Li Xia's Little Scheme, a New Convoy!

The truck bed was deathly silent.

Chen Mo stared at the Dump Truck's center console, his expression calm.

The bloody hole in his left shoulder had already clotted, and he could no longer feel any pain.

But whenever he tried to channel his transcendent power, the cold dispersed it completely.

"What were you... doing just now?"

Chen Mo's voice was hoarse. He used the last of his strength to keep it as calm as possible.

The moment he opened his eyes, he had seen a dark shadow scrambling back into the center console.

Li Xia spoke timidly through the truck's speakers, her voice clearly trembling.

"M-Master... I saw you hadn't woken up for so long... so... so I thought I'd get closer and check your injuries..."

"I... I'm glad you're awake... The Starfire Convoy has headed toward Camel City."

"Sh-should... should we follow them?"

By now, Li Xia had cursed Red Hare and eighteen generations of his ancestors a hundred times over.

Fuck!

Stupid donkey!!!

Fuck! Your! Mother!

Fuck! Your! Entire! Family!

She had just mustered every scrap of courage she possessed, preparing to take over this dying man's body.

But a piece of Yellow Talisman Paper in Chen Mo's pocket had suddenly erupted with dazzling golden light.

Not only had it forcibly repelled her vengeful soul, burning her soul form until it nearly split apart, it had actually jolted Chen Mo back to consciousness!

Li Xia suddenly remembered that this was exactly what Red Hare had secretly slipped into Chen Mo's pocket before leaving!

Even after running off, you still had to ruin things for me!

Still, thank goodness.

Judging by how Chen Mo looked right now...

He didn't seem to have noticed anything or realized what she'd been trying to do.

Sure enough, Chen Mo seemed to believe her and merely closed his eyes in exhaustion.

He spoke slowly, his voice low.

"Start driving."

"Take a wide detour and catch up with Lin Lu's convoy."

Li Xia felt as though she had been granted a pardon, a hint of joy at her narrow escape creeping into her voice.

"Yes, Master!"

"I'll set off right away."

Then Red Hare Two roared to life and slowly began moving.

Lying in the truck bed, Chen Mo slowly closed his eyes.

He slipped his right hand into his pocket without drawing attention.

Three fingers gently pinched the talisman paper, which was still faintly warm.

Did Red Hare leave this behind?

Looks like I owe that donkey quite a lot this time...

That thing on the third floor probably went after Red Hare.

I wonder... is Red Hare still alive...?

As Red Hare Two's designer, how could Chen Mo fail to guess what Li Xia had just tried to do?

He knew this vehicle's side effects better than anyone.

Clearly, Li Xia had entertained thoughts she shouldn't have and done something she shouldn't have.

I'll settle this score later!

For now, though, he couldn't afford to turn against her.

The silent extinction cold poison had blocked the operation of the Transcendent System inside Chen Mo.

It was also steadily devouring his yang energy.

Even Wen Li's Surgical Knife had been damaged and lost.

He was now so weak that he couldn't even beat an ordinary person.

So he needed Li Xia to drive him out of this death trap.

Endure it.

I have to endure it.

Fresh snow fell off the truck as it slowly emerged from the alley where it had been hiding.

It turned a corner and entered a snow-covered street.

Then it slowly headed northwest.

Fortunately, the faint aura of a dying man, combined with Red Hare Two's shielding, attracted little attention from the uncanny creatures along the way.

The scattered Snow Corpses were easily knocked aside by the Dump Truck.

Red Hare Two made it out of Prosper City without serious incident.

And plunged into the boundless snowy wilderness...

Several hours later.

Red Hare Two finally left Prosper City's enormous white outline far behind.

Across the vast white wilderness, the lone blue Dump Truck drove onward.

Li Xia's urgent calls suddenly rang out.

They woke Chen Mo, who had been recovering in a light sleep.

"Master!"

"Up ahead... there's a convoy up ahead!"

Chen Mo struggled to open his eyes and sat up a little, narrowing them slightly.

Looking through the passage between the cab and the truck bed, he could just make out headlights shining on the distant horizon.

It was a small convoy of around a dozen vehicles.

It wasn't the Starfire Convoy.

Chen Mo didn't dare gamble on human nature-not as a gravely wounded man driving a Dump Truck loaded with supplies.

In an environment like this, anyone could be a potential threat.

Chen Mo gave Li Xia an order.

"Go around them."

"Yes, Master."

Li Xia immediately obeyed. The steering wheel turned on its own as she prepared to detour through the wilderness to one side.

But it was already too late.

"Master! They've spotted us!"

"They're... they're waving at us! They're signaling with their lights, too!"

"Should we run?"

Chen Mo opened the eyes he had just closed.

He looked ahead through the passage.

Someone in a modified off-road vehicle in the convoy ahead was holding a flashlight, repeatedly flashing it toward the Dump Truck in the darkness.

"Sigh... There's no avoiding them..."

"Let's leave it to fate..."

Chen Mo slowly sighed. Whatever would come, would come; if trouble awaited him, there was no escaping it.

"Li Xia, open the truck bed and dump half the supplies."

"Huh? Master, you..."

"Don't talk. Just do it."

Chen Mo knew perfectly well that on this wide-open snowfield, driving a cumbersome Dump Truck, he had absolutely no chance of escaping if they chose to pursue him.

A gravely wounded man with a truck bed full of supplies...

When it rains, it pours.

Once Chen Mo saw that enough of the contents had been dumped, he gave Li Xia another order.

"Drive over."

Red Hare Two closed its truck bed and slowly drove toward the unfamiliar convoy...

Gritting his teeth and forcing himself through the pain, Chen Mo struggled into the Dump Truck's driver's seat.

He couldn't let these strangers see how weak he was.

And he absolutely couldn't let them discover that this seemingly ordinary Dump Truck was an Anomalous Artifact.

The distance between them steadily shrank.

Chen Mo stopped the truck and slowly rolled down the window.

A bitterly cold wind immediately rushed inside, clearing his numbed senses a little.

Chen Mo stayed in the truck, his right hand on the steering wheel while his left slowly gripped the Mountain-Cleaving Blade he had traded for with Brother Dao.

Soon, someone ran toward Chen Mo's Dump Truck.

It was a dark-skinned young man who looked no older than seventeen or eighteen.

He smiled at Chen Mo, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

"Hey, buddy! You escaped from Prosper City, right?"

"What's it like in there now?"

Chen Mo slowly nodded. He had just come from the direction of Prosper City, and there was no hiding that.

Delight appeared on the young man's face, and he waved at Chen Mo.

"It's too dangerous to travel alone. Come with us!"

"I'll take you to meet my brother. He's the leader of our convoy!"