A new convoy, a new "tail"

A day later...

At an abandoned gas station three kilometers outside Apricot Blossom Town.

The Dump Truck sat on the road, with several other vehicles parked haphazardly beside it.

Near the gas station stood another convoy, far larger than theirs.

The most conspicuous vehicle was a green tour bus parked beside the pumps. Through its windows, they could faintly make out the densely packed figures inside.

An SUV and a Mercedes-Benz E300 were parked beside the Bus, surrounded by several other sedans.

At the sight of a new convoy approaching, a dozen young punks with hair dyed every color gripped their weapons and looked over with hostile expressions.

"Get out! Stay alert!"

Just then, Xiao Liu's voice came over the loudspeaker.

Doors swung open, and the dozen or so people left in Lin Lu's convoy got out.

Looking at the crowd ahead that overwhelmingly outnumbered them, Chen Mo tightened his grip on the Mountain-Cleaving Blade, his expression grim.

The fuel Old Yang had given him was almost gone. If he couldn't refuel here, he would be back on foot.

Everyone else remaining in the convoy had a vehicle. Being on foot meant he would soon fall behind.

At that thought, Chen Mo turned and surveyed his own side, silently weighing their fighting strength against the other convoy's.

Besides himself, Xiao Liu, Big Niu, and Lin Lu's other assistant, there were only Brother Dao and his three lackeys. The woman huddled in Brother Dao's vehicle clearly had little fighting ability.

As for Lin Lu and Old Yang, neither had even gotten out.

Chen Mo had learned the night before that Old Yang had awakened to the mechanic sequence.

That was why he had been allowed into Lin Lu's Command Vehicle, and why he had managed to get that nearly half-full can of gasoline.

Those two clearly weren't on the list of combatants.

A dozen or so against more than sixty...

Just then, one of Brother Dao's yellow-haired lackeys sidled up to Chen Mo and lowered his voice.

"Hey, Old Mo, don't be so nervous. There are plenty of old folks and kids over there."

"If they dare stop us from refueling, we'll kill a few and they'll behave!"

Chen Mo said nothing. With his back against the Dump Truck, he kept scanning the other convoy.

Lots of vehicles, lots of people.

The dozen street-racing punks looked cocky, but every one of them was skin and bones.

The Bus looked crowded, but more than half its passengers were elderly people, women, and children with little fighting ability.

The people in the sedans and SUV hadn't gotten out. He couldn't see clearly inside and had no idea whether there were any Transcendents.

Chen Mo's first impression of this convoy was that it was all show and no substance. They had numbers, but in terms of quality, they were nowhere near his group.

"Knife, keep your people in line."

Just then, Lin Lu opened the Command Vehicle's door and stepped out. He swept a glance over the opposing convoy, his voice cold.

At Lin Lu's warning, Brother Dao turned and fiercely glared at the lackey who had spoken out of turn.

At the same time, the door of the white SUV at the center of the other convoy opened. A woman in a gray tracksuit who looked under thirty stepped out.

She was about five foot three, with a full figure and a friendly-looking face.

She carried no weapon. She simply raised a hand and gestured for Lin Lu to come over from a dozen meters away.

Lin Lu paused for a few seconds at her gesture, then slowly walked toward her vehicle.

"Captain!"

"I'll go with you!"

Xiao Liu and Big Niu spoke at the same time and moved to follow.

"It's fine. Stay where you are."

Lin Lu turned to glance at them, his voice as calm as ever.

Watching Lin Lu's retreating figure, Chen Mo wasn't particularly worried.

He knew Lin Lu was a thoroughly rational man. If he went alone, he must be confident he could get back out unscathed.

That was a Transcendent. Even heading into danger alone, he remained fully in control.

After fleeing all this way and witnessing Old Yang's awakening, Chen Mo's desire to become a Transcendent had reached its peak.

It was his resentment at being humiliated by Brother Dao, his despair at being used as the convoy's severed tail, and above all, his determination to survive!

But he also knew perfectly well that a natural awakening wasn't something he could count on. Since the apocalypse began, he had seen only a handful of Transcendents.

While Chen Mo's thoughts wandered, Lin Lu had already strolled over to the SUV.

He lowered his head and exchanged a few words with the woman, then they got into the vehicle together.

Bang!

A moment later, the door shut, blocking every gaze from outside.

Time ticked by. Without an order from their captain, no one dared lower their guard. The two groups remained facing off a dozen meters apart.

At that moment, time itself seemed to slow to a crawl.

Big Niu rubbed his bald head as he paced back and forth. Xiao Liu and the other assistant stared at the SUV, worry written all over their faces.

Brother Dao kept studying the other convoy's Bus and motorcycles, looking thoughtful.

Old Yang was looking down at the wrench in his hand, his brow furrowed.

Chen Mo leaned against the Dump Truck, conserving every scrap of strength he could in case something happened.

About ten minutes passed like that.

Click.

The SUV door opened. Lin Lu stepped out and beckoned to them.

Seeing Lin Lu signal them to stand down, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Realizing the two sides wouldn't fight, Brother Dao discreetly withdrew his gaze.

The convoy's Transcendent had spoken. No matter how many ideas he had, he wouldn't dare go against a Transcendent's wishes.

Soon, both sides put away their weapons.

The full-figured woman walked over to the Bus and murmured a few words to its driver. The Bus immediately started up and moved aside, clearing a path for Chen Mo and the others to refuel.

While they refueled, Lin Lu called Old Yang and Big Niu over. They gathered with several people from the other convoy, discussing something Chen Mo couldn't hear.

Soon, the Dump Truck's tank was full. Chen Mo drove it aside and rested against the window.

The discussion ended soon afterward, too. Old Yang came over to Chen Mo's vehicle with a half-full bottle of water and handed it to him.

"Looks like we've got a new 'tail' this time."

Chen Mo took the bottle and sipped, waiting for Old Yang to continue.

Old Yang glanced around to make sure no one was nearby before lowering his voice to explain.

"They've finished talking. The other convoy has two Transcendents."

"The captain is that woman in the tracksuit. Her name's Su Qian, a sequence one Healer. Like me, she's in a support sequence."

"There's also a little girl called Xiao Ya. She's pretty mysterious. Su Qian and Captain Lin didn't reveal her sequence, or what rank she is."

"But I could feel that she's quite a bit stronger than me."

Chen Mo nodded, rubbed his temples, and asked a question.

"So what do you mean by a new tail?"

"Hold on. Let me finish."

Old Yang swallowed and continued explaining.

"Su Qian is also a psychic-type Transcendent, and she can vaguely sense nearby anomalies."

"But her sequence ability is mainly healing. She's nowhere near Lin Lu's specialized Perceiver sequence."

"Their convoy lost a lot of people along the way. After learning Lin Lu was a Perceiver, she proposed merging the convoys."

Old Yang paused there, then gave him the outcome of their discussion.

"Lin Lu is now the captain, and Su Qian is the deputy captain."

Merging?

Chen Mo turned the word over in his mind and soon understood what Old Yang had meant by a new tail.

Not one of the people left in their convoy was a pushover. None of them wanted to be the "tail."

So the convoy urgently needed more ordinary people to prepare for their next escape.

As for Su Qian, her group didn't know where it was relatively safe to gather supplies. They could only wander blindly, following a vague sense of direction.

The value of a Perceiver who could precisely sense anomalies went without saying.

With both sides needing something the other could provide, merging was inevitable.

Just then, Xiao Liu's voice came from nearby.

"Everyone, assemble in the gas station's open area!"

A gentle female voice followed.

"Everyone in the Hope Convoy, assemble in the open area!"

Although the woman's voice wasn't as loud as Xiao Liu's, her tone carried an unmistakable authority.

Chen Mo nodded, pushed open the door, and went over with Old Yang.

When they reached the middle of the open area, they saw Lin Lu standing in front of the Command Vehicle. The white cloth covering his eyes fluttered without a breeze, making him look like some reclusive master.

If Chen Mo hadn't already served as the "tail" once, he really might have been fooled by the guy's supremely impressive act.

A white SUV was parked beside the Command Vehicle, with the woman Old Yang had called Su Qian standing next to it.

She wore a gray tracksuit. Though it was loose, it still couldn't conceal her full figure beneath it.

Her expression looked a little tired, but she stood straight, an air of competence about her.

A girl who looked around ten stood behind her, wearing braids and a blue floral dress. Every so often, she poked her head out to look around.

Chen Mo frowned slightly at the Barbie Doll in the girl's hands.

This little girl had to be the other Transcendent Old Yang had mentioned.

Just as Chen Mo was about to look away, the Barbie Doll in the girl's arms abruptly turned its head and slowly rolled its glass eyes twice at him...