For example, one's own kindness. When it's lost, perhaps one day you wish to find it back. But even if found, thinking of past events, you will also feel deep self-reproach: if only I had cared a little more that one time, such a thing wouldn't have happened.
But what can be retrieved is money. Important, yes, truly important. But as long as desired, with a little effort, it can still be obtained.
Paid and left.
Carrying the bags, looking at the street outside, extremely quiet. The number of zombies was much less than before. That battle to protect Duong Quang Apartments might have really attracted most of the surrounding zombies.
Adding points made others feel a bit numb.
But the job was done well. He knew there were other survivors around. Whether good or bad, alleviating the zombie pressure for them was also a good deed.
Honestly, the apocalypse had quite a big impact on him. Mainly, his original job was gone, replaced by the current security guard position. The only benefit was no overtime, quite a lot of free time, could do other part-time jobs. Overall, it was really good.
Supermarket.
Hadn't come for a while.
He stopped. Two more corpses at the entrance. Didn't see them when he came before. Observed carefully, found one corpse's neck was bitten off, head separated from the body, thus didn't turn into a zombie.
Didn't even have a chance for a second life.
Walked up to the other corpse. Didn't expect the opponent had already turned into a zombie, just that its limbs should have been bitten off by zombies, becoming a crippled zombie.
"So tragic."
Sighed, feeling sorrow for the opponent's encounter.
"Ugh ugh... Roar."
This crippled zombie faced the sky, unable to move. Seeing Lam Pham appear, it let out savage roars, opening its mouth covered in sticky blood, wanting to bite viciously.
"You came to the supermarket thinking of buying things, yet encountered zombies, ended up like this. Deeply regret your encounter. No other way to help you."
Lam Pham walked towards the supermarket. He didn't kill the opponent. The person turned into a zombie, unable to move, yet still roared at him, as if greeting.
For example, saying:
Hello, look how miserable I am now.
Inside the supermarket, a mess. Scattered debris everywhere, food, shoes, all sorts of things. Shopping carts overturned on the ground. Looking closely, could still see coagulated bloodstains.
Could imagine what happened here. Should be survivors came looking for food previously, finally encountered zombies. It should really be like this.
Looking at the shelf category classification.
"Female Daily Necessities."
Soon, he saw the daily necessities floor was on the third floor. The automatic escalator had stopped running now. Could only take steps, pushing the shopping cart towards the third floor.
Recalling, the supermarket used to be very lively, bustling with voices. Especially the sound of shopping cart wheels rolling was a unique feature inside the supermarket.
Now, in the quiet supermarket, only the sound of Lam Pham pushing the shopping cart remained.
Became frighteningly quiet.
Corner environments were extremely dim; the supermarket lights were off. Fortunately, the surrounding walls were all floor-to-ceiling windows; sunlight could shine in. Leaving the dim corners, one could see the spacious shopping area.
The first and second floors were the messiest.
The third floor was relatively much better.
Maybe the surviving survivors hadn't thought of coming to the third floor to shop.
Saw some daily necessities: toothbrushes, toothpaste, shower gel, shampoo, also toilet paper. These were essentials for every household before the apocalypse. Without these things, always felt like something was missing in life.
But since the apocalypse arrived, who would still care about these things? Being able to live and eat until full was already an extremely luxurious matter.
He put these into the shopping cart, stocking up at home first, saving the trouble of coming out to buy later.
Dong!
Dong!
Dong!
A sound came.
He looked towards the end; that was the safety exit. The sound came from there. Didn't pay attention; having sound was very normal.
Continued searching.
"Found it."
He arrived at the female supplies section. Many brand types. For Lam Pham, these things seemed extremely unfamiliar. Knew what they were for, but wasn't familiar with them.
"Sophie Super Sleep 420."
This is also for daily use.
Saw another type.
"Sophie Comfort Pants, enjoy ultimate sleep."
This is also used when sleeping at night.
Took some of both types.
Unconsciously, the shopping cart was already full, but mostly just some daily necessities, relatively light.
Tap tap...
Dense footsteps came from the safety exit side, from far to near.
Immediately after.
He looked up at the ventilation duct overhead; sound also came from the duct.
"Zombies?" Lam Pham was somewhat puzzled.
"Ugh ugh... Roar."
Zombie roars came from inside the duct, also a tender, panicked voice. Hearing this, he seemed to think of something, suddenly leaped up, both palms thrust into the ventilation duct. Rip! Directly tore open a large hole in the duct. In an instant, a figure tried to quickly crawl past. Looking at that face, it was a child's face, full of panic. Seeing Lam Pham, his pupils clearly contracted sharply, as if not reacting.
Amidst the child's terrified cries, Lam Pham grabbed his collar simultaneously, pulling him out from the duct.
Immediately following, a zombie also fell out from the ventilation duct. Lam Pham retreated several steps, kicked out. Thump! Directly kicked the zombie against the end wall. Its occiput directly collided with the wall, sticky blood splashing open.
The boy pulled down by him struggled, feeling like he was caught by a zombie, struggling desperately, continuously struggling. He feared zombies, feared being caught by zombies.
"Don't be afraid, I'm human," Lam Pham spoke.
These words were clearly useful. The boy stopped struggling, instead panting heavily, looking up at Lam Pham. He held a bag in his hand; inside were bread and some other scarce food items. His face was also dirty, with what looked like sticky zombie bloodstains.
CRASH!
The safety exit door was violently smashed open. A group of savage zombies roared. Seeing fresh flesh and blood, how could the zombies think much? Desperately charged towards Lam Pham.
The boy standing before Lam Pham retreated in fear, "Run quickly! Run quickly..."
The boy bolted, ran a few steps, looked back. That one look showed him a scene he might not dare believe in his entire life. The person who pulled him down from the safety exit held a sword, actually weaving through the zombie horde, one sword strike one kill, one kick one kill. Watching him stunned him rooted to the spot.
In his eyes, zombies were very terrifying, truly especially terrifying. He had seen too many people tackled and bitten by zombies, finally turning into the same kind of zombie.
The current scene before him fiercely impacted his perception.
After a moment.
The zombie corpses covering the ground made Lam Pham somewhat helpless. Actually dirtied the supermarket environment. But he didn't feel there was any problem. This was the supermarket's problem. I came shopping, that makes me a customer. Encountering danger, it should definitely be the supermarket security stepping up to help.
Logically speaking, in his situation, the supermarket should still thank him.
If he were injured by this group of thugs, encountering someone eloquent, would definitely make the supermarket compensate a large sum.
Lam Pham walked up to the boy, puzzled, "What are you doing here?"
The apocalypse is very dangerous. Adults might not necessarily survive easily, let alone a child.
"I... I came to find food." The boy clutched the bag in his hand, very protectively, very nervously, as if this food was his life-saving straw.
"Just you alone?"
"Mm, I'm alone. Thank you, big brother, for saving me. I'll go back first." The boy bowed to Lam Pham, then intended to leave.
"Wait a minute."
Lam Pham assessed the boy. Outside is very dangerous. A child running to the supermarket, really very strange.
The boy looked at Lam Pham somewhat nervously. Although this big brother before him saved him, he still tightly gripped the bag in his hand, always maintaining a vigilant heart.
"Outside is very dangerous. I'll take you back," Lam Pham said.
The boy looked at Lam Pham, finally nodded. Even if he didn't nod, there was no way. He was still a child, fundamentally having no room for resistance.
Walking inside the supermarket, the boy looked around fearfully.
Lam Pham's expression was very relaxed, not feeling scared by the surrounding environment.
After a brief exchange, he learned the boy's name was Co Tu Thanh, a very good name. Meanwhile, he thought again of the young handsome boss of Tan Phong Brokerage, also surnamed Co.
Just a pity, the handsome boss turned into a zombie and was chopped dead by him. Of course, his funeral affairs were handled very well: lifted, placed into a trash can, sent to the garbage dump. Ultimately, not left exposed in the wilderness.
Considered worthy of the handsome boss's friendliness towards him.
"Do you know what I do?" Lam Pham asked with a smile.
Co Tu Thanh shook his head.
"I am a security guard, part-time doing housing rental brokerage. You said you have a grandpa at home, right?" Lam Pham said.
"Mm, I live with my grandpa."
Lam Pham smiled, said no more.
What he thought was, this kind of matter is still better discussed with an adult. No matter how much said to a child, the child cannot decide. Doing work is just like that; need to run around more. Running around, one might encounter business.
This, for any salesperson, is a happy event.
Unintentional actions yield results.
Lam Pham followed along. Didn't expect Co Tu Thanh and his grandpa lived right next to the supermarket, really tightly adjacent. Even the floor levels were the same height.
The residential building was very old, should be a product of the same era as Duong Quang Apartments. The elevator was installed later, mounted on the exterior wall face. That means this building is even older than Duong Quang Apartments.
They lived on the second floor. Co Tu Thanh cautiously took out the key, opened the security door, then quickly led Lam Pham into the house.
Lam Pham assessed the situation inside the room.
Very simple, very basic, even simpler than his place, even the area was very small.
Walls had cracks, floor tiles were very old bricks, at least several decades old. Even the TV was the only big-backed CRT type.
The first impression Lam Pham got was still simplicity.
"Grandpa, I'm back!" Upon returning home, Co Tu Thanh happily spoke towards an old man sitting in a wheelchair. The old man had been waiting in the living room, his old face full of worry. Only upon seeing the child return did he let out a heavy sigh of relief.
Co Tu Thanh opened the plastic bag, "Grandpa, I found a lot of food in the supermarket! There's bread, there are noodles!"
The old man patted his grandson's head, looked suspiciously at Lam Pham, doubt mixed with a trace of vigilance. Their home had food before, but it was snatched away by a male neighbor. When he knocked on the door then, the grandson opened it. Who knew the neighbor came in and robbed all the food? He was paralyzed, sitting in a wheelchair, the grandson small; how could they be opponents of an adult?
So seeing a stranger, the old man was really worried.
Afraid this kind of thing would happen again.
Lam Pham saw the old man's thoughts, spoke gently, "Old Sir, I'm not a bad person. I met your grandson at the supermarket. Seeing it's dangerous outside, sent him back."
He originally intended to pitch housing to the old man, but after entering the room, after brief observation, he decided to wait first.
The old man looked towards his grandson.
Co Tu Thanh said, "Grandpa, this big brother saved me! He's really amazing! Many zombies are no match for him."
Lam Pham stood there smiling throughout. He had no other intention, just wanted the other party to know, I, Lam Pham, am not some bad person.
"Young man, thank you for saving my grandson," the old man said gratefully.
Lam Pham said, "It's alright, just a small effort."
At this time, he saw many award certificates pasted on one wall. Walked over, looked up. All were 'Triple-A Student' awards, also 'Excellent Young Pioneer'.
"Your grandson is very outstanding," Lam Pham said.
Mentioning the child, the old man's face filled with pride: "The child is very outstanding, studies very well, performs well in school, the teachers give awards."
"Where are the child's parents?" Lam Pham asked.
The old man sighed, "My grandson has a hard life. His father died saving a drowning person several years ago. His mother remarried, also doesn't care much about him. I was paralyzed early, useless. It's always been my grandson taking care of me. He's really a sensible child. So young, not only has to take care of himself, but also take care of me. Never caused people worry. These years, also thanks to government help, and assistance from kind-hearted people, that the two of us haven't starved, also have a place to stay."
"Now with such things happening outside, the food at home was snatched away. My grandson said he wanted to go out find food. If not for meeting you, my grandson might have..."
Saying, saying, the old man wiped tears.
Co Tu Thanh pulled his grandpa's hand, "Grandpa, don't cry. I'm an adult now."
Lam Pham looked at the grandfather and grandson before him, feeling an indescribable emotion. The housing introduction words he had long memorized couldn't come out. Co Tu Thanh before him was only twelve years old.
Started taking care of his paralyzed grandpa several years ago, also had to take care of himself.
The meaning was very clear: besides needing to study, also had to care for the elderly.
This kind of life wasn't something an ordinary child could endure. Let alone a child, even adults might not necessarily endure it. Could perhaps persist for a period, but if it's years, definitely not everyone can do it.
According to Lam Pham, even if the apocalypse hadn't descended, this grandfather and grandson's life was already very hard.
And now the apocalypse arrived.
Life became even harder.
Grandpa paralyzed.
Young Co Tu Thanh had to risk going out to find food.
Why call someone a good teenager, a good child?
The one before him is precisely that.
Just then.
The old man sitting in the wheelchair struggled to get up, wanting to come down. Lam Pham, quick-eyed and deft-handed, supported the old man. But the old man grasped Lam Pham's hand, looked up, his turbid eyes containing a pleading look.
"Young man, can I ask you for a favor? I can see you are a capable person. My grandson also told me what happened outside. Maybe my request is a bit excessive, but I hope you can take my grandson away. Not asking you to take care of him much, just hope you can let him live, give him some food, just not starving is enough."
"He's very obedient, very sensible, absolutely won't cause you trouble."
"Don't worry, I won't go with you. I'll just stay here. This child is really too pitiful, too pathetic."
The old man grasped Lam Pham's hand, lowered his head, his voice carrying sobs, pleading, humility.
"Grandpa, I'm not going! I want to stay by your side! I'm not going! Big brother, thank you for sending me home. I'm fine here. You should just go. I can take care of myself, and also take care of grandpa."
Co Tu Thanh tried to push Lam Pham away. He understood grandpa's meaning. At the same time, he wasn't a child who understood nothing. He didn't open his mouth to beg the other party, beg him to take both him and grandpa away together.
Grandpa had mobility issues, paralyzed.
He knew those things outside were zombies, also knew it was the apocalypse.
No one would be willing to carry baggage.
Staying at home, under his care, grandpa could be safe, could live.
Lam Pham looked at the situation before him.
He thought... not about whether to take the other party away, but thinking, why hadn't he noticed these things before? Was it because under peaceful times, what we saw was all beautiful, easily overlooking the people struggling in the mire in the corners of every city?
Baggage?
In his eyes, the word 'baggage' didn't exist.
Are zombies scary?
Seems not scary either.
He was very willing to help people full of kindness and hope. Many good people in peaceful times, more demons in the apocalypse. Wanting to find people full of hope in the apocalypse is very difficult.
But every time encountering one, it's uplifting, can add much brilliance to the turbid, filthy apocalypse.
He saw in Co Tu Thanh the spirit that teenagers of the current era should have.
Strong, brave, filial.
Not crushed by despair, striving hard to fight against despair.
If encountering such a child, yet unwilling to offer help, then what am I protecting in the apocalypse? What am I expecting? What is it that I seek?
Lam Pham patted Co Tu Thanh's head, looked sincerely at the old man.
"Old Sir, you are his relative, also his only relative. You wouldn't want him to lose even his last relative, right?"
He understood the pain and loneliness of having no relatives.
Leaving sorrow for oneself, happiness for others.
He didn't hope for such things to happen.
Those hardships he went through, that loneliness, that helplessness.
Only those who have experienced it understand how despairing it is.
He was willing to be the guide for future hope.
Willing to be a pusher of hope.