The Cruelty of the Apocalypse

Creak-

The Funeral Encyclopedia was dimly lit.

The glass door, long neglected, creaked as it opened.

Chen Fan pushed his way inside and took two steps before stopping in his tracks.

Several coffins stood at the front of the shop.

The cabinets and shelves beside them were filled with funeral supplies.

Wreaths, joss paper, paper cars, soul-guiding banners...

Combined with the gloomy lighting, it was enough to make Chen Fan a little nervous when he first walked in, to be honest.

Besides, this was the apocalypse. Among the monsters brought by the fog were beings known as eeries.

Wronged souls, vengeful ghosts and the like really did exist.

The reason Chen Fan had come in anyway was that, as he remembered it, shops like this had doubled as homes before the apocalypse.

Many shopkeepers did business downstairs and lived upstairs.

On top of that, plenty of people would probably be frightened off by the shop's interior.

So Chen Fan figured there was a better chance this place hadn't been searched.

Risk and reward went hand in hand.

Fortune favored the bold, while the timid went hungry.

He had no idea where the next supply collection point would be.

His supplies had nearly run out. Though his haul this time was valuable, it wasn't something he could eat every day.

He couldn't eat cured pork leg and drink baijiu every time he got hungry.

Those two things were better used as side dishes or traded with other people.

He still needed to gather some proper food.

He had only taken two more steps forward, past the coffins blocking his view,

when his legs went weak again.

Maybe a bite to eat isn't worth going this far...

I can probably stand being hungry for another couple of days...

Two severed body parts lay ahead of him.

One was the head of a hideous dog monster, its fur like red-black steel needles and its fangs protruding. Blue blood had flowed from its severed neck and dried.

The other was the claw of some unknown creature, covered in scales, with talons almost as long as Chen Fan's fingers.

Chen Fan let out two breaths and calmed himself.

It's fine. At least they aren't eeries, just monsters...

There were two kinds of horrors brought by the fog. One was monsters, made of flesh and blood and vulnerable to physical harm. Ordinary people could put up some resistance against the weaker ones.

The other was eeries, which defied all reason. They were usually difficult to kill, and ordinary methods were completely ineffective against them, even firearms.

When faced with an eerie, only transcendents had any ability to resist.

Seeing that they were just two monster body parts, Chen Fan took a moment to recover and felt capable again.

Just as he was about to head upstairs for a look, a sound suddenly came from the coffin shop's glass door behind him.

Creak-

Goosebumps rose all over Chen Fan. He jolted and immediately turned around.

At some point, he had already drawn his weapons.

In his left hand was an oversized wrench used for car repairs, and in his right was a watermelon knife.

He saw two figures enter the shop one after the other.

The first was a skinny figure.

Close behind was an enormous figure who squeezed through the entrance, knocking the doorframe hard enough to make it shake twice.

Since he was looking out from inside, the light was somewhat in his eyes.

Chen Fan narrowed his eyes and adjusted to the light before he could see the two clearly.

He recognized them.

They were from a minivan near the front of the convoy.

There were hundreds of people in the convoy, and he didn't know everyone.

It was simply that the enormous figure's build was too distinctive.

Sister Liangzi was a suspected transcendent, two meters tall and as fat as a small hill.

Besides her outstanding size, she was famous in the convoy because she liked fair-skinned, delicate pretty boys.

It was the apocalypse; many things could be settled with a loaf of bread.

During rest stops, Sister Liangzi had repeatedly come to the back of the convoy, among the survivors lagging behind, to exchange supplies for people.

After a few times, everyone in the convoy knew Sister Liangzi's tastes.

A few young men who had run out of supplies, couldn't keep up with the convoy, had nowhere else to turn, and considered themselves somewhat good-looking had even gone to Sister Liangzi of their own accord.

But fewer people went later on.

Word was that the young men with Sister Liangzi were expendable, and some had been thrown into the wilderness after only a few nights in her vehicle...

Chen Fan's expression soured as he looked at the two who had entered.

He knew that besides liking men, Sister Liangzi also liked meat...

And he had just found a pork leg...

Looking at the pair, Chen Fan said in a low voice, "Are you here to scavenge this place? Then I'll go somewhere else."

With that, he tried to walk around them and leave.

Sister Liangzi raised the baseball bat she was carrying and blocked his way.

A cold smile touched her lips as she gazed greedily at the pork leg bone sticking out behind Chen Fan.

"You've got a nice haul there, kid. How about this? I've taken a fancy to that pork leg, so let's make a trade. You give me the pork leg, and I'll give you a chance to have me step in and help you once. What do you say?"

The skinny young man beside her immediately chimed in. "Sister Liangzi is a transcendent. Do you know how many people in the convoy want her protection but can't get it? Aren't you going to thank her?"

Chen Fan lowered his eyes and stood still for a moment.

Sister Liangzi's voice turned cold. "What, you don't want to?"

Chen Fan abruptly raised his head.

A smile blossomed across his face like a chrysanthemum.

"Oh, Sister Liangzi, you should've said so sooner! Look at me, being so inconsiderate.

"It's my honor that this cured pork leg caught your eye.

"I was just worrying about how to eat it. In my hands, it'd be a terrible waste, like a pearl covered in dust.

"I'd say this pork leg was meant to end up in your hands today, Sister.

"How about this, Sister? I'll leave the pork leg here for you. There are a few bottles of good liquor in the bag too. Please accept them as a gift from me. I won't ask for anything else. I just hope you'll remember you have a little brother like me from now on."

With that, Chen Fan took two steps back and slowly set his backpack on the floor.

Seeing how sensible Chen Fan was, Sister Liangzi smiled.

"You're pretty good. I like you."

Those two words, "like you," made Chen Fan's heart jump.

But he kept the same ingratiating smile. "Well, Sister, I've given you the gifts. There's still some time before the convoy leaves, so I'll go scavenge around the village some more. If I find anything good, I'll bring it to you."

With that, Chen Fan started toward the exit.

But Sister Liangzi stopped him with her baseball bat again.

Sister Liangzi wore a wicked grin as she looked Chen Fan up and down.

"I think you're pretty good. Interested in coming with me?"

Chen Fan cried out inwardly that this was bad.

Damn it, stall her for now, then run as soon as I get out. I can't stay with this convoy...

His expression didn't change, though. If anything, he looked a little shy.

"Sister, how can you say that? You're making me blush." As he spoke, he gave Sister Liangzi a flirtatious look. "How about this, Sister? We're short on time to gather supplies today, so tonight, tonight... I'll come to your vehicle and discuss it with you in detail..."

The skinny young man beside her spat and looked at Chen Fan with some disdain.

He'd thought Chen Fan had more backbone than that.

Turns out he was a shameless gold digger too.

But Sister Liangzi said, "No, right here in this room. I've never tried it in a shop like this."

As she spoke, she excitedly looked around at the furnishings in the room.

Chen Fan began to panic.

He was starting to lose control of his expression.

Still, he forced a smile and said, "Sister, I haven't bathed in who knows how long. Look at my face. I don't even fit your tastes. I'm ugly..."

Sister Liangzi burst out laughing. "Trying to play tricks on me, kid? I've been with countless men. One look and I can tell you've got the makings of a handsome guy. Clean you up and you'd have a movie star's face for sure."

"Sister, can we go somewhere else? It's my first time..."

"Heh heh, don't worry. I'll be gentle!"

"I know there's a big bed in that house over there..."

"I said, right now! I'm really fired up right now!"

Liangzi's tone gradually grew cold.

Chen Fan panicked. Damn it, wasn't she just picking on an honest man?

"Fuck it, Liangzi! You won't listen to reason and insist on forcing me to fight. Go to hell!"

With a loud roar, Chen Fan swung his wrench and watermelon knife at Liangzi's head.

The young man beside her cried out, his face turning pale as he hurriedly dodged aside.

But faced with Chen Fan's attack, Sister Liangzi merely stepped forward and thrust out her big belly.

As the saying went, an extra inch of reach was an extra inch of advantage.

Both weapons in Chen Fan's hands were short, and he was aiming for Liangzi's head.

But Liangzi's belly struck Chen Fan first, knocking him flying.

"Ow!"

Chen Fan landed sprawled on his face and rolled into the two severed monster parts.

A good deal of rotting flesh and bloody grime stuck to him.

Just then, a faint light suddenly appeared in Chen Fan's eyes.

Air currents swept around him.

[Transcendent awakened: Immortal Master of the Artifact Dao]

[Tier-two monster materials detected. Refine them?]