Concealment was useless, and could even lead to a bad reaction.
Lam Pham sighed and said: "The early stages of the apocalypse are a disaster for the living. However, throughout the long history, whenever disaster strikes, it is often accompanied by hope. Awakened ones are the hope that exists to fight against zombies. You should know the methods for Awakened ones to enhance themselves."
"I know," Chu Duong said.
Lam Pham said: "I've been collecting crystals ever since I started hunting zombies. You and that Speed Awakened can use crystals to enhance your own strength. Once you become formidable, you can fight against the zombies."
"Mr. Lam, we haven't met many times. You are willing to give us crystals to enhance our strength. Do you trust us that much?"
Lam Pham smiled, "I trust my judgment."
Beside them, Tu Trach Duong looked at Chu Duong strangely.
My goodness.
The question asked was a bit foolish.
My Brother Lam's strength cannot be described by ordinary words. No matter who it is, no matter how many crystals, if anyone has ill intentions, they can't even run away.
Does Brother Lam trust his own judgment?
No...
What he trusts is his own strength.
The conversation went very smoothly.
Chu Duong stood up and left, needing to return to the bank to communicate with everyone.
At dusk.
Lam Pham stayed on the balcony, sitting there, drinking tea, holding a book, looking at the sunset clouds in the sky, gradually becoming lost in thought. He had walked step by step to this point. The sound of people laughing and talking reached his ears, giving him a feeling as if several lifetimes had passed.
It was as if yesterday had reappeared, everything having just happened not long ago.
Sigh!
If only the apocalypse hadn't come, that would be great.
Although he was once an ordinary office worker among the masses, with no relatives, he liked a bustling world, liked to feel the warmth between people.
Seeing harmonious families, he would smile.
Seeing carefree children playing, he would also stop and watch.
Even if it had nothing to do with him, it was still what he liked to see.
Now, among the survivors living in the Duong Quang shelter, some had no husbands, some had no wives, some children had lost their parents. For them, they had lost their dearest ones.
"And for him, he had merely lost the bustling city of the past.
At the very beginning, his efforts to kill zombies were to bring back the once prosperous city. Later on, he just wanted the living to have a beautiful future.
As much as possible.
Lam Pham closed the book, stood up, and looked at the lifeless distance. Then he turned and went back into the room, picked up Manh Manh, and headed downstairs.
Staying in the room all the time was very boring...
Early morning.
Somewhere in Hoang City.
Entrance of a shop.
"Meow meow..."
A group of zombies surrounded a modified vehicle. On the vehicle stood several survivors, both men and women. They held tools in their hands, hunting the zombies banging on the vehicle with fearless expressions.
Their movements were very skilled, as if they had gone through countless trials.
One after another, zombies had their heads smashed by them and collapsed to the ground.
Among them, a woman in her thirties standing on the vehicle was even more ferocious, wielding a specially made machete, slashing viciously at the zombies' heads one strike after another.
Very quickly.
The zombies surrounding the vehicle were cleared away.
A group of people hurriedly ran towards the shop and began to move the scouted supplies. The woman did the same. It was just that in the shop, she saw a palm-sized toy airplane, thought of her child, and picked one up.
A moment later, the driver of the vehicle shouted at them when more wandering zombies appeared.
Everyone quickly got into the vehicle.
The driver stepped on the accelerator and disappeared without a trace in a flash.
The number of zombies in their living area was truly too high. It was very difficult to find a relatively safe route to search for supplies, and they would also see various zombies that looked terrifying at a glance.
After a while.
They returned to their hiding place.
"Mommy."
In the hiding place, a boy of only four or five years old, upon seeing the woman in her thirties appear, happily threw himself into her arms.
The woman took out the toy airplane she had deliberately grabbed while searching for supplies.
"Nhuc Nhuc, do you like it?"
"I like it."
The little boy happily played with the airplane.
The woman watched her son playing with the airplane, a faint smile appearing on her face.
Her name was Tu Dinh, thirty-two years old. Before the apocalypse, she worked as a waitress in a restaurant, raising her child alone. Her husband had an online affair and ran off with an eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl.
When the apocalypse arrived.
She was completely bewildered, never expecting those terrifying things like zombies to appear. Thinking of her child still at home, she ran back frantically. Finally, she made it back home and, after confirming her child was okay, slowly breathed a sigh of relief.
That period was the darkest moment for her. The outside was completely chaotic, with biting zombies everywhere. After hiding at home with her child for more than ten days, they ran out of food and ammunition.
She knew she couldn't go on like this, so she tied her child to her chest, held two kitchen knives, and left her residence.
She didn't know if it was good luck or something else.
The escape process was surprisingly smooth.
Later, she met other survivors and formed a team. She was a woman, but not stupid. She knew that in this kind of apocalypse, if she didn't appear strong, the final outcome would be abandonment.
For Nhuc Nhuc, for herself, she displayed a strength she had never shown before.
When facing zombies directly, she would also be scared, but reality told her that being scared was useless; no one would pay for her fear.
She just wanted to protect Nhuc Nhuc well.
Nhuc Nhuc, having fun playing, ran into Tu Dinh's arms, "Mommy, when I open my eyes, can I see you?"
Tu Dinh hugged her child and said: "Mommy's good Nhuc Nhuc, of course you can."
Nhuc Nhuc lay in Tu Dinh's arms, feeling extremely secure.
Tu Dinh had no choice. She had to contribute to the team, display her own value, to be valued, so that Nhuc Nhuc could be better taken care of by them.
Otherwise, if she was out collecting supplies and no one looked after her child, the child would think of going out to find her, and the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Tu Dinh, come over here."
Someone called out.
Tu Dinh let Nhuc Nhuc play with the airplane by himself first and walked towards the square table. There were a total of five survivors there.
Four men and one woman.
Tu Dinh understood that although they had always cooperated to survive in the apocalypse, if they truly encountered danger, they would definitely abandon their teammates.
Therefore, she always hoped that when they went out for missions, they could always be safe.
Only in this way could such a team continue to be maintained.
"What's wrong?" Tu Dinh asked.
"Take a look at this."
Tu Dinh looked at the object placed on the table and muttered to herself, "Zombie Picture Book?"
Then she flipped it open to look.
The content inside shocked her greatly. She never thought someone could record things in the apocalypse in such detail, even photographing the appearance of zombies so clearly.
"Where did this come from?"
"We picked it up from the ground when we were out collecting supplies earlier. Look at what's recorded at the back. Our Hoang City has a shelter, which is the Duong Quang Residential Area shelter."
Tu Dinh said: "Our current location is a 40-minute drive from Duong Quang Residential Area, not to mention there are so many zombies outside now. Whether we can even get there is still a question."
She really hadn't expected that there was actually such a large shelter within Hoang City.
The introduction inside was extremely detailed.
There were soldiers, doctors, and so on.
Among them, the easiest thing to convince people was the two words "soldiers." Ordinarily, one might not feel anything, but when disaster struck, these two words were the most dazzling.
Someone said: "If we can get there, it might really be safe."
"I think so too. Just look at how meticulously this "Zombie Picture Book" is made; the military must have been involved. It's just that this journey is too far, and too dangerous. I think I'll pass. Even if I go, I might not necessarily make it."
They exchanged thoughts.
Tu Dinh carefully flipped through the "Zombie Picture Book." She read the content with extreme care. The name that appeared most frequently was "Lam Pham." She already knew what this Lam Pham represented.
He was a formidable figure in the apocalypse who could hunt all kinds of zombies.
Carrying Frostmourne.
She looked at Nhuc Nhuc, who was playing. Her greatest hope was to give Nhuc Nhuc a safe living environment, not to always be worried and scared.
Tu Dinh closed the "Zombie Picture Book," raised her head, and said very seriously, "Everyone, this might be whether we can survive in the future world, whether we can live in a good and peaceful place."
The few people listened to Tu Dinh's words.
They looked at each other.
They knew that for Tu Dinh, the most important person was her son, Nhuc Nhuc. For Nhuc Nhuc, she would risk anything, even her life.
Grasping this point made it very easy to handle.
"Tu Dinh, we know it's safe, but I don't dare. I feel that this place is also quite good now. We live day by day."
"Mhm, I think so too."
"The distance is a bit far, and there are so many zombies on the road. If by any chance we are blocked by zombies, we won't have a chance to escape."
"Tu Dinh, I know you want to find a safe place for Nhuc Nhuc, but whether it's safe or not, we can't say for sure."
Hearing what everyone said.
Tu Dinh knew what they meant, but she said firmly: "Everyone, I'll go there and try. I'll leave Nhuc Nhuc here. If I can arrive safely, I will definitely bring back rescuers. But if I unfortunately encounter danger and die halfway, I hope you all can take care of my son."
Another woman said: "Sister Tu, are you really sure?"
"I'm sure."
"Don't worry, no matter what, I will definitely take good care of Nhuc Nhuc."
Tu Dinh didn't care if the other party was sincere or not, but she still said gratefully: "Thank you all."
Nhuc Nhuc, playing with the toy airplane, heard his mother's words, put down the airplane, and hurriedly ran over, hugging Tu Dinh's leg, "Mommy, I don't want to leave you."
Tu Dinh comforted her child, "Nhuc Nhuc, be good, listen to mommy. Mommy is going to buy you a cake and will be back right away, okay?"
"Okay, then come back quickly."
"Mhm, I'll be back soon. You have to listen to the uncles and aunties, don't run around, just wait for mommy to come back."
"I know."
Tu Dinh looked at everyone, "Everyone, I entrust my child to you. Don't worry, I will definitely come back."
"Sister Tu, be careful."
"Tu Dinh, don't worry."
For Tu Dinh, if it weren't for Nhuc Nhuc, she might not be so anxious to go and see the situation at Duong Quang Residential Area. But now was the best opportunity. She could let them look after Nhuc Nhuc while she took the risk to go and see.