He knew that anyone's life was precious, but he didn't want to save perverts, serial killers, and other meaningless people.
He only wanted to provide a safe shelter for hopeful, ordinary citizens.
"If anyone has any opinions, you can voice them. Don't have any ideological burdens, or feel embarrassed. Often, one good idea from you can bring earth-shattering changes to our shelter," Lam Pham said.
The newly arrived survivors were definitely a bit embarrassed, or nervous, not knowing if they should speak.
Fortunately, a group of elderly people who had followed Lam Pham for a long time proactively stood up and spoke about some of their recent views.
Sister Ly Mai Ly recorded the entire proceedings.
She noted down the opinions on various aspects raised during the meeting, organizing and summarizing them.
With someone taking the lead.
More and more people gradually voiced their thoughts. Some ideas might have been daydreams, but some opinions were worth adopting.
Many people, many ideas.
Thinking alone, one's head could break.
After a while.
The third general assembly concluded. The participating survivors all appeared extremely excited. After all, being able to participate fully in it was a form of cohesive force, making everyone feel that the shelter was related to them, that they were a member of it, and that maintaining and protecting the shelter was their duty.
Just like protecting their own homes.
The people of this country never lacked a spirit of unity. Once a certain factor was activated,凝聚 (condensing/gathering) the hearts of the people together, it would erupt with unimaginable power.
The crowd dispersed, returning to their respective posts.
Co Hang, Han Suong, and the others came over. Looking at the recorded suggestions, they all revealed happy smiles.
"Recent matters will revolve around these," Co Hang said.
Lam Pham said: "These matters will still require your hard work."
"It's alright, it's also for the shelter," Co Hang would never think about whether his efforts would be rewarded. He only thought about whether his efforts could bring benefits to the shelter, and bring happiness and convenience to the surviving people.
Apart from Lam Pham, no one else could move the crystal-reinforced iron railings.
Following the continuous expansion of the moved positions, Vuong Khai led the cleaning team to start clearing the shops. This was a huge amount of work; after all, the shops were messy, with broken glass and corpses.
However, with many people, there was great strength; nothing could stump diligent people.
At this moment.
Lam Pham went to the trash can, endured the unpleasant smell, took out the Ke San Moi, arranged its posture, and took photos with his camera. Although it was already dead, it was still clearly recognizable.
After returning, he finished writing the information for the Ke San Moi.
"Brother Hang, please help me print out a copy," Lam Pham said.
Co Hang took the zombie atlas. This was textbook material in the apocalypse, very important. He went to the print shop and started copying.
"Is this to be delivered to someone?"
"Mm, yesterday I met three Awakened ones. They can fight zombies, hunt zombies. It's just that they don't seem familiar with zombie types. I thought of sending them a copy, lest they encounter dangerous zombies without knowing."
Although the other party had refused his invitation, he still thought of bringing them some help.
After all, everyone was killing zombies; where was the need to distinguish north from south?
As long as they didn't casually harm people.
They were all individuals struggling for survival in the apocalypse.
"Didn't you invite them?"
"I invited them, but one of them refused. I can see he's an ambitious person. The other two seem to care a lot about him and also refused my invitation."
Co Hang, busy with his work, thought about what Little Pham said and could imagine the specific situation. Once an Awakened one's ambition appeared, it was very difficult to suppress. That Awakened one probably wanted to make a name for himself.
He shook his head, said no more. Everyone had their own ideas; outsiders couldn't interfere. Moreover, he also knew Lam Pham's character. Even if rejected, he wouldn't become angry out of shame, and might even provide convenience to the other party.
This was the Lam Pham he knew, a person wholeheartedly dedicated to clearing Hoang City of zombies and bringing stability and peace to Hoang City.
"Alright, printed."
Co Hang fixed the sheets one by one with a stapler and handed them to Lam Pham.
"Thanks, Brother Hang." ...
On the road.
Shop rooftop.
Diep Thien held her gun, aiming at the not-so-numerous dozen or so ordinary zombies, her mouth slightly open.
"Biu!"
A silent mental bullet pierced the head of an ordinary zombie.
"Biu!"
Another zombie fell to the ground.
Even if the sound of the zombies falling to the ground startled the surrounding zombies, when they saw it was their own kind falling, they still didn't think much of it.
Diep Thien's face was expressionless, calm and composed. Dealing with these ordinary zombies, she was naturally extremely proficient.
The ordinary zombies tilted their heads.
As if very puzzled.
Brothers, what's wrong with you all? Why are you falling to the ground one by one?
A moment later.
All ordinary zombies were eliminated.
Finally, they looked towards the tall, imposing zombie with a flesh scythe standing there.
"This zombie seems a bit stronger than the one we hunted before," Tran Thang whispered.
Chung Han Quoc observed, frowning. He could feel this zombie exuding an extremely strong explosive power, giving people the feeling it would be very difficult to deal with.
"How about we forget it? I feel this zombie is hard to deal with."
He didn't want to take risks, always thinking of stable development, not wanting to casually deal with zombies that looked extremely ferocious.
Diep Thien said nothing, having the same idea as Chung Han Quoc. Playing it safe was the principle for survival in the apocalypse.
Tran Thang pondered. At least he had never seen this type of zombie before, but it was certain that the crystal in this zombie's head was definitely much more formidable than the big fellow they encountered before.
With their combination, plus the strength enhanced by crystals last night, it wasn't necessarily impossible to fight.
Tran Thang said: "Do you remember, the first time we hunted that kind of big zombie, it also gave us an extremely strong sense of pressure, but with our cooperation, wasn't it still easily hunted by us? I think this type of zombie is the same. If we risk it, we might not necessarily lose."
After speaking, without waiting for Chung Han Quoc to think, he directly jumped out, "Old Chung, block! Diep Thien, you harass!"
Chung Han Quoc had no time to think. Little Tran had already jumped out; he could only brace himself and follow.
With the appearance of humans.
The Bao Quan roared, as if it were angrily saying something, as if saying, "Do you know who I am?"
I am the Bao Quan among zombies!
Any Bao Quan would be surrounded by many zombie underlings, just like a King among zombies. However, this particular Bao Quan had no zombie army supporting it.
The reason was that this Bao Quan had suffered a grievance.
Some time ago, it encountered a mature-stage Hon Hop Hinh tang thi. When that type of zombie appeared and roared angrily, it actually lured all its underlings away.
And it could only pitifully leave, wandering the streets.
Now that humans had appeared before it, the Bao Quan was extremely enraged. If it hadn't encountered that fellow, do you think you humans could see this Bao Quan's form, could appear before this Bao Quan?
Dream on, simply dreaming.
The Bao Quan swung its flesh scythe, viciously striking towards Chung Han Quoc. He raised his shield to block. With a thump, a dull force transmitted through. Old Chung's face changed drastically, his blood boiled, and he directly knelt on one knee, emitting faint sounds of pain, but still gritted his teeth, holding up the shield, only hoping Tran Thang could quickly resolve the battle.
At this moment.
When the Bao Quan attacked, Tran Thang suddenly appeared from behind Old Chung, swinging his straight saber viciously at the Bao Quan's arm. With a pfft, a smile appeared on his face; he was certain he had severed the zombie's arm with one slash.
But the current situation was different from what he thought.
The straight saber penetrated the flesh, but it didn't sever the arm. Instead, the Bao Quan swung its arm, directly flinging Tran Thang away, viciously smashing him against the wall of a nearby shop.
The huge impact made Tran Thang's face show a pained expression.
Diep Thien, who had been very calm, was thoroughly flustered. She directly stood up on the shop rooftop, continuously shooting at the Bao Quan's head with her gun. Against a zombie of this strength, how could one think of dawdling? Only by smashing its head and quickly resolving the battle was the only choice.
"Biu!"
A splash of blood appeared on the Bao Quan's head, not exploding its head with one shot as imagined. Instead, the subsequent shots were all blocked by the Bao Quan using its flesh scythe.
"Roar!"
The Bao Quan roared, ignoring Diep Thien, and instead threw a punch, viciously striking towards Chung Han Quoc who was holding the shield.
Old Chung, facing such a situation, his expression suddenly changed completely. He blocked with his shield. With a thump, both he and the shield were sent flying several meters away, and even the shield showed a dent.
"Little Tran, Little Diep, run quickly! This type of zombie is not something we can deal with!" Old Chung shouted, enduring the pain to stand up, always holding the shield in front.
Diep Thien on the shop rooftop ran towards Old Chung's direction, jumped down towards an overturned vehicle, landed on the ground, raised her gun, and fired mental bullets "biu biu."
However, the Bao Quan didn't act like other evolved zombies, not knowing how to dodge or block, but casually swung its flesh scythe, blocking all the incoming mental bullets.
"There's a car!" Diep Thien shouted, hurriedly running towards a vehicle, intending to drive away with everyone.
The Bao Quan, as if knowing something, rushed over, leaped up, and swung its flesh scythe down. With a crash, the vehicle was instantly smashed in two.
Diep Thien stared, raised her gun, and one shot hit the Bao Quan's eye. Blood immediately splattered. However, for the Bao Quan, there was no pain. So what if one eye was blind? It only became angrier, swinging its flesh scythe towards Diep Thien who was standing there.
Diep Thien found it hard to dodge.
At this critical moment, Chung Han Quoc charged over with his shield. With a loud boom, the Bao Quan's monstrous strength sent both of them flying. And the crystal-reinforced shield already had deep cracks, looking as if it would shatter at any moment.
"Old Chung, are you okay?" Diep Thien asked.
Chung Han Quoc said: "I'm fine, still holding on. This zombie is really terrifying. We shouldn't have been so impulsive. But Little Diep, you've already blinded one of its eyes. I think we still have a chance. Little Tran, I'll hold it, you harass, create a chance for Little Diep to blind its other eye."
He knew running was definitely impossible; they could only fight desperately. Perhaps there was still a chance to win.
At this moment.
Tran Thang was panting heavily, having deeply felt how terrifying the opponent's strength was. Although what Chung Han Quoc said seemed reasonable, asking him to rush up and continue facing that flesh scythe which could easily cleave a car in two, he was truly a bit scared.
He didn't want to die, didn't want to die here.
"Okay, I know, Old Chung, you go up," Tran Thang said.
Chung Han Quoc knew he had no way out. The cracked shield in his hand could probably hardly withstand another blow, so they only had one chance, which was to shoot out the other eye.
Without thinking, he gripped the shield and charged towards the Bao Quan.
Human physique was tiny before the Bao Quan.
Every attack from the Bao Quan was like a great mountain crushing down.
Boom!
The Bao Quan once again swung its flesh scythe, but at this moment, Diep Thien aimed at the Bao Quan's eye and fired directly. However, the Bao Quan's other hand fiercely raised, blocking the mental bullet.
At the same time, the scythe viciously landed on the shield.
"Little Tran, now is the time! Create a chance for Little Diep!" Old Chung shouted. He knew that as long as Tran Thang swung his saber towards the Bao Quan, the Bao Quan would surely block, thereby providing an opportunity for Little Diep.
However...
Crack!
The shield shattered.
Chung Han Quoc was sent flying and still hadn't seen Little Tran appear. He struggled to turn his head and look, only to unexpectedly find that Little Tran had already run towards the distance, turned a corner, and vanished without a trace.
"Little Tran, you..."
Chung Han Quoc hadn't expected Little Tran to flee at such a critical moment. There was clearly a chance; why be afraid?
"Little Diep, run quickly!" Old Chung shouted. He knew the chance of victory was gone, completely disappeared. That shattered shield indicated his role as a meat shield was utterly useless. The only thing he could do was to use his body to tank.
Diep Thien appeared in front of Old Chung, shielding him, her expression serious, continuously shooting at the distant Bao Quan.
The Bao Quan roared, its flesh scythe constantly waving in front of it, blocking all the mental bullets, and at the same time, step by step, it walked towards them.
Old Chung only felt discomfort all over his body, his bones felt as if they were broken. Gritting his teeth, he slowly stood up, his hand resting on Diep Thien's shoulder, "Go, I can't escape. Little Tran was too scared, we trusted him wrongly. I'm really unwilling. There was clearly a chance, there really was. Why did he have to run?"
Diep Thien calmly fired, from the initial concentrated shots to now one shot at a time, indicating that Diep Thien's mental bullets consumed her own energy; it wasn't endless.
She hated the apocalypse. The apocalypse had made her lose her only younger brother. Even after awakening her ability, it had never made her happy. Her thoughts were the same as Old Chung's: end this damn apocalypse sooner.
"If the apocalypse is just filled with the darkness of human nature, I don't want to continue. Let my life end here. Even if I die at the hands of this zombie, I am willing."
"Such a world truly leaves one speechless. Clearly willing to trust others, yet always betrayed. Even for one sincere cooperation, even in death, I would have no regrets."
"Old Chung, you and I are the same. I don't want to laugh, don't want to speak, only want to maintain coldness, to protect myself. And you always smile honestly, hoping to move the other party with sincerity."
"Tran Thang always wants to take advantage of the crystals. I actually knew it in my heart, but we were always deceiving ourselves, thinking it's the same no matter who becomes stronger. But now we understand, he only wants himself to survive, himself to become stronger. When encountering danger, he will not take risks."
"We all made a mistake in our investment."
Diep Thien said in a low voice.
Her face became paler and paler, her breathing more and more rapid.
The Bao Quan grinned ferociously, viscous blood flowing from its eye socket. It came before them, raised its scythe, and viciously struck towards Diep Thien who was blocking in front.
"Go!"
Chung Han Quoc pushed Diep Thien away, roaring angrily, facing the impending descent of the flesh scythe.
However...
That feeling of being torn apart never came.
Instead, a gentle voice reached his ears.
"Bao Quan, what do you think you're doing?"
Blood from his forehead trickled past his eyes. Chung Han Quoc slowly opened his eyes. In his blood-red vision, a figure appeared before him. This figure carried a sword on his back; it was Frostmourne.
And the other party raised a hand, catching the Bao Quan's flesh scythe barehanded.
A familiar figure, as if seen yesterday.
Diep Thien, pushed to the ground, stared with wide eyes, as if in disbelief.
Just now.
She hadn't seen anyone, yet a streak of light flashed, instantly appearing before her. And when she blinked, a figure had already appeared.
"It's you..."
That's right.
The Awakened one named Lam Pham who had invited them yesterday.
Lam Pham looked at Diep Thien with a smile on his face.
"Yes, it's me. I came looking for you because I had something to discuss. I saw Tran Thang fleeing on the street, and I thought you might be in danger. Luckily, my speed is very fast, and I really caught up."