Night.
After bringing the baby home from Sister Li's, Lin Fan felt none of the helplessness that often came with being a first-time caregiver.
That was because he was calm enough.
When soothing a baby, you needed patience. Don't rush. The baby could feel your tenderness.
He took the bottle to the temperature-controlled kettle, poured in water, and checked the measurement markings.
150 milliliters.
He added five scoops of formula and swirled the bottle to mix it evenly with the water. Then he let a drop fall on his wrist to test the temperature. The kettle said it was at forty-five degrees, but machines were machines. Only by checking it himself could he be absolutely sure it was safe.
He held the baby in one arm and the bottle in the other.
With a smile, he watched Mengmeng gulp down her milk, feeling quite pleased.
He stood by the window, looking out at the night.
It was pitch-black and lifeless. Darkness had engulfed Huang City, which had once been filled with the light of hope. But no matter how dark it grew, a faint light still shone in the gloom, struggling to radiate its brilliance and drive the darkness away.
It was late, and all was quiet.
Lin Fan soothed Mengmeng to sleep, then gently laid her on the bed. He lay down beside her and closed his eyes, picturing Huang City in its former glory and bustle.
Who knew how long had passed.
A baby's cries rang out.
Lin Fan woke up. It was already two in the morning. He hurried to make some formula. Babies usually woke up around this time for a little midnight snack, so he prepared 120 milliliters.
After feeding her, he held the baby and rocked her gently, soothing her back to sleep. It took a little while. If he put her down before she was fully asleep, she would start crying again.
Time passed slowly. Holding a baby for a long time could leave your back and waist aching, but he felt no such discomfort. It was probably thanks to his stamina.
He checked the time.
It was already 2:40 a.m.
He carefully laid the baby on the bed, moving as gently as he could so he wouldn't wake Mengmeng. If he did, all his effort would have been for nothing.
Roar!
A zombie howled outside. Maybe some little mouse had scurried around and caught their attention. A few zombies were staggering along the streets of the residential complex.
Every now and then, they let out a low growl.
Those sounds were especially grating in the stillness of the night.
Looking at Mengmeng, fast asleep but occasionally furrowing her brow, he knew that if the zombies kept howling in the street, they would surely wake her.
"Be good, baby. Sleep tight."
Lin Fan looked at Mengmeng and picked up Frostmourne. He was going downstairs to have a little talk with the zombies in the street.
He closed the door quietly.
He made sure not to make a sound.
He wouldn't be long.
At the complex's iron gate, he lightly leaped over it. Looking down the street, he spotted two zombies staggering not far away. Their stiff movements made them look rather foolish. Every so often, they turned their heads and let out low growls into the silent night.
Lin Fan walked toward them.
"Hey, how are you two? It's past two in the morning, almost three, and there's a child sleeping upstairs. Could you keep it down a little and stop yelling out here?"
"Of course, you're free to yell if you want. I can't exactly demand that you follow the rules, so I thought I'd ask nicely."
Lin Fan tried to be friendly, hoping the two terrifying-looking zombies would understand.
He really hoped the two zombies in front of him had some manners and would be easy to reason with. But he knew the odds were slim.
Sure enough...
Roar!
The two zombies had spotted fresh meat, so there was no chance they would respond in a friendly manner. Their vacant expressions vanished, their stiff bodies grew nimble, and they lunged at Lin Fan.
Splurt!
He swung his sword, his movements swift and fluid, with a touch of flair.
In the darkness, the blade flashed.
Cracks appeared in the two zombies' necks, and their heads rolled to the ground.
"Honestly..."
Lin Fan shook his head, tossed their heads into a trash can, then carried their bodies over and put them in as well.
It was too dark to take the trash to the dump now, and Mengmeng was home alone with no one watching over her. He would have to take the things in the trash can to the disposal site tomorrow.
He looked down both dark streets, checking for any more zombies.
He waited a few minutes.
None appeared.
He turned and went home, then lay down beside Mengmeng.
Babies this young rarely slept soundly. They would wake up from time to time. At five, Mengmeng stirred awake again. Hearing her cry, he got up and held her, comforting her little heart.
Morning came.
The sun rose.
Lin Fan made Mengmeng a bottle of milk and fed her. Then he boiled two eggs for himself and drank a bottle of milk.
Afterward, he took Mengmeng over to Sister Li's.
He put on his security uniform and went to the gatehouse to clock in. Then, as usual, he made a round of the complex, checking for anything out of place and making sure no strangers had gotten in.
If you did this job, you had to love it.
A security guard's duty was sacred: to keep people safe. And his people were the residents of this complex.
"The baby kept you busy last night, huh?" the two old men came over and asked. They had wondered last night whether Lin Fan could take good care of the baby. They might be old, but they could certainly lend a hand.
"It was fine. After each feeding, I just held her and rocked her a little, and she settled down," Lin Fan said with a smile.
Old Man Wang gave him a thumbs-up. "In this apocalypse, Mengmeng is lucky to have you take her in."
"Not at all. Anyone who saw her would lend a hand. How could I just leave her helpless?" Lin Fan thought of all the stories he had read about children. Sometimes, parents would run off, leaving a nanny to care for their child. How could she abandon a baby in swaddling clothes? She could only raise the child for years, without getting a penny in wages and even spending a lot of her own money.
Greatness and kindness had nothing to do with status or wealth. Every person was born with a good heart.
Look at that.
Hearing Lin Fan's words, the two old men felt reassured.
With that kind of awareness, he would have made a fine political commissar back in the day.
"The surveillance system's working all right. Old Zhou and I got it set up, so we can see every corner of the complex, even the street outside." Old Man Wang pointed at the screen.
The screen was divided into many sections, each showing a different part of the complex.
"You two are amazing. This will save us a lot of trouble," Lin Fan said.
"Ah, we have nothing else to do. We might as well see what needs improving around the complex."
Old Man Wang and Old Man Zhou were clearly the kind of people who couldn't sit still.
Whenever they had time,
they would find something to do.
Just then,
Lin Fan remembered the zombies he had killed outside last night. He had left them in the trash can because it had been too dark to take them to the dump. Now that it was daytime, he had a chance.
"Old men, I need to take care of something outside. I'll be right back."
He told the two old men, then vaulted over the iron gate. They stared after him, utterly baffled. Even now, they couldn't help wondering... Had their country secretly trained a whole squad of super-soldiers?
That gate was pretty high. You couldn't get over it without something to help you run up to it.
Street.
Lin Fan pushed the trash can toward the disposal site.
The wheels made a little noise in the otherwise quiet street.
For some reason, there weren't as many zombies in his neighborhood as he'd expected. Then he remembered the fireworks someone had set off earlier. Maybe that had drawn all the zombies over there.
So the zombies had been gathering in that area instead.
That was a good thing.
He didn't like unfriendly zombies. They were always lunging at people like mad dogs.
After dropping off the trash,
he stopped on his way back.
Not because he had seen a zombie.
But because of something on the ground...
There was a wallet.
He fell into thought.
Who had dropped it?
Before you continue