"Quite a distance away... That handsome boss must have a wife who loves him dearly, buying him an electric scooter like this. Not bad at all."
Lam Pham touched the stylish electric scooter.
Could he say he wasn't envious?
Of course he was, a little bit. But he believed that with his own hard work, he'd definitely earn his own electric scooter—and even a car someday.
With his current security guard salary, buying a scooter wouldn't be an issue.
But once he bought it, his expenses would be impacted. Not to mention he was still raising Manh Manh—kids cost a lot. Diapers, milk formula, clothes, and a million other things all added up fast.
"Oooh!"
At that moment—
He heard a groaning sound.
A zombie in the distance had noticed him.
"A strange kind of zombie, huh."
Lam Pham muttered inwardly. It was the first time he'd seen a spider-like zombie. It looked vaguely human but not quite—it was bizarre.
"Hello there," he said, waving his hand.
No matter whether he met people or zombies, he always smiled and greeted them politely.
It was just basic human courtesy.
A quick assessment—
This zombie had probably been male in life. Despite its appearance now being a dripping mess of goo, Lam Pham could still make out a dangling object between its legs.
Not that he had a fetish for looking at these things—it was just his habit of observing carefully.
"Oooh... Roar!"
The spider-like zombie saw Lam Pham and ignored the nearby Doggi—it wanted a bigger, juicier prey.
Without hesitation—
It charged forward on all fours, fast as lightning, heading straight for Lam Pham.
"Sigh."
Lam Pham sighed, finished locking up the scooter, took off his helmet, and flipped his hair. Facing the charging zombie, he showed no panic, calmly speaking as if negotiating:
"Don't act rashly. I mean you no harm. But if you attack me, I will defend myself."
He'd said this to countless zombies.
Unfortunately... not one of them ever listened.
As the spider zombie lunged, soaring through the air, trying to pin him down and bite fiercely—
"When danger approaches and I can no longer stop their violence, the only thing I can do... is defend myself and protect my safety."
Lam Pham reached back and grabbed the hilt of Frostmourne, the evil, father-slaying sword.
Swish!
A flash of sword light.
A gust of wind surged. If you listened closely, you could hear the sword humming.
Splat!
The spider zombie's head split mid-air. Inside, a crystal core was briefly visible—but it, too, was cleaved by the sword. A strange substance clung to Frostmourne.
Then—
A crack split open and spread. The zombie's body was sliced in two and collapsed behind Lam Pham.
[Spider-type zombie killed][Points +3]
"I told you not to randomly attack me. This is dangerous, you know."
Lam Pham shook off the black, gooey substance from his sword. He didn't pay the bizarre zombie much attention.
Now, he just wanted to see if anyone was still alive inside the water plant.
Old man Vuong had once said—
The water plant might still be supplying clean water because someone was still managing it.
He deeply respected such survivors.
They had skills—and more importantly, a spirit. A spirit that Lam Pham himself once aspired to.
That spirit had nothing to do with salary.
Woof woof...
A dog, a mutt, wagged its tail as it approached Lam Pham.
Dogs were intelligent creatures.
It knew Lam Pham wasn't a zombie.
"What a cute little dog," Lam Pham smiled, patting its head. Then he noticed a phone tied to its body. "Can you take me to the survivors here?"
Woof woof...
The dog seemed to understand, wagging its tail and running forward—stopping occasionally to wait for Lam Pham, urging him to follow.
They entered the water plant and passed by the security room.
"I'll register real quick."
Even though there were no guards, the rule still stood—registering was just something that needed to be done.
Name: Lam PhamPhone: …Looking for: Survivors
He wrote a bit more than usual. Once done, he chased after the dog. He left the scooter outside—he wasn't staff here, so he probably couldn't ride it inside anyway.
It wasn't locked, but Lam Pham trusted people now.
No one would be greedy for an electric scooter these days.
Following the dog, he encountered a few zombies in dirty water plant uniforms. The clothes were so old and stained, you couldn't tell what color they originally were.
When the zombies saw Lam Pham—
Their instincts erupted. With snarling faces and flailing limbs, they lunged at him—fresh human flesh was the most delicious to them.
Lam Pham remained calm.
One swing—cleaved them all.
To normal people, these zombies were terrifying.
To him, they were trivial.
Following the dog's lead, Lam Pham advanced. Every zombie they passed ended up lying silently on the ground.
Rooms were locked tight. No sign of life.
The dog circled nervously. It couldn't find its owner.
It sniffed the air.
Woof woof...
It barked at Lam Pham.
"Alright, I'll go with you. Lead the way," Lam Pham nodded. This mutt might look dumb, but to him, it was very smart.
Behind a door—
Vuong Khai slumped exhaustedly on the ground. He hadn't heard anything outside in a while. Maybe he didn't dare check—what if there was a zombie waiting outside the door?
But he couldn't stay in here forever. Who else would open the door for his dog?
Then—
He heard footsteps.
Vuong Khai's bloodshot eyes widened. He clutched his mouth, afraid to make a sound, terrified the zombie would find out he was inside.
His mental state was at the breaking point.
He prayed—
Buddha, Jade Emperor, please protect me. I'm so scared...
Woof!
A bark.
Very familiar.
He recognized his dog's voice.
Impossible.
His dog couldn't be here.
It had to be an illusion.
Suddenly—
There was a voice outside.
"Excuse me, is anyone inside?"
Ah...
Vuong Khai's breath grew ragged. Was his hallucination this vivid now?
He reached for the door.
His mind screamed: "It's a trick! A zombie will be waiting outside to rip you apart!"
Woof woof...
"Hello? Anyone there? I'm Lam Pham, a security guard from Yang Guang Residential Complex. I'm here to find survivors. If anyone's in there, please open the door. I mean no harm. I'm a good person."
Lam Pham stood outside patiently.
He knew the person inside must be overwhelmed with fear and despair.
He was willing to wait.
Time could heal trauma.
Inside, Vuong Khai's hands trembled. Summoning all his courage, he turned the knob—ready to face whatever illusion or truth was behind the door.
The door opened.
There was no sudden attack. No pain. No despair.
Just a stranger's smiling face.
The man reached out his hand.
"Hello, my name is Lam Pham."
"I've come to get you."