"Big brother, last night I painstakingly gnawed on crystals and felt my abilities have improved."
Early in the morning, Quan Hao proactively waited for Lam Pham.
It wasn't to show off.
It was just to report the situation at any time, letting his big brother know his current progress and situation.
Lam Pham smiled and said: "Yes, very good. We have many crystals. Swallow them in order and slowly improve. I think in the future, you will definitely become a very outstanding Awakened."
To see someone beside him become an Awakened and then slowly improve with the help of crystals, in his view, was truly a joyous event worth celebrating.
How he wished all the survivors in the Sunshine Shelter could become Awakened.
Being protected by others and being able to protect oneself were two different things.
"Big brother, I'm guarding the main gate now. I dare not say much else, but I dare to guarantee that absolutely no zombies or evil people will be able to rush in."
Quan Hao patted his chest, solemnly guaranteeing.
In the past, he would only say, "I'm just a gatekeeper."
But now it was different.
He was no longer just a gatekeeper.
But a strength-type Awakened gatekeeper.
"Yes, I believe you."
Lam Pham patted Quan Hao's shoulder very seriously. People full of fighting spirit often deserved encouragement. Although Hoang City had no more zombies, Quan Hao having such thoughts was truly gratifying.
Receiving his big brother's approval, Quan Hao took a deep breath, involuntarily puffed out his chest, and grinned, looking extremely proud.
"Then... Big brother, I've already become an Awakened. When can I also have my own set of battle armor?"
This was Quan Hao's ultimate goal.
That's right, he just wanted his own set of battle armor. Such a small request made Quan Hao feel a little uneasy.
He didn't know if Brother Lam would agree.
Seeing Old Chung wearing battle armor, he looked truly incredibly cool.
If he could have his own set of battle armor, he would be truly satisfied in this life.
"You will. I will arrange it for you."
Seeing Quan Hao's expectant look, Lam Pham couldn't help but smile. Sure enough, battle armor held an infinite allure for any male.
Quan Hao had wanted it before, but thinking that he wasn't an Awakened, even if he had battle armor, it would be useless and a waste of resources. Now that he had become an Awakened, he wanted to give it a try.
How could he not see through such thoughts?
"Really? Thank you, Brother Lam!"
Quan Hao was so excited he was about to jump up.
"Don't worry, you'll have it too."
As the production line and base were all moved to Hoang City, the machines producing battle armor would never stop running. Moreover, Professor Ha had already arranged most of the manpower on the production line.
As for the research work on the zombie virus, only Professor Ha was in charge.
After Lam Pham left.
Quan Hao calculated the crystals he used last night. He had just awakened his ability, so naturally, he had to ask someone familiar about the situation. Old Chung was a strength-type Awakened, so he asked Old Chung what to do at the very beginning.
He heard Old Chung say to take it slow at the beginning, not to be too anxious. Crystals could easily get stuck in the throat, so before swallowing, one needed to moisten the throat to prevent embarrassing situations.
Regarding this, he seriously listened to the old senior's advice and cautiously swallowed.
The first time he used it, he was a little unaccustomed.
His mouth was stuffed full.
Saliva couldn't help but drip from the corner of his mouth.
For some reason, Quan Hao felt a sense of shame, as if he had done something very embarrassing.
With his mind full of strengthening, he forced himself to swallow. As the crystal fell into his stomach, a warm current enveloped his whole body. This was what Old Chung had said: the crystal was being digested, thereby transferring the crystal's energy to the whole body, enhancing his own abilities.
"Quan Hao, how does it feel to be an Awakened?"
Vuong Khai, who was guarding the post, came over with bread, looking at Quan Hao with envious eyes.
Last night, he tossed and turned, thought over and over, but resolutely couldn't figure out why he, Vuong Khai, couldn't become an Awakened. I, Vuong Khai, have good character and good looks. Why doesn't heaven favor this handsome me even a little?
Quan Hao noticed Vuong Khai's envious gaze and felt extremely pleased in his heart.
"Oh, what can it feel like? It's just that my waist doesn't ache anymore, and my legs don't hurt. Nothing else, really. But to be honest, after becoming an Awakened, my mental state is really different."
As he said these words.
He noticed Vuong Khai's gaze change slightly.
Quan Hao patted Vuong Khai's shoulder and said: "Brother Khai, say no more. I believe you."
"What do you believe?"
"I believe Brother Khai will definitely become an Awakened too. If there's anything you don't understand then, you can come find me anytime."
Vuong Khai: "...?"
In an instant.
He felt a deep malice hit him in the face.
"Brother Khai, I'll get busy first. If you need anything, find me."
Quan Hao waved his hand and bid farewell to Vuong Khai. Just as he was about to leave, he stopped again, turned his head, and said:
"I'll also have my own set of battle armor soon. I remember Brother Khai always wanted to try on battle armor. When my battle armor arrives, I'll lend it to you to try."
After speaking, he left without looking back.
Vuong Khai watched that receding back, stubbornly pursing his lips. If he could cry, he really wanted to cry. He always thought he was the chosen one. If new Awakened ones appeared, there would surely be a place for him.
Unfortunately... it wasn't.
And... battle armor was about to be obtained. Truly, truly envious.
Oh heaven, I am willing to use my younger brother's shortening by eighteen centimeters as a price to become an Awakened.
Lam Pham walked outside the iron bars. Under the efforts of the group during this recent period, the zombie corpses outside had been mostly cleaned up. Apart from some viscous blood clots left on the ground, the corpse fragments or internal organs had all been cleared away.
He arrived at the deep pit where the zombie corpses were piled.
The originally very deep pit was now already piled with countless zombie corpses.
This was all the result of the group's united efforts. Relying on oneself alone, if one wanted to pile these zombie corpses here with individual strength, who knows how long it would take.
Unity is victory.
"The smell is really unbearable."
Lam Pham pointed to his nose and frowned. Thinking about it, with so many corpses piled up for so long, if there was no smell, it would truly be a ghost.
How to deal with these zombie corpses in the deep pit before him?
He thought of burying them.
This was relatively reliable.
Burning was definitely not an option. He seemed to have heard someone say before that sulfur in human protein would form sulfur dioxide after burning. Well... he didn't know the specific situation.
Who knew if it was true or false.
So it was better to follow the process of the ancestors: earth burial was best. Buried under the earth, it could also nourish the land. In the future, planting some flowers and grass on top would surely make them grow very lushly.
"Mr. Lam."
Ha Khanh walked over with a smile on his face.
Lam Pham said: "Good morning."
"Good morning."
A very ordinary exchange, yet it revealed a kind of warm life everywhere.
"Mr. Lam, regarding the deep pit before us, we were thinking of covering it with earth," Ha Khanh seemed to understand Lam Pham's intention in coming here. Clearly, he was thinking about how to deal with this deep pit.
Therefore, he stated his own thoughts.
Lam Pham said: "Yes, same as what I thought. Earth burial is relatively good."
"Earth burial is good, but the area is a bit large." Ha Khanh thought, with such a large area, where would they find so much earth to bury it?
"Let me think about it." Lam Pham stroked his chin, pondering. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration came to his mind, and he said excitedly: "I seem to have thought of a method, but I don't know if it will work. Let's try it first, maybe it will. If not, then we'll think of other methods."
Ha Khanh knew Lam Pham had many ideas, but he really hadn't thought of the method Lam Pham mentioned.
Then.
He saw Lam Pham ask him to step back. Then he only saw Lam Pham leap up, raise his fist, aim at the deep pit, and throw a very simple punch. In an instant, he also felt an extremely strong oppressive airflow erupt. The space visible to the naked eye seemed to be twisting.
"The feeling of suffocation is truly terrifying. In the future, I can't think about things according to ordinary people's way of thinking."
Ha Khanh muttered to himself. He had clearly seen Lam Pham's various miraculous behaviors, yet he always thought of methods with ordinary people's thinking, and had to be shocked.
He saw the deep pit, originally filled with corpses, continuously compressing under Lam Pham's oppressive force. In an instant, the corpses were compressed to only half the height of the deep pit. Then the surrounding ground exploded, and clods of earth rumbled down, covering all the exposed corpses.
Very soon, the commotion dissipated.
Lam Pham said with a smile: "See, with a little squeezing, there's always space. This method is pretty good."
Ha Khanh looked blankly at the current situation.
"Yes, yes, it's really a good method."
What could he say?
What kind of expression could he show?
He could only pretend that everything was routine, a matter of habit.
"Mr. Lam, the surrounding environment of the shelter has now been cleaned up. Dai Vu, Tieu Vu, and the others have already opened the doors of the surrounding households and done a good job with housekeeping services. The next thing is to wait for the fortresses on the other side of the two large bridges to be built, right?"
Ha Khanh knew about some recent major actions.
Things like cleaning up zombie corpses were just a part of life.
He heard the signalmen say they were preparing to cover the entire Hoang City with the base station. The original infrastructure was still there, but it had been affected since the outbreak of the apocalypse.
Currently, without the threat of zombies, repairing those devices just required hands.
By then, the signal throughout the city would be smooth.
"Ensuring Hoang City's safety is the primary factor. Other matters must be ranked after Hoang City. Currently, the 'Zombie Illustrated Guide' is continuously being distributed, and the collection of satellite phones is also in progress."
"The zombies in the surrounding cities are much more numerous than we imagined, and their evolutionary level is relatively high. Although it hasn't affected Hoang City, I'm still preparing to clean them up."
Lam Pham thought about future development, his blood boiling, instantly full of motivation.
He used to want to clean up Hoang City.
Some people thought he was daydreaming.
Now Hoang City was already safe.
And now he wanted to clean up the cities around Hoang City. No one would think he was daydreaming, right?
Ha Khanh looked at Lam Pham, a truly magical person. At least he had never seen anyone with such spirit and enthusiasm. He could clearly become the leader of a new era, control a city, and manage countless survivors.
But he didn't. He was still like other survivors, living each day ordinarily.
Even more tired than other survivors.
Ha Khanh truly had no other meaning, just as he shouted with the survivors of the Lucky Star, "Let us pursue positive energy!"