Disgust filled Lin Qi as he saw Bo Gang outside the window, her eyes brimming with greed. "Why won't this fat-headed, big-eared thing leave me alone?"
Lin Qi's words seemed to flip some switch in Bo Gang. She suddenly stomped like she was going to war, pointed a thick finger at him, and roared furiously, "Who are you calling fat-headed and big-eared!!! Who are you calling fat-headed and big-eared!!! Huh!!!"
"Blondie, bite him to death!!!"
Bo Gang hauled Blondie in front of her like a little chick.
Blondie met Lin Qi's eyes. Seeing the blood still staining his machete, he instinctively swallowed, but emboldened by being in the convoy, he still craned his neck and blustered, "Apologize to her right now! And hand over the canned food while you're at it, or I won't let you off."
Lin Qi was truly getting sick of these scumbags.
He really wanted to slash the fat-headed, big-eared Bo Gang.
"Do you want to die?"
Lin Qi looked at Blondie, his gaze indifferent, seemingly devoid of any emotion.
Under his stare, Blondie shrank back a little in fear.
He still wanted to put on a show in front of Bo Gang.
Bzzzt, bzzzt, bzzzt.
The soft music from the heavy truck's loudspeaker cut out, and Liu Yan's voice rang out. "Survivors, please gather your belongings. We're preparing to depart!"
Hearing that the convoy was leaving, Blondie inexplicably felt relieved. He hurriedly tugged and dragged Bo Gang away. "We'll settle the score with him later. The convoy's about to move!"
"Hmph! Just you wait!"
Bo Gang shot Lin Qi another vicious glare before reluctantly letting Blondie drag her away.
Lin Qi paid the two clowns no mind.
His biggest problem right now was the Red-Clothed Opera Performer constantly circling overhead.
The convoy began moving.
Vehicles were actually easier to obtain in villages than in cities.
Most of the village's vehicles were parked in courtyards, and their keys were easy to find.
After scavenging supplies in the village, the survivors traveling on foot, who had originally made up more than half the group, had noticeably dwindled.
Apart from a few survivors too timid to even approach the village entrance, practically every small group now had its own vehicle.
The afternoon sun grew increasingly scorching.
Along with the sweltering weather, Lin Qi's mood grew restless.
The convoy traveled from afternoon into evening, and the survivors all thought it would stop to rest.
Yet the convoy continued through the darkness without any sign of stopping.
Just as confusion covered the survivors' faces, the loudspeaker sounded again.
"Survivors, because an anomalous entity has set its sights on our group, the convoy has no choice but to travel day and night!"
"The entity is a long way from our position. At our speed, only by traveling day and night can we shake off its pursuit."
"Please rest assured, the captain won't abandon a single one of our fellow survivors!"
As Lin Qi listened to Liu Yan's account, his expression grew much graver.
They had never traveled at night before.
Everyone knew that night was when anomalous entities were active. Traveling at night was far more dangerous than traveling during the day!
Night enveloped the land.
The lingering light of the Blood Moon in the sky reflected off the broad national highway.
After a full day of traveling, the survivors with vehicles were still doing all right, but those without were exhausted to their limits.
They had not been born into the apocalypse.
They had experienced peace and prosperity at their height.
With bodies accustomed to years of office work, walking under the sun for an entire afternoon was about their limit.
The apocalypse had only broken out about a week ago, and quite a few survivors still had their consciences intact.
Seeing the survivors staggering along on foot, some of those with vehicles had begun calling them aboard, kindly giving them a ride.
Lin Qi possessed an Extraordinary ability he had purchased, but ultimately, he was still an ordinary person. As they drove on until midnight, he could clearly feel drowsiness washing over him.
"The convoy will rest for one hour. We'll set off again in an hour."
Liu Yan seemed to sense the survivors' exhaustion too, and her voice echoed through the convoy at just the right moment.
As her voice faded, the loudspeaker stopped playing music, and the convoy began coming to a halt.
Lin Qi was just about to lean back in his seat and rest a little.
Knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock.
But just as he closed his eyes, someone knocked on his door.
Lin Qi felt irritated. Why did someone always come to disturb him whenever he tried to rest?
He turned his head, and his drowsy expression instantly became fully alert!
He thought he might be hallucinating from exhaustion, but when he focused his gaze, the person standing outside his door was none other than the old woman whom Lüluo had taught a lesson.
"To think someone really did save this old thing?"
Lin Qi narrowed his eyes. The old woman looked very unusual tonight.
The spitefulness from before was absent from her face, replaced by a fawning expression. She carried a basket, seemingly leaving it uncovered so Lin Qi could see it more clearly. It was stuffed with all kinds of snacks.
"Well, young man, I'm sorry about what happened today. I came here tonight specifically to apologize to you."
The old woman's tone was sincere, so sincere that she seemed like a different person.
Lin Qi sneered inwardly. He didn't believe an old thing who had spent her whole life throwing her weight around could suddenly change her ways.
But he wanted to see what she was up to. If she was plotting something, he would use the cover of night to settle this once and for all.
Killing broke the rules, but taking a few pieces off her should not be much of a problem, given the favor Lüluo owed him.
He simply opened the window, his expression barely changing. "Tell me what you're here for. I don't have time to waste on you."
Seeing Lin Qi's attitude, the old woman carefully concealed the hatred that flashed through her eyes.
Her face wrinkled like a chrysanthemum as she smiled and tried to lift the basket through the window. But after several attempts, she still couldn't pass it up. She sighed. "Young man, I'm old. I can't lift this up to you. Open the door and help me take it..."
"Heh."
Lin Qi had more or less figured it out. Her purpose lay in that basket of snacks.
Having identified the source of danger, Lin Qi was naturally even less likely to fall for it, but he also really wanted an excuse to kill the old woman.
After a little thought, he grabbed his machete with his right hand and unlocked the door.
The instant he unlocked it,
the old woman, completely unable to wait, grabbed the door and yanked it hard.
Click.
The door opened with the sound.
Delight surfaced in the old woman's eyes, followed by intense resentment.
She thrust her hand deep into the basket, the madness in her eyes almost threatening to swallow Lin Qi. "You damned little bastard! Go down there and join my son in death!!!"
The old woman roared, displaying agility far beyond her age.
Her hand seemed to grab something inside the basket, then swiftly pulled out.
Lin Qi could visibly see her arm begin changing as she thrust it into the basket, becoming fragile, becoming deathly pale...
An inexplicably familiar feeling suddenly surged into Lin Qi's mind.
By the time the old woman pulled her entire arm out, half of it had begun rapidly turning into a paper effigy.
And clutched tightly in her hand was none other than the Red-Clothed Opera Performer's Cursed Banknote!
Before you continue