Chapter Ninety: The Timid Ones

After posting the information, Yang Fan had no idea how far his influence might reach, but he knew for certain that he would save many lives. He cared little for the thrill of directing the fate of nations or for the halo of a savior; otherwise, he would not have used the name “Divinity” as his ID, but his own real name.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Yang Fan muttered to himself, “This is as far as I can help you.”

With that, he set off to find Fu Gaobin and Wang Cheng. At this moment, the two had already become the de facto leaders of the last carriage, surrounded by people who treated them with utmost respect and spoke to them with deference. Fu Gaobin and Wang Cheng, infected by this reverence, were nearly walking on air—until Yang Fan’s arrival brought them abruptly back to earth.

“Gaobin, Wang Cheng, come here. I have something to discuss,” Yang Fan called out, showing no sign of hierarchy with Fu Gaobin, for the man was his brother, while Wang Cheng was, at best, a subordinate; hence the different ways he addressed them. Fu Gaobin was both surprised and honored to hear Yang Fan call him “Gaobin,” but Wang Cheng thought nothing of it.

“What is it, Yang Fan?” the two stood and walked over to inquire.

In front of so many people, Yang Fan was not at liberty to say much. He simply said, “Check the forum system.” In this carriage, aside from the refugees, everyone else was an inheritor of the Apocalypse System, and thus could access the so-called forum.

Upon clicking in, a thread marked at the national level glimmered on a virtual screen before them. Each spent two Apocalypse coins to view it, only to emerge with drastically changed expressions, their eyes all turning to Yang Fan.

Fu Gaobin and Wang Cheng also looked at Yang Fan with grave faces, asking, “Is this real, Yang Fan?” They had no idea that Yang Fan himself was the one who posted the thread, and Yang Fan was certainly not foolish enough to reveal that fact. Otherwise, he might as well have used his real name.

Feigning confusion, Yang Fan pondered for a moment and replied, “The world now is no longer what it used to be. We must err on the side of caution. The road ahead is already blocked by the snowy mountains. If some creature even more terrifying than the mutated beasts really appears, staying here would be courting death. We must move on, do you understand?”

Yang Fan’s stern words carried an almost hypnotic power, drawing everyone’s attention. His strength was indisputable—if even he said they had to move on, and that resistance was futile, who among them dared to object? The tension in the carriage swelled immediately.

“What? Something even more terrifying than the mutated beasts? What in the world could that be? Heaven help us, we’re truly doomed this time!”

“We have to run, quickly! It takes two or three of us just to handle a single mutated beast. If something even worse is coming, how could we possibly fight it? Run, run, run!”

Despair swept through the crowd. The oppression of zombies had left them grief-stricken; the advent of mutated beasts threatened their very lives; and now, with the impending arrival of an even greater threat—the insect swarm—how could they not be devastated? Their hope for the future was nearly extinguished.

Just then, the door to the carriage was flung open and Li Qiang strode in. The moment he appeared, silence fell. Clearly, his authority was even greater than Yang Fan’s.

Dressed in a black trench coat, Li Qiang swept his cold gaze across the assembly, then drew a pistol and aimed it straight at Yang Fan, his face contorted with fury. The atmosphere became unbearably tense at once. Li Qiang’s strength was well known, but it seemed Yang Fan was even stronger. Many imagined that before Li Qiang could pull the trigger, he might have a bullet in his own head.

Wang Cheng and Fu Gaobin, however, had absolute faith in Yang Fan’s abilities and felt no fear. They even raised their own weapons, glaring coldly at Li Qiang, firmly regarding Yang Fan as their leader—one who must not be insulted.

“What do you want?” Yang Fan asked, his expression dark. After all, no one would feel comfortable with a gun pointed at them, especially by someone like Li Qiang, a decisive and dangerous officer.

“What do I want?” Li Qiang retorted, his anger boiling over. He jabbed a finger at Yang Fan’s nose and shouted, “What I want to know is, what are you playing at? Spreading rumors, sowing fear—your forum post claims there’s a power even more fearsome than the mutated beasts. Fine, perhaps it’s wise to err on the side of caution. But your first reaction is to run? To organize an escape? Do you realize what that means? You’d be dooming everyone!”

“Something more terrifying than mutated beasts? Zombies are already more fearsome than lions and tigers. If, back then, I had just led my people in flight, do you know what would have happened? We would never have grown stronger and would have perished here. The mutated beasts are even deadlier than zombies. Yet when I led a thousand brothers against them, do you know how many fell? Seven hundred. They were heroes, and you are a coward! Many among them were no better fighters than ordinary people—raw recruits I’d trained for only months. Yet for the sake of the people, their families, their future, they pressed forward bravely. But all you ever do is run—timid, weak—you’ll spend your whole life that way!”

Li Qiang’s tirade grew more impassioned, and Yang Fan was left speechless. Everything Li Qiang said was true. Whether before or after the apocalypse, Yang Fan had always been timid and fearful, forever claiming to protect his friends, family, lover, and brothers.

But he had never used courage to shield them, only his own timidity and knowledge of what was to come. If things continued this way, what would happen if one day, after using his save-point skill, he still encountered danger? Would he just keep running, madly fleeing?

Would his whole life be spent running? Always a coward, a pathetic soul who fled at the first sign of danger?

If that were truly the case, what meaning would there be in living? Watching everything he valued be ravaged, bullied, and humiliated by others, placing all his hope in the ability to reload from a save?

But what if—what if one day, that ability was gone?

Then everything would be over.

Stunned, Yang Fan stood rooted to the spot. In the past few days, Xiao You had helped him realize the essence of being human, and now Li Qiang had made him see his shortcomings—timidity, cowardice, fear...

“No, no, no, I can’t go on like this!”

Yang Fan roared aloud.

(Yesterday I caught a cold and rested until three o’clock. Remembered I hadn’t updated yet, so here’s a chapter. I’m off for an IV drip; expect another update around eight, maybe one in the early morning too, since tomorrow’s Monday.)