(1) Even With Just a One Percent Chance, I Have to Try (1)

"There's a problem, definitely a problem."

Lying in bed, Ngo Hao tossed and turned, unable to sleep. His mind was filled with thoughts about Little Tue's situation. It was impossible for her to disappear for no reason.

Besides, this is the apocalypse; where could a woman with an injured leg go? The more he thought, the more it felt wrong, but he couldn't pinpoint what was strange.

Drifting off into a light sleep, with his mind preoccupied, his nerves were on edge; the slightest sound would startle him awake. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open as if he'd thought of something. He shot up, pricking his ears. There was movement outside.

Ngo Hao peered through the wooden door. In the darkness, it seemed like figures were moving, and he could hear a whimpering sound.

"What are they doing?"

Ngo Hao was very confused. He tiptoed out the door and followed them. He had confirmed there were people in the darkness, but he still didn't know what was happening.

After following for a while.

Ngo Hao hid in the shadows. Ahead were two mysterious survivors carrying a large sack. The whimpering sound was coming from inside it.

They carried the sack into an abandoned house.

"What is this about?"

Ngo Hao was very puzzled, but no matter what they were doing, he knew it was nothing good. It was even possible that Little Tue's disappearance was related to this.

His worry for Little Tue was one thing, but more importantly... this whole place reeked of strangeness.

Just as he was thinking about these things.

The two mysterious people who had just entered the house came back out. Watching their figures disappear into the darkness, Ngo Hao gritted his teeth, hesitated, and finally decided to take the risk to find out the truth.

He stealthily approached the house. It had no windows, so he could only press his ear to the door to listen for any movement inside. There wasn't a single sound, which made him extremely confused. Even footsteps would have been something.

Although he was a fake Awakened one with seemingly no real power, when he became an Awakened, his physical attributes had been fully enhanced, and his hearing was particularly sharp.

And yet, with such keen hearing, he couldn't detect any movement inside the room.

"Strange, could it be empty?" Ngo Hao frowned, thinking.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps in the distance. It must be the patrol heading this way. Thinking that he would be in trouble if discovered, he didn't hesitate and directly opened the door, slipping inside.

Pressing himself against the wooden door, he listened to the footsteps fade into the distance before slowly letting out a sigh of relief. Then, he assessed the situation in the room. It was empty.

Where was the person who was just put into the sack? Ngo Hao's mind was filled with question marks.

He was puzzled by this.

Of course, he didn't believe anyone here could make a person vanish into thin air. He thought of plots from TV shows, like a secret passage in the floor.

It was a very common trope.

Searching the floor, he actually found it. Lifting a floorboard, a brightly lit passage appeared before him.

"A little nervous, a little scared."

Faced with the mysterious unknown, everyone has the desire to explore. Even knowing there might be danger ahead, he couldn't suppress the curiosity in his heart.

He entered the passage, probing into the unknown.

Ngo Hao was extremely careful, not daring to make a sound. The passage seemed normal, but he didn't expect the end to open up into a completely different world. His field of vision instantly widened.

But a single glance was enough to terrify him. Countless corpses were hung on iron hooks like dead pigs.

Ngo Hao clamped his hand over his mouth, almost screaming in terror. The air was filled with a pungent, foul stench, as if he had walked into a human purgatory.

He collapsed onto the ground, his pupils constricted, unable to regain his senses for a long time.

"What in the world is this place..."

He stared blankly at the countless bodies. Some were already decaying, and he could clearly see maggots writhing in the flesh. If not for the tragic scenes he had witnessed in the apocalypse, he would have started vomiting long ago.

Just as he was wondering what to do, he heard the sound of a conversation.

"One part relatively fresh, add three parts rotten, then throw in all sorts of spices to make it taste like pork, and you're good."

"Bro, this is a combination of technology and cruel work."

"Haha, without adding this stuff, even a dog might not eat it."

Hearing their conversation.

Ngo Hao's face turned pale, and his breathing became ragged. He knew this place had a problem, but listening to them talk, he couldn't quite form a concrete picture in his mind.

He stealthily peeked his head out to watch.

Not far away, he saw two men wearing cowhide aprons, holding iron hooks. A pulley system was in operation, bringing a hanging corpse over to them, which they then threw into a machine.

The machine resembled a meat grinder.

Ngo Hao was completely stunned by the scene before him. Hearing the grinding sound, a powerful, instinctual revulsion made his stomach churn, and an overwhelming urge to vomit surged through him.

Thinking about the sausage he'd been given as food, could that be... He didn't dare to imagine.

Meanwhile, the two men grinding the corpses were long accustomed to the situation. Even with piles of bright red blood and flesh before them, it didn't stir any emotion in their hearts.

"Get the ratio right, add spices, and no one can tell the difference."

"Bro, I heard some people say they found things like fingernail fragments and hair in the sausages. The higher-ups told us to be cleaner, that it's best to shave the hair and pull out the fingernails first."

"Haha, they're lucky to have anything to eat, and they're still being picky? Whoever complains can come do this job. I'm not doing it."

"Alright then."

Ngo Hao was drenched in a cold sweat. He was now one hundred percent certain. What they were saying was exactly what he had thought.

He wanted to leave.

But his legs were trembling so much that he couldn't stand up properly.

After a moment.

His condition improved a bit. He controlled his breathing rate, telling himself not to be afraid, to stay calm, absolutely stay calm, and never give in to fear. This method of self-adjustment was indeed helpful.

After calming down a little, he hurriedly turned around. The same way he came in was the way he would go back.

As soon as he got back to the room.

Ngo Hao couldn't hold it in any longer. He knelt on the ground and wretched violently. There was clearly nothing in his stomach, but the urge to vomit overwhelmed his mind, making it unbearable.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

When faced with extreme terror.

Any semblance of literary grace vanishes. Only classic profanity can release the horror within.

"Little Tue is definitely dead."

He remembered when Little Tue was eating the famous sausage, she found a black hair and said the auntie was too careless. Looking back now, it wasn't an auntie's carelessness at all, it was just... Fuck.

"No, I have to get out of here."

His mind was currently a blank slate, yet all sorts of thoughts were flashing through it.

But based on his observations.

He realized that leaving would be very difficult. The sealed iron gate wouldn't be opened casually. Getting in was easy, but getting out was hard. He thought of the satellite phone; they had said to call if he encountered danger.

But the phone wasn't with him now. He was truly desperate.

He had to find a way to get his hands on the satellite phone and immediately call Lam Pham at the Hoang City Sunshine Shelter. Only he could save him, as well as the other survivors here, many of whom were probably completely unaware.

No, that's not right... He thought about the survivors here. They all acted extremely friendly, greeting everyone with big smiles.

But those smiles always felt a little off.

"Could it be that they actually know deep down, but the apocalypse has suppressed their will to resist, causing them to go with the flow, becoming soulless bodies being raised in captivity?"

When Ngo Hao thought of this, his expression grew even more horrified. He had carelessly fallen into a terrifying vortex.

The night was very dark, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

Even though dawn was only two or three hours away, he still couldn't see a glimmer of hope. It was pitch black, and he trembled in the darkness, utterly helpless.

...

Early morning.

Hoang City Sunshine Shelter.

"Wang Old Man, that was a really powerful move," Lam Pham said, standing to the side, watching Wang Old Man and Chu Old Man play Chinese chess. Although he didn't understand much, seeing Wang Old Man's murderous aura and Chu Old Man occasionally scratching his head, he knew Wang Old Man's chess skills were formidable.

"Little Pham, do you understand?" Wang Old Man asked with a smile.

"I don't understand," Lam Pham shook his head, then took a bite of a long breadstick. This was bread made by Tieu Hieu, with butter inside. The taste was excellent, and he really enjoyed eating it.

Wang Old Man... Alright then.

Even if he didn't understand, it didn't stop Lam Pham from saying his move was brilliant.

"How's the situation outside recently?" Wang Old Man asked while making a move.

"It's okay, but it's always been terrible. The survivors we could save are all here. For those we haven't found, their situation is likely not very good. All I can do now is ensure the safety of the Sunshine Shelter." Lam Pham felt helpless; there were things he didn't want to see, but reality was just that cruel.

Chu Old Man said, "We've distributed so many satellite phones, has no one called?"

"Few, very few. We distributed another batch yesterday. I feel that even if just one survivor manages to pick up a satellite phone, it would be a very lucky thing." Lam Pham accepted the reality. His individual strength was truly too weak, unable to affect the entire apocalypse.

"You've already done a great job," Chu Old Man said.

"That's right. If it weren't for you, where would we have such an environment? How many of the people living here would have survived the apocalypse?" Wang Old Man felt that time passed quickly; in a flash, so much time had gone by, and he never expected the Sunshine Shelter to develop to its current state.

Lam Pham said, "I can only do my best. I also want to gather more ordinary citizens, but the survivors are too scattered. It's incredibly difficult for me to find them."

Just then. The satellite phone rang.

It was Lao Chung and his team calling. They spoke briefly.

"Old Men, you two continue. Lao Chung's side has a situation, I need to go take a look," Lam Pham said.

"Go on, do your work." Lam Pham quickly departed.

The two Old Men watched Lam Pham's departing back, then turned to their chessboard. "Come on, let's continue. Watch how I'll beat the pants off you."

...

Not too far from Hoang City. Lao Chung and his team were gathered around the Steel Beast, waiting.

"Lao Chung, I'm here."

Lam Pham hurried over, waving to them, "What's the situation you mentioned?"

With Lam Pham's arrival, they felt much more relaxed, but the situation outside was still far from optimistic. Seeing hordes of zombies limping about, it was clear the danger of the outside world was always unimaginable.

They could charge through and clear out zombies without fear. But for other ordinary survivors, facing these zombies could truly be a death sentence.

"Brother Lam, look at the ground." Chuc Thanh pointed to the pitch-black, barren earth. A glance revealed it stretched far into the distance, with no end in sight.

Lao Chung squatted down, picked up a handful of the black soil, and rubbed it. The texture was terrible. "This soil has lost its vitality. No plant can grow on it. We humans rely on the earth to survive. If this situation spreads everywhere, then our extinction is not far off."

The current situation looked familiar to Lam Pham.

"This kind of situation must be the work of a Disaster-type zombie," Lam Pham said.

Dong Giai said, "The kind recorded in the Zombie Illustrated Handbook, the Disaster-type zombie that can bring destructive blows to the environment?"

"Yes, that's right. Chuc Thanh, do you see any glittering crystals?" Lam Pham asked.

Chuc Thanh looked around, concentrating his gaze. After a moment, he shook his head. "I can't see any. There are only some normal zombies and black crystal zombies. The distance is limiting my observation."

His ability had already advanced to the fourth stage, but facing the vastness of the world, it was still somewhat insufficient.

"No problem, you guys search over there, I'll search over here. Call me if you find it."

They had no choice but to search. The danger of this type of Disaster-type zombie was its destruction of the environment, causing vibrant land to lose its vitality. The two groups went their separate ways.

Lam Pham headed off into the distance, hoping for a bit of good luck to encounter the Disaster-type zombie soon. He thought that compiling the "Zombie Illustrated Handbook" was indeed a wise decision. By writing down the habits of various zombies, it was much easier to identify them when encountering similar situations.

"What a wretched zombie, why must it destroy the environment?" In his sight, the surrounding vegetation was withered, utterly desolate.

Soon.

He spotted a peculiar zombie walking in the wasteland—the very Disaster-type zombie he had been talking about.

Having taken a photo of it before, he recognized it at a glance.

The Disaster-type zombie was very tall and its whole body emitted a kind of toxic gas. On its back were bulging cysts, from which the gas was released.

The surrounding vegetation, contaminated by this gas, was instantly corroded and withered, and the ground also turned black.

"Huh, strange. How did it get so tall? The one I encountered before was only half this height."

At this moment, the walking Disaster-type zombie was like a giant roaming the world. When a normal zombie happened to pass by, it was snatched up in one hand. It pulled open its mouth, dripping with fluid, and with a crunching sound, it bit into the normal zombie's flesh and blood. After eating half, it probably felt the taste wasn't very good.

So it tossed the mangled corpse aside.

"It even eats its own kind. This type of zombie is an even greater threat." Lam Pham witnessed everything and raised his camera to capture the scene.

He found a good angle, and the shot was very clear.

The clicking sound reached the Disaster-type zombie's ears.