Chapter 106: Activating the Trait

Since the two-to-eight heavy lifter phase, this vehicle had followed Chen Ye out of Jiangcheng, all the way to the current four-wheeled pickup. During that time, Chen Ye had countless times wanted to replace this vehicle with a better one. But this was the apocalypse; the routes Captain Chu chose rarely had anything—let alone cars—to scavenge. Later, when they encountered that massive car-crash site, Chen Ye briefly had his eye on a bull's head emblem off-roader. But there wasn’t enough time, transport was too difficult, and for other reasons they only managed to strip a few simple parts and flee. It wasn’t until the Apocalyptic Pickup Truck became a Wonder that Chen Ye gave up the idea of changing vehicles.

Every Wonder demands a price. For example, Captain Chu’s Eavesdropping Radio left him with the bad habit of eavesdropping, so whenever Chen Ye upgraded or cultivated, he kept his mouth shut whenever possible. That habit wasn’t unique to Chen Ye; the Pink-haired Girl, Iron Lion, and Ding Dong had all developed it too. Also, that thing apparently made Chu uninterested in women. There were so many beautiful women in the convoy wanting to win him over, but Captain Chu looked at them like they were pretty skeletal figures. Yesterday, a woman who had just joined from the Camel Train, not knowing Captain Chu’s habits, sneaked into his tent when no one was watching—and was scolded harshly. She came out with red eyes, clutching her clothes. Chen Ye had seen that scene and thought Captain Chu was terribly lacking in tenderness. Rumors that Captain Chu disliked women even began circulating through the convoy. Of course, Chen Ye didn’t start that rumor; he was convinced Captain Chu’s indifference to women was also one of the Eavesdropping Radio’s side effects.

The Blood Resentment Machete ranked within the top five thousand and required daily feeding with fresh blood. Every night, Chen Ye would cut his finger with a small blade and feed it blood. Before the Apocalyptic Pickup Truck had fully upgraded, Chen Ye had mentally prepared himself to pay some price. He hadn’t expected this particular pickup wouldn’t require any payment—simply because Chen Ye was its owner. In an instant, all the hardship he had endured for the vehicle vanished. That meant more than just avoiding a price. Chen Ye’s Upgrade System itself could be upgraded; the current ranking of 2899 was only a beginning. With enough Slaughter Points, it was not impossible to raise the Apocalyptic Pickup Truck’s ranking into the top ten—rivaling the Sky Whale. A top-ten Wonder that requires no payment would be worth an incalculable sum.

Chen Ye also saw the final line of commentary.

[Commentary: This Wonder, evolving from a two-wheel machine to its current form, has had countless of Chen Ye’s efforts poured into it. This vehicle already regards Chen Ye as its father.]

[Activated Trait: When Chen Ye drives this Apocalyptic Pickup Truck, it will activate the Driving Specialization skill. Driving stunts seen in movies will be easy for Chen Ye. This trait confers exclusive authorization to a single designated person.]

Activated trait—Chu had never mentioned this. Chen Ye was ecstatic. In short, this vehicle might be a divine artifact in his hands but merely an ordinary Wonder in others’. He hurriedly climbed into the cockpit. The truck was still the same: no doors, no windshield, everything inside shabby. Yet when Chen Ye sat in the driver’s seat he could distinctly feel a difference. The truck seemed to come alive—every movement of the steering wheel obeyed his command as if an extension of his arms. The previous slack, barely functioning feeling was gone. What followed was a mechanical steadiness. In that instant Chen Ye even thought the stunt driving scenes from films were overhyped.

He rubbed the steering wheel and felt every cell in his body growing familiar with the vehicle. This sensation was far stronger than when he acquired the Blood Resentment Machete. Was this the side effect of a higher-ranked Wonder? He noticed the back of the steering wheel felt slightly uneven. If one wasn’t familiar with vehicles, they would never have detected the change. Chen Ye strained to read the small line of text on the back of the wheel. It said: “Thank you for bringing me into this world, my father!”

A wave of cheesiness hit him. Damn—was this… the Apocalyptic Pickup Truck’s inner voice? Yikes—this was a bit melodramatic. Ten minutes later Chen Ye finally calmed down. The next task was to continue upgrading. The truck’s windshield was still lashed on with rope; the car door and rearview mirrors stripped from that small sedan were undamaged. Since these parts were available, the System only needed to fit them to the Apocalyptic Pickup Truck’s dimensions. That made things much easier.

It consumed five hundred Slaughter Points and would take five hours to complete the upgrade. Chen Ye still had over four thousand Slaughter Points left. Watching the hourglass countdown on the vehicle, Chen Ye rubbed his chin and fell into thought. For increasing personal strength, practicing the Observing the Blood Moon Breathing Technique daily should suffice for now. At the current cultivation speed, he likely wouldn’t take long to reach Sequence 2. After that, he could perform some fine modifications and upgrades to the vehicle. Without a large influx of Slaughter Points, neither his strength nor the truck would see major upgrades. Hopefully Captain Chu could find a water source quickly.

At that moment Chen Ye caught a furtive silhouette slipping past Captain Chu’s tent. The figure’s shape matched Captain Chu. Why was he sneaking around at night? This kid had the most secrets in the convoy—maybe he should follow and have a look.

...

The New Year’s Eve party at night had at least injected some fresh energy into the convoy, preventing it from feeling totally lifeless. Although the performances were mediocre, everyone was enthusiastic. After the party ended, Captain Chu tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. Only when the outside grew silent and the surrounding breaths became even did he quietly sit up. The first thing he checked was the Eavesdropping Radio placed beside him; after ensuring it was switched off, Chu finally breathed a little easier and slipped out of the tent on tiptoe. Under the blood red moonlight, Captain Chu crept to the back of the tent. Night temperatures in the desert plummeted, but Chu didn’t feel cold; instead he felt an endless stream of embarrassment.

Seeing no one nearby, he stealthily pulled a small metal lighter from his chest pocket—the Love Brain Lighter. He cleared his throat and adjusted his mood, then in a very gentle, very saccharine voice said to the lighter: “Little Darling, I love you!” Just saying those words made Chu shiver at the cringe. When he first obtained the lighter a few days ago, he hadn’t taken the cost seriously, so he had treated the task as completed. He was quickly hit with backlash—he could clearly feel the lighter’s displeasure, as if it were questioning whether his love was sincere. Until today, when he wanted to use the lighter’s power, it only produced a tiny flame. Only then did Chu realize how important the matter was.

He hadn’t done this inside the tent because of the Eavesdropping Radio. That radio didn’t just snoop on others’ secrets; it would even eavesdrop on its owner’s secrets and would broadcast them in public. Chu didn’t want to be socially killed a second time. He spoke the line with full emotion; he could feel the lighter tremble slightly, as if pleased. Chu’s face was as embarrassed as could be. Seeing a response, he decided to pull out all his tricks—if he could soothe this little ancestral item, it would do anything he asked.

“Baby, I really love you. I can’t live without you. Every day without you feels like an eternity.” The lighter grew more delighted; the cold metal casing seemed to respond. “Baby, we’ll be together forever. In this life you belong only to me, and I belong only to you. We’ll be together forever and ever!~” The lighter’s mood swelled; even its icy casing radiated an excited red glow. As its owner, Chu felt that if they encountered an Anomaly now, the lighter’s power alone could burn most Anomalies to death. Just then, an extremely annoying voice sounded suddenly from behind.

“Ahem… Captain Chu, I didn’t expect you to have this hobby!” Captain Chu stiffened; his whole body froze. Not done, another somewhat crisp voice followed in the same teasing tone: “Oh… Captain Chu, I didn’t expect you to be such a pervert!”