Simple food.
The scent of freshly cooked rice filled the room, so rich that it made one's mouth water just from the smell.
In the apocalypse, being able to enjoy the aroma of freshly cooked rice was truly a luxury.
At that moment—
Thump, thump...
A loud sound came from outside.
The noise startled not only Lam Pham but also the other survivors in the Duong Quang apartment complex.
"What's happening?"
Lam Pham carried his bowl of rice onto the balcony and looked out. The sound didn't come from nearby but from farther away. He soon noticed that zombies from all directions were staggering out of hiding, chasing after the source of the sound.
At Room 603.
The four elderly people were having lunch. Hearing the commotion, they looked confused at first but listened carefully.
Old Man Vuong said, "That sound is like the old bell at Huong Mat Troi Street. But it's been years since I heard it. Back then, the bell was so loud it scared an old man with a heart condition. They had to report it, and afterward, the bell was shut down."
Tu Que Phan glanced at her watch. "It's twelve o'clock. Just the top of the hour. Someone must have fixed the bell and rang it again. The sound can last for several minutes. With this sudden noise, the zombies are bound to be attracted, giving survivors a few precious minutes to scavenge supplies."
Old Man Chu said, "Whoever did this is truly a good person. Even in the apocalypse, there are those willing to take risks, using the bell to lure zombies away and buy others some time. It shows that hope still exists in these dark times."
Old Lady Luong Yen fully agreed with this sentiment.
At the cake shop.
To Tieu Hieu was so startled by the sudden noise that she trembled all over. She lifted a corner of the curtain cautiously and peeked outside.
What she saw was terrifying—hordes of zombies rushing madly toward the sound.
"So scary..."
She didn't dare leave.
The cake shop was good enough—at least for now, food wasn't a problem. She preferred to stay quietly hidden here. When she eventually ran out of food, she would consider dying in place.
If she ventured outside and ran into zombies, the pain of being torn apart would be unimaginable.
If she encountered bad people, she would be violated and humiliated. Worse still, she might be gang-raped. Just thinking about that made her decide it was better to die here.
At this moment—
She heard voices outside.
Peeking carefully again.
"There are survivors nearby!" To Tieu Hieu was shocked.
She had been hiding here for so long without spotting another living person. She thought her shop's doors were a lucky shield—otherwise, the cake shop would have been the first target.
She saw a group of survivors—both men and women—haggard and desperate, raiding a store like bandits, loading up whatever they could find.
They moved quickly, clearly afraid of being discovered by zombies.
As they passed her cake shop, one of them pointed toward her storefront and said something to another person. But after a brief conversation, they rushed away.
To Tieu Hieu shrank back, terrified.
In her heart, she thought:
"Have they discovered me?"
She feared survivors more than zombies. Every novel she read about the apocalypse told her: Trust no one.
Meanwhile.
A giant metallic beast sat quietly by the roadside.
As the bell tower blared, waves of zombies flooded out from every direction toward the source of the sound.
"Big Sis, your idea is brilliant. From now on, every day at noon will be our golden opportunity to scavenge!" Tu Trach Duong said with a laugh.
The woman known as "Big Sis" said, "This trick won't work forever."
Tu Trach Duong understood. If any zombie among them evolved intelligence, they would realize this was a trap.
As more and more zombies rushed toward the bell tower—
Once the way was clear—
"Move! We only have two minutes to grab whatever we can. Take as much as possible!" Big Sis ordered.
They had risked everything to repair the bell, not just for themselves but to give hope to other survivors too.
Directly fighting the zombies was not a smart move.
Zombies were terrifying: their crazed expressions were frightening enough, and their mindless, relentless attacks left no room for error. One small mistake meant getting bitten—and being bitten meant death.
They had seen people get bitten before.
It took ten seconds—only ten seconds—for someone bitten to turn into a zombie. The speed of infection was horrifying.
At the bell tower.
Countless zombies swarmed the area.
They were drawn by the bell's loud ringing.
How far could the sound reach?
Across the entire Hoang City, this gathering was but a drop in the ocean compared to the total zombie population.
The zombies roared ferociously, clawing at the air, reaching for the sound above them.
Bang!
Boom!
Suddenly, from within the zombie horde, a massive figure resembling a tank barreled forward.
It was a special kind of zombie.
Its body was massive like a small hill. With each swing of its gigantic arms, it smashed aside dozens of ordinary zombies, clearing a bloody path toward the bell tower.
Its grotesque head twisted upward toward the bell.
With a sudden leap—swift as a spider—it climbed up the tower at incredible speed, let out a ferocious roar, and smashed the bell with a devastating punch.
ROAR!
The giant zombie howled.
The zombie horde followed suit, their deafening cries shaking the skies.
Without the bell to draw them, the zombies dispersed again in all directions.
Far away, on the rooftop of a tall building—
"So terrifying... That thing's climbing ability and brute strength are unstoppable," said a short-haired man holding binoculars. He observed the bell tower from afar and watched the tide of zombies charge toward it when the bell rang.
His name was Co Hang—a soldier who had served nine years in the military, reaching the rank of senior sergeant. Who would have thought that right after returning home for a visit, the apocalypse would strike?
Zombies—things only seen in movies—were now terrifyingly real.
As the zombies moved away, Co Hang quietly left the rooftop.
The elevators were blocked by furniture, and the stairwells were barricaded too, just in case. It was the only way to survive.
Back inside his apartment—
Co Hang saw a few survivors collapsed weakly inside. When he entered, all eyes turned toward him.
He was the only soldier among them.
In this world now, he was like a pillar of hope to the few survivors here.
There were six people: four women, Co Hang, and one other man.
One of the women was heavily pregnant, and the other man was her husband.
Originally, there were more survivors here.
But after disagreements, they had split up, and nobody knew the fate of those who left.
"Co ca, how's it looking?" the man asked nervously.
Co Hang shook his head. "Not good. The bell sound was likely created by another group of survivors. They lured the zombies away, but the bell was quickly destroyed. How's your wife? Is she still in pain?"
The man replied, "A bit better, but... I think she'll give birth in the next few days. I'm scared... I—"
Co Hang patted him on the shoulder and said gravely, "Don't worry. I'm here."
Other than words of comfort, there wasn't much else he could do.
In the apocalypse, giving birth in a hospital was out of the question. Here, childbirth was even more dangerous. One scream could attract zombies.
If heavy bleeding occurred...What would they do then?
The man lowered his head. Although Co Hang's words gave him a great sense of reassurance, he knew this was an extremely dangerous situation — it was very possible that his wife might truly die.
Meanwhile, the three surviving women comforted each other.
Why did they choose to stay here?
First and foremost, it was because they trusted Co Hang — a kind of trust one naturally had in a soldier.
The survivors who had left had tried to persuade them to go along, but staying by the side of a pregnant woman, they knew, could mean dying without even knowing how it happened.
Even so, they refused to leave.
Because in the eyes of those departing survivors, they had seen a naked, predatory gaze.
They were afraid.
They would rather stay here than leave with them.
"You all stay here and wait for me. I'm going out to look for some supplies," Co Hàng said after glancing at the pregnant woman, thinking for a moment, then making up his mind to go out and prepare for the worst.
"Cố-ge, I'll go with you."
"No need. You stay here and take care of them. My physical condition is better than yours. If I run into danger, I can still climb out and escape," Co Hàng said with a smile.