A late-night probe, Han Ningbing

The snow fell harder and harder.

Before long, another thick layer of snow had piled up on Red Hare Two's windows.

The Rocksolid Convoy stopped traveling and decided to camp where they were to rest.

Chen Mo lay in the driver's seat, reclined it flat, and slowly began circulating the transcendent power inside him.

The cold poison in his shoulder still blocked all circulation of his transcendent power.

Worse, it showed faint signs of spreading toward his heart.

"Master... someone's coming..."

Suddenly, Li Xia's timid warning came through the vehicle's speakers.

Chen Mo opened his eyes, sat up, and looked out the window.

In the darkness, a figure trudged through the uneven snow toward the Dump Truck.

It was Gu Xiaoshi.

He was carrying an iron bowl with steam billowing from it.

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the cab window.

Chen Mo said nothing, watching the boy outside through the glass.

After the Dump Truck's upgrade, its windows had been replaced with privacy glass, so Gu Xiaoshi could not see inside.

Gu Xiaoshi's voice came from outside.

"Buddy! You in there?"

"My brother sent me over with something to eat! Hot soup!"

Soup?

Chen Mo still did not move.

There were plenty of gaunt, sallow-faced old people in the Rocksolid Convoy.

Chen Mo did not believe anyone would go out of their way to be generous for no reason.

Especially not to someone of unknown origins like him.

When there was no response from inside, Gu Xiaoshi grew anxious.

"Buddy? You okay? If you don't say something, I'm going to smash the window!"

Clearly, Gu Xiaoshi had no intention of leaving without seeing Chen Mo.

Only then did Chen Mo slowly lower the window halfway.

"Sorry, I fell asleep. Did you need something?"

Seeing Chen Mo, Gu Xiaoshi smiled, his dark face brightening as he held out the iron bowl.

"Here. Drink it while it's hot. Warm yourself up."

Chen Mo stared at the soup.

The broth was rich and milky white, steam rising from it. A few chunks of potato and slices of some unidentified mushroom floated inside.

On this snowy night in the apocalypse, it was an irresistible temptation.

Rather than taking it immediately, Chen Mo looked at the boy's simple, harmless face.

Everything seemed perfectly natural.

In the end, Chen Mo accepted it.

The iron bowl felt warm in his hands. He lowered his head and sniffed.

A light, pleasant aroma. Nothing wrong with it.

He raised his head and forced a smile.

"Thank you."

Gu Xiaoshi grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

His teeth stood out sharply against his skin, making him look like someone in a Darlie toothpaste commercial.

"Don't mention it! My brother said we're all family now!"

Gu Xiaoshi rubbed his hands together and began chatting with Chen Mo.

"Man, this damned weather. Who knows when it'll finally end?"

"We were planning to head to Camel City. We heard there are quite a few convoys there."

"But it's too far, and we have so many old people and kids. We can only travel in fits and starts..."

Chen Mo did not reply, keeping his head lowered as he drank the soup.

He needed to glean as much information about this convoy as possible from the boy's words.

Suddenly, Gu Xiaoshi changed the subject and lowered his voice.

"Buddy, you must be pretty capable yourself, making it out of Prosper City."

"Are... are you a Transcendent?"

Chen Mo's hand paused with the spoon raised, then quickly resumed moving.

He looked up at Gu Xiaoshi, his gaze calm.

"Did your brother tell you to ask?"

"No. I only survived because the Transcendents in my convoy covered our retreat."

Gu Xiaoshi scratched his head sheepishly. Sure enough, he could not hide a thing.

"Um... my brother and Brother Shen both sensed it. They said there's a very faint fluctuation of transcendent power coming from you, but it comes and goes. It's strange."

"So... they sent me over to ask."

Just as I thought.

Chen Mo smiled faintly without answering.

Freeing his right hand, he slipped three fingers into his pocket and pulled out a dull piece of Yellow Talisman Paper.

"You mean this, right?"

Chen Mo handed over the talisman paper.

"A buddy from my old convoy gave me this. He was a very powerful Transcendent."

"We... had been through life and death together."

Gu Xiaoshi took the talisman paper and turned it over several times, unable to make anything of it.

He believed him.

In his simple understanding of the world, Chen Mo could not be a bad person if a Transcendent valued him so highly and shared such a close bond with him.

Gu Xiaoshi returned the talisman paper to Chen Mo, an apologetic look crossing his dark face.

"Sorry, buddy. We weren't trying to pry into your secrets. It's just the way the world is now... sigh."

"My brother's only looking out for the old people and kids in the convoy."

Chen Mo finished the last mouthful of soup and handed back the empty iron bowl.

"It's fine. I understand."

"Thank your brother for the soup for me."

Watching the boy walk away, Chen Mo slowly raised the window.

He leaned back in his seat and let out a long breath.

Finally managed to bluff my way through.

Chen Mo slowly brought his movements to a stop and let out a long sigh.

This was his third day with Rocksolid.

The convoy traveled north, stopping and starting along the way.

That had given him time to study the cold poison.

Over the past three days, Chen Mo had tried almost every method he could think of.

He had performed the Eighth Set of Radio Calisthenics over and over again.

The transcendent power inside him still could not get past the cold poison. In fact, after repeated attempts to circulate it, the poison showed faint signs of spreading faster.

As for the golden energy core he had swindled out of Old Zhang...

Without transcendent power to act as a catalyst, it was no different from an ordinary glass marble. He could not draw even a trace of energy from it.

As for asking Gu Chenshan for help, Chen Mo would never do that unless he had no other choice.

Never mind whether it would work. The core's value alone would give the man enough reason to kill him.

Over the past few days, Chen Mo had learned the basics of the Rocksolid Convoy through discreet inquiries.

Its leader, Gu Chenshan, was a Sequence One "Mountain Mover." His ability remained unknown for now.

Its deputy leader, Shen Qinghe, was a Sequence One "Perceiver," just as Chen Mo had guessed.

The atmosphere throughout the convoy was indeed fairly peaceful.

Although Gu Chenshan was wary of outsiders, he genuinely looked after the ordinary people in his convoy, often giving aid to the elderly and children.

Night fell, and the convoy stopped to make camp again.

Chen Mo had just sat down by the campfire and had not even had time to roast a potato when Gu Chenshan approached with someone in tow.

It was a woman dressed entirely in white.

She wore a fitted down jacket with a large fur collar and slim white trousers.

Her fur-trimmed hood was pulled low, and a thick white mask covered her face, leaving only a pair of cool, aloof eyes visible.

Though she was bundled up tightly, her figure and eyes alone made it clear she was a striking beauty.

Shen Qinghe's eyes seemed almost ablaze as he stared fixedly at the woman's masked face.

Everyone's attention was drawn to her.

Gu Chenshan clapped his hands and cleared his throat.

"Let me introduce her. This is Miss Han. She also escaped from Prosper City, and from now on, she'll be a new member of our Rocksolid Convoy. Let's give her a welcome."

The convoy members studied the woman curiously, and a scattering of applause rang out.

After the brief introduction, the woman slowly sat down in the vacant spot beside Chen Mo.

A fresh scent of thawing grass and trees drifted into Chen Mo's nose.

Chen Mo had no interest in the woman.

Instinctively, he shifted in his seat, trying to put some distance between himself and this strange woman.

Frost settled over the sparse courtyard; the empty alley held no clamor.

By the railing, snow lay silent; the cold wind scattered blossoms of ice.

The woman suddenly turned her head, a hint of a smile rippling through her cool eyes.

She extended a slender hand clad in a white lace glove.

"Hello. I'm Han Ningbing. What should I call you?"