Sunshine District, Apartment 704.
Four elderly people, mother and daughter Li Mei, Lin Fan.
Seven people gathered around the dining table, enjoying a dinner carefully prepared by Li Mei, which exuded a delicious aroma that could whet anyone's appetite.
In the middle of the dining table was a pot of softshell turtle soup, surrounded by various home-cooked dishes, mainly featuring melons.
Having such a dinner in the apocalypse was already a luxury, as other survivors were probably still engulfed in crises.
"Feifei, from now on grandma will tutor you in your studies—language arts, mathematics, history, physics, chemistry, and more," Grandma Liang Yan was very proficient in these.
Grandma Liang Yan had never expected she would teach children again, which filled her with indescribable joy. Having taught for a lifetime, even in retirement, she sometimes couldn't help but teach other children in the district.
She had thought the apocalypse would prevent her from teaching children, but now that she had a chance to impart knowledge, how could she not be happy?
"Understood, Grandma Liang," Feifei nodded her small head, inwardly bitter—she had ultimately failed to escape the fate of studying,
this uncle was really scary.
Just like those firefighter uncles who, while fighting fires, helped children rescue their homework.
Thanks to Lin Fan's introductions.
Li Mei and her daughter were now familiar with the four elderly people.
Upon knowing the identities of the four elderly, Li Mei felt nothing but respect.
Days of anxiety dissipated at this moment, and she became full of hope for the future.
"Lin Fan, what are your plans for the future?" old Mr. Wang Zhongguo knew Lin Fan was a good young man, but with the apocalypse now upon them, things were different, and without proper planning, it might not last long.
During this time, he had observed the ferocious creatures that the young people referred to as zombies.
Transformed from humans, they spread infection through biting, and those bitten would turn into zombies.
You needed to target the head to kill them.
This increased the survival ability of zombies, making them stronger than normal people, and what worsened the situation was that firearms were prohibited in the country, so fighting zombies had to be hand-to-hand.
But the movement speed and strength of these zombies were no different from normal people, especially in their frenzied state where they were even stronger.
Once noticed by zombies, escaping would be very difficult.
Lin Fan said, "I plan to start by planting some vegetables in the district. I've already bought seeds and fertilizer. If I can grow vegetables myself, we can be self-sufficient. Nowadays, many vegetables outside are rotting and those sold in supermarkets are a bit expensive, so it's better to save where we can."
With those words,
the six people at the dining table stared at Lin Fan in shock.
Even Feifei, though young, who often watched videos, found this uncle's thoughts oddly amusing, carrying a sense of humor she couldn't quite describe.
Zhou Aijun, the old gentleman, tapped Wang Zhongguo gently to get his attention, the message clear: "Old bro, you see what's up with this kid?"
But who could have guessed...
Wang Zhongguo nodded and said, "Hmm, quite sensible, indeed. Survival is the most crucial thing now. Lin Fan, keep your bank card. You need to pay when you buy things. If there's time and it's safe, try to go to the supermarket and bring back some frozen food."
Old Mr. Wang could understand Lin Fan's thinking.
It might seem odd, but upon deeper thought, it made some sense, and he merely took Lin Fan's ideas as personal caution.
In the apocalypse, many people lost themselves completely, indulging in madness, throwing away morality and lawlessness, doing unspeakable acts, regardless of who it was. Staying in such an environment for a long time affects everyone.
It's not that you don't want to, but in such situations, the apocalypse forces you to become mad.
"Old Zhou, what are you dawdling for, give your bank card to Lin Fan," Wang Zhongguo said.
Zhou Aijun, who worked in military research, was smart but, being accustomed to the company of books, definitely didn't have Wang Zhongguo's tact; fortunately, he would follow through.
Without a second thought, he handed his bank card to Lin Fan.
Lin Fan, looking at the bank card before him, felt moved to tears. The trust these elderly people had in him gave him a sense of satisfaction. Facing his own situation, he had no choice but to accept the reality and securely keep the bank card.
He solemnly promised not to misuse even a penny from it.
Li Mei also handed her bank card to Lin Fan.
Lin Fan wanted to refuse, to keep up appearances—he said, "The Simulated Divine Artifact you gave me was very expensive. I can handle the cost of meals," but Li Mei insisted, and he knew he couldn't refuse and reluctantly accepted it.
Feifei, holding her bowl, opened her mouth wide, "Uncle, it's the apocalypse now; things don't cost money."
She often played mobile games with classmates, including zombie-fighting games. Her classmates said that if a zombie outbreak occurred, they wouldn't have to go to school, and shopping wouldn't cost money—they could just take what they saw.
It made a lot of sense to her.
Even TV dramas depicted it that way.
"Feifei, buying things requires money. Those are items people have worked hard to place on shelves for sale. Even though the apocalypse has arrived, our country still exists, and so do our societal morals,"
"Studying doesn't make us superior, but it helps us understand and respect the law, to uphold and abide by it,"
"We can't control how others act in the apocalypse, but we can manage ourselves."
Lin Fan said softly, feeling his advice was flawless—overall, it did make some sense.
"Oh..." Feifei bowed her head, stirring her rice. It tasted so good, truly delicious. It had been a long time since she had such tasty food. As for what the uncle said, it seemed to make some sense, but she didn't quite dare agree.
It felt a bit odd to her.
Seeing her mother's stern gaze, she shrank her head and dared not speak a word.
She had to eat up; tomorrow she really had to carry her backpack and start learning with Grandma Liang.
Night fell.
Lin Fan escorted them to their respective floors, not hurrying home.
Instead, he went around the district.
He wasn't out to enjoy the scenery.
Since the four elderly people and Li Mei with her daughter were living here, he feared that there might still be zombies in the district, so he made a special patrol.
He needed to guarantee their safety, as promised.
If a zombie were to appear and harm someone, he would feel very guilty.
He made a tour of all the places.
After confirming there was no danger, he arrived at the entrance of the district, closed the iron gate properly; old districts are like this, with no so-called electronic gates, just two large iron gates.
Room 603.
"Old man, do you think it's safe here?" Xu Guifen asked Wang Zhongguo, who was lying next to her.
Wang Zhongguo smiled and said, "It's safe, this is the safest place. We've been together for so many years, have seen all kinds of rough waves, what's there to be afraid of now?"
"Lin Fan is a good kid, but I suspect he might be a bit sick." Xu Guifen was a military doctor, not a psychiatrist, but being a doctor, she could keenly identify some problems.
Wang Zhongguo said, "Don't overthink it. What problem could there be? Even if there is a problem, it's a good problem; he's such a good kid."
Xu Guifen didn't say much more.
When you think about it, it seems quite good like this.
Room 704.
Lin Fan, holding a beverage, stood in front of the balcony, looking at the night scene outside.
There was no beautiful nightscape, only pitch darkness, a once-booming city now so still.
No light, no collisions.
Apart from the occasional howls of zombies, it was hard to hear any other sounds.
Huang City was somewhat large, probably somewhere else, there were survivors contending with zombies, but he was too far away, the sound couldn't reach here.
"I really hope it could be like before, with dazzling lights everywhere and busy streets filled with people."
Leaning on the balcony, he felt the cold night breeze.
He wanted to shout out loud.
Is there anyone out there...
But downstairs lived four elderly people, and above lived Li Mei and her daughter; their child had school tomorrow, so he decided not to disturb their rest.
He quietly watched.
In his mind, he had already simulated the once bustling scene of Huang City.
...
Huang City's old district waterworks.
In a sealed room.
A young man, physically weak not from starvation in the apocalypse but because he had always been skinny, the kind that couldn't gain weight, stood there exhausted.
His name was Wang Kai.
A veteran employee of the waterworks, he had been working there for seven years. Before the apocalypse, he felt his future was full of hope.
His salary reached over eight thousand, plus various benefits, easily making over ten thousand monthly by the end of the year. Moreover, with his efforts, he had become a mid-level employee at the waterworks, overseeing several staff members.
He was an orphan, but fortunately, he was adopted, and although he wasn't academically proficient, he managed to join the waterworks on his own after graduating. Part of the reason was that his foster father worked there as a minor leader.
A society of human relationships, looking out for each other, was quite normal.
When the apocalypse erupted, and zombies roamed, he was terrified to death, hiding in the waterworks, watching his colleagues turn into zombies. Thankfully, there weren't as many colleagues as he'd feared and the waterworks, being outside the city and situated in the suburbs, had fewer zombies.
He fought several zombies and, in any case, was still alive.
Initially, he thought about fleeing the waterworks to look for a chance to live, but he ultimately didn't leave because... speaking bluntly, even Wang Kai felt he was a bit foolish.
He actually thought that if no one supervised the waterworks, according to the circumstances, they would definitely run out of water.
Water is the source of all life, and there must be many survivors in the city.
Many people were hiding in their homes.
Without food, they might last a while, but without water, they definitely couldn't last very long.
Thus, he was now the only guard at the waterworks; he was very familiar with the machinery here. Ensuring his own safety, he had to ensure that the city's water supply kept flowing normally.
When he saw several zombie bodies floating in the water reservoir, his scalp tingled. The contaminated water source, could it still be drunk? What if drinking it turned him into a zombie?
Luckily, they had a small dog at the plant.
To ensure the water was potable, he tied up the dog, gave it some water, and, finding no issues, he breathed a sigh of relief.
At that moment,
he held the dog and looked out through the small window into the pitch darkness that surrounded him, feeling a bit anxious inside.
He wondered when this apocalyptic world would end.
Looking behind... at a box of dog food.
He silently gave a thumbs up to the kind-hearted dog lovers on the short-video platforms.
Thank you for sending the dog food.
Otherwise... he would undoubtedly die.
"Woo-woo..." the small dog in his arms whimpered.
Wang Kai stroked the dog's head, "Let's eat together."
He opened the dog food.
Poured some for the dog.
He also grabbed a handful and stuffed it into his mouth like broad beans.
The taste wasn't bad.
But... I want to eat hotpot.