In the distance,
"Let's go. It's best to keep this matter to ourselves. There's no need to tell anyone," Thoi Tieu Phi reminded.
Chung Hong said, "You know the organization has been waiting for an opportunity to kill Lam Pham of Hoang City. You don't want the organization to know about Lam Pham's situation, and you want them to act in error, right?"
"You want to leave the organization."
She looked deeply at Thoi Tieu Phi. Although his face was expressionless, in her opinion, he thought more than anyone in the depths of his heart.
"Is that so? I haven't even thought about that," Thoi Tieu Phi said.
Chung Hong said, "You can choose to believe me, but as for the others, as far as I know, there are people who are on the same side as the organization, willing to work for it. And the condition the organization promised him was to let him surpass you. Everything we have was given by the organization. For some people, this is an irresistible temptation."
Thoi Tieu Phi's gaze fell on her for a moment, and then he couldn't help but smile.
"Let's go."
This time, he really left, disappearing into the distance without looking back.
Chung Hong looked at Thoi Tieu Phi's gradually disappearing back and muttered to herself.
"You didn't kill that zombie because you're afraid of Lam Pham. Because it was Lam Pham who let him go, so you didn't dare to act. I really didn't expect that there would be an existence that you fear."
She didn't say these words just now.
Thoi Tieu Phi was a man, and men had their pride. She was not low in emotional intelligence, and she understood this point.
Chung Hong turned her head and looked at the direction of Hoang City in the distance.
She was worried in her heart.
She had an idea, hesitated, and finally thought it through. She didn't go into the distance, but headed towards the direction of Hoang City.
Sometimes, the path is chosen by oneself.
Choosing different paths, the final gains are also different.
She had thought carefully. The path she chose before might not be suitable for her. No matter how she walked, the final situation was always the same, and the future limits could be foreseen.
But now, with an unknown choice, she felt that the result of the path might be different.
...
Hoang City.
People were collecting crystals from the zombie fragments.
"Wow, it's so beautiful, Brother Khai. Why does the inside of the crystal look like this, as if the stars of the universe are flowing?"
"How would I know? This kind of high-level question is very difficult for me to answer."
"Alright, the zombies are so scary, yet the crystals in their heads are so beautiful. They don't match at all."
Most of the people were not Awakeners and did not have the power to hunt zombies. But they didn't care at all, because they could do other things at the Sunshine Shelter and still contribute.
Vuong Khai picked up a crystal and held it up to the sunlight. Looking closely, it was indeed very beautiful. The flowing and rotating inside was like the Milky Way, truly unbelievable.
He didn't know how it was formed.
It was hard for anyone to imagine that there could be such a beautiful and dazzling thing in a zombie's head.
Chung Hong arrived at the scene. Observing from a close distance, her heart was truly shocked. Taking a slight breath, she felt that the air was filled with a thick smell of blood.
A crystal on the ground rolled out from a severely damaged head.
This was a red crystal.
Such a crystal was very precious, but it could be seen everywhere here. It was truly a different place, with a different scene.
She bent down and was about to pick up the red crystal.
Thump!
"Miss, this is our Hoang City's crystal. Where did you come from?"
Hearing the voice, Chung Hong's movements suddenly paused.
She saw a person with a steel spear on his back, wearing battle armor, bending down to pick up the crystal.
She sensed an aura from the other person. This aura gave her a strong sense of danger. If she fought with the other person, she had a high probability of being killed.
When Chung Hong appeared, Dam Thanh had already discovered her. The aura she exuded was not that of an Awakener, but had a zombie's aura.
But the other party was not a zombie, so she could only be an Aberrant.
"My name is Dam Thanh, a member of the Hoang City Sunshine Shelter. Do you have any business here?" Dam Thanh had never seen her before, but the other party's situation didn't look like she was fleeing here.
Chung Hong was amazed in her heart. She didn't expect that the Sunshine Shelter not only had a strong person like Lam Pham, but the other survivors were also very strong. It was worthy of being the only human shelter in the apocalypse.
"My name is Chung Hong. I want to meet Lam Pham," Chung Hong said.
Dam Thanh silently stared at the other party. "Follow me."
He didn't know the other party's purpose, but if she wanted to see Lam Pham, it was easy to handle. The rest of the matter could be left to Lam Pham.
Chung Hong followed behind Dam Thanh, sizing up her surroundings. Every survivor was chatting and laughing while collecting crystals. Every one of them was wearing battle armor. She, who had read the guide, knew that these armors were all blessed with crystals.
The defensive power was very strong.
Rich, truly too rich.
To use precious crystals on battle armor, perhaps besides here, no one in other places would be willing to.
"Your crystals are very abundant."
Chung Hong took the initiative to chat. Walking one after another like this always felt a bit awkward.
Since she arrived, she found that many people had cast doubtful glances at her, and some even seemed to be ready for battle, as if she would be suppressed on the spot if she had any ideas.
"Of course. These crystals were all obtained by Lam Pham hunting zombies. Needless to say, the number of zombies in a Hoang City is terrifyingly large. Although most of them are normal zombies, the number of evolved zombies is not small either."
Dam Thanh said casually.
Chung Hong nodded silently. It was indeed so. The number of zombies in a city was unimaginable. Even now, the only one who could clean up the zombies in a city was probably Lam Pham.
Such a human was too strong.
Unimaginably strong.
"Are your Awakeners also very numerous?"
"Haha, are you trying to find out secrets?"
"No, I was just asking."
"Just kidding, don't be nervous. The number of Awakeners is okay. Compared to other places, it is indeed not small. The Awakeners living here never have to worry about crystals. As long as they are willing to work hard, their ability stages will be greatly improved."
Hearing these words, Chung Hong was truly envious. The encounters of people were really different. Some people risked their lives and still might not be able to get a crystal.
The Awakeners staying here never had to worry about crystals. It was truly enviable.
"So good. If I stayed here, I would definitely be stronger."
Dam Thanh turned his head and stared at the other party, and couldn't help but smile. "I think you might not be suitable."
"Why?"
"Because you might need to go to the Hoang City Prison for reformation."
He had also thought before, what if someone with ideas deliberately defected to the Sunshine Shelter just to obtain crystals? Later he learned that Lam Pham's eyes could see through the other party's true inner thoughts.
Qualified ones could come.
Unqualified ones needed to go to the Hoang City Prison to receive reformation.
In the past, the Hoang City Prison was just a decoration.
Officer Hoang had two types of people. One was to let them go, and the other was to punish them on the spot, taking their lives.
Chung Hong was silent and followed quietly, not saying another word.
...
"You are from the Aberrant organization."
Lam Pham received Chung Hong, who was brought by Dam Thanh. He didn't expect that someone from the Aberrant organization would actually come here. It was truly magical. Now some organization members were acting a bit outrageous on the outside.
He had been looking for all kinds of organizations all along.
Yet they actively came to his door.
Could it be that he had described himself too well in the "Zombie Illustrated Guide," causing some people to think he was very gentle?
"Yes."
Chung Hong was honest in front of Lam Pham, her expression a little nervous.
Her move was very risky. As Thoi Tieu Phi had said, if you wanted to die, then go. But she still wanted to give it a try.
"Are you representing the organization to talk?" Lam Pham exchanged words in a low voice.
"No, I am representing myself. When you destroyed the zombie tide, I was already hiding in the distance and saw it," Chung Hong explained hurriedly. Coming as an individual and representing the organization were two different things.
"I know. When you guys came, I already sensed it. That smell was very familiar. It should be Thoi Tieu Phi who was also there."
"You even know this?"
"Of course, my nose is very sensitive to smells," Lam Pham said.
"Oh, as expected. No matter how far away we are, you can still discover us. It's really scary."
"No, I'm not scary at all." Lam Pham waved his hand. "Alright, you must have something to tell me. Feel free to speak directly. I am very willing to listen and exchange with you."
Chung Hong took a deep breath, organized her words in her mind, and finally summoned her courage to say, "I want to discuss a cooperation with you."
"Cooperation?"
"Yes, I know you've been looking for the whereabouts of the Aberrant organization. I can help you find it. Of course, don't look at me as a member of the organization, but I have never been to the real headquarters. But no matter what, my chances of knowing the headquarters' location are greater than anyone else's."
"What are your requirements?" Lam Pham knew that any cooperation required an equivalent price. Now that the other party had taken the initiative to say it, it meant that the other party wanted something.
"I want the flesh and blood of a Creator and some high-level crystals. I don't want the crystals of a Creator."
After saying these words,
Chung Hong waited nervously for a reply.
She didn't know if the other party would agree, because she didn't have any equivalent conditions that could satisfy the other party. The other party wanted to know the organization's location, but she didn't know it yet. She only said she would look for it for the other party.
If it were her, she would definitely not agree. In her opinion, weren't you just trying to get something for nothing?
"Why do you want to cooperate with me?" Lam Pham did not agree immediately, but also wanted to know the other party's true thoughts.
Chung Hong said, "I have read the content of the 'Zombie Illustrated Guide' before, but that was just reading, not seeing it with my own eyes. Today's zombie tide, I saw it with my own eyes. Your strength makes me feel that in the future, humanity will definitely win. No organization on any side can dominate anything. I want to live my own life and walk a path with a future."
Any human who could live until now had not had it easy.
Especially to become a test subject of an organization and finally be able to survive, it must have been a tragic experience. The way of survival in the past society was no longer suitable. Surviving was the most important thing.
Therefore, when Lam Pham met some survivors who wanted to come to the Sunshine Shelter, if they were unqualified, he would give them a chance to be reformed in the Hoang City Prison.
The prerequisite for this opportunity was that Officer Hoang was not around.
Lam Pham stared into Chung Hong's eyes. Chung Hong stared back at Lam Pham with great determination, without any concealment, not in the posture of someone who was afraid of their inner thoughts being seen through.
"Alright, a pleasant cooperation." Lam Pham stood up and extended his hand.
Chung Hong was stunned for a moment, then came to her senses and hurriedly shook Lam Pham's hand. She really didn't expect it to be so simple, unbelievable.
"You believe me?"
"It's your choice that makes me believe you. Your choice is correct. No matter what organization it is, as long as it uses living humans for research, it will definitely become dust in history."
Lam Pham smiled, but his tone was very firm, as if injecting a strong force into the listener.
"I will definitely find the organization's location."
"Okay, I believe you can find it. But I want to ask, does Thoi Tieu Phi know the organization's location?"
"He should know, because he is the most perfect Aberrant. But he once said that his fate is not in his own control. I don't understand the meaning of that."
Chung Hong's relationship with Thoi Tieu Phi could only be said that there were no friends in such an organization.
She rarely communicated with others.
She had only talked with Thoi Tieu Phi.
Lam Pham thought of the scene when he first met Thoi Tieu Phi. He had sensed a fatal danger in Thoi Tieu Phi's heart at a glance. It was obvious that the Aberrant organization had left a backup plan.
"Oh, it's okay, just asking casually." Lam Pham smiled.
His smile was very gentle, just like the people living in the Sunshine Shelter, all of whom greeted each day with a smiling face.
Chung Hong had long since decided that the Aberrant organization had no future. The real future was here. Although she was an Aberrant, she was also a woman. She would not have the situation where a man would rather die than bow his head for the sake of dignity.
Since she knew that Lam Pham was very powerful, why not choose the path she wanted to take?
She also wanted to become stronger, and also wanted to survive in the bad apocalypse.
So the current choice was the wisest.
A moment later,
Chung Hong left with the corpse of a Creator and some high-level crystals, as well as a satellite phone that Lam Pham had given her. If she found the organization's location, she could call him immediately.
"Is that woman trustworthy?"
Dam Thanh asked.
Lam Pham said, "She is trustworthy. She is smart. It was not her idea to become like this. If she had a choice, who would be willing to go down a dark path? Besides, it's a good thing to let the other party have such a change. At least in the future, when she meets living survivors outside, she won't stand by and watch or bring them back to the Aberrant organization, but will call me."
He cherished the life of every survivor.
As long as you wanted to survive, he would definitely bring hope to the other party.
Dam Thanh looked at Lam Pham, obviously understanding. Cooperation was only one aspect. More importantly, it was to make the other party change. No matter what, this could at least give the survivors wandering outside an extra chance of survival.
Involuntarily, Dam Thanh understood that it was not without reason that Lam Pham could be respected and admired by so many people.
He always thought for the survivors.
He never thought of using his strength to become a king or a tyrant. Even if he treated all survivors as slaves, no one would say anything more. For people now, being able to live was a luxury.
...
Two days later,
the crystal collection was over.
At this time, several people were standing at the side of the big bridge.
Co Hang said with emotion, "Fortunately, we have many more people than before, so the collection was very fast. If it were before, it might have taken ten days or half a month."
"This is a good thing. The more people are alive, the happier I am," Lam Pham said with a smile.
He wished the population of Hoang City could be as large as possible.
He could very confidently tell them, "You can live here in peace. I will block all dangers for you. I like a lively environment and look forward to the life of the past."
Although in peacetime, he was just a poor office worker, he loved life and the world full of love.
People were different. They might dislike each other, they might fight with their fists, they might curse at each other.
But no matter what kind of person it was, when they saw the suffering of others, they would have compassion and couldn't bear to see others live a tragic life, thus willing to extend a helping hand.
Even if their own conditions might not be easy, they couldn't see such things happen.
"It's already very good, really. I feel it's particularly good." Co Hang spoke very sincerely. It was still the same old saying. He had never thought that there could be such a shelter in the apocalypse.
At the same time, there were so many compatriots around him.
Everyone lived together, supported each other, helped each other, and worked together to create a beautiful future.
Of course, all this beauty was with Lam Pham's help. If it weren't for his help, it would be absolutely impossible to achieve this.
Lam Pham said, "Continue to work hard and strive for better. I will also work hard to clean up the zombies. I know there are definitely many living survivors outside. They are still facing all kinds of difficulties. I hope they can find a way to contact us."
Co Hang said, "Yes, I also believe that there are more people alive. This is absolutely certain."
No matter whether they had seen it with their own eyes or not,
they could not lose confidence.
If they could survive, other people definitely could too.
Then, Lam Pham drew Frostmourne. Frost spread out, and all the zombie corpses were covered. In an instant, they turned into ice shards and scattered.
"Little Pham, this ability of yours is simply a divine skill," Co Hang said.
"It's okay. It's just that cleaning up the corpses is relatively easy and doesn't easily cause damage to the environment," Lam Pham said.
"Yes, that's true. If we had this ability before, we wouldn't have had to work so hard back then." Co Hang thought of the time when they were cleaning up the zombie corpses. It was a full-scale operation, and they didn't know how many bulldozers they had used to pile the zombies into a deep pit.
"Hahaha."
Lam Pham laughed. Thinking about it, it really was like that. For him, these were all past memories. They had come this far step by step. They had experienced too many things.
Thinking about it now was a kind of memory.
...
A place far from Hoang City.
"Hurry up, a little faster."
A jeep was speeding along, and the several survivors in the car were very panicked because they were now being chased by a very terrifying zombie.
That zombie was wearing black armor, and only its face was exposed. That face was unexpectedly the appearance of a zombie.
Before, they were refueling on the roadside. Suddenly, the zombie that was now chasing them appeared in the distance, standing there and watching them quietly.
This situation immediately scared them out of their wits, and they shivered.
Without thinking, they quickly got into the car and fled.
They thought it would be the same as in the past. If the car drove fast, they could shake off the zombie.
But what made them despair was that the zombie's speed was also very fast, chasing closely behind them, maintaining a certain distance.
"What kind of zombie is this? Why is it so scary?" the man driving the car said in fear.
"I don't know, who knows?"
"Slow down, be careful, we're about to crash."
There were many obstacles on the road. A moment of inattention would lead to a collision.
It was easiest to have problems in a state of high tension.
"It's okay, I can handle it. It will definitely be okay."
the man driving the car said.
Behind them, Officer Hoang was covered in blood. There were some cracks on the surface of his armor. The most crucial thing was that his mask had disappeared.
It was clear that Officer Hoang had been through a lot during this period of time.
The battles he had been through were definitely not simple.
When Officer Hoang saw humans, he only had one thought, which was to communicate with them and show them a way to survive. But those survivors were very scared.
He wanted those survivors to calm down a little, to suppress their inner fear, and not to be too scared.
Not long after,
the jeep gradually stopped.
"What happened?"
"No... no more gas," the man driving the car said with a pale face.
"Didn't you have extra gas before?"
"No gas. I was just about to refuel, but that zombie suddenly appeared. I was so scared I was stunned." The man driving the car even wanted to commit suicide. He was scared at that time and forgot to put in the gas gun. By the time he reacted, it was already too late.
"Damn it, is heaven trying to kill us?"
There were a total of four survivors in the car, all male. Their courage was not small, but the sudden appearance of the zombie scared them.
It made them a little panicked, a little dazed.
"Run, let's quickly run up that mountain. Maybe there's still a chance of survival," the man driving the car said.
As he said these words,
they quickly got out of the car, panicked, jumped over the guardrail, and ran up the mountain. But just as they were jumping over the guardrail, one of the slightly fat men didn't jump steadily and rolled down.
"Ah, it hurts." The fat man clutched his leg. His pants were cut, and fresh blood flowed out. It turned out that someone had stuck a piece of glass in the cement ground. When he rolled down, his calf was directly cut open.
Seeing the flowing blood, the wound seemed to be a bit deep.
"Damn it, what's wrong with you? Why do you encounter all the bad things?"
Seeing this situation, the three companions were instantly flustered. They hadn't run far, and one of their companions was injured. Why was this plot so familiar? It was like the kind in the movies, where the people around were defeated one by one.
In the end, only the protagonist survived.
Of course, they were definitely not the protagonists, just poor people in the apocalypse.
The three companions did not think of abandoning the fat man and wanted to help him escape, but they were pushed away by the fat man.
"Don't mind me, just go. I'm finished. Taking me with you is a burden. If that zombie gnaws on me for a bit, it can buy you some time. It's the only thing I can do."
Faced with this situation, the fat man was definitely scared, but he knew that in his current situation, there was basically no hope. They were willing to run out of that tyrannical place with him, treating him as a companion. So he, who had not been able to help the group all along, wanted to do one thing for them.
Let the zombie have a good meal on his fat body, and buy some time for the group to escape.
Seeing that the three of them were still in a daze, he directly roared, "Go, don't mind me, go..."
The three looked at each other, didn't think much, and looked at the fat man helplessly.
"Take care."
"Go."
The three ran up the mountain without looking back.
Watching the backs of the three of them leave, the fat man grimaced in pain from the wound on his calf. He covered the wound and crawled forward. Seeing a drainage ditch, his eyes immediately lit up, as if he had thought of a good way.
He directly crawled to the drainage ditch, wanting to lie down in it and pretend to be a corpse, only to find that his belly was a little big and he was directly stuck.
"Holy crap..."
The fat man wanted to cry but had no tears. In peacetime, being fat meant that he had eaten well. But it was already the apocalypse, and he hadn't had a full meal, yet he hadn't lost any weight. This was the thing he couldn't tolerate the most.
He wanted to press down, but the pain made him completely give up the idea.
He saw that the zombie in battle armor had already appeared at the guardrail.
"We're done for."
The fat man's face was pale. He picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at Officer Hoang.
"Get lost, you damn thing, get lost."
The stone collided with the battle armor and was directly bounced off. It was of no use.
Faced with this situation, the fat man was very desperate. His heart was cold. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to live, but in the current situation, it seemed that there was no possibility of living.
Officer Hoang walked towards the fat man. Every step, for the fat man, was a sense of oppression, pressing down on him so much that his heart felt as if it was about to stop at any time.
"Wuwu..."
The fat man couldn't help but cry.
Tears flowed down his cheeks. He thought of how his three companions wanted to help him along just now. He really regretted insisting on dedicating himself. Maybe if they had run away with him, they could have escaped.
Officer Hoang stood in front of the fat man, stretched out his hand, and grabbed at him. The scared fat man screamed and begged for mercy.
"Grandpa Zombie, don't bite me. I'm scared. I'm really scared. I beg you, please let me go."
"I have old people above and young people below... ah... no, I have old people below and young people above... still not right, I beg you."
The fat man was scared silly by the zombie in front of him. He could already smell the stench from the zombie's mouth. It was too stimulating.
Officer Hoang looked at the fat man in his hand.
He frowned slightly.
"I am a police officer," Officer Hoang said.
"Huh?"
The fat man, who had fallen into despair, suddenly opened his eyes, looked at Officer Hoang in a daze, and then looked around. Who was talking just now? Or was it that under the threat of death, he was prone to hallucinations?
"I said it."
If Lam Pham saw this situation, he would definitely exclaim, "Officer Hoang, how can you not love me so much? My relationship with you is standard. Why don't you love talking to me, but instead like to talk to others?"
If Officer Hoang wanted to reply, he would definitely say, "You have already seen my most pathetic appearance, and you even stripped me naked and threw me into the water to wash me clean. Who would want to talk to you?"
"Ah... you can talk."
"Yes, I won't hurt you. My duty is to protect ordinary citizens."
The fat man stared wide-eyed, his mouth agape, already stunned by the zombie in front of him.
He even pinched his own fat face, wondering if he was dreaming, or if he was having hallucinations, and was now immersed in the hallucinations and couldn't extricate himself.
"You won't bite me?"
"No."
Officer Hoang had already said enough, and he was very patient.
Even after becoming a zombie, Officer Hoang was still very patient when communicating with ordinary citizens. Of course, if it was against a villain, then what awaited them was severe punishment.
"Really?" The fat man still didn't quite believe it.
"Really."
The fat man raised his head, looked at the sky, and wondered what holiday it was today. Why did he encounter such a situation? Or was it that when he was a child, he gave a beggar old man a hundred yuan, and was beaten up by his parents when he got home, and heaven saw that he was too pitiful and was now giving him a boon?
It must be so, absolutely. Good people get good rewards. Doing good deeds really has its benefits.
Officer Hoang saw the wound on the fat man's calf. He directly tore the fat man's clothes, performed a simple bandage, then carried him on his shoulder and walked up the mountain.
"Officer, are you going to help my friends?"
"Yes."
"Oh, they're all scared silly. They thought you would bite people. I'll shout a few times for you and tell them not to be afraid."
After speaking, the fat man raised his voice and shouted, "Brothers, don't be afraid! Come out quickly! This zombie officer is a good zombie! He's here to help us..."
For some reason, the fat man felt that as he raised his voice to shout, the blood in his calf flowed faster.
It scared him so much that he quickly shut his mouth and didn't dare to shout anymore. He was really afraid that he wouldn't be bitten to death by a zombie, but would die from excessive blood loss instead.
In the mountain forest,
the three fleeing people were like headless flies, running around randomly, not knowing where was safe.
"Did a sound just come from somewhere?"
"Was there?"
"There was."
"I didn't notice."
The three were silent and didn't talk about the known situation. If there was a sound, it must have been the fat man's miserable scream. The zombie must be biting him, and also tearing open his belly, pulling out his internal organs.
Thinking of these images, they only felt a chill run down their spines, and sweat poured down like rain. They were so nervous they didn't know what to do.
Not long after,
Officer Hoang, carrying the fat man, had already entered the mountain. The surrounding trees were tall and verdant, forming a contrast with the desolate outside world. Staying here, who would think that the outside situation was so terrifying and dangerous?
At this time,
Officer Hoang slowed his steps, stepped on the ground, and the crackling sound of broken branches was very loud on the quiet mountain.
Above Officer Hoang,
the three people were climbing a tree, looking down in horror, covering their mouths, their expressions very fearful. They saw the zombie actually carrying the fat man.
A terrifying possibility appeared in their minds.
This zombie was different from other zombies. It saw that the fat man had a lot of meat and knew that it couldn't eat it all at once, so it treated the fat man as a reserve food supply, carrying him with it, and when it got hungry, it would gnaw on a few mouthfuls of flesh and blood.
In their opinion, it must be so.
Poor fat man.
He was going to die without a complete corpse.
Suddenly,
Officer Hoang suddenly raised his head and looked up.
"Ah..."
The three people who were discovered screamed, hugging the tree tightly with both hands. Even if they were scared to death, they could not let go.