Dividing the supplies

The arrival of the little old man's runabout instantly drew everyone's attention.

Nearly all the elderly and weak in the convoy had died this time.

Of the grandmother and grandson who had clashed with Chen Ye earlier, the grandmother had died in Longevity Village. The brat, seven or eight years old, still hadn't shown up. He had probably died during last night's escape, too.

Given how obnoxious the pair had been, probably no one had wanted to save him.

Under last night's circumstances, even many adult men who seemed reasonably fit had died.

Yet the old man driving the runabout had actually survived.

It was simply absurd.

The old man had entered forbidden zones twice. He hadn't missed either Apricot Blossom Town or Longevity Village.

So many people had died, yet he was still alive.

The little runabout rattled toward them, looking as though it might fall apart at any moment.

It wasn't in great shape now, either. Besides the scratches all over its surface, even the body was warped.

There were plenty of mud stains on it, too.

A wobbly luggage rack sat on the roof, with several bags of unknown contents strapped to it. They looked liable to fall off at any moment.

Clearly, the runabout hadn't had a peaceful night.

Quite a few people cast astonished looks its way.

The runabout rattled to a stop beside the camp.

The sleazy, scrawny old man hopped out.

His graying hair fluttered slightly. He wore only a white tank top above a pair of loose black shorts, with flip-flops on his feet.

A flicker of delighted surprise appeared in his eyes when he saw everyone.

"Finally made it! This old man nearly died!"

"Fuck!"

"You lot have no respect for the old or care for the young! You couldn't even come give an old man a hand!"

"Zhao, Zeng, Zhang! Aren't you going to come help your Grandpa Zhang?"

Without a trace of courtesy, he called out several young people's names and demanded their help.

The young people merely glanced at him, not even bothering to respond.

The old man cursed and grumbled for quite a while.

In the end, he could only pull an awning tent out of his vehicle and set it up himself.

That surprised Chen Ye a little.

He hadn't expected the old man to have so many supplies. He even had an awning.

But the old man wasn't done. Next, he took several Solar Charging Panels out of the runabout.

He spread them out over a sizable stretch of sand.

It was downright ridiculous!

Chen Ye had been coveting Captain Chu Che's Solar Charging Panel all along. He hadn't expected this old man to have so many.

A little over two hours later, as the desert began to cool down, something happened.

Two more figures appeared at the far end of the route they had come from.

Chen Ye looked over again.

They were two men riding bicycles.

Both were clearly in terrible shape, and their bicycles moved extremely slowly. They looked as though they had crawled out of hell, utterly bedraggled.

Chen Ye recognized one of them. He was the bespectacled college student who had discovered the village chief's cellar back in Longevity Village.

He didn't recognize the other man, but he was clearly just as bedraggled.

Two large bundles sat on the rear racks of their bicycles, filled with supplies collected from Longevity Village.

After everything that had happened last night, someone besides the old man in the runabout had actually survived.

That surprised Chen Ye.

When the two reached the camp, their bodies suddenly went limp, and they toppled to the ground.

"Li, Zeng, and you lot over there, come give them a hand!"

It was Uncle Abao, directing several young survivors to help.

Uncle Abao was like the convoy's manager, responsible for many of its affairs.

As a result, he commanded far more respect than the old man driving the runabout.

The two survivors were soon carried into the shade to rest.

Chen Ye looked down the road they had come from once more. These two were probably the last survivors from the convoy to return.

The convoy had lost a group of people in Apricot Blossom Town.

Then another group had died in Longevity Village.

A hundred people had vanished during two supply runs, as though they had never existed in this world.

That was the cruelty of the apocalypse.

Chen Ye lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. Its faint glow briefly illuminated the contours of his face.

He gently exhaled.

The smoke he breathed out traveled a long way like a snake before dispersing.

Chen Ye paused in surprise, then took another drag, hoping to repeat the trick.

But no matter what he tried, he couldn't do it again.

"Chen Ye! Captain Chu's awake! He's asking for you!"

"Old Li, Iron Lion hasn't woken up. Come along and represent him!"

After attending to the two survivors, Uncle Abao came to the front of the bus and called for Chen Ye.

Chen Ye saw Old Li send two survivors onto the roof to bring down the mountain-sized bundle.

He knew it was probably time to divide the supplies.

According to the agreement before they entered Longevity Village, Chu Che and Nana would get thirty percent, while Chen Ye and Iron Lion would get twenty percent.

Chen Ye returned to his Motor Tricycle, took the two backpacks out of its cargo bed, and walked toward Chu Che's off-road vehicle.

When Chen Ye saw him, Chu Che was squatting barefoot on the ground, scooping up a handful of sand and chewing it.

Sensing Chen Ye's gaze, Chu Che turned and smiled at him, bringing a hint of warmth to his pale face.

"It's an ability of the guide sequence. By establishing a connection with the earth, we can sense the presence of eerie entities."

"And this sand is the best medium!"

After the battle in Longevity Village, Chu Che had grown somewhat friendlier toward Chen Ye, so he had taken the trouble to explain.

"I get that, but... what does sand actually taste like?"

Chen Ye was a little curious. Chu Che didn't look pained at all as he ate the sand. If anything, he seemed to be savoring a delicacy.

"What else could sand taste like? It tastes like sand. Even if I'm in the guide sequence, I'm still human, no different from any of you."

Chu Che swallowed the sand in his mouth and led Chen Ye to a seat beneath the awning tent.

A set of camping tables and chairs had already been arranged inside.

"So what did you sense?"

Chen Ye tossed his backpacks aside, sat down, and helped himself to a cup of tea, draining it in one gulp.

"We can stay here until nine tomorrow morning!"

Chu Che picked up the serving pitcher and refilled Chen Ye's cup.

Although Chen Ye didn't understand how the guide sequence made these judgments, he was still amazed by Captain Chu Che's abilities.

At the same time, he grew even more eager to become a sequence transcendent himself.

They had barely exchanged a few words when the Long-Legged Girl arrived, looking pale and drained.

The two people following Nana each carried an enormous backpack.

By comparison, Chen Ye's two bags were the smallest.

Soon, Iron Lion's mountain-sized backpack was carried over as well and dumped on the ground.

Quite a few survivors cast envious looks their way.

Nana strode over on her alluring long legs and plopped into the chair beside Chen Ye. She snatched the teapot straight from Captain Chu's hand and began gulping from it.

Tea spilled from her mouth, running down her neck to her collarbones, lending her a lively kind of beauty.