Riding on the Little Yellow Bicycle, strolling down the main road.
Passing by a shopfront.
The second floor of the building had people inside.
"Dammit, you all look! There's someone riding the Little Yellow Bicycle on the street, without a care in the world!" Chu Hao whispered, showing his astonishment.
He was a survivor, extremely lucky not to have been infected, and he hadn't encountered a horde of zombies. He had long since taken refuge in a safe place.
There were four people in total at the moment, including him.
The shop on the ground floor belonged to a friend of his, part of a small family supermarket. They had agreed to play mahjong that day but, fearing police inspection, had closed the store to play in secrecy.
Who would have thought that the next day, everything changed, and they couldn't return.
During this period, they had relied on the resources from the first floor to survive.
"You're really a bit crazy," said a big, burly man, clearly displeased, his nerves visibly tense.
"Really, you all look. He's over there," Chu Hao said, unsure of what to say.
He had seen many people flee, causing disturbances that attracted zombies, getting blocked, or even overturned vehicles, though some managed to escape.
But riding the Little Yellow Bicycle like that, without a care in the world? That was something he had never seen before.
Sure enough, two more people hurried to the window to look.
"Damn!"
"F*ck!"
"How crazy!"
They were stunned.
"Do you think the downstairs is safe? Have the zombies disappeared? Otherwise, how could he be fine?" Chu Hao said, a bit emotional. If the zombies really had disappeared, or if there were a way to deal with them, wouldn't it be possible to leave this place?
"Don't think about it. I can't leave. There's food and drink here. Where would I go? Who knows what the situation is like outside? Maybe he's just lucky and hasn't been noticed by the zombies. If you want to leave, go ahead, I'm not going anywhere." One person waved their hand, unwilling to leave.
They were prepared to die in this place.
"That's true. It's really safe here. No need to leave."
"A, where's Ma Dong?"
"He went to the bathroom."
In the bathroom.
Ma Dong sat on the toilet, humming a song, clearly quite relaxed.
"It's so stinky."
He wiped, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the smell.
He reached out and opened the window behind him to get some fresh air.
A moment later, he finished cleaning up.
Just as he was about to leave, he noticed something: a huge golden chain was hanging outside the window.
"A chain this big, if it were worn on someone, wouldn't it be super impressive?"
He felt a surge of greed.
Even though the apocalypse had changed everything, his desire for gold was still as strong as ever.
He saw a corpse hanging on the air conditioning unit outside the building, its neck slumped, and the golden chain sparkling, blindingly bright.
Ma Dong's face flushed with excitement.
Bang! Bang!
"Xiao Dong, my stomach hurts, I need to use the bathroom. You hurry up and get out." Just as Ma Dong was about to grab the chain for himself, a knock on the door was heard.
Startled, he quickly closed the window.
The door opened with a creak.
"What are you doing?" asked a large, muscular man suspiciously.
Ma Dong stammered, clearly nervous.
"Nothing... Nothing." He quickly jumped up, forcing a smile to cover his thoughts.
"Don't hide anything from me," Zhang Quan glanced at Ma Dong but didn't think much of it. He went into the bathroom.
As Zhang Quan stayed inside longer, Ma Dong became more and more anxious, fearing the necklace would be discovered.
"Zhang ge, are you alright?" Ma Dong asked softly from outside.
"Quick, don't bother me, why the rush? Go away," Zhang Quan's voice was muffled, almost as if he was exerting force. The smell in the bathroom was unbearable, so he opened the window.
And immediately, his eyes were drawn to the golden chain hanging outside.
The so-called "dog chain."
Ma Dong, this guy was really dishonest, definitely discovered such a valuable item and didn't want to share, thinking of keeping it all for himself.
No wonder he had been in the bathroom for so long.
Zhang Quan reached out and grabbed the chain.
The body outside was already dead. It wasn't a zombie, so there was no fear.
"Hehe, it's mine now." Zhang Quan grabbed the chain and weighed it a few times. It felt pretty heavy, at least around 100 grams.
If he sold it at a gold shop, it would fetch at least 30-40 thousand.
Even though he couldn't sell it now, just wearing it felt incredibly domineering, like a symbol of status.
As for Ma Dong outside, he didn't care at all. Even if Ma Dong found out, what could he do? The chain was his now, and no one could take it from him.
Creak!
Zhang Quan came out of the bathroom, "Alright, what are you rushing for?"
"Zhang ge, I'm dying here. I still haven't finished." Ma Dong couldn't wait and rushed back into the bathroom.
Zhang Quan laughed, arrogantly heading downstairs to celebrate with some alcohol and some peanuts, enjoying his moment of glory.
"Where's the necklace? Where's the golden chain?" Ma Dong opened the window, but the necklace was gone, and the body was no longer there.
His expression darkened.
"Zhang Quan, it must have been him!"
Ma Dong thought more and more about it, then went to find Zhang Quan. He saw Zhang Quan drinking alcohol and eating peanuts, and the key was that on his neck, the golden chain glimmered, sparkling in the sunlight.
"Zhang ge, having some drinks? Is there a reason to celebrate?"
Ma Dong didn't confront him directly but instead turned his head sideways, his eyes fixed on the sparkling golden chain on Zhang Quan's neck.
It should have been his.
But now it was taken by Zhang Quan.
He was filled with anger but dared not speak out.
"Yeah, it's great, don't you think the chain looks really good? It suits me, doesn't it? Just look at how impressive I look." Zhang Quan wasn't hiding anything, his intentions were clear, showing off his new trophy.
"But... Zhang ge, I found it first." Ma Dong whispered.
Zhang Quan frowned, "What's wrong? Just because you found it first, does it mean it's yours? Whoever takes it owns it, got it?"
"How can you say that? I found it first!" Ma Dong was furious, not just because of the chain but also because of Zhang Quan's attitude, which made him feel deeply insulted, like he was always being belittled.
Smack!
Zhang Quan smashed the alcohol bottle on the ground, his face twisted with fury. "What? You don't accept it? If you don't accept it, come at me. If you want to die, just say it, I'll throw you out and let you play with the zombies."
With the apocalypse in full swing, he didn't fear anyone.
Even if he killed Ma Dong, no one would care.
Ma Dong was a bit scared and shrank back. He couldn't fight Zhang Quan, especially since Zhang Quan was determined, which only made him more intimidated.
"What's going on?" Chu Hao heard the noise and came over, seeing the two of them arguing, seemingly about to fight.
He was puzzled.
Ma Dong explained the situation, hoping to get some sympathy.
Chu Hao couldn't help but laugh when he heard it. "What do you think? Right now, gold isn't worth a thing. No one even cares to take it. You could take a dozen bars and no one would bat an eye. Don't let this petty stuff ruin your relationship."
Ma Dong was dissatisfied, standing there with his head lowered, not saying anything.
"Ma Dong, let me tell you, don't think too highly of yourself. In this situation, if you make me angry, I won't be polite. Don't blame me if things get ugly." Zhang Quan said, threatening him.
Chu Hao intervened, "Alright, alright, Zhang ge, let's not make this a big deal. We're all in this together. We can't let something small like this cause a rift."
He never thought that two people would fight over a golden chain.
Even though there was plenty of money now, he was unaffected.
What would money even do?
What could he buy?
Who would take the money?
"Hmph." Zhang Quan knocked Ma Dong aside, heading towards the second floor. "From now on, you better know who the boss is around here."
Chu Hao shook his head and went over to Ma Dong, patting him on the shoulder.
"Don't take it to heart."
He was trying to comfort him.
But Ma Dong didn't appreciate it. He kept his head down, leaving with a cold expression.
Chu Hao sighed. "Why bother?"
...
The Little Yellow Bicycle moved gracefully along the pedestrian street.
The red light in front of it.
Lam Pham stopped, waiting for the light to turn green, then slowly crossed the street.
Back in the past, even if there were no cars like Lăng Thần's, he would quietly wait for the green light.
This was traffic regulation. He wanted to follow the rules and be a law-abiding citizen.
But now, during the apocalypse, it still didn't affect him. He would do things as he always had.
"Here."
He parked the bike and walked into the office, feeling uneasy. There was blood on the floor, but no sign of anyone.
He stepped into the elevator first.
The elevator moved slowly as it descended to the ninth floor.
Ding!
The elevator opened.
He was ready to face any hostile individuals.
But when the doors opened, no one was inside. He let out a sigh of relief. Inside the elevator, there were bloodstains and some mutilated bodies.
Stepping inside the elevator, he calmly pressed the thirteenth floor.
The door slowly closed.
On the way up, he adjusted his hair and clothes in the reflection, a habit from the past.
Ding!
The elevator door opened.
Lam Pham stood there for two seconds, taking a deep breath before stepping out.
Silent!
Eerie silence!
The floor was eerily quiet.
It used to be bustling.
Memories passed through his mind.
He thought deeply about the past.
The company was named Zhongming Decoration Design.
In fact, he was just an operations member, mostly dealing with invoices. But under pressure from his boss, he had also learned design.
During the day, he ran invoices, and at night, he worked overtime to design.
He had put in a lot of effort, just to be able to buy a room in the Huang market, his own home.
He wanted to say: I have a home.
He pushed open the glass door.
A bell on the door chimed.
"This is the place I bought from Dadao Bao. The boss didn't even give me any money."
Lam Pham stood there, full of memories.
It was he who suggested to the boss to install the bell.
When clients arrived, the chime was clear and refreshing, like a cleansing sound for the soul.
When employees returned to the company, it felt like the company was welcoming him back.
But in the end... the money was never returned.
When he mentioned it to his boss, the boss said... "This is your home. We can buy some decorations, don't talk about money."
Growl!
The sound of zombies growling.
The bell's sound had attracted the attention of the zombies.