Actually, he wasn’t really a subordinate.
Inside the prison, there were only two ranks of survivors: those who followed Chen Zhiyong and those who were sheltered by the prison and needed to contribute to it.
He was in a stage somewhere in the middle of the two.
That is, the captain of the contributing survivors, a position he had fought for, as Chen Zhiyong had an underling who was held in high regard.
Yes, that was the bespectacled and refined-looking Sun Neng.
It never crossed his mind that Sun Neng would be the recipient.
He replayed that night’s events in his mind, where Sun Neng led him into the gloomy warehouse and told him that for the supply gathering in five days, your luck won’t be as good as before... he went on and said a lot more.
In the beginning, He Mingxuan didn’t understand what he meant, or why he was saying these things.
Not until Sun Neng made his intentions clear.
He Mingxuan was dumbfounded.
Simply because he looked overweight, while the other survivors appeared malnourished, they chose him.
He felt disgusted, truly disgusted, those words nauseated him to the point that he nearly vomited out everything in his stomach.
Remembering his encounter with Ren Yan and the torment he suffered, he acknowledged the profound impact it had on him; he remembered he wasn’t this kind of person before, who would rage and curse at anything, even to the point of swearing at the other person’s parents.
Somehow, He Mingxuan felt that he had grown, that his mentality had changed.
In the end, he became the captain of the survivors, responsible for driving the vehicle, waiting inside for the survivors to gather supplies, and if danger struck, he could step on the gas and speed away.
Going out to gather supplies was dangerous.
But much safer than those who had to get off and collect them.
Footsteps approached.
"It’s you," greeted Lin Fan.
He recognized He Mingxuan in the driver’s seat at first glance, a former customer. Although there had been unpleasant incidents in the past, that was all behind them now, and besides, those had been work-related disputes, with the company wanting to make money from the client, and the client wanting to save money at the company’s expense—each with their own standpoints, and conflicts were inevitable.
Upon hearing the voice.
He Mingxuan jumped in surprise. When he saw Lin Fan, his eyes bulged round in disbelief, "You’re still alive to this day?"
It wasn’t that he was shocked, but the apocalyptic situation had deteriorated to such an extent. He was alive because he lived in the prison, and even if he left, he had a vehicle to use, but this guy in front of him, he seemed to have been walking out in the open many times—had he never encountered a zombie?
Lin Fan smiled and said, "Surprised, huh? With hope, one can live well. Aren’t you alive as well?"
He was chatting with an old acquaintance.
The other party wasn’t suitable for Sunshine District, but being unsuitable didn’t mean he should be sent to the police station.
He Mingxuan didn’t rage at Lin Fan. His mindset had indeed changed, seemingly over these few days since the apocalypse began, his temperament had flared up due to the end times, and when he saw Lin Fan’s posts on social media, he couldn’t tolerate it.
He experienced the Ren Yan incident.
And the Sun Neng incident.
Both had a significant impact on him.
Any person with a volatile temper will often undergo a subtle change in character after going through a lot of experiences.
Not because they heard some profound truth and had a sudden epiphany.
But rather, the harsh reality of the apocalypse vividly taught him a lesson.
He Mingxuan flashed an indescribable smile, "Yeah, if I can be alive, why can’t you?"
Lin Fan said, "I’ve noticed you’ve changed a bit from before, you used to be quite heavy, but you’ve lost a lot of weight now. Also, your personality seems different. I know you used to be annoyed by me, and would definitely have berated me whenever we met. I didn’t expect you to be talking to me now."
He Mingxuan glanced at him, silently smoking. The smoke swirled around him, making the once vocal He Mingxuan seem a bit more profound.
"People change, you see. But I’ve noticed you’ve become even stupider."
Lin Fan said with a smile, "Although you still like cursing people, you’re much better than before."
He Mingxuan didn’t want to engage with Lin Fan, instead focusing on the supplies in the back of the vehicle. The amount was decent, and they would soon be able to leave. There wasn’t much to discuss between him and Lin Fan; they had just a bit of interaction during more peaceful times.
He Mingxuan threw away his cigarette, his expression grave, "Zombies..."
Lin Fan looked over, and there appeared a fast-moving zombie, a familiar form, scuttling on all fours like a spider at high speed, a formidable foe for any ordinary survivor.
"Don’t worry, it’s an easy zombie to deal with. It’s a kind of fate for us to meet each other. Even though you’re not a very good person, as a survivor in an apocalypse, as long as one doesn’t do evil, I’ll extend a helping hand. I hope you’ll continue to live with hope in this apocalypse," Lin Fan said softly.
In He Mingxuan’s eyes, Lin Fan actually started walking towards the distant fast-moving zombie.
To He Mingxuan, such an act was courting death. The terror of zombies was ingrained in people’s hearts—even a regular zombie invoked fear, let alone such mutated ones, whose power he had witnessed.
Ignoring Lin Fan, who seemed to be on a death march, He Mingxuan quickly instructed the survivors to get on the vehicle. With enough supplies gathered, there was no need to continue.
The survivors who were gathering supplies panicked upon hearing of the approaching zombie and hurriedly scrambled into the vehicle.