60: Chapter 60 Two Strange Objects

Over the course of the entire trade, she had exchanged over a hundred and ninety wraith cold crystals, nearly two hundred in total.

The Dawn Convoy's inventory of wraith cold crystals was instantly depleted by more than half.

Now, only a hundred or so remained in stock, which was a massive blow to their reserves.

But what they got in return was enough to immediately elevate the entire convoy's combat strength and resource tier!

Two complete strange objects, coming from the Trainee Convoy and the Campus Convoy respectively.

Although they weren't highly ranked and had average combat power, they had the advantage of being fully formed with their own exclusive abilities, making them more than enough for self-defense.

Aside from that, the table was piled high with a wide variety of strange object shards and rare eerie materials.

These were all strange objects or strange object materials from various convoys, and their value far exceeded ordinary supplies by a hundredfold.

Clutching the table full of spoils, Captain Liu Ruyan walked quickly back to the depths of the camp to find Zhou Che.

Usually cold, aloof, and unsmiling, she now had a trace of unhideable excitement in her eyes.

She tilted her head up slightly, looking like a well-behaved child seeking praise.

Looking at her cute and pleasing demeanor, Zhou Che's heart softened instantly.

This group of subordinates who had fought alongside him all this way was capable enough and highly loyal.

They were also sensible, obedient, and never caused trouble, making them truly useful.

He wasn't stingy either. He raised his hand and rubbed the horns on top of Captain Liu Ruyan's head—a casual and doting gesture that served as a straightforward encouragement.

"You did well."

A simple word of praise warmed Captain Liu Ruyan's heart, making her feel incredibly comfortable.

Zhou Che looked at the descriptions of the two strange objects.

[The Farmer's Whip:

Power increased by 30%; against dark-skinned individuals, power increased by 100%.

Cost: A growing fondness for BDSM.]

[Chicken-Beating Slingshot:

Precise chicken-striking, power increased by 30%. Please protect your own balls.

Cost: Must consume protein every day.]

Right after, Zhou Che casually arranged the resource distribution, his tone relaxed and offhand:

"These two complete strange objects, plus the strange object knife in my hand, make exactly three.

You, Lin Wan, and Ruan Xiaoxiao—the three of you will get one each to keep on you for self-defense."

Captain Liu Ruyan froze instantly, her heart filled with a mixture of warmth and emotion, and a strong sense of belonging.

An strange object!

In the entire Mountain City convoy circle, these were top-tier treasures that people would fight to the death for.

Countless captains treated them like their very lifeblood, hiding them away and never letting them see the light of day.

Yet Zhou Che distributed them just like that, casually gifting them to the three of them. This level of trust and regard was unmatched.

But only Zhou Che knew that he wasn't doing this out of pure trust or favoritism.

It was simply because, although these three girls were loyal, reliable, obedient, and useful,

their individual combat strength was actually quite average, and they lacked life-saving capabilities.

Tomorrow, he planned to send them to lead teams deep into the main city for exploration.

The situation in Mountain City was bizarre and unpredictable; no one could say for sure what risks lurked in the shadows.

Without an strange object to back them up, if they ran into a stray anomaly, something would likely go wrong.

These three capable generals had gone through life-and-death situations with him all the way.

They were reliable in their work and easy to use, comparable to close and caring personal secretaries. If they accidentally perished in the main city, it would be a massive loss.

As the saying goes, 'When there is work, the secretary does it; when there is none, do the secretary.'

To put it bluntly, it was just equipping his "capable hands"—a guaranteed profitable investment.

As for Luo Xi, she possessed fierce combat strength and was also of a combat Sequence.

Furthermore, her great halberd was already an strange object, so there was naturally no need for an extra allocation.

Zhou Che casually gathered all the traded strange object materials and shards, storing them together in his exclusive storage box.

These rare materials seemed useless for now, but opportunities in the apocalypse changed in the blink of an eye.

Who knew when they might be needed for modifications, awakenings, upgrading Sequences, or forging equipment? Keeping them was definitely not a loss.

The night passed without incident. The entire Mountain City camp seemed calm on the surface.

In reality, undercurrents surged, and an invisible sense of oppression enveloped the entire area.

Early the next morning, just as dawn was breaking, a thin mist shrouded the camp.

Zhou Che rose early and gathered The Convoy's four top powerhouses.

Captain Liu Ruyan, Lin Wan, Ruan Xiaoxiao, and Luo Xi lined up.

Sporting steady auras, they were currently the four strongest fighters of the Dawn Convoy.

"Today, the four of you will lead teams to enter the central main city of Mountain City for exploration,"

Zhou Che instructed in a deep voice, his thoughts clear and orderly:

"First, scavenge for scattered basic supplies and rare resources;

Second, focus on testing the suppression state of the anomalies in the main city to confirm if they are truly dormant and pose no threat."

"If we confirm that all anomalies are indeed suppressed and the risks are controllable, I will personally lead a team in tomorrow to explore deeper and try our luck."

As for why Zhou Che didn't send other ordinary Transcendents?

It wasn't that he didn't want to use ordinary Transcendents to test the waters, but rather that the rest of The Convoy's members were too weak and had too thin of a foundation.

The number of anomalies in the main city was too vast. In case the rumors were false and they weren't completely suppressed,

ordinary Transcendents going in would just be pure cannon fodder, dying in vain without any meaning.

Only the four of them, as Transcendents, had the ability to protect themselves. Even if an accident occurred, they could still escape.

Furthermore, he himself possessed the Perceiver Sequence, with a detection range far exceeding ordinary people and an unmatched precision of perception.

As long as the main city was confirmed safe, he could enter personally and rely on his perception talent.

There was a high probability he could secure the strange objects ahead of everyone else.

If the situation wasn't right and the anomalies weren't suppressed, he would simply lay low to the end and never take risks.

When the strange objects appeared and the various convoys made a collective breakthrough in the ensuing chaos,

he would rely on The Convoy's levitation speed to fish in troubled waters and escape with the crowd.

"Better you die than I." With others serving as shields, the Dawn Convoy would have a way to survive.

Steady development and laying low to win was the ultimate way.

After explaining all the tasks, the four women set off immediately.

Lin Wan was in charge of driving, and the modified Transcendent-powered levitating vehicle sped along at a low altitude.

It traveled extremely fast, completely unobstructed all the way, heading straight for the central main city of Mountain City.

The closer they got to the core of the main city, the stronger the aura of ruin and dead silence became.

All that met their eyes were collapsed high-rises, broken bridges, scattered abandoned vehicles, and ruins strewn everywhere.

A faint black mist lingered in the corners of the streets, eerie and deathly quiet.

Not a single sign of living human life could be seen; the desolation was heart-stopping.

The entire massive main city was terrifyingly quiet.

With a clear purpose, the four of them slowly searched the streets and scavenged for supplies.

They passed several large supermarkets and chain stores along the way.

All of them had been swept completely clean by the factions that had explored first. Not even a single hair was left, leaving absolutely nothing to gain.

Helpless, they could only weave through the streets and alleys,

searching those inconspicuous small convenience stores, roadside grocery shops, and damaged kiosks.

They managed to scrounge up some compressed biscuits, bottled water, and simple daily necessities here and there.

The supplies weren't abundant, but they were better than nothing.

At the same time, they tested the waters as they went, encountering no anomaly attacks throughout the entire journey.

They couldn't even see the shadow of an anomaly.

All the hidden evil spirits were tightly suppressed by an unknown power, remaining dormant.

It appeared that the main city was indeed in a temporarily safe and controllable state.

And just as the four women ventured deep into the main city for exploration and The Convoy's camp seemed peaceful and quiet...