Chapter 008 Please Call Me Hero

Stir-fried pork shreds with green pepper.

Tomato and egg soup.

Scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

Two dishes and one soup, all for one person to enjoy alone, quite sumptuous, quite delicious, and the nutrition was reasonably balanced.

Young people, especially fashionable young people, who can cook for themselves must take some photos, post on social media to show off their lovely meals.

Even he couldn't resist the trend, taking nine meticulous pictures from various tricky angles, along with a caption.

"I'm really awesome, two dishes and a soup, living the good life (smiley face)"

After posting on social media, there were no new updates, no replies either; his social media was quiet, aside from his recent update, the second most recent post was from yesterday.

Lin Fan lived alone in Huang City, striving hard to make a living. Although tiresome, he was quite satisfied with his life as it was.

After graduating high school, he didn't attend university but started working at a decoration company, beginning as an apprentice and now he had become quite capable on his own.

Even after work, there wasn't much in the way of entertainment; he often just came back to surf the internet and chat with online friends.

Ding!

Someone commented; he opened the comment, feeling a bit displeased.

Autumn Blade Chopping Fish: "Nice my ass, how come the zombies haven't gnawed you to death."

This person was a client of his, obese and extremely rude with an ugly appearance, without a girlfriend; he was the king among the forever alone 'dogs'.

He replied calmly, "Have you eaten yet?"

Autumn Blade Chopping Fish: "Eat your sis..."

Lin Fan put down his phone, shook his head, and continued with his meal.

The end of the world had come, zombies had arrived, and many people's characters had become very irritable. He didn't like this; the people he used to meet always wore smiles, even if they were fake, they still represented friendliness.

Could it be... with the end of the world here, everyone felt there was no need to hide their true selves anymore?

"Everyone is no longer friendly, it's tough."

He quietly enjoyed his meal, looking at the interface.

[Name]: Lin Fan.

[Strength]: 35. (Super Strong)

[Endurance]: 10. (Standard)

[Speed]: 10. (Standard)

[Points]: 0.

"It's like playing a game, leveling up by fighting monsters, getting points to increase stats, such strong strength."

He felt he was mighty strong, as if he could kill a bull with one punch, so wild, so terrifying.

Thinking about it, when he accumulated some points, he'd also increase his endurance, then his speed, so he could walk faster, right?

Dinner over, he cleaned up the table, washed the dishes, and put everything away neatly.

He was a principled man, self-reliant in everything, never troubling others, a trait that had been ingrained in him since he was six or seven years old.

After taking care of present matters, it was time to enjoy the sunshine. He went to the balcony and took a book called "Stark and His 365 Girlfriends" out of the small bookshelf; this book was rich in literary culture.

It told the story of Stark, who worked in a bar and would fall in love with a different woman every day, and by midnight, he would vanish from the woman's side.

A cup of tea, a book.

Lin Fan had lived this way for many years.

Even without a college education, his passion for reading literary classics couldn't be stopped.

Shasha!

It was very tranquil, quiet also outside, the only sound was that of him turning the pages of his book.

Is this what life after the apocalypse is like?

Yes, you could also say no.

No matter whether it was the apocalypse or not, Lin Fan always did the same; he wouldn't change his actions due to changes in the environment, always adhering to his own beliefs and thoughts.

At this moment, the occasional noises from the street still couldn't disturb him; after all, he had always been able to hear the sound of traffic, which gave him the sense that Huang City was still the Huang City of the past, the streets still the streets of yore, unchanged to this day.

After a while.

After reading one woman's story, deeply moved, Stark's day-long romances were beautiful, his empathetic nature penetrating the hearts of women.

He got up, returned to his room, opened a movie website, and looked for a movie to watch. Considering the situation outside, he felt like watching a zombie film.

"Please Call Me Hero"

Looking at the reviews, it seemed quite interesting.

This was a zombie film fairly bloody in nature, involving blood, flesh, zombies, escape, rising up, and so on, containing various elements.

The movie started, with the zombie's roar and the survivor's panic instantly immersing him.

When it came to thrilling scenes, Lin Fan watched intently. When there were funny moments, he laughed out loud, completely drawn into the emotions of the film.

Bang!

Bang!

The security door was being knocked loudly, making Lin Fan frown deeply.

"So annoying, can't even watch a movie without being disturbed."

He paused the movie, walked to the door, picked up the kitchen knife, and opened the security door.

Two zombies were wandering outside. Upon seeing Lin Fan, they let out shrill screeches.

They looked horrifying, truly enough to scare someone to death.

"Are you annoying or what? Don't you know I'm watching a movie? Even if you knock, can you keep it down? I'm not deaf; I can hear you."

Wielding the kitchen knife, he hacked away at the two zombies furiously.

A strength of thirty-five points was no joke.

With each slash, the scene was tragic—the head severed, black blood sprayed, dirtying the floor.

"So annoying. I just cleaned the floor, and now you've dirtied it again. I'll have to clean up later."

Lin Fan complained, carrying the knife back inside, shutting the security door, and returning to the computer to resume the movie.

The sound of the movie echoed in the room.

When he saw the end, where the protagonist, wielding a shotgun, annihilated hundreds of zombies, his mouth fell open in shock.

"Damn strong. A shotgun can blast away hundreds of zombies? I'm so lame, I can only kill them one by one."

After finishing the movie.

Leaning back in his chair, he couldn't calm down for a long time. It was truly impressive, so much so that he wanted to go out and fight hundreds of rounds with the zombies.

Ding ding!

Suddenly, his phone rang—it was a call from his boss.

"Hey, are we still working tomorrow?" Lin Fan answered the call.

"Work my ass. What are you doing right now?" On the other end of the line, the voice was low. Although slightly angry, he dared not speak loudly.

"Watching a movie."

"What the hell are you really doing—are you messing with me?"

The boss was on the verge of collapse. If it weren't for the zombies roaming outside, he would have slammed the table and cursed Lin Fan's ancestors.

"Boss, I'm really browsing the internet. Why don't you believe me?" Lin Fan said, feeling helpless. Why was there no trust between people these days?

I'm really online; how many times do I have to say it before you believe me?

"I believe your grandma." The boss hung up the phone, infuriated and red-faced, thinking, at a time like this, he still says he's online. Does he take me for a fool?

The situation outside was dire. Staff working overtime had turned into zombies, and there was nowhere to escape.

There was no food in the office; how long could they last?

Such regret.

The decoration company didn't truly have 996; it was all a lie. If there was work, it was 24/7—twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week nonstop work. What about holidays? Those were for the incompetent.

He made many phone calls, hoping someone would come to rescue him, but many couldn't be reached. Yesterday, when it all started, he managed to make one call to an employee who seemed to be hiding in a cupboard. Because of the ringtone, the zombies found and dragged them out.

The last thing he heard was one sentence.

"Jiang Zhongming, fuck your mother..."

That made him so angry he wanted to explode on the spot. How dare an employee curse at their own boss? Did they still want their job?

...

Lin Fan held the phone, feeling a bit uncomfortable. Where was the trust between people? Why didn't they believe what he said?

He called back, turned up the volume of the movie, and planned to let the boss listen—he was really watching a movie.

Jiang Zhongming was hiding in the office in despair, his phone on the desk.

Buzz buzz!

The vibration of the phone against the desk was rather loud.

Hearing the noise, zombies furiously banged against the door, every hit plunging him deeper into despair.

"This door should be pretty sturdy, right?"

Jiang Zhongming answered the phone, his gaze fixed, and then his face went pale as he realized something terrifying.

During the company's renovation, to save money, he had personally chosen that door. It looked upscale and classy but was essentially hollow.

"Boss, say something."

"Boss, I'm really watching a movie. Can you hear it? I'm telling you, this movie is thrilling, ridiculously funny. If you have time, you should watch it too. I think it could give you some courage."

Bang!

Under Jiang Zhongming's horrified gaze, the wooden door burst open, and a zombie in a suit, twisting its neck, black blood dripping from the corner of its mouth, entered.

"Li Xiaodong, don't be rash; I'm your boss. Do you still want this month's salary? You fucking stand there; don't you move," Jiang Zhongming recoiled to the corner, his pants soaked through.

Roar!

The zombie lunged at him.

"Lin Fan, I curse your ancestors."

Sitting in front of the computer, Lin Fan was a bit stunned. After saying so much to his boss, the response was an insult.

"That's so unfair. Even if you are my boss, you can't just curse people like that."

Lin Fan decisively hung up the call, not wanting to say more.

Indeed, the outbreak had changed people's hearts. It looked like he had to be more cautious in the future.

The boss, who once coaxed them to work overtime by calling them his little darlings, was now losing it. Such is the fickleness of human nature.