Uncanny items

"What is this?"

The siblings stared fixedly at the bronze disk.

Steward Huang looked immensely pleased with himself. "This is a Weird Object."

"A Weird Object?"

Hearing such an unfamiliar term, Song Lei looked even more puzzled.

As Steward Huang handed over the bronze disk as though presenting a treasure, a stream of information immediately surfaced in both siblings' minds.

Weird Object: Life Disk

Type: Uncanny item

Serial number: None

Traits:

Path to survival: Place a drop of blood on the bronze disk's face, and the bone-white bead within will detect nearby uncanny auras and glow. The brighter the glow, the stronger the uncanny aura. Detection range and sensitivity depend on the user.

Sensory decline: Using it more than three times in a single day will temporarily deprive the user of taste and smell, which will recover after approximately two hours. Prolonged wear and use will cause the user to permanently lose their sense of smell.

Description: A compass carried by an ancient feng shui master. After building a tomb for a general, the master was executed, and his compass became a burial offering. When the tomb was unearthed, the compass entered a museum's collection. After the apocalypse arrived, exposure to uncanny substances endowed it with an extraordinary ability.

After learning what the Life Disk did, Song Shiya finally understood why Steward Huang had been so confident about searching for supplies, and why he had dared to show it to them.

Steward Huang knew perfectly well that, as an ordinary person, he could never get as much use out of a Weird Object as Song Lei could. Besides, he simply could not accept the side effect of losing his sense of smell.

"You're giving this to me?" Song Lei's eyes gleamed with eagerness.

Clearly, the side effects of this Weird Object meant next to nothing to him.

In this apocalypse overrun with uncanny entities, even as a Sequence Awakened, he could not guarantee his own survival. A detection-type Weird Object like this would clearly improve his chances enormously.

Steward Huang gave an awkward smile. "If you like it, Captain Song, I can lend it to you for the time being."

Seeing displeasure cross Song Lei's face, he immediately added, "Of course, if you really like it, I'd be perfectly happy to give it to you."

The Life Disk admittedly did him little good, but he had traded food to a woman for it. Giving it away outright would inevitably sting.

But his words actually left Song Lei feeling a little embarrassed. Before he could speak, Song Shiya cut in from beside him. "We won't take it for nothing. My brother will bring you five packets of instant noodles later, in exchange."

She knew her brother's honest nature all too well. If she let him speak, it certainly would not end at five packets of instant noodles.

Steward Huang immediately beamed. "You're too kind, Miss Song. You truly have a heart as lovely as your face."

How could he not be delighted by this unexpected windfall? After all, the Life Disk had cost him only a piece of bread.

Soon, they settled on a concrete plan.

"Everyone gather round! I have an announcement!"

Shen Ye had only just drifted off when a piercing voice reached his ears.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Song Lei standing in the middle of the camp with a loudspeaker. Quite a few people had already gathered around him.

"We'll be leaving three hours early this afternoon. If we come across a suitable town along the way, I'll personally lead everyone in a search for supplies."

"Of course, each vehicle will have to hand over five percent of whatever supplies it finds as a fee for guidance and protection."

The announcement caused an uproar. Everyone except Steward Huang wore a grave expression.

For most of them, this news represented both an opportunity and a danger.

Song Lei's strength was beyond question, but no one believed he could protect everyone single-handedly in a town full of uncanny entities.

Song Lei offered little further explanation. For most people, there was practically no choice anyway-either starve to death or be killed by an uncanny entity.

After Shen Ye returned to his spot, much of his drowsiness had faded.

He was considering whether he should join the search for supplies.

He still had a fair amount of food, enough to last a while.

His water, however, would last another day at most.

He also wanted to find a different vehicle.

His bicycle was slow and physically exhausting to ride. Most of the cars he encountered on the highway were wrecks, or else had no keys and sat there immobile.

In a town, on the other hand, he might have better luck.

Besides, if he missed this chance, he had no idea when another supply search would be organized.

As for leaving the convoy to look for supplies alone, that would be no different from suicide.

While he was pondering this, a woman approached him.

She was around thirty-five, with delicate features and short black hair that lay untidily against her slightly haggard face.

Dressed in a dust-covered business suit, with several tears in her stockings, she walked up to him carrying an object wrapped in scraps of cloth.

"Hello?"

The woman cautiously greeted Shen Ye, who was sitting against the roots of a tree.

Shen Ye looked up and gave her a once-over. "Need something?"

He had heard her name before. He thought it was Lin Wanqiu. Before the apocalypse, she had been the director of a museum, and she drove a black BMW SUV.

They had never had any dealings before, though, so her arrival left Shen Ye a little wary and curious.

"I... could I trade you for something to eat?" His cold attitude added a trace of fear to her voice.

She had watched the entire incident with Old Mrs. Zhao's family earlier. The ruthless streak that seemed ingrained in Shen Ye instinctively frightened her.

If not for the urging of the other two people in her car, along with her own hunger, she would never have dared approach him.

"No. Go away." Shen Ye refused without a second thought.

In this world, food kept you alive. He did not believe Lin Wanqiu could offer anything of equal value.

Disappointment flashed in Lin Wanqiu's eyes. She turned to leave, but the hunger gnawing at her stomach made her stop.

A few seconds later, as though she had gathered her courage again, she turned back to look at Shen Ye.

"Could you look at this first, before you decide?"

As she spoke, she held out the object wrapped in scraps of cloth.

Shen Ye gave her a suspicious look before reaching out to take it.

As he peeled away the tattered cloth layer by layer, the object beneath was revealed.

It was a straight saber approximately seventy centimeters long.

The blade was black throughout, and its guard was carved into a hideous ghost's head with closed eyes.

A moment later, information appeared in his mind.

Weird Object: Ghost Head

Type: Eldritch Weapon

Serial number: 9999

Traits:

Hard Edge: When the user activates this trait, the blade's sharpness and hardness double. Damaging a Weird Object's weak point has a chance to trigger "Instant death."

Instant death: When this effect triggers, the target dies immediately. Ineffective against incorporeal targets. Against targets stronger than the user, the probability decreases toward zero.

Bloodlust: Each time the user activates "Hard Edge," they must kill at least one target within one calendar day. Otherwise, the Ghost Head will sever one of the user's arms as the price.

Description: A saber that accompanied an ancient general through years of warfare. It slew countless enemies and underwent countless refinements-a tremendously powerful and dangerous killing weapon!

A Weird Object?

Upon learning that the saber was a Weird Object, Shen Ye reacted exactly as Song Lei and his sister had.

Even though he had frequently followed trending news before, this was the first time he had heard of such a thing.

"What do you want in exchange?"

He made his decision almost without hesitation.

He had to get this saber.

"Huh?"

The sudden change in his attitude caught Lin Wanqiu off guard.

After a moment's thought, she ventured, "T-ten packets of instant noodles?"

Shen Ye hesitated, then shook his head. "I don't have that many packets of noodles."

He did not haggle. He simply told her he did not have that many.

Shen Ye knew perfectly well what the saber was worth. Ten packets of instant noodles were a dirt-cheap price.

Lin Wanqiu had not expected that answer either, but she quickly picked up on the key point in his words.

He did not have that many packets of noodles, but that did not mean he had no other food.

Her eyes soon lit up, and she pushed down her fear. "Then how much food do you have?"

Shen Ye thought for a moment, then took out the backpack Qin Shuwen had given him earlier.

After rummaging through it for a while, he found the photograph and slipped it into his pocket without looking closely. With his other hand, he passed the bag to Lin Wanqiu.

"This is all I have left."