The first Extraordinary to die!

Yi Xue sat leaning dazedly in the off-road vehicle's shade, sheltering from the waves of afternoon heat.

Her gaze rested on the bus entrance, where blood had flowed like a river. With the bustle over, her eyes gradually dimmed. "How could this happen? Why did something like this happen..."

"Xue."

A familiar voice reached her ears.

Yi Xue looked up. Several figures were slowly approaching from nearby: her surviving classmates and Teacher Gu.

Teacher Gu and the other two female students had changed clothes.

Teacher Gu had a look in her eyes that Yi Xue had never seen before, filled with exhaustion, sorrow, and no small amount of regret.

The two girls behind her were pale and bloodless. Clearly, they still hadn't recovered from what had happened on the bus and remained utterly dazed.

The boys following behind them, on the other hand, were all filled with righteous indignation, their every word steeped in intense anger.

Yi Xue's gaze settled on Teacher Gu, as though she had finally found someone to lean on. The sorrow she had suppressed for so long finally burst out.

"Waa!" Yi Xue threw herself into Teacher Gu's arms, tears pattering down as though she meant to pour out all her hurt and sorrow at that moment.

"Good girl."

Teacher Gu patted Yi Xue's head, lingering guilt in her eyes.

She looked back at the six surviving male students. "Sorry for the trouble, everyone, but please clean the blood off the bus. Thank you for the effort."

"It's fine, Teacher Gu. It's no trouble."

The boys had clearly recovered faster than the girls. While receiving treatment from the Transcendent Squad, they had also heard what had happened to Li Xiang and the others.

As they passed the off-road vehicle, the boys instinctively looked toward Lin Qi, who was leaning against the window smoking.

Their expressions changed noticeably, gratitude in every pair of eyes.

One particularly burly, dark-skinned student even cupped his fist in a rather outlandish salute. "Words can't express my gratitude. Brother, if you ever need help, just give me, Tiezhu, a shout."

Lin Qi: ...

Lin Qi hadn't expected to become part of the spectacle he was watching.

He had been watching the reunion unfold out of boredom. When Tiezhu thanked him, he waved dismissively. "Really, no need."

Tiezhu didn't persist. He clearly held considerable sway among the remaining students. After thanking him, he led his classmates off to clean up the blood.

It had to be said that boys recovered far better than girls.

Before the girls had recovered from their fear, the boys were already hard at work scrubbing the bus with collected rainwater.

Teacher Gu rummaged through the bus for some supplies, then headed toward the Transcendent Squad.

The Transcendent Squad offered aid, but that aid was by no means free.

The girls were like frightened rabbits, following Teacher Gu closely wherever she went.

Even Yi Xue followed their teacher to the Transcendent Squad.

Lin Qi casually tossed his cigarette butt out the window. He appeared to be resting, but his eyes had been observing the survivors newly joining the convoy all along.

There were virtually no elderly people among the new survivors. Given their physical condition, elderly people couldn't have followed them on foot for so long.

A third of the newcomers were women, and almost all the rest were young or middle-aged men.

For the convoy, having so many able-bodied men was a good thing.

In the apocalypse, jobs requiring hard labor far outnumbered other kinds of work.

Liu Yan moved among the survivors with her subordinates, a notebook in hand, apparently recording information about the newcomers.

Liu Yan's job was to find people with special skills among the new survivors. Before long, Lin Qi saw several dozen survivors following her.

Of course, some were trying to slip through the cracks. Liu Yan was only conducting the initial screening.

Watching those fellows bluff their way into the team, Lin Qi couldn't help shaking his head slightly. Deceiving an Extraordinary did come at something of a price.

"Why can't I join the Transcendent Squad? I'm talented too!"

An angry roar rang out nearby.

Lin Qi turned and saw a fat man with a bit of a potbelly shouting in front of Liu Yan.

"I told you, you're not suitable."

Liu Yan's voice was cold. With that, she turned to leave.

"How am I not suitable? Before the apocalypse, I was a senior executive at a listed company! I'm definitely better at managing a team than you!" The fat man raised his voice, his eyes even holding a hint of contempt and arrogance as he looked at Liu Yan.

The fat man's outrageous words left Lin Qi's head buzzing.

Seriously, man, did being a manager make you stupid? You're trying to take Liu Yan's management position?

Having given the survivors a general once-over, Lin Qi found himself bored.

He repositioned his vehicle, parking in the school bus's shade, then closed his eyes, leaned back in his seat, and fell asleep.

Long stretches of rest were hard to come by while fleeing through the apocalypse. He had to seize every opportunity to replenish his stamina and mental power so he could face dangers that might emerge at any moment.

Bang!

A piercing blast jolted Lin Qi awake.

His eyes snapped open. It was getting dark.

The survivors' cries, shouts, and chaotic clamor were deafening!

Lin Qi's first reaction was that an anomaly had appeared!

But he soon realized something was wrong.

If an anomaly had appeared, the convoy would have set off immediately.

Yet the entire convoy showed not the slightest intention of moving.

He looked toward the source of that deafening noise. When he made out the scene in the darkness, his pupils abruptly contracted.

In the darkness a short distance ahead, a corpse lay in a pool of blood!

It was Jiahao, who had awakened the Lightning Sequence!

Even in death, Jiahao's eyes were wide open. Not far from him, Wang Hu stood with an icy gaze, gripping a standard-issue pistol that gleamed even in the night!

"Brothers, charge!"

Wang Hu raised his arm and shouted. Over a hundred people surged out of the crowd and charged toward the Transcendent Squad.

The gunshot seemed to have been a signal.

Even beside Lin Qi's vehicle, more than a dozen burly men appeared, armed with clubs and machetes.

Their leader was none other than Scarface!

"Heh heh heh, brat. This day next year will be the anniversary of your death."

Scarface chuckled sinisterly. "I refuse to believe this many people can't take down a little bastard like you!"

He waved his hand, and the dozen or so men surrounded the off-road vehicle, vicious grins on their faces.

"Are you a fucking idiot?"

Lin Qi sneered at the sight.

Vroom, vroom, vroom.

The off-road vehicle let out a piercing roar. With the accelerator floored, it shot straight at Scarface.

"Heh, trying to run?"

Scarface's voice grew colder. "If you get away, I'll spell my name backward!"

Lin Qi worked the accelerator. By the reflected light of the Blood Moon, he could faintly make out something glinting on the ground.

Whoosh!

The off-road vehicle barreled over it. It seemed to have run over something, but that had no effect on the vehicle whatsoever.

Just like that, it broke out of the encirclement right before Scarface's eyes and charged toward the concealing wild grass on either side.

Lin Qi had barely gone any distance beyond the encirclement when the system's virtual screen popped up before him without warning.

The moment his gaze landed on the virtual screen, he froze.

[Compatible, dissipating Extraordinary energy detected. Intercept?]

[Ghost Cash required for interception-999!]