Human Nature and the Differences Between Roads

[Ding! Congratulations on surviving another day, host. Survival points +100]

[Current survival points: 1200]

[Time remaining until bloodline upgrade completion: 06:00]

Early the next morning.

The crisp, cold mechanical voice sounded in Fan Shang's mind right on schedule.

He got up and climbed out of the vehicle.

Because of the earlier natural disaster, the air around the road was especially heavy with moisture.

And after what seemed to be a day of settling,

the sinister chill in the rainwater had vanished.

It had become ordinary water.

That oppressive, uncomfortable feeling was gone.

With that thought, Fan Shang swept his gaze around again.

As usual, the fat man and the twin sisters were nibbling at their supplies while inspecting their vehicles.

The counselor from Software Class Two and her husband were arguing, while the little girl anxiously paced in circles beside them as usual.

Fan Shang's gaze kept moving until he spotted a familiar figure.

It was Jiang Yu, the college girl who had narrowly survived earlier. She was leaning against a vehicle, eating.

Of course, that alone would not have drawn Fan Shang's attention.

What truly caught his eye was how this once vibrant, pretty college girl had turned deathly pale in just two short days, as though something terrible had happened to her.

Fan Shang could not help feeling puzzled.

But his confusion soon cleared. While Jiang Yu was eating her supplies, a sleazy middle-aged man walked straight toward her.

Seeing someone approach, Jiang Yu immediately shielded her food, thinking he meant to steal it.

But to her surprise, the man had not come for food...

Then, before Fan Shang's eyes, the man suddenly seized her hand.

And began dragging her toward the vehicle.

"You-what are you doing?!"

"What am I doing? Fucking, obviously! You rode in my car. Don't forget what you promised me!"

"Taking this damn long just to eat. Don't you know how fucking horny I am?"

As he spoke, the man pushed down on her head.

He was about to shove her into the vehicle.

Watching this, Fan Shang immediately understood why she looked so drained.

It was perfectly normal. For a woman, naturally much weaker than a man, this was one way to survive in the apocalypse.

Quite a few women in the convoy traded their bodies for supplies.

After the male college student died, Jiang Yu had struggled to obtain supplies. There was nothing to condemn about surviving this way.

Fan Shang did not look down on her for it. Everyone was just trying to survive; nobody was nobler than anyone else.

But he had no intention of helping her either.

After all, Fan Shang had never considered himself a good person. He could barely keep himself alive, let alone help someone else.

He was not that overflowing with saintly compassion.

Then, however, Fan Shang suddenly noticed something was wrong.

He raised his eyes.

The two struggling figures had stopped moving at some point.

They had noticed his gaze as well.

Fan Shang saw the sleazy middle-aged man, who had been pulling so forcefully, immediately stop what he was doing when he noticed Fan Shang watching.

He gave Fan Shang a fawning smile.

"S-Sequence User, sir. Good morning."

That's not it. Fan Shang narrowed his eyes.

The middle-aged man's behavior was perfectly normal for a survivor in the convoy encountering a sequence transcendent.

So Fan Shang looked at Jiang Yu.

And immediately discovered the source of that unsettling feeling.

After the man stopped, Jiang Yu first shot him a vicious glare. Fan Shang could sense the anger and murderous intent in her eyes and expression.

That much, Fan Shang could understand.

But why...

When she looked at Fan Shang, he actually sensed profound malice and resentment, though it flashed past in an instant.

After that brief glance, she looked away.

But even that fleeting moment was enough for Fan Shang to sense something amiss.

It also made him wonder whether he had been mistaken.

What's going on? Does she... resent me?

Fan Shang frowned slightly at the thought.

He wanted to make sure.

But the man had already dragged her into the vehicle.

Then an angry curse rang out.

"Fuck, you bitch! You actually dared glare at me? Hurry up and hold it steady!"

A moment later,

the vehicle began rocking.

Hearing the commotion, the people nearby started whispering among themselves.

"Tsk, what a shame. He beat us to her. Never thought she'd let a guy like that fuck her first."

"Right? But let me tell you, that woman's got a vicious look in her eyes. She looks at everyone like they owe her millions. You'd better keep your little heads in check, or you might end up getting killed."

"Heh, keep talking shit. Who was it that paid two packets of instant noodles for a turn? I bet that's exactly your thing! It's just too expensive. Otherwise, I'd give her a try myself. Haha!"

Listening to their conversation,

Fan Shang's furrowed brow relaxed a little, and he abandoned the idea of checking.

She looks at everyone like they owe her millions. So that glare wasn't aimed specifically at me?

As he thought this, the tall, thin man approached again.

"So, Captain Liu, where are we heading next?"

By the time Fan Shang spoke, he had already put the earlier incident out of his mind.

After all, no matter how much that college girl resented or hated him, it meant nothing. It was not arrogance-the gap between sequence users and ordinary people was so vast that he could simply disregard her.

What does your hatred have to do with me?

All Fan Shang needed to consider now was growing stronger, staying alive, and then finding his younger sister. Nothing else mattered.

With that thought, Fan Shang looked at Liu Tie.

He wanted to hear what the man had planned next.

And Liu Tie did not disappoint him.

After a brief silence, he finally spoke.

His tone and expression were utterly serious.

"Next, I'm planning to head onto a provincial road."

"What?!"

At those words, Zhou Ping nearly jumped to his feet.

The shock on his face was not excitement, but terror.

Because those few words, "head onto a provincial road," touched upon the most fundamental aspect of the Weird World.

Roads.

Anyone who had survived nearly three days in this world knew how important roads were to the Weird World.

Not only did they provide routes for vehicles, but they also concealed the presence of humans traveling along them.

If the weird entities were humanity's nemesis, here to wipe humans out,

then the roads were a slender chance of survival in this hopeless world.

And that was also why Zhou Ping had reacted so strongly.

As everyone knew, rural roads, provincial roads, national roads, and expressways

were among the things most closely tied to travel, socializing, and tourism in human society.

At the same time,

they were also where people were most densely concentrated.

If the number of people on a rural road was merely moderate, just enough for their presence to remain concealed,

then on the next level up, a provincial road,

there would only be more people.

And as the number of people increased, their scent would inevitably leak out.

That meant the convoy would be pursued by weird entities more frequently on a provincial road.

The danger would also rise sharply.