In the middle of the night, Chen Mo jolted awake.
A loudspeaker blared outside his window.
"Get up! Pack your things! Everyone moves out in ten minutes!"
"I repeat, everyone moves out within ten minutes!"
"Our objective is to cross Horseshoe Gully No-Man's Land!"
Chen Mo had already rolled down his window, and the night breeze cleared his head a little.
He heard Xiao Liu's emotionless voice over the loudspeaker.
Chen Mo instantly sat upright. Without the slightest hesitation, he turned the ignition key and shifted into gear.
"What the hell? Can't you give us a break?"
"Horseshoe Gully? Isn't that out in the Gobi?"
"Can someone take me along? I don't have a vehicle! I'll never make it out!"
The Dump Truck's lights faintly illuminated the camp ahead.
The camp was in chaos, complaints mingling with clanging metal and urgent shouts.
Chen Mo was fully awake now, ready to follow the lead vehicle at any moment.
Just then, a dark figure appeared beside his truck.
It was Old Yang.
Old Yang stood holding his battered bicycle, his expression grave.
"Kid, looks like we'll really have to fight for our lives this time."
Chen Mo said nothing, waiting for him to continue.
Old Yang leaned closer and spoke in a low voice.
"I got up to take a leak and overheard the boss talking to Big Niu."
"Sounds like something's caught up with us."
"A Spectral Bear, I think. Lin Lu said it was a third-tier specter."
"Same tier as that old woman in the village. But it can move around during the day, too."
"I didn't hear it all clearly, but that was the gist."
While Old Yang was talking, the lead vehicle started moving.
Several other vehicles followed close behind.
Chen Mo and Old Yang had no time to say more.
They quickly followed.
Before long, the convoy slowly turned onto a bumpy dirt road.
It was even rougher than the dirt road in Sunward Village.
They couldn't pick up speed at all.
The convoy crawled forward.
It seemed to be accommodating the people on foot and on bicycles.
At least for now, they could still keep up.
Chen Mo drove, his mind wandering.
Old Yang rode beside him, close to the window.
"Even at full speed, it'll take at least a day to cross Horseshoe Gully No-Man's Land."
Countless thoughts churned through Chen Mo's mind.
A third-tier specter!
Just like that old woman in the village.
But this one could chase the convoy wherever it wanted!
No wonder Lin Lu had set out in the dead of night.
He was heading into the deserted Gobi.
Was he hoping to use the rugged loess terrain to shake off the Spectral Bear? That didn't add up.
Suddenly, something clicked. He turned to Old Yang.
"Sacrifice the tail to survive! Old Yang, we'll have to fight for our lives."
Chen Mo blurted out those words, agreeing with him.
As though confirming Chen Mo's suspicions, things unfolded.
A few hours later...
Dawn began to break...
Chen Mo had the accelerator floored.
The speedometer read around fifty kilometers per hour.
The needle bounced with every rise and dip in the ground.
That was the Dump Truck's limit.
The Dump Truck had fallen from the front of the convoy to the middle.
Only the people on foot and a few bicycles remained behind it.
Lin Lu's Command Vehicle and several off-road vehicles had already disappeared beyond the horizon.
All that accommodation, all that consideration.
It had vanished without a trace the instant the sun came up.
Chen Mo now understood exactly what Lin Lu intended.
They had only driven slowly earlier because they hadn't dared go too fast at night.
Perhaps, in the eyes of Transcendents, this was the only time ordinary people mattered.
People like them finally had some value.
The value of bringing up the rear and buying time...
Chen Mo instinctively glanced in the rearview mirror.
It showed nothing but the vast, uneven Gobi, stretching out of sight.
Old Yang was actually still riding his bicycle a dozen meters behind him.
A barely perceptible arc of light traced the bicycle's front wheel.
But he looked as though he couldn't hold on much longer.
Apart from him, no one else was visible.
The people traveling on foot.
The survivors riding bicycles.
Even Zhang Nan, who had been sitting on Dahai's bicycle yesterday.
They had all disappeared.
Chen Mo slowed slightly, drawing level with Old Yang.
"Old Yang, your bike..."
He glanced in the rearview mirror.
That bike... wasn't the same as yesterday.
An unfamiliar device covered in gears had appeared on the chain by the rear wheel.
A black metal canister also hung beneath the frame.
Old Yang? What was going on?
A suspicion formed in Chen Mo's mind. He turned and stared intently at Old Yang.
Old Yang heard Chen Mo's words.
By now, he had reached his physical limit. He had nothing left.
His face was deathly pale, and he gasped for breath.
When he saw Chen Mo draw closer, he reached out and grabbed the Dump Truck's window frame.
He panted for a long time...
"I'm old. Not much use anymore. I tinkered around and added a device to make pedaling easier."
"So much for sacrificing the pawns to save the king."
"The two of us are the new tail now."
Chen Mo asked no more questions.
After all, in this apocalypse, everyone had something to hide.
Everyone had their own secrets.
The Dump Truck rattled and creaked as it bounced across the Gobi.
Chen Mo was practically pressing the accelerator through the fuel tank.
His eyes remained fixed on the road ahead.
Old Yang clung to the window frame with his left hand, his fingers white from gripping so hard.
Chen Mo had just asked Old Yang if he wanted to get in.
Old Yang clearly knew what stopping now would mean.
He smiled and shook his head.
For one thing, he couldn't bear to abandon his bicycle.
For another, whatever was behind them wouldn't allow them to stop even briefly.
The gale hurled Gobi gravel against Old Yang's face, stinging his skin.
His lips trembled constantly.
Chen Mo didn't look at him. He focused on driving.
The battered truck had long since reached its limit, and the fuel gauge showed only half a division remaining.
"There are people ahead!"
The gale swept Old Yang's words away the moment he spoke.
Chen Mo had already fixed his gaze on two dark specks in the distance.
Two people stood beside a motorcycle lying at the roadside.
Chen Mo remembered them. They were both from the convoy.
Ecstatic, they waved at the Dump Truck.
"Brother, take us with you! Stop a second!"
"We've got supplies on our bike! Help us, and they're all yours!"
As though he hadn't heard them, Chen Mo roared past without slowing at all.
Old Yang turned his head, watching the two figures rapidly recede.
His throat bobbed, but in the end, he said nothing.
Save them?
With what?
Who knew how far behind them the specter was?
Stopping would be no different from throwing their lives away.
In this world, simply staying alive was the greatest stroke of luck.
They drove on like that for another hour.
The Dump Truck gradually decelerated, visibly slowing.
Old Yang released the window frame and rode ahead.
"It's the lead vehicle! They've stopped!"
Chen Mo slowly pulled up at the rear of the convoy, cut the engine, and walked over.
Old Yang stopped his bicycle and looked at the people gathered around.
"Why have we stopped?"
"Captain Lin's tire blew, and the engine overheated. Something's wrong with it. It won't run!"
"Changing the tire is easy enough, but repairing the engine takes too long!"
Chen Mo's heart sank when he heard that.
It meant either leaving on his own or waiting here until the engine was repaired.
As for switching vehicles?
Judging by the situation, Lin Lu clearly had no intention of doing that.
Without another word, Old Yang walked straight into the crowd and began inspecting Lin Lu's Command Vehicle.
He spoke without lifting his head.
"Tools."
Xiao Liu froze for a moment, then hurriedly handed him the tools.
Old Yang moved swiftly, without a single wasted motion, as precise as a machine.
His arms left trails of afterimages.
Everyone nearby crowded around to watch.
Big Niu looked like a curious child, squatting beside him and staring without blinking.
Chen Mo returned to his truck, took out a roasted potato, wiped away the charred skin, and started eating.
He didn't know how long the repairs would take.
All he could do was regain some strength first and prepare for the dangers to come...
Less than ten minutes later...
"Done!"
Old Yang brushed the dust off himself and closed the hood.
Lin Lu slowly rolled down the Command Vehicle's window.
His face, covered with a white cloth, turned toward Old Yang.
"You. Old Yang, right? Come here."
The window slowly rolled back up. No one knew what they said.
A few minutes later, the door opened. Without a word, Old Yang walked over to Chen Mo's Dump Truck.
He opened the door and set an army-green gasoline can in the passenger-side footwell.
"Take it."
Chen Mo glanced at the can of gasoline.
He reckoned it held a little under ten liters.
Old Yang stared straight at Chen Mo and spoke each word deliberately.
"This is your fare. I don't owe you anymore."
"The potatoes you gave me earlier paid me back for my biscuits."
"Now I'm giving you gasoline to pay for the ride."
"We're still friends."
With that, he shut the door and walked away without looking back.
Friends...
Chen Mo looked at the gasoline can in the footwell, then at Old Yang as he got into the Command Vehicle.
He wanted to say that he still owed him a sip of water.
But he couldn't bring himself to refuse.
Because the gasoline before him was something he desperately needed.
The corners of Chen Mo's mouth slowly curved upward...
"Everyone, listen up! Full speed ahead! Get through the uninhabited zone!"
"Destination! Apricot Blossom Town!"
Before you continue