61: Chapter 61 Jiang Yanxue's Team! I Need to Inspect Them!

The moment he confirmed with his mind, the two unselected options shattered and dissipated. Option B transformed into a solid silver ball of light, which smashed straight into the armored shell of the Ghost Fortress.

The vehicle body gave a slight jolt.

From the chassis to the roof, a visible, pale blue, translucent membrane of light slowly emerged, wrapping around the entire eighteen-ton steel beast before gradually fading away, merging into the surface of the armor.

[Silver-grade High-Frequency Energy Shield Generator Installed!]

[Shield Status: Fully Charged (3/3 Layers)]

[Cooling Mechanism: Automatic Reconstruction 24 Hours After Shield Shatters]

This thing didn't need blueprints or materials at all; selecting it meant installing it.

It appeared out of thin air.

It was welded directly onto the vehicle.

An undisguised shock finally appeared on Shen Wanbing's face.

She turned around and stared at Chen Chen's profile for several seconds.

"...Exactly how many trump cards are you still hiding?"

It was the first time she had spoken in this tone.

There was a sense of pure helplessness, as if she had been completely crushed.

Chen Chen remained silent.

Beside them, Jiang Yanxue pressed her lips together tightly, her fingers subconsciously twisting the strap of her shadow blade.

She had seen the whole process.

No blueprints, no materials, no prerequisite procedures whatsoever.

The system just bestowed the item directly? Getting whatever he wanted?

If this ability were known to the outside world—

No, it must not be known.

After this thought circled in Jiang Yanxue's mind, she realized one thing: she was already automatically keeping secrets for Chen Chen.

When did it start?

She couldn't say.

Perhaps it was when he carried her out of the pile of corpses at the military factory.

Or perhaps it was when she watched him jump from fifteen meters high to stab the Tyrant all by himself.

Recognition between the strong doesn't need a reason; it only needs enough evidence.

And the evidence Chen Chen had provided was already overflowing.

"Chen Chen."

Jiang Yanxue spoke up.

She rarely used his full name, and her tone wasn't as prickly as usual.

"There is something I want to tell you."

"The six vehicles behind us?"

Jiang Yanxue was stunned for a second.

"You guessed it?"

"No need to guess. When you saw those six heat sources on the Radar, your expression changed."

Jiang Yanxue took a deep breath.

"They are my people. From the Black Dragon Society. I lost contact with them before I was trapped in the military factory, and I thought they were dead."

"They aren't dead," Shen Wanbing added. "Traveling in formation with uniform speed indicates the vehicles are in good condition and they have discipline. They don't look like stragglers."

Jiang Yanxue nodded.

"I just opened the Black Dragon Society's encrypted channel and received intermittent beacons. They were sent by my deputy, 'Seven Blades'. They have been tracking the residual signals of my communications along the way."

"How many people?"

"Six vehicles, about fifteen to twenty people. If Seven Blades is leading them, it should be mostly the loyalists—not that trash from Dragon Scar's group."

Chen Chen was clear about the factions within the Black Dragon Society.

That group of people under Dragon Scar who wanted to use her as a bargaining chip had already been crushed into pulp by him on the road.

What about "Seven Blades"?

"Are you sure they don't have ulterior motives?"

"Seven Blades followed my father for seventeen years. After my father lost contact, he was the first to send me a beacon of allegiance."

Jiang Yanxue's voice was steady. "I can vouch for him."

"Vouching is worthless in the wasteland."

"That's why I'm not using a guarantee," Jiang Yanxue met Chen Chen's gaze. "I'll use another way."

She stood up, walked to Chen Chen, and leaned sideways against the edge of the console.

Her black combat suit outlined an extremely narrow waist and an extremely exaggerated hip contour.

Her long legs were crossed, her military boots resting on the metal floor, her posture somewhere between relaxed and alert.

"Let them follow. From now on, they will take orders from you. With a few more vehicles in the convoy, the firepower coverage will be greater, and scavenging efficiency can also double."

"You want to form a convoy?"

"It's not that I want to," Jiang Yanxue paused. "It's that you need it. No matter how strong you are alone, you can't go twenty-four hours without sleeping. With outer vehicles acting as a buffer and early warning system, your fortress will truly be a fortress."

Chen Chen leaned back in his chair and was silent for a few seconds.

She made sense.

No matter how fierce a single vehicle is, when encountering a massive, multi-dimensional horde of zombies, it ultimately only has one front and two machine guns.

But with a few more vehicles, the nature of things changes.

That is a convoy, a formation, depth.

"Among your people," Chen Chen said slowly, "are they men or women?"

Jiang Yanxue was stunned by this question.

"...What?"

"Men or women. I'm asking about the personnel composition."

"Seven Blades is a man; his subordinates include both men and women. I haven't confirmed the exact ratio yet."

"Let them get within Radar range first."

Chen Chen pulled down his goggles and hung them around his neck. "There's one rule I want to make clear first."

"Go ahead."

"Only women are allowed on my vehicle."

The entire cabin was silent for two seconds.

Shen Wanbing's hand, which was scrolling through data, froze.

Su Xiaoqi lifted her head from her arms and repeated vaguely, "Only women?"

Jiang Yanxue's dark red pupils flickered, and she couldn't keep a straight face, the corner of her mouth curling up.

"You really are—"

"My vehicle, my rules."

Chen Chen interrupted her, his tone leaving no room for negotiation. "The men can follow behind, but only women are allowed to enter the doors of the fortress. And—"

He swept his gaze over the four women in the cabin.

"I must pick them myself."

Jiang Yanxue stared at him for three seconds.

Finally, she let out a low laugh, a laugh filled with an indescribable meaning.

"Fine. Your vehicle, you call the shots."

Shen Wanbing swiped the virtual panel to the side and slowly turned around.

Her damaged professional suit was still immaculate, and her legs, wrapped in ultra-thin black silk stockings, were elegantly crossed.

"Then it would be best to obtain the vehicle performance, firepower configuration, and individual talent information of Seven Blades and his people in advance."

Her tone was calm, but she added one more sentence—

"Especially the detailed information on the female members."

Jiang Yanxue laughed again.

This time it was a genuine laugh.

The underground queen and the billionaire CEO locked eyes for a moment under the warm light.

That subtle smell of gunpowder exploded silently in the air.

Chen Chen acted as if he didn't see it.

He pushed the control stick forward, the A-grade maglev engine started with a low frequency, the Ghost Fortress rose silently, and blue electric arcs danced on the chassis.

"Shen Wanbing, turn on passive tracking for the rear."

"Activated."

"Jiang Yanxue, contact your people. Tell them to follow at a distance of thirty kilometers. I will stop after dawn."

"And then?"

"Then I will inspect the goods."

Chen Chen rested one hand on the steering wheel and looked back at Jiang Yanxue.

"You're right, I need a convoy. But what kind of people can follow behind me—"

He pressed the accelerator, and the eighteen-ton Ghost Fortress shot forward suddenly, with the rock walls on both sides of the rift valley receding rapidly.

"That, I will decide."

On the Radar panel, the six red dots forty-seven kilometers behind were firmly closing in on this direction.