Chen Ye first opened the two bags he had carried out of the supermarket. His cigarette had gone out, so he flicked it away. No one would scold him for littering now. He lit another and savored the smoke. More than half his backpack held cigarettes; he could afford to indulge for a while.
Just then, movement stirred in the darkness beyond the firelight.
Chen Ye’s eyes narrowed, his gaze piercing the gloom.
A group of people stumbled into view, their chests heaving, their faces twisted with exhaustion and terror.
“Finally… finally made it!”
“Oh my god… I thought I was dead!”
“Wah…”
“Those monsters… they stopped chasing! We’re alive…”
They had caught up. From what they said, it seemed monsters had chased them.
The camp briefly grew noisy. Some clutched their heads and wept; some lay gasping on the ground; others said nothing.
Some glared resentfully at the people with cars. Even Chen Ye and his tricycle drew their hateful looks.
Chen Ye placed his hand crossbow within easy reach, his own eyes hard and warning.
These people were in a wretched state, some smeared with blood, but their misfortune wasn’t his doing. He had no interest in playing the Bleeding Heart.
The convoy had numbered around two hundred. Now, even with these newcomers, there seemed to be fewer than a hundred left.
This was the apocalypse.
Chen Ye shifted his tricycle closer to the group with the cars, putting distance between himself and the resentment of the foot travelers. Only then did he turn his attention back to his loot.
He opened the first bag. It was filled to the brim with rice.
Chen Ye swallowed hard. He hadn’t tasted rice in days.
The second bag was full of snacks: chips, instant noodles, spicy strips, chocolate, and several bottles of drinks and mineral water. It looked like a big snack hamper.
A faint smile touched his lips. The sugary drinks would provide a quick energy boost, and the empty bottles were invaluable for storing water.
He quickly organized these supplies, packing them away securely before turning to the bags he had taken from Jiajia and Qiangzi.
There was little food, but plenty of clothes and shoes. Any supplies had their use these days, except that all these were women’s styles. Feminine hygiene products filled more of the bag. He would have to trade them for things he could use.
Next was Qiangzi’s bag.
Qiangzi’s bag was bigger than Chen Ye’s backpack and held plenty: cured meat, a scarce find, assorted snacks, and two large packs of dried noodles. Those noodles alone would feed him for quite a while.
He also found several pieces of clothing and a pair of shoes.
Chen Ye was delighted. It was still October and the weather had not fully cooled. He sweated heavily every day; his body was sticky and his clothes filthy enough to make him look like a beggar. Even without a bath, clean clothes would help.
He eagerly changed into a quick-dry shirt and bagged the dirty clothes to wash when they next camped by a river. Nothing could be wasted now. Even his sour-smelling shoes were worth keeping.
He set up his portable gas stove and pot. Lacking a knife, he used the sharp arrowhead of a crossbow bolt to saw off a chunk of the cured meat, tossing it into the pot. He didn’t bother washing the rice—water was too precious to waste on such frivolities. He added a little water to the meat and set it to boil.
Qiangzi’s bag also contained two jars of Lao Gan Ma chili sauce. Finding such a condiment in this wasteland was a stroke of incredible luck.
The newcomers were still crying nearby. Chen Ye ignored them. Anyone who could still cry in this world could still go on living.
He blew a smoke ring and leaned against the tricycle to wait for his meal, keeping a wary eye on the others. When they made no aggressive move, he turned his thoughts to the system.
The tricycle upgrade still had more than five hours to go.
He checked his balance: 300 Slaughter Points left.
His mind wandered to the Sequence Beyonders he had seen. The power to fight Anomalies head-on…
“System, how can one awaken as a Sequence Beyonder?”
He asked tentatively, not expecting much, but the system responded instantly.
[Currently, there are two methods to awaken as a Sequence Beyonder.]
[1. Obtain a Sequence Serum and induce awakening.]
[2. Self-awakening.]
He narrowed his eyes. Sequence Serum sounded too precious for him to afford. With humans driven out of their cities, it would probably be even harder to obtain.
That left self-awakening.
“System, is there a method for self-awakening?”
[Yes. It requires 3,000 Slaughter Points to exchange. Host, do you wish to exchange?]
Chen Ye: “…” You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Three thousand points? He had nearly died earning a thousand. Where was he supposed to get three thousand?
He had 300 Slaughter Points left. Repaying the system’s loan would use them all. The system was not pressing him to pay, so how could he put the points to best use?
He took a deep drag, his mind racing.
In Apricot Blossom Town, ordinary people could do nothing against either the White-Dress Scissor Lady or the Weeping Paper Effigy but keep running for their lives.
“System, is there a way to deal with Anomalies that can be exchanged for 300 Slaughter Points?”
A spinning icon appeared, like the loading symbol when opening an app on a phone.
Ten agonizing minutes passed.
Just as Chen Ye was about to give up, a message flashed.
[Consume 300 Slaughter Points to exchange for a method to counter Anomalies? Confirm exchange?]
There really was a way?
Chen Ye sat up straight. “Confirm! Exchange!”
The feeling of helplessness was unbearable. Even if a 300-point solution wasn’t a silver bullet, any ability to fight back was worth it.
The points vanished from his account.
A new piece of information appeared.
[Black Dog Blood can have some effect against Anomalies!]
Black Dog Blood!
Chen Ye felt a little pleased. He had not expected this to be the answer.
He had been worrying about fuel for his upgraded tricycle. If he could trade this information with the Sequence Beyonders ahead, perhaps he could get gasoline in return.
Wait. Gasoline?
If the system could provide Sequence Serums, surely it could provide basic supplies like fuel?
He called up the system and asked.
The system confirmed it could provide supplies.
But when Chen Ye saw the exchange rates, he fell silent. Unless his life was hanging by a thread, he would never waste points on these prices.