The Apocalypse is Ruthless, but Humanity is Kind

The sound of a baby.

There was no mistake; it was definitely the sound of a baby. Listening closely, one could tell the crying wasn't loud or robust like that of a healthy infant; it sounded rather weak.

Regardless, he had to go inside and check.

Roar!

The snarling of zombies reached his ears.

The zombies that had been running alongside him were closing in.

Looking at this pack of sprinting zombies, he could only say they were quite impressive. Each one had incredible stamina, and their dedication to running this far was truly commendable.

At this moment.

He gripped the hilt of Frostmourne and held one hand out in warning. "Please, do not come any closer. The running session is over. I heard a baby crying and they might be in trouble, so I need to go check. If you continue to approach, I think I will have to cut you down."

"First warning."

As he spoke, the zombies showed no sign of stopping; in fact, they pressed even closer. This behavior posed a serious threat to his personal safety.

"Second warning."

He meant no harm. Even though they had turned into zombies, he wouldn't do anything excessive to them if they were friendly.

"Third warning."

The zombies lunged at him.

It was useless.

There was no choice; he had to defend himself.

He was very familiar with self-defense now. He understood the process clearly—when to defend himself, how to defend himself, and so on—it was all perfectly clear to him.

The evil Frostmourne left its sheath. With a single swing, he slashed toward the zombies' heads. With his current strength, the strike was terrifying, and one could hear the sound of the blade cutting through the air.

Whether it was accuracy, speed, or power, he had reached a level unimaginable to ordinary people.

You've seen someone cut tofu, right?

The sharp blade rests on the tofu, and without even applying force, it slices right through.

Splurt!

Splurt!

The sound of the slashes echoed. To ordinary people, these zombies were terrifying, but to Lin Fan, they were far too simple. With a single sweep of his blade, the heads of the zombies in the front row all flew into the air, spinning.

The group of zombies that had been pounding on the rolling shutter door heard the commotion and saw the moving flesh. They stopped banging on the door and surged toward Lin Fan instead.

If any survivors were to see this scene right now.

They would definitely shriek.

"Mom, come out and look at this badass!"

"Why are you all so unfriendly? Even if you've turned into zombies, couldn't you at least keep a shred of reason?"

He muttered while continuing to slash.

The arrival of the apocalypse had caused the greatest harm to the living, and it was all because of these zombies. If not for them, Huang City wouldn't have ended up like this.

He would still be just another ordinary worker, listening to his boss's chicken soup at the office, living a nine-to-five life, and frequently pulling all-nighters.

Instead of this current situation, where he constantly had to deal with unfriendly zombies.

He liked the bustling Huang City.

He liked the friendly citizens.

He liked watching the old men downstairs exercising and playing chess.

It was just a real pity that those scenes he remembered had vanished.

It was all caused by the apocalypse.

He hated the apocalypse, but he wouldn't run away. He intended to stand against it, change it, and restore Huang City to what it once was.

Black blood covered the ground.

Corpses littered the floor.

The number of zombies at the scene wasn't high; counting them up, there were only about thirty. Cutting them down hadn't been difficult—it could even be called easy.

The zombies were strong, but his strength was greater.

The zombies were fast, but he was faster than them.

"I told you all very clearly: don't be impulsive, don't be impulsive. You thought you could commit violence against me just because there were more of you, and now you've been killed in self-defense." Lin Fan shook his head, feeling a sense of regret for the zombies' behavior.

It had been the same back in peaceful times; a group of people would bully others. Individually, they were weak, but once they gathered in a crowd, they would inexplicably become ferocious.

With the zombies dealt with.

The rolling shutter door was locked, and he couldn't get in for the moment.

Hearing the baby's cries, he knew the situation was urgent and that something was definitely wrong. Without a second thought, he punched a hole through the metal door and tore it open with his bare hands. With a loud clatter, he broke through the entrance with ease.

The situation was urgent, and this was the only way. If the child's parents ever found out, they would surely be reasonable enough to understand, perhaps even grateful for his righteous intervention.

He stepped into the shop; it was a women's clothing store, and the air was thick with an indescribable, stifling odor.

There was a staircase, and the sound was coming from the second floor.

Upon reaching the second floor, he was instantly hit by the stench of a rotting corpse. What met his eyes was a body hanging from the ceiling, and the baby's cries were emanating from right in front of it.

He frowned, never having expected such a situation.

Why would the woman have hanged herself?

He hurried forward and took a first look at the corpse's face. It was a woman, and the baby's wailing was coming from within her arms.

"How is there a child here?"

Lin Fan was deeply shocked, struggling to make sense of what had happened.

The woman's mouth was bound shut with duct tape, and the baby was tucked into a makeshift sling fashioned from clothing, lying at an angle against her chest. Was this her way of ensuring the baby could still feed even after she was gone?

He carefully lifted the baby from the woman's arms.

Perhaps due to prolonged malnutrition, the baby was in poor condition—frail, pale, and devoid of color. If this continued, she would surely die.

He spotted a diary in the woman's arms, seemingly left behind intentionally.

He flipped it open.

[It's so chaotic outside. People are tearing each other apart; they look just like the zombies in movies. My child and I are trapped here, unable to get out. The baby won't stop crying, and there are zombies pounding on the door outside. We are both terrified. I've called home, but no one ever answers. I tried to call for help, but no one pays me any mind.]

[It's the second day. Things are a bit quieter outside, but I can still hear the roars of zombies and the screams of people. The baby is crying from fear, and I don't know what to do. There is no food here. If no one comes to save us, we will both die.]

[The third day. I received a call from A-Jie, but it wasn't him—it was his comrade-in-arms. A-Jie sacrificed himself to protect them. They said they would come to take me and the baby, telling us to wait. I haven't eaten in three days and I'm very weak, but no matter what, I must hold on until they arrive. I can die, but the child must be safe.]

[The fourth day. They still haven't come. I'm dizzy and lightheaded, as if I'm constantly drifting in and out of a dream. Without food, my milk has almost dried up, and the baby cries constantly. The zombies outside hear her and keep pounding on the door. I tell myself I cannot be afraid; at the very least, I must wait for them.]

[The fifth day. I'm getting weaker and weaker. I know I won't make it. I've seen in movies that if a person dies, they might turn into a zombie. I don't want to hurt my child. While I still have a little strength left, I must prepare for the end. I'm terrified of harming her, so I have to endure the pain—I've smashed my own teeth and bound my mouth with tape. Even if I turn, I will not bite my child.]

[To whoever finds this, perhaps a stranger or a survivor: my child's name is Mengmeng. I hope you can let her live. I know that in this apocalypse, a child is a burden. If you decide you must kill her, I only ask that you make it painless. Please don't just leave her out there; I don't want her to be eaten by zombies. Thank you...]

[Heart]

There were no more entries; it ended there.

Lin Fan fell silent, a sense of profound respect washing over him.

A great mother, who even in the face of death, thought only of her child's survival.

"Rest easy. I will take care of the child for you. The apocalypse may be heartless, but people still have hearts. As long as I have something to eat, she will too."

Lin Fan sighed. The arrival of the apocalypse had been unkind to so many.

If only there were no apocalypse.

They would surely have been very happy.

He untied the rope from the mother's neck and laid her gently on the ground. Then, cradling the baby, he turned to leave. As he prepared to head downstairs, he glanced back at the body one last time, then left the shop without further hesitation.

The child was still crying.

She looked very uncomfortable.

He began to run at high speed, the scenery around him blurring as it receded. If he were to race against zombies at this pace, they wouldn't even have the chance to eat his dust.

The baby's cries attracted the surrounding zombies.

"I don't have time to waste on you right now. Go play somewhere else."

Lin Fan didn't even spare a glance for the zombies trailing behind him.

In the blink of an eye, he had left the horde far behind, vanishing from their sight.