The [House Guard] Sequence

"Fan Shang, I'm officially inviting you to join our convoy."

Liu Tie extended his hand as he spoke.

Fan Shang didn't hesitate much at the invitation.

After all, he'd come here intending to join the convoy's inner circle.

He'd only been in the Weird World for a week. Figuring things out alone naturally wasn't as quick as asking veterans like Liu Tie.

Besides, traveling with the convoy offered some measure of safety.

So when Liu Tie reached out, Fan Shang extended his own hand and shook it.

He said,

"Then I'll be counting on you to look out for me, Brother Tie. Sorry for the trouble."

At that, Zhou Ping couldn't help cheering.

"Great! Our convoy finally has four Sequence Transcendents!"

He took a swig of beer, and the smile on his face relaxed a little after hearing Fan Shang's answer.

"It used to be just the three of us, and I'm a support sequence with absolutely no ability to fight weird entities. Every time we ran into one, I felt pretty shaky.

Now that Brother Fan Shang's joined us, our chances of getting away when we run into one have gone up again."

"..."

"Hey, you little punk!"

Liu Tie shot Zhou Ping a glare, but a rare smile also appeared on his scarred face.

Judging by the strength Fan Shang had shown earlier, he was certainly no weakling. Having him join the convoy would take a fair amount of pressure off Liu Tie.

But until Fan Shang gave him a definite answer, Liu Tie hadn't known how things would turn out, leaving him on edge. Only now could he finally relax.

With that thought, Liu Tie patted Fan Shang on the shoulder and said,

"Welcome aboard, Fan Shang. From now on, the convoy's business is the business of all four of us..."

"We'll support each other, and together..."

As he spoke, Liu Tie's expression grew solemn and earnest.

"...survive!"

Once he finished, Fan Shang drank the last mouthful of Rune Meat Porridge in his bowl.

Unfortunately, Fan Shang discovered that only the first mouthful seemed to work, increasing his constitution.

The rest merely filled his stomach without any of the miraculous effects of that first mouthful, leaving him a little disappointed.

Still, that made sense. If drinking porridge could increase constitution indefinitely, the Chef Sequence would be far too overpowered. The porridge certainly tasted good, though.

Thinking that, Fan Shang glanced at the Rune Meat Porridge in the pot.

An information panel immediately appeared before his eyes.

[Name: Rune Meat Porridge]

[Type: Consumable]

[Description: A signature creation cooked by a chef with a promising future. Made by gently simmering rice, purified water, a Bloodstained Stinking Talisman, and a Two-Faced Ghost Finger, then garnishing with chopped scallions.

For ordinary people, consuming it promotes longevity and grants +1 constitution; for Sequence One Sequence Transcendents, consuming it invigorates the mind and grants +0.5 constitution.]

[Note 1: Only the first mouthful from each pot of Rune Meat Porridge takes effect. Further consumption merely fills the stomach.]

[Note 2: This is a unique ability of the Chef Sequence. Rune Meat Porridge will produce different effects depending on the ingredients used.]

Fan Shang narrowed his eyes slightly as he read the description.

Different ingredients produce different effects. So if it were cooked with ingredients related to the mind, could the resulting Rune Meat Porridge increase spirit?

At that thought, Fan Shang looked at Zhou Ping.

For a moment, Zhou Ping's value kept climbing in Fan Shang's eyes.

The Chef Sequence's ability really was powerful. As long as he kept cooking porridge, they could keep getting stronger.

"Huh? Brother Fan Shang, what's wrong?"

Noticing Fan Shang's gaze, Zhou Ping looked puzzled.

Fan Shang shook his head with a smile.

"Nothing."

"I just thought, since you've all introduced your sequences, it'd seem a little rude if I didn't tell you about mine."

Zhou Ping, who'd still been somewhat puzzled, instantly brightened.

He looked at Fan Shang and immediately asked,

"So what's your sequence, Fan Shang? That white hair must be your side effect, right? What sequence has a side effect that looks that cool?!"

Zhou Ping was a little envious.

Sure, he'd graduated from university and been running a restaurant for several years, and he was almost thirty, but who didn't dream of showing off?

Back when they watched Tokyo Ghoul and saw the protagonist's hair turn white in an instant, who hadn't thought that was the absolute pinnacle of looking badass?

Fan Shang nodded.

"Yes, this is indeed a side effect of my sequence."

"As for my sequence..."

Fan Shang recalled the sequences Liu Tie and the other two had just introduced.

Ice Mage, Farmer, Chef...

Each one struck Fan Shang as more absurd than the last.

There really was a sequence for everything.

After some thought, Fan Shang ultimately decided not to reveal his sequence in full. Although his first conversation with Liu Tie and the other two had been pleasant enough,

you could know someone's face without knowing their heart. It was better to keep his guard up.

All the backstabbing he'd experienced over the past week had already taught Fan Shang to stay wary out of habit.

Otherwise, on his very first day escaping the school, his own roommate-his own good buddy-would probably have gotten him killed.

As long as the abilities roughly matched, that would do.

With that thought, Fan Shang glanced at Zhou Ping, then swept his gaze over the other two.

Only then did he finally speak.

"Mine isn't really a particularly powerful sequence either. You could call it an offensive sequence."

"The [House Guard] Sequence. That's my sequence. As for my abilities, I've got some strength, like Captain Liu. As for the others, well, to put it simply, I get a boost if someone enters my territory without my permission."

Zhou Ping blinked at that.

Then he drew a breath before speaking.

"Well... um... Brother Fan Shang, what I'm about to say might be a little rude, but honestly..."

"I thought you'd have something like a mythical sequence. But... but it's fine. An offensive sequence is good too. Pretty good..."

"Zhou Ping, if you don't know what to say, don't say anything."

Lin Xue immediately interrupted him.

Then she turned her cool, expressionless face toward Fan Shang.

"Every sequence has its uses. Isn't Brother Tie a [Farmer] too? And isn't he stronger than all of us now?"

After speaking, Lin Xue even nodded to Fan Shang.

Fan Shang couldn't help feeling a little strange.

Why did it feel like Lin Xue was comforting me?

"Well said, Lin Xue. And Zhou Ping, you little punk, stop running your mouth when you don't know what to say. Honestly. Brother Fan Shang's sequence is an offensive one. Don't go getting disappointed all on your own just because it doesn't sound impressive."

"My damn sequence is [Farmer], and can't I still kill those weird entities? Now that Brother Fan Shang's joined us with his offensive sequence, our convoy's that much safer."

Listening to them all chime in, Fan Shang couldn't help regretting telling them his sequence.

But that feeling lasted only a moment before quickly fading.

After all, he'd already said it. Was he supposed to change his story now?

Amid the chatter, the pot of Rune Meat Porridge gradually emptied.

Fan Shang lay back down in the vehicle.