One day, a mysterious virus suddenly broke out, causing the whole world to suffer.
More than 70% of the world's population has been infected with the virus and turned into walking corpses.
These corpses no longer have the ability to perceive, every time they meet people, they will bite like rabid dogs.
They have a very keen sense of smell, especially sensitive to the smell of blood.
Those who are scratched or bitten by them will also become a corpse, wandering around looking for prey.
And for some of the less fortunate, they will all end up being torn to pieces.
They would have to cry out in pain while watching their body parts being ripped apart bit by bit by the undeads.
Within the first month of the outbreak, the number of people infected with the virus increased rapidly.
Traffic was frozen, corpses spilled all over the big and small roads.
Initially, radio stations advised people to stay at home until the army came to help.
But very quickly, they all realized that the number of refugees was too large, and it was impossible to save them all.
The army had to abandon some people, leaving them to self-destruct with little food.
Theft, murder,...
Everyone began to turn against each other to fight for supplies, to compete for food, to get for themselves a way to live.
Governments are helpless, unable to do anything but agree on a common name for the corpses, "zombies".
oOo
Morning.
Tinh Tue San half awake half asleep sat up from a stone bench in the park and stretched.
"The weather is really cool today..." Tinh Tue San said to himself.
Suddenly, something from behind him let out a soft growl. As a person who reacts quickly, Tinh Tue San immediately turned his head to look.
What caught his eye was a hideous face that had lost its lower chin.
A black liquid oozes continuously from the spots that are still attached to the body.
And yet, this face was only a few centimeters away from Tinh Tue San's, staring at him with curious eyes.
Tinh Tue San immediately let out a loud scream because he was startled.
A zombie?!
After calming down, Tinh Tue San sighed, feeling extremely depressed.
He suddenly turned to look the zombie straight in the eye and punched it in the face with his right hand.
So the head of the zombie was pierced with a large hole. Its standing body part fell backwards, lying on the ground and began to convulse.
Tinh Tue San sighed again and looked at his black liquid-stained arm.
"..."
He walked over to a public faucet and began to wash the unsightly slime off his arm.
During this process, he fell into a constant stream of thoughts: "How many days has it been since I turned into this form?"
After mumbling, he stretched out his hands and looked at them intently.
All of his fingernails had turned black and became extremely sharp. His skin was pale, just like someone with a long illness.
But the most prominent part on Tinh Tue San's hand was a bite bearing the shape of a human tooth that had been scabbed for a long time.
Having tried to look in the mirror before, he also knew that his pupils had turned ash gray, no longer a familiar black color like before.
...No matter how you long look at it, you can tell, Tinh Tue San is a zombie, but he still retains the human consciousness.
Not only that, it seems he also has the ability to command other zombies to do as he pleases.
And Tinh Tue San knows he has an extraordinary strength that can crush a truck.
How does he know?
Because he tried it once.
However, he can't remember anything about his former self other than his name and appearance.
After washing thoroughly, he walked out of the park, along the long winding road.
A rotting smell immediately rose.
The zombies that were gathering on the street, when they heard Tinh Tue San's footsteps, immediately avoided them, making room for him to move.
Tinh Tue San's face did not change, still walking leisurely in the midst of a group of zombies swarming with fear.
After walking for a long time, he finally decided to stop by a book cafe that still had the "OPEN" sign on it.
He put his hand on the doorknob and tried to turn it, but it was locked from the inside.
He glanced inside through the glass on the door.
Tinh Tue San looked for a long time, then finally noticed a little boy sitting in the corner of the room and looking at him with fearful eyes.
Because he knew there was someone inside, he didn't hesitate to knock on the door.
But...for some reason, even though Tinh Tue San tried to knock on the door in a very polite way, the boy still refused to open the door for him.
On the contrary, he looked even more scared.
Tinh Tue San frowned in confusion, wondering if the boy didn't understand what he meant...
Suddenly he thought of an idea.
He breathed on the glass and wrote "Open" with his hand, and then add an arrow mark down below, right where the door handle was.
Tinh Tue San looked back inside the cafe to see the boy's reaction.
After a while, the boy finally decided to walk slowly towards the door. Tinh Tue San immediately rejoiced, thinking that the boy finally understood what he wanted to convey.
But nope :)))
When he was close to the door, the boy did not unlock it, but leaned forward, using his hand to turn over the sign dangling from the door.
At this time on the board is the word "CLOSED".
Tinh Tue San: "???"
The boy glanced at him and then ran back to his old seat with a satisfied look on his face.
Tinh Tue San don't know whether to cry or laugh.
Uhm...
Little boy, you think I'll leave just because of this board?
Pffft~ Oh my gosh.
No, sweetie.
Tinh Tue San immediately used his sharp claws to break the door. With a "bang", dust was scattered everywhere, the door was just a pile of scraps.
Tinh Tue San stepped inside.
The boy was shocked and started to shout in fear, but he did not dare to move around.
Seeing the boy react so violently, he suddenly felt like he wanted to tease someone.
Tinh Tue San pretended to be angry: "Why don't you open the door for me, brat~? I will bite you to death for making me angry!"
“Aaaaaahh!!” The boy yelled.
Originally, Tinh Tue San only intended to poke fun at the boy, but he accidentally got too involved, making his veins and blood vessels pop up all over his face.
“Aaaaaah!!” The boy panicked. Finally, when the fear reached its peak, he began to sob.
Tinh Tue San was silent.
Guilt immediately weighed on his shoulders.
After all, Tinh Tue San had to pull out a strawberry candy from his pocket and said:
“C'mon...uhm...boy? Please don't cry anymore, I was just joking earlier, it wasn't real. Ah!! Do you want some strawberry candy? Calm down, calm down!"
Unexpectedly, the boy then stopped crying, looked up at Tinh Tue San.
"Hey old man, you're going to fatten me up so you can eat me later, aren't you?" The boy asked, looking at Tinh Tue San with doubtful eyes.
Hmm?
What?
Unbelievable!!
'Old man'?
Do I look that old???
Tinh Tue San was in shock, feeling that something inside him was broken.
"Hey, will you answer?" The boy asked again.
At this time, Tinh Tue San's face was very unhappy. He patiently explained to the boy:
“First, call 'bro', not 'old man'. Second, have you ever seen anyone fatten up someone with a tiny piece of candy? Third, don't be afraid, boy, I'm not going to eat you."
The boy made a face like he had just been enlightened: "Oh."
oOo
“Grr…Grr…”
A growling sound came from outside.
Just a few seconds later, more than five or six zombies entered the cafe because of the smell of humans.
Tinh Tue San tiredly ordered them out, and asked them not to come near the cafe anymore.
Receiving orders, the zombies who had just entered suddenly turned their backs and obediently moved out.
He then lifted a rather large wooden cabinet with one hand, and used it to block the hole.
After finishing work, Tinh Tue San just reclined on a recliner while reading a book.
Looks very leisurely.
The boy was lying on another couch located nearby, with a strawberry candy in his mouth. He is rolling back and forth reading a children's story book.
After a while, the boy sat up and ran over to Tinh Tue San with a book of fairy tales in his hands.
“Old zombie man, read me this book.”
“!!!”
“…What's wrong?”
“E-hem…I told you to call me ‘brother’!!”
The boy tilted his head, after a while, he laughed again: "Ah. Yeah. Sorry, I forgot. Let me fix it.”
Tinh Tue San looks forward to it: "Ok, ok."
The boy took a deep breath: "Old zombie, read me this book."
Tinh Tue San stiffened his throat.
Tinh Tue San: "Hmph...Okay whatever, come here and lie down with me, I'll read it."
“Yesss!!”
Said and done, the boy did not hesitate to climb on the chair, lie next to Tinh Tue San and look at him with expectant eyes.
Tinh Tue San laughed, turned the book, but his eyes were still on the boy.
He asked curiously: "What's your name?"
The boy replied: "Tu Moc Diep."
“My name is Tinh Tue San. Then, Moc Diep, let's start reading the story."
"Okay Oldie."
“…”
So one human, one zombie started to read books and talked to each other until noon.
oOo
“…The prince defeated the ugly monster. Their Kingdom from today will be--”
Tu Moc Diep suddenly pulled Tinh Tue San's sleeve with his hand.
"Oldie, I'm hungry."
Tinh Tue San also gradually got used to this name, so he told the boy: "Okay then, let me run to the convenience store across the street, if there's food, I'll bring it to you."
Tu Moc Diep nodded frantically.
Tinh Tue San was still worried, so he told Tu Moc Diep a few more things and then went out.
After that, he still did not forget to block the door so that other zombies could not enter.
But after walking a few steps, Tinh Tue San turned his head to look behind and found Tu Moc Diep raising his thumb to encourage him.
He happily waved back to the boy.
Tinh Tue San took another step and went straight to the convenience store. The shelves were empty of anything but toys and soaps.
The food was all taken away.
He had to search a few more times to see if anything was left behind.
After a long time, Tinh Tue San finally returned to the book cafe with a bowl of spicy shrimp-flavored instant noodles.
Tu Moc Diep: "Hooray!!"
The boy immediately ran to Tinh Tue San's place and reached out his hand to ask for the bowl of noodles.
Tinh Tue San hastily refused.
“Not yet, wait until I cook it.”
Tu Moc Diep replied: "No need, Oldie, I often eat raw noodles."
“My answer is still NO!! What if you have a stomach ache?" Tinh Tue San continued to protest, steadfastly entering the kitchen to cook boiling water.
Tu Moc Diep also followed him into the kitchen, staring at the super speed kettle, pacing impatiently.
A few minutes later...
The water tank squealed continuously.
Tu Moc Diep was excited, he began to shout, urging Tinh Tue San to cook noodles quickly.
Tinh Tue San followed Tu Moc Diep's words and poured boiling water into the bowl of noodles.
Then, he added the seasoning packets to the bowl and used the supplied plastic fork to stir.
The ecstatic smell of instant noodles spread everywhere, making Tu Moc Diep unable to stand it, drooling all over his mouth.
The boy looked at the bowl of noodles in Tinh Tue San's hand and was craving.
Tinh Tue San suddenly turned to Tu Moc Diep: "Moc Diep, go choose a table outside and sit down, I'll bring you the noodles in a little while."
Tu Moc Diep heard that and rushed out of the kitchen like the wind, quickly picked a table and sat down.
Tu Moc Diep lost patience again.
"OLDIE!! Are you done yet? It's been too long!!!”
Tinh Tue San is also finished now, he is coming out of the kitchen with a bowl of noodles in his hands.
“Here it is…It's all yours now, Mr. Tu Moc Diep. Forgive me for the delay.”
"Huh, it's good that you know your mistakes."
After saying that, Tu Moc Diep immediately took the bowl of noodles and used the plastic fork to push the noodles into his mouth to chew.
And yet, the boy also drank the soup, causing Tinh Tue San who was standing nearby to hear a few loud slurps.
Tinh Tue San was smiling looking at Tu Moc Diep when suddenly, the cabinet Tinh Tue San used to block the door was punched with an ax.
And through this hole, a human entered the cafe.
It was a man who looks quite young.
Tu Moc Diep was eating when he heard a strange noise, looked up curiously and exclaimed: "Dad?"
Tinh Tue San: “!!!”
---------
Little facts here :)))
#1. Tu Moc Diep (Tứ Mộc Diệp) means four leaves clover.
#2. When Tinh Tue San (Tịnh Tuệ San) wants Tu Moc Diep to call him 'bro', it's just like calling him 'onii-chan' or 'hyung' :v
Please don't misunderstand.
#3. You have to imagine the rest of the story. (Au is too lazy to write more.)
