After dealing with these zombies, Lin Chen picked up the dropped Copper Coins, waited a while longer, and only after confirming no more zombies were coming did he cross the street to the noodle shop entrance.
The shop door was wide open, the interior a mess, tables and chairs haphazardly overturned, and some scattered bloodstains. It looked like there had been a chaotic fight here.
He had been to this noodle shop many times. It was run by a couple from out of town, and the food was exceptionally good. While other shops raised their prices, theirs remained unchanged.
Whenever he came down from the mountain or returned home and it was mealtime, this shop was always one of his choices.
After the shop was expanded, a second floor was added. The shop owners, a family of three, lived upstairs. Their son seemed to be in the sixth grade of elementary school.
Lin Chen remembered that the entrance to the second floor was behind the refrigerator. He walked around the refrigerator and saw that the ladder previously propped against the entrance had slid down and was lying on the ground.
Just then, he heard a commotion above him. The partition at the entrance opened, and a head eagerly poked out. Seeing him, his eyes lit up, "Brother Lin, it's you!"
"Yes, are you hiding up here alone?" Lin Chen propped the ladder back up and climbed it.
"Yes, many monsters appeared in the shop. After Mom and Dad were bitten by the monsters, they ran away," Dong Xiaogang whispered.
Lin Chen sighed. The apocalypse had no virtues of respecting the old and cherishing the young. If he continued to coddle him like a child, it would only harm him.
"Those monsters are called zombies. If you're bitten by them, you'll be infected and turn into a zombie. Zombies are irrational, soulless walking corpses, so your mom and dad are essentially dead."
Dong Xiaogang's eyes immediately welled up with tears. He had had a premonition, "Is that true?"
"It's true," Lin Chen nodded solemnly. "There are many more zombies like them outside. From now on, without your mom and dad to protect you, you can only rely on yourself. So, you need to become strong quickly and live well for your mom and dad too."
Dong Xiaogang lowered his head and was silent for a moment. Suddenly, as if he had understood, he looked up at him, "Brother Lin, can I follow you from now on? You're so powerful, can you teach me?"
"No, I can't take you with me, and I might not be able to teach you," Lin Chen stated the facts cruelly. "I'm going to the Southern Suburbs. If I take you, when there are zombies, you won't be able to escape or fight like me, and I won't have the ability to protect you. There's a high probability you'll die."
"It's still relatively safe here, and the stored food is enough for you for a while. It's just that there isn't enough water. Before I leave, I'll prepare it for you and help you activate your ability. For the next few days, you should stay here obediently and explore your ability on your own. When I return from the Southern Suburbs, I'll come back for you."
"There's a camp in the Forest Park that can block zombies, but you have to pay 5 Copper Coins every day. Killing about two zombies allows you to stay in the camp for a day. I'll take you there, and the rest is up to you."
"Ability? I have an ability too?"
"You've played games, right? Everyone who kills a zombie can activate their own ability like a game character. After learning, it's not difficult to defeat a single zombie."
Lin Chen glanced out the window, "Shh, there's a zombie over there. I'll lure it over first."
Lin Chen gently tapped the glass to attract the zombie's attention. After luring it to the doorway, he moved to the entrance of the mezzanine and tapped the floor, gradually luring it to the entrance.
Then he repeated the trick, binding it with Entangle, then jumping down and using a hoe to break its limbs, and finally stuffing its mouth. This basically rendered it incapable of harming anyone.
After dragging it onto the mezzanine, Lin Chen handed Dong Xiaogang a cleaver he found in the shop, "Come, cut off its head."
Dong Xiaogang hid in the corner, covering his mouth tightly and shaking his head.
This was Aunt Zhang from the street corner convenience store. How did she become like this? It was too terrifying!
"If you don't even dare to do this, you won't be able to survive in this world. One day you'll also turn into a monster like this, and then you'll have no value in being saved," Lin Chen's tone was flat. "The vines will disappear soon! This is your only chance."
These few days of living alone had made Dong Xiaogang mature quite a bit. He didn't understand why Brother Lin, who used to gently pat his head, was so cruel now, but his eyes told him that if he didn't do as he said, he really wouldn't care about him anymore.
Dong Xiaogang walked forward, sniffling. Lin Chen, without a word, shoved the cleaver into his hand and pointed at the zombie's neck, saying, "Chop here, with all your strength."
"Don't look at me. If you don't chop, I'm leaving."
Dong Xiaogang closed his eyes, his hands trembling, and raised the knife.
"Open your eyes, look clearly before you chop. Later, no one will help you chop off a zombie's limbs and hold it still for you to chop!"
Lin Chen's stern voice scared Dong Xiaogang so much he almost dropped the knife.
He opened his tear-filled eyes. In the dim environment, his blurry vision actually prevented him from seeing the zombie clearly. He gritted his teeth and chopped down.
"Not enough, again, harder!"
With the first chop came more. Dong Xiaogang chopped faster and harder.
"Alright, that's enough," Lin Chen pulled him away and wiped his tears. "See, killing them isn't that hard. Their necks are as fragile as a human's."
"After killing a zombie, Copper Coins will drop. Copper Coins can be used to pay the fee to enter the camp. Lucky, there are 3. Go pick them up and keep them," Lin Chen said, pointing at the Copper Coins on the zombie's body.
Dong Xiaogang silently picked up the Copper Coins, watching in surprise as the zombie's body turned to dust and disappeared.
"After picking up the drops, the body will disappear, and those forced to become zombies can rest in peace. You should have activated your player handbook just now, right? Open it and take a look, then choose your profession to gain abilities like mine," Lin Chen stepped aside, picked up the pile of empty mineral water bottles in the corner, and filled them using Create Water.
"Pay attention to the descriptions of attributes. Attributes are very important for professions. I suggest you choose a profession based on your attribute strengths. Also, professions with ranged attack capabilities will be safer for you. If you don't understand anything, you can ask me."
Lin Chen did not ask about his attributes in detail, as this was rather private information for everyone.
After preparing the water, Dong Xiaogang still said nothing, silently looking at his player handbook.
Lin Chen didn't force him. Having done this much, his conscience was clear. He silently sat aside, closing his eyes to rest and recover his magic points as quickly as possible.
A few hours passed, and Lin Chen's magic points were full again. He stood up and stretched his limbs, "I'm leaving. You hide well. Use this time to properly train your professional abilities."
Dong Xiaogang remained crouched by the wall. Lin Chen didn't mind. After checking the surroundings, he opened the mezzanine door panel, intending to go down.
After going down, he took the ladder down again and leaned it against the wall.
The mezzanine door panel creaked open a crack again, "Brother Lin..."
"Hm?" Lin Chen looked up at him.
"Thank you, and... I chose Ranger..." After saying that, he quickly closed the door panel.
"This child, it's good that he's come to terms with it," Lin Chen curved his lips. "But what kind of profession is Ranger?"