(1) Nonsense, I'm not a three-second man (1)

"Officer Hoang, are you alright?"

The current situation made Lam Pham a little nervous.

Just now, Officer Hoang was fine, then suddenly he collapsed to the ground, his whole body trembling. Could it be that Ma Nhat Long's kick had caused Officer Hoang internal injuries?

Impossible, absolutely impossible.

"Groan... groan..."

Officer Hoang let out a low growl.

The body hidden under the clothes seemed to be expanding, and popping sounds could be heard, as if firecrackers were exploding inside him.

"This..."

Faced with this situation, Lam Pham was somewhat at a loss.

If he were a doctor, he might have taken Officer Hoang's wrist and properly checked his pulse. But he wasn't, so he could only watch helplessly.

"Could it be that Ma Nhat Long's flesh and blood are problematic?"

He thought about the real possibility.

Officer Hoang was fine, but after biting Ma Nhat Long, this situation occurred. Thinking about various possibilities, the more he thought, the more likely it seemed.

Looking at the ordinary-looking corpse, with fresh blood flowing from it.

What secrets were hidden within?

Right now, all he could do was stare intently, watching Officer Hoang's situation. Those low growls reminded him of one thing: a woman giving birth, veins bulging, her face contorted in extreme pain.

"Officer Hoang, hang in there! This is the beginning of your evolution, a true evolution!"

Lam Pham could feel an indescribable power surging within Officer Hoang's body.

A moment later.

The trembling Officer Hoang regained his composure. The bulging veins slowly receded, hidden beneath the skin. Watching Officer Hoang slowly stand up, he observed keenly.

He didn't find any difference in Officer Hoang.

But very quickly...

He noticed a very subtle change: Officer Hoang's pale eyes seemed to flicker with a hint of human-like light. Blank eyes versus eyes with spirit – one could tell the difference with the naked eye.

"Officer Hoang, can you understand what I'm saying? Do you have your own consciousness?"

Lam Pham asked expectantly. He knew Officer Hoang was a zombie, but no one had ever stipulated that a zombie couldn't have its own consciousness. The body was just a vessel; the essence within the vessel was the spirit and consciousness.

This was the most important thing.

"Groan... groan."

Officer Hoang growled at Lam Pham.

"Officer Hoang, can you please not roar? Just say one word, anything." Lam Pham didn't know what Officer Hoang's "groan groan" sound was trying to express.

But if Officer Hoang could speak.

Then he would truly understand.

For example: Little Pham, you're so good.

Then he would understand, oh, Officer Hoang was praising him. But this "groan groan" now was very difficult to understand.

Officer Hoang looked at Lam Pham, then growled towards the station. Dong Dong, who was inside, appeared and walked up to Officer Hoang.

Lam Pham hadn't expected Officer Hoang to directly tear off Ma Nhat Long's arm and place it in front of Dong Dong. This situation already revealed a certain meaning.

Lam Pham had some idea in his heart.

It was that Officer Hoang had obtained some benefit from Ma Nhat Long's flesh and blood, and thus wanted Dong Dong to also have a taste.

Dong Dong stared at the bloody arm.

And began to gnaw.

"Will it be the same as Officer Hoang?"

Lam Pham watched with anticipation.

If it really was the same, then it indicated one problem: the flesh and blood of an Awakened was useful to zombies.

Sure enough.

Dong Dong, after gnawing on the arm, reacted exactly like Officer Hoang, collapsing to the ground and trembling all over, veins bulging. Because of Officer Hoang's precedent, Lam Pham wasn't flustered at all, just very curious.

What exactly happened in there?

What exactly had changed?

He wished desperately that Officer Hoang could speak and tell him the truth of the matter.

"So anxious. If Professor Ha were here, he would definitely be able to see some problems," Lam Pham muttered to himself.

In a moment.

Dong Dong recovered from his trembling, seemingly without much change. The only change to speak of was that Dong Dong's eyes were exactly like Officer Hoang's just now – they flickered with a hint of human light.

"Officer Hoang, Dong Dong, what exactly has changed about you? Can you tell me?"

Lam Pham really wanted to know.

There was definitely a change in there.

To say there was no change would be a lie.

"Groan... groan..."

Officer Hoang growled at Lam Pham.

"Groan... groan..."

Dong Dong also growled at Lam Pham.

Seeing the big one and the small one growling at him, Lam Pham scratched his head, lost in confusion. He could mumble and talk to Officer Hoang, but that was him talking his talk, and Officer Hoang talking his. As for what was specifically being said, whether there was effective communication, it wasn't important at all.

"Have you changed?" Lam Pham continued to ask.

"Groan... groan..."

"Groan... groan..."

Lam Pham: ...?

Alright then.

This situation was also something Lam Pham had expected; he knew this would be the result.

Besides clearing Hoang City's zombies, Lam Pham also had to observe various zombie situations. Knowing it himself wasn't enough; he also had to tell Hung Uong, so Hung Uong could tell Professor Ha.

Only true scholars could find solutions.

"Officer Hoang, our communication is like playing the lute to a water buffalo. You say your piece, I say mine. It was originally like this, but I know the flesh and blood of an Awakened definitely brought about a change in you."

"Then this mutilated corpse, I'll take it away first. I think it can be properly studied."

Lam Pham said.

Officer Hoang looked at Lam Pham, still groaning.

Lam Pham understood Officer Hoang's situation, nodded silently, then took Ma Nhat Long's corpse and left the police station.

After he left.

Officer Hoang lowered his head, looked at his arm. His originally normal human five fingers suddenly, flesh and blood merged, actually transforming into a flesh spike, and then from a flesh spike into five sharp claws, finally returning to normal fingers.

If Lam Pham had seen this, he would absolutely have exclaimed in shock.

Evolution, this was evolution.

The zombie had broken its inherent limits, its flesh and blood structure had changed, thereby gaining extraordinary abilities.

Officer Hoang squatted in front of Dong Dong, his eyes, now with some spirit, stared at Dong Dong, opened his mouth, "Oi... Ah..."

As if saying something.

But he could only make strange "Oi... Ah..." sounds.

Dong Dong tilted his head, looking at Officer Hoang, "Oi... Ya..."

Hearing this sound.

Officer Hoang slowly stood up, patted Dong Dong's head. In terms of behavior, his situation was already clearly different from other zombies. Before gnawing on the Awakened's flesh and blood, he could hold a child's hand, could escort survivors to Duong Quang Residential Area. This was because the rationality that remained after he turned into a zombie made him do so.

And now, after gnawing on the Awakened's flesh and blood, he had developed more towards humanization than before, though the effect of this development was not yet obvious.

His body had also undergone a very strong evolution.

Then, Officer Hoang led Dong Dong towards the inside of the police station.

Officer Hoang had gnawed on quite a few crystals, progressing from an ordinary zombie with rationality to one that could hunt evolved zombies. That was a growth in strength.

But he had never undergone a qualitative change.

Now, having gnawed on an Awakened, a qualitative change had occurred.

If not for the vast difference, perhaps he shared common aspects with the mature stage hybrid-type zombie Lam Pham had previously killed.

In the distance.

Lam Pham, carrying Ma Nhat Long's corpse, stood on the rooftop of a shop. A zombie below saw Lam Pham appear, roared ferociously, and dug its hands into the wall, wanting to climb up and devour Lam Pham.

"An ordinary zombie, no rationality, no consciousness. If it gnaws on the flesh and blood of an Awakened, will there be a different change?"

He was now like a scholar, lacking rich knowledge to support him, able only to rely on real experiments for verification.

Grabbing Ma Nhat Long's arm, he threw it downwards, hitting the zombie in the face.

The roaring zombie looked at the bloody arm, suddenly pounced, grabbed the arm, and began to gnaw frantically. Muffled sounds, the clear sound of the zombie tearing at flesh and blood could be heard.

"Indeed, no rationality. Officer Hoang merely tasted it, yet you're actually treating it like a meal."

Lam Pham shook his head.

From this, one could see the gap between common zombies and Officer Hoang.

As the ordinary zombie gnawed away the flesh and blood arm, he found that this ordinary zombie before him underwent a change. It didn't fall to the ground trembling, but rather its mouth gaped open, roaring ferociously. A steamed bun-like growth bulged at its neck, constantly expanding, and in a flash, it covered its entire shoulder.

"Groan... groan..."

The ordinary zombie roared ferociously, its arms and legs also swelling. Its physique suddenly grew taller, its body undergoing an astonishing mutation. It looked savage and暴戾 (baoli - brutal/tyrannical).

Soon, the mutation ended.

The ordinary zombie before him had undergone an earth-shattering change, already an extremely ugly mutated zombie. Seeing Lam Pham standing on the second-floor platform, it no longer continued to dig at the wall, but suddenly smashed into the glass door. With a bang, the glass door shattered, and the zombie rushed into the shop.

Rumble! Rumble!

The zombie reached the second-floor window, wanting to climb onto the rooftop from the window.

Watching that decayed arm grab the edge of the rooftop, the ordinary zombie climbed up like a spider, half its body already on the rooftop.

Thwack!

Lam Pham stomped on the zombie's head, crushing it.

"How could it be different?"

Lam Pham pondered.

After Officer Hoang and Dong Dong devoured the flesh, their eyes clearly had some human light. Their bodies didn't undergo any mutation.

Conversely, these irrational ordinary zombies, their bodies mutated, in an abnormal state, and they seemed to have some intelligence, actually knowing to break the glass and climb up from the second-floor window. Isn't this more brainy than other zombies?

"Berserk, mutated, slightly intelligent, enhanced climbing ability..."

Analyzing the situation just now.

He came to a conclusion: the flesh and blood of an Awakened had different effects on different types of zombies.

Science is about obtaining results through continuous verification.

For ordinary zombies, gnawing on the flesh and blood of an Awakened could bring about a certain strengthening effect.

Carrying Ma Nhat Long's two-armless corpse.

He continued his experiments.

Another ordinary zombie, after gnawing on Ma Nhat Long's leg, also mutated, its temper becoming even more berserk. It actually started gnawing on its own kind nearby. And when it saw Lam Pham, it seemed to know it was no match and even had thoughts of fleeing.

"Such a complex mutation situation. People are different; even when turned into zombies, will it cause different zombie mutations?"

The previous one had a steamed bun-like growth on its neck.

And the one just now had a steamed bun-like growth on its arm.

He continued to find an evolved zombie, a strength-type one. After it gnawed on Ma Nhat Long's entire mutilated body, it also became extraordinarily savage and also underwent a physical mutation and evolution.

"The sinful Ma Nhat Long didn't die in vain. I didn't expect the flesh and blood of an Awakened to contain such abilities. For zombies, it's like an evolutionary key, and the evolution is extremely direct."

"Should I tell Hung Uong?"

He thought about this matter.

Mainly, he was afraid that bad people would find out that the flesh and blood of an Awakened was like a catalyst for zombies, able to cause zombie riots and mutated evolution, making them more savage and berserk than other zombies.

They could even evolve various strengths where they once had weaknesses.

Such as climbing ability, or... intelligence.

Nighttime.

Lam Pham, having returned from clearing zombies and showered, went to the balcony and called Hung Uong on the satellite phone.

"Hey, was the return journey smooth?"

The call connected.

Lam Pham asked about their situation.

"Thank you for your concern, everything was smooth, didn't encounter any trouble." Hung Uong replied. The only situation was the Yen Tu lure. The straight saber on his back had never killed a person, but today it had broken that precept. There was no other way. Perhaps some would say, you are a soldier, you should clearly protect your compatriots; even if they did something wrong, you can't just kill them.

But for Hung Uong.

Special circumstances, special methods for special circumstances, no reason needed.

He even felt afterward that he hadn't killed wrongly.

That house belonged to an elderly couple. They had come there, and the old people took them in, only to be cruelly murdered by them. What he did was also considered eliminating evil for the people.

Lam Pham said, "When will you reach the base?"

"Smoothly, it will be tomorrow."

Lam Pham said, "I have something here, a relatively important matter. I want to talk with Professor Ha."

"Understood. When we reach the base, I'll have Professor Ha call you back."

Hung Uong could tell that the matter Lam Pham was talking about might be very important. As for the current situation in the three major bases, honestly, they were just soldiers. To put it simply, they were just attackers who could fight against zombies. Those experts were scientific researchers. Whether they were all trustworthy was still hard to say.

New discoveries in science and technology were exciting news for any scientist, more exciting than taking drugs.

If any research result that could change the human situation appeared.

It was hard to say if all experts were reliable.

Greed was, among all human desires, the one most unwillingly acknowledged, yet the most universally existing.

He hung up the phone.

Lam Pham returned to his room and began writing in his notebook, recording everything he had witnessed today and all the experimental results.

"Am I considered half a practical scientific research expert now?"

Lam Pham thought, perhaps he could discuss salary with Professor Ha.

The work I do might be the most tiring and dangerous.

After a while.

Recording complete.

He unexpectedly found a notebook, picked it up and put it away carefully. A photo floated out from within the notebook.

Lam Pham bent down to pick it up, looked at the photo, and gradually became lost in thought.

In the photo.

A woman and a child.

The child was making a V-sign, smiling very happily, as if the whole world in his eyes was so beautiful.

He silently looked at the photo, gently stroking that piece of paper that could only be imprinted in the photo, its face obscured by something drawn over it. He flipped it over; the blank back had writing on it.

[Hope my Fan Fan can be healthy, very happy, and forever fortunate.] [2014.2.2]

He desperately wanted to know what this face looked like, but in his mind, the memory was really vague, he really couldn't recall it.

When he was sensible, he thought of finding the woman in the photo, other photos, but he searched the entire house and couldn't find a single one.

He knew the person in the photo with him was someone very, very important to him.

Lam Pham muttered to himself.

"Mm, she must have been very beautiful."

He stared at the photo for a long, long time, perhaps for half an hour. He came back to his senses, carefully placed the photo back in the notebook, and put it away.

"Time for bed."

Lam Pham lay on the bed, tucked Manh Manh, who was sound asleep, under the blanket, smiled faintly, closed his eyes, thinking of having a dream. What he wanted most was to dream of that unseen face, to know what it looked like.

It was just that many times, it was always so vague.

...

Prison.

In a gloomy room, on a comfortable bed.

Ha Minh Hien looked at the sleeping Ton Nang, his eyes without any ripple, completely calm. He then looked at the pistol placed on the nightstand.

That was Ton Nang's pistol.

It was usually placed on the nightstand.

Ha Minh Hien couldn't sleep. He felt he was no longer his former self. His past pride and impulsive temper were completely gone. He had never thought that the apocalypse could cause such a huge change in a person's personality.

He thought of secretly taking the gun and killing Ton Nang, telling him, I, Ha Minh Hien, am not someone who can be casually trampled upon.

He thought of what Ton Nang had done to him.

Was that something a man could endure?

Was that something that he, who once dominated the internet with the ID "Autumn Saber Slashes Fish Shotgun," should experience?

Thinking carefully.

Before the apocalypse, he loved to flame people, loved to leave lewd comments under videos of beautiful women, was also stingy, and liked to take advantage of others.

After the apocalypse, he was played by others, played others, was insulted, trampled upon, and ridiculed.

He clearly wanted to resist, but he... felt he really didn't have such courage.

Whenever he thought, "I want to stand up, I want to awaken, kill the person who bullies me," it was as if a voice in his head told him, "Don't do that, or you will die a very miserable death."

In the quiet room, there was the thumping of his heart, and Ton Nang's sleeping breath.

A moment later.

Ha Minh Hien looked at the pistol placed on the nightstand. As if possessed, he slowly reached out, without making a sound, and took the gun.

In the dim environment, he pointed the pistol at Ton Nang.

His hand was trembling slightly.

Just pull the trigger, and everything would be over. He could then stand up from endless humiliation, tell everyone, no one can bully me, Ha Minh Hien.

Looking at Ton Nang's face, the hand holding the gun trembled.

Finally...

He sighed softly, cursed himself for being truly useless, then quietly placed the gun far away, lay down, stared at the ceiling, lost in thought. Not long after, snores like a water buffalo, with a rhythmic rise and fall, began.

Ton Nang, turned on his side, his back to Ha Minh Hien, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Early morning.

Ton Nang got out of bed. Ha Minh Hien had left early.

He looked at the pistol on the nightstand.

"Looks plump, yet so timid, just like that one. Truly a little cutie."

Ton Nang picked up the gun, took out bullets from under his pillow, and loaded them one by one.

Well...

This gun was out of bullets.

...

"Professor Ha?"

Lam Pham answered the satellite phone.

"It's me. Hung Uong already told me you have something important to tell me, so I called you as soon as they informed me."

At the base, Professor Ha was in the laboratory, looking at the experimental sample containing blood in front of him, already about to lose his patience, wanting to study it thoroughly.

"Did you get Van Van's blood?"

"Got it, and I also know about the Awakened ones you mentioned. I didn't expect there to be truly special individuals among humans. This is of great research value to us and also provides us with a direction." Professor Ha was very emotional. Staying at the base all the time, the information he received was limited. He was truly grateful for Lam Pham's contribution.

If it weren't for the existence of someone like Lam Pham among humans.

He couldn't even imagine how the road ahead should be walked. The formation and research and development of battle armor definitely couldn't have been done in such a short period.

Honestly, if there were still meritorious service awards, then Lam Pham's actions were definitely of the highest merit, irreplaceable.

"Professor Ha, what I'm about to say next is somewhat important. I hope after you hear it, you can think carefully about whether it needs to be told to others."

Professor Ha's expression became solemn, "Alright."

"Yesterday, I went out and discovered another Awakened one. After Officer Hoang of Hoang City, who possesses rationality, gnawed on him, Officer Hoang underwent some evolution; his eyes had a human-like glow. And I let other ordinary zombies taste the Awakened's flesh and blood, and found that those zombies underwent various different mutated evolutions. They would become more berserk, bloodthirsty, their strength would also increase somewhat, and situations like climbing and tactical retreat could appear.

Also, the Awakened one I sent to Officer Hoang's side, after being bitten by Officer Hoang, did not transform into a zombie. I think Awakened ones can resist the zombie virus."