Cooking smoke curled upward beneath the bright sunshine.
The Hope Convoy was in excellent spirits today.
More than thirty hours of rest was a rare luxury. Having successfully collected gasoline yesterday and traded with the Sequence Users for survival supplies, the survivors had treated themselves for once.
Many people were stewing bone soup. These were no ordinary bones, but bones from that Ranked Fierce Beast, the black bear.
Soup stewed from these bones was a rare treat for the survivors.
Today, Luo Fan and the other Sequence Users also enjoyed a proper meal together. Everyone contributed some food, and they put together another hot pot.
Rose brought out some packaged egg tofu, instant noodles, and drinks.
Niu Dagang brought over some sliced black bear meat.
Zhao Chunfeng contributed kelp, lotus root, potato slices, and the like.
Luo Fan attended with An Xiaoran, bringing two jin of Baby Bok Choy and two jin of fresh pork. He also bought two jin of apples, cut them into pieces, and arranged them on a plate.
"Baby Bok Choy, and even fresh apples?" Niu Dagang's eyes lit up at the ingredients Luo Fan brought out.
"Wow, this Baby Bok Choy is so fresh and crisp, it looks like it was just picked. Looks like your storage Uncanny Artifact can keep things fresh too," Zhao Chunfeng said as he examined Luo Fan's Baby Bok Choy.
"Then, if we find vegetables or fruit in the future, could we store them with Luo Fan?" Rose's eyes lit up when she heard that Luo Fan had an Uncanny Artifact that could keep things fresh.
"No. My storage Uncanny Artifact doesn't have much room, only about as much as a wooden chest. Otherwise, I wouldn't have traded away a batch of black bear bones, or even the meat." Luo Fan shook his head.
Indeed, his Mall System had updated twice, once when he awakened his Sequence at Lv1, and once when his Sequence reached Lv6. Both times, the selection of goods in the mall had expanded.
However, his Storage Space had only grown when he awakened his Sequence at Lv1.
Even now, his Storage Space still only held about as much as a wooden chest.
"That's a shame..." Rose sighed in disappointment at Luo Fan's words.
"Actually, it's not much of a shame. Finding fresh vegetables and fruit these days isn't easy, unless you happen across a vegetable patch or orchard from before the apocalypse, one that's still growing well despite going untended for months."
Unlike the disappointed Rose, Zhao Chunfeng spoke unconcernedly.
His words made Rose nod too.
That was true. Even with a storage Uncanny Artifact that kept things fresh, finding fresh fruit and vegetables now was practically impossible.
During their flight last night, some survivors who had been reluctant to pay for a ride had chased after them.
But despite the convoy traveling along the road last night and resting for an entire night, none of those survivors from the convoy had caught up.
Everyone knew perfectly well what sort of danger those people had encountered, and they tacitly avoided mentioning it.
After all, this was the apocalypse. Everyone seemed to have grown accustomed to death and parting.
Rustle, rustle...
Just as Luo Fan and the others were enjoying this rare, almost luxurious peace, a strange sound suddenly arose.
Everyone could sense that something seemed to be approaching.
A Small Woods stood beside the road. Luo Fan immediately took out his Twin-Eye Bow and stared in the direction of the approaching sound.
A powerful aura also emanated from Niu Dagang as he moved in front of everyone.
Even Rose raised her hand, condensing an egg-sized Missile in her palm and holding it ready.
"That's strange. That's quite a commotion..." Beside them, Zhao Chunfeng looked puzzled.
My Divination clearly indicated we could rest here safely for two nights and a day. Why is there suddenly such a commotion?
It looks like a powerful Fierce Beast is approaching. Could my reading really be that far off?
Just as everyone readied themselves, a python as thick as an ordinary person's thigh and seven or eight meters long charged out of the Small Woods.
A foul-smelling gust hit them as the python emerged.
But after charging out, the python Fierce Beast did not attack Luo Fan and the others. As though it had not seen them, it rapidly twisted its body and fled into the distance.
Looking closely, Luo Fan and the others saw that the python had quite a few wounds, with blood pouring out.
???
A wounded Fierce Beast had suddenly swept right past them, leaving Luo Fan and the others bewildered.
What had suddenly happened?
Just as Luo Fan and the others were considering whether to intervene, a figure suddenly appeared out of thin air, striking the python's head with a pair of weapons resembling knitting needles.
Luo Fan could tell that the figure had used the Assassination Sequence's Sap skill.
After successfully stunning the python with one strike, the figure's weapons flashed, slashing open several wounds in rapid succession.
At the end, she even drove the pair of long, needle-like weapons viciously through the python's eyes.
Roar!
Though it was a python, it let out a powerful scream like a lion or tiger. Its body writhed, and its thick tail lashed viciously at the figure.
With a light push of her toes against the python's body, she used it to launch herself into a backflip, nimbly springing six or seven meters into the air and landing more than ten meters away.
Ignoring the python's dying struggles, the figure turned to look at Luo Fan and the others.
"What a coincidence. We meet again." Luo Fan smiled as he greeted the woman before him.
Luo Fan remembered this woman. She was the one he had happened across on that rainy night a few days ago, killing a Fire Rotbird.
She also belonged to the Assassination Sequence, but judging by her appearance, she had clearly reached the Professional Sequence level.
"I remember you. Your name was Lian, Lian..." Niu Dagang clearly remembered her too and spoke up.
But when it came to her name, he could not get her full name out for a long while.
"Lian Ziqiong," the woman said, seemingly unable to stand Niu Dagang's stammering.
"Right, right, right. That was the name." Niu Dagang nodded at her words.
Lian Ziqiong looked at Luo Fan and the others' hot pot, her gaze lingering on the apples in particular for a moment, then looked at the survivors farther away, who were also stewing soup and cooking.
After a moment of silence, Lian Ziqiong discreetly swallowed and said, "Could I join you for a meal? Don't worry, I won't eat for free. I'll trade you something for it."
"You're very welcome. Meeting like this must be fate." Luo Fan smiled at her words, looking thoroughly welcoming.
After all, she was the first and only Professional Sequence User he had met. It would be good if they could exchange more information.
In this damned apocalypse, strength was certainly important, but intelligence and information were also extremely important...
Before you continue