At this moment.
Lieu Binh's words instantly made Lieu Hong tense up.
He thought a zombie might have heard something and was now coming up the stairs.
He moved cautiously to the security door and, peeking through the peephole, observed the stairwell. He didn't see any zombies, but if he listened carefully, there did seem to be some movement upstairs.
"Is it a zombie?" Lieu Hong asked.
Lieu Binh shook his head. "Not sure. It could be, or it could not. Let's see what's going on first."
What he feared most was that it wasn't a zombie, but a person. And worse, that Nhan Ny Ny might leave with that person. If the duck in his hand flew away now, that was something he absolutely couldn't accept.
He watched carefully.
He wanted to see exactly what the situation was.
...
Inside the room.
Nhan Ny Ny sat there blankly, her whole body listless, no spirit at all. She had no idea what to do next, how to survive. The zombies outside terrified her, and the two siblings downstairs seemed like death spirits staring her down.
She didn't dare to sneak out, nor dare to open the door lightly.
She was afraid that the moment she opened it, standing right there would be Lieu Binh, wearing a horrifying smile.
Thump thump!
A sharp knock echoed from the door.
Nhan Ny Ny's whole body trembled. She hugged her arms tightly, the knocking sounding like a demonic whisper wrapping around her ears, refusing to be ignored.
No matter how much she tried not to think about it, it was useless. She was on the verge of breaking down.
"Is anyone there?"
It sounded like someone speaking. Listening carefully, yes, there really was a voice.
"Leave me alone, leave me alone," Nhan Ny Ny whispered, lowering her head. She had never felt this level of despair before. Ever since the apocalypse started, a shroud of hopelessness had hung over her.
Thump thump!
The knocking continued.
Nhan Ny Ny covered her ears, trying not to hear it.
She really wanted to grab a kitchen knife and hack herself a few times—stand, bloody and broken, in front of Lieu Binh and scream, "Is this still what you want?"
But then she thought about her body. That pervert Lieu Binh would probably just cover her face with something and still use her.
Suicide was probably not an option either.
He would likely take advantage of her even in death...
Argh...
It was maddening, absolutely maddening. Why did things like this have to happen to her?
Thump thump!
The knocking came again.
Nhan Ny Ny wanted to grab the cleaver and charge out to kill whoever it was. She had never killed anyone before, not even dared to kill a chicken. Killing a person was only a fantasy at best.
At that moment.
Outside the door.
Lam Pham had been knocking for a long time, but there was no response from inside. Not a sound.
Standing at the door, he knocked very lightly.
He didn't want to make too much noise and attract unnecessary attention.
Basic manners were still important.
But having knocked this long without any reaction, he fell into deep thought. Recalling scenes from many movies he'd watched.
Maybe... inside was someone seriously ill, collapsed on the floor, unable to get up and open the door, only able to stretch out a hand toward the entrance, desperate and helpless.
In the end, unable to open it, they would die miserably inside.
Thinking of this.
Lam Pham realized he absolutely couldn't just sit idly by. He couldn't treat this like any ordinary situation.
He felt the door; it seemed sturdy.
But no matter how sturdy it was, for an ordinary person, it was practically impossible to break through.
"If I destroy the door and rescue whoever's inside, they probably won't make me pay for the security door, right?"
He clenched his fingers into a tight fist, inhaled deeply, and smashed his fist toward the door. Normally, flesh and blood clashing with a steel door would only bring pain.
But Lam Pham's strength and stamina had reached an extraordinary level. With a loud boom, crack, the security door was punched through, creating a large hole. He then easily pulled the door open from the inside.
After opening the door.
He froze.
Standing before him was a beautiful young woman, holding a cleaver with trembling hands, her face full of fear, staring at him.
Through her terrified gaze, Lam Pham could tell she was completely stunned by his entrance.
He was puzzled.
If there was no emergency, why didn't she open the door? But now wasn't the time for questions. The important thing was that he had frightened her.
"Don't be nervous," Lâm Phàm said, standing at the doorway without stepping inside. He spoke gently, trying to show friendliness and sincerity.
Nhan Ny Ny stared fearfully at Lam Pham.
Her mind was blank. When she heard the loud crash, she had rushed out—and saw a hand punch through the door.
She immediately ran to the kitchen and grabbed a knife.
She had no idea what was happening.
Her brain was a complete mess.
When she realized it wasn't Lieu Binh standing there, she did feel a tiny bit of relief—but only a tiny bit. In this apocalyptic world, she couldn't trust anyone, especially not a man.
In her heart, all men were the same—now that the world had ended, their darkness had been completely unleashed.
Nhan Ny Ny didn't say a word, maintaining the same posture. The cleaver still pointed at Lam Pham.
Seeing her for the first time.
Lam Pham's eyes lit up a little. She really was stunning. Not that he had any bad intentions—he was simply surprised by her beauty.
Admiring beauty was only natural.
And the more he looked, the more familiar she seemed.
Suddenly.
"You're the dance streamer Ny Ny!" he exclaimed.
He finally remembered who she was. Hoang city had many internet celebrities, but this one was particularly famous. He remembered seeing one of her dance clips—he normally wouldn't pay attention to such things, but her performance had genuinely impressed him.
Her waist moved so fluidly, like a snake.
Damn, impressive.
He could never pull off something like that.
"I even tipped you a hundred credits when I watched you live! Normally I just watch for free and never tip anyone, but your dance was so good I had to."
Lam Pham smiled as he spoke about it.
But to Nhan Ny Ny, who was shaking with fear, none of this mattered.
She didn't know who he was.
She didn't know what he wanted.
All she knew was that she was terrified.
The kind of terror that seeped deep into the bones.
"Don't come closer! If you move one step, I swear I'll kill myself right here in front of you!" Nhan Ny Ny cried, pressing the cleaver to her neck.
Her hands were shaking so badly that it was obvious she was both terrified and hesitant.
But she would rather die than fall into someone else's hands.
Once, at her school dorm, she and her best friend had watched a dark video from a certain island nation. In it, a woman was captured and tortured daily until she was broken like an animal.
Back then, she thought it was fake.
Now, she knew—it could be real.
"Uh..." Lam Pham scratched his head awkwardly.
Was there some misunderstanding here?
And this move of declaring she'd kill herself if he dared to approach—he really hadn't expected that.
It seemed like he seriously needed to calm her down first.
Clearly, there was a huge misunderstanding here.