Scum Gong Walks the Career Line in the Crematorium

TL: Moonlit

“I was just trying to be kind,” Rong Ziping said, puzzled and even a little angry as he looked at Lin Hanchuan.
“I didn’t expect you to be so cold-hearted.
These children are so pitiful, how can you just ignore their suffering and not help them?”

In his previous life, Rong Ziping had always been softhearted.
Every time they entered the city gates, he wanted to give something to these unfortunate people, but he was always stopped by Lin Hanchuan.

Because of this, even though Tu Ji treated him well, Rong Ziping couldn’t fully open his heart to accept such a heartless man.

“In the apocalypse, kindness towards the powerless is often a disaster,” Lin Hanchuan replied without looking at Rong Ziping, his gaze fixed on the survivors who were being held back outside.

“You’re just making excuses!” Rong Ziping didn’t believe him at all.
“Clearly, it’s because you lack compassion.”

The implication was that he was the one who possessed compassion and was the kind and righteous one.

Hopeless.
Lin Hanchuan didn’t even want to bother with him.
If he wasn’t worried about the safety of these children, he wouldn’t even spare a second glance at Rong Ziping.

Looking around, Lin Hanchuan gestured for Rong Ziping to look in a certain direction.
“If you give them food, this will be their fate.”

They saw that in another part of the queue, someone else had softened and given each child a small piece of bread.
This used to be the most inconspicuous snack before the apocalypse, but as soon as the children got their hands on it, there was immediate squabbling.

Some children held onto the bread tightly, only to be beaten by adults until they let go; others cleverly tore open the packaging and hastily shoved the bread into their mouths, only to have greedy people pry open their mouths, leaving traces of blood.

Upon knowing that someone was giving out food, more and more survivors gathered, and there was a hint of a robbery scene.
It was only thanks to the intervention of the guards that the situation was prevented from escalating.

Those who witnessed the scene turned pale, no longer daring to underestimate these seemingly pitiful survivors.

Under Tu Ji’s restraint, Rong Ziping had never seen such a scene before.
In these two lifetimes, except for the betrayal by his childhood friend before his death, he had always been well protected.
Even if there were cruel scenes, Tu Ji would cover his eyes to avoid him from seeing.

This was the first time he faced the raw brutality of human nature in the apocalypse.

“How could it be like this…” Rong Ziping murmured, his face full of disbelief.

The other people in the team were also shocked; they had never seen so many survivors before.
Especially these survivors who had reached the gates of the imperial city but were kept outside, fighting over a bite to eat as if their lives depended on it.

“Why can’t they go in?” Lu Mao couldn’t help but murmur.

One of the guards who maintained order heard his question and smiled, saying, “Everyone entering the city must submit enough supplies.
After entering the city, they need supplies for food and clothing.
They don’t have any supplies and no strength to fight the zombies.
Even if they enter the city, they will be quickly driven out.”

“It’s already good enough that they can survive here.
We are patrolling around the imperial city, so at least there are no zombies nearby.
They are safe,” another guard added.

Their tone was too casual, leaving Lu Mao stunned.
“But… soldiers are not supposed to give up on any life, right?”

“What soldiers?” The guard suppressed the commotion and drove away all the beggars who had come.
“There are no soldiers now.
It’s just a few families maintaining peace in the imperial city.
I am from the Rong Family.”

With that, the guard straightened his chest and displayed the badge on his chest.
As he left, he added, “These people won’t live long in the apocalypse.
Giving them food is just a waste and may cause riots.
Don’t give them any in the future.”

Lin Hanchuan sighed softly in his heart.
“In the apocalypse, everyone is focused on self-preservation.
Only when you have the means to save yourself can you help others.”

After the guards left, Lin Hanchuan’s group arrived at the checkpoint of the imperial city.
They listened numbly to the instructions from the staff and underwent the inspection process.
Once they arrived in the imperial city, they realized that it was not quite as they had imagined, which dealt a heavy blow to their expectations.

They had to remove their clothes and be checked for any bite marks from zombies.
A blood sample was also taken to test for the zombie virus in their bodies.

Cheng Jizhou stared wide-eyed.
He didn’t have any wounds on his body, but the concentration of the zombie virus in his body was so high that it triggered an alarm.
Even when they drew his blood, the blood in his body had already stopped flowing, and they couldn’t get fresh blood.

Amidst the crowd, Cheng Jizhou’s eyes flickered.
He took advantage of his small size and secretly took the blood sample that Lu Mao hadn’t had a chance to register, handing it to one of the staff members.
“Uncle, another uncle took my blood, but he didn’t write my name yet.”

Seeing such a cute child, the staff member’s numb expression softened.
“Leave it to me.
I’ll write your name.”

Meanwhile, Lu Mao was dazedly getting his blood drawn when he was suddenly called back.
“You haven’t given blood yet.
Come back and sit down.”

Lu Mao: “???”

Bewildered, he went back to sit down and had his blood drawn again.
He looked at the two needle marks on his arm and felt confused: Did the test require drawing blood twice???

Lin Hanchuan didn’t notice Cheng Jizhou’s little action; he was busy inquiring about the specifics of the imperial city.
After handing out two pieces of bread, the other person quickly started talking.

The population of the imperial city was huge, and the situation was most severe when the epidemic broke out.
Countless soldiers worked tirelessly to clean up, and it took a whole month to stabilize the situation in the imperial city.

The epidemic prevention department quickly developed a potion that could detect the virus’s activity level.
Once the virus’s activity level exceeded a certain value, there would be a risk of turning into a zombie, necessitating early elimination.

This battle left the military severely depleted.

Just as the situation was about to stabilize, the major families suddenly started recruiting talents, claiming to reduce the burden on the country and spontaneously protect the people.
They formed their own guards, voluntarily claiming to “serve the people.”

Although the government knew these families had ulterior motives, with the military weakened, they had no choice but to tolerate it and barely keep control of all core departments in their hands.

“Now it’s the Zhao, Rong, Xie, Chen, and Yang families gaining the most prominence…” Speaking about these matters, the staff member sighed, “If things continue to develop like this, we’ll end up like other countries, controlled by capitalists.”

No one wanted to see this outcome, but everyone was powerless to prevent it.

Lin Hanchuan pondered silently and then handed a pack of candies to the staff member as a token of appreciation.

In the apocalypse, food was precious, and the priority was to fill one’s stomach.
However, high-calorie and delicious food like candies was more enjoyable.
The staff member carefully put the candies in his pocket, patting them to make sure they were safe, and smiled brightly.

After learning about the situation in the imperial city, Lin Hanchuan assigned the task of arranging accommodation to the logistics supervisor, Wei Zheng, and himself, along with Lu Mao, went directly to the military camp.

The entrance to the old building was still covered with a paper stating “Military Zone, Unauthorized Personnel Keep Out,” but people coming and going paid no attention to it, except for the two soldiers standing guard at the entrance, who were still in perfect military formation.

“We are supernaturals.” Lin Hanchuan got straight to the point, directly telling the guards at the entrance, “We’ve come to join the volunteer army.”

Supernaturals! The eyes of the guards lit up, and one of them immediately led Lin Hanchuan and Lu Mao inside.
“Please come in.”

Perhaps due to military regulations, the guard remained silent throughout the journey.
Even when Lu Mao bombarded him with a bunch of questions, he remained stoic, maintaining the composure of a soldier even in the apocalypse.

Once they arrived in front of someone, the guard saluted and left.

“I heard you are supernaturals?” The man speaking to Lin Hanchuan and Lu Mao was a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties.
His skin was dark, and there was a freshly healed, pink scar on his face, making him look both ferocious and amusing.

Lin Hanchuan directly condensed a lightning ball in his palm, and Lu Mao followed suit, generating a flame in his own hand.

“Not bad.” The scar-faced man’s eyes brightened.
Although he didn’t have any supernatural abilities himself, he could sense that compared to the soldiers under his command who possessed supernatural powers, these two individuals had better control and their manifestations posed a greater threat.
“You know, the conditions we offer are not as good as those offered by the families.
Why did you choose to join the volunteer army?”

The scar-faced man was eager to immediately recruit these two into the team, but he had to ask a few more questions.

Currently, the situation in the imperial city appeared stable, but in reality, there were hidden currents.
Apart from the conflicts between the military and the families, the aristocratic families were secretly targeting each other as well.
With the advent of the apocalypse, everyone wanted to become the leader of this new era, and everyone sought to gain greater benefits for themselves.

Discerning individuals could see that after the apocalypse, all the pre-apocalyptic legal provisions had become meaningless, and only strength mattered.
In order to secure powerful supernaturals, the families offered unprecedentedly favorable conditions and constantly competed with one another.

The military, despite sparing no effort to suppress the zombies in the imperial city, was far weaker compared to the families.
They helplessly watched one supernatural after another being snatched away without any means to prevent it.

“I have a grudge against the Rong family.” Lin Hanchuan explained concisely, “My condition for joining the volunteer army is that I have a group of followers, and they must come with me.”

“Are you asking us to help you seek revenge?” The scar-faced man furrowed his brow.

“No, I will deal with the Rong family myself.
My only request is to arrange for my followers.” Lin Hanchuan had no intention of taking advantage of the situation, especially since the current situation among the families was stable, even the military had to back down.

“Then why didn’t you go to other families and chose the volunteer army instead?” The scar-faced man was genuinely curious.
He scrutinized Lin Hanchuan and then glanced at Lu Mao, who was standing quietly by Lin Hanchuan’s side like a loyal horse.
“Just based on the two of you being supernaturals, you would receive the best treatment anywhere.”

Lin Hanchuan smiled, the scar-faced man saw him smile for the first time, and he said, “I just don’t want the capitalists to control this country.”

For the survivors outside the city and for countless unseen ordinary people.

No capitalist, whose priority is always self-interest, would genuinely consider the well-being of ordinary people, except for the nation.