The grassland

"Well, Lin, we were led astray by someone."

"Yes, yes, we were so foolish."

"Lin, these are your supplies. We haven't touched a thing..."

The survivors eagerly handed supplies back to Lin Yi. Before long, they had piled up into a small mountain.

The sight left the newly arrived survivors looking puzzled.

"Hey, man, what's going on here?"

One survivor curiously asked a convoy member.

"Oh, that."

The convoy member lit a cigarette. "Lin used to be the nice guy in our convoy. They took advantage of that and kept asking him for supplies, and he gave them whatever they asked for."

"Now they're scared because he's attained Sequence Transcendence."

The newcomer understood. He looked at the people currying favor with contempt. "Serves them right."

"What was your convoy like before?" the convoy member asked.

"Oh, ours was actually a pretty fair convoy. Our guide was a good person too..."

The stream of people returning supplies to Lin Yi gradually came to an end.

Just then, an old woman darted out of the crowd. She was the one worth 50 Contribution.

She glanced at the supplies all over the ground and unceremoniously began stuffing them into the sack she had brought.

"Young man, you certainly can't finish all this. It'll spoil if you leave it too long, so I'll reluctantly help you use some of it up. No need to thank me."

The old woman looked utterly smug.

Watching his Contribution shoot up, Lin Yi smiled even more broadly.

"It's fine. Take more. I'll help you pack."

Not only did Lin Yi not stop her, he quickly began putting things into her plastic bag.

He looked as though he was afraid she might take too little.

Only when the bag was stuffed to bursting did the old woman smugly head toward her son's car.

She even deliberately held the bag high, as though showing off to everyone around her.

Before long, seeing that Lin Yi had done nothing, several more elderly men and women swarmed over.

"Hehe, take it slow, everyone. There's plenty. Plenty!"

Lin Yi turned no one away.

Before long, he had gained six maxed-out Contributions, equivalent to six lives.

He wanted these old men and women to live to a hundred even more than they did!

After the elderly people left, plenty of supplies remained, but no one else stepped forward to fight over them.

The survivors understood that the elderly people's children naturally knew the consequences.

But these old men and women were old enough to be shameless and intractable, with no fear of death.

Getting some supplies before they died was pure profit.

As for Lin Yi actually coming for revenge afterward...

Sorry, we don't know them. We just shared a car...

Take whatever supplies you like...

"He really is a good person."

Watching from a distance, Xu Zhong couldn't help marveling to himself.

Clown, however, tilted his head. Something felt off. He had keenly caught the scent of a scheme.

By then, Lin Yi had walked over with the remaining supplies in his arms. He grinned at them. "Anyone need supplies?"

Xu Zhong: ...

Clown: ...

Zhao Xing: ...

Why was this guy's smile so creepy?

"Sorry, our convoy's previous rule was an exchange of equal value. We can't take your things," Xu Zhong said seriously.

"Ah, that's a real shame." Lin Yi pursed his lips.

He casually took the supplies back and headed toward Li Yong's car.

There was nothing he could do. His own car was gone, so he could only impose on Li Yong again...

"Why does this guy always seem so sinister?" Xu Zhong shuddered as he watched Lin Yi walk away.

"Only a lunatic understands another lunatic best. He's even crazier than I am." Zhao Xing, however, looked a little excited.

Xu Zhong glanced at the eager lunatic Zhao Xing and the grinning Clown beside him, then helplessly pressed a hand to his forehead. "You'd better not provoke him. Something about him feels very wrong..."

Lin Yi felt utterly innocent.

Throughout the evening, many people took a detour whenever they saw him.

Come on, he was of the Saint Mother Sequence!

The Holy Mother!

Helpless, Lin Yi could only take Da Sha to rest in Li Yong's modified off-road vehicle early.

Da Sha slept inside, while he lay straight down on the roof, feeling the slight chill of the night and narrowing his eyes in enjoyment.

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the off-road vehicle.

Lin Yi looked down and heard Li Yong say, "Elder Qi is holding a trading party tonight especially to welcome the new people who've attained Sequence Transcendence. Are you coming?"

"A trading party?" Lin Yi waved a hand. "I'll pass."

"Oh." Li Yong nodded without pressing him.

Lin Yi rolled over.

Are you kidding? Trade what? It's all mine. What's there to trade?

Trading doesn't give Contribution anyway.

Lin Yi rolled over and went back to sleep.

The convoy was lively that evening, and the festivities weren't declared over until well past midnight.

The addition of three people with Sequence Transcendence was good news for Elder Qi.

Having more people with Sequence Transcendence meant the convoy's chances of survival had risen considerably, as had their hopes of crossing the grassland.

At daybreak, the convoy set off.

After the long procession had traveled for a little under half a day, a stretch of green came into view.

They gazed into the distance.

Wild grass grew thick across the lush green grassland, swaying in the gentle breeze...

It looked rather beautiful.

But something about it was strange.

The grassland and the road they were driving along looked like two image layers pieced together.

There was no transition at all where the two met.

At the end of the road lay grassland stretching beyond the horizon.

Rumble, rumble, rumble.

The convoy drove into the grassland.

Dressed in only a thin layer, Lin Yi couldn't help shivering.

"What the hell?"

Lin Yi yanked open the off-road vehicle's rear door and darted from the roof into the moving car.

"Why did it suddenly get so cold?" Lin Yi looked at Li Yong.

Li Yong handed him the radio.

Elder Qi's voice soon came through. "In the apocalypse, anything is possible. All we can do is adapt to it."

"All right."

Feeling the temperature inside the car, Lin Yi began rummaging through his backpack.

Unfortunately, he couldn't find so much as a scrap of fabric.

After all, who could have imagined the temperature could change so absurdly?

The wild grass grew densely across the grassland.

It stood a full person's height, completely obscuring the way ahead.

Even with a heavy-duty truck clearing the way up front, the convoy's progress had slowed considerably.

Elder Qi sat on his bed, wrapped in a blanket.

He held his cane, tossing it out from time to time to find safe spots, his expression utterly solemn.

The convoy slowly traveled onward for about two hours.

Suddenly...

Vroom, vroom, vroom.

Countless roaring engines began to echo across the grassland.

Along with them came bursts of wild, unrestrained laughter.