Chapter Summaries

Chen Ye watched the convoy’s survivors return and learned that Chu Che could use sand to sense eerie entities. The group gathered beneath an awning to divide the supplies, but the chapter ended before the shares were distributed.

• The old man in the runabout arrived at camp with an awning and several Solar Charging Panels.
• Two bedraggled survivors, including a bespectacled college student, reached camp with supplies from Longevity Village.
• Uncle Abao called Chen Ye and Old Li to represent their groups for the supply division.
• Chu Che explained that his guide-sequence ability let him sense eerie entities through the earth and that he could stay until nine the next morning.
• Nana joined Chen Ye and Chu Che beneath the awning as the enormous backpacks were brought over.

After returning from Longevity Village, Chen Ye and Nana reported the convoy’s heavy losses and described the strange anomalies they had encountered. Chu Che proposed a supply division, and the chapter ended as Chen Ye’s cigarettes, alcohol, and food were laid out before the convoy.

• Uncle Abao reported that only 44 of the convoy’s original 124 members remained, and Nana and Chen Ye recounted what had happened in Longevity Village.
• Chu Che asked whether the Hunchbacked Old Puppet had attacked anyone, and Chen Ye said the anomalies might be growing stronger and developing intelligence.
• Chu Che proposed splitting the recovered supplies among himself, Nana, Chen Ye, and Iron Lion, with Old Li standing in for the unconscious Iron Lion.
• Chen Ye emptied his backpacks, revealing cigarettes, baijiu, packaged food, snacks, and cooking supplies.
• Chu Che called the cigarettes and alcohol useful trade goods, while Zhou Lan warned Zhou Xiaoxiao to notice the other survivors’ greedy stares.

The convoy divided the supplies collected by Chen Ye, Nana, and Iron Lion, with each survivor receiving a share. The chapter ended as Chu Che saw Iron Lion’s practical haul of food and water and finally smiled.

• Chen Ye received his agreed twenty-percent share, including cigarettes, baijiu, and seasonings, and agreed to trade with Nana later.
• Nana emptied her large backpack, revealing snacks, toiletries, feminine hygiene products, and staple foods, then opened another pack filled with beer.
• Nana claimed a jar of hair dye, and the survivors divided the rest of her supplies, including beer, rice, potatoes, corn, and toiletries.
• Uncle Abao opened Iron Lion’s bulging backpack, which contained large quantities of noodles, bottled water, canned food, and staple foods.
• Chu Che smiled faintly when he saw Iron Lion’s practical supplies.

Chen Ye’s Motor Tricycle completed its canopy upgrade, giving him a concealed, sheltered cargo space and bringing him closer to building an Apocalypse Base Vehicle. Nana discovered the upgraded vehicle, accepted it as one of Chen Ye’s secrets, and asked to trade cigarettes for booze.

• Chen Ye loaded his share of the supplies onto his Motor Tricycle and concealed the cargo bed with a makeshift tent while the upgrade countdown ran down.
• When the countdown reached zero, the women’s clothes in the cargo bed vanished and a patchwork canopy appeared over the tricycle’s cargo space.
• Chen Ye admired the upgraded vehicle and realized he could use its enclosed cargo bed to conceal supplies and sleep more comfortably.
• Nana arrived and surprised Chen Ye, who worried that she had discovered his secret.
• Nana laughed off his concern, praised the Mechanic Sequence, and told Chen Ye she wanted to trade cigarettes for his booze.

Chen Ye’s heightened senses revealed that he was awakening as a Sequence Transcendent, and he traded supplies for cigarettes and bicycles while waiting for the process to finish. After noticing how perfectly he could blow smoke rings, he learned that his awakening had completed.

• Chen Ye traded four cans of beer with Nana for two cartons of cigarettes and noticed his vision and hearing had sharpened.
• Chen Ye asked the system about his heightened senses and learned they were a side effect of his ongoing Sequence Transcendent awakening.
• Xiao Fu traded Chen Ye two bicycles for twenty alcohol fuel blocks after explaining that he and his friend were moving onto Iron Lion’s bus.
• Chen Ye cooked noodles, ate dinner, and considered how to use the bicycles to upgrade his tricycle.
• Chen Ye noticed that he had blown several unusually perfect smoke rings and asked the system whether his awakening was complete.
• The system told Chen Ye that his Sequence Transcendent awakening had finished.

After awakening as a Smoke Apostle Sequence 1: Smoke Initiate, Chen Ye gained smoke-related abilities and stronger physical condition but suffered weakened vision in his left eye. He accepted the impairment and began planning to turn two bicycles into upgrades for his tricycle, asking the system to convert their materials into canopy parts.

• Chen Ye awakened as a Smoke Apostle and discovered his abilities: Smoke Aura, Basic Smoke Shaping, and Nicotine Tolerance.
• Chen Ye realized the Smoke Apostle Sequence weakened the vision in his left eye, but he accepted the cost as part of becoming a transcendent.
• Chen Ye dismantled two bicycles so he could use their frames and wheels to improve his tricycle and build a trailer.
• Chen Ye asked the system to upgrade the bicycle materials into canopy reinforcement parts.

Captain Chu Che monitored the convoy with the Eavesdropping Radio and painted “Fairness!” on his vehicle while Chen Ye reinforced his tricycle’s canopy. Chen Ye settled into his improved sleeping space, then found a willow branch that might have come from the Big Willow Tree in Longevity Village.

• Captain Chu Che overheard reports about Chen Ye’s trade with Nana, Iron Lion’s recovery, and Xu Jiaojiao’s efforts, then painted “Fairness!” on his off-road vehicle.
• Chen Ye spent 362 Slaughter Points to upgrade bicycle parts into a canopy frame, shelving his plan to build a trailer.
• While waiting for the upgrade, Chen Ye practiced his smoke mimicry and discovered he could reproduce the appearance of inanimate objects.
• Chen Ye installed the reinforced frame and canopy, added supplies to its roof rack, and made a more comfortable resting space.
• Chen Ye found a willow branch beside him and wondered if it had come from the Big Willow Tree in Longevity Village.

Chen Ye tried to fuse a fresh branch from the Big Willow Tree with his Hand Crossbow, but lacked the slaughter points needed to upgrade it into a wonder. After surviving the desert’s freezing night, he told Iron Lion that he had awakened a second sequence, leaving him stunned.

• Chen Ye recognized the willow branch that had followed him from Longevity Village and tried to fuse it with his worn Hand Crossbow, but the system said he needed 5,000 slaughter points and had too few.
• Chen Ye woke during the desert night because of the cold, piled on his thickest clothes, and warmed up inside the upgraded shelter.
• The next morning, the Zhou Sisters and other survivors emerged as the camp woke, and Zhou Lan told Xiao Xiao to gather more warm clothes.
• Iron Lion emerged from the bus after sleeping through the night in light clothing, while Chen Ye lit a cigarette.
• Iron Lion noticed Chen Ye’s white left pupil, and Chen Ye said he had awakened a second sequence, shocking him.

After awakening the Smoke Apostle sequence, Chen Ye watched a survivor freeze to death and continued with the convoy, which encountered another group of vehicles ahead. The chapter left the convoy on alert as the two groups faced each other.

• Chen Ye revealed his Smoke Apostle sequence and explained its smoke-mimicking ability to Chu Che, Nana, and Iron Lion.
• A survivor was found frozen to death in his tent, and the convoy buried him in the desert.
• Chen Ye considered using the dead man's motorcycle to upgrade his overloaded tricycle but chose not to approach the grieving woman yet.
• The convoy set off beneath new “Fair Play” lettering, while Chen Ye fell behind because his tricycle was heavy and unstable.
• Chu Che warned everyone that something was happening ahead, where a dozen vehicles were parked across the road.

The Fairness Convoy discovered a deserted, wrecked convoy blocking the desert highway and cautiously investigated it. After Iron Lion signaled that the crash site was safe, Chen Ye eagerly hoped to find a better vehicle.

• Zhou Xiaoxiao and Zhou Lan grew wary when Captain Chu announced another convoy ahead, while Chen Ye readied his weapons.
• Chen Ye spotted dozens of wrecked vehicles ahead, including an overturned off-road vehicle, but saw no people or response to the convoy's approach.
• Chu Che checked the scene and confirmed there were no horrors, then sent Xiao Fu to scout the wreckage.
• Xiao Fu returned and reported that every vehicle was empty, so the convoy moved closer to investigate.
• Iron Lion approached the crash site and signaled that it was safe, and Chen Ye grew excited at the prospect of finding a better vehicle.