Chapter 019 Oh, so you want to rent a house

Early morning.

A ray of sunlight shone in.

Lin Fan got up, stretched lazily, and got dressed to wash up.

He now dared not use the water from the tap water factory, considering the current trend, the future water resources were bound to be very precious; but in Lin Fan's view, precious as they were, he was not lacking now.

Even if he were.

Could he just not brush his teeth and wash his face?

If one is ugly, they must keep themselves clean; doing so would make them feel more spirited and handsome.

Of course, he was not ugly.

After a simple breakfast, he went downstairs to exercise.

This was his habit.

Even if the apocalypse had come, he could not forget to exercise; otherwise, staying at home every day, not to mention being bitten to death by zombies, he would just waste himself away.

The community was very quiet.

Lin Fan was used to being alone, so he didn't feel much discomfort with it.

After exercising for half an hour.

He walked around the community, mainly to inspect the territory.

There was an open space in the community, not small in area; if he wanted to plant vegetables, it could only be done here.

However, this was common ground, not personal property.

He wanted to plant vegetables, so naturally, he needed the agreement of the community's residents, so his next task was to notify them.

Even if the apocalypse had arrived and zombies were everywhere, there might not be any living residents in the community.

But the process absolutely could not be skipped.

"This is going to be a huge project," Lin Fan encouraged himself; even if there were many residents, he still had to notify each one of them.

So, he got straight to work.

No delays.

When it came to doing things, he had to act immediately.

Then he drew Frost Mourning Sword from behind, not to intimidate anyone, but as a precaution against zombies; after all, zombies were very dangerous, and he was afraid of being bitten.

Lin Fan walked through the community, shouting, "Hello, is anybody there? Please respond if you hear me."

If someone came out, that would be great; he could have them help to spread the word.

"Hello! Can anyone hear me?"

"I am Lin Fan, a resident living in Unit 704 of Building 2. I want to plant some vegetables in the community; is there anyone around?"

He called out for quite a while, but no one responded.

Grr!

As he passed by a building, the low growl of zombies echoed inside it.

The sound of smashing things.

Tap-tap!

Footsteps came from the staircase.

Crash!

Several zombies rushed too fast and rolled down the stairs, then violently stood up, their pale eyeballs fixed on Lin Fan.

Lin Fan raised his hand, greeting them, "Hello."

A nice day often starts with a friendly greeting.

Bang!

Around him, windows shattered, and zombies burst through them, jumping down from the buildings.

Splat!

Some broke their legs, some broke their arms, but to zombies without the sense of pain, these were nothing.

There were quite a few zombies, unexpectedly so many were hidden in the community.

"I'm a resident here; I want to discuss something with you. Please don't be violent, or I may have to defend myself."

However, his words were like playing the lute to a cow.

The zombies howled and rushed over frantically.

At such a moment, Lin Fan wasn't thinking about how to face the crisis; rather, he was thinking that after killing them all, he would have to move the bodies, which was really troublesome.

"Ah, why bother? Even if you become zombies, if we could just communicate properly, we could carry on with our activities without interference. Maybe we could even become friends."

But he had no choice but to swing his sword and kill them.

The Simulated Divine Artifact Frost Mourning Sword was truly domineering and incredibly sharp.

"Come on."

With one swing, the incoming zombies were bisected, as easily as cutting through tofu, without any difficulty.

A moment later.

The ground littered with zombie corpses was testament to the fierce battle that had just taken place here.

[Kill Zombie]

[Gain Points +1]

[Kill Zombie]

[Gain Points +1]

The small assistant was quite interesting; for every zombie killed, he would receive points, it sounded truly like playing a game.

"Is there no one else?"

He continued to walk around the community, hoping to see if there were any residents.

Unfortunately.

There were no residents, only those unlovable zombies.

When his own life was threatened, he did not hesitate to pick up the legal weapon in his hand to defend his safety, the so-called law being 'Frost Mourning', the sword known as evil.

But in Lin Fan's hand, even an evil sword shone with dazzling brilliance.

"It seems that I am very likely the only owner in the community now. According to the pioneering requirements, as long as I agree, there should be no problem." Lin Fan never liked to have conflicts with neighbors.

Before doing anything, he would always ask for others' opinions.

Upon arriving at the open space behind the community, which had been long neglected and overgrown with weeds, it became clear it needed tending to.

"Alright, let's get to work, and put some muscle into it,"

Lin Fan found some tools and began to clear the weeds from the field, and he needed to turn over the soil as well.

This was a significant project, and it would be greatly beneficial for the future.

Time ticked by, second by second.

In the quiet residential area,

only Lin Fan could be seen, hunched over and busily working the soil with his tools, systematically stacking the removed weeds.

This was a public community space; even if nobody was around, he couldn't leave it dirty and unkempt.

The sound of hoeing weeds.

The sound of turning soil.

Sweat dripped down, the sweat of hard labor.

After a while,

Lin Fan pretended to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

There wasn't actually any sweat, but by doing this, he felt more immersed in the work.

"It's noon now, time for lunch; we can continue in the afternoon,"

He was thinking of going home.

Then he remembered the mother and daughter and touched the Simulated Divine Artifact they had given him which he carried on his back.

He left the community.

He made his way to the market.

The smell there was pungent, with the rotten scent of vegetables and meat emanating an unpleasant odor.

If a fastidious person were to pass by, they would surely cover their nose and exclaim, "Ew, what a stench, It's making me nauseous."

Standing at the turtle vendor's stall, he decided, after some thought, to buy the animal.

Thinking of the mother and daughter's condition, both looking somewhat thin, he knew that it was important to nourish their bodies.

He returned to the community.

He climbed the stairs.

He knocked gently on the door.

"It's me,"

he said, reminding them who it was. It was dangerous nowadays, and showing up unexpectedly at someone's door and knocking could scare them witless.

Li Mei and her daughter, who were in their room, had seen a slight improvement in their living conditions thanks to the supplies Lin Fan had provided. Though their current situation was nowhere near their past life, at least they had enough for warmth and sustenance.

Upon hearing the knock,

she hugged her daughter tightly, scared.

In these apocalyptic times, any small disturbance could set their nerves on edge. Especially for a mother and daughter alone, with no one to rely on, simply being alive was already a great fortune.

Last night, she had secretly peered from the balcony and saw zombies staggering in the street, which frightened her so much she had to cover her mouth to stop any sound from escaping.

Now, hearing a familiar voice outside,

she was able to let go of her nervousness.

It was him...

She opened the door,

and saw the young man who had helped them standing at the door with a smile.

Lin Fan offered her the turtle, "I bought this turtle for you at the market," he said. "I noticed you both don't look very well, you need to replenish your strength."

He couldn't bear to buy or eat such things himself, but one cannot be stingy when someone else has generously given them a Simulated Divine Artifact so handsome.

Li Mei looked at the turtle in front of her, then back at Lin Fan.

She didn't understand what he was thinking.

To be honest,

she found him quite odd.

But beneath the strange behavior, there was something reassuring.

"Don't you need it?" Li Mei asked.

Behind her, her daughter curiously watched this strange uncle.

Lin Fan laughed, "No need for me, I'm very strong. If I boost my body too much, I might get a nosebleed."

Having said that, he flexed his muscles to show off.

At that moment,

it seemed to Li Mei that she had made a huge decision.

"There's something I'd like you to help with, if you don't mind," she said.

She knew that to ask for help, there usually had to be something given in return; there was no such thing as help without reason. This kind-hearted young man indeed helped them selflessly, but seeking help without offering anything in return would only lead to displeasure.

She wasn't afraid of death.

But the thought of leaving her daughter alone after her death was unbearable.

Every night she dreamed of her child's father, how he was overtaken by zombies and torn to pieces, later becoming one himself and staggering off into oblivion.

"What do you need help with?" Lin Fan asked. If it was something simple, he was more than willing to help, but if it was complicated, he would act within his abilities. He would help if he could, and if he couldn't, he wouldn't force himself; after all, one must be self-aware.

"I want to take my daughter and go with you," Li Mei said.

Lin Fan smiled, "Oh, you mean you want to move to my community, right? That can be arranged. My community is an old one that's always been available for rent. It's not expensive, just a thousand or two per month."

"If you really need it, I can ask the agency for you. I know the owner," he offered.

At that moment,

the room was very quiet.

Li Mei stared at Lin Fan, her thoughts failing to keep up.

There was an indefinable feeling.

Are we really on the same page here?

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