Facing such a pretentious, strange zombie.
Co Hang, Captain Loi, and the others all cast strange glances at it.
A shame?
Is this thing sick in the head?
Lam Pham said, "Whether it's a shame or not, I don't know. But you mentioned the south. Are all the Creators in the south?"
He wanted to know where the Creators were.
Then, he would pay them a friendly visit, draw the Frostmourne from his back, and chop them down one by one, so the apocalypse would no longer be the apocalypse, moving closer to the peaceful era of the past.
Cuong Ban Linh Nhat said, "The Creators are elusive, silently watching the current state of the world from the shadows. It is very difficult for you to find them. Whether in the north or the south, you won't be able to find them."
Lam Pham smiled and said nothing more, "You can go. Go back and tell them, I will definitely find them."
He would let it leave, then quietly follow behind it, and he might find the Creators' hiding place. Of course, he knew his thoughts had probably been seen through by the other party.
But it was fine.
As long as there was a chance, he was prepared to give it a try. If by some miracle it worked, that would be a huge win.
Cuong Ban Linh Nhat smiled, "I've always heard that you are the strongest human. I wonder if I could personally experience just how strong you, as a human, truly are."
It had always wanted to see for itself what kind of abilities the human that even the Creators feared possessed.
"Alright, you can," Lam Pham said.
Lao Chung and the others felt that this zombie's brain probably wasn't working right. To actually want to proactively test Lam Pham's strength, wasn't that just asking for death?
Cuong Ban Linh Nhat revealed a cold smile, its hands instantly transforming into flesh blades. This was a transformation impossible for humans; only zombies could alter their own characteristics, achieving flesh reconstruction.
Lam Pham picked up his camera and aimed the lens.
Click!
Click!
He captured its appearance. It could be considered a record. A new type of zombie had appeared, and it wasn't an ordinary one. This was clearly a zombie with special abilities.
Just like Officer Hoang, it had its own rationality and thoughts.
At this moment.
Cuong Ban Linh Nhat leaped backwards, its body arching gracefully. Its body seemed to be expanding, but it was hidden under its clothes, so it couldn't be seen. However, one could feel it by intuition.
In an instant, a ferocious aura erupted.
"I am very much looking forward to a battle with you."
Facing the suddenly serious Cuong Ban Linh Nhat, Lam Pham merely had a smile on his face. He didn't take this fight seriously at all, just thinking of ending it quickly and letting the other party leave.
Suddenly.
After Cuong Ban Linh Nhat spoke its next words, Lam Pham's smile froze. The smile gradually faded, and his expression turned not so good.
"In the past, relying on these sharp twin blades, I stormed into a shelter. Amidst the screams of several hundred people, I tore their bodies in half. And you will truly experience the sharpness of my twin blades."
Cuong Ban Linh Nhat was proud of its battle record.
Having achieved a hundred-man kill in a single battle, it felt that the current living humans were like ants. Only Lam Pham of the Sunshine Shelter was worth a little bit of attention.
The people standing next to Lam Pham also heard what it said.
Co Hang muttered, "He's totally screwed."
Captain Loi: "Detestable zombie."
Chuc Thanh: "A moron-like thing."
Lao Chung: . . . ?
They all knew Lam Pham's personality. He was truly gentle. Even when facing zombies, he could show a smile, then draw his Frostmourne and, with a smile, clean up the zombies.
He would never face them with a grim expression.
But now... that zombie in the distance had crossed Lam Pham's bottom line.
What awaited it was a terrifying killing intent.
"Lam Pham, feel my power!"
The moment the words fell.
With a bang, the ground beneath Cuong Ban Linh Nhat's feet exploded. It charged towards Lam Pham at an extremely fast speed, brandishing its sharp flesh blades, intending to tear Lam Pham to pieces.
Lam Pham still stood motionless, his expression gradually darkening, allowing Cuong Ban Linh Nhat to charge at him. And just as the other party appeared in front of him.
Swish!
A flash of silvery sword light flickered.
Cuong Ban Linh Nhat, who had charged forward, seemed to be frozen in mid-air, not having made contact at all. Its crimson pupils slightly contracted and dilated, revealing a trace of disbelief.
Cracks appeared on Cuong Ban Linh Nhat's body. Its two flesh blades exploded piece by piece, turning into flesh and blood that fell to the ground. Its legs were cut into dozens of pieces, becoming a pile of minced meat.
Thump!
The remaining upper half of Cuong Ban Linh Nhat fell, lying on the ground, its eyes filled with horror.
It saw nothing, not even knowing what had just happened.
"As expected, you are truly strong," Cuong Ban Linh Nhat said. Its severed arms and legs were growing back at a speed visible to the naked eye. Just as it thought they could fully regrow, with a puff, another flash of sword light, and its limbs were severed again.
This situation made Cuong Ban Linh Nhat a little confused.
"Didn't you say you would let me go? This was just a spar between us," Cuong Ban Linh Nhat said.
Was the other party humiliating it by doing this?
But it didn't think it would be humiliated. To be the Creators' representative, if it valued dignity so much, the current situation wouldn't have happened.
Kneeling and kowtowing was its nature; wagging its tail like a stray dog fawning over its master was its specialty.
"A spar? You're mistaken. You've killed so many humans, I won't let you go," Lam Pham shook his head, no longer willing to let it go, not having the slightest thought of doing so.
Hearing this, Cuong Ban Linh Nhat didn't panic, but instead revealed a smile, "Really? Then you can give it a try. See if you can kill me. That person already mentioned my ability, the so-called 'Self-Consistent'. Do you know what a terrifying and mysterious ability that is?"
Lam Pham swung his sword, sword light appearing, instantly forming a net of swords.
Puff!
Puff!
Cuong Ban Linh Nhat's body instantly exploded, turning into countless pieces of steaming flesh.
For any other zombie, facing this kind of destructive power, they would be deader than dead. But Lam Pham didn't receive the points notification.
"It's not dead yet."
Lam Pham frowned slightly.
Even Lao Chung and the others were extremely surprised.
"Isn't it already dead?"
Its body was shattered into pieces of meat, how could it still be alive? Even with the ability to regenerate limbs, it was achieved by relying on the energy provided by the crystal.
Now that the other party had been chopped into minced meat, how could it still be alive?
Lam Pham said, "No, it's not dead. When I cut its head, there was only half a crystal inside its head. The other half was not there."
Chuc Thanh said in shock, "Could it be that its [Self-Consistent] ability means that as long as it conforms to all logic, it can do some incredible things? For example, when it was on its way here, it used its own cells, flesh, and half a crystal as a price to split off another version of itself, then let the other one come here. The 'you are me, I am you' situation?"
"Splitting, huh," Lam Pham muttered to himself. That might be the reason. Then he looked into the distance, "I'm going to the south to take a look. You guys protect the shelter."
Then he leaped up and headed into the distance at high speed.
After Lam Pham left.
Co Hang couldn't help but say in amazement, "What's wrong with these zombies? Why do they evolve these abilities that are incomprehensible? It's really beyond my imagination."
Captain Loi said, "Don't just say you, it's the same for me. The idea that humanity is at a dead end is really no joke. The dangers in the apocalypse are even more terrifying than imagined."
Lao Chung wasn't pessimistic, but rather full of hope, "But we have Lam Pham."
That's right... We have Lam Pham. Everyone here was pulled out of the abyss by Lam Pham, who brought them hope.
They were once held captive by zombies, with a [Tank] zombie perched on the wall, staring at them.
Co Hang was trapped in a car, and it was the passing Lam Pham who saved him.
Lao Chung and Diep Thien were sold out by their companions. In their moment of crisis, it was also Lam Pham who appeared, killed the zombies, and brought them back to the Sunshine Shelter.
All of these events were greatly related to Lam Pham.
It could even be said that without Lam Pham, they would have no future.
. . .
"Damn it, damn human, damn stray dog."
Somewhere, Cuong Ban Linh Nhat's face was dark as it vented its anger. The flesh blades on its arms swung, slashing at a nearby zombie. The innocent wandering zombie was hacked to a pulp, not understanding even in death how it had offended it.
With half its crystal missing, its own ability stage had suffered a serious loss. When it was sent by the Creators to be their representative, it had already made full preparations.
But only when it truly happened did it feel the real heartache.
After a bout of venting, the surroundings were filled with zombie corpses. Cuong Ban Linh Nhat grabbed a piece of zombie flesh and gnawed on it, not out of hunger, but just to experience the feeling of devouring it raw.
"The Creators of this country have been suppressed by that human to the point they can't lift their heads. They can only hide in dark corners, barely surviving, not daring to expose themselves. What a bunch of trash."
Cuong Ban Linh Nhat thought of its own country, Phuc Dao.
The place was small, but the population was not small, a full hundred million people.
According to the situation with zombies in the apocalypse, it absolutely did not believe that Phuc Dao still had human survivors. Even if there were, there would only be a handful. By devouring so many humans, a Creator evolved to the limit would definitely appear.
If it could find a Creator evolved to the limit, perhaps it could deceive its way into conquering this country, eliminating that human, and completely occupying this country.
Thinking of this, Cuong Ban Linh Nhat's eyes flickered with a crazed red light. The bold plan in its mind took deep root, expanding more and more. As for betraying the Creators here, that was nonsense. It had never been loyal to the Creators here; it was just a cooperative relationship.
When it felt there were no benefits, no future, switching cooperative partners was also a correct choice.
Not long after.
Cuong Ban Linh Nhat arrived at the seashore, jumped in, and swam at high speed towards that unremarkable small island.
. . .
The South.
Lam Pham wanted to take a good look at the situation in the south. The Zombie Emperor Vuong Tu Hien had been searching in the north, but had never found any trace of the Creators.
According to what Cuong Ban Linh Nhat had said, the Creators wanted to occupy the south, so they must have already appeared here.
"Where on earth are they?"
Lam Pham observed his surroundings. In areas that hadn't been cleared, there were indeed many zombies. With his appearance, the wandering zombies looked towards Lam Pham and instantly went crazy, charging at him ferociously.
"So violent."
Lam Pham knew the habits of zombies well. They were truly extremely violent, giving living humans no chance at all.
Swish!
Swish!
He casually swung his Frostmourne, like dicing meat, chopping down the charging zombies one by one. It had been a long time since he had to slash zombies one by one on such a small scale. Usually, he would just swing his sword casually and reap a large number of zombies in front of him.
His existence was a disaster for any type of zombie.
Just then.
Lam Pham, holding his sword, perked up his ears. He seemed to have heard some sounds. Anyone else would have found it impossible to hear, but his senses were very strong, able to hear many sounds that others couldn't.
"That sounds like gunfire."
Lam Pham was very sensitive to this kind of sound and would absolutely not mistake it. It was over there. Then he headed in that direction at high speed.
A modified vehicle sped across the desolate plain.
There was someone driving the vehicle, and someone in the truck bed operating a machine gun, frantically strafing a zombie that was following the vehicle, not too far away.
That zombie was using all four limbs, crawling at high speed, very agile, swerving left and right, constantly dodging the bullets fired from the machine gun.
"Little Mai, can you drive any faster? This zombie's speed is really too fast!" the male survivor operating the machine gun shouted. He really hadn't expected to encounter a zombie with such speed.
And it was so agile.
The firepower was clearly sufficient, but he just couldn't hit it. He was so anxious that his forehead was sweating.
"I'm about to stomp the gas pedal till it smokes!" Little Mai replied.
The zombie following them closely was a Predator, a trash zombie worth only 40 points. But this kind of trash was only trash in front of Lam Pham. For other survivors, it was a life-threatening thing.
Predators were very despicable, liking to treat humans as prey, while they themselves hid in dark, obscure corners, watching and toying with them, waiting for the best opportunity to capture their prey.
But this time, the prey was clearly a bit cunning, having discovered it early, which led to this scene of a great escape.
"Find a way to shake it off. This zombie is really terrifying." The male survivor felt that the only use of the machine gun was to constantly harass it, not letting this zombie run so comfortably. Otherwise, with this zombie's speed, it was really possible for it to catch up.
Thump!
Just then.
The front wheel seemed to have hit a rock, and the whole car flew high into the air, startling them so much their mouths hung wide open, not expecting such an accident to happen.
Rumble!
The car that had flown high into the air crashed back down and continued forward, but something was wrong. The front wheel was deformed, and the speed dropped sharply. The Predator behind was getting closer and closer, about to catch up at any moment.
The terrified male survivor shouted, "Little Mai, what's going on? Why isn't the car moving? Step on the gas pedal till it smokes!"
Little Mai, who was driving the vehicle, was also a bit dazed by the sudden situation. "I am stepping on it, but the front wheel is broken."
Gradually.
The car began to break down, its speed getting slower and slower. They didn't know what was wrong.
"Let's run, the car is broken," Little Mai got out of the driver's seat and hurriedly called to her companion.
The male survivor emptied the machine gun's bullets, yelled, and jumped out of the car to flee, shouting as he ran, "Help..."
His panicked expression was displayed to perfection.
But how could a human outrun a Predator? It ran on all fours. Trying to outrun it with two human legs was simply a dream.
"Little Mai, let's split up and run. Whether we can survive depends on our own luck."
"Alright."
Little Mai agreed without a second thought. After all, this was the only way now. If they ran together, they would definitely die; neither would escape. Splitting up might still give them a fifty-fifty chance of survival.
However, at this moment.
A figure appeared in front of them, rushing towards them at high speed.
Little Mai waved her hand, "Run, behind..."
Swish!
The figure that had just been in front of them, in an instant, was like the wind, speeding past her. This action startled her so much her mouth hung open. She turned her head to look.
She saw that the man with the sword had already appeared in front of the zombie. Before her disbelieving eyes, with a few slashes, the zombie that had been chasing them was instantly chopped to a pulp.
"Holy crap!"
She couldn't help but curse, standing there dumbfounded.
Was he that terrifying?
In an instant, a storm raged in her mind.
Who was he?
How could he be so powerful?
Is he a friendly survivor? Will he hurt us later?
All sorts of questions popped into her head.
After cutting open the head and finding the crystal, Lam Pham walked towards the dumbfounded survivors with a smile on his face. He hadn't expected to meet two of them.
What an unexpected surprise on this trip to the south.
"Hello, my name is Lam Pham, from the Hoang City Sunshine Shelter. You guys are really amazing, to be able to survive for so long at the hands of a Predator."
Lam Pham truly admired them.
Predators were very terrifying, very fast, and also very sinister and cunning. They loved to toy with their prey, to feel the fear radiating from them.
He could see that these two survivors were not Awakened.
To be able to survive without abilities was not something an ordinary person could do.
"Hello," Little Mai and her companion greeted Lam Pham.
They thought about what he had said.
Predator?
Was the zombie just now called a Predator?
Lam Pham could tell from their faces that they probably hadn't gotten the [Zombie Illustrated Handbook]. They didn't know who he was. Otherwise, under normal circumstances, survivors he saved would be extremely moved.
But they only had the joy of surviving a disaster.
After a simple exchange.
He learned their names, Duong Mai and Lo Kinh.
"Have you always been fleeing outside?"
Lam Pham was very puzzled. It was very difficult for two ordinary people to survive in the apocalypse. And if they were always running around, that was even more of a miracle. He could only say that they were the illegitimate children of heaven, and the goddess of luck was always watching over them.
Duong Mai shook her head, "No, we have our own shelter. We were just short on food and came out to find some. And we don't go into the cities to search; we just look in some shops along the roadside."
They had been very careful on this search.
When entering a shop, they would usually make some noise to lure out the zombies. But who would have thought... that zombie was really despicable and sinister, actually hiding in the dark to ambush them.
Fortunately, they were experienced and had discovered some unusual traces.
Lam Pham introduced himself to them, explaining his situation, just to put them at ease. He was not a bad person; on the contrary, he was a good person.
The introduction was very strange. What bad person would say they were a bad person? Although there was such a trope, the fact was the fact, and he also told them very directly.
"If I wanted to do anything to you, I would just capture you directly."
"There's no need to play games and deceive you."
Only with sincerity can one receive sincerity.
Duong Mai and Lo Kinh looked at each other and silently agreed with what he said. It was true. There was no need to hide anything; it was useless.
"Do you still want this car?" Lam Pham pointed at the broken vehicle. Since the two survivors were willing to lead him back to their shelter, he would go take a look.
"Yes."
Duong Mai nodded. This was their livelihood. They had to take it with them. To have survived until now, this thing's contribution could not be ignored. If they could really return to a peaceful era one day, they would definitely have to enshrine this car.
In the end...
Lam Pham carried the car.
Duong Mai and Lo Kinh stayed in the driver's seat, their gazes blankly staring ahead.
They never thought they would meet such a compatriot. Apart from wearing human skin, what else about him could be done by a normal person?
He had said, "You guys are too slow. Just get in the car. It'll be faster if I carry you." Indeed, this kind of transport speed was truly astonishing.
Their shelter was in an abandoned building.
It wasn't really a building, just four walls, no roof, and the walls were made of bare bricks.
"This is the place?"
Lam Pham was very surprised. It was the first time he had seen someone use this as a shelter. A few zombies could just come and smash this shelter to pieces. There was no safety to speak of.
"There's more to it than meets the eye inside," Duong Mai knew that first-timers would misunderstand.
Lam Pham walked inside and saw Duong Mai lift a metal plate from the ground, revealing a passage. An oil lamp was burning inside, so it wasn't too dark.
Duong Mai said, "Someone probably wanted to build a small building here before. They dug the cellar first. It's very big inside and very safe to hide in. As long as we don't court death ourselves, we're usually fine."
They followed them into the cellar. The sound of footsteps came.
"Auntie Mai, Brother Kinh, you're back."
A childish voice came through.
A girl who looked to be eleven or twelve years old ran over.
"We're back."
Lam Pham hadn't expected there to be a little girl. Thinking about what Duong Mai had said, he nodded in strong agreement. It was true. This place looked dangerous, but it was actually very safe.
Zombies would run into buildings and would also pile up on each other. No matter how high the wall was, it would be breached by zombies. There was no absolutely safe place, only whether or not you could be discovered by zombies.
And this kind of cellar was relatively safe.
How would zombies think that humans were hiding in a cellar?
Everyone sat around in the deepest part of the cellar. Duong Mai was cooking instant noodles. The ingredients were simple, but in the apocalypse, having this kind of food was already very good.
Duong Mai cooked the noodles while saying, "We were separated from our companions. We used to have more than ten people, driving three cars. We were hit by a zombie tide, and then we were separated."
Lam Pham said, "Is there any news of them?"
Duong Mai shook her head, "No. We've tried to look for them, but there are just too many zombies. We can't go too far, so we can only wait. Maybe with good luck, we'll run into them one day."
As they were talking in the cellar.
Not far away, a zombie was spying on them. After confirming that humans were hiding here, it turned and left. It would never forget a sentence spoken by the Creator.
"In my territory, no humans are allowed to survive. This is a humiliation to the great Creators."
So, it now had to quickly report the situation here.
. . .
The Base.
In the office.
"I don't have it, I really don't."
A male Awakened looked at Quach Khai with some confusion. The other party said he had a pale gold crystal, but how could he admit it? He had found it by luck.
He treated this pale gold crystal as a treasure, not daring to tell anyone. The only one who might know was his other companion. At that time, he had been quick and put the pale gold crystal in his pocket.
His companion asked him what he was hiding, and he laughed it off. How could he tell his companion?
It was best if he was the only one who knew about this thing.
"Be good, take it out," Quach Khai said.
"Brother Quach, I really don't have it. Look at me. Do I look like someone who would have a crystal of that color?"
Quach Khai, sitting there, had a hint of a dark smile on his face. He caressed the scimitar in his hand, then suddenly stood up, leaned over the table, and appeared in front of the other person. With a puff, the scimitar sliced open the other's throat.
Fresh blood gushed out.
The male Awakened clutched his throat, unable to believe that the other person would take his life over a single disagreement.
Until his death, he thought it was definitely his companion who had sold him out.
As his consciousness was about to fade, his companion pushed open the door, bowed and scraped to Quach Khai, fawning in every possible way. Even when he saw him fall to the ground, his gaze didn't change at all.
"Brother Quach, I'll search him for you. I can find it."
"Mm."
The other person squatted in front of his companion's corpse and began to search him. He felt a sense of triumph. To get something good and not tell him, wanting to keep it for himself. He had backstabbed him with a report, and now he had lost his life. Let's see how you hold onto the crystal you got.
He was sure that what the other person had gotten was a pale gold crystal.
He had already seen it out of the corner of his eye at the time.
Soon, he found the pale gold crystal from his companion's butt area. It had to be said, pressed against the butt, this was a somewhat fragrant crystal.
"Brother Quach, I found it." He obediently handed the crystal to the other person, the fawning look on his face never fading.
Quach Khai revealed a smile. The pale gold crystal was what he needed most now. He had already consumed nineteen of them. With one more, he could raise his ability to the fourth stage.
His strength would be even greater.
Just thinking about it felt exhilarating.
"Speak, what benefits do you want?" Quach Khai looked teasingly at the person before him. Selling out one's own companion, truly not bad.
In the apocalypse, human life was the cheapest thing.
Don't look at how many Awakened there were in this base. Some who went out to find food never came back, possibly dying at the hands of some zombie.
Food and crystals were the most crucial things.
And life, in front of these things, was not worth a dime.
"Brother Quach, I am willing to be your loyal dog. Can you take me in?"
The other person wanted to follow Quach Khai. In this base, Quach Khai was the most ferocious person. If he could follow him, he could really do whatever he wanted, running rampant.
"Haha..."
Quach Khai laughed. His fierce gaze made the other person a little scared, not daring to meet his eyes, as if being targeted by a hungry wolf.
"Interesting. Dog, clean up the corpse for me."
"Yes, Brother Quach... no, Master."
This survivor's face was full of joy as he quickly dragged the corpse away.
And not long after he dragged it away, just as Quach Khai was about to swallow the crystal, he looked towards the doorway. The person who had once controlled the base walked in.
"I didn't expect you to be so playful. Quite interesting," the man said with a smile.
Quach Khai said, "What are you here for? Have you found the crystals I asked you to find? If you have no value, I don't mind separating your head from your body."
"Yes, this is the crystal you wanted." The man threw a bag on the table.
Quach Khai opened the bag. Inside were all gold crystals. The shocked Quach Khai suddenly raised his head and stared at the other person.
"Where did you get these?"
He didn't believe the other person had the ability to kill this stage of zombie. It was simply unbelievable.
Involuntarily, Quach Khai became a little wary of the other person, feeling that he had a secret he didn't know.
The man said, "What's the point of asking so much? You just need to know that I can get you crystals. There happens to be a pale gold one in here, but I didn't expect you to have already gotten one yourself. Sigh, for a single pale gold crystal, you killed an Awakened. It's really unnecessary."
Instantly.
Quach Khai pointed his scimitar at the man, "Who are you? How did you find these crystals? If you don't talk, don't blame me for being impolite."
Faced with this threat, the man appeared very casual, completely disregarding the threat. He pulled out a chair, sat down with a plop, and then crossed his legs.
"Why bother asking? I can get you gold crystals to raise your ability, and I can continue to get you other crystals. Only when your own strength is strong are you truly strong. If you keep questioning me like this, it'll be very hard for me to tell you."
Hearing these words.
Quach Khai's grim face suddenly broke into laughter, "Hahaha... You have a point. Indeed, only when your own strength is strong are you truly strong. I don't need to know who you are or what your purpose is. When I feel that you pose a threat to me, I will cut off your head without hesitation. I hope you are a smart person."
The man held up his hands, "Of course, I am definitely a smart person. You can rest assured on this point. Use the crystals well, raise your ability. I won't disturb you."
When he reached the door, the man paused, "You just took in a dog. But this dog would even sell out its own companion. Aren't you afraid he will sell you out..."
Quach Khai's mouth curled up, "A dog is a dog. They can only ever be a dog-eat-dog, not bite people."
"Good, I just like this confident you. Your confidence lets me see your future success." After saying this, the man left without looking back.
Quach Khai's gaze was fixed ahead, a "tsk" sound coming from his throat...