82: Chapter 82 Defection

"Stop kidding around."

"That person is a genuine peak Sequence Five."

"He even has a special strange object AK from the Human Alliance in his hands; he could scatter a tide of anomalies all by himself."

"I'm only Sequence 3. Even with my multi-Sequence cheat, if I went head-to-head, I'd be riddled with holes."

"I can only scavenge for scraps from behind the scenes and focus on surviving."

"If he were really forced to charge into a sea of anomalies to clear a path like Captain Ma Shangwu, he'd be the first to run."

"Just kidding. My life is the most important thing."

Having broken away from the main force, the Dawn Convoy sped along at full throttle.

The advantages of the hovercars were fully utilized.

They flew directly over obstacles and didn't stop for scattered anomalies, simply stepping on the gas and rushing past.

Before those anomalies could even react, the The Convoy had already vanished from sight.

A few times, when small groups of anomalies blocked their path, Captain Liu Ruyan didn't even stop the car, simply driving the hovercar straight over them.

Zhou Che sat in the passenger seat, occasionally taking action to deal with a few high-flying anomalies.

The journey was smooth and unimpeded.

After half a day, the sun gradually began to set in the west.

The The Convoy finally broke out of the range of anomalies in Shancheng, temporarily escaping the most dangerous area.

Captain Liu Ruyan found a hidden valley and stopped the cars.

"Mr. Zhou, the terrain here is good; it's easy to defend and hard to attack. Let's rest here tonight."

"Alright." Zhou Che nodded and pushed the car door open to jump out.

The prolonged high tension left everyone exhausted.

The ordinary survivors got out to start fires and cook, while the Transcendent individuals were responsible for guarding the perimeter.

The valley was quiet and peaceful, with no roars of anomalies or sounds of explosions.

There was only the rustling of wind through the leaves and the crackling of burning firewood.

Zhou Che found a clean rock and sat down.

He could finally calm his mind and take stock of the gains and losses from this trip to Shancheng.

First, the losses.

During this trip into Shancheng, the The Convoy lost a Sequence 1 Transcendent, along with some ordinary survivors.

They had all fallen behind and perished during the earlier tide of anomalies.

It wasn't too heavy a loss and was within an acceptable range.

After all, in the apocalypse, death is a common occurrence.

Next, the gains.

This was the main part.

First, the supplies.

The three hovercars were packed full with food, medicine, gasoline, and hardware tools—enough for the entire team to use for a month or two.

There were also the two strange objects earned from trading for wraith cold crystals, along with a large pile of materials for strange objects.

Secondly, the Sequences.

On the way of the evacuation, Zhou Che had conveniently absorbed the Sequences of the Transcendent individuals from other The Convoys who had died.

Most importantly, there was the first volume of the book of rules.

A strange object ranked fiftieth, capable of writing rules; it could save a life at a critical moment.

The fact that he was able to deceive everyone this time and keep the strange object's presence in his hands a secret was also due to its own function.

Zhou Che took a deep breath and opened the system panel.

[Host: Zhou Che]

[Qi Controller Sequence: Tier 3] 0 people

[Pathfinder Sequence: Tier 3] 1 person

[Lord of the Blood Moon Sequence: Tier 2] 2 people

[Metal Forger Sequence: Tier 2] 1 person

[Shapeshifter Sequence: Tier 2] 0 people

[Mechanic Sequence: Tier 2] 2 people

[Rune Sequence: Tier 2] 1 person

[Physician Sequence: Tier 2] 1 person

[Botanist Sequence: Tier 2] 0 people

[Pugilist Sequence: Tier 1] 1 person

[Illusionist Sequence: Tier 1] 1 person

[Beastman Sequence: Tier 1] 1 person

[Guardian Sequence: Tier 1] 1 person

[Prophet Sequence: Tier 1] 0 people

[Perceiver Sequence: Tier 1] 0 people

[Cloud Rain Master Sequence: Tier 1] 0 people

[Beast Tamer Sequence: Tier 1] 0 people

Looking at the dense list of Sequences, Zhou Che nodded with satisfaction.

Zhou Che stared at the system panel, the smile on his lips never fading, his heart bubbling with joy.

"This was a huge profit!"

"Not only did I get two new Sequences, but many others have also increased significantly."

Just as he was feeling smug, his gaze swept over the Pugilist Sequence line.

The smile on Zhou Che's face froze instantly.

[Pugilist: Tier 1]

"Huh?"

He rubbed his eyes, thinking he had misread it.

He looked again, and it was still Tier 1.

It was clearly Tier 3 before!

How did it suddenly drop by two levels?

Zhou Che's heart skipped a beat, and he panicked instantly.

The Pugilist Sequence was his main damage-dealing Sequence; losing two levels meant his combat power was slashed in half!

He suddenly pulled out the book of rules from his chest.

As soon as he touched the cover, the system's notification sound rang out.

[Cost of using the book of rules (Volume 1): Writing a rule will consume your own Sequence source. The harder the rule is to realize, the greater the consumption, and the more the Sequence level will drop. The effect lasts for one month.]

"What the f***!"

Zhou Che couldn't help but curse.

"This damn book is such a scam!"

"Using it once slashes two Sequence levels directly?"

"Even that rocket launcher from the Human Alliance only drains a bit of strength after one shot."

"But this thing? It knocks me down two levels."

"If this were someone else with only one Sequence, using it once would knock them back to their original form, turning them into an ordinary person."

"Forget about dealing with anomalies; any stray dog could chew them up."

"It's only because I have so many Sequences that I can withstand this."

"If it were anyone else, they would have died on the spot."

Zhou Che felt a sharp, agonizing pain in his heart.

However, upon second thought, he felt relieved.

"The cost is a bit high, but the effect is truly top-notch."

"If I hadn't used my wits and written 'Conceal Breath' at that moment..."

"...the entire East Bank The Convoy would be chasing me to snatch the strange object right now, and it's uncertain if I would even make it out of Shancheng alive."

"Besides, a month isn't that long. Given the speed at which I absorb Sequences now, I might be able to recover it in less than a month."

"When I have more Sequences and higher levels in the future, I can use it freely without caring about dropping a level or two."

He stroked his chin and started pondering again.

"If the first volume is this powerful, what about the middle and last volumes?"

"If I collect all three, wouldn't I be able to write even longer rules?"

"When that time comes, I could just write 'Anomalies Retreat,' and wouldn't I be able to walk sideways?"

"I just don't know who has the other two volumes."

"And that old dragon in the Yun River—did it finally succeed in its tribulation?"

"I was in such a rush to run at the time that I didn't dare look back."

"If it really succeeded in transforming into a dragon, the entire Southwest region would suffer."

The The Convoy drove westward for another full day.

Not until they could no longer see any shadow of Shancheng did Captain Liu Ruyan order them to stop and rest.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed on the ground, unwilling to move.

The experience of those few days in Shancheng had become a nightmare for everyone.

Especially that dragon that churned the river and overturned the seas—thinking about it now still made everyone's blood run cold.

Zhou Che walked around the camp several times.

Watching the people coming and going, he realized that many familiar faces were missing.

There were a few new faces—survivors who had been desperate and panicked during the evacuation and had climbed into the Dawn Convoy's vehicles.

That's the apocalypse for you; people leave, people arrive—it's perfectly normal.

Zhou Che didn't say much; it was good enough just to be alive.

As he was walking around, he suddenly remembered something.

Where was Li Gang, the one he had given the Qi Controller Sequence to, who was responsible for making power balls for the The Convoy?

He looked around but didn't see any sign of Li Gang.

He grabbed a team member to ask and then found out.

During the evacuation, Li Gang had been dragged away by anomalies while covering a few ordinary survivors to help them get into the vehicle.

Zhou Che sighed.

"Great, I have to find someone new again."

"This won't do."

"I can't have the leader of the The Convoy spending every day making power balls for everyone myself, can I?"