Riding a shared bike, coasting along the road.
Passing by a storefront.
There were people on the second floor.
"Holy shit, guys, look, someone's riding a shared bike down the street without a care in the world," Zhou Hao whispered in a voice filled with shock.
He was a survivor, lucky enough to have not been infected and even luckier to have never encountered a zombie siege. He had hidden away in a safe place early on.
Together with him, there were four people in total.
The owner of the shop, his friend, owned a small supermarket. They had planned to play mahjong that day, had closed the shop to avoid police inspection and had played till the world went dark.
Who would have thought that by the next day, everything would have changed, and there was no turning back.
Since that time, they had survived by relying on the resources on the ground floor.
Life was still quite comfortable.
"You seriously have some kind of problem," a burly man said, clearly displeased, his demeanor a bit tense.
"Really, look for yourselves. He's right there," Zhou Hao was so close to being at a loss for words.
From their hiding spot, they saw many people driving away in panic. The noise alerted the zombies who intercepted and chased them down; there were crashes and, on rare occasions, some managed to escape.
But never had he seen someone brazenly riding a shared bike in the middle of the street.
As expected, the other two people hurried over and crowded at the window, looking out.
"Damn!"
"Motherfucker!"
"So badass!"
They were stunned.
"Do you think it's safe downstairs, that the zombies have disappeared? Otherwise, how could he be fine?" Zhou Hao was a bit excited. If the zombies were gone, or if there was a way to deal with them, they could leave this place, right?
"Forget it, I'm never leaving. We've got food and drink here, what's the point of going out? Who knows what it's like out there? Maybe that guy was just lucky the zombies didn't notice him. If you want to go, leave by yourself. I'm staying," someone waved their hand, refusing to leave.
They were prepared to stick it out here.
"You're right, it's very safe here. There's no need to go anywhere."
"Hey, where's Ma Dong?"
"Probably in the toilet."
In the toilet.
Ma Dong was sitting on the toilet, humming a song, the picture of leisure.
"So stinky."
The shit he took, he could hardly stand the smell himself; it was really damn stinky.
He reached out his hand, opened the window behind him to air the place out and let in some fresh air.
Moments later, he wiped his ass.
Just as he was about to leave, he noticed a thick gold necklace hanging outside the window.
"With such a thick gold chain, you'd shine bright like a diamond if you wore it," he thought greedily.
He hadn't quite adjusted from the normal world to this post-apocalyptic hell. His desire for gold was intense.
He saw that a body was hanging on the external unit of the air conditioner, its neck drooping down, and that gold necklace was gleaming, shining so brightly it was blinding.
Ma Dong's face flushed with excitement.
Bang bang!
"Little Dong, my stomach hurts, I need to shit, hurry up and come out," just as Ma Dong was gearing up to make the gold necklace his own, there came a knocking at the door.
Startled, he hurriedly closed the window.
Click!
He opened the toilet door.
"What the hell were you doing?" the burly man asked suspiciously.
He was dawdling around, like he was up to something.
"No... nothing," said Ma Dong, trying to tamper his rapidly beating heart with a blatantly fake smile to cover his inner thoughts.
"Acting all weird," Zhang Quan glanced at Ma Dong but didn't think much of it and entered the toilet.
As Zhang Quan took his time inside, Ma Dong became more and more nervous that the necklace might be discovered.
"Zhang bro, are you finished yet?" Ma Dong asked softly from outside.
"Almost, hold on, what's the rush, piss off," Zhang Quan's voice was heavy, as if he was exerting effort, but the smell in the toilet was just too goddamn awful. Unable to bear it, he opened the window.
Instantly, he saw the gold necklace hanging outside.
Sarcastically called a dog chain.
Fuck, Ma Dong was real sneaky, obviously spotted this imposing piece, didn't think of sharing, and wanted to keep it all to himself.
That explains why he was squatting in the toilet for so damn long.
It was for this reason, huh.
Zhang Quan reached out and grabbed the chain.
The body outside was dead, not a zombie, and held no terror for him.
"Hehe, got it," Zhang Quan held the gold necklace, weighing it in his hand for a moment. Damn, it was quite heavy, at least a hundred grams.
If sold at a gold shop, it would be worth at least thirty to forty thousand.
Though it couldn't be sold at the moment, wearing it gave off a badass vibe, a symbol of status.
As for Ma Dong outside, he didn't give him a second thought. Even if you found it first, what can you do about it? I'm wearing it, and nobody's going to take it from me.
Creak!
Zhang Quan came out of the toilet, "Done, what's the rush?"
"Zhang bro, I'm dying here, are you done already?" Ma Dong couldn't wait and rushed into the toilet.
Zhang Quan laughed, swaggering downstairs to grab some sorghum liquor and peanuts, ready to celebrate properly.
"Where's the necklace, my gold necklace?" Ma Dong opened the window, but the necklace which had hung on the body had vanished into thin air.
His expression gradually darkened.
"Zhang Quan, it must've been him who took it."
The more Ma Dong thought about it, the more likely it seemed. He left the toilet to find Zhang Quan and saw him there, drinking liquor, munching on peanuts, and most importantly, the necklace on his neck flashing gold, painfully bright.
"Zhang bro, having a drink, huh? Is there something to be happy about?"
He didn't confront him directly but tried another angle, though his eyes were firmly fixed on the sparkling gold necklace.
It should've been his.
But it had been snatched away by Zhang Quan.
He felt discontent and furious inside.
"Happy, of course I'm happy. Look at this gold necklace, doesn't it suit me? Makes me look pretty badass," Zhang Quan didn't try to hide it at all; it was an outright display, as if to tell Ma Dong to look how well the gold necklace matched him, and to go drop dead.
"Uh... Zhang bro, I found the gold necklace first," Ma Dong said in a low voice.
Zhang Quan frowned and said, "What, just because you found it first, it's yours? It's whoever didn't take it, whoever takes it, it's theirs, understand?"
"How can you say that, I found it first?" Ma Dong was angry, not just about the gold necklace, but Zhang Quan's attitude irritated him. He had always been bullied and targeted.
Smack!
Zhang Quan smashed a wine bottle to the ground, his face contorted with anger, "What? Are you not satisfied, huh? If you have a problem, come at me, see if I don't beat you up. If you want to die, just say it, I'll throw you out to play with the zombies right now."
In this apocalypse, whom did he have to fear?
Even if he killed Ma Dong, no one could hold him accountable.
Ma Dong was somewhat cowardly, shrinking his head. He was no match for Zhang Quan physically, and especially with Zhang Quan's fierce temper, he felt even more frightened.
"What's going on?" Zhou Hao came over after hearing the noise, saw the two arguing, and sensed the trend towards a fight, he asked with confusion.
Ma Dong explained the situation, seeking approval.
Zhou Hao burst into laughter upon hearing this, "What are you guys thinking? Gold is worthless now, nobody would even want it if you gave it away. When we get the chance, I'll take you to a gold shop, and you can grab a dozen or so chains easily. Don't ruin the relationship over this."
Ma Dong was not satisfied and stood there with his head lowered, silent.
"Ma Dong, let me tell you, don't think too highly of yourself. With the way things are now, if you piss me off, I won't be nice to you. Don't say I didn't warn you," Zhang Quan said viciously.
Zhou Hao tried to mediate the situation.
"Alright, alright, Brother Zhang, let's say no more. It's just us here, we can't be fighting over a little thing like this."
He hadn't expected them to fall out over a gold necklace.
Even if a room were filled with money, it wouldn't tempt him.
Where to use it?
What can you buy?
Who would take the money?
"Hmph," Zhang Quan pushed past Ma Dong and headed to the second floor. "Next time, be a bit smarter and know who's the boss around here."
Zhou Hao shook his head, went over to Ma Dong who was still hanging his head, and patted him on the shoulder.
"Forget it, don't take it to heart."
He was trying to console him.
But Ma Dong wouldn't have it, leaving with his head down and a cold face.
Zhou Hao gave a wry smile, wondering why bother.
...
A small yellow bike moved with flair along the road.
The traffic light ahead was red.
Lin Fan pulled over, waiting for the light on the opposite side of the road to confirm green before crossing.
Even if there were no cars on the road in the early morning, he would quietly wait for the green light.
It was a traffic rule, and he was supposed to follow them, not to willfully break them, and to be a law-abiding good citizen.
As for the current apocalypse, it still had no effect on him; things were as always.
"We're here."
He parked the bike and walked into the office building, which was a mess, with traces of blood on the ground but no sign of anyone.
He approached the elevator.
The elevator was moving, slowly coming down from the ninth floor.
Ding!
The elevator doors opened.
He was ready to face a hostile attacker.
But when the elevator opened to reveal no one inside, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. The inside of the elevator was splattered with blood and bits of human flesh.
He stepped into the elevator.
Calmly, he pressed the button for the thirteenth floor.
The elevator doors slowly closed.
In the gap as he went up, he adjusted his hair and clothes against the stainless steel of the elevator. It was a habit of his.
Ding!
The elevator doors opened.
Lin Fan stood inside for a slow two seconds, took a deep breath, and stepped out of the elevator.
Quiet!
Desolate!
The floor was eerily silent.
It used to be very lively.
Reminiscing about the past.
He missed it dearly in his heart.
'Zhongming Decoration Design Company'
This was the name of the company.
In fact, he was a salesman who ran errands, but under the boss's encouragement, the salesman also learned how to draw designs.
During the day, he would complete his runs, and at night work overtime to draw.
Using the boss's so-called motivational talk.
Young people should work hard, skill will never weigh you down, only then can you afford to buy your own house in Huangshi.
He wanted to say, I already have a house.
He pushed open the glass door.
The wind chimes on the door tinkled crisply.
"This is what I bought on Taobao, the boss didn't even reimburse me," he said.
Lin Fan stood there, brimming with memories.
It was his idea to suggest to the boss to hang wind chimes at the entrance.
The crisp sound as customers came in could cleanse the soul.
For the staff returning to the company, it was as if the company was welcoming them back.
But... that money would never be recovered.
He had mentioned it to the boss, who replied... This is your home, it's nothing wrong to buy some decorations for your home, talking about money spoils it.
Grr!
The low growl of a zombie.
The sound of the wind chimes had attracted the attention of the zombies.
PS: Let's continue to exploit 'Lin Fan' for his wool, I've gotten used to writing it, changing the name would always lead to typos, you guys are pushing well.
PS: Seeing that you've conquered me, cast some monthly votes and rewards, please.