That night passed relatively quietly, except for some unease among the survivors from the Apocalyptic Fortress.
All night, Chen Ye could hear their whispered conversations.
After Xue Nan went to warn them, they quieted down a bit.
The convoy had taken in too many people at once, which led to some disorder in management.
But under the terrifying pressure of Iron Lion, nothing major happened.
Only that fat guy and his chief steward were assigned to a tent by Xue Nan.
After all, they were superhumansâat least they deserved some dignity.
Besides, the convoy had taken so many supplies from them; contributing the use of a tent was the least they could do.
Faint yellow lights had started to come on around the camp.
A few camping lights hung in the tents, casting a dim glow.
Through the hazy light, silhouettes were projected onto the tent fabric, their movements clearly visible.
Most of these lights were items survivors had grabbed while scavenging.
Some had been traded from others.
During the day, they used the campâs few solar panels to recharge.
The weather was decent today, calm and sunny.
So the solar panels served some purpose.
Compared with the past few days of constant drizzle, when solar panels were useless, today they helped.
Chen Ye had no lamp, so he opened one side of the vehicle canopy and sat cross-legged, using the blood-red moonlight to begin practicing the Moon Devouring Technique.
Tonightâs blood moon was unusually clear.
The survivors were completely numb to the blood moon by now; except that no one dared stare directly at it and that the moonlight was red, it didnât affect daily life much.
Right after he started cultivating, Chen Ye felt the night was completely different from the rainy ones before.
A magnificent energy was swallowed into his body.
Supernatural power surged inside him, assimilated by the power already within, transforming into his own energy.
His supernatural power grew rapidly.
Chen Ye felt himself getting closer and closer to Sequence 3.
The convoyâs campsite was on a stretch of grassland.
The scenery was pleasant; during the day green spread to the horizon, dotted with many small flowers.
When the wind blew, the little flowers swayed.
But these flowers looked somewhat strange.
Some had rainbow-like colors, vivid and gorgeous.
Others were pitch-black, emitting a faint dark aura even in daylight.
Up close, their petals revealed something startling: the stamens were actually serene, beautiful human faces with closed eyes.
Those survivors who first found these flowers were terrified.
But after getting used to them, people found the black flowers strangely beautiful.
Many even planned to cultivate them.
After Xue Nan scolded them, they snapped to attention and fled in a panic.
By nightfall, not a single one of those black little flowers could be found.
If this place had existed before the apocalypse, it surely would have been fenced off and ticketed.
Leaving aside whatever danger they might harbor, the scenery alone would make people linger.
A hundred yuan per person at least for admission, back then.
But now, everything was free.
Earlier, some convoy survivors had seen rabbit-like creatures watching them from a distance.
No one foolishly believed those rabbit-like creatures were easy prey.
This was the apocalypse.
Even the flowers had never been seen before.
Those cute-looking rabbits might well devour a grown adult with one bite.
The world grew stranger and stranger.
Most survivors who had made it this far were vigilant enough.
The convoyâs wheels left deep ruts in the grassland, like scars on that beautiful landscape.
In the middle of the camp a small bonfire burned.
The firewood came from a nearby grove that survivors had cut.
Iron Lion had helped a lot.
This guy could crush a modest tree barehanded without issue.
He was nearly two point two meters tall now.
What did that even mean!
For example, Chen Ye himself was over 1.8 meters tall.
Standing next to Iron Lion, he almost felt diminutive.
Little Fish, that tiny girl, standing beside Iron Lion, looked like she belonged to a different species.
In no time at all, Iron Lion carried several trees back from the woods with ease.
Without him, a few survivors without proper tools could not have gotten so much firewood in such a short time.
The trees were a grayish-green.
When burned, the bonfire emitted a faint, peculiar fragrance.
At first everyone was tense for a while.
Luckily, Huang Di wasnât completely useless; after he explained the smell was harmless, people relaxed.
Chu Che grew curious that Huang Di knew this.
When Chu Che learned Huang Di had been hiding a copy of the captainâs notebook, Chu Che became friendlier toward him.
I suppose the two of them were now sipping tea in a tent.
A few survivors sat by the bonfire, occasionally tossing in another branch.
The fire crackled softly.
Low conversations were mixed into the night.
The people from the Apocalyptic Fortress and the convoy survivors had formed two small cliques.
Those who had their own tents formed another small group.
With more people, relationships became subtle.
Those without tents simply threw their quilts on the ground and lay down on them.
Many were sore and stiff; life inside the Apocalyptic Fortress had not been comfortable.
So the night passed.
Until morning.
Everyone strained their eyes, but the car still hadnât shown up.
Chu Che grew anxious.
In his sense, this place wasnât entirely safe.
They had chosen to camp here out of necessity.
By his standards for selecting campsites, he would never have picked a place like this under normal circumstances.
In his perception, that fast-moving anomaly was the greatest source of threat.
"When will Chen Hao get the vehicle back?"
Chen Hao shook his head blankly, "I⊠I donât know⊠I donât know!"
"If the car still doesnât come back today,"
"weâll have to leave."
Chu Che frowned.
He already understood much about the features of the Quotation Sequence.
It wasnât entirely his fault that this happened, but he was still anxious.
"I⊠Iâll hurry!"
Chen Hao stammered; he felt Chu Cheâs anxiety but could only promise that.
"Fat Guy, when will you recover?"
Huang Diâs Apocalyptic Fortress had been turned into scrap by Resentment Dragonâs breath.
That had damaged Huang Di greatly.
He couldnât use Delusion Sequence power in the short term.
Otherwise he could have materialized another Apocalyptic Fortress to get these survivors away first.
"I⊠cough⊠not that fast, at least five more days!"
He had originally spoken in the royal "We," but facing Chu Cheâs strange expression, he hastily corrected himself.
Beside him, his chief steward Little Dezi shot a fierce glare at Chu Che.
But the two of them looked rather pitiful.
Their faces were bruised and swollen, even their eyes pressed into narrow slits by the black-and-blue bruises.
Some survivors had already guessed Fat Guy might be the so-called emperor from before.
Thatâs why those "commoners" in the Apocalyptic Fortress had looked at this side with ill intentions before.
As for Chen Ye, nothing really troubled him; he kept watching the countdown on the Monster Pickup Truck.
It should finish upgrading by the afternoon.
After lunch, after chatting idly with everyone for a while, Chu Che handed Chen Ye the page heâd found earlier about the Supernatural Pathway, Smoke Apostle entry.
Chen Ye read it and grew slightly alarmed.
Smoke Apostle was a damaged sequence; after Sequence 4, it might already be the apex of this pathwayâŠ
DamnâŠ
Although he had the System and could probably infer later sequences, the prospect still sounded astronomical.
The others now learned the concept of a damaged sequence.
They realized sequences were a path toward godhood, and complex expressions crossed everyoneâs faces.
Some didnât care, like Ding Dong and Iron Lion.
Ding Dong hardly cared about sequence superpowers; she was mild-tempered.
If she had the chance to switch to the Botanist Sequence, she likely would agree.
Iron Lion was simple-minded and didnât care what others said.
Some were confident, like Sun Xixi.
For now, the Sword Immortal Sequence seemed the most likely path to divinity.
Others were worried, like Chen Hao and Huang Di.
Though they may have known this knowledge for a long time, worry still nagged them.
A sequence determined every superhuman at their core.
Some looked relieved, like Chen Ye.
It seemed that after reaching Sequence 3, switching to another sequence would be inevitable.
They just didnât know what that third sequence would be.
After a brief exchange, Chen Ye went back into his Apocalyptic Pickup Truck to rest.
He lit a cigarette and lay on the bed in the back, staring out at the scenery.
Because of the intense focus during the frantic escape earlier and the high tension when encountering Resentment Dragon, a single night of rest couldnât fully recover him.
Before he knew it, Chen Ye drifted off to sleep.
He didnât even hear the Systemâs upgrade complete chime.
Inside the cabin.
A small, cautious little tentacle nudged the air vent on the dashboard.
The air conditioner hadnât been installed; the vent was just a decoration.
The tiny tentacle looked timid; after sensing no danger outside, it slowly reached for Chen Ye.
The suckers on the tentacle expanded slightly, and each sucker had many tiny sharp teeth that sent shivers down the spine.
One tentacle had many suckers; they slowly opened, revealing row upon row of jagged teeth, inching closer to Chen Ye.