Fan Shang answered.
Then Liu Tie and the other two started toward the front of the convoy.
But as Fan Shang watched them leave, he hesitated.
Perhaps noticing his hesitation, Zhou Ping spoke up.
"Brother Fan Shang, what's wrong? Aren't you coming?"
"I still have a few things to finish here. It's not a good time."
Fan Shang spoke after a moment's thought.
Hearing that, Zhou Ping looked him up and down.
Fan Shang was shirtless. Though his muscles were sharply defined, he was thin-yes, painfully thin.
If Zhou Ping hadn't seen Fan Shang standing there alive, he might have mistaken him for a corpse that something had sucked dry.
Of course, Fan Shang's deathly pale face helped give that impression.
"It's fine. Just come to the front of the convoy in an hour. We'll be resting here for another half day."
Before Zhou Ping could speak, Liu Tie's voice rang out.
There was no irritation at being delayed or anything of the sort.
His tone sounded as though he were simply stating a fact.
Fan Shang nodded.
Seeing that, Zhou Ping said nothing more beyond a reminder.
"Then remember to come over once you're done, Brother Fan Shang."
With that, Zhou Ping turned around, nudged Liu Tie with his elbow, and gave a cheeky laugh.
"Damn, Brother Tie, our convoy finally has another sequence transcendent! I liked Brother Fan Shang from the start. What do you say?"
"..."
Liu Tie glanced at Zhou Ping, who had seemed fairly serious a moment ago only to drop the act the second he turned around. The corner of his mouth twitched, and he had no idea what to say.
Meanwhile, Zhou Ping seemed a little curious.
He wanted to see what Fan Shang had stayed behind to do.
But all he saw was Fan Shang carrying his axe toward the other two corpses.
Then the axe rose high.
And came crashing down-!!
Zhou Ping looked away, his expression turning rather strange.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing his reaction, Lin Xue, who had remained silent since the beginning, spoke up.
"Nothing. I just feel like our Brother Fan Shang has some pretty unusual hobbies. Haha..."
Lin Xue: "?"
A hobby? No, it wasn't a hobby!
If Fan Shang had heard what Zhou Ping had just said, he would definitely have argued back.
After all, as a modern person-no, as any normal person-he wouldn't have a hobby of mutilating corpses.
So if Zhou Ping thought he couldn't come along because he wanted to mutilate corpses...
He was wrong!
Though not entirely wrong.
Because Fan Shang had indeed stayed behind because of those two bodies.
As for why?
Naturally, it was out of caution.
Drip!
Blood dripped from the axe blade onto the ground, splashing into bloody droplets.
Fan Shang looked at the two mangled heads on the ground, their flesh stripped from the bone. Only then did the wariness finally leave his face.
He touched his forehead and even felt a thin sheen of sweat.
That made sense. He had been under intense pressure all this time. For some reason, he couldn't feel at ease for even a moment until he smashed those two heads to pieces.
That was the biggest reason he hadn't immediately followed them.
"Whew. That's better."
Whatever happened, Fan Shang didn't want to go through anything like Wang Xiaoxue's situation again.
As for whether Liu Tie and the others would find it repulsive?
Fan Shang would have said, Don't make me laugh. Those three have survived in this hellhole for so long. What haven't they seen?
This is nothing.
Of course, that wasn't the only reason. The more important reason was...
Fan Shang glanced at the bodies on the ground, then crouched down and began looting them.
After searching all four, the only useful things he found were three compressed biscuits, half a bottle of water, three lighters, and... an unopened pack of Furongwang cigarettes.
His face immediately lit up, and he hurriedly tucked the cigarettes away.
This was good stuff-hard currency in the Weird World. Although Fan Shang rarely smoked himself, trading it for supplies couldn't be easier.
As for the rest...
Fan Shang glanced at the bodies of Li Qiang and his three companions. After that search, there was nothing else of value left on them.
The only things still somewhat useful were their clothes, but thanks to what Fan Shang had just done, those were now soaked in blood.
Fan Shang wanted no part of them. Though he had no clothes either, wearing blood-soaked clothing stripped from dead men honestly made his skin crawl.
He stood and dusted off his hands.
Then he looked around. Many of the convoy members who had gathered earlier had already dispersed.
But plenty of people remained.
When they saw Fan Shang looking their way, they all averted their eyes in fear.
Fan Shang didn't care. He simply took the half-full bottle of water out of the bag he had just used to hold his supplies and spoke.
"Does anyone know where these four guys' cars are? Take me there, and this half bottle of water and the clothes on these four bodies are yours."
As he spoke, Fan Shang nudged the dead men's clothes with his foot.
As for whether nobody would respond, Fan Shang thought that was impossible!
After all, he was a sequence transcendent now. All someone had to do was lead the way and point out the cars to get half a bottle of water and some clothes. He didn't think anyone would refuse those terms.
Sure enough, while everyone was still a little stunned by his offer...
A hand suddenly went up, and a voice reached Fan Shang's ears.
"I... I know." Fan Shang looked over. It was a slightly chubby man with a grimy face who looked somewhat familiar.
"F-Fan Shang, I know."
At those words, Fan Shang narrowed his eyes.
Taking a closer look, he realized the man really was familiar. This was none other than the fat classmate he had seen not long ago.
He hadn't recognized him at first because his face was so dirty.
What Fan Shang hadn't expected, however, was that he had survived.
And as the fat man spoke, the others around them came to their senses too.
They all started speaking up. This was a perfect chance to get close to a sequence transcendent.
If they could form a connection with him, then whatever else happened, their standing in the convoy would definitely rise, and their lives would become much easier.
Every seasoned survivor who had lived in this apocalyptic world for a month understood that.
"Me! Sir sequence transcendent, I know too..."
"Lord Fan Shang, I don't need any supplies. I can take you straight there..."
Their overlapping voices were so loud that Fan Shang's ears started to hurt.
So, without much hesitation, he chose the fat man who had spoken first.
"You lead the way."
Compared to those crafty old hands, Fan Shang naturally preferred his former classmate.
"Huh? M-me?"
Hearing that, the fat man, who hadn't held out much hope, suddenly looked delighted.
He hurried forward.
But Fan Shang clearly didn't care what he was thinking. He simply held out the water.
"This is your payment. Once you've taken me there, come back and get the clothes yourself."
But before Fan Shang could tell him to lead the way...
The fat man in front of him hurriedly waved his hands.
"No, there's no need, Fan Shang. You don't have to pay me. I can just take you there."
Fan Shang frowned slightly.
Looking at the fat man before him, Fan Shang remembered his name: Cheng Chen. He had been fairly well-liked at university.
His dormmates in their class had all called him Fatty Cheng. Hearing it often enough had left an impression on Fan Shang too.
But being classmates didn't mean they were close, nor did it mean Fan Shang had to accept his help for free.
Some things came at a price, after all, and Fan Shang naturally understood what he was thinking.
He simply wanted to use the waived payment to establish a connection.
But Fan Shang had no such intention, nor did he want anyone using his name as backing.
So he spoke plainly.
"If I tell you to take it, take it."
"I... no... there's no need..."
Fatty Cheng still tried to refuse, and Fan Shang's expression turned cold.
"Hey, Fatty Cheng, I know what you're thinking. But I don't like getting dragged into trouble, understand? Last chance. If you won't take it, I'll find someone else."
Fatty Cheng's face flushed, then paled.
Hearing that, the people around them started whistling.
"Haha, serves him right. That fat bastard wants connections with a sequence transcendent? He should take a piss and look at his reflection. What makes him think he deserves it?"
"Tsk, tsk. So what if he spoke first? The honored Sequence User doesn't appreciate it..."
"Honored Sequence User, pick me! I only want half a bottle of water. O-or I could give you some water instead..."
"..."
Their words dripped with jealousy and mockery.
Hearing them, Fatty Cheng first took a deep breath.
Then he suppressed his anger and resentment.
"I... I'll take it..."
Without hesitation, Fan Shang handed Fatty Cheng the half-full bottle of water and spoke.
"Then lead the way."
With that, Fatty Cheng started leading, and Fan Shang followed.
Fan Shang knew nothing of the emotional turmoil Fatty Cheng had gone through. No-perhaps even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared.
The same point still stood.
Fan Shang hated trouble. What did Fatty Cheng wanting a connection with him have to do with him?
He didn't owe the man anything.
As he thought that, Fan Shang suddenly sensed someone watching him.
He turned his head and saw someone in the crowd staring at him.
The figure was very familiar.
It was Jiang Yu, the female university student from the couple he had seen earlier.
Seeing her, Fan Shang's lips parted slightly in surprise.
"I didn't expect her to survive too."
When Jiang Yu saw Fan Shang looking over, she averted her gaze.
But what Fan Shang didn't know was that as Jiang Yu turned away, a flicker of venomous resentment crossed her eyes.
Soon, Fatty Cheng led Fan Shang to the cars belonging to Li Qiang and his three companions.
After casually sending Fatty Cheng away...
Fan Shang looked at the cars before him and felt a joy he hadn't experienced in a long time.
After all, he had spent an entire day fleeing from weird entities. Honestly, his mental stress had almost gone off the charts.
Now, at last, he was temporarily safe.
Fan Shang felt that nobody could resist the joy of opening mystery boxes and picking up free supplies after narrowly escaping death.
Yep. Nobody!
With that thought, Fan Shang stopped hesitating and walked toward the two cars, axe in hand.
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