Looking at the perfectly bisected car.
"Even you have become so sharp, it's truly unexpected."
Previously, he felt his strength was immense, one punch could kill several oxen, so he didn't dare strike people casually.
Now, he discovered the sword in his hand was terrifyingly sharp. If it hit someone, it would likely cut them open and cause bleeding. Just thinking about it felt horrifying. Be careful, cannot wield it carelessly.
Based on the previous situation, his casual swings seemed capable of injuring people from a distance. What if a curious citizen wanted to see him swing his sword? Even if they were clearly a meter away, a casual swing might split their head open. He definitely couldn't forgive his own actions, perhaps even turning himself into the police station.
At this moment.
Boss Hao's mind was somewhat chaotic, his nose bleeding. He didn't care much, instead looking at the bisected car. This damn thing was a Paramount Marauder, a mobile fortress in the apocalypse! Wasn't it supposed to be hard as iron? Wasn't it said that even a Gatling gun barrage would only leave some bullet marks?
Damn salesman!
Damn liar!
He truly hadn't expected it to turn out like this.
Boss Hao unbuckled his seatbelt, staggered out of the car, his swaying body possessing a somewhat unrestrained aura – the aura of arrogance, dominance, and disregard for others.
"Are you f***ing sick?"
Boss Hao pointed at Lam Pham and cursed loudly. The violent impact had made his head very dizzy. He collapsed to the ground, the world spinning. The sky was very blue, very beautiful, but his mood was truly terrible.
Stumbling to his feet, he patted his head, continuing to point at Lam Pham, "Lao Tzu is asking you, are you f***ing crazy? Are you sick? Do you believe Lao Tzu won't smash your head in with one punch?"
He walked up to Lam Pham, throwing a punch. Lam Pham sidestepped a few steps, causing Boss Hao to miss and fall to the ground again.
Lam Pham watched calmly. The opponent's behavior was somewhat unexpected, yet also reasonable in his eyes.
He had seen similar news reports before.
People who clearly did something wrong would then become very angry, shifting all responsibility onto others, cursing loudly over small things, and resorting to violence if their temper was bad.
The person before him was just like that.
He saw the other three survivors also staggering out, expressions stunned, as if unable to accept the current situation.
"Do you know, your actions just now were extremely vile? You drove your car charging towards me. I dodged, but you knocked away the trash cans I worked hard to collect. Then you turned the car around and continued to ram towards me."
"The first time, I could assume it was unintentional. But the second time was deliberate. You intended to commit murder."
Lam Pham deeply detested this kind of behavior. The apocalypse had arrived; everyone was trapped in confusion and danger. People should support each other, help each other. Even if one was weak and powerless, if they could maintain a hopeful heart, he believed a miracle of hope would surely appear.
This person before him threatened him with a gun yesterday.
Today, he deliberately tried to run him over with a car.
It was fortunate that he encountered him. If it had been any ordinary person, they would likely have suffered disaster.
"I have no grudge against you, haven't offended you. Why do you want to harm me?" Lam Pham asked.
Boss Hao shook his head, "F*** your mother! Lao Tzu wants to deal with you, do I need to give you a reason? Your mother! What the hell did you do? How could you turn my car into this? Do you f***ing even know what you've done?"
Angry roars, the emotions of impotent rage reached their peak.
Lam Pham ignored him.
Encountering this kind of person, he only had one thought in mind: take them to the police station, let the police uncles educate them, teach them a vivid lesson.
Let it go?
Forget it?
Impossible.
This kind of person who disregards others' lives – letting them go would only leave the danger for the next innocent victim.
"According to Article 14 of the Criminal Law, knowingly committing an act that will cause harmful consequences to society, and hoping for or allowing such consequences to occur, thus constituting a crime, is intentional crime."
"Intentional crime shall bear criminal responsibility."
"Article 17, Paragraph 1 stipulates that anyone who has reached the full age of sixteen and commits a crime shall bear criminal responsibility. Looking at you, you definitely exceed the limit; there's no need to question this point."
"Article 232 stipulates that intentional homicide shall be punished by death, life imprisonment, or fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years. If the circumstances are relatively minor, the punishment is fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years."
He wasn't educating the other party on the law.
He was letting the other party know: your behavior is already very serious.
"Are you f***ing sick? Spouting your mother's crap at me here?"
Boss Hao opened his mouth, every other word involving 'mother'. Lam Pham frowned tightly hearing it. His manners were worrying; who knows if he ever read a book before? When agitated, one might occasionally say 'mother', but this guy had one 'mother' in every sentence. This was quite frightening.
The other three survivors staggered over to Boss Hao's side.
"Boss Hao, what on earth happened?"
They were very confused, completely unaware of what had occurred.
By the time they reacted, things had already become like this.
"F***! You f***ers ask me, who should I ask? Damn it..." Boss Hao was very agitated. He was driving fine, preparing to ruthlessly ram the opponent, when he found the car was out of control.
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
They looked towards Lam Pham, saw the sword on his back. The man who was in the passenger seat just now said, somewhat disbelievingly, "Just now I saw him holding the sword, swinging it at our car. Could he have been the one who split it open?"
As soon as these words were spoken.
The other two survivors' mouths dropped open, eyes wide, feeling bewildered, disbelieving.
Everyone is an ordinary person; how could such a thing happen? But if not... then how could the current situation be explained?
At this moment.
Lam Pham walked up to Boss Hao.
He didn't want to say anything more to him. The matter was very clear: subdue them, take them to the police station. This behavior was too vile, exceeding the extent he could forgive.
"Obediently come with me to the police station. Don't think about resisting, otherwise, you'll only be the one hurting," Lam Pham said.
"Go f*** your mother..." Boss Hao raged, swinging a fist at Lam Pham. The power of this punch was very weak. A body hollowed out by wine and women – his fist couldn't even defeat a zombie, let alone pose a threat to Lam Pham.
Lam Pham caught Boss Hao's fist, applying gentle pressure.
The pain made Boss Hao grimace, his expression instantly changing drastically, "Let go! Let go! Let go of me!"
Lam Pham pulled Boss Hao towards him, twisted his arm back with a flip, pinning it behind his back. The pain made Boss Hao scream heartbreakingly. He hadn't expected the person before him to be so fierce.
"No rope."
Lam Pham looked around, unable to find rope to tie them up. He hadn't expected to encounter such a thing while just transporting garbage. He felt deeply helpless about this.
He saw Boss Hao's belt, instantly had an idea, undid the opponent's belt, tied his hands behind his back. Unexpectedly, the opponent's pants style was a bit large, and the pants slipped down.
Lam Pham glanced down, discovering this guy actually wasn't wearing underwear. He found this incomprehensible, not expecting such a preference. Gave it a quick look.
"So small, like a child's."
He casually commented, just stating facts, without any ill intent.
Boss Hao, immersed in pain, didn't pay attention to Lam Pham's words. If it were before, if anyone dared say such words, he would have long smashed a wine bottle over their head, conveniently dragging them off to a plastic surgery hospital for a penis reduction surgery, making it the size of a peanut.
If it were a woman, he'd clap his hands, and over twenty burly men would arrive. What happens next, imagine for yourself.
The other three survivors saw Boss Hao tied up. Without thinking, they fled into the distance. They seemed to understand the severity of the situation. We might be ordinary people, but this guy who could split the Marauder with one sword strike was definitely not ordinary.
Running was their only choice.
They ran very fast. Suddenly, a zombie limped and wandered ahead, startling them into trembling. The blank-faced zombie saw the three delicious morsels running towards it, let out an 'ugh ugh' howl, and bolted towards them.
"Ah... Help!"
They ran towards Lam Pham.
The zombie's speed was very fast, faster than them. The zombie roared, instantly pouncing on one slightly chubby man among them, pinning him to the ground and biting ferociously. In an instant, blood splattered.
The two fleeing survivors looked back, just in time to see the scene where the guy tackled by the zombie had a chunk of flesh viciously torn from his neck. They were scared stiff.
"Save me! Save me..."
The chubby man struggled, pushing at the zombie with his hands, only to have his arm bitten. The intense pain made him let out a heartbreaking scream.
In an instant, the virus invaded.
The chubby man bitten by the zombie trembled continuously, his body convulsing. He let out 'ugh ugh' sounds from his mouth. Instantly, he stood up from the ground, his pupils faded, replaced by grayish-white eyes. He let out a savage roar.
Lam Pham heard the sound and looked over.
"Even under the apocalypse, when someone turns into a zombie, they still have the idea of fighting injustice and stopping criminals. It's just that this stopping behavior is a bit excessive."
Lam Pham sighed.
What about the apocalypse? The fundamental nature still exists in the heart. Just like how crowds love to watch excitement, wherever something happens, they will gather around. If the matter is settled, they will comment a few words. If help is needed, they will work together to assist.
Honestly, this behavior is very contradictory. Perhaps this is a characteristic of our countrymen.
He had seen some news reports before.
A car falls into the water. The excited crowd stands on the bank, watching the car sink, pointing, discussing how much the car cost, whether the insurance company would compensate, and other topics that onlookers love to talk about.
But if there was someone in the car, the crowd watching from the bank would go crazy, jumping into the river, shouting to the people on the bank, "Find a hammer! Find a brick! Save the person first!" and so on.
So, this is a very contradictory type of behavior.
That zombie was just like that, bravely stepping forward to stop the fleeing criminals, but its behavior was a bit excessive, making one feel quite helpless.
"Save us!" The two survivors who ran over looked at Lam Pham with fear.
Lam Pham naturally couldn't sit idly by. He wanted to take them to the police station. As long as they posed no danger to himself, he wouldn't attack them.
If he attacked, it would be his own problem.
"Don't come over. You did well just now. Although your behavior was excessive, I think he must have posed a threat to you. I can understand. But if you attack me, I will defend myself," Lam Pham muttered to the zombie.
The effect was minimal.
The newly turned zombie fugitive charged savagely towards Lam Pham.
For the two survivors hiding behind him, seeing a familiar person turn into such a terrifying zombie naturally scared them immensely.
Phwok!
Phwok!
Two crisp sounds. One sword strike killed both zombies.
"Are you still running?" Lam Pham asked.
"No... not running."
Lam Pham looked at their fearful appearance, slightly satisfied. Glanced at the so-called Boss Hao, who cursed very fiercely, making his ears unclean.
He could only take off the opponent's socks and stuff them directly into his mouth, gagging him.
He didn't like cursing, nor did he like speaking vicious words.
Vulgarity easily ruins luck.
He retrieved the knocked-over trash cans, saw one was broken, felt bad inside; this was all taxpayers' money.
Rearranged the trash cans neatly again.
He knew Boss Hao was fierce and stubborn, definitely wouldn't cooperate well. Any vicious villain, before accepting the judgment of the light of justice, would try every means to resist desperately. Therefore, he stuffed Boss Hao directly into a trash can.
The other two were calmer than Boss Hao. Having just been threatened by the zombie, they didn't even wait for Lam Pham's reminder and obediently climbed into the dirty trash cans.
Pushing the trash cans forward, the destination was again the police station.
Boss Hao, gagged with socks and hands tied, glared fiercely at Lam Pham, his vicious eyes wishing they could kill Lam Pham.
"Big... Big brother, where are you taking us?"
The only female, Tieu Thuy, asked pitifully and charmingly. She was still very dazed. The power to kill zombies was indeed strong, but far from the dominance of the opponent's sword splitting the car. Looking at the sword on the opponent's back, if she wasn't mistaken, that should be a game sword.
She didn't play games, why did she recognize this sword? It dated back a long time. She once had a boyfriend who loved playing World of Warcraft all day. She was very unhappy, advised him to go out and work, not indulge in games, but her boyfriend wouldn't listen.
She worked at a bar. By chance, she met Boss Hao, got drunk that night, was taken to a rented room. When she woke up, she felt her world had collapsed, felt sorry for her boyfriend. But when Boss Hao placed a stack of money in front of her, she felt some things weren't as bad as she thought.
She told her boyfriend about the money she earned last night. Who would have thought her boyfriend wanted her to top up his account; he wanted to buy gold in the game.
She was very desperate, helpless.
Later, getting familiar with Boss Hao, she became one of his entourage, usually freeloading off Boss Hao's meals, seeing many things, her mindset quietly changing.
Lam Pham said, "Taking you to the police station."
"Po-lice... station?" Tieu Thuy's eyes widened as if mishearing. It's already the apocalypse, and you're taking us to the police station? Is this behavior sick or what?
She couldn't believe it. If not for fear of the opponent's strength, she would have wanted to spew profanities, cursing his ancestors back eighteen generations.
The other male survivor said pitifully, "Big brother, please don't hurt me, okay? I know I was wrong. I want to follow you. I'm willing to become your loyal little brother. I can do many things for you. Whatever you ask me to do, I'll do it. I absolutely won't refuse. I'm particularly useful, especially loyal."
"No need, thank you." Look at Lam Pham's reply; how polite it was. Even though the other party did such things, he could still respond amiably.
Tieu Thuy said, "Big brother, look at me, pretty, cute. It's the apocalypse now, finding a living woman is really hard. Don't you have any thoughts? My skills are superb, hands and feet, even opening all three waves is no problem." (Translator's Note: "Opening all three waves" (ba động đô khai) is likely vulgar slang implying sexual capability/openness, difficult to translate directly and politely.)
"No need, thank you."
Lam Pham refused with a smile.
(Part 2)
On the deserted street, a strange scene appeared.
Rows of trash cans, like a train, advanced into the distance. One person pushed the trash cans, while three others stood inside them. Such a scene was very bizarre. Regardless of whether it was normal times or the apocalypse, it was bizarre to the extreme.
Passing the cake shop.
To Tieu Hieu wanted to feel the warmth of the sun. In the apocalypse, her heart had been corroded by darkness, becoming very cold. She wanted to use the sun's warmth to restart her deadened heartbeat.
Just as she prepared herself, ready to welcome the baptism of warm light, the scene before her made her eyes widen.
She saw him.
She saw that strange, peculiar fellow again.
Now even more peculiar.
Lined-up trash cans, people inside the trash cans, and that peculiar fellow pushing the trash cans, his lips moving as if saying something.
To Tieu Hieu covered her mouth, not daring to make a sound.
Suddenly.
She abruptly retreated, pulling down the window curtain, not daring to look at the scene outside. That fellow had stopped and looked over towards her.
She didn't know Lam Pham, didn't know what he did, but he could always walk safely on the streets. Thinking back to yesterday's terrifying scene, her heart jumped unhelpfully. She always felt that having such a strange person within her hiding range was a very terrifying thing.
Lam Pham looked at the lowered curtain, shook his head. Still unable to accept the advent of the apocalypse. He could understand the psychology of some people; after receiving a huge shock, it's very difficult to recover in a short time.
Didn't think too much, continued to give the other party some buffer time.
Hoang city police station.
Looking at the main gate, thinking of past events, he always felt secure coming here. Thinking of the people he brought here before, wondered how they were doing. They should have received the judgment of the law.
The criminal who violated a woman's will, leading to her death.
The criminal who threw someone off a building.
Many, many. Under the apocalypse, many unimaginable things would happen. He always thought, he was powerless, could only, after discovering them, continuously bring these evils here.
He knew one person's strength was limited, but regardless of limits, he would always adhere to striving forward.
"Go inside," Lam Pham led them inside.
Walking, talking.
"A while ago, someone else was brought in by me to receive education. I think you will also receive good education."
He could see their fear of this place.
They were looking left and right; this was a manifestation of fear. What use was being afraid now? If they knew this earlier, why act like that before?
Looking at the warning slogans on the wall.
It was as if an invisible force empowered him.
Entering inside.
The criminals he brought in last time weren't here. Seems they were taken away by the police uncles for education.
"Big brother, what are you planning to do?" Tieu Thuy saw Lam Pham grabbing nearby ropes to tie them up and felt truly scared. This fear came from deep within her heart.
Lam Pham ignored them, instead tying them up well.
Then looked at the paper on the table; that was the message he left last time.
Found a piece of paper, recorded what just happened.
Incident: Brown-haired man, they call him Boss Hao. Illegally possessed firearm to threaten others. Drove vehicle to intentionally ram me. Subdued by me, specially brought here. Seized firearm is held by my community homeowner Vuong Trung Nuoc, he is a respected retired soldier. If recovery of the firearm is needed, please call, phone number as follows... If unreachable, please come to Duong Quang Apartments, I live at Building 2, Unit 704.
Writing needed to be detailed.
This was a very serious matter.
"Goodbye. Hope you can reform well, strive to become new people." Before leaving, he said kindly.
No matter how they called out.
Lam Pham didn't look back.
Only after undergoing education, understanding the meaning of freedom, could they change themselves.
As Lam Pham left.
Tieu Thuy, crying in fear, was terrified, "What... what do we do now?"
Never mind her crying, the other male survivor was also chilled to the bone, his face deathly pale. As for Boss Hao, he was still struggling, clearly not giving up hope even after being brought here.
Outside.
Lam Pham walked head-on towards a limping zombie. His steps weren't fast, nor slow, like a casual stroller.
He didn't attack, didn't swing his sword.
Because this zombie wore a uniform, with a police badge on its chest.
"This is the police officer I met at the supermarket."
Lam Pham observed, finding the other party hadn't changed much, except for fresh bloodstains at the corner of the mouth, smeared all over the face. Really no other changes.
"Officer uncle, hello," Lam Pham stood still, greeting with a smile.
The zombie slowly walked up, sniffed his scent. This behavior made Lam Pham somewhat puzzled. Why was it different from other zombies? Other zombies, upon seeing the living, would bite ferociously like mad dogs, unstoppable.
But this one before him, transformed from a police officer, appeared very gentle and calm, not irritable at all.
Lam Pham slowly raised his hand, wanting to wipe the bloodstains from his face.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he raised his hand, the zombie entered a defensive mode, instantly retreating rapidly, putting distance between them at extreme speed.
Based on his observation, compared to other zombies, this one's speed was twice as fast.
"So amazing. Truly worthy of the person I trust," Lam Pham said.
The rapidly retreating zombie sniffed the surrounding air, as if stimulated by something, suddenly started running towards the police station.
Lam Pham watched its departing back.
"Is it sensing the criminals I brought? Eagerly wanting to go interrogate? Truly a dedicated and professional good police officer."
He had done everything he needed to do.
Stepping forward, he casually walked outside.
In a moment, he heard惨 screams from inside.
Looked back, smiling.
"This is probably the police uncle's unique method of handling things."
Pushing the trash can, he left.
He would be very busy today, no time to waste here.
Returning to the community entrance.
Placed the trash cans neatly in the distance. Looking at the ground, which had been cleaned up quite well. The next task would be relatively complex: he needed to find a water truck.
The ground was covered in sticky substances, looking very nauseating.
Cleaning by hand wasn't realistic.
"Water trucks are at the Environmental Protection Department. I need to go there to find one," Lam Pham knew the Environmental Protection Department was some distance away, a bit farther than the police station.
Said and done, headed towards the Environmental Protection Department.
Hoang city ranked quite high among cities nationwide, with a considerable population, belonging to the well-developed category.
Walking on the street, observing the surroundings.
This place was similar to his living area, ravaged by the apocalypse. No signs of living people could be seen. Shops were severely damaged. Overturned cars littered the roadside, along with dead zombie corpses.
Empty, giving people an unspeakable sense of desolation.
Tan Phong Guesthouse.
Top floor, a window in a room.
"Third Bro, there's someone over there, seems to be looking for something."
A young man held binoculars, observing the distant street condition. Since the apocalypse began, they had hidden here. Originally, there were zombies inside, but humans have brains, zombies don't. Using tricks, they lured the zombies out of the guesthouse. Finally, they treated this place as a safe point.
"Really?"
A middle-aged man beside him took the binoculars, looked in that direction. Indeed, saw someone walking on the street. Surprisingly, no zombies discovered him, which was strange.
His name was Khau Tam, ranked third. Came to Hoang city for work, happened to be staying at Tan Phong Guesthouse that day, preparing to apply for a security job at a bar or KTV the next day. Who knew such a thing would happen, getting trapped here.
"Damn, gutsy indeed. Daring to act alone? Doesn't he know how the character for 'death' is written?" Khau Tam said.
The young man beside him shrugged; who knows what the other person was thinking.
Just then.
A survivor hurried into the room, "Third Bro, Luu Binh is making trouble!"
"What happened?" Khau Tam frowned, the image of a fat man appearing in his mind.
"He said the food we distribute daily is too little, and gave them bad rooms, saying it's unfair," the survivor said.
Khau Tam frowned, "Let's go, see what he really wants."
This building wasn't entirely a guesthouse. Floors one to four were a restaurant; five to seven were the guesthouse, opened by the same boss. The fifth floor was the guesthouse lobby. At this moment, Luu Binh stood there causing a scene.
"You all tell me, is this fair? Why do they get to eat well, drink well, while we can't eat freely and even get rationed? This is fundamentally unfair!"
Luu Binh looked at the group of survivors leaning against the wall, men and women, young and old among them, hoping to stir their emotions, to unite and resist this unfair treatment.
He knew Khau Tam was the controller here, with some survivors following him as subordinates. His strength alone was difficult to overthrow the opponent.
So he wanted to persuade this group of survivors in the lobby.
Resist together.
Obtain the rights we deserve.
This group of survivors looked at Luu Binh spitting saliva. They had long been tortured to despair by the apocalypse. Being able to stay alive here was already fortunate. They hadn't thought about those things before, but hearing Luu Binh say this, somehow, felt it made sense.
Downstairs was the restaurant, with quite a lot of ingredients and supplies.
Originally thought they could eat freely, some even planned to consolidate supplies and plan reasonably. But who knew, Khau Tam consolidated the supplies, guarded them, rationed daily, only providing them basic food. This made some people resentful.
But thinking it was already the apocalypse, they didn't dare resist, could only endure the dissatisfaction.
"Bro Luu is right! Why should we obey, while they get to eat everything?" A yellow-haired skinny guy stood up to echo. (Nickname: hoàng mao xương sườn tinh = yellow-haired skinny ribs)
He was very young, eighteen or nineteen, had dropped out of school long ago, loafed around outside all day. The night before the apocalypse, he came here with a little gangster girl to play poker. Who knew the apocalypse would descend, trapping him here? And his little gangster girl actually abandoned him, getting together with one of Khau Tam's followers.
This made him very upset.
After all, with his physical quality, he might not win against anyone.
To put it bluntly, he might not even win against a woman.
With the yellow-haired skinny ribs joining in, some surrounding survivors looked at each other, feeling like it seemed to make sense.
Everyone is a survivor.
Why should there be classes?
What damn era is this, yet this kind of situation still exists?
Just then.
A voice came.
"Luu Binh, are you dissatisfied?" Khau Tam walked over with his hands behind his back.
Luu Binh was slightly startled, then stiffened his face, turned to look at Khau Tam, "Third Bro, I'm telling the truth, and also what everyone wants to say. This place isn't yours alone, but belongs to all of us. You eat well and drink well, just giving us leftovers. Who can stand it?"
Facing Khau Tam, Luu Binh still felt a bit scared inside. The opponent was burly, looked somewhat fierce. But thinking about just now, perhaps he had already left a deep impression on the other survivors, as if they agreed with him, stood on his side. Therefore, he couldn't back down, had to confront Khau Tam.
As long as he dared to speak out, there could be hope for change.
The yellow-haired skinny ribs said, "Third Bro, Bro Luu has a point. We are all in the same boat. Can't have you eating well, sleeping well, while letting us suffer."
Khau Tam smiled, eyes fixed on Luu Binh, "So, you want to lead them to resist the rules I've decided?"
Having reached this point, Luu Binh couldn't retreat. Facing Khau Tam's intimidating gaze, he braced himself, raised his head and said, "That's right, my meaning is..."
BAM!
Before he finished speaking.
Khau Tam, holding an iron hammer behind his back, swung it viciously at Luu Binh's head. The sudden attack thoroughly smashed Luu Binh to the ground, his head split open with a bloody hole, bleeding continuously.
The surrounding survivors watched trembling, eyes wide.
The yellow-haired skinny ribs' legs trembled; he felt like he was about to wet himself in fear.
Khau Tam straddled Luu Binh's body, repeatedly smashing his head with the iron hammer, "Motherf***er! Still dare to be dissatisfied! Lao Tzu will let you be dissatisfied! Let you be dissatisfied!"
BAM!
BAM!
Hitting down again and again.
Blood splattered everywhere.
The onlookers didn't dare breathe.
The yellow-haired skinny ribs collapsed directly onto the ground, completely stunned by the bloody scene before him.
After a while.
Khau Tam stood up, looked at Luu Binh who had no breath left, wiped the bloodstains from his face, said to the person beside him, "Throw him out for me."
Those following Khau Tam were terrified internally; Third Bro was truly ruthless.
"Yes, Third Bro."
They directly threw Luu Binh out the window. Thump! The sound of the body hitting the ground made them tremble.
For Khau Tam, what he wanted was to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys, telling those people not to have stray thoughts. Moreover, he couldn't possibly keep Luu Binh. Someone with dissatisfaction, thinking of resisting him – keeping him around was a time bomb; who knew when it would explode.
Killing him was the best choice.
In an instant.
Ugh ugh... Roar.
Zombie sounds came; apparently, the sound of the body hitting the ground attracted nearby zombies.
Khau Tam looked towards the yellow-haired skinny ribs.
The yellow-haired skinny ribs trembled and said, "Third Bro, that's not what I meant! I was just tricking him, wanted to see if he really wanted to oppose Third Bro!"
Khau Tam stepped forward, put his arm around the yellow-haired skinny ribs' shoulder, walked towards the stairs, saying as he walked, "Know, understand your meaning. Third Bro isn't stupid, Third Bro is very smart. How could I not see through that?"
The survivors following Khau Tam exchanged glances, also heading upstairs together.
What happened next was obvious.
Third Bro didn't want to kill this yellow-haired skinny ribs in the lobby, but led him upstairs, giving those people some room for imagination. Sometimes, not seeing is scarier than seeing.
Not long after.
Thump!
A corpse fell to the ground, making a heavy sound. Someone saw from the window the image of the yellow-haired skinny ribs falling from upstairs.
...
...
Environmental Protection Department.
Lam Pham found the water truck but encountered a very troublesome matter: he didn't have a driver's license. He knew how to drive a little, but without a license, he couldn't drive.
These are traffic rules. Driving without a license is very dangerous. If an accident happened, hitting someone, they would suffer misfortune, and he would too.
"Although it's the apocalypse now, seems like no one checks, but I still can't drive."
Lam Pham understood traffic regulations.
If only he had brought Vuong Khai or Co Hang along.
Ah, right, Vuong Khai might not have a license either.
Checked the water truck; it was already filled with water. Pondered for a moment, instantly thought of a solution. He went to the front of the truck, turned his back to it, lifted the front of the truck with both hands, and pulled it back towards the residential area.
"I'll return it after use. Thank you."
Duong Quang Apartments.
Lam Pham found Co Hang, explained the situation, hoping he could help drive the truck to wash the ground. Co Hang was very shocked, not shocked that Lam Pham asked him to drive, but that he actually went to find a water truck.
"Is it okay?" Lam Pham saw Co Hang愣愣 (lènglèng - stunned/dazed) and thought he was asking about difficulties. Could it be he didn't know how to drive either?
"But... yes, possible, no problem." Co Hang quickly said. He wanted to do something for Duong Quang Apartments. Seeing others had things to do, as an officer, if he idled around in Duong Quang Apartments, he would feel ashamed of himself.
The street.
Co Hang drove, Lam Pham was at the back of the truck, holding the water gun to wash. The truck itself also had comprehensive washing capabilities on both sides.
"High technology is just great. If I had to carry basins to wash, who knows how long it would take," Lam Pham sighed. Seeing a spot with a lot of sticky fluid, he aimed and blasted continuously; instantly, it was washed clean.
Upstairs
Old man Vuong watched the situation below, laughing heartily, "Such a diligent Little Pham! A true young man of the new era. Gradually letting our community regain the atmosphere of past life. Ah... why is there no music? Water trucks love playing 'Only Mama is Good in the World', 'Jasmine Flower' music."
Of course, this was just him joking casually. Music couldn't be played; it was dangerous.
"Old man, what are you looking at?" Grandma Tu Que Phan asked. (Using Grandma as Nãi nai = Grandmother)
Old man Vuong said, "Watching Little Pham clean the ground. Look how happily Little Pham plays with water. Such a big water gun must be very interesting to spray. Seeing it makes this old man want to try too."
Grandma Tu Que Phan rolled her eyes, "Little Pham is doing serious work, only you think about playing. The older you get, the less sensible."
"Haha, what thinking about playing? I've even played with flamethrowers before, burned quite a few enemies. Just that I easily wet the bed at night. Don't play recklessly, don't play recklessly," Old man Vuong said laughing.
Grandma Tu Que Phan: ...
Still easily wets the bed?
As his wife, could she say this old indecent thing still wet the bed at thirty?
She never mentioned this incident back then, otherwise, he would have been laughed at by his comrades for a lifetime.
...
Finished cleaning. Co Hang drove the water truck with Lam Pham towards the Environmental Protection Department.
In the truck, only the two of them.
Co Hang looked at the situation outside, feeling somewhat sad inside. A perfectly good city turned into this state, quiet and empty, like a ghost town.
He thought about the situation in the military.
Didn't know how things were there.
But felt, perhaps very dangerous. If the military existed, driving a tank could crush many zombies. Maybe thoroughly suppressing the zombies would take some time, but they could definitely establish safe zones, rescue survivors.
Unfortunately, until now, he hadn't seen any firepower coverage.
Therefore, the situation was likely not optimistic.
He looked towards the calm and leisurely Lam Pham, feeling extremely puzzled inside. How exactly did he manage to kill so many zombies with just one sword?
Martial arts?
Special abilities?
Cultivation?
Impossible. If these really existed, given his position in the army, even if he couldn't access them, he should at least have heard some rumors.
Lam Pham looked at Co Hang, their eyes meeting.
Co Hang showed a smile.
Lam Pham showed a smile.
"Bro Hang."
The other party was much older than him; calling him 'bro' was very normal.
"Mm?"
"Drive seriously, otherwise accidents easily happen."
"Ah, yeah." Co Hang reacted, straightened his head, looked at the road ahead.
Brief silence in the truck.
Lam Pham said, "Are you worried about something? Feel free to speak your mind. Keeping worries buried in the heart might not feel good. But you can also choose not to say it. After all, speaking of sad things only makes yourself sad. It's hard for me to empathize personally, can only offer a few words of comfort."
Co Hang didn't expect the other person to see he had something on his mind, "Have you thought about what to do in the future?"
This was what he wanted to know.
The Old Chief had told him: Little Pham is a very good person, moral quality is top-notch, and can distinguish right from wrong, absolutely no need to worry about him. Don't look at his behavior in the apocalypse seeming a bit sick; actually, he isn't sick. Just treat it as if it's not the apocalypse now, very easy to understand.
If not for that last sentence, he really couldn't understand.
But that sentence Just treat it as if it's not the apocalypse now, thoroughly made him understand.
Lam Pham crossed his hands, thought for a bit and said, "Still like before. But now gives me many opportunities. I used to be an interior designer, earned little, also stayed up late. Now I have many part-time jobs. Security guard is my main job, part-time broker, water plant installation worker, also running errands. Quite busy, very fulfilling. Thinking of working hard, earning money, buying things I like."
Co Hang fell silent, then said, "It's the apocalypse now. Encountering things you like, even if you just take them, no one will come after you."
This wasn't the answer he wanted. What he wanted to know was: the apocalypse has arrived, you have such strength, are you thinking of developing in the apocalypse, how far do you ultimately want to go?
Lam Pham looked at Co Hang in shock, as if seeing something unbelievable, "Bro Hang, you are a soldier! Your thinking has some problems. Things you like, you must rely on your own diligent hands; taking without asking is not allowed."
"Ahem..." Co Hang coughed a few times, "Don't misunderstand. My thinking has no problem, very solid. What I said was about other people's situation in the apocalypse, understand?"
"Understandable. But others are others. I won't be like that. I need to rely on my own efforts, rely on my own diligence," Lam Pham said.
Co Hang was silent for a moment, slowly nodded, "Right, right, you're right."
Soon.
The Environmental Protection Department arrived.
Just as Co Hang was about to get out of the truck, Lam Pham stopped him.
"Don't get out yet. There's a zombie following behind. I'll deal with it first."
Finished speaking.
Lam Pham opened the door, got out, looked towards the running zombie in the distance.
"Ah, such a big zombie, really tall."
In his eyes, that zombie might be three meters tall. When it started running, it was like a small mountain moving.
"When did it start following?"
Lam Pham fell into contemplation; really hadn't noticed.
Co Hang looked at the zombie behind, his eyes nearly popping out, "This zombie... is clearly not right."
As far as he knew.
Zombies were all transformed from humans. Perhaps some people could reach over two meters tall, but to reach over two meters and still be so bulky – absolutely impossible.
The distance was a bit far.
Still felt the sense of pressure transmitted by that zombie.
He reminded Lam Pham to be careful. This zombie was different from ordinary zombies, possibly mutated, cannot be careless. After all, his understanding of zombies wasn't high. The only thing he could understand was that in many zombie movies, the terrifying aspect of mutated zombies lay in the mutation itself.
Perhaps when encountered face-to-face, it seems like nothing, then suddenly countless bone spurs burst out from the body, piercing through the body.
These could be considered sudden attacks.
Hard to guard against.
"Bro Hang, thanks for the reminder. I know, will be careful."
Lam Pham said with a smile.
Then looked towards the giant zombie about to reach him.
This was the Strength-type zombie classified by the base.
A terrifying zombie that could easily flip over a car weighing several tons. Even a tank could be sent flying by one hit.
Lam Pham thought about drawing his sword, but considering the opponent's enormous size, if cut in half with one stroke, the sticky blood inside this zombie would definitely be plentiful.
Thinking back and forth, still drew Frostmourne from his back.
"Ugh ugh... Roar!"
The Strength-type zombie roared, reaching towards Lam Pham with both hands. Just as it was about to hit Lam Pham, Lam Pham instantly disappeared, immediately standing on the Strength-type zombie's arm, Frostmourne in his hand pressed against the zombie's forehead.
Even a mindless zombie, encountering this situation, would be slightly stunned, as if scared.
Lam Pham pushed the sword hilt with one palm.
Pfft!
The sword tip pierced the zombie's head, as if meeting slight resistance, just a slight feeling, then pierced through smoothly.
[Kill Strength-type Zombie] [Points +3]
Paid no attention.
Retreated backwards.
The zombie fell to the ground with a loud crash.
Lam Pham flicked the bloodstain off Frostmourne's blade, feeling the sword looked even more handsome.
Went behind the water truck, picked up the water gun, washed the bloodstained spot, then returned to the front of the truck, "It's okay. Drive the truck inside."
In the truck.
Co Hang watched in astonishment.
He had told Lam Pham so much, hoping he would pay attention. Knew Lam Pham was strong, but even strong people could be careless sometimes. Therefore, he was relatively nervous.
But who could have imagined...
Just this?
Just this?
Returned the water truck.
His mood was very calm.
Considered all matters handled.
On the way home.
The two walked on the quiet street, adding a bit of life to the desolate road, but only just a bit.
"That zombie just now wasn't an ordinary zombie," Co Hang said softly.
Lam Pham said, "No need to be so careful. You can speak normally. With me here, I will protect you."
Co Hang looked at Lam Pham, stunned.
These words... hadn't heard someone say them to him like this in a long time.
Before, it was always him telling others I will protect you.
Now being told this by someone else.
Don't feel anything wrong.
Telling the truth.
"What?" Lam Pham looked at him puzzled.
Co Hang shook his head, "Nothing."
Lam Pham showed Co Hang a smile.
"Although it's the apocalypse, there's still hope. Just before, I saw hope. Felt that not only are we striving, but other zombies are also striving." Lam Pham thought of the zombie wearing the uniform.
Co Hang said, "Zombies?"
"That's right. A zombie upholding its duties," Lam Pham nodded.
Co Hang: ...