Ways to awaken Sequence powers

Chen Ye first opened the two bags he had brought out of the supermarket.

The cigarette in his mouth had gone out, so Chen Ye flicked it away. It was the apocalypse now; nobody would criticize him for littering cigarette butts.

He lit another cigarette and savored the rich aroma of nicotine.

More than half his backpack was packed with cigarettes. He wouldn't run out of smokes anytime soon.

So Chen Ye allowed himself a little extravagance.

Just then, Chen Ye noticed movement in the darkness.

He watched the pitch-black surroundings warily.

A group of people came into view, panting heavily.

"Finally... we finally made it!"

"Oh God... I almost died!"

"Waaah..."

"Those monsters... stopped chasing us! We're alive..."

"Waaah..."

They had caught up.

Judging by what they said, it seemed monsters had chased them, too.

The camp briefly erupted into a clamor.

Some clutched their heads and sobbed.

Some collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath.

Others remained silent, not saying a word.

Some even cast venomous looks at the people ahead who had driven here.

Even Chen Ye, who had ridden a tricycle, became a target of their resentment. Their spiteful gazes kept sweeping over him.

Chen Ye placed his hand crossbow within reach and gave them a warning look.

These people were in a miserable state. Some even had blood on them.

But he hadn't caused their suffering, and he had no interest in playing the saint.

The convoy had originally numbered around two hundred people.

And now...

Even with this group that had caught up, the entire convoy probably had fewer than a hundred people left!

This was the apocalypse!

Chen Ye moved his tricycle closer to the people who had driven here, putting a little more distance between himself and the resentful group. Only then did he get a chance to sort through his current haul.

He opened one bag and found it packed full of rice.

The sight of that bag of rice made Chen Ye swallow.

He hadn't eaten rice in days.

He opened the other bag, which was filled with all sorts of snacks.

There were potato chips, instant noodles, spicy strips, and chocolate.

There were even several bottles of soft drinks and mineral water.

It looked like a big snack variety pack.

A hint of delight appeared on Chen Ye's face.

Those drinks could replenish his sugar levels quickly, and the empty bottles would be useful, too. He could use them to store water.

He sorted the supplies, packed them into bags, and stashed them away.

Only then did Chen Ye start going through the hauls belonging to the woman in yoga pants and Qiangzi.

When he opened the yoga-pants woman's bag, Chen Ye couldn't help cursing aloud.

The stupid woman's bag contained very little food.

Instead, it held quite a few clothes and shoes.

That alone would have been fine. At a time like this, any supplies were useful.

But all those clothes and shoes were women's styles.

The bag also contained plenty of feminine hygiene products.

It seemed he could only use these things to trade with others for supplies.

Next came Qiangzi's bag.

Qiangzi's bag was even bigger than Chen Ye's backpack, and it looked like he had stuffed plenty into it.

Chen Ye even found cured pork in Qiangzi's bag.

That was a scarce commodity.

There was no shortage of assorted snacks, either.

There were also two large packs of dried noodles. Those two packs alone would keep Chen Ye fed for quite a while.

Not only that, Chen Ye even found several pieces of clothing and a pair of shoes in Qiangzi's backpack.

A flicker of pleasant surprise crossed Chen Ye's face.

After all, it was still October.

The weather hadn't cooled down completely yet.

As a result, Chen Ye sweated heavily every day, and his body had long since become sticky.

His clothes were filthy, too. He looked little different from a beggar.

Even if he couldn't bathe, changing into clean clothes would make him much more comfortable.

Chen Ye eagerly changed into a quick-dry shirt and put his dirty clothes into a bag. He would have to wait until he camped beside a river to wash them.

In times like these, he couldn't afford to waste even the smallest bit of supplies.

Even though the shoes on his feet already smelled sour, Chen Ye had no intention of throwing them away.

Chen Ye took out his portable gas stove and cookware, planning to make himself a good meal today.

Without a knife, Chen Ye could only laboriously slice off a little cured pork with the tip of a crossbow bolt and toss it into the pot.

As for rinsing the rice, the thought never even crossed Chen Ye's mind.

After all, rinsing rice would waste water.

He simply poured in a little water and set it on the portable stove to cook with the cured pork.

Qiangzi's bag also contained two jars of Lao Gan Ma chili sauce.

Having two jars of Lao Gan Ma was one of life's great blessings.

The survivors who had arrived nearby were still crying, but Chen Ye couldn't be bothered with them.

In an apocalypse like this, people who still had tears to shed could keep living.

Blowing out a smoke ring, Chen Ye leaned against his tricycle and waited for the food to cook.

Meanwhile, he kept a wary eye on those people.

Once he saw that they weren't doing anything extreme, Chen Ye turned his thoughts back to the system.

There were a little over five hours left until the tricycle's upgrade was complete.

Seeing that he still had three hundred Slaughter Points left,

Chen Ye thought of those Sequence Transcendents again.

"System, how can I awaken Sequence Transcendent powers?"

Chen Ye had only asked tentatively, but to his surprise, the system quickly answered.

[There are currently two ways to awaken Sequence Transcendent powers. The first is to obtain a Sequence Serum and use it to awaken Sequence Transcendent powers.]

[The second is self-awakening.]

Chen Ye narrowed his eyes slightly.

He could forget about Sequence Serums. The name alone sounded expensive, and there was no way he could afford one.

Besides, this was the apocalypse. Humanity had long since been driven out of the cities, so Sequence Serums were probably even harder to obtain.

The other option was self-awakening...

"System, do you have a method for self-awakening?"

[Yes. It costs three thousand Slaughter Points to redeem. Would the host like to redeem it?]

Chen Ye: "..."

Three thousand Slaughter Points?

He had nearly died getting a thousand Slaughter Points. Where was he supposed to get three thousand?

He looked at the three hundred Slaughter Points remaining in his account.

If he repaid the system's loan, he would have nothing left.

The system wouldn't chase him for repayment anyway. How could he use these three hundred Slaughter Points to get the most out of them?

Chen Ye took a deep drag on his cigarette, his mind racing.

He recalled his time in Apricot Blossom Town, whether it was facing the White-Clad Scissor Woman or dealing with the Paper-Crying Child.

Ordinary people had no way to fight those horrors. All they could do was keep running for their lives.

"System, use three hundred Slaughter Points to redeem a way to deal with supernatural horrors!"

After Chen Ye issued that command,

A small spinning icon appeared on the system.

It looked just like the loading icon that appeared when opening an app on a phone.

He waited a full ten minutes.

Just as Chen Ye began to think even the system couldn't help,

A message arrived from the system.

[Spend three hundred Slaughter Points to redeem a method for dealing with supernatural horrors. Confirm redemption?]

There really was a way?

Chen Ye immediately sat up straight.

"Confirm. Redeem it!"

Being utterly powerless to fight back against those horrors was a truly awful feeling.

Although a method costing three hundred Slaughter Points certainly wouldn't be a decisive solution,

At least he would have some way to fight back from now on.

The three hundred Slaughter Points in his account vanished instantly.

A message appeared before Chen Ye.

[Black dog blood can have some effect on supernatural horrors!]

Black dog blood!

He hadn't expected that to be the method. A little delight stirred in Chen Ye's heart.

He had been worrying about what he would do if he had no gasoline after the tricycle's upgrade.

He wondered whether he could trade this method with the Sequence Transcendents up ahead for some gasoline.

Gasoline?

Since he could redeem Sequence Serums, shouldn't he also be able to redeem gasoline or other supplies?

Chen Ye immediately summoned the system and asked.

The system gave an affirmative answer.

But after one look at the redemption price, Chen Ye fell silent.

Seeing that price, Chen Ye decided he would never redeem it unless his life was in danger.