The moment the regional announcement went out...
The entire regional channel erupted!
"Cauldron City? They're sending us to our deaths!!"
"I checked the coordinates. It's over three thousand kilometers away! My car's top speed is only 60, and I still have to find fuel. There's no way I can make it!"
"If we don't go, Gray Fog will cover the entire Zombie Wasteland... They're forcing all of us into that meat grinder!"
"The Road Survival Game wants to herd us all into one cage!"
"I'm not going! I'd rather hole up here!"
"Nice thinking, genius. Didn't you see what the system said about the Gray Fog? It means instant annihilation! There won't even be bone fragments left!"
Inside the RV.
Su Qingqian stared at the blood-red countdown, her face paling slightly. She nearly dropped the glass of milk in her hand.
"Cauldron City..."
She took a deep breath and turned to Lin Hui. "Boss, we..."
Compared to Su Qingqian's anxiety, Lin Hui was exceptionally calm.
He opened the electronic map of the Zombie Wasteland and entered Cauldron City's coordinates.
"Three thousand two hundred and seventy kilometers away."
"At the RV's full speed, including breaks, we should get there in a little over twenty hours."
Lin Hui traced a straight line across the map with his finger, stopping at the spot marked with a red dot.
"We still have close to a hundred hours to raise the vehicle's level and improve our constitution."
"That way, whatever monsters are lurking in Cauldron City, we'll be able to handle them comfortably."
"Qingqian, hold on tight!"
Lin Hui gripped the steering wheel with both hands, shifted into drive, and stepped on the accelerator.
"Our current objective is to reach the Abandoned Aviation Electronics Factory and get high-strength titanium alloy. First, we'll upgrade the RV to level 4."
Vrooom!!!
The Lv.3 Heavy-Duty RV roared like an ancient beast awakening from its slumber and hurtled toward the horizon.
At that same moment.
Across every corner of the wasteland.
The convoys of the Sky Tyrant Alliance, the Rose Society, Ironblood Heavy Industries, and the Feral Wolf Guild... every top faction sprang into action at the news.
The Sky Tyrant Alliance's convoy.
Three Armed Helicopters loaded with live ammunition patrolled above the convoy.
Their leader, Zhao Tianba, was a tall, bald man. Sitting in a "Land Cruiser" converted from a tank, he wore an excited grin.
"Cauldron City? That's my backyard! Anyone who dares compete with the Sky Tyrant Alliance for resources will get crushed!"
The Rose Society's convoy.
Their president, Yang Ruoling, was a gorgeous woman in a long, spaghetti-strap dress. Long, wine-red curls spilled over her shoulders, and the slightly upturned corners of her eyes exuded seductive charm. Every gesture brimmed with allure.
She sat on the hood of a red, modified Ferrari supercar, her long legs crossed, gently swirling a stemmed glass between her fingers. "Sisters, this mission is our chance to prove our strength. We absolutely cannot lose to those stinking men."
Ironblood Heavy Industries' convoy.
Their president was a thin young man wearing thick-lensed glasses. Sitting inside a monstrous vehicle three stories tall, he calmly analyzed the situation. "Everyone, this is the Road Survival Game's first mission, and the rewards include Basic Gene Potions. With rewards this valuable, the difficulty is bound to be high.
"But high risk means high reward! As long as everyone follows my instructions, I'll make sure you all enter the next map alive. From now on, gather firearms and explosives in bulk, whatever the cost! Especially items with extraordinary abilities!"
As for the Feral Wolf Guild's convoy...
A muscular young man sat in the rear seat of a menacing vehicle converted from a tank. He had side-swept bangs, prominent brow ridges, and a vicious gaze, with a crooked smile tugging at his lips.
Just last night, he had killed the Feral Wolf Guild's first president and successfully seized power.
Now, he was riding high.
"Brothers! Our time to party is almost here!!"
For other players, the Cauldron City mission was a nightmare. But for the Feral Wolf Guild, it was a lavish feast. Every surviving player in the C-996 Region would gather there, making it the perfect time to hunt.
Windblown sand filled the sky.
Two hours had passed since the "Cauldron City" mission was announced.
The number of vehicles frantically racing down the road to survive had visibly increased.
Most traveled in groups of three to five, while some convoys consisted of more than a dozen vehicles. Very few vehicles were going it alone.
Along the unavoidable route to Cauldron City lay a strategically vital supply point-the Abandoned Aviation Parts Factory.
That was also Lin Hui and Su Qingqian's destination.
Only there could they obtain the 200 units of titanium alloy needed to upgrade the RV to Lv.4.
"Boss, there's something up ahead."
Su Qingqian, who was watching the road from the passenger seat, suddenly spoke, her tone grave.
Lin Hui narrowed his eyes slightly.
Through the windshield, the outline of the enormous parts factory was already clearly visible in the distance, crouching on the ground like a steel monster.
Around the factory's perimeter, a row of vehicles had indeed been parked haphazardly.
There were pickups with steel plates welded onto them, off-road vehicles mounted with machine guns, and even a modified cement mixer blocking the middle of the road as a barricade.
"Looks like someone beat us to it."
Lin Hui did not slow down. Instead, he pressed the accelerator a little harder.
"It's not like that parts factory is anyone's private property. So what if someone got here first?"
The RV's defensive stats, the anti-tank mines and grenades in his spatial dimension, the Heavy Chain Autocannon on the roof...
They were what gave him confidence!
Screeech!!!
A piercing squeal of brakes rang out.
Radiating an intimidating sense of pressure, the black Heavy-Duty RV came to a steady stop fifty meters from the barricade.
The 25 mm Chain Autocannon on its roof gleamed coldly in the sunlight, aimed straight at the people blocking the road.
"Stop!!"
Behind the barricade, a group of players carrying assorted weapons shouted harshly.
"This place has been taken over by the [New Light Mutual Aid Association]! Get lost if you don't want to die!"
Lin Hui sat inside the vehicle without speaking, merely watching the rabble with a cold gaze.
His gaze passed through the crowd and settled beside a modified Hummer behind them.
Three people stood there.
The man at the front looked about twenty-seven or twenty-eight. He wore a smart, dark gray trench coat and gold-rimmed glasses, giving him a refined appearance.
He adjusted his glasses, studying Lin Hui's RV through the lenses with keen interest.
Beside him stood a powerfully built, dark-skinned man and an exceptionally eye-catching woman.
The woman wore a black combat uniform that hugged her long, shapely legs. Her eyes were sharp as blades, her red lips lightly pressed together, and she radiated a commanding presence.
Most striking were the sniper rifle slung across her back and her face, which remained coldly beautiful and aristocratic even in the apocalypse, keeping everyone at a distance.
If Su Qingqian was an innocent little flower who made people want to protect her, this woman was a thorned black rose, radiating danger from head to toe.
Just then, the bespectacled man smiled slightly and clapped his hands, signaling the men behind him to lower their guns.
Then he raised his head to look at Lin Hui.
"Hello, friend. My name is Tang Chuan, and I'm the president of the New Light Mutual Aid Association."
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