Sunshine Residential Complex.
"Xiaofan, where did this child come from?"
He had just returned to the complex when he saw the two old men tinkering with something new again. Old Man Wang was watching from the side while Old Man Zhou had transformed into a master craftsman, working on a new contraption.
"Gentlemen, I was out running when I heard a baby crying, so I went to check it out, and then..." Lin Fan had no trouble telling a story. He made a fairly straightforward situation sound a little complicated, describing the scene in detail—even the smell in the air.
He clearly wanted the two old men to picture it in their minds.
A deserted clothing store. Grotesque zombies outside. A decomposing corpse hanging from the second floor, with a baby in its arms.
He put particular emphasis on a few details of the surroundings.
After hearing him out,
Old Man Wang Zhongguo sighed. "Ah, a mother's love in the apocalypse... The baby's lost its parents at such a young age. It's just..."
Even though he'd been through a lot,
and had encountered similar things before, hearing about this still made his heart feel heavy.
"Old Man, is Grandma Xu at home or in the vegetable garden? This child seems to be in danger. I'd like Grandma Xu to check on the baby." Lin Fan knew Grandma Xu had been a military doctor. She'd saved lives on the battlefield, so there was no question about her medical skills.
"She's in the vegetable garden."
"I'll go right now."
Holding the baby, Lin Fan hurried toward the vegetable garden.
The two old men followed close behind. They had no chance of catching up with Lin Fan. To them, his legs were like they had little electric motors attached; he ran incredibly fast.
Field District.
Li Mei, Grandma Xu, and Grandma Liang were tending the vegetable garden. The three chatted and laughed together, a rare sight in the apocalypse. They owed their peaceful lives in large part to living in Sunshine Residential Complex.
And they owed Lin Fan a great deal, too.
"Grandma Xu, take a look at this baby."
Lin Fan carried the child over to Xu Guifen.
When Xu Guifen saw the baby, surprise crossed her face. She clearly hadn't expected Lin Fan to come back holding one.
Still, she immediately set down what she was doing.
Then she examined the child carefully.
She wasn't a pediatrician, but she had experience in many areas of medicine.
Grandma Xu's expression turned grave. "The baby's probably five or six months old. Severely malnourished, and running a low temperature. The baby's bottom is infected, too. Hurry, go get some warm water ready. We need to clean it up right away."
"Xiaofan, go get some erythromycin ointment and clean gauze. Buy some Stage 1 formula, too. That's all for now. We'll have to see how the baby's doing before deciding what else is needed."
"Okay." Lin Fan committed everything Grandma Xu had said to memory.
Then he turned and hurried off.
The two old men hadn't even reached the garden when they saw Lin Fan running toward them. They were about to say something when he called out,
"I'm going to buy some things..."
The two old men watched him, dumbfounded. He was in such a hurry, as if something serious had happened.
Before they could react, Xu Guifen and Li Mei came hurrying over with the baby. Without even saying a word, they rushed toward the stairs.
"What are you standing around for? Something's obviously wrong with the baby. We need to follow them." Old Man Wang came to his senses, patted Old Zhou on the shoulder, and hurried to catch up.
Outside.
Kanghai Pharmacy.
The pharmacy was a complete mess. Before, Lin Fan would've probably sighed and thought, What a mess. Should I offer to clean the place up for you? But this time, he walked straight in and searched for the things Grandma Xu had asked for.
"Erythromycin ointment, erythromycin ointment..."
Lin Fan walked along the shelves, looking carefully. No one was there to tell him where anything was, so he had to find it himself.
Growl!
A zombie in a white coat staggered out of a dark corner. The zombies that heard a sound could follow it to its source, but unless they saw fresh flesh, they seemed dull and listless, as if they didn't want to move much in case they wasted their energy.
At first glance,
the zombie in the white coat took a liking to Lin Fan. It was a woman who had probably worked as a pharmacy clerk before the apocalypse. The employees weren't doctors; they just wore white coats to reassure the people who came in to buy medicine.
At a glance, the pharmacy seemed professional, and its medicine seemed trustworthy.
And when you bought something, they'd often make a suggestion or two. Not everyone did, but many would recommend a similar product that cost a little more. It would certainly work; it was just a bit more expensive.
Lin Fan ignored her and focused on looking for medicine. He'd already found clean gauze, but he still hadn't found the erythromycin ointment. It was a little tricky to locate what he needed among all these shelves.
"Ugh..."
The zombie in the white coat staggered along at a slow pace. It was clearly injured in the leg.
"Don't bother me. I'm looking for something." Lin Fan lowered his head and studied the medicines on the shelves. He thought he'd found the right section. Maybe the erythromycin ointment was here.
He knew that most medicines were arranged by category, not just put wherever. Otherwise, they'd be a pain to find.
Growl!
The zombie in the white coat reached Lin Fan and opened its mouth, black blood filling it. A foul stench hit him.
Squelch!
Frostmourne pierced the zombie's head.
Without even looking at it, Lin Fan pulled out his sword, stepped over the body, and continued searching.
"Found it."
He picked up the medicine, smiled, and went to the counter.
"How much?"
There was no one at the counter, so he picked up the scanner and rang up the medicine himself. It wasn't expensive. He paid and left.
Now he had to go to the Mother and Baby Store to buy formula for the child. Stage 1 formula was suitable for babies aged zero to six months.
He quickened his pace, searching along the road.
He didn't see a Mother and Baby Store.
Thinking carefully, he suddenly remembered there was one not far away.
With that in mind, he hurried over.
At the intersection, the traffic light was red.
It was the apocalypse, but it wasn't strange for the traffic lights to still be working. Their complex still had electricity. Some of the traffic lights had been secretly connected to residents' homes.
The residents paid the electricity bills. If they weren't careful, they might not realize their bills were so high because someone was stealing their power.
At that moment,
Lin Fan wasn't the only one waiting for the light to turn green.
He hadn't expected to see an old woman in a wheelchair waiting for the light, too. She'd already turned into a zombie, and a restraint belt held her in place.
When she saw Lin Fan standing beside her, the old woman snarled viciously and tried to lunge at him, but she couldn't get anywhere.
Hearing the noise, Lin Fan looked over at her.
"Hello."
He thought the old woman was pretty nice. Even though she'd turned into a zombie, she still greeted him in a friendly way instead of lunging at him the moment she saw him.
"Growl! Growl!"
The old woman snarled and struggled, desperate to throw herself at Lin Fan and bite him. But the restraint belt, along with the fact that she'd been paralyzed even before turning, left her powerless to do so.
Lin Fan stole a glance at the old woman. She was so enthusiastic that he was starting to feel a little embarrassed.
He gave her a polite smile.
"Hello, Grandma."
Ding!
The light turned green.
Lin Fan was about to cross the road when he saw the old woman staying put. He turned around, went back to her, and pushed her wheelchair across.
It was the right thing to do.
Helping an old woman across the street was basic courtesy, a simple act of kindness.
Every old person had contributed to this city when they were young. It was one thing if their legs still worked well in old age. But those who couldn't get around easily and had no children by their side had a truly hard time.
The road wasn't long.
He soon pushed the old woman to the other side.
Doing a good deed could lift your spirits and make you happy all day. He hadn't really believed it before, but after doing a good deed himself, he realized it was true.
Even the simplest act of kindness could lift your mood.
And if you did something truly important, you'd not only feel happy yourself, but society would praise you, too. Fame, fortune, and money would come pouring in. That was the reward for doing good.
The light of righteousness would always shine on the road.
"Goodbye, Grandma."
He waved.
The old woman twisted her head around grotesquely. He knew she was replying to him.
Perhaps she was saying,
Good boy. Thank you.
Xinfeng Mother and Baby Store.
The shop window was shattered, and the inside was dark. Things were scattered all over the floor, and dried clots of blood were still visible.
He spotted the formula he needed on a shelf.
Feihe, Xingfeifan, Stage 1 formula, suitable for babies aged zero to six months.
"The price isn't too bad. One hundred and ninety-nine yuan."
He picked up a can and bought a baby bottle, then remembered that the water used to make formula needed to be kept at forty-five degrees. That meant he'd need to buy a temperature-controlled kettle, too.
A Little Strong Bear temperature-controlled kettle cost 108 yuan.
That price was fine, too.
He carried the items to the counter to pay.
The prices were all listed: formula, 199 yuan; temperature-controlled kettle, 108 yuan; baby bottle, 191 yuan.
The total came to 498 yuan.
Lin Fan was poor and didn't have much money. After paying for all this, he was truly broke. But he didn't feel bad about it at all.
Money was something you couldn't bring with you when you were born, and couldn't take with you when you died. It was worth spending on something meaningful.
If he ran out, he could just earn more.
He, Lin Fan, had all his limbs and wasn't lazy. He could work hard. There was no way he'd starve to death.
After buying everything,
he hurried out of the store. The baby at home was surely getting anxious waiting.
He also wanted to tell the mother who had already died:
Don't worry.
I'll take good care of your child.
Even though I don't know how to look after a baby,
where I live, there's Sister Li and four elderly people. They've all been through it before and have plenty of experience.
Before you continue