62: Chapter 62 Li Yiming Disappears

Shen Fei and the other two didn't dare to jump to conclusions immediately; after all, he hadn't been missing for very long.

Perhaps he had taken a detour along the way or temporarily visited another convoy.

If they made a big scene and he ended up returning safely, they would look foolish.

Thus, they could only give a vague response:

"He probably took a detour somewhere else and is likely on his way back. We just came over to ask."

After exchanging a few polite words, the three of them took their leave, intending to search carefully for clues along their way back.

But just as the three of them were walking through the Trainee Convoy's camp and about to leave the settlement,

Wang Laowu's eyes suddenly narrowed as his peripheral vision caught a critical detail!

In a corner of the camp, an ordinary survivor

was carrying an incredibly familiar cloth bag, loading supplies into a modified vehicle with his head down.

The style, wear and tear, and color of that bag

was exactly the cloth bag Li Yiming had used to carry the fish meat when he left!

It was identical; there was absolutely no mistake!

Wang Laowu's heart sank, and a wave of intense doubt and chill instantly washed over his entire body.

Little Li hadn't come to the Trainee Convoy for a trade at all!

Then why was his supply bag in the hands of their people?

This was definitely not simple!

Wang Laowu showed no emotion on his face, remaining calm and pretending he hadn't seen anything.

He casually walked out with Shen Fei and Zhou Botao as if nothing had happened.

But in his heart, he had already made up his mind.

He would discuss it with them after they returned to the Dawn Convoy!

After all, they were currently on someone else's turf.

Li Yiming was missing, and his supply bag had somehow ended up in the hands of outsiders...

The three of them traveled in silence, getting closer and closer to the Dawn Convoy's camp.

Only when they had completely left the Trainee Convoy's sphere of influence and confirmed there were no outsiders eavesdropping

did Wang Laowu lower his voice and speak, his tone heavy with gravity and coldness.

"I didn't dare say too much just now, fearing we would alert them."

"I saw it with my own eyes. An ordinary survivor in the Trainee Convoy was carrying a cloth bag.

It was the exact bag Li Yiming used to carry the fish meat when he left this morning. I recognized it at a glance, there's no mistake!"

Shen Fei and Zhou Botao stopped in their tracks simultaneously, their faces instantly darkening, filled with shock and astonishment.

Just now, Brother Kun had adamantly insisted that no one from the Dawn Convoy had been to their camp today.

The two stories were completely contradictory!

Wang Laowu continued coldly, "Brother Kun is lying."

"Either he knows and is deliberately concealing it;

or his Transcendent subordinates are playing tricks behind his back and pocketed our fish meat."

At this point, a flash of hostility crossed his eyes.

"Most importantly, Li Yiming hasn't shown his face at all."

"Just for some fish meat, normally they would at most rob him of the goods. There would be absolutely no need to silence him by killing him."

"But now he's gone, and his supply bag is in their hands.

The most likely scenario is that they laid hands on Li Yiming and took him out!"

A chill instantly ran down Shen Fei and Zhou Botao's spines, their hearts filled with shock and anger.

The two of them hadn't seen the fish bag, so they naturally didn't dare to jump to conclusions.

But Wang Laowu had seen it, and they believed he wouldn't make things up regarding this matter.

Since he was so certain, this matter was highly likely to be true!

For a moment, thoughts raced through their minds.

It was highly probable that someone from the Trainee Convoy, driven by greed, had robbed him of the supplies and silenced Li Yiming in the process.

As for whether Brother Kun knew about it, it was hard to say right now.

It could be that his subordinates acted recklessly on their own, committing the crime in secret and intentionally keeping their captain in the dark;

or perhaps Brother Kun appeared decent on the surface but was actually sinister and scheming, tacitly allowing his subordinates to act.

Shen Fei frowned and spoke cautiously:

"This is no longer a small matter. It's not a simple dispute over supplies; it's a conflict between convoys!"

"It already involves a conflict between two major convoys. The three of us are just low-level Sequence 1 Transcendents with weak strength. We can't handle something like this."

"Should we report this to Mr. Zhou immediately? Let Zhou Che make the decision."

Wang Laowu and Zhou Botao nodded in agreement without hesitation.

That's right. All three of them were newly awakened Sequencers, and their strength was still lacking.

If they really had a falling out and the three of them went to confront them, it would be suicide.

A dispute of this level had to be handled by Mr. Zhou.

The three of them made up their minds, quickened their pace, and rushed back to the Dawn camp.

As they neared the center of the camp, they subconsciously slowed down, not daring to rashly step forward and disturb them.

On the open ground of the camp, Zhou Che was standing side-by-side with Captain Ma Shangwu of the Human Alliance.

The two were talking in low voices, the atmosphere peaceful.

They knew very well that the Human Alliance was a top giant, and Captain Ma Shangwu was a top-tier Sequence Five powerhouse.

Mr. Zhou was discussing serious business with a powerful figure; they had no right to rashly interrupt.

They could only wait obediently from a distance.

At this moment, Zhou Che appeared calm, his aura relaxed, as he chatted casually with Captain Ma Shangwu.

Captain Ma Shangwu had made a special trip today with a very clear purpose.

Yesterday, word had spread throughout the East Bank convoy circle about the Dawn Convoy's wraith cold crystals. Their dual miraculous effects of levitation and cooling made them a unique strategic material in the apocalypse.

Such a scarce treasure was highly valued, even by the Human Alliance.

Captain Liu Ruyan had been fully in charge of the trades yesterday, but this morning, she had led a team out to explore the main city and was not in the camp.

Captain Ma Shangwu had arrived only to find her gone. After asking around, he turned to find Zhou Che.

This trade was not of his own personal volition; it was a task personally approved and specially arranged by the upper echelons of the Human Alliance.

The higher-ups had specifically instructed to acquire and stockpile as many wraith cold crystals as possible, regardless of the cost.

This kind of strange object material, which could modify vehicles, ignore terrain, and came with its own special effects,

was a hard currency anywhere. The more, the better.

Zhou Che knew the importance of this item. Knowing the other party was desperate for the goods, he refused to budge even an inch.

"Same old rules: we don't accept ordinary supplies in exchange."

"If you want wraith cold crystals, we only accept strange objects or strange object materials. Anything else is out of the question."

These words were exactly the same as Captain Liu Ruyan's trading rules from yesterday, without the slightest relaxation.

Captain Ma Shangwu had already figured out the rules, so he naturally wouldn't come empty-handed.

He raised his hand and took out three well-preserved strange objects, placing them on the stone table between them.

The three strange objects were of different styles. Their rankings couldn't be called high, but they were still slightly higher than the two from yesterday.

Zhou Che swept his gaze over them, quickly evaluating them in his mind.

Their rankings were average, not particularly stunning, but they had the advantage of being intact and undamaged, capable of normal use. They could be distributed to his subordinates.

"For three strange objects, how many can you give?"

Captain Ma Shangwu got straight to the point, his tone carrying a hint of probing. "I want the maximum amount. Can you make the final call?"

He was calculating in his mind; yesterday, someone had exchanged a single strange object for over twenty cold crystals.

His three strange objects were of higher quality, so exchanging three for a hundred crystals was completely reasonable.

Zhou Che scratched his head, looking completely casual as he looked him in the eye. "Of course I can make the final call."

He then pretended to ponder, seemingly weighing the pros and cons, but in reality, he had already calculated everything clearly in his mind.

"To be honest, these three strange objects of yours look slightly higher in grade than the ones traded yesterday."

"But their practicality is far worse. They are mostly for show and aren't of much use in actual combat."

Zhou Che looked up at Captain Ma Shangwu and calmly drove down the price:

"Your appetite is too big. A hundred is impossible."

"I'll give you ninety, and that's only out of respect for the Human Alliance."