The four great guilds!

Day three.

A black steel RV drove down a devastated highway.

This world was far too vast.

According to the system, this region was called the Zombie Wasteland.

To Lin Hui, it felt much like the uninhabited regions of Tibet back in China: cold, dry, and desolate.

The wasteland stretched as far as the eye could see.

Along the way, he had encountered plenty of vehicles upgraded to level two: taxis, vans, buses, and even helicopters flying overhead.

Most of those who survived to the third day had decent vehicles.

The owners of bicycles, scooters, and wheelchairs simply couldn't survive in this environment unless they attached themselves to other players.

[Surviving players in the C-996 Region: 3,001,314]

Only two days had passed, yet seventy percent of the people in this region were already dead.

The Gray Fog continued advancing behind them...

That meant no player could stay in one place forever. Everyone had to keep moving forward.

Lin Hui glanced at the system interface.

[Time until the Gray Fog arrives: 14:35:20]

[Gray Fog speed: 30 km/h]

[Current vehicle speed: 80 km/h]

Lin Hui sat in the driver's seat with one hand on the steering wheel and a bottle of ice-cold cola in the other, taking a leisurely sip.

With tires that [never wear out] and an engine with [infinite fuel], he could completely ignore the road conditions.

Whether it was broken glass or road spikes, he simply drove straight over them. The RV barely rocked; instead, the obstacles were crushed to powder.

"But this alone still isn't enough."

The RV needed more upgrades!

Some players had already reached Lv.3, giving him a sense of urgency.

Hah...

Lin Hui exhaled and opened his personal panel.

[Name: Lin Hui]

[Race: Human]

[Status: Healthy]

[Sanity (San): 100/100] (Note: sanity below 30 causes suicidal thoughts; sanity below 20 causes you to hear whispers; sanity below 10 causes madness.)

[Spirit: 5] (Note: the average for a normal adult. Higher spirit increases resistance to sanity loss and speeds up sanity recovery.)

[Constitution: 5] (Note: a composite of strength, speed, and defense.)

He had spent all of yesterday hunting zombies, killing more than two hundred.

Killing zombies always dropped items. Universal Fuel had the highest drop rate, followed by food, while medicine had the lowest.

Medicine was extremely precious!

At present, Lin Hui had three kinds: Antibiotics (2 bottles), fever medicine (1 bottle), and stomach medicine (1 bottle).

Looking at the items filling his RV, he sighed. If he killed any more zombies, there would be nowhere to put the loot.

With that in mind, Lin Hui took out the level-three Vehicle Upgrade Blueprint, and the system offered two upgrade options.

[Plan A (standard version): consumes ordinary steel x70, precision electronic components x10.]

-Effect: unlocks a basic vehicle-mounted machine gun (7.62 mm caliber), increases vehicle space by 20%, and increases vehicle body defense by 10%.

[Plan B (perfect version): consumes armored ballistic steel x100, precision components x10, Fire-Control Chip x1.]

-Effect: unlocks the [Heavy Chain Autocannon (25 mm caliber)]! Expands vehicle space to 20 cubic meters! Raises vehicle body physical defense to 200! Raises vehicle tonnage to 20 tons!

Without a second thought, Lin Hui immediately chose B.

A 7.62 mm machine gun was fine against ordinary players, but even zombies would take several shots. He might as well run them over! Besides, he was bound to encounter even tougher monsters later!

But a 25 mm autocannon? That was a killing machine that could blast a zombie's head to pieces with one shot and punch through an armored vehicle with two!

He already had the precision electronic components and the Fire-Control Chip.

He had obtained them from that military helicopter.

But...

He was still short ninety units of armored ballistic steel.

Lin Hui frowned slightly.

Steel of this grade could only be obtained by dismantling military vehicles, armored cash trucks, or aircraft.

Most players' vehicles couldn't yield such high-grade materials at all!

Fortunately, with so many players, someone was bound to obtain this kind of specialty steel.

"Let's check the regional channel."

After exploring it over the past few days, Lin Hui had figured out the regional channel's messaging rules.

Each person could post ten messages a day.

Each additional message cost one unit of Universal Fuel.

Anyone with an urgent matter, or who wanted to attract other players' attention, could spend twenty units of Universal Fuel on effects such as bold or colored messages.

A full-screen pinned message cost fifty units of Universal Fuel.

After two days and nights of trials, a clear hierarchy had emerged in the once-chaotic channel.

The pinned messages were no longer players' pleas for help, but several domineering recruitment notices in bold red lettering.

[Sky Tyrant Alliance (leader: Zhao Tianba)]

"The server's number-one guild is recruiting! I've already reached Lv.3 and unlocked autonomous driving! Players with heavy trucks, tanks, helicopters, and rockets are invited to join! Join us and get free fuel and beautiful female slaves! Our goal is to build the first mobile city! Elites only. Trash can get lost!"

[Rose Society]

"Our guild only recruits female players. Sisters, men can't be trusted. We need to arm ourselves! This is the only sanctuary in the apocalypse!"

[Ironblood Heavy Industries]

"Buying all vehicle blueprints and specialty parts at high prices! Our guild has the best mechanics and gunsmiths on the server. Join us, and your vehicle will never break down."

[Feral Wolf Guild]

"Heh, only the weak huddle together for warmth. The strong are predators. Recruiting desperadoes for murder and plunder. If you're interested, come join us. We also welcome coordinates for 'fat sheep' players. As long as the coordinates are valid, we'll reward the informant handsomely!"

The four great guilds-the balance of power was beginning to take shape.

As Lin Hui read the recruitment notices, something stirred in his mind.

"Zhao Tianba... He's the first player in the C-996 Region whose vehicle reached Lv3."

Lin Hui wasn't surprised by the emergence of these guilds.

Even in the apocalypse, humans were social creatures. Gathering together was instinctive.

And there really was strength in numbers.

Without [golden modifier per level], he might have considered joining a guild himself!

But with his cheat ability, there was no need.

As for establishing his own guild, Lin Hui had no interest in that either. Managing an organization was a hassle. Hiring a few employees would be enough.

According to rule two of the [Survival Rules] issued by the system:

[Inside your vehicle, you are the absolute master. Other players cannot harm you aboard it. Items aboard cannot be stolen either, unless the player dies.]

Hiring employees was absolutely safe.

Lin Hui considered this silently, then returned his attention to the [regional channel] and posted the same message seven or eight times in a row.

[Buying: armored ballistic steel.]

[Note: item trades accepted. Send a private message to discuss prices.]

But an hour passed, and he had only managed to buy twenty units.

And that had cost him a full five units of Universal Fuel.

Only after the player selling the armored ballistic steel pointed it out did Lin Hui learn what was happening.

Guilds such as [Ironblood Heavy Industries] and the [Sky Tyrant Alliance] had posted buying offers at sky-high prices, snapping up high-end materials such as aerospace specialty steel and Fire-Control Chips.

That meant obtaining aerospace specialty steel would take him some time.

The emergence of guilds really had created a major problem.

Anything good in ordinary players' hands was immediately snapped up by these behemoths.

They would gradually monopolize the top-tier materials, pulling far ahead in strength.

That was also why level-three vehicles had appeared so quickly. There was strength in numbers! They pooled resources to upgrade their strongest member first, then had that member lead the weaker ones as they slowly grew stronger.

Other players would have to join them if they wanted to upgrade.

Lin Hui's gaze darkened.

He hadn't been constantly watching the regional channel, so he had missed a lot of information.

"Forget it. Since I can't buy steel, I'll buy some ammunition to defend myself first."

Lin Hui only had one round left for his Axe Gun, which left him feeling very insecure.

He posted another message:

[Buying: Axe Gun Ammunition. Standing offer.]

[Note: item trades accepted. Send a private message to discuss prices.]

In less than ten seconds, a female player sent Lin Hui a private message.

[Su Qingqian: Do you have any Antibiotics? If you do, I'll trade you nine rounds of Axe Gun Ammunition for them.]