Life was ordinary and full of little things.
After the meal, he washed the dishes, scrubbing the plates until they were spotless. It was what every responsible man of the household ought to do. Then he took a nap, set his alarm, woke at two in the afternoon, and stared blankly at the ceiling before slowly drifting back to sleep.
Ding, ding, ding...
The alarm rang.
Lin Fan got up, folded his quilt, poured himself a glass of water to replenish his fluids, then grabbed the mop and diligently cleaned the floor until the whole place was neat and tidy.
Life wasn't full of earth-shattering events. More often, the ordinary could be found in every little thing. Of course, the extraordinary was great, but the ordinary was the foundation and backdrop of life.
He went downstairs.
As usual, he strolled around the residential compound. When he spotted trash on the ground, he picked it up and tossed it into a bin. There weren't any sanitation workers around now, but even if there were, picking up litter was no trouble at all.
This was everyone's residential compound, and it was his, too.
He recalled the slogan:
The compound is our home; keeping it clean is everyone's responsibility.
He arrived at the place where they were growing vegetables. In just half a day, it had been transformed beyond recognition, a striking contrast with the wasteland it had been before.
He could tell at a glance what Sister Li and Grandma Xu had done.
They'd cleared the weeds.
They'd turned and prepared the soil. That was hard physical work. They had to loosen the whole plot, but they didn't need to dig very deep—about the depth of a hoe was enough. Once they'd turned it over, they also had to break up the clods so the soil would be loose and easy to plant in.
The final step was shaping the beds into raised rows.
The place looked like a work of art, so pleasing to the eye. Sister Li and Grandma Xu were really skilled at farming.
With their help, the compound would surely get better and better.
He went to the entrance of the compound. The old men weren't there, and the iron gate was locked. If he opened it, it would be difficult to lock again. Without giving it much thought, he sprang upward, leaped high over the gate, and landed lightly on the ground.
It was something he never would have dared imagine before.
"Kill zombies to earn points, then spend those points to become stronger. It's just like doing good deeds and getting praised, or receiving a Good Citizen certificate. Yeah... it makes perfect sense."
He took the situation in stride. His inner strength showed in his physical abilities, but he still had to keep working hard.
As for Little Assistant... What Little Assistant? It was all fake.
Nothing wrong with that.
"I don't have a job right now. I need to find work to support myself."
Lin Fan muttered to himself. He had three bank cards on him, but that money belonged to other people. Everyone was struggling in these difficult times, so he couldn't take advantage of them. He had to work hard on his own.
The little shop.
He walked into the messy store.
"Xiao Qing, I don't have a job right now, so I'm planning to do some odd jobs. You know I'm conscientious. Your shop's a mess, so I'll tidy it up for you. Hmm... Just give me a hundred yuan in total. How does that sound?"
Lin Fan smiled as he spoke to the quiet shop.
Xiao Qing lay there without saying a word.
"All right. Since you agree, I'll get started. You don't have to pay me. I'll just buy things from your shop."
He had to find work for himself. If the other person hadn't agreed, he couldn't do it.
Xiao Qing didn't say anything, which clearly meant she agreed.
The little shop wasn't large, but it had all the cleaning tools he needed.
He picked up a bucket, filled it with water, and took a rag. He planned to start with the windows outside. They were the first thing people noticed about a shop, and if they were filthy, people would surely be put off.
He went outside and carefully wiped them down.
On the quiet street, his figure stood out. In fact, there was something indescribably strange about it.
Lin Fan didn't work quickly. He didn't want to rush and let the quality suffer.
A little while later,
he went back into the shop and put the goods scattered across the floor back on the shelves.
This was a fresh start. The shops along the street were all a mess, making the place seem desolate. He would start with this little store. He was confident he could clean up every shop.
The reward would surely be quite good, too.
He certainly wouldn't become rich, but he'd have enough to live on.
In the little shop, Lin Fan worked tirelessly, moving back and forth without taking a break.
Several hours later,
Lin Fan stood at the entrance, looking at the shop, now transformed beyond recognition. He couldn't help feeling satisfied. This was the result of his hard work all afternoon. The dusty counter was now so clean it gleamed.
The goods that had been scattered across the floor were neatly arranged on the shelves.
"Great. Finally done."
Lin Fan smiled, then looked at the three corpses. They belonged to Xiao Qing, Xiao Fang, and an unknown customer.
"Xiao Qing, Xiao Fang, you've both died. I'll take you over there. It's free; I won't charge you. We knew each other well, so helping you on your way is the least I can do."
He knew they were dead, but he spoke to them anyway. It wasn't because there was anything wrong with his head. He was reminiscing about the past, just as he used to chat with people whenever he came to buy things.
Buying things and talking about work without speaking aloud—
Could he use sign language instead?
There were trash bins on the street. He'd thought about dragging over whichever one was nearby, but many of them were already full. With no sanitation workers to empty them for a long time, they were starting to stink.
He couldn't help it. He just liked sticking his nose into things.
Just as before, he linked the bins together and pushed them to the shop entrance. He put Xiao Qing, Xiao Fang, and the unknown corpse into the bins and took them to the garbage station.
Now he was the only sanitation worker near the compound, its only laborer, and the only person who believed Huang City would come back.
No matter what happened,
he still believed it. He would never change his mind.
On the balcony,
Old Man Wang watched Lin Fan walking down the street and pushing the garbage bins. He didn't call out. Only someone with something wrong with their head would make a sound and draw zombies to Xiao Fan.
He watched that figure and felt as if he understood something.
Xiao Fan had continued living as he always had, without changing at all after the apocalypse. Old Man Wang had seen it from the moment he'd invited Xiao Fan over for dinner.
When someone lived through the apocalypse alongside other survivors, they ought to support each other, share supplies, and divide them fairly.
But Old Man Wang had realized that wasn't how things worked here.
Xiao Fan had brought them to the compound, helped them rent apartments, and run errands for them. When he came back from shopping, he showed them the receipts to prove he'd paid for everything himself.
Anyone would find that strange.
But Old Man Wang could understand.
Xiao Fan treated everyone living in the compound as a peculiar kind of group that was also made up of individuals.
When someone ran into trouble, everyone helped each other. That was the group.
They didn't interfere in other people's lives without permission, and everyone lived within their own circle. That was being an individual. It was exactly the same as before the apocalypse.
Paying for things, paying rent, not barging into other people's lives, greeting them politely, and finding things to do on his own had all been perfectly normal before.
But to people who had gotten used to the apocalypse, it was a huge shock.
"Ah, what could Xiao Fan have gone through to hold on to this way of thinking?"
Old Man Wang only half understood. He understood, but he couldn't quite understand.
It was as if he'd grasped something, yet at the same time, he hadn't.
That night,
Lin Fan returned home and bought some snacks and water from Xiao Qing's shop.
He turned on his computer, hoping to watch another movie.
But he hadn't expected the internet to be down.
He wondered if his internet plan had expired because he'd forgotten to pay.
But that didn't seem right.
He still had a year left on his plan. He checked the cable to see if there was a minor issue, just in case he'd gotten something wrong.
He restarted the router and the computer.
Still, he couldn't get online.
"Ah... this is so annoying. I've still got a year left on my plan..." Lin Fan sighed. What could he do, even if the internet was down? It wasn't as if he could demand a refund.
He knew that was just wishful thinking.
He went out onto the balcony and leaned against the railing, looking at the nighttime scenery in the distance. It was pitch-black, without a single light, as if darkness had truly descended and completely swallowed Huang City.
But... even so,
Lin Fan turned to look at the brightly lit room. He was willing to kindle the last light in Huang City, let it grow without limit, and gradually spread until it enveloped the whole city.
He enjoyed the evening breeze. He wanted to shout out like he used to: "Hello, everyone!"
But it was late, and the old men and Sister Li had probably already gone to bed.
He'd better not shout.
At that moment,
the two old men were quietly chatting with their wives. At their age, their conversations were always warm and tender.
When the talkative Old Man Wang spoke to his wife, all he could say was:
"Thank you for all your hard work, dear."
"I'm so glad to have you, dear."
But educated and well-read, Old Man Zhou had plenty of romantic lines at his fingertips.
Old Man Zhou held Grandma Liang close and spoke to her softly.
"As long as you're here, there's hope in life."
"With you here and me here, we'll be together until the seas run dry and the stones crumble. There's no need for fancy words. Just 'I love you' is enough to keep us in each other's hearts."
"Promising myself to you was the most enduring view in the years of my youth. I've always wanted to say that no matter where I go, the place I most want to be is by your side."
Grandma Liang was a teacher who loved romantic words. Even at her age, she still loved them dearly.
She nestled in her husband's arms.
"For just one person, I'd give my whole life. To the ends of the earth, I'll wish only for your peace!"
Sister Li's room.
Li Mei held a photo album and gently stroked a photograph. It was of her husband. During the day, she had to act strong, but at night, she missed him terribly and wept until her face was wet with tears.
"Qingyang, I miss you so much."
"Feifei and I are doing well now. We met good people and moved into a new home. Feifei is studying hard, too. If you were here, our family of three could be together again and live a happy life."
"If you met Xiao Fan, the kind young man who's helping us, I'm sure you'd like him. You'd drag him off to drink, treat him like a sworn brother, and take him along to play the games you can't bear to give up."
Li Mei murmured to herself, telling him how much she'd missed him during this time.
In the next room,
Feifei mumbled in her sleep, caught up in a dream.
"Grandma Liang, this problem is so hard. I don't know how to do it."
"Ah... why are there so many worksheets? Uncle, stop buying them. I'll never finish them all."
"So scary, so scary..."
Maybe to Feifei, the apocalypse wasn't the scariest thing. The scariest thing was having to study and finish endless worksheets even though the world had ended—and having an uncle who might buy her more worksheets at any moment.
It was really scary.
Room 704.
Lin Fan lay in bed, seemingly staring at the ceiling, but actually looking at the interface.
"I have to add points again. Adding points before bed should help me sleep."
[Name]: Lin Fan. [Strength]: 125. (Transcendent) [Stamina]: 65. (Super Strong) [Speed]: 62. (Super Strong) [Points]: 0.
After adding the points, he looked at the interface.
"That's a lot of points. I killed zombies from the rooftop of that building down more than three floors. Did I really kill that many?"
He couldn't remember.
Forget it.
He'd better not worry about it.
As long as he had points, he'd spend them—whichever attribute he felt like raising.
Time to sleep.
He pulled the covers over himself, then suddenly stuck out an arm and drew the teddy bear into bed with him.
The night was peaceful and beautiful.
Everyone, go to sleep.
P.S. There are twenty-four hours in a day. If I sleep for eight hours, that leaves sixteen hours. At two thousand words an hour, I should be updating thirty-two thousand words. So why have I updated so little? Is it my fault? Of course not. It's definitely because you all haven't voted for me. Heh heh heh...
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