Super RV!

The first rays of morning sunlight fell across the battered roof of the bus.

At that moment, the three people below it—

Chen Tong, Wang Meng, and Liu Yuqing—

were staring fixedly at the enormous golden screen in the sky, like three statues.

Anyone who wasn't a complete idiot could guess who "Needless to Say" was!

As for Jiangnan...

His expression remained impassive.

[Needless to Say]

Actually, before the system announced the rankings, that voice had privately asked him whether he wanted to appear on the rankings under his real name, "Jiangnan."

Jiangnan hadn't given it a second thought. He'd immediately tapped [Reject].

What a joke.

In this internet-exploding age, there were who knew how many people named Jiangnan.

He didn't want people pointing at him in the future and saying that the Big Boss who ranked Server First was a simp.

As for why he'd chosen the name "Needless to Say"?

Simple.

Talking could cost him his life, so he preferred to act rather than run his mouth.

But while he remained calm, the other three were another matter entirely.

Wang Meng was trembling all over with excitement, his lips quivering.

"It's definitely the Big Boss! Has to be the Big Boss!"

Liu Yuqing had covered her mouth, her eyes sparkling with admiration.

"Server First... and he's right here beside us? He even beat the person in second place by tens of thousands of points?"

Chen Tong gazed at the silent young man, waves of shock crashing through her heart.

No wonder he'd been so calm.

No wonder he'd looked down on those crows.

He was already a man standing at the peak of this world!

"Gulp."

The three exchanged glances, and in an instant, reached an unspoken understanding.

In this apocalypse, where order had collapsed, what mattered most?

Not food, not water, and not even supernatural abilities.

It was a powerful backer!

A backer with a thigh thick and sturdy enough to reach the heavens!

The next second, all three stepped forward almost simultaneously, holding out the [Awakening Fruit] in their hands to Jiangnan.

"Big Boss! Please take this!"

Wang Meng bent at the waist until he was practically folded in half, his tone utterly sincere.

"Without you, we'd have been bird droppings by now. You're the only one worthy of this fruit!"

"That's right, Jiangnan."

Chen Tong spoke softly, her gaze resolute.

"You saved your teacher's life. Take this fruit... it might make you even stronger."

Liu Yuqing said nothing. She just nodded frantically, holding the fruit out in both hands.

Jiangnan glanced at the three fruits before him and raised an eyebrow slightly.

He didn't refuse.

In this little group, he had to control how the resources were distributed.

He reached out, calmly took all three fruits, and casually stuffed them into his pocket.

When Jiangnan accepted them, the three didn't look unhappy at all. Instead, they breathed a sigh of relief.

Good, he took them!

Taking them meant he was willing to keep them around!

However, after putting away the fruit, Jiangnan didn't rush to eat them or say anything.

He hopped down from the hood and walked over to the bus, now riddled with holes.

There was something more urgent and important to do than eat the fruit.

He needed to build a real Safe House.

Jiangnan flipped his hand over, and the Rankings Reward Device appeared in his palm.

[Shelter Upgrade Device]

[Effect: Force any building or vehicle to be converted into a Mobile Shelter.]

"Nice."

Without hesitation, Jiangnan stood in front of the battered bus.

"Use."

The instant he gave the command in his mind, dazzling golden light burst from his hand, engulfing the entire bus!

[Modification in progress...]

[Repairing vehicle body... Loading Bulletproof Armor... Upgrading Power System... Optimizing interior space... Loading Living Module...]

As the three watched, dumbfounded,

the old bus began to transform!

Its blue-and-white sheet metal turned into matte alloy armor.

The shattered windows in the driver's cab were replaced with One-way Bulletproof Glass.

The chassis rose, and the tires became six enormous Explosion-proof Off-road Wheels.

A miniature watchtower and Solar Power Panels were installed on the bus's once-precarious roof.

In just ten seconds,

it had become a massive black RV, straight out of a post-apocalyptic sci-fi world!

"D-damn?! Is this the reward you got, Big Boss?"

Wang Meng's jaw nearly hit the floor.

Jiangnan didn't explain. He waved for them to get in.

Inside the vehicle, all the cramped seats had disappeared.

In their place was a spacious living room with a soft carpet, leather sofas, and a thermostat air conditioner blowing warm air at twenty-four degrees.

On the left was a fully automated Integrated Kitchen and a double-door refrigerator.

On the right was a bathroom with separate wet and dry areas. It even had a bathtub!

At the back of the RV stood a luxurious Simmons bed, the kind you just wanted to sink into.

"Oh my God... this is a palace!"

Liu Yuqing was beside herself with excitement. "There's even hot water!"

Jiangnan was very pleased with it.

He sat in the leather executive chair, took out the three fruits, and tossed them back to the others.

[Eat them.]

He wrote the words on a piece of Memo Paper, then took out his own fruit.

The three stared at him, then broke into delighted smiles!

"Thank you, Big Boss!"

Without hesitation, all four bit into their Awakening Fruits at the same time.

The flesh melted in their mouths, turning into a warm current that coursed through their bodies.

After eating his fruit, Jiangnan quietly waited to see what would happen.

His body... didn't change at all.

He didn't even fart.

[Notice: Awakening failed.]

[You did not obtain any supernatural abilities.]

When he saw the notice, Jiangnan showed no disappointment. He didn't even furrow his brow.

So be it.

For someone with the [Word Spirit System], so-called F-class, C-class, and even S-class abilities were nothing but flashy extras.

Speaking words and making them come true—that was the real divine skill.

He didn't need random luck. He needed absolute control.

Jiangnan tossed the fruit pits into the nearby sensor Trash Can, leaned back, and crossed his legs.

Compared to his failed awakening, what interested him more now was...

What could these three people do for him?

That would determine whether Jiangnan took them along—or, rather...

Whether they lived or died.

A few minutes later,

light began to shine around Wang Meng and Liu Yuqing one after the other. Clearly, their awakenings had succeeded.

"Hum!"

Yellow light shimmered around Wang Meng. He stared at his hands in delight.

"I awakened [B-Class Mechanic]! I can repair any machinery, and even make simple modifications and enhancements!"

Next, a blue glint flashed in Liu Yuqing's eyes. She pushed up her glasses and said excitedly, "I'm a [B-Class Appraiser]!

"I can see detailed information about items, and even spot monsters' weaknesses!"

Two powerful support talents!

Jiangnan nodded with satisfaction. These were exactly the tools he needed.

However,

Chen Tong, sitting nearby, had finished her fruit and waited for ages, but nothing happened.

Her stomach only rumbled twice.

"I... I think..."

Chen Tong's face instantly turned deathly pale, her eyes filled with fear and helplessness.

She'd failed.

She hadn't awakened.

Watching Wang Meng and Liu Yuqing celebrate, Chen Tong suddenly felt like she was the one person nobody needed.

In this apocalypse, having no value meant being abandoned.

She looked at Jiangnan with trembling eyes, hers red-rimmed, her voice breaking with tears.

"Jiangnan... I didn't awaken... Am I useless now?"

"Are you going to... abandon your teacher?"

She was a teacher, but in the face of survival, her status meant nothing.

The atmosphere in the RV instantly froze.

Wang Meng and Liu Yuqing didn't dare say a word either. The decision was Jiangnan's.

Jiangnan looked at the pitiful mixed-race beauty and teacher before him and fell silent for a moment.

Then he picked up a pen, wrote a line on the Memo Paper, and handed it to her.

Chen Tong took it with trembling hands, like a prisoner awaiting sentencing.

But when she read the words, she froze.

[I can't cook.]

Five simple words.

Chen Tong stared blankly for two seconds, then suddenly understood.

He was keeping her on as the cook! It was also his way of accepting her!

"Waaah... You scared me half to death..."

The overwhelming joy and lingering fear hit her all at once. Unable to control herself any longer, Chen Tong lunged at Jiangnan.

She pulled his head into her magnificent embrace!

"Thank you! Thank you, Jiangnan!"

"Mmgh!!"

Jiangnan was instantly swallowed by an astonishing softness. His nose was filled with a milky fragrance, and he could barely breathe.

Again?!

Wang Meng and Liu Yuqing leaned over curiously. When they saw the words on the note, they both burst out laughing.

"Looks like the Big Boss is cold on the outside but warm on the inside," Wang Meng remarked.

"Yeah, Jiangnan's actually really gentle," Liu Yuqing agreed.

But they were both wrong.

Trapped against Chen Tong's chest, Jiangnan's face was red from lack of air, but he didn't push her away.

Cold on the outside, warm on the inside?

No.

He was simply...

too pent up.

For eighteen years, he'd lived like an ascetic, saving money to travel and find Sign-in Points, and trying to get through school.

Now the apocalypse had come, and he was Server First. What was wrong with enjoying himself?

Finding a beautiful teacher to reward myself with wouldn't be too much, right?

Once everyone had calmed down, they divided up the work.

The driver's cabin was at the front, a separate, semi-enclosed space with a single bed.

Wang Meng was very tactful. He took his blanket and headed to the driver's cabin on his own.

"Uh, Big Boss, leave the rough work of driving to me! I'll stay in the driver's cabin. I definitely won't disturb you!"

After saying that, he even gave Jiangnan a "I get it" look before drawing the Partition Curtain shut.

Only Jiangnan and the two girls were left in the RV.

"J-Jiangnan, I'll go over there and test my Supernatural Ability. I won't disturb you while you rest!"

Liu Yuqing found an excuse to go stand facing the corner.

No one knew whether she was really testing her ability.

As the vehicle slowly started up,

Jiangnan reclined on the sofa, enjoying the Thermostat Air Conditioner while checking the route on the Smart Control Panel in front of him.

He held a can of cola in his left hand, while his right hand rested very improperly on Chen Tong's thigh as she peeled him a tangerine.

It was firm to the touch, honed by years of wearing professional attire, and paired with her long wine-red hair, it had a charm all its own.

"Ah~"

Chen Tong's body stiffened slightly, and her face flushed to the tips of her ears, but she didn't resist.

Instead, she obediently edged closer to Jiangnan, letting him toy with her.

She knew this was the price she had to pay, and also her guarantee of survival.

Just then, Wang Meng's voice came through the intercom up front.

"Big Boss, which way should we go?"

Jiangnan looked at the Smart Control Panel and casually typed out a reply.

[You're the driver, or am I?]

[Decide for yourself.]

In the driver's cabin, Wang Meng saw the messages and froze.

"Uh... Is Big Boss really this laid-back?"

He scratched his head.

But then he thought it over and realized something was off!

"How could someone like Jiangnan, who plans for everything, be so casual?"

"He's testing me!"

"He's honing my decision-making skills! He's grooming me as a trusted subordinate!"

Wang Meng immediately let his imagination run wild, so moved that tears welled in his eyes:

"Wuwuwu! Big Boss is so good to me! I have to do my best!"

If he had to choose a route...

Wang Meng looked ahead.

To the left lay the wilderness; to the right, the border between a Wheat Field and the woods.

"Sure, there are footprints over there, and they look pretty chaotic, but people have walked that way, so it must be passable!"

"If someone's already gone ahead to clear the way and scout it out, that's definitely safer than wandering around blindly!"

With that, Wang Meng floored the accelerator and headed toward the messy trail of footprints—in other words, the direction Yang Wei and the others had gone.

The RV raced across the wasteland as smoothly as if it were on level ground.

But it hadn't gone far when—

"Eeeek!!!"

A sharp screech of brakes rang out.

The tremendous inertia sent Chen Tong tumbling forward with a startled cry, straight into Jiangnan's arms.

"What happened?!" Chen Tong asked, still shaken.

"B-Big Boss!"

Wang Meng's uncertain voice came through the intercom.

"Someone's blocking the road!"

"It looks like... Yu Shishi?!"

Jiangnan frowned slightly, pushed Chen Tong out of his arms, and opened the forward-facing camera feed.

On the dirt road several dozen meters ahead,

a disheveled figure, filthy from head to toe, stood in the middle of the road with her arms outstretched.

Her face was caked in mud, but she was still recognizable as Yu Shishi.

She was barefoot; her shoes were nowhere to be seen, and she looked utterly wretched.

When she saw the bus stop, wild joy blazed in Yu Shishi's eyes. She rushed over without a second thought and frantically pounded on the door.

"Help! Help me!"

"Please! Let me in!"

In the driver's cabin, Wang Meng watched the scene with some reluctance, but his foot remained firmly on the accelerator.

"Big Boss... It really is Yu Shishi. She looks awful. How about I—"

"Just run her over? That way you won't get your hands dirty."

"Or should I drag her aboard as a bedmate for you? She should still be usable after a wash."

Inside the RV,

Jiangnan's mouth twitched.

No...

What kind of person had Wang Meng imagined me to be?

Why was he making me sound like some sort of devil?

I wasn't that cruel!

At most, I'd just give her a quick death.

[Let's see what's going on first.]

Then he typed his reply, without ordering Wang Meng to open the door.

Instead, he turned to Liu Yuqing, who was leaning against the window beside him, and pointed at Yu Shishi outside.

He meant for her to use her skill.

"OK!"

Liu Yuqing immediately understood, pushed up her glasses, and activated [B-rank Appraisal].

A blue light visible only to her swept across Yu Shishi's body...