end.

It should be carried forward.

"Happy."

Lin Fan felt wonderful inside. The housing was settled, and he had met heroes who were willing to follow him.

Although the internet always said that once the apocalypse arrived, money was useless, he didn't think so.

These things were created by others through hard work. Just because the owners had disappeared or died, did that mean these items were ownerless?

No... they certainly weren't ownerless. Regardless of whether the owner was still around, they belonged to someone.

He definitely couldn't just take them or steal them.

He was a future successor of the country, raised under nine years of compulsory education. That status alone made it impossible for him to act that way.

Rooftop.

"Are they out yet?" Chen Gang asked.

"Not yet. They should be heading downstairs; it won't be long now." Xiao Bin leaned over the railing, watching the situation below, but he hadn't spotted Lin Fan yet.

Various items were already piled up around them.

These were the things they intended to throw downstairs in a moment.

"They're out."

Xiao Bin shouted, his expression turning ruthless. "Smash it! Throw it down hard and draw the zombies out!"

The survivors didn't even think twice; they hurled all sorts of objects toward the ground below.

In this situation, they only wanted to survive.

Whose life was lost had nothing to do with them.

Xiao Bin grabbed a flowerpot, chose his angle, and threw it forward. He wasn't trying to hit the people; he was using the noise to lure the surrounding zombies out.

"As long as the noise draws the zombies, they'll run toward the outside of the complex. Once that happens, the complex will be temporarily safe, and we can look for supplies," Xiao Bin sneered.

He didn't know how many zombies were left in the complex, but with these people here, he was confident he could use them as bait to carve out a path to survival.

BANG!

A loud crash echoed.

Lin Fan looked back to see a shattered flowerpot lying on the ground five or six meters away.

"Where did that flowerpot come from?"

Just as he was pondering this, more objects fell from the sky, hitting the ground with a clatter.

He looked up and saw the people on the rooftop throwing things down.

Xiao Bin looked around in confusion. Where were the zombies? How could there be no zombies? He wanted to keep smashing things, but realized there was nothing left.

No, this absolutely wouldn't do.

Suddenly, Xiao Bin spotted a corpulent survivor lying there. Malice sprouted in his heart, turning him frantic and brutal.

With a low growl, he rushed behind the survivor, grabbed the man's legs, and flipped him straight off the rooftop.

"Ah..."

A scream rang out.

The surrounding survivors were stunned by Xiao Bin's actions.

They hadn't expected Xiao Bin to actually throw a person off.

"What are you looking at? Smashing things won't attract the zombies at all. Only this will draw the zombies in the residential complex here," Xiao Bin growled.

The apocalypse wasn't terrifying; what was terrifying was the dark side of the human heart, unleashed completely once the shackles were removed.

And he felt that this was his true life now.

No one could sanction him; he could do whatever he wanted.

His cruel methods left the surrounding survivors trembling in fear.

They were terrified, paralyzed by dread.

Even Chen Gang stared with wide eyes, thinking, What a ruthless guy.