Chapter 53 - Doomsday Paradise

The two old men gasped in shock. They couldn’t bear to look at what was about to happen.

The blondie named Little Tian said fervently to Scarface Ming, “Ming! Kill him! Give him a good beating!”

How thrilling! This was the apocalypse! They were no longer governed by law. There was no need for a lawful society! Do whatever you want! Do whatever you like! Kill! Rob! This was doomsday paradise!

Boom! Blondie’s fantasies were shattered when Ming’s body flew through the air. The guy he idolized sliced across the air like a kite. After being mercilessly flung into the air, Scarface Ming landed on the ground with a loud crash amidst rising dust.

“Cough cough cough…” Everyone started coughing violently because of the dust that had risen. Their eyes widened at the sight of a muscular brute like Ming being tossed into the air as if he were as light as a feather. Who would have known that such a skinny man would be capable of throwing a 1.8 meter tall man into the air, and with just one hand?

Little Tian rubbed his eyes in disbelief as he watched his boss, the man he had absolute confidence in, pass out after spitting out a few mouthfuls of blood.

Shen Chen turned his gaze to Little Tian. “You hit them?”

Little Tian shrank back in fear and stuttered, “No, no, no…” When Shen Chen walked toward him, the quick-thinking Little Tian slapped himself and apologized profusely. “Sorry! I’m sorry! I was wrong! I was wrong!”

He then got on his knees, crawled over to the old men, and kowtowed. “I was wrong. It was my fault. Please forgive me, dear sirs! I won’t do it ever again! Never again!”

The old men looked at each other and smiled wryly. Just a moment ago, he had been acting like a bully, but now he was as meek as a lamb.

Little Tian, who didn’t get the reaction he was expecting, added, “My dear sirs, although we’ve been mean to both of you, we’ve kept you safe by killing some zombies. Think about it. If it hadn’t been for the both of us, you would have already been eaten by zombies!”

The older of the two sighed and said to Shen Chen, “What this kid said makes sense.”

Shen Chen looked at the old men with some surprise, his brows furrowed. It seemed like the old men were the sort of people who returned good for evil. In an apocalypse, people like that either lived very well or died terribly!

It wasn’t his place to say anything, so he decided to respect their wishes. Shen Chen grunted in response, then looked closely at Blondie. “If I ever find out that you’re abusing them again, I’ll do more than just teach you a lesson. Now scram! Get out of my sight!”

Little Tian didn’t need to be told twice. Grabbing his buddy, he quickly got out of there with Scarface Ming.

Shen Chen stared blankly at the two hooligans fleeing from the scene, a cold smile slowly forming on his face. He then turned around to look at the old men before him.

Seeing that the two hooligans had disappeared from sight, the younger of the two extended his hand with a smile on his face. “Thank you so much, young man.”

Despite the dried bloodstains on his face, and his head full of white hair, the old man appeared to be healthy and sprightly. He introduced himself to Shen Chen, extending his hand. “My name is Sun Yanze. May I know what your name is, young man?”

Sun Yanze… sounds familiar?

Shen Chen furrowed his brows and tried to remember the name, but to no avail. He shook his head. It seemed like his memories from his past and current life were still jumbled up. There were still tens of years’ worth of memories to organize.

Shen Chen smiled politely and grasped his hand. “How do you do, Elder Sun? You may call me Shen Chen.”

The older of the two also extended his hand to Shen Chen, saying, “My surname is Jiang. You may call me Elder Jiang. Thanks again, young man. Thank you for helping these old geezers. Had it not been for you, we probably would have ended up spending the rest of our days like this…” He winked at Shen Chen.

Shen Chen smiled in response. In the apocalypse, elderly people like them who hadn’t turned into zombies were few and far between. Their generation had contributed much to nation-building in a variety of different ways. Some of them were experienced farmers. Some were construction workers, or perhaps even scientists. In every occupation and sector, these people would generously share their knowledge and life experiences. They were practically assets to their country!

Even in his past life, Shen Chen had been respectful to the elderly, which was why he had rushed over as soon as his acute sense of hearing had picked up on their cries.

As for the hooligans, he really didn’t give a d*mn about them. He was well aware that it was easier for people like them to survive during the apocalypse, but that didn’t mean that one needed to be inhumane in order to survive.

Shen Chen knew all too well how quickly civilization had crumbled during the apocalypse in his past life and how much effort it took to rebuild it. As someone who was there to witness the rebuilding process, he knew the importance of law and order. Law and order was what kept people going. It was the secret to saving humanity.

Elder Sun and Elder Jiang were surprised by Shen Chen’s calm demeanor. They exchanged a wry smile with the young man before them, who was covered in bloodstains, and saw the worry in each other’s eyes. The situation outside must be pretty grim.

“Elder Jiang, what are you guys doing in the outskirts?” Shen Chen asked.

“It’s all thanks to this guy. He asked me out for fishing in the middle of the night. Who knew we would encounter something so terrible? We escaped from the fish pond and ended up at the warehouse.”

Shen Chen suddenly realized how lucky these old men were. The elderly were usually considered a team’s weakest link, and they were usually the easiest target for zombies, provided they hadn’t already become zombies themselves! In comparison, Elder Lao and Elder Jiang were able to make it to a warehouse and survive for tens of days. They really were lucky.

Shen Chen nodded and said to them, “Well, my car is nearby. Where are you guys staying at? I’ll give you a lift.”

Before Elder Sun could say anything, Elder Jiang replied, “Young man, if you have a car charger that I could use, I’ll just need to make a phone call. We won’t be leaving with you guys.”

Shen Chen nodded and didn’t say anything else. These men might be in dire straits, but they had undoubtedly remain dignified. Since the two of them had no intention of following him, Shen Chen was happy to respect their wishes.

Elder Jiang followed Shen Chen back to the car, and the few of them watched curiously as he took out a cell phone. After fiddling with it for a while, Elder Jiang said, “I’m done. Thank you!”

Shen Chen nodded his head. He asked one last time, “Are you sure you guys don’t wanna come with us?”

“Yeah, we’re fine! Thanks again!”

Shen Chen signaled Ye Xiaoyu to leave behind some food for them, then said earnestly, “The end of the world is near, so do take good care of yourselves!”

The gas pedal was floored, and the car sped off. Elder Jiang watched them leave with a thoughtful expression on his face.

“Brother Shen Chen, you went out just to bring back an old man to borrow our car charger?” Ye Xiaoyu asked curiously.

Shen Chen replied with a smile, “He’s not just your average old man dressed in Zhongshan attire. The number he dialed is exclusively used by the military. He’s probably someone special.”

Guo Yuan let out a whistle. “That’s cool.” Continuing with a sigh, he then said, “If only we were with the military. They would definitely be able to keep us safe!”

“What are you talking about? Aren’t we safe with Brother Shen Chen?” Ye Xiaoyu said with furrowed brows.

Guo Yuan immediately scratched his head. “That’s not what I meant…”

Shen Chen chuckled. “Well, Elder Jiang obviously had no intention of asking us to stay either, so why should we overstay our welcome? Remember, people who are capable are able to do well for themselves!”

Both Guo Yuan and Ye Xiaoyu nodded in agreement. Boss was right. As long as they were competent, they would definitely be able to survive! To do better!