"Help me, help me..."
Chen Fei reached out toward the second-floor balcony in the distance. He saw several figures furtively peeking over from there. Desperate, he could only hope those people would remember that he was one of their own and lend him a hand.
But...
The ground trembled.
The giant zombie came right up to him. Staring at its hideous face, Chen Fei was overcome by indescribable terror.
The giant zombie grabbed Chen Fei and opened its gaping maw, biting into his neck. It tore off a chunk of flesh, then savagely ripped his limbs apart, spraying blood everywhere.
"Ah..."
A scream rang out.
Ravaged by the giant zombie, Chen Fei let out a bloodcurdling scream. His cries of agony echoed down the entire street.
Some of the survivors hiding nearby trembled with fear when they heard the horrifying screams. The commotion outside was simply too terrifying.
They were hiding on the second floor.
Xu Zeyang said, "What kind of monster is that? It's not an ordinary zombie anymore."
Old Mao said, "Have you guys seen those zombie movies? Could it have evolved?"
The short-haired woman said, "Keep your voices down. Don't make a sound. If it notices us, we'll have a hard time getting away."
They had watched with their own eyes as Chen Fei was torn to pieces by the giant zombie.
Even more terrifying was the creature's strength. With one casual sweep, it flipped over a car in its way. Even if they hid inside a car, they'd be killed on the spot if they ran into that thing.
Gradually,
as Chen Fei's flesh and blood flew everywhere, the street grew quiet.
The giant zombie let out a savage roar, as if declaring its territory.
Then it turned and left.
"That zombie seems to have a mind of its own. It's different from the others. They're all gathering around it. If that's true, this is really bad news for survivors like us," Xu Zeyang said, trembling with fear beneath his baseball cap.
Han Shuang, the short-haired woman, frowned. "Something must have caused it to turn into a zombie like that. Its size and strength are at the extreme. An ordinary car can't stop it; it'll just flip one over. If we run into it, we have to hide. The apocalypse is more dangerous than we imagined."
Old Mao sighed. "This apocalypse... it's determined to drive people into a corner. If zombies really can evolve, then without powerful weapons, we're like rats crossing the street. All we can do is run and hide, while also dealing with people whose intentions are impossible to predict. Sigh... this really is hell mode."
Listening to Old Mao,
everyone fell silent.
He was right.
It was hard. Zombies were dangerous, and meeting other survivors was even worse.
In an environment like this, running into other survivors should have been a relief. They were fellow human beings, and having more people around should have warmed their hearts. But who could have imagined that in this world, people were more frightening than zombies?
Night fell.
Lin Fan lay in bed, looking at the interface.
Little Assistant's arrival
had given him strength. He could earn points by killing zombies, and use those points to improve his stats.
He found it pretty interesting. It was one of the few pleasures he had in an apocalypse like this.
"Add points, add to strength, add to stamina, add to speed..."
Lin Fan looked at the interface, grinning as he tapped away.
[Name]: Lin Fan.
[Strength]: 80. (Limit)
[Stamina]: 45. (Superb)
[Speed]: 40. (Superb)
[Points]: 0.
As he added points, his body changed a little, as if he had been completely elevated.
Hmm... He should be able to punch two cows to death.
He turned his head and glanced at the dark night. Hugging his teddy bear, he drifted into a beautiful sleep.
In his dream, he saw Huang City restored to its former glory and bustle.
Everyone was friendly.
When people bumped into one another, they apologized kindly.
'Sorry, I bumped into you.'
He saw an old man carrying things.
'Let me help you.'
He saw a thief stealing something.
'Stop! What do you think you're doing?'
He saw a poor family with a child suffering from a terminal illness.
Even if they didn't have much money in their pockets, they would still donate twenty yuan so the child could afford treatment.
He saw a child fall into the water.
Without hesitation, he jumped in to save them.
He saw a child hanging from a balcony.
He would embrace the future of his country with his own flesh and blood, even if it cost him his life. He would never regret it, because that was a living person.
All of this was hope. As long as hope remained, nothing was impossible to overcome.
But now...
Hope was merely shrouded in darkness. It would return. Everything would once again sing a joyful song as it emerged from the darkness, dispelled it, and embraced the light.
Morning came.
A ray of sunlight mischievously slipped in through the window.
Lin Fan got out of bed, yawning. He went over to the water dispenser, poured himself a glass, and gulped it down. Drinking a glass of water in the morning was good for the body and helped flush out toxins.
Holding his glass, he washed up.
Even though it was the apocalypse,
brushing his teeth and washing his face were perfectly normal things to do. He tidied himself up, looking a little more refreshed and even more handsome.
Boiled eggs and milk.
That was his breakfast for the morning.
For the apocalypse, that was a pretty decent standard of living.
He opened the door, went up to the sixth floor, and knocked on the door of the four elderly residents. They all woke up early, and had supplies, too. Their breakfasts were simple but nutritious.
On the eighth floor, Li Mei had woken Feifei early and brought her breakfast. She was packing her textbooks into her schoolbag for her; in a little while, Feifei would be going to Grandma Liang's to study.
Feifei rubbed her eyes as she got up.
She really hadn't expected that even though the apocalypse had arrived, she still wouldn't be allowed to sleep in. She still had to carry her schoolbag and go study. No matter how much she thought about it, she never would have expected this.
It was truly terrifying.
As far as Lin Fan was concerned, this was what real life was like: people, interaction, and things to do.
Room 603.
Feifei arrived with her schoolbag, politely greeted Grandma Liang, and took out her books. Grandma Liang felt much better when she could teach a child. She hadn't grown gloomy just because the apocalypse had arrived.
"Grandma, can we study English?" Feifei was best at English. It didn't seem too difficult to her; it felt simple and easy.
Grandma Liang smiled kindly. "Child, English isn't useful. We'll study physics, math, chemistry, history, and geography. Those are the subjects that really matter."
"All right, then." Feifei felt that one-on-one lessons were terrifying. The teacher's attention was always fixed on her. She couldn't even slack off for a moment.
Downstairs, in the quiet residential complex,
Lin Fan spread his arms and took a deep breath of fresh air.
"Exercising for thirty minutes every morning keeps you healthy. Come exercise with me."
One, two, one... One, two, one...
He had lived in the complex for a long time and knew the exercise equipment well. Whenever he finished his workout, he felt full of energy.
The three elderly residents and Li Mei watched Lin Fan exercising.
They didn't think much of it.
They joined him in exercising.
Living here made them feel safe, as if the apocalypse outside didn't exist at all.
If any survivors had seen the scene before them,
they definitely would have cried out,
Did you people even take the apocalypse outside seriously?
Could you at least show the apocalypse some respect?
The three elderly residents were already at an age when exercise was important. They needed to stay active and maintain a healthy frame of mind. It could help them live longer and keep them in good health.
Li Mei had been cooped up at home, tormented by stress. Now that she had a chance to relax, touching the exercise equipment felt unreal.
She knew it was real. All of it was real.
She looked around and up at the sky. Aside from the quiet, everything was fine, just like before the apocalypse. As she thought about it, tears welled in her eyes.
She wiped them away, not wanting the others to see.
After they finished exercising, Lin Fan took them on a walk around the complex. They came to a plot of land that needed clearing.
"I'm planning to grow some vegetables here. I've already talked to the residents, and they all agreed to plant things here," Lin Fan said with a smile.
He didn't realize that what he'd just said sounded a little strange to everyone else.
Li Mei wanted to do something, too.
She was truly grateful to Lin Fan for giving her a life like this, so she stepped forward of her own accord.
"I grew up in the countryside. I learned how to grow vegetables from my family when I was little. Leave this to me," Li Mei said.
"Sister Li, can you manage it on your own?"
Lin Fan felt a little embarrassed. He could tell Sister Li wanted to do something to thank him, but there really was no need. Helping her was only natural; it was something he could easily do.
Li Mei smiled. "It's fine. I know this stuff very well. Growing vegetables might look simple, but there are still some tricks to it. You can't just plant them any old way and expect them to grow well."
Hearing her explanation,
Lin Fan said no more. He understood that he shouldn't force someone to do something they didn't want to; that would only cause them trouble.
The tools were right there.
Li Mei picked them up and started weeding and turning the soil. Her movements were smooth and practiced. Lin Fan thought she was amazing, much better at it than he was.
She really was a professional.
"Sister Li, then I'll leave it to you. Thanks for your hard work," Lin Fan said.
Li Mei smiled. "It's only right."
Though Li Mei thought Lin Fan, who had helped them, seemed a little odd, thinking it over, she didn't find him strange at all. Instead, he seemed gentle, friendly, and kind.
When the apocalypse arrived, she'd felt that society had lost all its moral boundaries and that there was no hope left.
But now, her hope had begun to burn again.
It was all because of the Lin Fan standing before her.
"I'm an old woman, so I can't do much, but I can still lend a hand."
Xu Guifen joined Li Mei's group. While Li Mei weeded and turned the soil, she picked up the weeds and gathered them together. The elderly had lived through times of poverty, and even though they were old, they were no worse at working than young people. In fact, they were often much better.
The life before him filled Lin Fan with hope for the future.
He believed Huang City would return to what it once was.
The complex no longer had only him.
It had them, too.
That was how life went. Slowly, one person became a whole lot of people.
Bang!
Bang!
Just then, a noise came from the entrance to the complex.
Everyone who heard it except Lin Fan grew tense. Whatever could make a sound at a time like this had to be a zombie.
"Don't be scared. I'll go take a look."
Lin Fan calmed them down, then turned and headed toward the entrance.
Old Man Wang and Old Man Zhou followed behind him.
They picked up the mop they saw.
If they ran into danger,
they were ready to fight the zombies with everything they had.
They might throw out their backs,
but they had to do it.
Before you continue