Sunshine District next door.
Sporting goods store.
Two figures were busily at work in the modestly sized shop that sold ordinary fitness equipment.
Basketballs, dumbbells, etc.
When they first began organizing, the store felt chaotically messy, definitely a remnant of the initial outbreak when the shopkeeper, bewildered by zombies, must have grabbed a dumbbell to smash a zombie’s head, leaving dumbbells stained with viscous blood on the floor, and a solidified puddle of it to confirm the tragic fate the shopkeeper met—completely overtaken by zombies.
He knew the shopkeeper, having lived in Sunshine District for many years, and had exchanged a few words with most of the local shop owners. This shop owner was in his forties or fifties, loved working out, and was single.
But whenever he passed by, he could always see different, flamboyantly dressed aunties chatting with the shopkeeper. Sometimes, in the middle of their conversation, the shopkeeper would roll down the shutter door to close up shop, presumably not wanting business to interrupt his chats with friends. Friendship was most important, after all—business couldn’t be allowed to interfere.
At that moment, Gouzi was squatting at the door, head raised, looking around.
Wang Kai said, "Lin Bro, I finally understand the joy of making money, thank you for leading me onto a path of wealth. Working at the water plant paid well, but it never brought me as much happiness as now."
"As long as you’re happy. There are many ways to make money, and not everything we do should be about money. Sunshine District is our home, and it’s essential we keep our home clean," Lin Fan said with a smile.
He was willing to lead them all to prosperity.
Of course, he was also gradually exploring, primarily focused on cleaning the environment.
Negotiating a good price with the shop owners.
Then they could start taking action.
Wang Kai greatly admired Lin Fan’s enlightenment, truly exceptional; not everyone had such awareness. Of course, it was because of people like Lin Fan that he felt secure and a sense of belonging while living in Sunshine District, without any oppression, conflict, or persecution.
There was just warmth, and a bit of thrill.
At night, they could occasionally hear the roars of zombies, and without those sounds, he would feel as if he wasn’t living in a post-apocalyptic world; it was still like before.
Gouzi suddenly stood up at the door, his fur bristling, baring his teeth with a low growl, then ran into the shop, biting at Lin Fan’s trouser leg.
Seeing Gouzi’s unusual behavior, Wang Kai stood up and walked to the door to check both sides, quickly pulled back his foot, and retreated inside, "Lin Bro, there are zombies."
He finally understood why Gouzi hadn’t bitten his trouser leg.
It was clear that biting was useless; the weak weren’t worth trusting. How realistic.
"Just stay inside, I’ll handle it."
Lin Fan was very calm when it came to dealing with zombies, not panicking at all.
He walked to the door.
Looking into the distance, there indeed was a zombie staggering alone on the street; a lone zombie wasn’t uncommon and wasn’t very dangerous.
He quietly watched the distant zombie.
His presence naturally drew the attention of the zombie. Under normal circumstances, a zombie, devoid of reason, upon seeing a living person would swiftly shift from a stagnant state to charging like a mad dog.
Lin Fan was quite puzzled. He was ready for the typical charge from the zombie, but saw it tilting its head, appearing to size him up. Suddenly, he thought of Officer Huang. Could this zombie be like Officer Huang?
If not, then this zombie was indeed a bit strange.
"Could it be nearsighted?" Lin Fan thought to himself, feeling that unlikely, but the zombie seemed to be really trying hard to look his way, leading one to doubt—it really might be nearsighted.
The zombie opened its arms, its body tilted, roaring towards Lin Fan.
Before he could react.
The zombie spun and ran off.
Watching this, Lin Fan was slightly bewildered, unable to comprehend the zombie’s actions, shook his head, and returned inside to continue clearing the shop with Wang Kai.
"Lin Bro, what was with that zombie?" Wang Kai asked.
Lin Fan said, "I didn’t quite understand, it just ran off. Perhaps it was a decent zombie, different from other zombies."
Wang Kai internally muttered, wondering if there could really be a decent zombie.
Things that can’t be understood aren’t worth pondering—they’re not good for the brain.
Once they finished cleaning.
Lin Fan took four hundred yuan from the cash register, giving Wang Kai two hundred. The amount of work wasn’t huge, so naturally, the price was quite low. Seeing the clean and tidy shop, both he and Wang Kai felt a sense of satisfaction.
Wang Kai held the two hundred yuan with a brilliant smile, feeling very stable. Earning hard-earned money through his sweat was truly satisfying.
"Let’s go back," Lin Fan said.
"Mm," Wang Kai nodded.
For the survivors of Sunshine District, daily life was much like before; not much had changed, as everyone went about doing their chosen activities.
Sister Li and Grandma Xu tended to the vegetable patch, now including feeding the fish pond.
Grandma Liang taught the children to read.
Chen He studied knowledge from online books.
Gu Hang was firxing up the district, aiming to make it the safest one around.
And everyone was busy with their own tasks.
Like usual, Lin Fan took the initiative to look for tenants, hoping to sell properties in Sunshine District. But more than that, he just wanted to be active and do something.