Snowstorm: I'm Super Rich in the Apocalypse-Chapter 389: Choosing to Stay

The man clutched his head, "Just because I couldn’t find any doesn’t mean you don’t have them, and with so many of you, it’s not necessary that everyone has one."

Guo Gang also didn’t understand, "Then on what basis do you think our family would have any?"

The man actually had his own opinion, "Because you have children in the household, and children are the hope of the future, so it’s more likely that your family has them. Also, you don’t have to go to work, while I’ve checked out the others, they have jobs, so maybe they have special quotas and don’t need to get tickets themselves, which means they probably aren’t holding onto any. And besides, your house is on the edge, which makes it the easiest target."

The man was particularly pleased with his smart analysis, convinced that his reasoning was unbeatable. All these years, he had never missed a detective novel; before the apocalypse, he was an unwavering fan of "Conan." His parents always criticized him for not pursuing a proper career, but look now, at the end, wasn’t this knowledge proving useful?

Perhaps it was because it had been too long since he’d spoken to someone, or perhaps because he suddenly felt an urge to release his pent-up emotions, or maybe he just felt that his talents needed to be recognized. In any case, right now, he just wanted to talk.

In reality, it was more because his mind was also not quite right anymore, only he didn’t realize that. He wanted to get a ticket, not so much for the sake of moving on and surviving, but more to prove his own abilities.

Gu Pan looked at the man’s somewhat frenzied appearance, and felt that something was off about him, but she could tell from his analysis that he was likely very experienced.

Suddenly, she thought of something and said to the man, "You’re right, your analysis is very accurate, and you have experience. So, since you’re so smart, perhaps you really have succeeded before. Let me guess, do you have a ticket on you?"

The man’s expression became more serious, "What are you trying to do?"

Gu Pan was only trying to make a point, but now she genuinely felt there might be a possibility, so she said to Guo Gang, "Brother Guo, search him."

Guo Gang’s eyes lit up. He went over and searched the man carefully, and finally found a ticket in the man’s underwear.

The man nearly died of anger when he saw Guo Gang seize the ticket, "How can you be so shameless? I got this by myself. What you’re doing is robbery. I’m going to report you."

Gu Pan watched the man with a smile, "The way you got this ticket wasn’t legitimate either. What will you do after you report it? You have to face the consequences of your wrongdoing."

The man looked at the ticket, "You know how valuable this ticket is, do you have the nerve to just snatch it away like that?"

Gu Pan asked him, "If you had stolen our tickets today, would you feel they didn’t belong to you and return them to us?"

The man didn’t speak. He was a thief, not a saint. How could he possibly do that?

"Anyway, you weren’t on the right path to begin with. Do you really think you have any say?" Gu Pan looked at the man as he got up from the ground and asked.

What else could the man say, "I’m just unlucky." Then, when they weren’t paying attention, he scattered a handful of white chalk powder from his shoe towards the crowd, took advantage of the commotion to flee.

He didn’t dare stay any longer; after all, he had almost killed someone for that ticket. If these people found out, he would be a dead man.

Gu Pan and the others didn’t go after him directly, because, at that moment, they didn’t have their protective gear. Now it wasn’t safe outside, who knew what sudden weather changes might occur? They only ventured out fully equipped, not risking danger without gear.

This was exactly what the thief had counted on to make his escape.

If the man hadn’t run, Gu Pan and the others would have liked to ask him where he stole the ticket from, and if possible, they would want to return it, as it was someone else’s lifeline.

But now, with the situation as it was, there was no way to return it; the thief had fled with his face covered. Where to look for him?

Reporting to the authorities wasn’t an option either. There weren’t many police left in the base, and they were too busy with the relocation efforts to spare any manpower to chase a petty thief.

And they certainly couldn’t afford to go out looking for one person, wasting so much time and effort, facing danger—it just wasn’t worth it.

And they needed to prepare for their own relocation now, so this ticket would just have to be an unexpected gain.

After the man had left, Guo Gang handed the ticket to Gu Pan, "Your observational skills are too strong. I didn’t notice this at all."

Gu Pan smiled, "I was just bluffing, I didn’t really expect there to be a ticket."

After finishing, she put on disposable gloves, then sealed the ticket in a ziplock bag before storing it in "Space."

Squad Leader Fang came over at that moment, "Now we’re just one ticket short. You don’t need to put in any more effort to find one; I can’t go."

Gu Pan and the others were just about to speak when Squad Leader Fang raised his hand to stop them, "Lanlan isn’t home today; Cheng Yang is home watching the house. Both of them are absent, so I might as well speak my heart out to you while she’s not around. Sit down, and I’ll take my time telling you."

Everyone found places to sit, turning their attention to Squad Leader Fang, sensing he had been keeping a significant matter from them. fгeewёbnoѵel_cσm

Squad Leader Fang held a handkerchief in his hand and slowly began, "I’ve been coughing up blood for three months now. Doctor Feng took me to the hospital in secret to get checked. I don’t have much time left—cancer, advanced stage. I didn’t tell you before because I didn’t want you to worry, and I dreaded that you’d waste resources trying to find medicine for me. In the apocalypse, an old man with a terminal disease—these three factors combined really don’t justify spending resources. I know that all of you are good people and would go out of your way to save me, but in these circumstances, what good would it do without surgery or chemotherapy? How long could I last?"

As he spoke, he coughed several times, covering his mouth with the handkerchief. Afterward, he showed the handkerchief, now blood-stained, to everyone, "There’s no need for you to think about prolonging my life anymore. Honestly, if it weren’t for a bit of selfishness on my end, wanting to see Lanlan a bit more, I should have ended things earlier. If we didn’t have sweet potatoes and protein bugs that we can grow ourselves, I wouldn’t even want to live this long, I wouldn’t waste those resources that are dwindling by the day. But because we do have these things, I’ve managed to balance my selfish desires and kept on living a while longer. If you were to use more resources to exchange for a ticket for me, a dying man, I wouldn’t be able to die with a clear conscience."

His words were resolute and clear, full of conviction. Even though he was physically weak and frail, these were the thoughts that had been weighing on his heart for a long time, what he had long wanted to express.

After listening to Squad Leader Fang, everyone fell into a brief silence, as no one expected his health to be so dire or even that he had contemplated suicide.

Today, Fang Lanlan was at work, leaving Cheng Yang to watch the house, so neither of them was present. Those at Guo Gang’s place included Gu Pan, Chen Shaonan, and Lu Xuerong.

Duan Shumei had gone to work, Chen Lang was home, and today was Feng Zhekai’s day off, which is why Lu Xuerong was able to be there.

Squad Leader Fang chose this moment to speak up, taking advantage of Fang Lanlan’s absence.

Gu Pan looked at Squad Leader Fang, "Isn’t there traditional Chinese medicine? Maybe you could give that a try?"

Squad Leader Fang shook his head, "There’s no medicine in traditional Chinese medicine either, and even if there were, it would require a combination of Western medicine, starting with surgery. I’m in the advanced stages now, it has spread to my bones. Even if we weren’t in the apocalypse, there’s not much that could be done, so how could there be a way now? Right now, I just want to see you all safely relocated, I’ve come to terms with life and death a long time ago."

Meng Meng squatted beside Squad Leader Fang’s legs, "But Sister Lanlan will be very sad without her dad."

This hit right at Squad Leader Fang’s weak spot, his tender point, and he wiped away a tear, "When I die, I’ll become a star in the sky, watching over Lanlan."

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