Encountering Survivors

"Huh, I didn't notice it when I came here."

Lin Fan didn't think much of it. He picked up the wallet and found an ID card inside.

Li Dazhuang, male, born in 1980, address...

One red bill, three green bills, and two one-yuan coins.

When he was little, he'd learned a song. His teacher had taught it to him.

I found a dollar on the roadside...

He'd heard that it used to be a penny.

Later, the penny disappeared and became a dollar. It was an update to keep up with the times.

Of course, no matter how the song changed, it still taught the same lesson: if you found money, you should hand it over to the police.

Even in the apocalypse, he still felt it was best to give it to the police.

He was poor now and had only just found a job, but the money wasn't his. He would never take what didn't belong to him.

He pushed the garbage cart away and put it back where it had originally been on the street. Then he took the wallet and headed for the Police Station.

The street.

A zombie appeared now and then, lunging at Lin Fan. But when faced with the might of his sword, each one was split in two with a single blow, unable to fight back at all.

Money was useless in the apocalypse.

That was what most people believed.

But as far as Lin Fan was concerned, whether it was useful or not, he was going to take the money to the Police Station and hand it over to the police.

At that moment.

On the second floor of a Cake Shop, a pair of lively eyes watched Lin Fan from behind a curtain.

Seeing someone walk down the street without a care in the world.

The owner of those eyes was stunned.

The street was full of those terrifying zombies.

Was he really not afraid?

The girl with those lively eyes was named Su Xiaoxiao.

When the apocalypse began, she'd been living in a small room inside the shop. She'd lifted the curtain, wanting to get some fresh air, only to see chaos erupt outside.

People attacked one another, biting and tearing at each other as blood sprayed everywhere. It was a horrifying, bloody scene.

Her first thought had been that it was a zombie apocalypse, just like in the movies.

During this time, she'd seen many survivors. Some drove around in cars; others moved about quietly. She hadn't made a sound, only watched in silence.

They were all young, fashionable people, and they'd been exposed to plenty of things.

In movies, web dramas, and the like, women were often threatened and forced to lose their chastity, becoming playthings for groups of survivors. And when danger struck, they were sure to be pushed toward the zombies as food.

She was young and pretty, and even had a bit of a following online as a cake-making influencer.

She liked wearing Lolita dresses while filming herself making cakes.

It had attracted a group of fans.

Of course, because she'd spent time online, she'd seen plenty of vile comments. One user, who called himself Autumn Blade Slashes Fish and had a profile picture of a greasy-looking fat man, had once commented on her post.

I wish I could lift your skirt while you're making a cake and take you from behind... Hehe.

Although many fans had jumped in to curse him out,

he was as shameless as an old rascal, taking every insult in stride.

So when the apocalypse came, she knew she absolutely couldn't let other survivors find her. Otherwise, she'd be in grave danger. There might be plenty of good people in the world, but even good people could have dark thoughts. Without laws to hold them back, good people could turn bad.

Desire was often the scariest thing of all.

She watched secretly, not daring to make a sound.

At that moment.

Lin Fan was on his way to hand in the money at the Police Station when he seemed to sense someone watching him. He stopped and looked toward the Cake Shop. Su Xiaoxiao was startled and hurriedly ducked behind the curtain, not daring to make a sound.

Did he notice me?

Su Xiaoxiao was terribly nervous. After a moment, she peeked outside again, only to find no one there. She couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

But then,

she grew nervous again.

All sorts of frightening scenarios appeared in her mind. Would he hide somewhere nearby? Had he already spotted her and was planning to find the back entrance, or climb up to the second floor?

At the thought of that,

Su Xiaoxiao couldn't help feeling afraid. She spotted a glass bottle nearby and, without a second thought, quietly opened the window and hurled it as hard as she could into the distance.

Crash.

The sound of the bottle shattering was piercing.

Not long after,

a zombie growled.

Su Xiaoxiao hoped the zombie would scare him away.

Police Station.

Lin Fan walked into the Police Station.

It was quiet all around.

The lack of people didn't make the place seem desolate. It still felt sacred and solemn. He went inside, thinking of the fellow he'd brought in last time. He wasn't there, so the police must have taken him away.

After all, people who did wrong usually had to pay the price.

He put the wallet he'd found on the desk and started filling out a report, writing down what had happened and leaving his contact information. Quite a few kind people returned wallets these days, only to be accused of taking some of the money.

That might not happen often, but it definitely did happen.

He looked around.

So quiet.

He turned and walked down the corridor, reading the words on the walls. Every time he saw them, he felt a tremendous strength well up inside him. Perhaps that was the power of justice.

Just as he was about to reach the entrance,

a black vehicle that looked like an SUV pulled up. Lin Fan stared at it, dumbfounded. It looked so imposing.

The people inside leaned out of the windows to check their surroundings. Once they were sure it was safe, four men with buzz cuts got out of the car.

The moment they saw Lin Fan, they were startled too, as if they couldn't believe there was still a living person around.

They watched Lin Fan warily.

"Hello," Lin Fan greeted them. A friendly greeting could make a good first impression.

The four men who'd gotten out were well-equipped, with specially made steel plates protecting their arms and legs.

"Should we take him out?"

"Not for now. We don't want to attract the zombies nearby. Let's go inside and look for guns first."

"Right."

They'd come to the Police Station to look for guns.

Gun ownership was too strictly controlled in the country. They had no way of finding any elsewhere. During this time, they'd been constantly scavenging for supplies.

Then they'd thought of the Police Station and decided to come looking for guns.

With guns, they'd have an absolute advantage over the other survivors.

Before the apocalypse, they'd been members of a criminal gang in Huang City. They specialized in loan sharking and organizing gambling, ran massage parlors, and had even gotten involved in plenty of school-loan schemes. If the authorities hadn't cracked down so hard, they'd have had their people all over Huang City's schools.

The vehicle outside was something their boss had bought with the money he'd made.

An Armored MPV, rated BR7 for armor, with four-wheel drive, a ground clearance of 20 inches, a 6.7-liter V8 engine, and a body made entirely of special steel plating. It could crush zombies with ease, making it the perfect mobile safe house in the apocalypse.

They usually drove it around to look for supplies and women.

When they came across a woman, they would usually pretend to be good people, acting friendly and offering to help her survive. But once she reached their base, that was when the real apocalypse began.

Usually, the boss got to have her first.

Then they took turns.

They kept her imprisoned until they grew tired of her. Then they'd drive her to the street and kick her out of the car, leaving her to become zombie food.

The four men ignored Lin Fan and headed into the Police Station, working together.

The driver remained in his seat, gazing calmly at Lin Fan.

He wondered... what would happen when the others came back out?

Maybe they'd tie the man up and drag him behind the car, then let him loose for the zombies to tear apart, using him to draw their attention?

That was probably how it would go.

Lin Fan walked up to the car window and gently knocked, greeting the driver with a smile.

Seeing other survivors in the apocalypse

was a good thing.

He just wasn't sure why the other man was so cold. He also gave Lin Fan the impression that he was a bad person.

Was that just his imagination?

Hmm...

He didn't leave right away.

Instead, he decided to see what the group that had just gone inside was doing at the Police Station.