Blood Ring

[Anomaly name: Sealed Blood Ring.]

[Stolen from a place of great terror by a thief who had no sense of self-preservation.]

[Anomaly sequence: 1234.]

[Trait 1, storage: The Blood Ring possesses storage capabilities.]

[Trait 2, Soul-Sealing: Pay a certain price to suppress an anomaly. Release it to fight for you!]

[Trait 3: Sealed.]

[Trait 4: Sealed.]

[Cost of use: Plagued by bad luck!]

Lin Yi scanned the Blood Ring's information.

He was somewhat surprised.

It was actually an Anomaly ranked within the top two thousand sequences.

And that was while it was sealed.

But the cost of using it...

Being plagued by bad luck in the apocalypse was hardly a good sign...

The storage space was of little use to him.

After all, having things go his way was never as quick as grabbing them himself...

As for Soul-Sealing, that required paying a price, too. What a hassle.

After some deliberation, Lin Yi decided to leave it gathering dust in the car for now.

Whether he would use it later depended on what those last two sealed traits were.

"Come on, let's eat."

Lin Yi brought Da Sha over to the fire.

He casually tossed a few packets of instant noodles into the boiling water.

"Lin Yi, you were the real hero this time."

Li Yong smiled as he offered him a cigarette. "If you hadn't taken that anomaly's head in the middle of its army, we probably would've been wiped out."

"Heh, it wasn't just me." Lin Yi waved a hand. "I don't smoke."

He glanced around. "Where's Bai Xiaoyu?"

"Oh, that girl overused her mental energy. She's still resting," Li Yong said.

"I see." Lin Yi nodded.

One of Bai Xiaoyu's abilities really was rather overpowered.

It could instantly raise someone's Sequence Transcendence level.

Even if it only lasted a short while, it was enough to turn the tide of battle.

"The good news is, after going through this danger, our Clown, Zhao Xing, and Da Hu all broke through to Sequence 2." Li Yong's smile was genuine.

But his expression soon dimmed a little again. "We lost thirty-five people passing through the Graveyard this time. The convoy only has ninety-eight people left."

At those words, everyone felt some sorrow for those who shared their plight, but they were happier than anything.

After all, the more Sequence 2s they had, the better the convoy's chances of survival.

The survivors were also cheering over having escaped death.

Only a handful of survivors who had lost loved ones grieved in silence.

But this sort of thing happened every day, and the survivors had grown used to it.

Who could guarantee they would live to see tomorrow?

"All right, everyone, contribute some ingredients. Let's have a good meal today."

Elder Qi emerged from the heavy truck with a smile, carrying a large chunk of meat in one hand. A man followed behind him, holding two cases of Brave the World beer.

"Sure thing!"

Everyone scattered to find food worth contributing.

Lin Yi wasn't stingy either.

He rummaged around inside his car, only to find a pile of snacks to go with drinks...

There was nothing he could do. All the food he got his hands on came in packaging.

Still, the sight of these drinking snacks made several Sequence Transcendence users narrow their eyes.

Peanuts, vacuum-packed roast duck, and all sorts of snacks.

"Hehehe, I've got these!"

Xiao Zhao happily carried over several bottles of drinks, her face full of pride.

It was clear that Xiao Zhao liked drinking beverages best of all.

Xu Zhong carried out half a sack of rice.

Every Sequence Transcendence user brought something worth contributing.

Before long, the area around the fire was bustling, everyone talking and laughing.

Perhaps this was the only time they could relieve their stress in the apocalypse.

Everyone was far too pent up.

Every day, they lived under the shadow of death.

It was a rare chance to relax...

Lin Yi felt as though he couldn't join their conversation, so he could only eat quietly and replenish his energy.

Tap, tap, tap.

Footsteps sounded behind him, followed by a waft of fragrance enveloping him.

Lin Yi looked up and saw the mischievous eyes in Bai Xiaoyu's pale face.

"Hehe, what a big, pale butt."

Bai Xiaoyu whispered those words into Lin Yi's ear, then turned and found a place to eat.

Lin Yi: ...

He froze mid-bite.

He shot Bai Xiaoyu a hostile look.

It meant, Say a word about it, and you're dead!

"Damn it, I never thought that little wench actually saw."

Lin Yi chomped away at a duck leg.

Not only was Bai Xiaoyu unafraid, she even shot him a provocative look.

Lin Yi: ...

Once he had eaten and drunk his fill, Lin Yi ignored the others who were still chatting, got up, and headed toward his car.

The Blood Ring wasn't his only gain from the Graveyard. There was also that big-headed ghost's skull.

Back in his car, Lin Yi held the Big-Headed Anomaly's skull.

The skull's information appeared as well.

[Anomaly name: Anomalous Skull.]

[Remains left behind after the Big-Headed Anomaly's death.]

[Anomaly sequence: 8095.]

[Can be used as Anomaly smelting material.]

It was a very simple description.

Different from all of Lin Yi's other Anomalies.

"Anomaly smelting material?"

After a moment's hesitation, Lin Yi headed toward the Apocalypse Heavy Truck.

Elder Qi was getting on in years and had already returned to the heavy truck to rest.

Knock, knock, knock.

Lin Yi knocked on the door.

"Come on up?"

Sitting on his bunk, Elder Qi pushed open the cab door.

Lin Yi hopped into the driver's seat and asked, "Elder Qi, do you know what Anomaly smelting material is?"

"Anomaly smelting material?" Elder Qi didn't seem particularly surprised. "Some Sequence Transcendence users have abilities that let them craft Anomalies. If you have Anomaly materials, you can trade them when you encounter other convoys, or pay them something to help you smelt them."

"I see."

Lin Yi thanked Elder Qi.

Then he took the Anomaly smelting material back to the Doomsday Tinplate Car.

He took out the Universal Wrench, looking thoughtful.

"Universal Wrench, can you add Anomalies to my car, too?"

Once the idea arose, he couldn't suppress it.

Lin Yi hurried outside the car, holding the Big-Headed Anomaly's skull in one hand and the Universal Wrench in the other.

As he activated the Universal Wrench...

Sure enough, it was just as he expected.

The Big-Headed Anomaly's skull became material for the Universal Wrench, which began embedding it in the car.

Lin Yi's hammering only drew everyone's attention for a moment.

They also knew about the Universal Wrench in his hand.

Universal trait 2, combination, activated.

Lin Yi held the Universal Wrench in one hand. He didn't need to do anything else; the Universal Wrench could move on its own.

"Da Sha, come here."

Lin Yi waved at Da Sha.

"Okay."

Da Sha put down his bowl and came over to Lin Yi.

"Hold this."

Lin Yi simply replaced his own hand with Da Sha's.

"It really works."

Lin Yi smiled as he watched the wrench work, freeing up both his hands.

Someone else had already paid the Universal Wrench's cost. Since he could use it, perhaps others could, too...

Sure enough, Da Sha looked happily at Lin Yi, and the Universal Wrench showed no sign of stopping work.

"I wonder what changes my Doomsday Tinplate Car will undergo after combining it with the Big-Headed Anomaly's skull!"

Lin Yi felt a little anticipation.