"The flesh and blood of an Awakened one should still be effective for Officer Hoang."
He awaited Officer Hoang's evolution.
Truly worthy of being a man he acknowledged, and even more so, the star of hope from the Hoang City station house. Even his evolution was orderly, not developing towards distortion or aberration.
A moment later.
Officer Hoang returned to normal, slowly standing up, the light in his eyes even brighter. The path of human evolution might be endless; likewise, the path of zombie evolution, if not gone astray, should also be so.
"I knew Officer Hoang was amazing." Lam Pham gave a thumbs up.
Officer Hoang glanced at Lam Pham. Those eyes, already somewhat human-like, seemed to be saying, "Aren't you just stating the obvious, kid?"
"Officer Hoang, I'm currently moonlighting as a photographer, specializing in taking photos of various zombie types. Rest assured, I'm a legitimate photographer, I definitely won't mess around."
Lam Pham waved the camera in his hand, thinking of taking some rather handsome photos of Officer Hoang. Photographing Officer Hoang was different from photographing other zombies.
The choice of angle was very important.
Officer Hoang's eyes stared at Lam Pham, showing some confusion, as if wondering, what on earth does this kid want to do?
"Officer Hoang, wait for me a moment."
After speaking, Lam Pham was seen hurriedly running to a nearby shop. When he came out, he was holding mineral water and a towel.
"Officer Hoang, the photos later are very important. They might be copied many times and distributed in the future. You are the role model in the book; the image is very important."
"So... excuse me."
Lam Pham used a wet towel to wipe Officer Hoang's bloodstained face. If any other zombie's face were this dirty, he definitely wouldn't even touch it, but Officer Hoang was different.
He wouldn't have any thoughts of disgust.
This was, in his heart, a good officer, okay?
Very quickly.
He looked at his masterpiece with great satisfaction.
"Handsome, Officer Hoang is still so handsome."
Picking up the camera, he photographed Officer Hoang's appearance from various angles. From this, it could be seen that he was truly very attentive towards Officer Hoang; other zombies did not receive such treatment.
Officer Hoang seemed to understand Lam Pham's meaning.
He really didn't move randomly, allowing Lam Pham to take photos.
Lam Pham examined the images in the camera. The more he looked, the more satisfied he became, and the more he felt he had made the wrong choice in the past. If he had followed an old master to learn photography back then, he would definitely be the number one photographer in Hoang City's private photography studios by now.
"Officer Hoang, thank you," Lam Pham said.
As for whether he could understand, in his heart, Officer Hoang definitely could.
"Ughh, ughh."
Officer Hoang turned and left, without a second thought, as if saying, "This officer can't be bothered to babble nonsense with you, kid."
"Take care."
Lam Pham waved, and only after Officer Hoang disappeared from sight did he think of going to Hoang Hoa Street to see what the situation was at the shelter of Nguu Chi, the former Boss of the Thien Nhan Bang.
Thinking about the distance to Hoang Hoa Street, it was a bit far.
But it was within an acceptable range...
Hoang Hoa Street.
A figure walked on the street.
Looking at the surrounding environment, he found that the zombies here were much fewer than he had expected. The roadside was littered with abandoned vehicles, and there were also many already decayed corpses.
When the apocalypse broke out, who knows how many people were fleeing. Crowded environments often made it very difficult to find space for survival. Abandoning cars to flee was a very unwise choice, but staying in the cars was even more dangerous.
That horde of frenzied zombies, upon seeing people in cars.
Would use their heads to ram them, until the car windows were shattered, and then drag out the living people inside to tear them apart before giving up.
"Is this the place?"
A row of buildings ahead caught his attention. It was a KTV club, only about four stories high. The main entrance was barricaded, piled with various vehicles. Vaguely, figures could be seen moving on the upper floors.
As for why Nguu Chi would use such a place as a shelter.
He didn't know either.
If Nguu Chi knew Lam Pham was puzzled by this situation, he would definitely tell him, "I got drunk and frisky one night, and ended up sleeping locked in here. When I woke up the next day, the f*cking apocalypse had broken out."
Lam Pham circled the KTV once. After seeing the security door at the back, he grabbed the doorknob, wondering if he should forcefully wrench the security door open.
But on second thought, he decided against it.
He looked up at the second-floor window; one window was open.
"Truly not a shred of defensive awareness."
Lam Pham shook his head. Although Nguu Chi could control zombies, the survivors living here should also have some defensive awareness. At this height, if they encountered a group of zombies forming a human pyramid, it would still be very easy to be breached.
He leaped up, grabbed the window ledge, and jumped inside.
He appeared in a private room. The environment was dim, the room spacious, and the decoration quite luxurious. He pulled open the door and entered the corridor, not seeing a single figure. He thought they were most likely all on the fourth floor, so he headed up the stairs.
When he reached the upper floor.
He came face to face with a survivor. It was also a middle-aged man. Seeing Lam Pham, he looked somewhat dumbfounded.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Lam Pham. I learned from Nguu Chi's side that this is a shelter, so I came to take a look."
Lam Pham observed the middle-aged man before him. The man looked a bit simple-minded, but his forehead was also tattooed with a Thien Nhan. The design was a bit ugly; one look and you knew the workmanship was poor.
This middle-aged man was still very bewildered. He could confirm that he had never seen Lam Pham before, but since the other party could mention Nguu Chi, they definitely knew each other.
"He... He's back?"
"No, they were taken by me to the police station and have already faced Officer Hoang's punishment."
Middle-aged man: ...?
Through further conversation, the middle-aged man understood the general meaning. His expression changed from initial confusion, to surprise, shock, relief, and then realization.
"Follow me."
He followed the man into a slightly larger room.
As soon as he entered the room, Lam Pham was startled by their appearance. Every survivor's forehead was tattooed with a Thien Nhan, all twisted and contorted, strange and peculiar.
"Have I entered a Three-Eyed Den?" Lam Pham said.
Many surrounding survivors shamefully lowered their heads, some covering their foreheads, looking extremely embarrassed.
Lam Pham realized he had spoken a bit too bluntly and apologized: "Sorry, that was a bit too direct. I hope everyone doesn't take it to heart. My name is Lam Pham, from the Duong Quang residential area. I encountered your Thien Nhan Bang's Nguu Chi..."
He roughly explained the situation.
As he spoke these words, the atmosphere at the scene clearly changed. The survivors who had just been extremely embarrassed now seemed to see a glimmer of dawn, a light of hope flashing in their eyes.
Immediately after.
Someone started to complain.
"Oh my god, I'm over forty, lived diligently, never thought that after the apocalypse I'd encounter a sixteen-year-old kid and be forced by him to get an eye tattooed on my forehead. Tell me, what kind of idiot would willingly get this thing tattooed? But there was no choice. If you didn't get it, you couldn't join. If you didn't join, you'd have to wait for death. Sigh."
"Who says otherwise? What kind of gang are they forming in the apocalypse? What's wrong with kids these days? He can control zombies, clearly has grand ambitions. I kindly advised him, tried to get him on the right track, and he directly gave me a big slap. I, a man over fifty, got beaten by a sixteen-year-old kid. I even thought of bashing my head in to die." ...
Looking at the appearance of this group of survivors.
He could imagine how helpless they felt in their hearts.
What Lam Pham didn't expect even more was that Nguu Chi, to make it real, actually controlled zombies to move equipment from the tattoo shop next door and personally tattooed the Thien Nhan on them.
This situation was indeed very domineering.
It also showed how serious Nguu Chi was about strengthening the Thien Nhan Bang.
Serious or not, Nguu Chi's evil deeds were still numerous.
Lam Pham observed every survivor at the scene, looking at their eyes and expressions, all showing a deep sense of powerlessness. This sense of powerlessness came from a kind of oppression.
"Everyone, I know your thoughts. That's right, you haven't misunderstood. I can lead you towards a normal and hopeful life."
"Come to the Duong Quang residential area. Many like-minded survivors are gathered there."
"There, you will find the life you truly desire."
Lam Pham extended an inviting hand towards them. In the eyes of that group of survivors, it was like a sealed door slowly opening, and a mysterious person dressed in white, smiling at them.
Inviting them to leave the darkness and survive in a place of light.
Duong Quang residential area.
Quan Hao stared, wide-eyed and dumbfounded, at the group of survivors brought back by his big brother.
"Thien... Thien Nhan Bang?"
He had never thought that a group of older survivors would actually be members of the Thien Nhan Bang. Could this group be so wild? He once thought that those who could join such a gang must be a group of spirited youths.
Who would have thought that the group of Thien Nhan-tattooed survivors before him were, on average, much older than him.
Quan Hao looked at one survivor, "Sir, you must be at least sixty, right? Even you joined the Thien Nhan Bang? Then your position in the gang must be very high."
He thought it must be so. Anyone who muddled through to this age, their status would absolutely be standard. Even if it were a dog, it would be a senior old dog.
The elderly survivor was very embarrassed, wishing he could take a knife and scrape off the flesh and blood on his forehead.
Truly a kind of sorrow.
Now thinking about that kid, he wished he could teach him a harsh lesson. Simply not a decent human being.
Lam Pham said: "They are not members of the Thien Nhan Bang, but encountered some unavoidable circumstances, hence this. Don't look at them with prejudiced eyes."
"Big brother, I know." Quan Hao nodded.
Afterward, he introduced the situation here to them. For this group of survivors, they naturally forgot about the Thien Nhan matter and were instead attracted by the shelter before them.
Of course, during the introduction, there were definitely other survivors curiously looking towards them.
A thought arose in their minds.
Do adults these days all play so rough?
Night.
Duong Quang residential area.
Lam Pham was busy adding information about the zombies photographed during the day.
He looked at the photos he took of Officer Hoang. The more he looked, the more he liked them. He picked up a pen, pondered for a moment, and wrote as if divinely inspired.
[Officer Hoang]
Note: Officer Hoang of the Hoang City station house. In life, he was upright and hated evil, enforcing the law impartially. After turning into a zombie, he still carries through his beliefs, possesses reason, will definitely use thunderous methods to suppress criminals, and will desperately protect ordinary citizens.
Zombie Dong Dong is under Officer Hoang's care.
Safety Level: Can hunt any zombie below a Bao Quan, belongs to the all-around developing rational-type zombie.
Call for Help Method: "Officer Hoang, I am an ordinary citizen, please help me."
Looking at the content he wrote, Lam Pham nodded with great satisfaction.
Then he thought.
No, I still need to write something more.
Officer Hoang's importance was beyond doubt.
He added below.
Liaison: Lam Pham of Hoang City's Duong Quang residential area, possesses unparalleled strength, cooperates with Officer Hoang to maintain the peace and order of Hoang City, belongs to Hoang City's outstanding ordinary citizens. If Officer Hoang is harmed, he will deliver an unimaginably heavy blow to the opponent. Remember this!!!
"This is perfect."
Lam Pham smiled, then filled in the information for several other types of zombies, and the day's workload came to an end.
The apocalypse was just like that.
As long as someone was constantly taking action, then the progress of hope would always be pushed forward by people. Perhaps it hadn't reached the end yet, but when that day comes, looking back, one would find that all efforts were worthwhile....
Prison.
High perimeter wall.
Ha Minh Hien, Phung Kiet, and scouting survivors, a total of four people, stood in a corner smoking.
"Brother Ha, the situation has been a bit problematic recently. The number of zombies outside our prison is a bit high. Do you think there's some terrifying zombie lurking around us?" a patrolling survivor said.
Ha Minh Hien didn't speak, silently smoking. After exhaling a puff of smoke, "Is that so?"
"Mm, it really is."
Regarding this kind of matter, Ha Minh Hien didn't know what to do either.
Phung Kiet said: "Brother Ha, I think why don't we organize manpower to clean up tomorrow? If there are too many zombies outside, it will eventually be a bit troublesome. If some commotion occurs and attracts the zombies' attention, it's very likely to go wrong."
He naturally knew about the prison's defensive capabilities; there was absolutely no problem.
But no matter how safe a place was, there would always be loopholes; there was no absolutely safe place in the world.
Just as they were discussing.
Boom!
The iron gate was suddenly rammed.
The heavy thud startled them so much that their whole bodies trembled. Their expressions tensed, and they dared not breathe, clearly hearing the "ughh ughh" sounds of zombies from outside the gate, somewhat ferocious, somewhat violent, definitely not as simple as imagined.
It probably wasn't an ordinary zombie.
Boom!
Another dull smashing sound.
Accompanied by roars.
They looked at each other, their pupils suddenly contracting, evidently not expecting that the matter they were just worried about was actually happening.
"Ha Minh Hien!"
But at this moment, Ton Nang appeared at the iron bars, his voice very loud, shouting towards Ha Minh Hien.
Damn!
When Ha Minh Hien heard Ton Nang's voice, he almost exploded on the spot. You motherf*cker, are you doing this on purpose?
Indeed.
Ton Nang's voice completely agitated the zombies outside.
The sounds of impact and roars were incessant.
It was clear that this voice had thoroughly caused this group of zombies to become berserk.
"Quick, go notify everyone to get up and work!"
Ha Minh Hien said hurriedly. He was no longer the Ha Minh Hien of the past, not the kind who would be scared upon seeing zombies and be too frightened to speak, but would react in an extremely short time and come up with countermeasures.
The patrolling survivor hurriedly ran inside.
Ha Minh Hien and Phung Kiet found long, sharpened iron pipes, stood on high ground, looking at the zombies below, their faces grave. Indeed, because of Ton Nang's voice, this group of zombies had already run amok.
The commotion spread, and those survivors who were just about to sleep were awakened. Learning that zombies might breach the prison, how could they still feel sleepy? They all took action.
At this time, Ton Nang leaned his arms against the iron bars, watching quietly. His refined self, when not paying attention to controlling his facial expression, gave people a feeling of gentle scholarly grace, without the appearance of a refined scoundrel.
Regarding the zombie situation outside the prison.
He maintained his composure from beginning to end, not even taking it to heart.
His gaze was always fixed on Ha Minh Hien, who was constantly waving his hands and able to command other survivors to work. The corners of his mouth curled up, revealing a faint smile.
At this moment, Ha Minh Hien gripped an iron rod, his hands forcefully piercing a zombie's head. If it were in the past, he might not have had such ability. Now it was different; an earth-shattering change had occurred.
With continuous killing, Ha Minh Hien also felt his hands becoming a bit heavy.
This kind of work was extremely strenuous.
Gradually.
The commotion subsided.
However long Ha Minh Hien and the others fought the zombies, that was how long he watched. Everyone was exhausted and out of breath, as if they had just come out of a steam boiler.
At this moment.
Everyone looked at Ton Nang, who was waiting on the second floor. They already knew that the cause of such a commotion was Ton Nang speaking loudly. They were very dissatisfied in their hearts. Why did he have to do that?
Knowing full well it was the apocalypse, and that sounds would make zombies become violent.
But he still did it.
Ha Minh Hien clenched his fists. Under everyone's gaze, he lowered his head and walked towards Ton Nang. Arriving in front of Ton Nang, perhaps it was anger that had muddled his mind, giving him enough courage, he looked Ton Nang straight in the eye and, gritting his teeth, angrily rebuked.
"Do you know that your actions just now could very well have gotten everyone killed!"
As he said these words.
The watching survivors also clenched their fists. What Brother Ha said was what they wanted to say, but they didn't dare to say it, and Brother Ha had voiced their thoughts.
Slap!
A crisp slapping sound.
Ton Nang raised his hand and fiercely slapped Ha Minh Hien, looking at him with ice-cold eyes.
"Is that the tone you use to talk to me?"
Instantly, everyone at the scene fell silent.
Many survivors wished they could throw Ton Nang into the zombie horde. In their eyes, Brother Ha was the best leader.
In the past, they also looked down on Brother Ha, feeling he was sinister and cunning, nothing more.
But gradually, they discovered Brother Ha had changed greatly, taking great care of them, and being very concerned. Even when going out to collect supplies, he would not abandon anyone.