In the car.
"According to our intel, the closest city to us is Van Dai City. Because satellite phones aren't common in daily life, there's only one place to get one: a shop in the southwest corner of the second floor of the Digital Electronics Building."
Sitting in the front passenger seat, Luong Man told Ngo Hao the specific location.
"Are you that certain?" Ngo Hao wasn't doubting her, just curious.
Luong Man said, "Yes. One of the survivors from your place used to work in that Digital Electronics Building. He's very familiar with the environment there, so there's no mistake."
Thump!
Thump!
Zombies occasionally appeared on the road and were directly crushed by the vehicle. The sound of them being run over was clear—the breaking of bones, the squishing of internal organs.
"I've got to hand it to you, man. Your courage is immense," said Vuong Cuong, who was sitting in the back with Ngo Hao, patting his shoulder and speaking from the heart.
Ngo Hao smiled and said, "Not at all. Some things just need to be done by someone. My ability only allows me to do this kind of thing; I really can't handle the bigger stuff."
Vuong Cuong said, "You really need to think this through. Old Ly and I can't go into the city. Later, only she will go in with you, and she can only watch you from the rooftop. Otherwise, if you attract the zombies' attention, it will form a zombie tide, and the consequences will be unimaginable."
Ngo Hao nodded, his expression firm. "I know. I made this decision a long time ago. I won't regret my actions."
He was definitely afraid.
Anyone, when faced with such a situation, would feel extremely nervous.
But Ngo Hao wanted to give it a try. He felt he could do it. It wasn't about becoming some world-shaking good person, but in such a desperate apocalypse, he wanted to be one of the few rays of light, even if it was the dimmest one, he was willing.
"You've got this, brother. We'll wait for your safe return," Vuong Cuong said, also hoping he would succeed.
The three of them were relatively safer wandering outside. After all, their own strength was not weak. As long as they didn't encounter those terrifying zombies, they would generally be fine.
They saw Ngo Hao's strengths and weaknesses clearly.
He could only be described as average, just a little stronger than a normal person.
But his courage was something they truly admired.
"Yes, I will do my best."
Ngo Hao himself was a little doubtful. Could this operation go a bit more smoothly? Honestly, it would be best if there were fewer hardships and he could get the satellite phone without a hitch.
Not long after.
They arrived outside Van Dai City. The car slowly came to a stop. A few scattered zombies nearby were attracted by the sound of the car.
Vuong Cuong and Ly Cong Vinh cleared out the approaching zombies.
"We can only bring you this far. The rest is up to you. Old Luong, we'll wait for you here in the car. Be quick, and good luck," Vuong Cuong said.
"Alright." Luong Man observed the surroundings. There were indeed no dangers. Then, to Ngo Hao's shock, he found his body floating up.
He knew that only Luong Man could do this.
That's right, she was a Psionic Awakened. Making someone float was relatively simple.
Vuong Cuong and Ly Cong Vinh watched the two of them glide into the distance, filled with envy.
"Old Luong's ability is truly invincible. She can fly and fight. Even if she can't win, escaping is relatively easy."
"Yeah, but it's a huge drain on Old Luong, and it's also a challenge. Flying at low altitudes might be simple, but it's easy to be seen by zombies, so she has to fly high up."
They were both Luong Man's companions.
They knew her situation and hoped nothing major would go wrong.
. . .
On the roof of the Digital Electronics Building.
"Phew..."
Luong Man was panting slightly. The exertion was a bit much. For a psionic user, carrying a person while flying wasn't too difficult a task; the only thing was that it was a bit tiring.
From the outskirts of the city to here, the ground below was swarming with zombies.
Any mistake or noise could send the zombies below into a complete frenzy, trapping them. That would be very troublesome.
"Are you okay?" Ngo Hao asked with concern, seeing the beads of sweat on her forehead.
Luong Man waved her hand, "I'm fine. I can only bring you here. In a moment, you go down through that door. After you find the satellite phone, come back here, and I'll take you away."
This was the only thing she could do.
She didn't have his camouflage ability. If she was seen by zombies, it would trigger a chain reaction among them, causing them to swarm this place. The bigger the commotion, the more zombies would be attracted.
"Okay, I know." Ngo Hao didn't leave right away, but let Luong Man rest for a while to recover her strength.
A moment later.
Ngo Hao saw that Luong Man had almost fully recovered. He nodded to her, opened the iron door to the rooftop, felt his way along the wall, stepped onto the stairs, and merged into the dark environment.
The city's power supply system was completely dead.
Even though it was daytime outside, the light inside any building was incredibly dim.
After entering the dark environment, Ngo Hao paused for a moment to let his eyes gradually adjust. Although he still couldn't see clearly, he could now make out the general situation in the darkness ahead.
Ngo Hao took a deep breath. The dusty smell in the air was a bit overwhelming. The place had been uninhabited for a long time, creating such an environment. He didn't know if he could get through this smoothly.
"Ugh... urgh..."
The sound of zombies could be heard.
Damn it.
He knew there would be no shortage of zombies here.
He hadn't taken many steps before he saw a zombie standing on the stairs. In the dim environment, the zombie was very calm, swaying while facing the wall, as if it were sleepwalking.
Ngo Hao slowed his steps and slowly passed by. These zombies stayed here and didn't leave, becoming the guards of this building. Any human who barged in would trigger their ferocity, causing them to become violent and unstoppable.
He safely passed the first zombie he encountered.
He continued down the stairs. He was currently in the safety stairwell, planning to reach the second floor through it.
He couldn't move without making a sound. The zombies' senses were very sharp, and they clearly felt something, as if they heard a noise. But Ngo Hao's camouflage ability allowed the zombies to ignore him.
So, even though there were faint footsteps, the zombies didn't notice anything.
In this short period of time.
He had already come face-to-face with a dozen zombies, but no matter how many he encountered, the result was always the same. This group of zombies just stood in place, some swaying their bodies, heads down, looking at the ground.
Some struggled slightly, letting out low growls.
It was hard for Ngo Hao to imagine that these zombies were the same species as the ones in the wild. The zombies in the wild were as ferocious as mad dogs when they encountered humans.
But now, the zombies in this dark environment were extremely calm.
Simply a world of difference.
Soon, he reached the fourth-floor landing. The stairwell was blocked by a group of zombies. He opened the fourth-floor safety door and looked at the shopping mall. It was full of zombies. He didn't know if there were any evolved-types among them.
He could also take the escalator from the fourth-floor stores to the second floor.
But he didn't want to take the risk.
What if he ran into trouble? His goal was the satellite phone on the second floor, not to stroll around in front of zombies relying on his ability.
He took out a lighter from his pocket, stood at the fourth-floor safety door, and threw the lighter with all his might into the distance. The crisp sound of it hitting the ground instantly attracted the zombies' attention.
"Ugh... urgh..."
"Ugh... urgh..."
The zombies blocking the passage ran over.
Leaning against the wall, Ngo Hao watched the zombies leave from in front of him. His face was calm. The once-crowded stairwell was now clear.
He continued down the stairs.
The zombies that had been attracted didn't find anything. The sound had long since dissipated, and they stood there swaying again.
But what Ngo Hao didn't know was that in a corner of the second floor, a Flash-Eater had been alerted.
This was a zombie worth 60 points.
A predator-type evolution.
Soon, he reached the second-floor safety door without any danger. The zombies weren't clustered together, just a few scattered ones wandering around.
Entering the second floor, the large space was filled with many display counters.
Each counter was a separate shop, with its own conspicuous sign.
[Jing Jing Communications]
[Sai Ou Communications]
...
There were many signs, basically all selling various electronic phones.
Although Ngo Hao wasn't in this line of work, he knew that even though these small counters were only about two meters long, their monthly turnover could be terrifying.
He observed his surroundings.
Many zombies were wandering back and forth aimlessly. They had probably been here for a long time. When the apocalypse broke out, this place must have been packed with people. When the zombies appeared, there was no escape.
You could tell from the crowded aisles here. If two people walked side by side, their shoulders would bump. Once people started running, they would definitely crash into each other, unable to escape.
"Southwest corner counter."
Ngo Hao searched and saw the sign of a counter in the distance. Although the sign was a bit dirty, he could still see information about satellite phones.
A look of joy immediately appeared on his face.
He had finally arrived.
He still slowed his pace, slowly approaching that side. When he encountered a zombie, he would cautiously pass by, brushing against its face. During the close contact, the nauseating smell from the zombie's mouth was really hard to bear.
"Ugh... urgh..."
Just then.
A zombie suddenly appeared in front of Ngo Hao, its face close to his, its mouth gaping open with dripping fluid, letting out a low growl.
Faced with this situation.
Ngo Hao's expression became very grave.
There was a hint of sweat on his forehead.
It can't be...
Did this zombie see me?
But soon, he dismissed the thought. It was clearly impossible. The zombie just growled in his face and then turned and walked away in another direction.
He gently patted his chest, feeling that it had been very scary.
On the rooftop.
Luong Man was a little worried about the situation below. She didn't know if Ngo Hao was succeeding. So far, there had been no sound. She just hoped everything would be fine.
She leaned against the edge of the roof, looking down at the street. She sighed internally; there were really too many zombies. If she were surrounded by this number of zombies, she wouldn't be able to escape even if she wanted to.
Just then.
She frowned, unexpectedly discovering a zombie that looked different from the normal ones.
According to the records in the illustrated handbook.
This was definitely a Fused-type zombie.
Its long, thin limbs made it look different from normal zombies. The surrounding normal zombies instinctively moved away from it, obviously fearing it.
Just as she was observing the Fused-type zombie, the zombie below suddenly raised its head and looked up, its gaze meeting hers for a fraction of a second. The terrified Luong Man quickly pulled back her gaze and retreated.
"Not good, it saw me."
Luong Man was terrified. Even though she was a psionic user, she had never thought she could fight against such a zombie. The handbook's description of its situation was very clear.
The crystal was multi-colored.
It had surpassed any type of zombie she had ever encountered.
She hurriedly looked at the street again, but the Fused-type zombie was gone.
A bad premonition rushed to her head.
The Fused-type zombie wasn't coming here, was it?
Thinking of this, her expression instantly became grave.
Bang!
Just then.
Ngo Hao pushed open the iron door, his face a mask of panic. "Go, let's hurry!"
He was completely panicked.
When he got the satellite phone, he let out a huge sigh of relief. As he was leaving and reached the fourth floor, he suddenly felt the air become very cold. He looked back and saw a zombie with its four limbs on the ground appear behind him.
The zombie's body had no skin, all exposed flesh and tissue. A long, fleshy tongue extended from its mouth, very flexible, as if it could sense his presence.
The tongue whipped through the air towards him. Fortunately, he dodged quickly, avoiding the tongue. The wall touched by the tongue directly cracked and dented. The terrifying destructive power scared him out of his wits.
If that had hit him, he would have been a goner.
Then he ran for his life, finally reaching the rooftop.
Hearing Ngo Hao's voice, Luong Man didn't dare hesitate. She used her psionic power, covering Ngo Hao, and shot straight into the air. Then she saw a zombie rampaging out.
Its appearance needed no further description; one look was enough to know it was extremely ferocious.
The zombie species Lam Pham had encountered some time ago was recorded in the <
However, at this moment.
Ngo Hao, who was in the air, thought he could escape, but suddenly, he felt an intense pain in his ankle. He looked down and saw the zombie's tongue had wrapped around his ankle, yanking him back from the air.
"What?"
Luong Man was horrified. She didn't expect the zombie's tongue to be so long, completely beyond her imagination.
"Take the satellite phone and go, don't worry about me, I'm screwed." Ngo Hao forcefully threw the satellite phone towards Luong Man. With a loud bang, he was slammed against the wall by the Flash-Eater's tongue. He felt dizzy, his whole body limp and paralyzed.
Luong Man caught the phone, her heart burning with anxiety. She activated her psionic power. With a bang, the rooftop's iron door was torn off, then enveloped by psionic power, it shot towards the Flash-Eater.
But she had underestimated the Flash-Eater's ferocity. With a bang, the psionic-covered iron door was sent flying.
A Flash-Eater with 60 points, its crystal had reached brown. In Lam Pham's hands, it was a small fry, but in the eyes of other survivors, it was an unbeatable, terrifying figure.
"Is it that terrifying?"
Luong Man's psionic strength was far from Van Van's. Being able to fly was already the limit of her ability. As for using psionics to compress space, it was not something she could do at her current stage.
Luong Man didn't give up on Ngo Hao. She saw the rooftop railing being restrained by her psionic power, buzzing. With a bang, the whole thing levitated, then like an arrow, it shot towards the Flash-Eater with a whoosh.
Bang!
Bang!
The Flash-Eater's tongue was much tougher than imagined, directly knocking the railing away.
Then its tongue shot towards the floating Luong Man. The speed was very fast. The terrified Luong Man dodged left and right, constantly evading. Even without being touched, she could still feel the impact force of its tongue cutting through the air.
So, so strong.
Simply incredibly powerful and terrifying.
"Ugh... urgh..."
"Ugh... urgh..."
The commotion attracted the attention of the zombies. The originally calm zombies went completely berserk, continuously running towards the Digital Electronics Building.
Ngo Hao struggled to prop himself up, his back against the wall, and shouted to the floating Luong Man, "Don't mind me, take the satellite phone back, assemble it, and call Lam Pham. Tell him the situation here, and let that group of survivors go to the Sunshine Shelter."
"I'm already done for, you can't save me. I'm already satisfied."
After saying this, Ngo Hao had no strength left.
He felt that those last words had used up all his energy. He truly had no strength left.
Luong Man looked at Ngo Hao unwillingly. She really wanted to take him back, but she knew it was impossible now. Firstly, she couldn't deal with that terrifying zombie.
Also, the recent commotion had already attracted the zombies' attention.
When a large number of zombies swarmed up, it would be a true hell on earth.
"I'm sorry, I really can't do anything," Luong Man said.
Ngo Hao smiled and waved his hand, nodding at her, indicating that it was all okay. Getting the satellite phone was enough, no need to worry about anything else.
Luong Man turned and flew away.
The Flash-Eater roared. If it could fly, it would have already rushed into the sky, dragged that human down, and torn her to pieces.
Ngo Hao quietly looked at the sky, not thinking about the consequence of being trapped here.
His face always wore a brilliant smile.
Surviving in the apocalypse, he had traveled to many places, searching for his mother.
He knew his old mother was long gone. In such an apocalypse, how could an old person survive? But he always held onto a kind of hope, using it as motivation to keep moving forward, searching for hope.
And now, it was time for the dream to end.
He really didn't want the once beautiful world to look like this.
"Damn it, for me, Ngo Hao, this death isn't a waste. To be a hero once in the apocalypse is a gain. At least someone will remember me."
Thinking of this.
He laughed out loud, feeling that death didn't seem so scary after all.
The sound of heavy footsteps came.
The Flash-Eater's mouth opened wide, its tongue moving. The Flash-Eater, whose eyes had already changed, could clearly sense the human's presence, and could even sense this human's despair.
Ngo Hao's ability stage was too low.
It was useless against high-level crystal zombies.
In an instant.
The Flash-Eater's tongue shot through the air. Ngo Hao's expression was calm, facing it head-on. He would probably be eaten in a moment. He wondered if it would be too painful.
But just then.
A figure suddenly appeared in front of him.
This figure stretched out a hand, grabbed the coiling tongue, and then yanked it hard. The Flash-Eater's entire body was pulled towards this side.
Splat!
The figure threw a punch, the fist directly penetrating the mouth and blowing up the Flash-Eater's head.
"Ah..."
Ngo Hao's mouth hung open, his whole person stunned. The sudden scene had completely dumbfounded him.
Until the figure turned around.
Ngo Hao knew he was screwed again.
A Fused-type zombie.
His heart was filled with bitterness. He thought the zombie he had encountered was already terrifying enough, but he didn't expect to meet an even more terrifying one.
Indeed.
The apocalypse was not a game for a weakling like him.
For the first time, Ngo Hao saw a Fused-type zombie appear before his own eyes. That seemingly thin body contained an unimaginable explosive power.
It was truly terrifying.
He found the Fused-type zombie staring at him. In response, he raised his head and said with a tough and angry tone.
"What are you looking at? Haven't you seen your grandpa before?"
Even in death, he wanted to die with some dignity.
"Ugh... urgh..."
"Ugh... urgh..."
A large number of normal zombies appeared from the rooftop fire escape, but they looked around and couldn't see Ngo Hao. Instead, when they saw the Fused-type zombie, they seemed very afraid.
"Roar!"
The Fused-type zombie let out a low roar, as if it was transmitting a signal to the normal zombies.
The terrified normal zombies left the way they came.
The Fused-type zombie reached out its hand towards Ngo Hao.
Ngo Hao closed his eyes in despair.
Come on, even if you tear me to pieces, I won't scream.
. . .
Vuong Cuong and Ly Cong Vinh waited in the car, feeling very nervous, constantly looking ahead, not knowing what was happening.
When Luong Man's figure appeared in their sight, they couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
But when they didn't see Ngo Hao.
The two of them looked at each other, and a bad feeling immediately rushed to their heads.
In the car.
"He didn't make it out..." Vuong Cuong hadn't expected the situation to turn out like this.
Luong Man said, "We encountered a terrifying zombie. I was no match for it. He threw the satellite phone to me and told me to leave, not to mind him."
Ly Cong Vinh looked at the satellite phone's packaging box and sighed, "He's a real man. I have to admire him."
Everyone was silent.
When faced with that kind of situation, escaping alive was already a dream. Even a miracle was unlikely to happen.
Zombies were all cold-blooded creatures. All zombies would go crazy like mad dogs upon seeing a human. Wanting to survive in the mouth of a zombie was an impossible thing.
The car started, and Ly Cong Vinh took the wheel and drove into the distance.
In the passenger seat, Luong Man tore open the packaging box.
When they decided to do this, they were already prepared for sacrifice. Although they hadn't spent much time together, they knew that Ngo Hao was a truly brave person.