Invitation

Fan Shang turned his gaze toward the three of them.

As Fan Shang looked at them, Liu Tie and the others were also looking at you and Fan Shang.

The clapping just now had come from Zhou Ping, who stood beside Liu Tie.

Seeing Fan Shang look over, Zhou Ping stopped clapping.

He immediately flashed his pearly whites and spoke to Liu Tie beside him.

"Hey, Brother Tie, see that? I told you this kid must have awakened, but you wouldn't believe me. Otherwise, how could he have escaped and made it back this late after those sixty-odd people ran into an anomaly?"

"Still, Li Qiang and his bunch were real idiots. How many people who make it back after encountering an anomaly could possibly be pushovers? Yet they threw their lives away over a few supplies."

"But good riddance. They deserved it. I've been sick of watching him bully the newcomers in the convoy for ages. If you hadn't stopped me, Brother Tie, I'd have been the first to kill him."

Liu Tie's expression didn't change as he listened to Zhou Ping's bullshit.

He merely shot him a glare before replying in a low voice.

"Hmph, cut that crap. When did I ever say I didn't believe it? This young fellow's hair has turned white. Such an obvious change is clearly a side effect of awakening. Do you really think I'm blind?"

"And stop talking about killing people."

"If this convoy wants to survive in the Weird World, what we need is ru-"

Liu Tie's voice grew stern as he spoke.

But before he could finish, Zhou Ping cut him off.

"Yes, yes, rules and stability. We can't act without clear evidence, because that would undermine the convoy's stability."

"Whew, Brother Tie, I've heard that so many times my ears are about to grow calluses. Please spare me."

"You..."

"My bad, my bad, Brother Tie. Let's drop it. Our young friend is still watching us. Business first, business first..."

Seeing that Liu Tie still wanted to say something, Zhou Ping hurriedly changed the subject.

But at the sight of Zhou Ping's utterly unconcerned expression,

Liu Tie's eyelid twitched on his scarred, resolute face.

He wanted to speak again.

Then he noticed Zhou Ping frantically signaling to the woman beside them with his eyes.

Seeing this, Lin Xue, who wore her hair in a high ponytail, couldn't help pressing a hand to her forehead.

"Whew, Brother Tie, let's focus on business for now."

At her words, Liu Tie suppressed the urge to give Zhou Ping a good smack and turned toward Fan Shang.

Having witnessed the whole exchange, Fan Shang happened to raise his head and meet Liu Tie's gaze.

In truth, the arrival of Liu Tie and the other two

hadn't surprised Fan Shang.

After all, as the convoy's leaders, the three of them were bound to approach him once they learned he had awakened a Sequence.

What Fan Shang hadn't expected was for them to approach him so soon.

"Oh, you're wondering about that?"

Noticing Fan Shang's confusion, Zhou Ping spoke up at once.

"It's nothing surprising, really. When Li Qiang and those two first came looking for you, someone in the convoy saw them and came to tell us."

"Someone?"

Fan Shang was puzzled.

"There, that guy." Zhou Ping pointed at a thin man nearby. "He works for Steward Huang. As soon as he saw you'd returned to the convoy and Li Qiang's group of four had come to make trouble for you, he went to report it."

"He told Steward Huang, and then Steward Huang came to tell us."

"You know Steward Huang, right?"

Fan Shang didn't answer immediately. He simply looked in the direction Zhou Ping was pointing.

A thin man stood there. Seeing Fan Shang look over, he immediately offered a fawning smile. Fan Shang vaguely remembered him.

He seemed to have been among the onlookers earlier. No wonder he'd disappeared afterward-he'd gone to report what was happening.

As for Steward Huang, Fan Shang naturally knew him.

He handled the convoy's affairs. Although he liked to pocket a little extra here and there, he did a decent job. With him around, at least Fan Shang had never seen anyone in the convoy openly force themselves on someone in broad daylight.

And he never picked fights with people who were hard to handle, such as Fan Shang or Li Qiang.

So Fan Shang had mostly just heard stories about him and had never actually been cheated by him.

"I do."

Fan Shang replied.

Then he glanced at the slightly plump figure beside Liu Tie and the others.

Seeing Fan Shang look his way, the plump Steward Huang smiled and nodded at him.

"Good, good."

Zhou Ping spoke upon hearing Fan Shang's reply, then immediately piped up again as something occurred to him.

"We've been talking for so long, and I just realized we haven't introduced ourselves."

"Uh... brother..."

"Just call me Fan Shang."

"All right, Brother Fan Shang, let me introduce myself first. I'm Zhou Ping. I don't know if you've heard of me, but that's fine. You can just call me by my name, or Old Zhou. As for this fellow..."

After introducing himself, Zhou Ping introduced Liu Tie and Lin Xue to Fan Shang as well.

Seeing Fan Shang look his way,

Liu Tie nodded, forcing a smile onto his face with its savage-looking scar, and greeted him.

"Hello. I'm Liu Tie, the convoy leader."

Not to be left out, Lin Xue adjusted her glasses and spoke in a slightly cool voice.

"Hello. I'm Lin Xue."

Fan Shang nodded in acknowledgment as well.

Once they had all gotten a basic impression of one another,

Liu Tie spoke.

His voice was low, and the scar on his face looked fierce, yet his square, somewhat resolute features still gave people a sense of reassurance.

"Fan Shang, we didn't come over for anything else, really. We just wanted to confirm something."

Liu Tie looked at Fan Shang with a serious expression as he continued.

"You... have awakened as a Sequence Transcendent, haven't you?"

This was important. Although what had just happened made it almost ninety percent certain that Fan Shang had awakened as a Sequence Transcendent,

hearing it from the man himself was still different from guessing.

Fan Shang wasn't surprised by the question.

After all, it was only a matter of time.

Anyone who had witnessed what happened earlier would have suspected as much.

"Yes."

So Fan Shang admitted it outright, with no intention of pretending to be weak.

After all, admitting it had its benefits. It meant he could join the convoy's inner circle.

Information about this world would also be easier to obtain.

After all, the Weird World already had Sequence Transcendents and anomalies. Who knew what else existed that Fan Shang knew nothing about?

So Fan Shang couldn't think of any reason to deny it.

The moment he admitted it, a flicker of delight crossed both Zhou Ping's and Liu Tie's faces.

Zhou Ping immediately spoke up.

"Holy shit, I really guessed right! Then, Brother Fan Shang, the one you awakened..."

But before he could finish, Liu Tie shot him a glare.

Then he addressed Fan Shang seriously.

"In that case, this isn't a very convenient place. Shall we go somewhere else to talk?"

Liu Tie looked toward the front of the convoy.

The vehicle the three of them used was parked there.

Fan Shang naturally understood what Liu Tie meant.

After all, talking here with everyone staring at them really wasn't convenient.

"Sure."