After a brief exchange, Lam Pham left the martial arts school. Doan Thanh Ho wanted to follow but was refused by Lam Pham. He just wanted to go over there alone to take a look, to see what the purpose of this trading post's existence in the apocalypse was.
At this moment.
Doan Thanh Ho looked up at the sky, his hand shielding his eyes from the dazzling sunlight.
"The weather is really beautiful."
In the distance, a slightly fat figure ran over, wearing an old-fashioned cadre's uniform, sporting a Mediterranean hairstyle, with a few unruly hairs on his head swaying in the wind.
"Headmaster...."
Doan Thanh Ho looked at the person who came. It was the head of the martial arts school's student affairs office, Chu Dao.
"Director Chu, why are you only here now?"
Chu Dao held his stomach and said helplessly, "I had a stomachache halfway, there was nothing I could do."
Doan Thanh Ho shook his head. After all, he had missed a scene that could have changed his mind, and even more so, missed a meeting with a person who could have changed the future.
For him, it was a loss.
"Director Chu, just now, Lam Pham from Sunshine Shelter came. We met and chatted for a while," Tran Vo said. His perception of Lam Pham had changed dramatically in an instant. It was a kind of recognition of a strong person.
Chu Dao looked at Doan Thanh Ho worriedly.
"Headmaster, you still have to be careful in the apocalypse, in case you get deceived."
"I won't. He is trustworthy."
Doan Thanh Ho shook his head, believing in his own judgment. He didn't take what Director Chu said to heart.
Seashore.
"Is that the trading post?"
Lam Pham looked at a ship not far from the shore. It was the trading post that Headmaster Doan had mentioned. It was indeed safe on the sea surface. At least until now, zombies still couldn't swim. The result of falling into the water was hearing a sound, then splashing around, gurgling as they were filled with water.
Finally, sinking to the bottom of the sea.
His arrival attracted the attention of some boatmen rowing small boats on the sea surface.
"Brother, need a boat?"
A boatman asked.
Usually, people who came to the trading post would only leave if they wanted to go out to find things. Otherwise, they would stay on top. After all, it was very good to have a safe place to rest.
The shore was not far from the ship. A light jump could reach it.
He didn't do that.
Instead, he wanted to maintain a normal person's way of life and conveniently get some information from the boatman's mouth. It was just that when he looked into the boatman's eyes, he found that deep in the boatman's heart, there was a murderous intent that had already been released.
The other party didn't want to kill him, but in this damn apocalypse, they were forced to do so.
A small boat approached the shore.
Lam Pham smiled and boarded the boat, nodding to the other party.
The boatman also smiled back, but his smile felt a bit fake and forced.
On the calm sea surface, a small boat slowly headed towards that huge ship.
Lam Pham looked at the boundless sea, his mood rarely calm. But at this moment, he turned around and caught a stabbing dagger with his bare hands. The boatman's face was ferocious, wanting to kill Lam Pham.
But seeing the other party catch the dagger with his bare hands, the boatman's eyes widened, and he collapsed onto the boat with a thud.
The other boatmen rowing in the distance knew that the person who, like them, used rowing a boat for a living, was about to die, to completely disappear from this world.
Perhaps... this was also a kind of liberation.
At this moment.
Lam Pham looked at the terrified boatman in front of him. It was clearly the other party who had attacked him first, but he didn't act. Instead, he stared at the other party's face.
"What did you do before?"
He sat leisurely at the bow of the boat and asked softly.
"Fish... fisherman."
The boatman replied in great fear.
"A fisherman, huh? Did your family all die in this apocalypse?"
Hearing Lam Pham's question, the boatman's face was full of sorrow. The fear in his eyes gradually dissipated, replaced by memories of the past.
"They're dead, all dead."
He once had a not-so-rich but very happy family. The apocalypse came and shattered his family in an instant. His wife turned into a zombie and bit his child and parents to death. He, in fear, ran to a boat on the seashore, drifting, temporarily avoiding the zombies' bites.
"Then why did you want to hurt me?"
Lam Pham sighed. Humans are emotional creatures. Even the most evil people have people they care about, but this kind of person is not worthy of sympathy. After all, hurting others is just to satisfy one's own selfish desires, even a kind of pleasure.
The boatman before him, the behavior he had just shown was also very hateful. In the past, during a contest, Lam Pham would only, in a self-defense situation, punch the other party to death.
"I want to live. I wasn't like this before. I honestly worked from sunrise to sunset, relying on fishing to make a living. But this apocalypse is really terrifying. I really don't know how to live."
"I don't have a strong body like them, or trusted companions, or have become an Awakened one. I'm just an ordinary person. Besides this method, I really have no other way."
"I know my behavior is not good, unforgivable, but everyone is like this. If I don't follow, I can't live."
At this time, the boatman poured out all the grievances in his heart.
Hearing these words, Lam Pham originally wanted to say, you shouldn't harm others' lives to survive. But thinking about it, he decided not to say it. He thought that he, Lam Pham, could survive because he got points by killing zombies, becoming stronger with each kill. His life was like normal, without encountering any predicament.
But for ordinary people... perhaps to survive, they had to fight desperately, and might not even be able to survive.
The boatman looked at the person in front of him. He didn't know what this Awakened one would do to him, but in his heart, he seemed to have already imagined the result, which was to have his life ended by the other party.
"Do you want to return to your former life?"
Lam Pham thought of the prison in Hoang City. A mistake is a mistake, this point is unquestionable. He understood why the other party changed, and also understood what they wanted after changing.
Now that Officer Hoang was not here, no one could judge them.
"I want to, even in my dreams. Even though life before was not rich, that was real life."
"Okay, get up, take me to that ship. I think I'll give you a chance."
Lam Pham decided to send them to prison for reform. There, they could eat their fill, sleep peacefully. Of course, they would also have things to do in prison, such as growing vegetables under protection, or working on sewing machines.
If the group of criminals Lam Pham had sent to Officer Hoang's side before knew the current situation, they would definitely roar, you fucking hypocrite, are you a double-standard dog?
For us, you directly send us to Officer Hoang's side.
Now you encounter this kind, and you want to give them a chance, send them to prison. Are you a hypocrite? Can't you insist on zero tolerance for evil and unforgiveness for crime?
"Ah?"
The boatman looked at Lam Pham in front of him, not quite understanding what the other party's words meant.
"Have you read the Zombie Illustration Book?" Lam Pham asked.
"No... no."
The boatman shook his head.
Lam Pham felt that the propagation intensity of the Zombie Illustration Book was still a bit small.
Clearly, countless copies had been printed, but thinking about how vast the country's territory was, it was also understandable. To have the Zombie Illustration Book in every inch of the territory, the number of copies needed was absolutely unimaginable.
"Then do you know about the Sunshine Shelter in Hoang City?"
"I know."
When the boatman heard "Sunshine Shelter in Hoang City," his eyes lit up, a light of longing for that place.
He really wanted to go there, but the journey was too far. The zombies encountered on the way were countless. Some survivors who set off before told them, "Don't worry, as long as I get there, I will definitely tell them that there are people here waiting for rescue. I will definitely bring people back to save you."
At that time, many people waited with hope.
But they had been waiting until now... no news, no hope. That sparkling light gradually dissipated in their hearts, until it vanished without a trace.
"Very good, I'm from the Sunshine Shelter in Hoang City. My name is Lam Pham. If you've read the Zombie Illustration Book, you must know my name."
"Ah..."
The boatman's eyes suddenly widened, his mouth agape, looking at Lam Pham in front of him in disbelief.
"You... are Lam Pham?"
"You've heard of me?"
"Mm, although I haven't read the Zombie Illustration Book, someone has. Someone told us about it. We've always had people wanting to go to Hoang City. Many people have gone, but there has been no news. Did they arrive, so that's how you knew we were here?"
The joyful boatman's eyes turned red, his emotions appearing very agitated.
Lam Pham wanted to say that no one had told us about this place, that he came here because Hong Nhat Martial Arts School contacted us. But he didn't say so. The survivors who went towards Hoang City and still hadn't arrived must have died on the way.
No matter what, if they had really reached Hoang City, they would definitely have told him about the situation here. If even one had arrived, then none of this would have happened.
"Yes, they arrived," Lam Pham said.