Upgrading the Bus

"Huh?"

Whatever Wang Qian had said to Liu Lu, the man looked utterly incredulous. His mouth hung slightly open, and he froze for more than ten seconds.

Only when the woman in front of him looked at him again did he snap out of it.

His face lit up with joy, and he felt as though he had fallen into a jar of honey.

"Qianqian, do you really mean it?"

Afraid he might have misheard, Liu Lu asked again.

"Mm... But we're both hurt right now, and I'm not ready yet..."

Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

Hearing Wang Qian confirm it, Liu Lu hurriedly replied:

"It's okay, Qianqian, I'll give you time! Let's recover from our injuries first! Right, recover first!"

With that, he closed his eyes and began recovering on the spot.

But having suddenly received the promise he had longed for, how could he possibly calm his mind...

Meanwhile, Jiang He was also in an excellent mood, because he was about to do something big!

First, he carried two supply bags off the bus. By the light of the moon, he found an open patch of ground and took out a well-preserved tent to set up.

The tent was enormous, like a military tent from ancient times. Even though Jiang He was very familiar with the process, it still took him a full fifteen minutes to set it up.

He quickly loaded the bags into the tent and sorted the supplies inside by category, so they would be easy to retrieve later.

Once that was done, Jiang He returned to the bus and brought over all the supplies he had gathered in the village, sorting those as well.

He had intended to put the energy core and the urn in the tent too, but after considering how quickly he could retrieve them, he abandoned the idea...

His storage space now contained:

One tent filled with supplies, one energy core, and one urn.

He used the remaining two slots for automatic pickup.

After finishing everything, Jiang He clapped his hands, returned to the bus, and quickly started the engine, driving toward the service area in the distance.

"I've saved up enough system points... Time to do something big!"

He was in no hurry to repair the glass. Now that he had Wang Qian, she could take care of such a small matter once she recovered. There was no need to waste system points!

Jiang He parked the bus and walked over to the RV he had already picked out.

He peered inside through the window.

"Ah!"

"Ah!"

The moment he brought his face close to the window, four screams rang out in succession from inside the RV.

Jiang He looked closely.

Three young women in scanty clothing were lying on the RV's large bed, while the remaining one sat by the window, staring at him in terror.

Clearly, the first scream had come from the woman by the window!

Seemingly noticing Jiang He's ill-intentioned gaze, she sprang out of her seat, rushed to the door, and locked it securely.

She was so fast that even Jiang He couldn't help marveling.

Seeing this, the other women all got up and went to the windows, pulling the glass panes shut

and locking them.

They worked together seamlessly; they must have repeated those actions many times.

Jiang He smiled as he watched the women, making no move to stop them.

This wasn't his first time being a robber!

Only by displaying overwhelming strength could he keep these survivors from thinking of resisting!

He stepped up to the door and gripped the RV's handle with his right hand, channeling all his superpower into his arm.

Clang!

Crash!

In just two pulls, he forcibly tore open the security door that had once seemed indestructible.

Looking at the four women inside, who had been frightened stiff, Jiang He wasted no words and stated his terms:

"I need your RV. In exchange, you can join my convoy!"

Jiang He's tone brooked no resistance, and the four women frowned slightly.

Anyone hearing terms so close to outright robbery would be displeased...

After a moment, a long-haired woman seemed unable to hold back any longer. She mustered her courage and asked:

"What do we get for joining your convoy?"

"My protection, and... three days' worth of food!"

Jiang He's tone was matter-of-fact.

Alas, I really am too softhearted. I suppose I barely count as a softhearted robber...

"Even robbers aren't as bad as you!"

Hearing Jiang He's muttering, a woman with long, wavy hair could no longer hold back and shouted at him angrily.

"Hm? Are you saying I'm not a robber?"

His icy gaze swept toward her, making her shudder.

She glanced at the security door in Jiang He's hand and swallowed, not daring to make another sound.

"We agree!"

Just as the atmosphere reached a stalemate, the long-haired woman who had spoken earlier suddenly agreed to Jiang He's terms.

"Jiaojiao! How can you agree to that?"

The woman with wavy hair looked at her in disbelief.

"Look at him... Does he look like he's here to negotiate with us?"

Hearing that, the women looked again at the bent security door in Jiang He's hand and finally fell silent.

This was the plight of ordinary people in the apocalypse: everything they owned was at the mercy of others!

Even men couldn't resist, let alone these women, who were too weak to truss a chicken.

Seeing them agree so readily, Jiang He was a little taken aback.

It had been a long time since he had met a woman who knew when to yield and when to stand firm...

Taking the keys from the long-haired woman, Jiang He climbed into the driver's seat, quickly started the RV, and moved it next to the bus.

"Sorry for the trouble, but you'll have to stay outside for a while!"

Jiang He's smile was warm, but to the women, it was like the low murmur of a demon!

Seeing how obedient the women were, Jiang He put away the Bloodsucking Dagger in his hand and quickly opened the system panel.

He entered a request to fuse the bus with the RV, and the system promptly presented its options.

[1. Bus-RV complete fusion upgrade: 20,000 system points]

[2. Bus-RV partial fusion upgrade: 15,000 system points]

[3. Bus-RV passenger compartment fusion only: 10,000 system points]

The moment the prices appeared, Jiang He felt like a wage earner trying to buy a house.

He had thought he'd saved enough, but faced with housing prices, he was still like a homeless man...

"Select option three. Fuse!"

[Ding]

[Fusion upgrade commencing. Estimated completion time: 12 hours. Please leave the vehicle and wait patiently, Host.]

Hearing the system notification, Jiang He smiled before walking out of the RV.

But... he noticed something unexpected.

A large crowd had gathered in the service area at some point.

Besides the members of the Rampage Group who had just arrived, there were many unfamiliar faces.

After asking the four women beside him, he learned what had happened.

They too had heard there was a shelter in the mountain city, so they had gathered here to take a rest.

In the course of their conversation, Jiang He also learned that the long-haired woman was named Han Yaojiao, and the woman with wavy hair was named Yin Su.

The other two were named Mu Yao and Mu Qing, and they were twins.

By now, it was broad daylight. Seeing so many familiar faces, Caicai sat on a stone bench, looking around curiously.

Suddenly, a fierce argument drew everyone's attention.

Jiang He looked toward the sound and saw that a burly man had gotten into a conflict with members of the Rampage Group.

"You've got so many supplies. What's wrong with giving me some?"

The burly man was about thirty, with dragons and phoenixes tattooed on his arms. He looked like bad news!

He had clearly taken a fancy to the Rampage Group's supplies, and seeing that they were all injured, he had developed ill intentions.

He had clearly chosen the right moment!

The Rampage Group had just survived a brush with death. Of their two Superpower Sequence holders, one was seriously injured and exhausted, while the other had lost the ability to move.

All that remained were a few underlings who had been scared out of their wits!

Faced with the burly man's aggressive words and the gleaming knife he had just drawn,

those who had once been so arrogant no longer dared to stand up and resist...

"I'm talking to you. Didn't you hear me?"

Getting no response, the tattooed man grabbed a young man at random and brought his bald head close, spraying spit everywhere!

The young man wiped the spit from his face with his clothes, and the hand hidden in his sleeve involuntarily clenched into a fist.

Clearly, faced with such humiliation, his emotions were on the verge of spiraling out of control...