The naked eye could see maggots squirming in the meat.
How disgusting.
With each passing day, any kind of food would rot.
Although supermarkets still had many canned ingredients, buying them every day cost money. How long could he sustain it with his financial resources?
His family wasn't wealthy enough to afford it.
Growing his own could be a good option.
He examined one stall after another.
He saw intact pumpkins, free from rot or spoilage.
As long as they weren't cut open and were stored in a cool, well-ventilated place, pumpkins could last two months.
The stall owner was nowhere to be seen.
But that was not a problem.
He knew the prices of the vegetables; paying by scanning a code would do.
He made his choice.
One pumpkin, one winter melon, onions, and a spinach, all in perfect condition.
The more he could buy, the better.
The food spoiled so fast these days.
He didn't know when the electricity would cut off. If it did, preserving the food would become very difficult.
He scanned a code to pay, placed the purchased vegetables in his basket, and continued browsing.
He looked at the stalls on either side, searching for food that hadn't gone bad.
But after so many days, there were scarcely any good vegetables left.
Hey!
Suddenly.
He was pleasantly surprised to find a live softshell turtle in the red bucket at the seafood stall, slowly moving in the murky water.
"Such incredible willpower to still be alive; turtle soup would taste really good," he thought.
Lin Fan was very happy.
But he quickly dismissed the idea.
"No, it's too extravagant; this looks like it's wild, it would cost at least a few hundred."
"And now without a job, it's so annoying."
After weighing his options for a moment, he could only shake his head and walk away.
Too poor.
Some things you just can't have whenever you want.
When he left the vegetable market, he still had a pretty good haul.
Three pumpkins, four winter melons, some onions, and some spinach.
"Food for today, tomorrow, and the next few days is sorted," he thought.
Fend for yourself.
No matter how difficult life gets, you always have to give it your all.
Carrying the ingredients, he walked towards home.
As the city decayed, weeds had begun to grow through the cracks in the ground; if not cleared, in a few months or a year, the city would be overwhelmed by weeds.
"Hello."
Just then, from a third-floor window of a residential building by the road, someone opened the window and called out in a frail voice.
The woman at the window looked to be in her thirties or forties, very haggard, with disheveled hair and heavy dark circles under her eyes, showing no signs of vitality.
Still, it was clear that she had been attractive.
"Hello!" Lin Fan stopped and responded in kind.
Since she used a polite form of address, he should respond in the same manner.
"Is there something you need?" he asked.
He felt she must need something to call out to him.
"Can you help me?" Li Mei's voice was very weak and soft. During this period, she had almost reached her breaking point. If not for her ten-year-old daughter by her side, she would have lost all will to live.
The people outside were cannibals, attacking on sight.
From her third-floor view, she had witnessed her husband attacked by a group as he was returning home. That horrific death was still etched in her memory.
What broke her further was seeing her already dead husband stand up, stagger around just like those people, roaming everywhere, attacking any living person he saw.
Since then, she and her daughter had been living off the last of their food at home.
But two days ago, they ran out of food.
In this time, she had seen many people and wanted to ask for help, but to her disbelief, these people dragged a beautiful woman out from a shop.
She knew this woman.
She was the young and beautiful shop owner, only in her twenties and resembling a celebrity.
So, Li Mei and her daughter hid at home, too scared to make a sound to anyone.
But now they had no choice.
With no food, they were about to die.
She did not fear her own death, but she could not bear the thought of her daughter dying that way.
Even if it meant being violated, she would do it for some food to keep her daughter alive.
"What can I help you with?" Lin Fan asked.
His voice wasn't loud but not too soft either.
Li Mei was scared. How could he speak so loudly? Wasn't he afraid of attracting the zombies?
Looking around and seeing no activity, she breathed a sigh of relief; maybe it was luck that no zombies were nearby.
"Could you give me some food?" Li Mei begged.
This time, she could only place her hopes on him.
"I don't need much, just a little. My daughter hasn't eaten for several days, please help," she said.
She saw the food in his hands but was afraid he would be reluctant to part with it, so she only asked for a little.
Lin Fan said, "You're afraid of those zombies, right? That's why you've been hiding at home? Alright, no problem. I bought enough for myself, and even if I didn't, I could still go out and buy some more."
"I'll sell you two pumpkins and a winter melon."
He was quite willing to help someone in such need, and of course, since he had paid for these items himself, he could naturally sell them to her.
After all, he had bought these items with money.
Li Mei was a bit stunned.
Even in her distressed state, she showed a look of surprise, not expecting the young man to actually offer to sell to her.
Given the circumstances.
Was money still useful?
At this moment, a little girl, scared, hid behind Li Mei, peeking out at Lin Fan.