Early morning!
Got up early as usual.
Rice porridge.
Pickled vegetables.
Chicken egg.
A simple breakfast often marks the beginning of a new day. Life is just like that, starting in calmness, then returning to calmness. The only thing contradicting this theory are those impolite zombies.
Went downstairs.
The three old gentlemen were chatting. Seeing Lam Pham come down, they all smiled and greeted him.
"Old man Vuong, is Grandpa Tu over at the vegetable garden?" Lam Pham asked.
Things needed doing. The conclusions from yesterday's meeting, he had already memorized them. Since things were decided, they must be resolved first.
"Ah, yes, went early this morning," Old man Vuong said.
Lam Pham said, "Old Sir, I plan to take Grandpa Tu on a trip to the hospital to buy some medicine."
Old man Vuong said, "Good, no problem. But you must protect my old partner well. If any problem occurs, I, this old man, might not be able to live on."
He spoke jokingly; he knew Little Pham was very formidable, definitely would be fine.
But that was his old partner. Knew very well it was safe, but this was going outside. Those zombies were a threat, so how could he not worry?
Lam Pham solemnly assured, "Old Sir, rest assured. I will absolutely protect Grandpa Tu very well, absolutely will not let Grandpa Tu suffer even a little harm."
"Good, good, I trust you very much," Old man Vuong said.
Lam Pham smiled. This feeling of being trusted by others was truly very comfortable. He felt Old man Vuong was like his confidant, able to understand his thoughts.
Indeed, older people, having experienced much, can always see the essence of problems.
Vegetable garden.
Not only Sis Li and Grandpa Tu were busy, but also Co Hang, Vuong Khai, Tran Hac were all busy digging the fish pond.
Seeing Lam Pham arrive, the group put down the work in their hands, greeted Lam Pham. Enough to prove Lam Pham was the brightest cub of Duong Quang Apartments.
"Grandpa Tu, I'd like to ask you to go with me on a trip to the hospital to buy some medicine. Bro Hang, you drive with us."
No choice.
Grandpa Tu was old. Running was definitely possible, but walking too much was tiring. Still better to drive.
"Okay." Co Hang put down the tool in his hand, patted Vuong Khai beside him, "Your small physique still needs more training."
Vuong Khai was helpless. Being thin and weak wasn't his fault. Who asked him to be born like this? Other places didn't show fat, only the belly was slightly big.
...
Hospital.
Hoang city First People's Hospital.
This was the closest hospital to Duong Quang Apartments, belonging to the top three locally.
Along the way.
Grandpa Tu's expression was extremely grave. In the apocalypse, they were protected very well, rarely exposed to the outside situation. Looking now, too tragic, truly too tragic.
A desolate, ruined city without a trace of life.
Lam Pham looked at the large characters "Hoang city First People's Hospital" at the entrance. They were stained with coagulated blood. Many images seemed to flash in his mind: someone attacked by zombies, chased, covered in blood clinging on, finally powerlessly falling to the ground, turning into a zombie that only bites.
Truly a regrettable matter.
The sedan slowly drove into the hospital grounds.
"Stop first. I see some zombies. Wait for me."
Lam Pham saw some limping, wandering zombies had already discovered them. Recovering from their sluggish expressions, becoming irritable, savagely roaring, running quickly towards this side.
Lam Pham drew Frostmourne, didn't waste breath on this group of zombies. He was currently observing in all directions, always vigilant. He had to ensure Grandpa Tu's safety.
Pfft!
Pfft!
Swinging the sword, wrist technique sharp and domineering. The charging zombies directly slid and tripped, collapsing paralyzed on the ground, completely motionless.
No matter how many times Co Hang had watched, he always felt Lam Pham's method of killing zombies was truly domineering, the visual impact very large.
Observed the surroundings.
Confirmed no other zombies were seen, returned to the car, directly asked Co Hang to drive the car to the hospital entrance.
This could save some walking distance.
Grandpa Tu sighed, "Ai, what kind of virus exactly could cause such a situation? This is trying to wipe out humanity."
Co Hang said, "Grandpa Tu, I always suspect this isn't caused by a human virus. I also suspect whether this is aliens spreading a virus to wipe out humanity."
Grandpa Tu looked at Co Hang, feeling young people easily thought of such strange things.
Noticing Grandpa Tu's doubtful gaze, Co Hang was about to continue speaking when the sound of knocking on the window came.
"Come out, it's safe." Lam Pham knocked on the window, said softly.
When he was alone, he wandered around swaggeringly, never worrying about when zombies would appear, nor worrying if zombies could bite him.
But now Grandpa Tu was beside him, he had to exert all his energy, pay attention to the surrounding situation, absolutely could not allow any dangerous thing to happen to Grandpa Tu.
Before them were steps.
Covered in dust, stained with coagulated blood, also rotten corpses. These images were very impactful. For Lam Pham, he was already accustomed to it.
Co Hang could also face it calmly.
But for Grandpa Tu, there was an indescribable desolate feeling. As a former military doctor, what scenes hadn't she seen? Soldiers missing arms and legs, even intestines spilling out, she could bravely grab and stuff them back in. Naturally wouldn't be scared by the current situation.
Just expressing regret.
"Grandpa Tu, steps, walk slowly," Lam Pham reminded.
Co Hang supported Grandpa Tu. His role was to be Grandpa Tu's walking stick. There was another role that might not necessarily be used: if by any chance Lam Pham couldn't hold back, a zombie slipped through the net and attacked, the one bitten by the zombie must be him, absolutely not Grandpa Tu.
Lam Pham led the way in front.
Grandpa Tu and Co Hang followed behind.
Lam Pham didn't walk fast, always paying attention to Grandpa Tu's speed. Reaching the top, looked inside the hospital. Inside was somewhat dim, lights already broken. Fortunately, there was sunlight shining in, always giving people a feeling of light.
The hospital pharmacy location was on the first floor, very convenient.
Creak!
Creak!
The hospital's glass doors were already shattered, glass scattered all over the floor. Stepping on it made a light creaking sound. Listening carefully, couldn't hear any sound, quiet to the point of being frightening.
"Grandpa Tu, be careful, there's glass on the ground."
Lam Pham reminded.
Grandpa Tu nodded. Little Pham truly was a considerate child. As for whether there was danger in the hospital, definitely dangerous. But she believed with Little Pham present, what could these dangers count for?
At this time.
"Ugh ugh... Roar."
Zombie roars came from the side. Hearing the sound, identifying the position.
Swung the sword.
Pfft!
One sword strike decapitated the zombie, blood splashing all over the ground. The savage head rolled on the ground like a football.
Looked down, the zombie he killed wore a doctor's uniform. Clearly, when the apocalypse descended, the hospital similarly encountered zombie attacks. Such a crowded place, surviving was truly very difficult.
Observed the lobby environment. Coagulated blood everywhere, also many empty coffins. (Translator Note: "không đồ vàng mã quan" likely means empty coffins meant for funeral rites, not necessarily "golden" coffins.)
Front left was the pharmacy.
Lam Pham led them towards that side, entered the pharmacy.
The door was ajar.
Light inside was dim.
He carried his sword, gently knocked on the adjacent wall. The sound was very small, but if there were zombies inside, could definitely stimulate their ferocity.
Waited for a moment.
Silent without a sound.
Then walked inside, confirming no danger.
"Grandpa Tu, you and Bro Hang purchase the medicines we need here. Calculate how much it costs. I'll keep watch outside for you. It's okay, no need to rush, can take your time," Lam Pham said.
He said these words with no other meaning.
Just afraid Grandpa Tu might misunderstand it was urgent. After all, doing things if rushed, easily leads to mistakes. So need to calm down, take it slow, slowly organize. Only then can things be done better.
"Mm."
Grandpa Tu was a military doctor, very familiar with pharmaceuticals. Even after retiring later, often read medical books to enhance her professional ability.
Co Hang held a bag, assisting beside.
Entrance.
Lam Pham held his sword, posture very straight, like a door god guarding.
His hearing was extremely sensitive, could hear many sounds ordinary people couldn't.
Watched quietly.
Looked towards the corridor straight ahead. Over there were some rooms. When he was sick before, had come here for treatment, naturally knew the general layout.
The corridor ahead was somewhat dim, both walls stained with sticky fluid.
Suddenly.
A limping figure wandered out from the corner into view.
Lam Pham just stood there, watching the suddenly appearing figure, didn't speak, didn't make any unnecessary movements. His current responsibility was to ensure the safety of Grandpa Tu inside buying medicine.
Not seeing a zombie and immediately going up to chop, thereby forgetting Grandpa Tu's safety.
The wandering zombie stood in the middle of the corridor, head lowered, motionless. Under circumstances with no movement, zombies were like cooled engines, needing to hear some movement to become irritable and crazy.
Crashing sounds came from the pharmacy; that was medicine scattered on the ground. Sounded like glass bottles breaking.
Very normal.
The pharmacy corridor wasn't large. Grandpa Tu was old; bumping into things was very normal.
Co Hang whispered from the window, "Knocked over an alcohol bottle."
"It's okay, you guys busy yourselves," Lam Pham said.
The sound of shattering had already attracted the attention of the zombie at the end of the corridor. The sluggish zombie looked towards Lam Pham's side following the sound, roared, like a mad dog, running quickly towards Lam Pham.
Lam Pham's expression was extremely calm.
Without a ripple.
As the zombie approached, he already saw its savage, ugly appearance, sticky fluid flowing from the corner of its mouth. Carried the sword, from top to bottom, one sword swing, down along the head. Pfft! Directly cleaved the zombie in two.
[Kill Zombie] [Points +1]
This kind of zombie kill prompt was extremely meaningless; he had killed too many zombies, long lost any feeling.
Perhaps because of the zombie just now.
Zombies appeared sporadically from the other side of the corridor, quite a number. Some wore patient gowns, some wore nurse uniforms, even some not-so-old children.
Turned into zombies, they wandered inside the hospital.
Hearing movement, would rush towards this side.
"Quite a number. Lucky it's me who came. If it were any other survivor, probably would really lie down here." Lam Pham murmured to himself, holding Frostmourne. The previously evil filial piety sword now already radiated the brilliance of the righteous path.
Soon, the zombies rushed before him.
Especially seeing child zombies, he merely shook his head. Didn't expect even children couldn't escape this calamity. Regarding this, he could only swing the sword in his hand.
Children are often a blank sheet of paper, without any dark marks. The only thing he could do was liberation.
Sword light appeared.
Pfft!
Pfft!
Chopping sounds.
The zombies in front rapidly decreased. Standing zombies fell at a speed visible to the naked eye. However, what made Lam Pham notice was, the zombies' abilities were indeed much more formidable than those encountered before.
"Resolved."
Swung, flicking off the bloodstains on Frostmourne.
He looked towards the pharmacy. Grandpa Tu was still finding medicine.
"Grandpa Tu, don't rush. Just take your time. With me here, it's fine."
He looked at the zombies he killed. Some wore security uniforms. No wonder. Even security guards turned into zombies; the hospital being chaotic like this was understandable.
Fortunately, this wasn't the inpatient area entrance. The inpatient area entrance was in the adjacent building. Needless to think, the zombies over there were definitely more numerous.
With no sound propagating.
Even if there really were zombies around, wouldn't rush towards this side.
Waiting.
"Ugh ugh... Roar."
A coarse roar came. He didn't see the zombie figure, but this sound was much more powerful than other zombies he heard, giving him a feeling like a monster BOSS from zombie movies.
"This kind of sound is a bit strange," Lam Pham thought inwardly.
Heavy footsteps transmitted through; the ground seemed to be vibrating.
He saw a vague shadow appear at the other end of the corridor. Immediately after, he saw a zombie he had never encountered before appear at the end of the corridor.
He had seen physically large ones, ones using all fours, ones that could scream.
But absolutely never seen this type of zombie before.
Bloated physique, entire body very plump, dripping sticky fluid, head extremely large, as if swollen up. The corridor wasn't narrow, yet was completely filled by this zombie, without even a sliver of a gap.
"So disgusting. My heavens! How exactly did it turn into a zombie?" Lam Pham muttered.
At this time, Co Hang, who was about to tell Lam Pham they were almost finished collecting, saw through the window the meatball-like zombie in the distance, and was completely stunned.
He was sorting zombie types.
The zombie before him gave him a feeling of a new type.
The bloated zombie saw Lam Pham, opened its mouth wide roaring. Its plump body rubbed against the walls, continuously squeezing towards Lam Pham's side. Its speed wasn't slow, but not as fast as other zombies. However, the sense of threat it gave off was immense.
"Little... Little Pham, can this zombie be handled?" Co Hang asked knowingly.
Lam Pham smiled, "Help Grandpa Tu with peace of mind. It's okay."
It's okay. These three short words were like a shot of strong heart stimulant, fiercely injected into the heart.
Co Hang swallowed. Don't just look at his high psychological quality, but seeing this kind of disgusting zombie still felt an indescribable nervousness.
Lam Pham remained calm throughout.
Thinking about countermeasures. With the opponent's physique, swinging the sword to chop off the head wasn't realistic. The opponent's head was large, yes, but compared to the bloated body, seemed somewhat small.
Pondered for a moment.
Already thought of a method.
"Ugh ugh... Roar."
The bloated zombie roared, hot air spraying out from its bloody mouth, rushing towards Lam Pham. That small mountain-like body made Lam Pham appear extremely tiny. Even the Strength-type zombie's physique couldn't compare with the opponent.
"Grandpa Tu and Co Hang trust me very much. I also won't let them down."
"Don't just look at your ugly appearance, yet so bloated, making me seem very scared of you. Stop dreaming."
As soon as the words fell.
Lam Pham swung his sword, speed extremely fast. Only silvery-white sword light could be seen dancing, as if forming a sword net. In an instant, only saw Lam Pham holding his sword, still standing in place. Looking closely, could see a trace of sticky blood slowly dripping onto the ground from Frostmourne's tip.
Swish!
The bloated zombie instantly shattered, its body slashed into several hundred pieces. Blocks of meat exuding heat fell all over the ground.
[Kill Thought-type Zombie] [Points +2]
Heard the prompt.
Very strange zombie, called Thought-type zombie, yet points only 2. Also didn't find anything peculiar about this type of zombie.
He understood what 'thought' meant: thinking, ideas, could be called mental.
But he didn't feel this zombie had any strange tricks.
Didn't pay attention.
"Okay." Grandpa Tu's voice came from behind.
Co Hang saw the pile of meat chunks in front, blinked, speechless. Could only say really very formidable.
Lam Pham asked Grandpa Tu the total cost. After knowing the price, took out money and placed it in the cashier drawer.
This was restocking.
He always maintained the principle of paying when shopping.
Perhaps others found it very hard to understand.
But people inside Duong Quang Apartments could already understand.
Returning to the car.
Co Hang carried two cardboard boxes out from the hospital in total; inside were all needed medicines.
Preparing to leave the hospital, heard a thump from the inpatient area side; that was the sound of glass shattering. Should be zombies saw the vehicle, broke the window and jumped down from upstairs.
Always felt zombies' heads had problems.
Co Hang didn't pay attention, stepped on the accelerator and quickly left.
"Little Pham, what was that extremely bloated zombie just now?" Co Hang also didn't know what zombie it was, just felt a sense of oppression.
"Thought-type zombie."
"Thought... Thought-type?"
Co Hang, driving, widened his eyes, as if hearing something terrifying. He naturally also knew what 'thought' meant. Zombies were already so terrifying; now a 'thought' type appeared. Did they still want others to live?
Lam Pham propped up his chin, looking at the road environment outside. He wouldn't care about thought or no thought; anyway, all very easy to deal with.
Returning to the residential area.
Lam Pham sent Grandpa Tu back, stored the medicines properly.
"This time let's go purchase supplies. Buying quite a lot, might need a truck. This sedan definitely won't do," Lam Pham said to Co Hang.
Co Hang knew Lam Pham wanted to get everything necessary done.
"I have a way. Come with me."
...
Supermarket.
A truck parked at the entrance.
This truck was rented by them. Old man Vuong's sedan parked at the rental place. Just thinking of delivering the supplies back, then returning the truck, driving Old man Vuong's sedan back.
A very simple method.
The two walked side-by-side towards the supermarket.
Co Hang said, "Our Hoang city has large grain reserve warehouses. When the future really reaches dire straits, that place is our first choice."
Lam Pham said, "I know. Saw news about it before. Just that those grains are all unhulled, still need processing, a bit troublesome."
They talked as they walked inside.
The uncleaned supermarket already had a strange smell, rotten odor, also food smell, even more a kind of turbid air feeling.
Each pushed a shopping cart.
Co Hang observed the surrounding situation. Never thought shopping could be so easy. If it were him alone, definitely would be extremely cautious, absolutely wouldn't dare be so openly swaggering.
Bang!
Bang!
Sound came from a corner.
A zombie tilted its head, its hands hanging down, facing the wall, banging against the wall with great frequency.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Lam Pham asked.