"Bro Pham, when we came yesterday, wasn't this door closed by me?" Vuong Khai, seeing the open door, fell into deep thought. If he remembered correctly, it should have been closed. Now it was open; he wouldn't believe the wind blew it open.
"It was closed."
Vuong Khai said, "Looks like someone else came to the water plant."
As if thinking of something.
Vuong Khai quickly inspected the equipment, found it was very normal, and the malicious tampering he imagined hadn't occurred. He couldn't help but sigh in relief; seemed he was overthinking.
Even if people easily turn bad now, at least they haven't become that bad.
"In the apocalypse, there are still many good survivors. Even if I didn't come to check, you would have been saved by other survivors," Lam Pham said.
Vuong Khai said, "Huh? Someone would save me?"
Lam Pham smiled, "Of course. I think when they came here, they also knew the water was still usable, and available every day. They must have thought someone was living at the water plant."
"Impossible." Vuong Khai felt it was a bit fake. Besides Lam Pham being kind-hearted, could other survivors really have such thoughts?
Lam Pham said, "Don't think so badly of people. There are many friendly survivors."
...
Noon.
Lam Pham was busy in the kitchen.
Simply made two dishes.
The shutdown of the wet market indeed affected his life. Fortunately, the supermarket sold things, just that some items were a bit expensive.
With his former salary, he definitely couldn't afford to eat them.
But now, as a security guard earning five thousand a month, plus various part-time jobs, with a little effort and slightly better luck.
A monthly income of over ten thousand was certain.
Knock knock.
A knock on the door came.
Lam Pham put down the pot, turned off the fire, opened the security door. It was Sis Ly standing at the entrance.
"Sis Ly, this is?"
He saw Sis Ly holding a bowl.
Sis Ly said, "This is fish soup made at noon, brought a bowl for you."
Lam Pham looked at the fish soup. The soup's color was snowy white, with chopped green onions floating on top, emitting steam. One look and you knew this bowl of soup was delicious. He had lived on his own since childhood, also knew how to make fish soup. To get that snowy white color, the fish had to be stir-fried in an oil pan a few times, until golden brown on both sides.
"Sis Ly, I don't need it. Give it to the children to supplement their nutrition," Lam Pham didn't take the bowl. He thought there were quite a few children among the fellow villagers; bringing a bowl for him meant there might not be much fish soup left.
Ly Mai seemed to know Lam Pham would say this.
Directly placed the bowl on the shoe cabinet.
Hurriedly left.
Lam Pham was helpless. Looking at the steaming fish soup, he carried it, intending to return to the kitchen. Suddenly thought of Nhan Ny Ny across the door having period pains. Should he use the fish soup to nourish her?
Thought about it again.
Felt it wasn't very good. When a woman is on her period, it should be her boyfriend showing care, either by drinking more hot water or more brown sugar water.
This is a boyfriend's job.
If I carried fish soup, knocked on her door, and said to her... "Have some fish soup."
Thinking carefully, it definitely wasn't good, very easy to cause misunderstandings.
Nhan Ny Ny was an internet celebrity, young and beautiful, with a great figure. Could it make her think I, Lam Pham, wanted to hit on her wrongly? And would it make her think I was a simp wanting to get her?
Mm... Pondered for a moment.
Closed the security door. Better drink it myself.
He felt whether Nhan Ny Ny drank the fish soup or not, the result would be the same; the stomach ache would still hurt, wouldn't change because of a bowl of fish soup.
Before the dining table.
"Really delicious. Sis Ly's cooking skills are a bit higher than mine," Lam Pham commented. As the fish soup entered his stomach, it was extremely warm.
This standard of living should still be considered decent in the apocalypse.
Had rice, stir-fried vegetables, fish soup.
Life was just that leisurely.
No fancy meats.
But with life now, he was already extremely satisfied.
Finished eating.
Washed the dishes.
He wanted to wash the bowl Sis Ly brought clean, then return it.
After resolving these matters.
He sat by the bed, took out a notebook, used a pen to write something on it, then lay on the bed, looked at the ceiling, closed his eyes for a nap.
...
Afternoon.
Cake Shop.
Lam Pham looked at the cake displayed outside, already packaged. Didn't expect her to make it so quickly.
He lightly tapped on the window.
"How much?"
Asked about the price. Although he had thought about how much it would cost before, if he could ask clearly, that would be best.
No sound from inside the room.
To Tieu Hieu still held the knife in her hand. She had made the cake early on, then, while no one was outside, placed it outside. She didn't want any contact with strange fellows; it was really terrifying.
She was very nervous now.
The knife in her hand was even shaking.
Originally didn't want to answer.
But thinking of what happened before, she felt if she didn't speak, what if the opponent wanted to break the window and come in again?
"No money needed, no money needed! You can go!"
She really didn't understand what the opponent's situation was. Why ask how much? It's the apocalypse now! I beg you, don't act like another psycho; I'm about to be driven crazy.
Outside the window.
Hearing "no money needed," Lam Pham shook his head.
Such kind-hearted people nowadays.
Is it because she knows it's the apocalypse, thinking others don't have jobs, possibly no source of income, so she wants to give it away for free?
Respect arose in his heart.
Although the shop owner's stress tolerance might not be high.
But in terms of being a person, really not bad.
Lam Pham thought, how could he not pay? He didn't have such a bad habit. Took out two hundred yuan from his pocket, placed it on the windowsill, conveniently using a stone to press it down, to prevent the wind from blowing the money away.
Inside the shop.
To Tieu Hieu listened intently to the movements outside.
"Has he left?"
She didn't know if he had gone.
Heard a thump.
That was the sound of something falling to the ground.
Quietly waited for a moment.
To Tieu Hieu nervously lifted the curtain. Outside was safe, no one there. Couldn't help but sigh in relief. For her, the apocalypse was truly terrifying. Until now, she hadn't felt the terror of zombies; instead, she felt the terror of survivors.
Thought of the content described in novels before.
Humans, in an era of moral collapse and lawlessness, are more terrifying than any other existence.
Suddenly.
She saw the two banknotes placed under the stone below.
Stared blankly.
A bit dazed, clearly not expecting the opponent would actually leave her money.
At the same time, she looked towards the distance.
That figure carrying the cake was there, standing motionless, as if looking around. What was he trying to do?
Lam Pham, having left the cake shop, looked at the surrounding situation. He felt that cake shop owner was really nice, so he wanted to see if there were any zombies around.
If there were zombies, he thought of helping her drive them away a bit.
As a thank you for her friendliness just now.
It's just like that between people: you are good to me, I will think of ways to repay you. This is mutual.
"Ahem..."
Lam Pham coughed; the sound wasn't considered small.
He didn't want to say something like "All zombies, come out for me!" – that sounded a bit too arrogant, somewhat disrespectful to zombies, felt like actively provoking them.
But coughing is a very normal thing.
Humans cough; the volume is hard to control. So my coughing sound being a bit louder is also reasonable, no problem at all.
Listen, there's a sound.
Like the sound of running.
Also like the sound of something being smashed.
Immediately, zombies appeared from the shop corner. The number wasn't considered large; carefully counting, seemed like around ten. Looking at the zombies' running speed, really a bit faster than before.
He felt this was because zombies frequently exercised.
After all, zombies wander outside daily. See a car, chase a car. See a person, chase a person. Running daily, chasing daily, this running speed definitely improved linearly.
To Tieu Hieu, watching from this side, her mouth agape, she also saw the zombies. That guy was discovered by the zombies. In that moment, she seemed to think of something.
"That's right! How could someone always wander outside and never encounter zombies? That's impossible! He was just lucky before."
"That's it, definitely that's it."
She understood: outside is very dangerous. Occasional luck is just occasional; how could there be someone always lucky?
She watched without blinking.
She wanted to know what the opponent would do.
Was there any way to escape from the zombies' pursuit?
Oh!
She saw the opponent draw the sword from his back, couldn't help but shake her head. Actually not running? Could it be he wanted to fight the zombies with a sword? This was simply dreaming.
But soon.
To Tieu Hieu covered her mouth, watching in shock, her eyes wide.
She saw.
The opponent, with one sword strike, decapitated a running zombie. She could see the head spinning in the air, then falling to the ground.
This scene shocked her speechless for a moment.
Immediately after.
An even more astonishing thing happened.
That group of zombies was like soft-shelled shrimps, killed by him one after another. Couldn't even touch his body. How could it be? Zombies couldn't possibly be that weak.
Doesn't this mean, not that the zombies are weak, but that the opponent is truly too strong.
She collapsed sitting on the ground.
Her mind a chaotic mess.
Seemed to think of something, or rather, a voice in her head kept telling her something.
"It's not that he's lucky, but that he's very strong. Even if encountering zombies, not afraid."
Lam Pham cleaned up the zombies, glanced at the cake shop. He knew the female owner was looking this way.
He had no other intention.
Just wanted the female owner to understand.
Thank you for your kindness just now.
I also don't know how to repay you, so just killed the zombies hiding around, cleaned up the environment for you a bit.
Carrying the cake, continued towards the residential area.
Crossing the road.
Red light.
Lam Pham stopped, waiting quietly. Although there wasn't a single vehicle on the road, he always abided by traffic rules.
Thought of news he saw before.
Many people get hit when crossing the road.
Most are riding electric scooters, not obeying traffic rules. Clearly a red light, yet act as if not seeing it, directly barging through, not even looking at the vehicle situation on both sides, always thinking: I'm riding an electric scooter; would a car dare hit me?
Most are older people.
Very few young people run red lights, because traffic laws have long been deeply ingrained in their hearts.
Many car drivers fear this situation most. Before, electric scooters were considered vulnerable road users. If really hit, regardless of whether the opponent ran a red light, they were the vulnerable group, always had to compensate. So drivers were always constrained, extremely careful, not daring to drive too fast.
But now it's different; everything follows the rules. As long as you run a red light, regardless of whether you are a vulnerable group, you have to bear the responsibility yourself.
At this moment.
A steel beast slowly drove on the road.
Speed not fast.
Clearly not wanting to disturb the zombies.
The driver, Old Mao, saw a figure ahead, said in fright, "Look, there's someone ahead! Take a look, is that a person or a zombie?"
"Looks like a person. Looking at his appearance and movements, and the things he's carrying, definitely a person. Damn, so many not afraid of death now? In the apocalypse, standing there in broad daylight... Ah! Red light! Oh no, isn't he waiting for the green light?" Sis Van exclaimed.
Tu Trach Duong said, "Hair my ass! How could he be waiting for a green light? Do you take him for an idiot? I think he's in trouble."
Big Sis, who had been observing, said gravely, "Old Mao, be vigilant, get ready. I'm afraid it's a trap; he's the bait."
Hearing Big Sis.
Everyone couldn't help but pay attention.
They were scared by humanity under the apocalypse, truly too terrifying. Especially Tu Trach Duong, even now still thinking of that terrifying child. Damn it! If not for Big Sis's quick eyes and feet, kicking that child away with one foot, that dagger would have been stuck in his crotch.
Even if safely escaped.
He would surely become the first eunuch in the apocalypse.
Lam Pham, feeling movement behind him, turned to look.
Somewhat familiar.
That car was very familiar, seemed to have seen it before.
His gaze followed the moving car.
Tu Trach Duong rubbed his eyes, "Holy crap! I remember him! He's that psycho from the library!"
Old Mao asked, puzzled, "What psycho?"
Tu Trach Duong said, "Didn't I mention it to you before? When we were searching for medical books in the library, met a psycho there. Especially weird. We took books, he told us we could register, said this is a library, also said he could deal with 180 zombies."
Chattering on and on.
Old Mao's mouth agape; clearly mentioned before, still extremely surprised.
Sis Van said, "Didn't expect him to still be alive. Truly miraculous."
Big Sis pondered, "Don't get too close. Turn and leave later. Don't have any exchange. This person is very strange, unfathomable."
She asked Old Mao to get closer to communicate with the opponent.
Also didn't say whether to get in the car or not.
Any matter dangerous to the team, she wouldn't do. Even if the opponent might be a trustworthy person, she couldn't risk the team. If missed, she could only say sorry... This era cannot take risks.
The vehicle slowly passed by.
Old Mao, Sis Van, Tu Trach Duong, Big Sis, all stared intently at Lam Pham standing there.
Lam Pham waved towards them, revealing a friendly smile.
Then saw the vehicle turn.
"You ran a red light."
He said to the departing car; they definitely couldn't hear.
The green light turned on.
Lam Pham shook his head, took steps, heading towards home.
Regarding that departing car, he thought perhaps could have a little exchange.
But looking at the opponent's meaning.
Clearly no such thought.
Inside the steel behemoth.
Tu Trach Duong adjusted his hat, "I swear to God, he is absolutely not normal! If he is, I'll eat dirt!"
Sis Van nodded, as if strongly agreeing.
Big Sis said, "Not normal? Haha, do you think an abnormal person can swagger onto the street, can live safely until now? So many of us, coordinating with each other, still live so arduously. This isn't something an abnormal person can do."
She could only say that person was too bizarre.
If can avoid provoking, then avoid provoking.
Unfathomable survivors.
Are what make people feel most terrified.
They had lived until now, experienced things truly hard to forget. If not for the apocalypse descending, she couldn't imagine humanity could be dark to this extent.