In the living room.
The shotgun lay on the coffee table.
"Little Pham, do you intend to take the shotgun to the police station?" Old man Vuong asked.
Lam Pham said, "Mm, yes. I took this shotgun from a group of illegal individuals. They weren't holding the gun for self-defense, but to threaten others. I felt it was very dangerous, so I took their shotgun."
In the current apocalypse, possessing a shotgun – anyone could understand the implications.
Old man Vuong said, "Little Pham, your thinking is very good. Firearms should indeed be handed over to the police station. But in the current situation, even if you take it there, it might get stolen. You know I'm a retired soldier, and Co Hang is also a soldier. If it stays in Duong Quang Apartments, I think we can use the shotgun to protect ourselves, and also protect others. What do you think?"
He knew Lam Pham's way of thinking.
We cannot do illegal things.
Lam Pham smiled, "Old man Vuong, whatever you say goes. You are a soldier, he is also a soldier. I trust you completely. If you think it's useful, can protect the community, can protect others, then there's absolutely no problem. I'll leave it in your care, Old man Vuong."
He felt it was fine.
If this were peacetime, encountering a firearm, with two people present – one ordinary person, one soldier – he would definitely hand the gun to the soldier. This was a very common-sense choice.
"This is a very old shotgun, the kind that needs gunpowder and scrap iron pellets or steel balls, an old model. Right now, there's only one shot's worth of charge. If we can't find gunpowder, it's basically scrap metal," Old man Chu saw through the shotgun's nature at a glance.
Old man Vuong smiled, "Firing it isn't the most terrifying thing. Often, just having a gun in hand is the biggest threat. We aren't using the shotgun for evil deeds, but to guard Duong Quang Apartments. Perhaps we'll never need to use it. If we do, then it can certainly play a crucial role."
"You're an old soldier, you have your ideas," Old man Chu said with a smile.
Old man Vuong said, "Old Chu, you're also an old expert in military industry. Can it be modified?"
Old man Chu spread his hands, "No equipment, no tools. Powerless."
Old man Vuong shook his head, saying no more. He knew Old Chu's capabilities. Without needing professional equipment, just some basic tools, he could make some improvements.
But now, Duong Quang Apartments was just getting on track; there were too many areas needing development. Weapons weren't a priority, especially since they had someone like Little Pham.
"Old Men, it's a bit dirty outside the community. I'll go busy myself for a while." Lam Pham stood up. He had quite a few things to do now, needing to clean up the zombie corpses outside.
If left unattended, they would emit a disgusting stench again.
If Duong Quang Apartments became enveloped in this foul smell.
Who could stand living here?
Wouldn't that invisibly drag down the standard of Duong Quang Apartments completely?
Checking the time.
Four in the afternoon. Still some time before dark.
Many things could be done.
In the room.
Co Hang said, "Old Chief, I believe there are supermen in this world."
"No, Bro Pham isn't Superman. Bro Pham is a cultivator. Superman is a foreign thing. We have cultivators, super-soldiers," Vuong Khai said.
Tran Hac shrank to the side, silent, thinking internally: That's not a cultivator, nor a super-soldier, that's the Lich King. Didn't you see the Frostmourne in his hand?
The two old men smiled.
Were these things important?
Not important at all.
What was important was Little Pham's existence, allowing them to be full of hope for the future.
The street.
Lam Pham stood in the middle of the road, forehead pressed in helplessness. The scene before him gave him a feeling of having nowhere to start. Too much garbage. If the environmental protection aunties saw this situation, they would absolutely exclaim... just kill us now.
Helplessness aside, he gathered the surrounding trash cans, starting to throw the relatively intact corpses into them. Although the trash cans could hold a lot of garbage, they couldn't hold too many zombie corpses.
Work is just like that. Perhaps troublesome at the beginning, but as long as one calmed their heart, they could make a good start.
Trash cans lined up one after another, forming a long queue. He pushed the trash cans towards the garbage dump.
No one on the quiet street could imagine that a world-shaking battle had occurred here.
In the eyes of others, this battle was enough to deify someone.
But for Lam Pham, he was just doing his job. He was the security guard; his duty was to protect the residential area. He had seen news reports about brave security guards fighting thugs, ultimately subduing them, though getting injured themselves.
The result was, not only did they receive rewards, but also the concern of the lovely homeowners.
More importantly...
Even the little homeowner they had a crush on would cast admiring glances.
There were many corpses in the garbage dump.
But given the dump's capacity, it was acceptable. Just thinking about the zombie corpses at the community entrance, there were really too many; it might be reaching saturation.
Oh well, why think about this? Work.
Transporting back and forth.
The corpses on the street indeed decreased, but overall, there were still many.
Looking around.
"Such a quiet street."
Before, he could occasionally see a few zombies. But now, he felt the surroundings were truly empty. Forget zombies, there wasn't even a ghost shadow.
He kept busy until dark.
Still hadn't finished cleaning the environment properly. He deeply understood that individual strength is limited, but persistence is needed. The impact generated is equally huge.
Nighttime.
In the room.
The computer screen flickered with light, playing a previously downloaded movie, "Initial D".
The core of this movie was very easy to understand, eight words:
"AE86 goes uphill, rushes into a tree."
A very sad story.
On the table, a cup of tea emitted steam.
During the daytime work hours, time didn't belong to him. Only at night, after coaxing Manh Manh to sleep, did he have leisure time.
Life is just like that, with rhythm.
Work hard when it's time to work hard, enjoy when it's time to enjoy.
Watching the screen without blinking.
The movie was about to end.
Takumi drove the AE86 through the streets, shedding tears while driving, sorrow flowing like a river. Turbulent first love ultimately couldn't beat foster father's money.
Finished watching the movie.
He came to the balcony, hands resting on the railing, looking at the night view outside.
Although there were no gorgeous lights, no bustling crowds, Hoang city was ultimately the Hoang city in his heart. Lacking color and liveliness, he would paint it stroke by stroke.
Quietly watching, enjoying the night breeze blowing, comfortable.
Returning to the room, lying on the bed, looking at the soundly sleeping Manh Manh, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He hadn't expected his twenty-year-old self would be solely responsible for raising a child with no blood relation.
Gently tucking Manh Manh in.
Holding the small teddy bear, he closed his eyes and entered dreamland.
Tomorrow, there were still many things to do.
Early morning!
A ray of dawn sunlight shone in.
He got up to get busy, went to the washbasin, brushed his teeth, washed his face, looked at himself in the mirror, revealed a confident smile, patted his face.
"Work hard! A new day, strive onward!"
He needed to do many things. Prepare breakfast, change Manh Manh's diaper – these were essential tasks. At the very beginning, it might have been chaotic, but now he was accustomed to it.
Finished everything, went downstairs.
"Old man Vuong, good morning."
"Old man Chu, good morning."
He greeted the old gentlemen downstairs, joining the exercise team. Morning exercise could adjust one's mood for the whole day.
Exercise for thirty minutes, stay healthy for a lifetime.
This wasn't just a joke.
"Little Pham, still full of energy and looking sharp today!" Old man Vuong said with a smile.
"Not bad," Lam Pham was very happy.
He felt the old man must be part of the 'praise group leaders'; confidence is often built from praise.
"Two Old Men, I'm off to work."
Lam Pham waved goodbye to them, then patrolled within the residential area. This was his basic daily work routine. First, patrol the community environment, see if there were any dangerous spots.
When turning a corner, he bumped into Co Hang.
"Good morning," Lam Pham greeted.
"Good morning."
Co Hang smiled, then took the initiative to say, "I'm checking if there are any neglected areas in the community. Look, this perimeter wall isn't very high, and there are no safety measures on top. I'm thinking of fixing some barbed wire on top, which can effectively prevent climbers."
He understood the capabilities of zombies. When their numbers reached a certain level, this kind of defense was fundamentally unreliable. What he wanted to do was to guard against some survivors, some survivors with ulterior motives.
Lam Pham said, "Professionals should handle professional matters. With your help, I believe the community will definitely be safer."
Co Hang had had a heart-to-heart talk with the Old Chief under candlelight.
The Old Chief told him Lam Pham's general situation. Initially, it felt strange, but after thinking carefully, it didn't seem unreasonable.
Working, earning money, obeying the law in the apocalypse.
Thinking about how even renting a room required payment.
He understood.
This was a kind of belief – even in the apocalypse, still abiding by rules, obeying laws, maintaining a conviction.
"I need to hurry off," Lam Pham thought of the garbage on the street and felt a headache coming on. Couldn't delay too long.
After work, he still had to take Vuong Khai to the water plant; he was also a part-time employee there. In the afternoon, he had to run the brokerage.
Thinking carefully.
He actually held so many part-time jobs.
Really working too hard.
"Okay."
Co Hang watched Lam Pham leave, "I should also work harder."
He hadn't thought about freeloading in the community but wanted to contribute, using his own abilities to bring some changes to Duong Quang Apartments. He didn't have other skills; his only skill was military operations. Applied to Duong Quang Apartments, it meant finding weak points, maybe setting up some secret bases, preparing for contingencies. If something really happened, everyone could hide inside and avoid danger.
The street.
Lam Pham was busy, continuing to clean the street's sanitation.
Wave after wave, transporting zombies to the garbage dump. The process was dull and uninteresting, but Lam Pham remained enthusiastic. Being able to personally clean up the environment was an extremely happy thing.
Cleaning the street was voluntary.
Even without remuneration, he still did it happily.
Making the environment clean, not only looked pleasing to himself, but others seeing it would also have a good mood.
After a while.
"The last batch of garbage is finally delivered."
He stood before the garbage dump, looking at the piled-up corpses, pretending to wipe sweat from his brow. This was the result of his painstaking labor.
Proud.
Happy.
Cheerful.
Doing things is just like that.
Sometimes you can't calculate gains and losses.
Pushing the trash can towards the residential area.
At this moment.
In a corner at the end of the street, a car stopped.
"Boss Hao, he appeared," Tieu Thuy said.
Boss Hao gripped the steering wheel, eyes coldly watching Lam Pham ahead, his face filled with undisguised anger – the expression of wanting to kill Lam Pham.
"I see him," Boss Hao said coldly.
Another survivor said, "Hmph, this guy dared to disrespect our Boss Hao. Our Boss Hao's revenge, at most, waits overnight. Letting him live one more night is already good."
Boss Hao didn't speak. He knew the other guy was strange, but whether strange or not, it wasn't important anymore. Right now, he just wanted to stomp the accelerator, ram this guy to death with one blow.
Powerful?
Could he be more powerful than my Paramount Marauder?
In his mind.
The scene of directly ramming the opponent into the air already appeared.
Thinking of this.
He let out a sinister 'hehe' laugh.
"Go die for Lao Tzu!"
Seeing Lam Pham still walking down the street with his back to them.
Boss Hao, without thinking, stomped the accelerator. Within seconds, the speed reached its limit. Ten fingers gripped the steering wheel, his face showing a crazed expression. He just wanted to ram the opponent to death, ruthlessly ram him to death.
Lam Pham, walking on the street, heard the sound coming from behind.
Slightly puzzled.
Turned his head to look.
Saw a somewhat familiar car recklessly charging, driving towards him at extreme speed.
Lam Pham instinctively dodged to the side.
CRASH!
The car violently sent the orderly row of trash cans flying everywhere.
"Aiya..."
Seeing the trash cans knocked away, Lam Pham instantly clutched his head, somewhat troubled, regretting why he had dodged just now.
The sound of tires screeching against the ground was heard.
The car did a fishtail, directly turning around. For Boss Hao driving the Paramount Marauder, he really hadn't expected the opponent to dodge it.
Vroom! Vroom!
Stepping on the accelerator, thick exhaust smoke drifted out, as if accumulating power, wanting to unleash the most terrifying force in the shortest time.
"This car looks exactly like the one I saw yesterday," Lam Pham thought, then recalled yesterday's situation. "He just tried to run me over, clearly wanting to ram me to death."
"With my ability, dodging is absolutely no problem."
"But if he keeps failing to hit me like this, the opponent will definitely become angry from embarrassment, venting his frustration on others. Innocent survivors will definitely suffer misfortune then. If that's the case, I definitely cannot dodge."
Lam Pham would not allow evil to happen before his eyes.
This was illegal behavior.
He must stop the other party's evil deed.
Thinking of this.
He slowly drew Frostmourne, holding the sword in one hand, blocking in front. Facing evil people, one must face them bravely, no need to yield, no need to evade.
"Damn it! Lao Tzu will ram you to death! Let's see you use that broken toy!" Boss Hao raged, his face savage. Seeing the sword in the opponent's hand was a joke to him.
Clashing with my Paramount Marauder?
Even if you call your whole family, it won't be enough to crash against!
BOOM!
The car shot out like a sharp arrow.
Lam Pham stood motionless, took a deep breath, held the sword with both hands, aiming at the center of the car.
"Go die!" Boss Hao roared.
"Stop, evil."
Lam Pham swung his sword, a silvery-white light flashed from top to bottom, so fast it was hard for the naked eye to follow.
Pfft!
The Paramount Marauder, just about to reach him, instantly split apart, cut down the middle by some sharp weapon, separating into two halves, veering off to either side.
And Lam Pham remained motionless.
Calmly sheathed Frostmourne back onto his back.
Driver's seat.
The airbag exploded out, hitting him until he was dizzy. But even so, Boss Hao still wanted to step on the accelerator, ram him, ram him dead! But immediately after, his eyes widened, as if hallucinating, stunned by the situation before him.
The cut surface was smooth and neat, as if cut by high-end machinery.
The passenger seat was gone.
The other half of the car was gone.
"This... What happened?"
Boss Hao muttered to himself.
This damn thing isn't real.