You... awakened a second sequence?

Chen Ye would never forget the Big Willow Tree in Longevity Village, not even in death.

Without a flashlight, it was so dark inside the vehicle shelter that he couldn't see his own hand.

Chen Ye only had to feel it to know this was a branch from the Big Willow Tree in Longevity Village.

He remembered now.

When he had left Longevity Village, a willow branch had wrapped around his ankle and tried to drag him into the darkness. Luckily, the Woodcutter's Knife soaked in black dog blood had been within reach, and he had cut the branch off.

The branch must have stayed wrapped around his ankle and followed him out of Longevity Village, remaining there until now.

Chen Ye was about to toss the willow branch out of the shelter when he suddenly paused.

This was a branch from the Big Willow Tree!

From yesterday until now, the branch had stayed as fresh as if it had just been cut from the tree. His fingers could even feel the tender, crisp willow leaves.

An irresistible idea sprang to mind.

Chen Ye took the Hand Crossbow from his waist and ran his fingers over its string.

After the intense fighting in Longevity Village, the Hand Crossbow's string was badly worn. It would probably snap after just a few more shots.

Without the Hand Crossbow, his combat strength would definitely take a major hit.

Could this willow branch replace the string? Could it make a wonder?

Captain Chu's Eavesdropping Radio had left a deep impression on Chen Ye.

If he could get a wonder crossbow, his combat strength would definitely improve dramatically.

He put the thought into action.

Chen Ye placed the willow branch and the Hand Crossbow together. He lay flat in the pitch-black shelter, but the system interface had already appeared before his eyes.

"System, can you fuse the willow branch and the Hand Crossbow to upgrade it?"

The system quickly gave an affirmative response.

Chen Ye's heart leaped with joy.

"Can fusing the willow branch and the Hand Crossbow upgrade it into a wonder?"

The system answered in the affirmative again.

At that response, Chen Ye's right eye lit up. Even his already-mutated left eye gleamed with excitement.

Without another thought, Chen Ye quickly confirmed the upgrade.

This was a wonder!

According to Nana and Chu Che, every wonder had its own unique ability.

He wondered what kind of wonder the willow branch and the Hand Crossbow would become when fused.

Its ranking probably wouldn't be very high.

After all, the willow branch was only the most insignificant part of the Big Willow Tree.

Even if the wonder ranked below ten thousandth, Chen Ye wouldn't turn his nose up at it.

As long as it was a wonder, that was enough.

But the response he received left him deeply disappointed.

[Upgrading the Hand Crossbow requires 5,000 slaughter points. Insufficient slaughter points!]

[Please keep up your efforts, host, and work hard to accumulate slaughter points!]

The system's cold notification felt like a bucket of cold water dumped over his head.

His seven thousand-plus slaughter points had gone through a whole series of upgrades and modifications.

Now he only had a little over four thousand left.

It wasn't nearly enough!

The desert night was colder than Chen Ye had expected.

The temperature was plummeting at an alarming rate.

By midnight, Chen Ye had even been jolted awake by the cold once.

And that was with his physical attributes already enhanced, yet he still felt cold.

Chen Ye found his thickest clothes and piled them over himself. Only then did he warm up a little.

He couldn't help marveling at how extreme the temperature swings had become since the apocalypse.

Luckily, he had upgraded the shelter during the day. If he had slept out in the open, he might have frozen to death.

Although the shelter didn't raise the temperature inside by much, it was still far better than having nothing.

In the morning, the temperature rose again.

It was most comfortable when he got up. A long-sleeved shirt was just right.

The blood moon had already set.

A scorching sun sprang above the horizon, its golden light painting the desert gold once more.

The frost from last night was disappearing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The camp began to stir with life.

Some survivors emerged from the bus looking grubby and disheveled.

The nearby tents were stirring too.

The survivors who had spent the night in those tents were the ones who traveled by motorcycle.

These survivors hadn't joined the bus group, choosing to live on their own instead.

Joining the bus group had its advantages: basic necessities were assured, but supplies were distributed collectively.

After joining the bus group, everyone had to hand all their supplies over to Old Li for allocation.

Living alone had its advantages too.

At least they could decide how to use all their own supplies.

As long as they had supplies, life in the convoy was even freer than before the apocalypse.

Things they couldn't do before the apocalypse could now be done for just a loaf of bread.

A voluptuous woman climbed out of the Senior Scooter, followed by the scrawny old man.

Grinning, the old man handed her a piece of chocolate and winked at her, his expression as sleazy as could be.

The woman rolled her eyes at him and walked away, swaying her hips.

The Zhou Sisters also climbed out of their vehicle, their eyes bleary with sleep.

Last night's temperature swing had caught the sisters off guard.

Fortunately, they had prepared ahead of time. They had put on the down jackets they had collected earlier, saving themselves from freezing to death.

"Yaaawn! Sis, it was so cold last night!"

Remembering how she had shivered in the cold last night, Zhou Xiaoxiao couldn't help shuddering.

Ever since the other survivors had seen through her disguise a few days ago, Zhou Xiaoxiao had stopped dressing as a boy.

She had also taken off the cap she used to wear so often. With her delicate features and ear-length hair, she looked cute, playful, and lively.

She had changed into women's clothes too, and she shone in the golden morning light. Compared with her mature, alluring older sister, she was no less striking.

No wonder people in the entertainment industry used to say that "the entire industry is waiting for her debut."

Zhou Lan gathered the long hair at the back of her head, her eyes still heavy with sleep.

"I came to Yan Prefecture for filming before, so I knew there was a big difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures. But a swing this big is just abnormal."

"Xiao Xiao, next time we gather supplies, collect more warm clothes."

"Got it, Sis!"

"Sis, my breath stinks. I want to brush my teeth!"

"No! Have you lost your mind? This is the apocalypse, and we're in a desert. You know how precious water is!"

Zhou Lan glared at her younger sister, Xiao Xiao.

In the end, she couldn't resist her sister's wheedling. The two found a secluded spot and shared half a cup of water to brush their teeth.

Xiao Fu, the university student, had just stepped off the bus. Seeing the sisters looking so breathtaking, he felt his heart race and hurriedly looked away.

The bus rocked a few times, and an enormous figure stepped out, stretching languidly toward the sun on the horizon.

"Yaaawn..."

It was the big fellow, Iron Lion.

He had slept for an entire day before waking up, and his wounds had already mostly healed.

His physical constitution was honestly outrageous.

Last night's low temperatures hadn't bothered Iron Lion at all, given his exceptional physique.

Chen Ye had taken out all his clothes last night to keep warm.

This guy, meanwhile, had slept in the vehicle wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, without even a blanket.

For a heavy smoker like Chen Ye, the first thing to do after getting up was light a Hua Cigarette to perk himself up.

As for brushing his teeth or washing his face, he could forget about that.

Water was more precious than gold now.

"Hey, Ye, your eye!"

When Iron Lion saw Chen Ye, the first thing he noticed was the white pupil in Chen Ye's left eye.

One black pupil and one white pupil made Chen Ye look distinctly eerie.

"It's fine. I awakened a second sequence last night!"

Chen Ye hadn't intended to hide his awakening as a sequence transcendent from the people in the convoy.

They were together practically every day.

There were only a few dozen people in the convoy. Even if he wanted to hide it, he couldn't.

Chen Ye spoke as though it were nothing.

Besides, having awakened a second sequence would give him an advantage when supplies were distributed in the future.

"You... awakened a second sequence?"

The hulking Iron Lion stared at Chen Ye, dumbstruck, his guileless face filled with utter shock.