Boss, I'm Buying Something

Outside the residential complex was a road, with shops on both sides. Six hundred meters to the left was the Vegetable Market, where they had everything. That was where he usually bought groceries.

"So quiet."

The Vegetable Market used to be especially lively, filled with elderly men and women selling vegetables, along with residents carrying baskets to buy groceries.

He entered the Vegetable Market.

The market's distinctive smell washed over him.

It brought a different sort of feeling to his peaceful heart.

It was as if everything had returned.

"What a waste."

The vegetable stalls on both sides had been knocked over, and vegetables were scattered all over the ground. There were footprints everywhere, and the vegetables had all been crushed. It must have been chaotic yesterday; otherwise, how could anyone waste food like this, especially food grown by farmers?

He arrived at the familiar meat stall. This was where he had always bought meat.

The owner was a decent man—fat, slightly greasy-looking, but generous and easygoing. He never shortchanged customers and would even throw in a little extra.

Everyone called him Pork Butcher Rong.

"Boss, are you here?"

Standing before the meat stall, he saw that the meat in front of him was still fairly fresh. He had wanted the owner to pick out a fresh piece of pork for him, but there was no response. Since he lived alone, he knew plenty of little tricks for buying groceries, so he could choose it himself.

He spotted a fresh piece of pork lying quietly there. Its color looked good, and he picked it at first glance.

He knew the price. Since the boss was not around, he could only choose it himself.

Suddenly.

A roar came from beneath the stall. A zombie crawled up. Despite its hideous face and the black blood dripping from the corners of its mouth, he recognized at once that it was Pork Butcher Rong, the stall owner.

The zombie twisted its head and roared, trying to bite Lin Fan. It wanted to climb over the stall and pounce on him, but its bloated body could not support such a difficult maneuver. It could only wave its claws around wildly.

"The boss really does love selling meat. Even after turning into a zombie, he still wants to guard his stall. He's even waving his hands to welcome customers."

"Sadly, I'm the only one left now."

Lin Fan picked up a piece of meat and placed it on the electronic scale.

"Boss, this is hind leg meat. It's three jin in total. I know the price, nine yuan per jin. Three times nine is twenty-one... no, twenty-seven. Sorry, I'm not very good at math."

He scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed, then took out his phone and scanned the code to pay.

Ding!

Payment successful.

Even in the apocalypse, he had to insist on paying. The boss had turned into a zombie and was still so dedicated to standing at his stall selling meat. What reason did he have to take it for free?

"Goodbye."

He waved, then left carrying the bag.

He came to the vegetable stalls and selected some fresh vegetables.

He quickly finished choosing.

Two tomatoes.

He scanned the code and checked out.

He wanted to buy more food as well, but he was alone and did not have much of an appetite. Buying too much would only be wasteful.

More importantly... he was a little poor.

Of course, he had never felt upset about being poor. Instead, he lived quite happily, because he had his own home in Huang City. Although it was in an old residential complex, he was already very satisfied.

Leaving the Vegetable Market, he was in a wonderful mood.

"Lunch is taken care of."

When you did it yourself, you had everything you needed. Setting everything else aside, his cooking skills were absolutely no joke. What he made was delicious.

Carrying the ingredients, he slowly headed home.

The storefronts on both sides were silent, while cars damaged in collisions lined the road.

A gust of wind blew through, lifting a trace of dust and scattering it between heaven and earth.

The stillness was unsettling.

He did not know how long this kind of life would last.

Nor did he know when everyone would return.

When would the bustling streets become bustling again?

But he believed that as long as he lived each day well,

the Huang City of the past would return.

He arrived at the entrance of the residential complex.

Beside it was a small convenience store.

The glass at the shop entrance had been shattered, as if something had crashed inside.

"Xiao Qing, I'm here to buy a barrel of water." Lin Fan was a regular customer here, and he called out as he entered.

The shop owner, Wang Huoqing, was a young man who ran the store together with his girlfriend, Xiao Fang.

"Hm?"

There was someone inside the shop. A zombie swayed in front of the shelves. When it heard Lin Fan's voice, it instantly became alert, roaring hideously as it lunged at him.

Lin Fan raised his kitchen knife and split its head open with one chop. Then he kicked it to the ground and pulled out the bloodstained knife.

Xiao Qing and his girlfriend, who had also turned into zombies, rushed over from the side. They opened their sticky, blood-filled mouths, but Lin Fan took them down with two slashes. In that brief moment, fierce events unfolded.

From beginning to end, Lin Fan's expression never changed. He remained completely calm.

After dealing with the three zombies, he gained three points.

"Ah, what kind of world is this? Even if you turn into a zombie, you should still have some manners." Lin Fan came to the counter and scanned the code to pay.

After thinking about it, he bought some instant noodles and sausages as well.

"Xiao Qing, I've paid. I'm leaving."

Lin Fan glanced at Xiao Qing, who had been hacked to death, then turned and left.

Outside the little store.

He looked into the distance. Zombies wandered there, moving slowly and staggering about. That was all a false appearance. If prey showed up, they were as fast as dogs.

There had not been any just now, so why had they suddenly appeared?

He soon learned the reason. A bus was speeding toward this place.

The sound of its engine attracted a group of zombies, but they were all crushed beneath the bus's wheels and turned into chunks of flesh.

"Hey, idiot, want to get on? But we're not taking you. Just wait for the zombies to rip out your guts and kill you." At the rear window of the bus, a yellow-haired man looked across the road at Lin Fan with malicious delight, laughing wildly.

"Idiot, shut up! Are you trying to draw all the zombies over here?" A bespectacled man beside the yellow-haired man scolded him.

They had all boarded at the bus terminal. Huang City had suddenly become a living hell. After hiding on the bus for a night, they could not keep waiting. They could only drive away from the city and seek a chance at survival elsewhere.

"You four-eyed bastard, how dare you insult me? Go die!" The yellow-haired man flew into a rage, pulled out a dagger, and slit the bespectacled man's throat.

"The world has changed now. Is there anyone left who can control me?"

A murder had taken place on the bus. The yellow-haired man had hurt people before and served time in prison. He loafed around all day and did everything from robbery onward. Now that the world was in chaos, he became even more reckless and violent.

There were many parked cars on the road. The bus charged through them recklessly, producing endless bangs. Car alarms blared one after another.

The noise immediately alerted the zombies hidden inside the buildings.

Bang!

Bang!

Zombies smashed through windows from the upper floors and jumped down one after another. Some broke their legs in the fall, yet still roared and crawled toward the bus.

At the intersection, zombies poured in from all directions, surrounding and chasing the bus.

"We're finished." The driver looked at the scene ahead, his face deathly pale. These crazed things terrified him and filled him with despair. He floored the accelerator and rammed forward wildly. Only while the bus was moving could he feel any hope of survival.

The murder behind him and the screams had nothing to do with him. He only wanted to live, to escape this hellish city alive.

The bus collided with the zombie horde. Crashing sounds rang out endlessly as the tires rolled over zombies, spraying black blood across the ground.

"What a vicious bus." Lin Fan stood quietly watching, carrying his groceries and a barrel of water on his shoulder.

The nearby zombies had been drawn away by the noise over there.

Who would notice a little sprout like him over here?

Carrying his things, he prepared to go home.

"Help! Help..."

In the distance, the bus was blocked by the zombie horde. Flesh and corpses piled beneath its tires, forming a wall of meat. Even with the bus's impact force, it was difficult for it to keep moving.

The zombies surrounded the vehicle, climbing over it with hideous faces. Layer after layer crowded together. At this rate, the bus would soon be completely covered by zombies.

The yellow-haired man crawled onto the roof through the ventilation hatch. He frantically waved the dagger in his hand. Surrounded by zombies, he was terrified. He did not want to die; the wonderful world outside was still waiting for him.

Inside the bus, men and women alike screamed in panic.

But to the zombies, such sounds were the most wonderful music. The louder they screamed, the more impulsive and excited the zombies became.

"Sure enough, those who gloat over others' misfortune rarely come to a good end. Just like mocking and insulting others, disaster will eventually fall upon you."

Carrying his things, Lin Fan turned and left.

He had already seen the outcome. The zombies completely covered the bus, and countless zombies poured inside amid screams and the sounds of chewing.

There was also the yellow-haired man's unwilling roar.

"My fate is mine, not heaven's."

"Get the hell away from me..."