Something Uncanny

"Xiao Xiao, did you find out what Chen Ye said to Captain Chu and Nana?"

Zhou Lan was feeling somewhat regretful now.

Had she known things would turn out like this, she would never have approached Chen Ye in the first place.

She had given him the gasoline, then sent Xiao Xiao to take it back.

She had only herself to blame for losing her head and suddenly finding herself unwilling to part with that can of gasoline.

But things had already reached this point. Regretting it now would do no good.

The two sisters had definitely offended Chen Ye.

Still, seeing Chen Ye obtain a can of gasoline and a machete with just a few words had left Zhou Lan a little rattled.

Just a few words had earned him so many supplies.

Zhou Lan had sent Zhou Xiaoxiao to ask around because she wanted to know what Chen Ye had told them in exchange for those supplies.

"Sis, that old fox Uncle Abao claimed he didn't know anything."

"And to think he said he was your fan last time. Hmph! Some fan he is."

Zhou Xiaoxiao complained as she drove.

Li Jie drove the bus.

Uncle Abao drove Chu Che's modified off-road vehicle.

Chu Che and Nana each had three people in their vehicles.

They were little groups of their own.

Zhou Xiaoxiao had gone to Uncle Abao to ask for information, only to come away empty-handed.

That had left Zhou Xiaoxiao very unhappy.

"Sis, I know what you're worried about."

"You're thinking that since we offended Chen Ye, we won't be able to survive in the convoy anymore, right?"

Zhou Lan said nothing.

Zhou Xiaoxiao smiled and said casually, "What's there to be afraid of, sis? We've survived this long entirely on our own. Every supply run has been a brush with death."

"That's why we've managed to survive in the convoy, and why we live better than the others."

"Sis, we worked so hard to find that gasoline. Why should we give it to Chen Ye?"

"Besides, we don't need anyone else to protect us. We can rely on ourselves."

She looked rather pleased with herself as she spoke.

"Oh, you!"

Zhou Lan reached over and tapped Zhou Xiaoxiao's forehead.

Yet for some reason, an uneasy feeling continued to linger in Zhou Lan's heart.

Chen Ye poured the gasoline he had traded for from Chu Che into the Motor Tricycle's fuel tank.

The engine shuddered, and the Motor Tricycle started up.

The convoy moved a little faster that day.

Perhaps they were trying to make up for the two hours wasted that morning.

Chen Ye could see Chu Che at the front of the convoy, occasionally getting out of his vehicle to scoop up a handful of sandy soil and taste it.

Then, with a grave expression, he would point out a safe direction.

Perhaps that was the power of the guide sequence.

Back when Chen Ye had traveled at the rear of the convoy, he had never seen this happen.

They kept traveling until the afternoon before Chu Che finally ordered the convoy to stop and rest.

Chen Ye took supplies out of the tricycle's cargo bed and started cooking.

He had not eaten rice in days, and he was craving it.

Everyone had plenty of supplies that day. Many people had never made it out of Apricot Blossom Town, but those who had all brought back a fair amount.

At some point, a blood moon had risen on the horizon.

Perhaps because everyone had food to eat that day, the mood in camp seemed less sorrowful.

Just as Chen Ye finished eating, Chu Che's driver, Uncle Abao, came to tell him that Iron Lion had woken up.

When Chen Ye saw the big lug from the legendary titan sequence, he was stunned.

That day, he had seen the man's arm snipped off at the shoulder.

Yet today, part of that arm had actually grown back.

Was this another ability of a sequence transcendent?

Nana and Chu Che seemed quite used to the sight.

Iron Lion was also a little surprised when he saw Chen Ye.

"So it was you. If you hadn't fired that bolt that day, I'd probably be dead."

Lying in bed, Iron Lion spoke in a somewhat weak voice.

"If it weren't for you, I probably would've died that day too!"

Chen Ye spoke honestly.

If Iron Lion had not held off the White-Clad Scissor Woman that day, few people in the convoy would have survived.

"Iron Lion, flesh titan sequence. This is our flesh titans' basic ability, Flesh Regeneration. Hahaha... pretty impressive, huh?"

Seeing Chen Ye staring at his severed arm, the big lug spoke openly, without the slightest discomfort.

"I heard you're from the mechanic sequence. That's great! Now we finally won't have to throw away our vehicles whenever they break down!"

Clearly, he was a chatterbox with plenty of nonsense to spare.

After Chu Che told Iron Lion that black dog blood had some effect on uncanny entities, Iron Lion also expressed his gratitude to Chen Ye.

The convoy followed the principle of fair exchange, so naturally, that information was not free either.

"What do you want?"

"That power bank of yours with a two-kilowatt-hour capacity."

"Sure. I'll have Old Li bring it to you in a bit."

And so, Chen Ye's little convoy gained a power bank, bringing him another step closer to turning his motorized tricycle into a gasoline-electric hybrid.

The days that followed were monotonous and leisurely.

Sometimes the convoy traveled east, only to suddenly head west.

Sometimes they would travel forward for half a day, then find themselves back where they had started by nightfall.

At first, some people questioned it.

Chu Che simply came out and explained that anyone unwilling to follow the convoy was free to leave.

After that, no one objected again.

The convoy's route was like the wanderings of a madman, with no apparent order or plan.

Only the few sequence transcendents wore somewhat grave expressions.

According to Chu Che, several uncanny entities had been searching for traces of the convoy over the past few days.

At their closest, the entities had been less than three kilometers away.

If not for Chu Che and his guide sequence, everyone in the convoy would probably have died long ago.

Whenever they stopped to rest, Chen Ye would find an opportunity to cut tree branches or bamboo to make crossbow bolts.

With the machete, he could make bolts much faster.

Once the bolts were finished, Chen Ye coated their entire shafts in black dog blood.

By now, he had over a hundred bolts in his quiver.

It was just a pity about the convoy's two black dogs.

Probably because of all the blood drawn from them, both dogs looked listless all day long.

"We'll reach Longevity Village tomorrow. The convoy is running low on supplies, so we're planning to search the village for more."

Those were Chu Che's opening words at that evening's meeting.

Everyone's expressions filled with both fear and anticipation.

Apart from the few sequence transcendents, everyone in the convoy was indeed running low on supplies. If they could not restock soon, the convoy might erupt into a riot.

Chen Ye lit a cigarette and silently weighed his options.

Under the rules of the apocalypse, the more prosperous a major city had once been, the more people now feared it.

The few megacities were outright forbidden zones for the living.

Small villages like this, on the other hand, still offered a chance.

He had plenty of crossbow bolts now. Perhaps he could earn a fair amount of slaughter value.

The system had told him before that there was a way for him to awaken a true sequence.

But it required three thousand points of slaughter value.

Just then, a terrified scream rang out across the entire camp.

"Aaaah! There's... there's something uncanny!"