12: Chapter 12 Deep in the Warehouse

Chen Mo first returned to the Farmhouse, unloaded the supplies from the vehicle, and then set off in the empty pickup truck.

What if he encountered an accident that damaged the vehicle?

Losing a vehicle was better than losing all the supplies.

Highway 17 was more desolate than Highway 13.

There were almost no abandoned vehicles on the side of the road, only the endless pavement and withered fields on both sides.

The sky was gray, the sun was invisible, and it was impossible to tell if it was day or dusk.

Chen Mo drove for three hours and finally saw the military base.

It was abandoned.

More than half of the perimeter wall had collapsed, and the buildings inside were also in ruins.

But one building was relatively intact.

It was three stories high, a concrete structure, and the windows were all sealed shut.

This should have been the stronghold of the Old Driver Alliance back in the day.

Chen Mo parked the pickup truck at a place not too far from the base and walked over.

Pupil of the Sequence was operating at full capacity; in his golden vision, there were faint lines within the base.

They were very stable, not the active lines characteristic of a Ghost Shadow.

He climbed over the collapsed wall, crossed a patch of overgrown grass, and arrived in front of the building.

The iron gate was very thick... and it was left ajar.

Chen Mo pushed open the heavy iron gate.

Inside was a spacious hall, similar to a conference hall; it was empty, with a few overturned tables and chairs.

Some documents, empty shell casings, and dried bloodstains were scattered on the floor.

He crouched down and picked up a document.

The paper had turned yellow, and the handwriting on it was blurry, but a few words could still be made out:

"...Source of the Sequence... core coordinates... S-Class promotion..."

He tidied up the document and put it away, then continued walking inside.

At the end of the hall, there was a door leading to the Basement.

The door was open, and the stairs extended downward into pitch darkness.

Chen Mo turned on his flashlight and walked down.

The Basement was much larger than he had imagined.

It looked like a warehouse.

Shelves stood in rows, filled with various supplies, similar to the warehouse under the church, but more professional and organized than the church.

Chen Mo walked to the nearest shelf.

There were several metal boxes on it, with numbers printed on them.

He opened one.

Inside were neatly arranged syringes filled with a pale golden liquid.

【Detected D-Class potion: Infiltrator】

【Effect: Grants temporary invisibility after injection (3 seconds, 30-second cooldown)】

【Side effect: Within 1 hour after use, the shadow will act independently and attempt to attack the main body】

【Current status: Damaged, missing key ingredient "tear of the ghost shadow"】

【Ingredient missing: Cannot be used】

Chen Mo put the syringe back.

Infiltrator.

A D-Class potion.

The effect was powerful, but the side effect was also fatal—the shadow would attack oneself.

Moreover, it was missing the key ingredient "tear of the ghost shadow" and could not be used.

He continued looking further down.

The second box.

It was Advanced fuel, thirty liters, stored in a special metal drum that could be preserved for a long time.

The third box.

It was a vehicle weapon mount, which could be installed on the bed of his pickup truck to secure a rifle or crossbow.

The fourth box.

It was medical first-aid kits, military grade, ten in total.

Chen Mo moved out everything he could use.

Advanced fuel, thirty liters.

Vehicle weapon mount, one.

Medical kits, ten.

There were also a few empty boxes.

He was counting the supplies when he suddenly heard a sound from outside.

Footsteps.

More than one person.

Chen Mo instantly turned off his flashlight and hid behind a shelf.

The footsteps grew closer, along with voices.

"...That Old Zhou said there might be things left behind by an Old Driver here..."

"...Be careful, this place looks eerie..."

"...What are you afraid of? We have guns..."

Chen Mo looked out through the gaps in the shelf.

Three people.

Two men and a woman, all carrying weapons, were walking toward the depths of the warehouse.

Their equipment was professional—tactical vests, rifles, flashlights.

They weren't novices; they had lived for at least a week.

Pupil of the Sequence swept over them.

They were all humans, f-grade, carrying the aura of fragments.

One of the men was walking in front, holding a strange instrument and scanning the surroundings.

"There's something here," he said. "Metal reaction, a lot of it."

"Supplies?" the woman asked.

"Possibly."

The three of them quickened their pace.

Chen Mo didn't move.

He hid behind the shelf, watching them walk toward another area where several large boxes he hadn't had time to check were placed.

"Holy crap," the man with the instrument exclaimed.

"Look at this!"

The other two people crowded around.

The light from the flashlight shone on the box—it was transparent, and inside were several weapons with strange designs, gleaming with a metallic luster.

"Are these... Sequence weapons?" the woman said.

"Yes, forged from Ghost Shadow Materials."

The man said, "On the black market, one could be traded for one hundred f-grade fragments."

"We're rich."

The three of them started moving the boxes.

Chen Mo watched them.

He didn't need those weapons.

His current equipment was sufficient.

But the problem was, once these three people finished moving the things, they might discover his pickup truck or discover him.

He needed to leave before they did.

Chen Mo moved backward silently, bypassed the shelves, and arrived at another exit of the warehouse.

The door was locked.

He took out a crowbar, inserted it into the door gap, and pried it open with force.

The door opened.

A harsh metallic sound echoed in the warehouse.

"Someone's there!" a shout came from that side.

Chen Mo didn't look back; he rushed out the door and ran up the stairs.

Footsteps and gunshots came from behind, and bullets hit the walls, splashing debris.

He ran out of the building, crossed the overgrown grass, climbed over the wall, and rushed into the pickup truck.

He started the engine and stepped on the gas.

The pickup truck roared onto the highway.

In the rearview mirror, the three people were standing at the base entrance, shooting at his vehicle.

But the distance was too great; the bullets couldn't reach him.

Chen Mo slowed down, bringing the vehicle speed to a normal range.

He didn't accelerate to escape, nor did he stop to fight back.

He just drove at a steady speed, passing through their field of vision.

The three people stood frozen in place, watching his vehicle drive further and further away, finally disappearing at the end of the highway.

It wasn't because he was afraid of them.

It was because he didn't want to waste bullets.

Deterrence isn't established by killing; it's established by surviving.

As long as he was still alive,

as long as he was still around, those people would remember him.

Remember that there was a person driving a pickup truck who disappeared right under their noses.

Chen Mo gripped the steering wheel, looking at the road ahead.

The vehicle weapon mount was placed on the passenger seat, and the Advanced fuel and medical kits were piled in the back.

The harvest this time was not small.

But that "Infiltrator" potion couldn't be used; it needed a "tear of the ghost shadow".

He had to find this thing.

Chen Mo recalled what Old Zhou had said.

The "tear of the ghost shadow" was produced by the E-Class Ghost Shadow "Crying Face Driver"; only it could drop it.

Crying Face Driver.

He had to go find it.

But before that, he still had to return to the Farmhouse and put the supplies away.

The pickup truck gradually drove further away on the gray highway.

In the rearview mirror, the abandoned military base turned into a black dot and finally disappeared on the horizon.