Clown

Lin Yi floored the accelerator and raced toward the convoy.

In this apocalypse, surviving alone without a guide to lead the way meant certain death.

Other survivors would probably have had no choice but to wait for death.

But with Contribution guiding him, he could find the right direction.

The sky grew darker, and Lin Yi gradually closed the distance to the convoy.

About half an hour later.

Darkness had completely swallowed the sky.

Lin Yi could even hear monsters roaring in the dense woods on either side.

Darkness was their domain.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak..."

A piercing noise came from inside the SUV.

Lin Yi's expression changed, and a bad feeling rose in his heart.

Sure enough, the next moment.

The vehicle broke down!

"Crap."

Lin Yi's heart sank. He didn't know how to fix cars.

"Da Sha, keep watch."

Lin Yi quickly got out and lifted the hood.

His gaze swept over the engine, hoping it was only something simple.

Unfortunately, he couldn't make sense of any of it.

"This is trouble."

Lin Yi felt his scalp prickle.

Traveling on foot at night really wasn't a wise choice.

But he had no other choice.

"Da Sha."

Lin Yi dug a hiking backpack and a large schoolbag out of the trunk and slipped them onto Da Sha's shoulders, one in front and one behind.

Da Sha didn't resist. He simply watched Lin Yi with a goofy chuckle.

Lin Yi also shouldered two large bags himself. Looking at the half of their supplies still left, he could only abandon them.

It was the only option he had.

"Da Sha, keep up."

Carrying two gasoline containers in one hand, with a bag slung in front and another behind, he led Da Sha through the darkness.

The red Contribution grew farther and farther away, making Lin Yi increasingly anxious.

Even a bicycle would do.

Lin Yi muttered inwardly.

Unfortunately, heaven didn't hear his prayer.

"Hee-hee, ha-ha-ha! Come play with me!"

After an hour of walking, a sinister voice sounded beside his ear without warning.

Lin Yi spun around on reflex. The Blood Blade appeared in his hand without warning, and he thrust it behind him.

He turned to see someone in a clown costume staring at him with an eerie smile.

His face was covered in clown greasepaint, and he wore a ridiculous clown outfit.

"Hee-hee-hee, come... play with me..."

The exaggerated smile on Clown's face was ridiculous, yet chilling.

"Da Sha, beat him up."

At Lin Yi's command, Da Sha raised the Rolling Pin without hesitation and swung it at Clown.

Just as both of them were about to hit Clown.

Clown vanished from the spot with a pop.

"What the hell is this thing?"

Lin Yi frowned.

Then that sinister voice sounded again. "Hee-hee-hee, come play with me."

"Die!"

Lin Yi suddenly lunged.

Clown dissipated again.

"Fuck, what's with all this hiding? Fight me one-on-one if you've got the guts." Being toyed with had left Lin Yi irritated, and he couldn't help cursing.

"All right, Clown, stop teasing them."

A deep voice came from the darkness, and a man with a mohawk emerged, carrying a Chopping Knife.

Somewhat incongruously, though, the man wore tattered clothes that looked like a beggar's outfit.

"You're... human?"

Lin Yi was a little surprised.

He wasn't just surprised that they were human, but that anyone dared travel on foot in the darkness.

"Yes." The man nodded. "Want to team up?"

"Sure." Lin Yi didn't refuse. In this damned situation, another teammate was always better than another enemy.

"Hello, my name is Xu Zhong. Sequence Scavenger," the man with the mohawk introduced himself.

"Sequence Clown. You can call me Clown." The sinister, comical voice sounded beside his ear. Lin Yi hadn't even noticed when Clown had come up beside him.

He was just like a ghost.

"My friend, Da Sha. He doesn't know what sequence he is." Lin Yi introduced Da Sha for him.

Seeing Da Sha's condition, the two nodded in understanding.

"As for me..." Lin Yi hesitated, unsure whether to tell them.

"Heh, it's fine if you don't want to say." Xu Zhong smiled. "Knowing you have Sequence Transcendence is enough. With four of us possessing Sequence Transcendence, we'll at least have a better chance of staying alive."

Since Xu Zhong hadn't asked, Lin Yi didn't continue. Instead, he asked, "Scavenger, have you two been traveling on foot this whole time?"

At that, Xu Zhong gave a bitter smile. "No, we had a convoy."

As he spoke, intense fear filled his eyes. Even Clown, who had been laughing beside him, looked utterly terrified.

"We encountered a terrifying aberration..."

"It was made of lumps upon lumps of rotting flesh pieced together. Beneath that rotten flesh were densely packed human legs, like a centipede's..."

"The convoy was scattered in a single encounter."

"Most of the survivors were swallowed into that ball of flesh."

"Even our guide..."

At that, Xu Zhong's eyes dimmed.

It was clear that what they had experienced was horrific.

"What about you?"

Xu Zhong looked at Lin Yi.

"I got separated from my convoy..."

Lin Yi helplessly spread his hands.

"Ah, looks like we can only pray we run into another convoy." Xu Zhong sighed.

"Well..." Lin Yi pointed ahead. "My sequence ability lets me sense which direction my convoy is in."

"Really?" Xu Zhong's and Clown's eyes visibly lit up.

It was as though their fighting spirit had been rekindled.

"That's right."

Lin Yi nodded. He didn't mind revealing that little trick.

After all, he also needed the two of them to work with him to rejoin the convoy.

The four traveled together. Aside from the eerie surroundings, they actually encountered no aberrations along the way, which made all four breathe a sigh of relief.

Lin Yi, however, thought to himself.

It's probably because of the convoy.

I'm following the route Elder Qi explored, so it's relatively safe.

The group walked for half an hour.

Their footsteps suddenly halted.

Not far ahead, a school bus lay overturned, engulfed in flames.

Inside the school bus was a scene like hell on earth, with crimson blood spattered in every corner.

They could also see two or three figures feasting inside.

"Damn it, that's Old Wang's school bus!"

Xu Zhong's eyes immediately reddened.

"They're already dead..." Clown's voice was mournful. "What do we do now? Go around?"

Xu Zhong's eyes were bloodshot, but he hadn't lost his reason. He turned to Lin Yi beside him.

Lin Yi's expression was grim as well. The school bus blocked the very route they had to take.

If they went around, they might truly lose the convoy and encounter even more danger.

"Let's do it."

Lin Yi gritted his teeth. "Can you two fight?"

"Yes. We can each hold one off."

Xu Zhong's expression was grave.

As a Scavenger, the fewer companions he had, the stronger he became. With the boost from the Anomaly in his hand, the Chopping Knife, killing one wasn't impossible.

As for Clown...

Well, at sequence level 1, Clown could only stall...

"All right."

Lin Yi nodded.

There were three aberrations inside the bus. The four of them shouldn't have much trouble.

The four quieted their footsteps and quickly approached the inside of the bus.

All three figures inside were creatures that crawled on all fours.

The moment they sensed someone approaching, they shot out and charged at the four.

"Hee-hee-hee, let me show you a magic trick..."

An aberration charged at Clown. His figure dissipated, then re-formed a short distance away.

Nothing but stalling...

Xu Zhong charged at an aberration with the Chopping Knife over his shoulder, and the two traded blows evenly.

Da Sha, on the other hand, gripped the Rolling Pin and hammered an aberration with furious blows, actually seeming to suppress it for the moment.

Lin Yi held the Blood Dagger.

Without a combat sequence, he relied entirely on the Blood Blade's sharpness and the physical attributes granted by Sequence Transcendence.

Lin Yi roamed the battlefield.

With the three aberrations held down, he beheaded them in mere moments, leaving them well and truly dead.

"What a powerful Anomaly."

Xu Zhong looked at the Blood Dagger in surprise. "Young man, your Anomaly's sequence must be pretty high, right?"

"That's a secret." Lin Yi smiled.

Xu Zhong didn't ask any further questions.

In the apocalypse, no one wanted to reveal their trump cards to anyone else.

Even he had only given a code name.

"Old Wang... ah."

Looking at the corpses inside the school bus, Xu Zhong couldn't help feeling grief well up.

"Let's go. There's no point mourning. Who can guarantee we won't end up like them tomorrow?"

Lin Yi's voice was level. He was already leading Da Sha into the darkness.

And through the slaughter, his Blood Dagger had risen another six places in the sequence rankings...