10: Chapter 10 The Scheming Old Man Zhang

With sinister glares, the two men closed in from the front and back, cornering Lin Wan in the fueling area and leaving her absolutely no way out.

The short one stepped closer, acting high and mighty with a sleazy grin. "Hey, pretty lady, be a good girl and hand over this fueling spot, and we brothers will let you go."

Lin Wan's brows furrowed, her expression instantly turning ice-cold as she barked, "Are you blind? I'm with Mr. Zhou!"

"You dare to steal Mr. Zhou's supplies?"

The two of them scoffed on the spot, their faces filled with disdain, completely disregarding her.

"What 'Mr. Zhou's person'? To put it bluntly, you're just expendable cannon fodder he threw out. Who are you trying to fool!"

"We are Boss Zhang's men! We're showing you respect by telling you to step aside, so don't be ungrateful! Otherwise, with your tender skin, we brothers wouldn't mind having some fun with you!"

Lin Wan completely lost her patience. Her eyes were as cold as ice, and she couldn't be bothered to waste any more words on them.

"If you want the fuel, come and take it. Cut the crap!"

Seeing that Lin Wan was completely unyielding and even dared to defy them, the two men flew into a rage. Gripping their iron bars, they lunged at her with sinister grins.

They still harbored filthy thoughts, planning to subdue her first before doing whatever they pleased with her.

From beginning to end, they believed Lin Wan was just an ordinary woman they could easily handle.

But in the next second, they paid the price for their arrogance!

Lin Wan stood as firm as a mountain. She didn't even try to dodge, raising her leg and delivering a vicious kick.

With a loud bang!

The short one charging in front was sent flying like a ragged sack, crashing heavily onto the ground and breathing his last on the spot.

The tall one was instantly scared out of his wits, his face turning deathly pale. Only now did he realize they had kicked a steel plate!

He frantically tried to pull back and retreat, but his forward momentum was too great, and he couldn't stop.

Lin Wan's eyes were sharp, and she gave him no chance whatsoever, following up with another powerful kick.

The tall one was also sent flying backward, slamming heavily onto the ground. After barely a couple of twitches, he kicked the bucket, not even having time to beg for mercy.

Carrying the fully loaded supplies and hauling several canisters of gasoline, Lin Wan headed straight back to The Convoy.

Her expression remained calm throughout, completely unaware that a pair of spying eyes had been hiding in a dark corner of the service area, witnessing the entire process of her instantly killing the two men.

Only when Lin Wan's figure had completely vanished from sight did that person dare to creep out from the shadows.

Not daring to linger, he kept his head low and sprinted all the way, anxiously rushing to report the situation to Zhang Xiuqi.

Upon seeing Zhang Xiuqi, the man immediately approached and lowered his voice, recounting word-for-word how Lin Wan had dealt with two burly men in just two kicks at the fueling area.

After hearing this, the paper talisman Zhang Xiuqi was playing with instantly froze in his hand. His face was filled with shock, and he was momentarily stunned.

He thought to himself: 'Lin Wan actually has this kind of ability? Could she have also awakened as a Transcendent?'

The probability of awakening in the apocalypse was ridiculously low. How could people be awakening one after another?

No, Zhou Che had clearly thrown her out as expendable fodder to face danger. If she had really awakened, why would she willingly stay by Zhou Che's side as a follower? Anyone else would have run away long ago!

Zhang Xiuqi furrowed his brows and quickly made up his mind: This woman must have obtained some kind of strange object, and she only became so formidable by relying on its power!

At the thought of an strange object, greed instantly flared in Zhang Xiuqi's eyes, and he began to scheme.

He had to get his hands on this treasure without Zhou Che noticing. That kid belonged to the Mechanic Sequence himself; if he got to it first, there would be nothing left for him.

He immediately darkened his face, staring at the subordinate before him, and barked coldly, "Not a single word about today's matter is to be leaked. If you dare to blab, I'll feed you straight to the aberrations!"

The subordinate hurriedly bowed and scraped, repeatedly agreeing, not daring to show the slightest hint of disobedience.

Once The Convoy finished resting, they set off on their migration journey once again.

Zhang Xiuqi deliberately drove his vehicle in front of Zhou Che's wuling hongguang. As the two vehicles drove side-by-side, the miserable old man kept turning his head, casually trying to strike up a conversation with Zhou Che.

On the surface, it was just idle chatter, but in reality, every sentence was a probe, trying to figure out if Zhou Che knew about Lin Wan possessing an strange object.

After beating around the bush for a long time, Zhang Xiuqi finally spoke up, his tone seemingly warm, "Brother Xiao Zhou, I heard that the Mechanic Sequence can craft strange objects. Why haven't you made one for yourself as protection?"

Zhou Che knew exactly what was going on, but he put on a warm smile, showing no weakness whatsoever.

"Old Zhang, don't be so polite. Just call me Xiao Zhou."

"Lately, I've been completely busy repairing cars for The Convoy. Where would I find the spare time to tinker with strange objects? This kind of work is mentally and physically exhausting, and it can't be done in just a day or two. Besides, I don't have any suitable materials on hand, so even if I wanted to make one, I couldn't."

Though he spoke with complete candor, he was already rolling his eyes in his mind.

He clearly had an strange object in his possession—the very knife that Lin Wan had handed over to him when she first came to seek his protection.

But he wouldn't reveal a single word of this to Zhang Xiuqi.

This miserable old man usually wouldn't even spare him a glance when they met, yet now he was suddenly approaching with a beaming smile. He definitely had some sinister motive.

Zhou Che simply assumed that the old man coveted the abilities of a Mechanic and wanted him to help craft an strange object, not thinking much about Lin Wan's awakening at all.

Beside him, Lin Wan heard every single word of their conversation.

She instantly saw right through Zhang Xiuqi's thoughts.

This old geezer had somehow caught wind of her ruthless actions and actually suspected she was hiding an strange object, never dreaming that she had already awakened as a Transcendent.

Lin Wan remained expressionless and silent, just sitting quietly to the side.

She couldn't be bothered to deal with the old man's wild suspicions, but she also secretly braced herself.

If this old geezer dared to push his luck and harbor designs on her, she wouldn't mind teaching him a lesson!

Only after Old Man Zhang's vehicle drove away did Lin Wan tell Zhou Che about what had happened at the service area.

Only then did Zhou Che realize. "It seems this Old Man Zhang suspects you have an strange object on you. But he never imagined that instead of having an strange object, you have actually awakened."

"This Old Man Zhang is quite a scheming boy, but it doesn't matter. Let him waste his time trying to figure it out."

...

Not long after The Convoy set off, Captain Wu Jue's modified off-road vehicle suddenly slammed on the brakes. The tires screeched against the ground, bringing the entire line to an abrupt halt.

Over the walkie-talkie, Captain Wu Jue's deep voice immediately came through, carrying a clear sense of gravity, "We've run into another convoy ahead. Should we take a detour, or should we meet them and see what's up?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the walkie-talkie went dead silent, leaving only the noisy static of the current buzzing in their ears.

Captain Wu Jue, Zhang Xiuqi, Luo Xi, and Zhou Che—the core Transcendents—all quickly calculated their options in their minds.

Leaning against the large bed in the wuling hongguang, Zhou Che lightly tapped his fingers on the edge of the bed, his mind clear.

Running into a convoy meant that there was bound to be a Transcendent leading the other side.

The key was the opponent's strength—if they were weaklings, they could just absorb them and plunder their supplies, which would bring plenty of benefits to The Convoy.

If they were strong, they would turn around and run. After all, he had the system; he could just grow his power steadily in the early stages without taking unnecessary risks.