Battle-Damaged Pickup Truck!

[Upgrading the Sidecar Motorcycle requires 13,500 survival points. Upgrade?]

"Upgrade it!"

Chu Sheng paid no attention to anyone else's stares. Looking at the rough framework he had assembled, his eyes held nothing but satisfaction.

In his eyes, his sidecar motorcycle looked nothing like its current form.

He looked past appearances to the substance beneath. To him, the Sidecar Motorcycle had already transformed into a pickup truck.

A brilliant white light flashed, enveloping the entire sidecar motorcycle, along with the glass strapped to it and the cargo bed behind it that he had made from a sedan.

The white light also drew the attention of those who hadn't noticed what was happening.

Zhou Dun and his two companions, who were filling containers with gasoline inside the Gas Station, looked over as well.

Seeing that it was Chu Sheng, they gazed enviously at the sidecar motorcycle enveloped in white light.

[Upgrade complete! Sidecar Motorcycle upgraded to Battle-Damaged Pickup Truck.]

[Remaining survival points: 3,040]

The white light lasted only a short while before quickly fading.

Then a pickup truck emerged from the light. It looked somewhat shabby, but it fit the apocalypse perfectly.

Apart from the glass, which looked new, not a single part of it was in good condition.

In places, the outer panels had even fallen off, exposing the slightly rusty body underneath.

The supplies that had been enveloped in the white light were now in the cargo bed.

The supplies that had once filled the entire sidecar motorcycle now occupied only a small portion of the Battle-Damaged Pickup Truck's cargo bed.

None of this surprised Chu Sheng. He had known what the pickup would look like before upgrading it.

After all, he had designed it himself.

What did it matter if the exterior was a little beat-up?

It was the apocalypse. Who cared what your vehicle looked like? As long as it worked, that was enough.

Most importantly, making the exterior look nice would cost him four or five hundred survival points, and he couldn't bear to spend them.

It wouldn't affect how it worked anyway, so looking a little rough was fine.

Chu Sheng excitedly jumped into the driver's seat. The setup looked basic, but it had everything he needed, and he fondly ran his hands over the steering wheel.

Seeing him jump into the truck, An Xi climbed in too. She sat in the passenger seat and looked around before saying disdainfully, "Isn't this truck of yours a little too bare-bones?"

"There's nothing in here. It doesn't even have a display."

Chu Sheng glanced at her. "As long as it works. What do I need a display for? It's useless crap."

"Fine." An Xi shook her head, then looked between the driver's and passenger's seats. "Why are these the only functions you have here?"

"Radio, music, switch power source?!"

"I get the first two, but what the hell is 'switch power source'?!"

An Xi stared at him in bewilderment, her eyes wide.

"What's it to you? Shoo, shoo. Stop bothering me."

Chu Sheng waved her off, shooing her out of the truck like a little chick.

An Xi was furious. Standing outside the pickup, she pointed at Chu Sheng. "You're going to regret this!"

"I don't know whether I'll regret it. All I know is that you'll definitely be asking me for help someday."

Chu Sheng didn't even look at her.

The pickup looked shabby, but it had every function Chu Sheng had planned for it.

What pleased him most was its Gas-Electric Hybrid setup.

After the upgrade, the solar panel had been mounted directly on the roof, and the two batteries had become one.

With a fully charged battery, the pickup had an electric range of roughly thirty kilometers.

Sometimes the convoy traveled less than thirty kilometers, and sometimes it traveled far more.

But that was generally enough.

Besides, when the sun was out during the day, the pickup could charge while traveling.

His need for gasoline would drop dramatically from now on.

This was the upgrade Chu Sheng valued most.

He could do without everything else, but the Gas-Electric Hybrid was a must!

A Gasoline-Powered Vehicle might not make it to the Gas Station, while an All-Electric Vehicle lacked range and couldn't be charged whenever needed.

But the Battle-Damaged Pickup Truck, with its Gas-Electric Hybrid setup and roof-mounted solar panel, could race through the apocalypse!

The Battle-Damaged Pickup Truck didn't have many features. Limited by his survival points, he had cut out a lot.

It didn't even have gears anymore. Speed depended entirely on how far he pressed the accelerator. Turn the key and it was ready to go: left foot to reverse, right foot to move forward.

The controls couldn't have been simpler.

Even things like the suspension and shock absorption had been stripped down to the bare minimum.

Before the apocalypse, anyone who saw him driving this thing would have called it a death trap and a rip-off.

But in the apocalypse, people would call it badass and give him a thumbs-up, saying this young man was something else.

Over thirteen thousand survival points had produced something that was mostly for show.

But Chu Sheng was very satisfied.

For show or not, at least it ran. From now on, he only needed to improve specific parts.

Once he had upgraded it enough, he could keep working toward the Hundred-Ton King.

One day, he would drive a Hundred-Ton King through the apocalypse.

As Chu Sheng thought about this, Zhou Dun and his two companions returned carrying the fuel they had collected.

Chu Sheng glanced at the three of them. In a rare act of kindness, buoyed by his newly upgraded pickup, he tossed them three packets of instant noodles that were already somewhat crushed.

"Go get me some more fuel."

Chu Sheng poured all the gasoline they had brought into the tank, then looked at the three of them again.

At his words, Zhou Dun and his companions nodded repeatedly, though they hesitated as they held the instant noodles.

"Hmm? You don't want them?" Chu Sheng glanced at the three and frowned.

"No, I just meant that three packets of instant noodles are a little too much."

Zhou Dun shook his head, looking at Chu Sheng with complete sincerity.

Chu Sheng: "..."

Why did you have to make me feel like I was some kind of scumbag?

"Go on. I'm in a good mood. If I give them to you, they're yours. Of course, you don't have to take them if you don't want them."

Hearing that, Zhou Dun and his companions exchanged glances, then put the instant noodles away.

At first, they hadn't accepted anything from Chu Sheng because they had wanted to build a connection. Now that they had one, there was nothing wrong with taking what they were owed.

Zhou Dun hadn't actually expected Chu Sheng to protect them.

Although they hadn't interacted much, he could already make out a little of Chu Sheng's personality. This was a truly ruthless man.

There was no point even considering whether Chu Sheng would protect him in a dangerous situation.

He only hoped that having a connection to Chu Sheng would make things a little safer for them in the future.

Relations between survivors were far from harmonious.

The people Chu Sheng had encountered earlier were a perfect example.

Zhou Dun and his companions went off to collect more gasoline. Chu Sheng was sitting in the truck when Zhu Qing's voice came from outside.

"Your ability is seriously overpowered!"

"It's ridiculous beyond belief!"

The redhead stared at Chu Sheng's pickup, his eyes red with envy.

Why did everyone else's abilities have to be so mysterious and unpredictable, while he was just an ordinary Giant?!

Zhu Qing refused to accept it!