Slaying zombies was physically demanding work. For any ordinary person, it took not only stamina but skill. It wasn't as simple as just chopping, hacking, or stabbing.
But for Lin Fan, it was relatively easy.
Frostmourne, the sword in his hand, represented evil and darkness. Yet in the hands of the righteous Lin Fan, it was putting on the most dazzling display of its entire existence.
A zombie's head soared into the air, spun around, then dropped to the ground.
Splurt!
Splurt!
He swung his sword again and again. The zombies roared savagely, their strength and speed formidable. For some reason, Lin Fan felt that these guys were much faster than before.
But he didn't dwell on it. Maybe the fast ones were skinny, with slightly long legs.
The strong ones were probably just more muscular.
In the past, there had been elevator warriors who fought to see who was stronger.
Now, there was a staircase sword god, swinging Frostmourne and hacking away at the zombies in front of him.
The stairwell was too narrow for him to unleash Frostmourne's full power, but he still had his feet. One kick was more than a single zombie could take. He kicked out, sending them tumbling like a landslide. The zombies couldn't advance another inch before crashing backward and piling up into a mountain of corpses.
"You lot, I'm not legally responsible for chopping you up. There are so many of you, and you're trying to bite me with mouths full of biological viruses. This is self-defense."
He wasn't very familiar with the law, but he had studied self-defense pretty thoroughly.
For now, all he could do was stab the zombies in the head with the sword in his hand.
Splurt.
The blade pierced a zombie's head. He pulled Frostmourne free and stabbed at the next target.
The zombies were frenzied at the sight of fresh flesh. They roared and tried to crawl over, even when the bodies in front of them blocked their way. Gradually, the stairwell became completely jammed.
It was like sitting on the toilet after using a whole lot of toilet paper, tossing it all into the bowl, and trying to flush. In the end, it all clumped together. That was more or less what this was like.
[Zombie killed]
[Points obtained +1]
Starting from the rooftop passage, he had made it down three floors before he couldn't go any farther.
He looked at the dirty blood on the walls and floor.
What a mess. It was completely filthy now.
If the residential complex's property management saw this, they'd be furious. He'd taken a perfectly good stairwell and made it look like this. The other residents would definitely complain.
"Sigh!"
Lin Fan held Frostmourne and looked at the situation before him, shaking his head. The passage was truly blocked. He could only hear roars from behind the mountain of corpses, so he turned and headed upstairs.
Back on the rooftop, he looked at the dust left behind by the fireworks scattered across the ground.
He thought of the man who had just jumped down.
He must have been in a lot of pain.
Or perhaps it had been a kind of release.
He walked to the edge of the rooftop and looked down. A crowd of zombies had gathered below, all trying to climb up the stairwell.
So many zombies.
Really, way too many.
Should he chop them up?
No, he wouldn't. There were too many.
He didn't want to make a mess of someone else's residential complex. That would be incredibly inconsiderate.
He huddled in a corner and kept quiet.
Keeping quiet meant staying put and not running his mouth.
He understood. He'd just wait silently for the zombies to leave.
That older man was right. Without any sound to attract them, the zombies would leave on their own.
In his eyes, the zombies were like onlookers gathering to watch some spectacle. The moment something happened, they'd drop whatever they were doing and swarm over to see what was going on. Even if they had no idea what had happened, once there were enough people around, they'd act as though they'd seen it with their own eyes, discussing it with those nearby and telling the latecomers what had happened.
Then, once it was all over, they'd scatter with the crowd.
The scene of the incident would fall completely silent.
These zombies were just like that.
He didn't know how long had passed. There was no movement below, so he cautiously peeked down. The zombies really were gone. There were only a few scattered ones left.
Climbing down from the rooftop was out of the question. That would set a bad example for kids. Of course, adults shouldn't try it either. It was too dangerous. If they fell, their heads would split open and their brains would be splattered everywhere.
He left the rooftop, took the elevator, and went straight to the first floor.
The zombies had seemed to be everywhere just now, but they didn't seem very bright. They hadn't thought of advancing along two routes: one group taking the elevator and another using the stairs. But if they had tried that, maybe the zombies would have started arguing over why one group had to take the stairs while the other got to ride the elevator. That would've overloaded the elevator and broken it.
Ding!
The elevator doors opened.
A zombie stood swaying outside, looking dazed. Seeing such a misleading act made Lin Fan genuinely unhappy. People could be honest with one another, and people could be honest with zombies, too.
Why sway around and act like an idiot?
But pretending to be stupid probably wouldn't work.
Everyone knew what zombies were really like.
There was no way it could fool him.
Roar!
The elevator doors opening startled the zombie, and it roared as it lunged forward.
Splurt!
Lin Fan dispatched it with ease, stepped over the body, pushed open the fire door, and left the building.
Sunshine Residential Complex.
"Xiao Qing, when do you think this apocalypse will finally end?"
Lin Fan drank his Coke and looked at the rotting corpse. Xiao Qing had already become a corpse, but that didn't stop him from talking with her.
"I think it'll end soon. As long as we work hard, we'll be able to put an end to it before long. Huang City, once so lively, will return to our sight."
"Oh, right. Your place is a mess and kind of dirty. I think I can tidy it up for you. You don't need to pay me. We know each other, so there's no need to stand on ceremony. If you feel bad about it, just let me take something from your place as compensation."
"You're not saying anything, so let's call that a deal."
"I'm heading home. Time to cook and eat."
One listened, the other spoke.
The scene was harmonious and warm, a lovely moment filled with the simple goodness of human society.
He scanned his payment and headed home.
The two old men were waiting by the gate. While he'd been away, the capable old men had used wooden boards to block the view through the lower part of the iron gate.
If an adult stood in front of the gate, they'd only be able to see the other person's head. To see what was inside, they'd have to stand on tiptoe.
Of course, the boards were only about 1.7 meters high, which was average. They could block ninety percent of people. The remaining ten percent were those taller than 1.7 meters, who could see into the complex—and those who, even standing on tiptoe, would still only see the boards.
"Good afternoon, Old Man Wang and Old Man Zhou." Lin Fan greeted them with a smile.
Old Man Wang said with a laugh, "What do you think of our fence? Old Zhou and I worked on it for ages and this was the best we could do. We're mainly short on tools. If we had some, Old Zhou and I could tinker with it and make it even better."
Lin Fan looked at the finished fence. "I think it's great. You two really are clever and handy. If I'd tried to make it, I definitely wouldn't have done as well."
You had to be modest.
Of course, he didn't know whether he could have done a good job or not. He'd never tried.
So maybe he was being modest.
Or maybe he was telling the truth.
The two old men felt more and more that Lin Fan had so many admirable qualities.
He was good-natured and friendly, sincere and humble, and always willing to help others. How many people had qualities like that? More importantly... the kid had kept his childlike innocence. Just look at the sword on his back. It was exactly the kind of thing a child would love to play with.
"Old Man Wang, Old Man Zhou, I'll head back and make lunch." Lin Fan felt it was getting late and lunchtime had arrived. He needed to wash some rice and cook a nice meal.
Lunch was important. It would make sure he had enough energy for the afternoon.
"Aw, why bother cooking? Just eat at our place." Old Man Zhou had read a lot, but that didn't mean he didn't understand how to get along with people. He was still learning, especially with Old Man Wang giving him the occasional lesson to his face.
Lin Fan waved away the offer. "No, I'll eat at home. I like having the smell of home cooking around."
Then he hurried off.
"Old Man Wang, Old Man Zhou, make sure you head home early, too."
A friendly reminder.
"Heh, that kid..."
The two old men looked at each other. They hadn't expected the kid to be so polite with them.
Back home, Lin Fan rinsed the rice and set the small rice cooker going. He took the vegetables out of the fridge, then chopped them with a clatter of knife against cutting board and put them in a bowl.
He returned to his computer.
The internet still hadn't gone down.
He had no idea why the internet was still working.
That was something a professional would have to explain.
He refreshed the League of Legends forum.
No new posts, no new replies.
Everything seemed frozen on that day.
He looked at the old posts.
[Please, I need a hundred thousand to save my mother. Just a hundred thousand. I'll work like an ox and a horse to repay you all.]
The post said that his mother was sick and urgently needed surgery. He'd sold everything he could and borrowed from everyone he could...
He opened it.
There were lots of replies, all from fellow players. Everyone had their own difficulties, but some sent a hundred, some sent twenty, and some sent five.
Lin Fan had sent a hundred, too.
He was poor himself, but he was willing to lend a helping hand.
Some people had commented, "You lying scumbag, trying to scam money."
But they were met with a barrage of angry replies.
The most-liked comment said...
"You're swearing on your mother's life to scam money, and I'll still donate. Even if I get scammed, I'll be at peace, because at least your mother is all right."
Sitting in front of the computer, Lin Fan quietly read the comment.
A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
See? A lot of people had been kind back then.
Sure, some players were perverts, some were horny degenerates, and some were trolls with a Gatling gun. But even so, weren't they all good kids at heart?
He clicked his mouse and returned to the home page, then made a post that might never receive another comment.
[Everyone, are you still there?]
He posted it.
He kept refreshing the page, but the view count stayed at "0."
He opened a movie website and started a film.
Lin Fan sat there and watched attentively.
In the living room,
the sound of the movie played.
"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."
Thanks: Wu Xing Wu Chen Wu, Shen Qi, Book Friend 20171208140257564, ewe233, Mo Yu, Late Winter, Big Shot Sister, Book Friend 20200308133803416, Lin Fan is a Crossdresser, Wulin Fatty, and other readers for their tips. Thank you, thank you!
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