The Clever Uses of Fire Control

The [Fire Control] skill activated, and a jet of flame raced along the mountainside!

Jiang He could tell whether there was a bend ahead by the changes in the flame's shape.

He knew this method would quickly exhaust his ability, but he had no choice!

Fortunately, the fog didn't last long...

As the rain grew heavier, the familiar mountain road came back into Jiang He's view.

Sizzle!

Sparks erupted between the mountainside and the bus, and even the pouring rain couldn't put them out completely!

The blood moon had quietly receded from the sky, and dawn was breaking. But dark clouds obscured the light, leaving it too dim to see the road ahead clearly.

The heavy rain showed no sign of stopping.

The bus windows had long since been shattered, leaving Jiang He helpless against the rain.

All he could do was take out a dry piece of clothing every so often and wipe away the annoying droplets.

That way, he could keep his eyes dry.

But even if Jiang He could overcome that difficulty, the slippery road still limited the speed at which the bus could take the bends!

The bus had entered a downhill stretch. Although the road wasn't as difficult as before, there were still plenty of bends...

That meant Jiang He had to brake early and slow down to keep himself from plunging off the cliff!

The rumbling behind him continued to grow closer!

Clearly, the rain was lubricating the ground, making it easier for the Earth Earthworm to burrow!

A level-three mutant beast's stamina was naturally beyond anything a level-one or level-two creature could match!

"Damn it!"

Although the rain had long since soaked the rearview mirror, Jiang He could still make out the inconspicuous feelers on the Earth Earthworm's head through its blurry outline...

That meant it was less than twenty meters away!

To the Earth Earthworm, twenty meters was no more than the distance it could cover in a single dive underground!

At this rate, I'm dead for sure!

Watching the enormous figure disappear into the ground again, Jiang He's nerves were stretched to the breaking point!

He looked around and saw that he was only two bends away from the foot of the mountain.

Jiang He decided to go all in. He lined up his course, floored the accelerator, and drove straight into the guardrail!

Bang! Boom!

The two sounds rang out almost simultaneously as the Earth Earthworm's mouth burst out from behind the bus,

Only one meter from its rear...

Crash!

Even though the bus was a weird object and had the boost from [Toughness], the fall from such a height still knocked quite a bit off its exterior!

There was no time to mourn the damage. The moment the bus landed, Jiang He floored the accelerator again.

Blergh!

The two successive jolts were too much for the little girl in the bus. She vomited, and the filth fell onto the floor, vanishing in an instant...

Screech, screech...

After rounding another bend, the view ahead suddenly opened up!

Faced with the straight road that had appeared before it, the bus seemed to let out an excited roar.

It was probably celebrating that it could finally run at full speed!

Screeech!

The sound of tires clawing at the ground suddenly rang out, crisper and more pleasant than ever before.

As a choking smell of rubber filled the air where it had been, the bus beneath Jiang He suddenly doubled its speed!

"Roar!"

Watching its prey get farther and farther away, the Earth Earthworm finally let out a furious roar of unwillingness.

Its tail lashed the ground, instantly ripping a section of guardrail out by its roots and hurling it viciously forward.

Bang!

The section of guardrail landed squarely on the road ahead of Jiang He, sticking upright and blocking the bus's path crosswise.

Seeing this, Jiang He had no intention of slowing down!

If it thought a section of guardrail could stop him, this earthworm was underestimating the bus!

Bang!

Another tremendous crash rang out as the bus, carrying its terrifying speed, smashed a long gap through the guardrail blocking its path.

Then, under the Earth Earthworm's gaze, it sped off into the distance...

After driving for a full hour without seeing any Eldritch Horrors follow him, Jiang He finally felt his taut nerves relax a little!

The rain outside the window gradually eased. Jiang He slowly pulled the bus over and deftly put away the energy core.

I'd better use this thing less often from now on!

One level-three mutant beast chased me into such a sorry state. If a few more come after me in the future, I'll probably end up dead...

"Damn it!"

Only after doing all that did Jiang He slump into his seat like a deflated ball, gasping for breath.

Using his ability nonstop to evaporate the rain had put a considerable strain on his body. His head felt heavy, and all he wanted was to lie down right there and get some sleep!

"Ah!"

Jiang He didn't know how much time had passed before a scream jolted him awake.

He sprang up from his seat and looked toward the source of the sound.

Two black, whip-like objects resembling cockroach antennae had suddenly appeared ahead. They were reaching through the shattered glass and repeatedly touching the little girl's cheeks.

[**Ding**]

[Low-level mutant beast detected: Undying Insect. Danger rating: 1. Kill it to obtain system points]

[Note: Undying Insects are extremely tenacious. Their abdominal cavity may be their weak point!]

Jiang He naturally knew about low-level mutant beasts. They were considerably weaker than even level-one mutant beasts.

Most were mutated from weak humans who had lost control of their emotions.

This kind of Undying Insect was the mutant beast Jiang He had encountered most often in his previous life!

That was because they reproduced at an extremely high rate, and once they successfully mutated, they could reproduce asexually!

Without outside interference, these creatures could fill a small village in just half a year.

So, in the later stages of the apocalypse, they could be found almost everywhere!

He jumped through the open window and climbed onto the roof.

A two-meter-long, oversized cockroach stood right before him.

He reached out and took out the Bloodsucking Dagger. Looking at the unfamiliar patterns that had appeared on it, Jiang He suddenly remembered that he hadn't appraised it yet!

"I need to find time to appraise it! I've been using it for so long, and I still don't know what this weird object does!"

He expertly kicked the Undying Insect onto its back, then stepped on its struggling body and drove the dagger through its abdominal membrane, crushing its heart.

The whole series of moves flowed smoothly, without a single wasted motion.

He had performed these actions tens of thousands of times in his previous life!

But back then, Jiang He had possessed neither a weird object nor a Sequence Wonder, so he could only leave the finishing blow to someone else.

"What a stench!"

He sniffed the thick green fluid dripping onto his hand, and the familiar, fishy stench instantly filled his nose. Jiang He smiled, then cut off the Undying Insect's head!

"This thing's a treasure. It'll be very useful later!"

[**Ding**]

[Congratulations, host, on killing a low-level mutant beast: Undying Insect. Reward: 1 system point]

"Only one? That's stingy!"

He complained in some indignation, but the system gave him no reply, so Jiang He could only accept the result.

One it is! It's better than nothing!

Jiang He tossed the Undying Insect's body into the passenger compartment and started up the hungry bus.

A faint ripple flashed, and the Undying Insect's body vanished before their eyes.

The sight instantly left the little girl dumbfounded, utterly dumbfounded...

The bus eats corpses!