A detour to survival

They had no idea what was inside Green Mountain Town, but Su Ran had been a powerful Sequence 7, and even she had died there. Before her death, she had sent a warning, filled with utter terror.

They could be certain that an extremely powerful peak B-grade wraith, or even an A-grade one, lurked inside.

It was incredibly dangerous.

But if they followed their original route, they might go a long time without anywhere to replenish their supplies.

Surely passing Green Mountain Town without entering it would be fine.

There were other scavenging spots along this road. A little before Green Mountain Town, a right turn would take them to a village called Fallen Dragon Village.

Before the apocalypse, this had been a village near the Songhua River, rich in resources and stocked with plenty of supplies.

When the Gray Fog swallowed cities, it brought over not only the people but also the cities they lived in. Those cities had simply been broken apart and scattered across different areas, areas that had originally belonged to them.

A Divine-Type Awakened had once flown into the fog. She discovered that some places within it were bottomless abysses, filled with mist below and terrifyingly silent.

From above, it looked as though a piece had been removed from a complete jigsaw puzzle. The cities brought over would fill those spaces.

Hao Ren briefly explained their current situation and asked for everyone's opinions.

"Our main reason for taking this road was to set up a Beacon Tower. But none of us has awakened as a Guide yet. Even if someone had, we'd still have to see whether they were willing."

Gong Qing's meaning was clear: he agreed with taking a detour.

The convoy's primary goal was to stay alive, find materials for advancing their Sequences, and help Zhang Jie build Beacon Towers along the way. They would set their sights on the wider world and eventually head to the Endlands to seek "an answer they didn't even understand or know they were looking for."

Put simply, stay alive!

They didn't even have food now. How the hell were they supposed to stay alive?

"I agree too. No game console, no food-what am I even living for? Ahem... that's your captain's opinion," Wen Kele said.

"I agree too. We can't do without food," Su Yue said.

She kept glancing behind them, wondering whether Li Wu had escaped.

"I don't mind. Anywhere's the same to me now," Su Nian said flatly.

His clear goals now were to grow stronger, stay alive, then improve his living conditions and find a little pleasure in being human.

As for where he went, it didn't matter. Most people didn't really have clear goals in life anyway.

In the apocalypse, danger was everywhere. If he encountered a wraith he could beat, he would beat it to death. If he couldn't, he would take to his heels. Whoever ran slowest would die anyway.

Living solely to hide wasn't his style. He could tuck his tail between his legs now and then, but he couldn't do it forever.

After discussing it, they decided to change their route.

Dawn broke, and a ray of morning sunlight spilled down. The Raptor's tires stopped turning, and one vehicle after another came to a halt.

[Ding! Escaped the Grave-Crying Specter's pursuit. Gained 2,000 Survival Points.]

The Wraith Domain had been so vast that it had taken them this long to escape. Without the Wraith Travel Token, his heart would have been pounding the whole way, afraid something would strike at a critical moment. Staying on guard against wraiths was mentally exhausting.

Two thousand Survival Points-enough to add five attribute points. A fortune.

[Survival Points: 8,090]

Big Black Bull lay straight down on the ground to rest, but didn't sleep. The bull still didn't know what Su Nian and the others intended to do with it.

Its former owner had abandoned it, and its new owner's attitude remained unclear, but he probably wouldn't kill it.

Everyone got out of the vehicles and basked in the sunshine.

Hao Ren sighed. "At this time of day, Zhang Ping would always have the table set out and the umbrella open."

Now they had nothing, not even a table.

Heartbreaking! It was just too heartbreaking!

There wasn't even a scrap of Zhang Ping left. They couldn't even put up a grave with his clothes and belongings.

"Life has to go on." Gong Qing walked along the convoy, checking whether his driver was still alive.

Riding in someone else's vehicle always felt uncomfortable. They were all on the same side, but there were still boundaries.

The second vehicle was driven by a man he had never seen before. The man immediately grew tense when he got out; after all, he belonged to the other convoy.

The third, fourth, and fifth vehicles all had familiar faces.

Tang Chen, Tang Zhou, and Chen Tai were all members of the Guard Team.

Hao Ren walked over to Tang Chen.

"Drive this vehicle to the front. You'll be my driver from now on, and you'll take over Zhang Ping's duties."

Tang Chen nodded. Zhang Ping was probably gone.

Beside him, Tang Zhou looked thrilled. Her brother had been promoted to "chief steward." Thinking of Zhang Ping, though, she felt it was such a shame. He had been a good man. Compared with the managers of other convoys, Zhang Ping had been practically a saint.

He had never bullied a single person. Good people really did die young.

Once Hao Ren left, the honest-looking Chen Tai hurried over to congratulate him.

"Tang, didn't I tell you talent would shine sooner or later?"

The siblings, Tang Chen and Tang Zhou, had plenty of skills, yet they had been shoved into the Guard Team. Everyone knew they were no ordinary pair and would climb higher someday.

Tang Chen smiled. "What talent? Don't be so formal with me... I'll drive the vehicle up first."

As far as he was concerned, working for Awakened could easily get you killed young. Only strength of your own truly counted. Still, this was a good thing. At least no one would bully his sister in the future.

"Go ahead." Chen Tai smiled.

Tang Chen got into the vehicle, started it, and drove ahead of Su Nian's Raptor.

Chen Tai looked away and turned to Tang Zhou.

"Tang Zhou, aren't you going to find yourself a position?"

"Me? What position would I look for? Am I supposed to push my brother out of his?" Tang Zhou laughed.

Chen Tai lowered his voice.

"Come on, Captain Su's still got empty seats in his vehicle. Why don't you put yourself forward? Then you'd have connections with both the former captain and the current one, and you'd get more supplies than you do in the Guard Team."

"Would that work? Wouldn't it be a little presumptuous?"

Honestly, she didn't like sucking up to people. She had backbone, and the ability to back it up. Since crossing over here, she had never been bullied, nor had she bullied anyone.

If someone helped her, she helped them in return. Sucking up to people felt uncomfortable.

"Why wouldn't it work? Think about before. With your skills, if you'd put yourselves forward earlier, they'd have brought you in long ago. You could've been living well from day one. Isn't that right?" Chen Tai said with a smile.

"Go give it a try. It won't cost you anything if it doesn't work, but I think you've definitely got a chance."

A smile appeared on Su Yue's face when she saw Li Wu.

"Uncle Li, thank goodness! I'm so glad you're all right."

"I was lucky to make it. A proper vehicle can move fast, after all." Li Wu laughed heartily.

If he had still been driving his old Three-Wheeler, escaping would probably have been difficult.

Su Yue's awakening had benefited him too.

"Chen Shu, thank goodness! You're not dead!" Wen Kele lunged forward and hugged her.

She was excited, utterly thrilled.

Chen Shu was taken aback, but she still felt deeply touched. Someone cared about her.

Then Wen Kele spoke again.

"Is my charger okay? Are my chips okay?"

Chen Shu's expression froze. The warm feeling hadn't even lasted three seconds. She should have known. How could Wen Kele possibly care about her? If it had been Wen Keyi, she would certainly have been genuinely happy that Chen Shu was alive.

She should have thrown the charger away on the road and cured Wen Kele of her gaming addiction.

Hao Ren took a rough look around. Apart from Su Nian's Raptor, there were eleven vehicles in total, and only two had any real supplies. Altogether, they had enough to feed one person for half a month. He couldn't even be bothered to count the half-bottles of water and lone biscuits in the others.

These vehicles all carried survivors.

Thirty-two people were currently alive. There was no telling how many more might catch up from behind.

The convoy needed people. It couldn't do without its followers, and gathering supplies required manpower too. If fewer people contributed supplies, they would have to gather them themselves.

It also affected the number of Awakened. A large convoy would grow stronger as it traveled, while a sparsely populated one would ultimately head toward destruction.

In this world, more firewood meant a bigger flame. Without firewood, you were done for.