Skill Selection! The Convoy's Rules

He slowly walked toward the bus.

Jiang He pulled the door open and stepped inside, only to be utterly astonished by what he saw.

The passenger cabin, which had held only a few people before, was now full.

Yin Su and the other women sat in the first-class seats at the front.

The others were seated farther back, and even the aisle was packed with people!

The survivors were pale, all slumped weakly in their seats.

They had probably been affected by the fragrance and still hadn't fully recovered.

Seeing someone enter, they turned their eyes toward him and opened their mouths, but no sound came out.

It looked like they knew who owned the vehicle!

Jiang He lowered his head slightly and saw Caicai gazing up at him with gemlike eyes, her face full of delight!

Huh?

This little one doesn't seem to have been affected much. Is it really because we arrived late?

Jiang He patted Caicai on the head, took some food out of his space and handed it to her.

Then he waved to everyone.

It was a way of greeting them.

He didn't drive them away. He had wanted to form a convoy anyway, and these people were just right to fill the empty spaces on the bus!

Surviving alone in the apocalypse was impossible, because sooner or later, you would encounter a Weird stronger than yourself.

Survival required more than strength of your own. You also needed cannon fodder...

Just like when the Rampage Group had abandoned the women to attract the Eldritch Horrors!

Without another word, Jiang He turned and used his fingerprint to unlock the door, then entered the RV.

As soon as he stepped inside, he saw Wang Qian asleep on her side on the bed.

What a temptress! If I bring Liu Lu over later, that should make up for the crystal I owe her, right?

With that thought, Jiang He flopped down on the other large bed.

He needed to choose two of the skills he had just obtained!

He opened the system panel and found that he could now view all the skills, which would originally have required him to reach level three to unlock.

[Skill - Mellow Fragrance Spores: Releases fragrant spores. The spores have a powerful hallucinogenic effect and can continuously infect the minds of those who smell them, causing them to lose control of their bodies.

If used by a Demon Seed creature, it can turn those who lose control of their emotions into Demon Seeds under the user's control.]

[Skill - Death Coil: Creates vines to pursue a target. On impact, they can restrain the target's movements or strangle the target to death.]

[Skill - Darkness Invasion: Consumes a large amount of superpower to create a domain of darkness within three seconds. The domain's duration and range depend on the user's strength.

All creatures within the domain, except the user, will be deprived of their light-sensing organs. Ineffective against lifeforms two levels above the user.]

[Skill - Lord of Demon Seed: A derivative skill of Mellow Fragrance Spores. Grants absolute control over all creatures the user has transformed into Demon Seeds.]

[Skill - Symbiotic Embers (ascension skill): A skill exclusive to Demon Seed creatures. Select an extraordinary creature of another species and infuse it with your consciousness. Once complete, the physical body becomes undying and indestructible.

Unless the Devil Arum Heart is destroyed, the user will be immune to all superpower attacks from those below their own level.]

Looking at the long list of skill descriptions, Jiang He felt a headache coming on.

There were plenty of skills, but only a few he could use!

First, he had to rule out the fourth and fifth skills. Both required a Demon Seed body to use.

Next was the first skill. Although Mellow Fragrance Spores was a group control skill, it took a little too long to take effect and was easily detected beforehand.

What Jiang He found hardest to accept was that the spores released by this skill were vulnerable to sunlight!

That meant it could only be used in the shadows or at night...

It was a fatal flaw!

Jiang He had considered using Mellow Fragrance Spores together with Darkness Invasion, but after carefully reading the skill description, he decisively gave up on the idea!

Darkness Invasion deprived other creatures of their light-sensing organs to blind them; it didn't remove the light within the domain.

This naturally had its advantages. It blinded targets at the source, so no matter how powerful an opponent's superpower was, they still wouldn't be able to see anything without light-sensing organs!

But that also meant it could do nothing to remedy the flaw in Mellow Fragrance Spores!

So, in the end, the only two skills Jiang He could choose were Death Coil and Darkness Invasion.

"What a shame! I can't use the strongest one, Symbiotic Embers!"

Jiang He voiced his regret, but he had already made up his mind.

[Ding]

[Death Coil fusion complete]

[Darkness Invasion fusion complete]

He clenched both fists, but didn't feel the slightest change.

Puzzled, he couldn't resist pointing a finger at Wang Qian.

In an instant, thick vines appeared out of thin air, bound her arms and legs, and lifted her into the air.

Holy shit!

I can use it like that!

A whole new world opened up to Jiang He.

But before he could do anything, his superpower ran out again.

Thud!

Without superpower to sustain them, the vines withered instantly, and Wang Qian slammed down onto the bed.

"Who's there!"

The force of the impact jolted her awake.

At the sight, Jiang He immediately felt guilty and closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.

The moment he did, it was as if a river had burst its banks. A wave of exhaustion swept over him, and unable to resist it any longer, he fell fast asleep.

After an unknown amount of time, Jiang He was awakened by a shaking sensation. He narrowed his eyes and saw Wang Qian in front of him.

"I must be dreaming!"

Jiang He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He muttered the words and closed his eyes again.

Though he had spoken very quietly, Wang Qian heard him clearly.

Unable to find the right path even with navigation, she instantly flushed bright red.

She quickly got up and darted into the bathroom in the blink of an eye...

It had been on her mind all along, and she had wanted to get it over with sooner.

But she had no experience, and with her meager skills, she couldn't succeed at all...

With his eyes closed, Jiang He suddenly felt lighter. When he opened them again, he saw a breathtaking figure from behind.

Holy fucking shit!

What the hell is wrong with this woman!

She actually tried to launch a sneak attack!

This person is too dangerous! I absolutely can't keep her around!

Jiang He was no longer sleepy. He got up, dressed and left the room.

The sun had risen by now.

After exposure to the sunlight, the survivors in the passenger cabin had all recovered their energy.

When they saw Jiang He come out, their faces filled with envy, but none of them dared say anything!

When they were rescued the previous night, they had seen Wang Qian in action and learned from her how powerful a Superpower Sequence was.

Even a support-type Superpower Sequence was that formidable, let alone the mysterious captain before them!

That was right!

After Wang Qian recruited them, these people had agreed to join the convoy.

"Hello, Captain!"

Someone in the cabin suddenly called out, and the others immediately joined in.

Jiang He glanced at Yin Su and saw her looking at him expectantly, as if seeking credit.

Clearly, she was the one who had just led the shout.

He nodded and smiled at Yin Su, then waved for everyone to quiet down.

He then laid out the rules for the convoy!

The convoy would send members out to search for supplies at irregular intervals. If a member ran out of food for a short time,

they could apply to the convoy for two days' worth of supplies, but only once a month.

Only those with Superpower Sequences and people who had contributed to the convoy could sit in the six first-class seats at the front, and each seat had to be assigned by Jiang He!

The thirty-two soft seats behind them would be assigned according to merit, with everyone competing for them based on their own abilities. The stronger they were and the more supplies they handed over, the farther forward they could sit.

The last twenty hard seats and the aisle in the cabin were to be used to accommodate female survivors!

As for why he wanted to take in women, Jiang He naturally had his own plans...