A few days later.
In the desolate wilderness.
Sun Nang, with Han Hieu Hieu in tow, appeared on a deserted stretch of road. The commotion up ahead made his expression turn incredibly grim.
"Brother, what is that place?" Han Hieu Hieu asked curiously, huddling close to his side.
Sun Nang said, "Hieu Hieu, you must remember, the apocalypse is far more terrifying than you can imagine. The only safe place is the Sunshine Shelter. Everywhere else is filled with danger, and you can't trust anyone you meet."
"Mm-hmm." Han Hieu Hieu nodded. Sun Nang had always been her protector, and she trusted him completely, having grown dependent on him.
In the distance, an armored vehicle slowly drove into the entrance of a base. A man with a shaved head got out of the car, followed by several others. The people who got out looked around curiously, filled with a sense of novelty about their new surroundings.
Then, led by the bald man, they headed into the base.
Sun Nang was an Awakened with excellent eyesight, and he could clearly see the expressions on the group's faces.
The people who got out of the car looked like survivors, completely unfamiliar with their environment.
"There are still people alive in the apocalypse? Did this base bring back some survivors?" Sun Nang guessed. If this were the Sunshine Shelter, he would have thought these survivors were truly lucky to have found the safest place in the apocalypse.
But looking at this kind of base, he didn't think it was safe at all.
Wandering through the apocalypse with Han Hieu Hieu, he had been to many places. From the moment he left Hoang City, his goal was to hunt zombies in the wild, obtain crystals, and enhance his own abilities.
Everything had been proceeding smoothly.
At this moment.
Inside the base.
Ngo Dong Luong looked at the few excited survivors before him.
"Welcome to the apocalypse base. You are safe here."
He had long since grown accustomed to life here.
From his mistaken choice in the past to being persuaded by the other party, he was no longer an ordinary survivor but a member of this base.
"Thank you for saving us," the survivors said gratefully.
Ngo Dong Luong smiled. "No need to thank us, it's what we should do. In the apocalypse, we should all unite and help each other."
Shortly after.
A young man walked over.
"Brother Luong."
"Little Tam, take them to wash up, then bring them for a meal," Ngo Dong Luong said.
"Oh, okay."
Little Tam walked up to the few survivors, greeting them just as friendly.
This young man named Little Tam was a subordinate chosen by Ngo Dong Luong, just like he himself had been in the beginning. When he was brought here, Ly Long had given him a vivid lesson that changed his mentality and thoughts.
Gazing at the departing figures in the distance.
The smile on Ngo Dong Luong's face gradually faded, replaced by a grim expression.
A voice came through the walkie-talkie.
"Little Luong, come see me."
Ngo Dong Luong picked up the walkie-talkie and said, "Received, Brother Long."
In the distance.
"Is your name Truong Tam?"
A survivor who had been brought back took the initiative to chat with Little Tam, thinking it would be good to build a relationship.
"Yes, it is."
"Zhang San, the Extra-legal Madman?"
"Haha, you could say that. Alright, we're here. This is where you'll be staying. The space isn't huge, but it has all the facilities. Get a good wash, and I'll take you to eat later."
"Thank you, thank you so much."
Faced with the survivors' gratitude, Truong Tam just smiled. After they entered the room, his smile turned strange, his lips curling into a smirk that had the distinct air of a villain.
In the meeting room.
Ly Long, dressed in black, sat there. As Ngo Dong Luong entered, he smiled and spoke.
"How is this batch of survivors?"
Ngo Dong Luong said, "Brother Long, they're all just ordinary, clueless survivors. However, we can't rule out the possibility that they're faking it."
"Haha, I really didn't misjudge you. Bringing you along to survive in the apocalypse was indeed a wise choice." Ly Long was very pleased with Ngo Dong Luong. Capable and obedient—a rare talent in the apocalypse.
"Thank you for your guidance, Brother Long. Only then could I find a reason to live." Ngo Dong Luong didn't dare have any ill intentions towards Ly Long. Brother Long was an Awakened, while he was still an ordinary person. Valued by Brother Long, he had become someone with status in this base.
"Meaning is something you have to find slowly. Some people might not find it in their entire lifetime. But if someone is willing to lead you, then that meaning becomes much easier to discover."
Ly Long was long accustomed to this apocalyptic life. For some, this apocalypse was a trial, but for them, it was paradise. He had become a dictator in the apocalypse, and everyone around him depended on his protection to survive.
Ngo Dong Luong nodded as if he understood completely. If Mo Lam and Truong Hao, who were long since safe at the Sunshine Shelter, knew of this, they would be utterly disappointed. The Ngo Dong Luong of the past was a good man, willing to risk his own life to help other survivors, to fight for a sliver of hope for them.
The man he was today and the man he was back then were two completely different extremes.
"Brother Long, that organization has been needing fewer and fewer survivors lately. Do you think something has happened?" Ngo Dong Luong asked.
Their base traded for many of its resources with that organization.
Ly Long shook his head. "It's unlikely anything's happened. That organization is quite mysterious. The serums they gave us before were clearly their own research. They want survivors, and they want them physically strong, obviously for research purposes. An organization like that is quite terrifying. I'll call and ask."
With that, he picked up the phone and dialed a number.
After a few rings.
"What is it?"
A cold, questioning voice came from the other end of the line.
Ly Long chuckled. "Professor Kim, I was wondering if you still need physically strong survivors over there?"
This was their line of business.
They traded with the mysterious organization to receive corresponding rewards.
"Are there any Awakened?"
"Not at the moment."
"Hmm... Alright, I'll send someone over later. And of course, this time we'll send you something good."
After hanging up the phone.
Ly Long smiled. He was quite curious about what "good thing" the other party was talking about. He already had enough crystals; his ability had already been enhanced to the third level. The crystals needed for each stage were all exchanged for with the lives of survivors.
At this moment.
Truong Tam was already having a meal with the group of survivors. Watching them wolf down their food, he just smiled, occasionally reminding them to eat slowly, that there was plenty more food, and they would definitely eat their fill.
He had already received the news. This was their last meal.
"Wow, this is delicious! So amazing!"
"This base is simply a god in the apocalypse."
"Yeah, yeah, we're so lucky to have been rescued."
They were survivors who had been hiding in a troublesome mountain area—a wild, mountainous region not planned as a tourist spot, sparsely populated. When the apocalypse broke out, they weren't greatly affected.
They didn't even know what was happening outside.
It wasn't until they drove away that the scene along the road thoroughly terrified them. Then they saw zombies. Luckily, there weren't many zombies, and they managed to run over a few with their car.
No one answered their phone calls.
They had only a little bit of information from right when the apocalypse began: some live streamers screaming tragically, saying the outside world was in chaos, with zombies eating people everywhere.
How could a scene that only appeared in movies happen in reality?
But reality was what it was.
It didn't matter if they didn't believe it.
Unable to contact anyone, unable to reach the police, they were completely panicked. After intense discussions, some left, wanting to find their families.
Others decided to continue hiding, surviving until now on wild fruits and small animals from the mountains.
They were basically no different from wild people.
Just then, a survivor felt his head grow dizzy.
"My head feels so dizzy."
"Oh no, me too..."
Thud!
Thud!
Their heads hit the table, and they lay there, motionless.
Truong Tam walked over to a survivor, grabbed his hair, lifted his limp head, and sneered, "You all knew I was Zhang San, the Extra-legal Madman, yet you still dared to trust me. You must be sick in the head."
...
Sun Nang and Han Hieu Hieu were still watching from their hiding spot.
"Strange, why is there no movement?"
From his observation, the security measures of this base were quite strict, with fully armed personnel on patrol. After those few survivors went in, there was no news at all.
"Hieu Hieu, give me the phone," Sun Nang said.
"Okay."
Han Hieu Hieu quickly handed over the satellite phone from beside her.
Sun Nang had left this with Han Hieu Hieu in case they got separated or something happened. She could use the phone to call Lam Pham at the Sunshine Shelter for help.
He dialed the number.
"Hello, this is Lam Pham. This is the Hoang City Sunshine Shelter. Tell me your location, and no matter what happens, I can be there in an instant."
Hearing these words.
Sun Nang smiled. Indeed, in the entire apocalypse, only he could say something like that.
"Hello, you don't need to know who I am. I just want to tell you that there's a base here. I think you should come and take a look," Sun Nang said.
There was a brief silence on the other end of the line.
"You're Sun Nang, aren't you?"
Sun Nang: ...?
He was utterly shocked, as if he'd seen a ghost. It felt completely unbelievable.
How could he possibly know that?
"How did you know?" Sun Nang asked in astonishment.
"I remember your voice. And many survivors call me based on other people's suggestions. Those few isolated cases were you. I figured this time it was you as well."
Lam Pham wasn't stupid; he was actually very meticulous. He remembered things like this.
Alright, faced with such a reason, Sun Nang accepted it calmly and then told him the location of the base.
After hanging up.
Sun Nang didn't leave but continued to watch. The dog, Little Ha, was still a dog, after all, and was kept shut in the car, for fear its uncontrollable barking would attract their attention.
Thinking of Little Ha made him think of the now-free Ha Minh Hien. He wondered what he was doing now.
Sun Nang didn't want to be a meddler.
He knew the apocalypse was dangerous.
But he also knew that the apocalypse was, in fact, an opportunity—a good chance to constantly grow stronger.
As an Awakened, he had read the "Zombie Illustrated Guide" and knew his situation was different from other Awakened. He had multiple abilities, and he didn't know if others were the same.
But at least in the "Zombie Illustrated Guide," he hadn't seen an Awakened like himself.
"Aren't we leaving?" Han Hieu Hieu asked in a low voice.
Sun Nang said, "Don't be anxious, let's wait a little longer."
Then, as if he thought of something.
"Hieu Hieu, do you want to live a more stable life? If you want to, you can go to the Sunshine Shelter later," Sun Nang asked.
"Didn't you promise not to abandon me?" Han Hieu Hieu's eyes reddened instantly.
Sun Nang shook his head helplessly. "Alright, alright, I won't say it, I won't say it. I'll never say it again."
He knew Han Hieu Hieu wouldn't want to leave.
He was just asking.
Just then.
Thwop, thwop, thwop...
The sound of helicopter rotors came from the distance.
Looking up at the sky, he saw a helicopter flying over from afar.
"What's going on?"
Sun Nang frowned. Why would a helicopter suddenly appear? At the same time, there was activity at the base entrance. He saw several people from the base come out and stand at the entrance, clearly waiting for the people in the helicopter.
Soon.
A mysterious man in black got off the helicopter.
Sun Nang knew something was definitely up. They unloaded a wooden crate from the helicopter, which was then carried into the base.
The distance was a bit too far.
He couldn't hear what the mysterious man was saying, only that he handed a black box to the other party. Then he saw survivors, each with a collar around their neck, being pushed onto the helicopter.
Looking closely.
Some of the survivors among them looked very similar to the ones who had just arrived. No... they were exactly the same, with no difference, except that after washing up, they were much cleaner, which was why there was a slight difference.
At this moment.
The mysterious man in black handed over the black box. "This is good stuff. You can give it a try. It's nothing like that garbage from before."
Ly Long laughed. "I wouldn't dare use anything you guys give me. Who knows what I'll turn into."
The mysterious man in black shook his head. "If you miss this, it'll be a real shame. Sometimes, you should really give it a try. But the choice is yours. If you don't use it, there's nothing I can do."
Ly Long knew this mysterious organization was always dabbling in strange things.
The serum they gave him before was simply terrifying.
Now they were giving him a new toy. Ly Long had no intention of using it. Who knew what kind of trouble it would cause for him?
"Really? I'll give it a try when I have the chance," Ly Long replied casually, just making simple conversation.
The mysterious man in black said no more. To him, whether the other party used it or not had little to do with him.
Suddenly.
BOOM!
A violent explosion roared from the distance.
They looked towards the distance, their faces filled with confusion, not knowing what had happened.
Sun Nang, hiding in the shadows, heard the sound and sighed in his heart. As expected of Lam Pham from the Sunshine Shelter, his method of arrival was just that domineering, too mighty.
Even if he were ten times, or a hundred times stronger, he couldn't create such a display of power.
He knew Lam Pham had rushed over from Hoang City and wondered how he managed it. What kind of body could withstand the pressure brought on by that kind of speed?
Ly Long and the mysterious men in black all stared blankly.
The mysterious man in black was the first to react, as if he realized who had arrived. His expression changed drastically. In the apocalypse, only one person could do this.
He ran towards the helicopter, shouting wildly before he even got on.
"Quick, prepare for takeoff! Lam Pham from Hoang City is here!"
Whoosh!
The name Lam Pham was like a nightmare to them.
The helicopter pilot broke out in a cold sweat. They had joined the mysterious organization and naturally knew the current situation. That man was a life-taker. Anyone who dawdled would likely die here.
Ly Long also knew how terrifying Lam Pham was. "Quick, into the base, seal the gate! Get the weapons ready, prepare for battle!"
He had no idea how the other party had found this place.
BOOM!
Lam Pham landed, looking around curiously. He saw the base's main gate being sealed at the last second, and the anxious eyes peeking from behind, which made him very confused.
Did they not know who I am, causing a misunderstanding?
Thinking about it, it was possible.
After all, this was the apocalypse.
And his arrival had been a bit loud, so causing fear was a normal reaction.
A little communication later should clear things up.
Thwop, thwop, thwop!
He heard the sound of a helicopter. Looking up, he saw a helicopter ascending. He vaguely felt that this helicopter looked very familiar, and suddenly remembered encountering it before.
"Whether it's the one or not, I'll know after I pull it down and ask."
He leaped powerfully from the ground.
His hands grabbed the helicopter's landing skids, and he pulled downwards.
The pilot was shocked to find that the helicopter couldn't ascend.
"Quick, see what's going on!" the pilot shouted urgently.
The mysterious man in black, sitting in the back, looked down and saw Lam Pham grabbing the landing skids, pulling the helicopter towards the ground. The sight shocked him speechless.
"Damn it, that guy is trying to pull our helicopter down!"
Without thinking, the mysterious man in black grabbed a submachine gun, aimed at Lam Pham, and pulled the trigger. Rat-tat-tat-tat... Bullets poured out like a thunderstorm.
But when the bullets hit Lam Pham's body, they made a ding, ding, dang, dang sound.
"Son of a bitch..."
The mysterious man in black couldn't help but curse. Even though he knew this would happen, seeing it with his own eyes still left him too shocked for words.
"You guys..."
Lam Pham shook his head, landed hard on the ground, and just like that, raised his hands. Then, under the shocked gaze of the mysterious man in black, he placed the helicopter on the ground and grabbed the rotating blades with one hand.
The helicopter made a strange noise and finally stopped running completely.
"My perfectly good clothes, ruined by someone again." Lam Pham looked at the bullet holes in his clothes, truly angry with nowhere to vent.
Even in peaceful times, he was frugal. He would only buy clothes from street stalls or haggle for a 9.9 deal. He didn't have many clothes to begin with, and now another set was ruined.
"You shot at me. You wanted to kill me, right?" Lam Pham said, looking straight at the mysterious man in black.
"No, no, I was... it wasn't me."
The mysterious man in black was already intimidated by Lam Pham's aura.
Lam Pham saw the survivors with collars around their necks, their hands and feet bound. Without asking, he knew what was going on. Then he looked at the sealed base gate and understood many things.
They deceived innocent survivors and handed them over to the mysterious organization—the one Qin Ling was in charge of—for all sorts of inhumane experiments.
"It's okay, my name is Lam Pham. Although you might not know who I am, I just want to tell you that you are safe now."
Lam Pham spoke to them gently, comforting their panicked and uneasy expressions.
He could understand the panic of these survivors.
They felt they had been saved and had arrived in heaven, only for that heaven to disappear, and what awaited them was hell.
Who could bear such a change?
Then he looked at the pilot and the mysterious man and waved his hand. "Come on down."
For the pilot and the man in black, how could they dare to resist? They all obediently got out of the helicopter.
Inside the base, Ly Long's expression was incredibly grim.
He knew it was probably all over this time.
Someone had actually found them.
His mind kept wondering which bastard had betrayed them.
To expose their location like that.
"Quick, fire! Use every weapon to stop him for me!"
He ordered at top speed.
Outside the base.
Lam Pham faced the sealed gate, thinking he could kick it down with one foot later. If it were before, he wouldn't have been sure about the situation of the survivors inside this base.
But seeing these captured survivors, he already knew.
Just as he was thinking, openings appeared in the cliff face, and various weapon barrels emerged.
Without any hesitation.
Rat-tat-tat-tat...
The gun barrels became like a dragon's fiery breath, spewing hot flames.
In an instant, Lam Pham drew Frostmourne, swinging it casually, forming an intersecting web of sword light that instantly pulverized the incoming bullets into dust. Not a single bullet could penetrate his body.
There were still survivors in the helicopter behind him.
To avoid harming them.
He then swung his sword again, directly shattering the guns in the cliff face. The recent rat-tat-tat sound vanished completely, gone without a trace.
"Let's go, let's go inside together and take a look." Lam Pham said to the pilot and the man in black, thinking that after resolving the matter at hand, he could have a good chat with them.
The pilot and the man in black glanced at each other.
Their eyes revealed a sense of helplessness.
Who could have imagined something like this would happen? It truly left one at a loss.
Inside the base.
"It's bad, all the weapons have been damaged!" a member reported the situation.
Ly Long's expression was extremely ugly.
Lam Pham's terror surpassed his imagination.
Even Ngo Dong Luong, standing to the side, was in a bit of a daze.
He recalled the situation from the beginning.
They were heading for the Hoang City Sunshine Shelter.
BOOM!
A violent sound echoed.
The base's main gate was blasted open by Lam Pham's punch.
At this moment.
Lam Pham looked at the surrounding situation and shouted into the distance, "Hey, come on out! I won't kill you. I already know what you've done. Laying down your weapons is your only choice."
The words he said were just a formality.
If Officer Hoang were here to handle this, he probably wouldn't have given them a chance. Officer Hoang, after turning into a zombie, knew he was just one person and couldn't manage so much. In special times, one had to resort to special punishments, which meant eliminating them completely to prevent them from harming others.
If it were peaceful times, Officer Hoang would probably have said the same thing to him, telling them to surrender their weapons voluntarily and seek lenient treatment.
Lam Pham thought about what they had done, not knowing how many survivors had died tragically at their hands.
It was truly a heinous crime.
It would be very difficult to gain forgiveness.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
Just then.
Two fully armed personnel appeared from around a corner. They were holding guns, continuously suppressing Lam Pham's position, the guns in their hands spewing deadly bullets.
When his own safety was threatened.
Lam Pham would often enter a state of self-defense.
Swish!
A flash of sword light.
The two armed personnel were dozens of meters away from him, but in an instant, their bodies were split in two. Thick blood splattered all over the ground.
Perhaps for them.
Even in death, they couldn't understand. They were clearly so far away, yet the other party just casually swung his sword and sliced them in two. This was simply too incredible, wasn't it?
Lam Pham said to the two people beside him, "You see? It's not that I want to kill them. It's just that their guns are very dangerous. When faced with danger, I can only defend myself."
The pilot and the man in black swallowed hard.
Guns are very dangerous?
Big brother, can you not mess with us? Guns have no effect on your body at all.
The man in black, in particular, was so scared his face turned pale. He had fired a whole barrage at Lam Pham with a gun, yet he was still alive. It was truly unbelievable.
Lam Pham led them deeper inside.
Outside.
Sun Nang exclaimed, "So strong, so, so strong."
This kind of existence was enough to make anyone who saw it feel fear. With the appearance of Awakened in the apocalypse, honestly, if there was a place that could stabilize, a new order would emerge, and the Awakened would become beings above all other survivors.
But Lam Pham's appearance was enough to break that order.
Thus allowing Awakened and ordinary people to coexist peacefully and fairly.
"Am I seeing things?" Han Hieu Hieu asked in shock. "That swish just now, there was a sword light."
Sun Nang said, "You're not seeing things. Everything you saw is real. Just like I said before, the Sunshine Shelter is an extremely safe place in the apocalypse. As long as you live there, you won't be in any danger. Do you really want to go now?"
"No, I'm not going anywhere. I want to stay with you. You promised me before you wouldn't talk about this again, and you're saying it again," Han Hieu Hieu said, puffing out her cheeks.
Sun Nang smiled and patted Han Hieu Hieu's head.
He was very confident about the future. The apocalypse would surely disappear completely, and the world might truly be free of zombies. The process would just take some time.
Humanity would not be exterminated but would embark on a new journey.
...
Inside the base, Lam Pham shook his head, looking very helpless. Were people surviving in the apocalypse really this vicious?
To be so completely unable to communicate with words.
He had encountered violent treatment many times.
Guns were the basic technique, and they even used grenades.
Therefore, in a state of self-defense.
His Frostmourne was stained with blood, human blood other than that of zombies.
The two people following Lam Pham exchanged a look, already very helpless. They listened to Lam Pham's words, constantly talking about self-defense, but in their eyes, you were just finding an excuse to kill them.
With your strength, if you really wanted to defend yourself, you could have just cut off their arms holding the guns.
Ly Long and Ngo Dong Luong waited at the very back of the base.
Hearing the continuous rat-tat-tat explosions, they knew the battle wasn't over; it was still ongoing. That terrifying human was not someone they could deal with.
"Brother Long, there might be no hope," Ngo Dong Luong said.
Ly Long's face was full of unwillingness. He clenched his fists tightly. The base was his territory, and things had always gone smoothly. Nothing like this had ever happened before.
As if he thought of something.
He quickly took out the satellite phone and called Professor Kim.
"Hello, what is it?"
Professor Kim's voice came from the other end of the line. He wasn't very interested in living survivors anymore. After all, the boss had already turned into a zombie, a different kind of species. What was the point of experimenting on normal people? The only need was to relieve boredom when he had nothing to do.
"Help, Professor Kim! Lam Pham from Hoang City has found me! I can't stop him!" Ly Long said urgently.
On the other end of the line, Professor Kim's face turned grim upon hearing this. He clearly hadn't met him, yet just hearing Lam Pham's name scared him so much, which was enough to prove how terrifying Lam Pham was in his mind.
"You can't be saved. you should know how powerful he is," Professor Kim said.
Ly Long said frantically, "Professor Kim, I know you have a way! I can't die! I still have to provide you with healthy survivors! If I'm killed by him, you won't be able to find any more survivors!"
Professor Kim on the other end of the line sneered.
Ridiculous.
Who needed healthy survivors anymore?
They were just things to relieve boredom.
However, he knew about Ly Long's situation. Ly Long was an Awakened. When he found out he was an Awakened, he had deliberately sent him crystals to enhance his abilities.
The idea was that when he developed to a certain level, he would let the boss borrow his body's genes to achieve a kind of evolution.
But he had only been enhanced to the third stage before Lam Pham found him. It had to be said, this was a very unfortunate matter.
Thinking of this, an idea suddenly came to him.
"Did you receive the black suitcase I sent you?"
"I did."
"Very good. There's a vial of serum in there, a gene-altering drug. There's another organization in the apocalypse that researches the fusion of human and zombie genes. It's very effective. I took the trouble to study it a bit. It's quite good. The one I sent you contains what I consider the strongest zombie gene."
"Ah..."
"Don't 'ah' me. This is your only chance. If you want to live, perhaps injecting this gene-altering drug will give you a glimmer of hope. Otherwise, you can just obediently wait for death."
"Professor Kim, what are the side effects?" Ly Long asked very nervously.
He didn't completely believe what the other party said.
He felt like the other party was using him as a test subject.
Professor Kim said, "The side effects are very low. It all depends on you. Alright, I've said what I needed to say. It's up to you to choose. If you don't believe me, or if you don't want to live anymore, it doesn't matter if you don't inject it."
After hanging up.
Ly Long opened the suitcase, looking at the spiral-shaped serum tube, his breathing becoming rapid. Ngo Dong Luong beside him didn't dare to say a word, his own heart pounding.
"I can't die here."
Ly Long's expression was extremely grim as he held the serum in his hand.
...
In the corridor.
There were no more armed enemies appearing.
Lam Pham could sense that there were people on the other side. The people he really wanted to meet should be there.
Soon.
He saw two survivors standing at the end.
As he walked forward.
"Die!"
Truong Tam, who had been leaning against the wall in hiding, raised a hatchet and swung it viciously at Lam Pham's head.
If firearms were useless.
Then he would use this hatchet, enhanced with a few crystals, to chop the other party to death.
Bang!
Faced with the sudden situation, Lam Pham instantly entered a state of self-defense, kicking the other party away, sending him crashing hard against the wall. The force wasn't immense, but it was definitely not something an ordinary person could withstand.
Truong Tam, kicked into the wall, was embedded in it, fresh blood sliding down from the indentation.
Zhang San, the Extra-legal Madman, died a miserable death.
Lam Pham glanced at him once and paid no more attention, instead looking at the two people in front of him.
"You know who I am, don't you?"
Lam Pham said with a smile.