17: Chapter 17 Companions

Outside the supermarket, Ghost Night had completely descended.

Chen Mo and Old Li stood at the entrance, looking at the road not far away.

The fog was gathering, as if it had a life of its own, slowly spreading across the road, over those abandoned vehicles, and toward the supermarket.

"Where is your car?" Chen Mo asked.

Old Li pointed to the other side of the road, where a heavy truck was parked. On the front of the truck was a skull emblem, the very symbol of the legendary Old Driver.

"Follow me," Old Li said.

The two men walked quickly toward the truck.

Pulling open the door, they found a spacious cab inside, with a rest area in the back containing a bed and daily necessities.

Old Li sat in the driver's seat, and Chen Mo got into the passenger seat.

The truck started and pulled onto the road.

"Where are we going?" Chen Mo asked.

"Trading Post No. 1," Old Li said. "Aren't you looking for Old Zhou? As it happens, I need to find him too."

Chen Mo looked at him.

"You know Old Zhou?"

"An old acquaintance," Old Li smiled.

"We entered the Ghost Realm together back then and survived the first month together. Later, he guarded the Trading Post, and I traveled around. We met less often, but the friendship remains."

Chen Mo did not speak.

He remembered what Old Zhou had said: the Old Driver Alliance had internal strife, and the Old Driver was the only one who survived.

If Old Li was the Old Driver, then was Old Zhou also a member of the Alliance back then?

"Ask whatever you want to ask," Old Li said. "Don't hold it in."

"Old Zhou said your Alliance had internal strife."

Old Li was silent for a few seconds.

"It was internal strife," he said, "but not the way you think."

"Then what way?"

Old Li did not answer immediately.

He gripped the steering wheel, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. The fog churned in the headlights, like an endless sea.

"Someone was corrupted," he finally spoke.

"Not killed by a Ghost Shadow, but corrupted by the will of the ghost realm. That person... was my best friend."

Chen Mo listened.

"At first, he could still control himself, but later he couldn't. He wanted to turn us all into that, saying that way we could be together forever, alive forever."

Old Li's voice was calm, but Chen Mo could hear what was inside: "I had no choice but to kill him."

"And then?"

"Then the others started to suspect each other," Old Li said. "Afraid of being corrupted themselves, afraid of others being corrupted. In the end, they started fighting. I was the only one who survived."

The truck fell into silence.

The fog grew thicker, with visibility less than ten meters. Old Li slowed down, watching the front intently.

"That person who was corrupted," Chen Mo said, "what was his name?"

Old Li was silent for a long time.

"Zhang Lie," he said. "His name was Zhang Lie."

Chen Mo was stunned for a moment.

Zhang Lie.

The person who wanted to recruit him after the first night was also called Zhang Lie.

"What's wrong?" Old Li asked.

"Nothing," Chen Mo said. "I've just heard that name before."

Old Li nodded and did not ask again.

The truck continued forward.

After driving for about an hour, the fog suddenly cleared.

Lights appeared ahead—the lights of Trading Post No. 1.

Old Li parked the car in the parking lot and walked with Chen Mo toward the supermarket.

Inside the supermarket, it was the same people, the same shelves. Old Zhou was behind the checkout counter, and when he saw Old Li come in, he froze.

"You..."

"Long time no see," Old Li said with a smile.

Old Zhou walked out from behind the counter, went up to Old Li, and stared at him for a long time.

Then he reached out and hugged Old Li tightly.

"You motherfucker, you're still alive."

"Still alive," Old Li patted his back. "Living alright."

Old Zhou let him go and turned to look at Chen Mo.

"How did you two come together?"

"He helped me kill something," Old Li said. "I owe him a favor."

Old Zhou's expression became somewhat complicated.

"Kill what?"

"A Glutton."

Old Zhou gasped.

"That D-rank one? Are you crazy?"

"Not crazy," Old Li said. "He could handle it by himself; I just dealt the finishing blow."

The way Old Zhou looked at Chen Mo changed.

It wasn't the "interesting" appraisal from before, but a kind of... re-evaluating gaze.

"Who exactly are you?" he asked.

Chen Mo did not answer.

Old Li answered for him.

"He is someone who can survive," he said, "and will live for a long time."

Old Zhou was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.

"Fine. Since you came together, this meal is on me today." He turned and walked behind the counter. "Wait, I'm going to get something good."

Chen Mo and Old Li found a corner and sat down.

"What is the 'something good' he's talking about?" Chen Mo asked.

"Homemade wine," Old Li said. "Brewed with Materials found in the Ghost Realm. It's good for your body when you drink it."

Old Zhou returned quickly, carrying three glass bottles in his hands, filled with a pale yellow liquid.

"Taste this," he handed the bottles to them. "These are the last ones, so drink sparingly."

Chen Mo took it and took a sip.

The liquid was cool when it entered his mouth, but after swallowing, his whole body warmed up.

He could feel the fragment energy within his body accelerating, as if some kind of catalyst was at work.

【Consumed special drink: Sequence Brew】

【Effect: Fragment energy recovery speed increased by 50%, lasts for 1 hour】

【Side effects: None】

Good stuff.

Chen Mo took another sip.

The three of them sat there, drinking wine and chatting.

Old Zhou talked about the Trading Post, and Old Li talked about his experiences over the years. Chen Mo listened, occasionally interjecting a sentence or two.

After a few rounds of drinks, Old Zhou's expression became serious.

"Let's talk business," he looked at Old Li. "Why did you come back this time?"

Old Li put down the wine bottle.

"For him," he pointed at Chen Mo. "He said he wants to go to the Source of the Sequence."

Old Zhou was stunned.

"Are you crazy?"

"I'm not crazy," Old Li said. "He is different."

"How is he different?"

Old Li did not answer directly, but looked at Chen Mo.

"You have something on you," he said. "I felt it from the first time I saw you. Your eyes can see things others cannot."

Chen Mo did not speak.

"That thing is called 'Pupil of the Sequence,' right?" Old Li said. "I've seen records of it in the Old Driver Alliance's archives. The last person to possess it almost entered the Source of the Sequence."

"And then?"

"Later, they died," Old Li said. "But not on the road; they died at the hands of... their own people."

Chen Mo was silent for a few seconds.

"How did you know I have it?"

"I guessed," Old Li smiled. "But you just admitted it now."

Chen Mo was stunned for a moment, then also smiled.

Old fox.

"Fine, I admit it," he said. "I have the Pupil of the Sequence. But what does that have to do with going to the Source of the Sequence?"

"It has everything to do with it," Old Li said. "Because only those who possess it can see the true path."

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the night outside.

"The Source of the Sequence is not a place," he said. "It is a path, a path that only specific people can see. Others who go there will only see a blank void and then get lost in it."

He turned around and looked at Chen Mo.

"You can see it. So you can go in."

Chen Mo looked at him.

"Have you been in?"

"I have," Old Li said. "But I couldn't see the path, so I had to retreat."

"What is inside?"

Old Li was silent for a long time.

"It's memories," he finally said. "The memories of everyone who died there. You will see yourself inside, see others, see the past and future mixed together. If you cannot distinguish which is real, you will be trapped inside forever."

Chen Mo listened, without speaking.

"Do you want to go?" Old Li asked.

Chen Mo stood up.

"I do."

Old Li nodded.

"Good. At dawn tomorrow, I will take you there."

He picked up the wine bottle and drank the remaining wine in one gulp.

"Get some good rest tonight. After tomorrow, you might not have the chance to sleep."

Chen Mo looked at him, then at Old Zhou.

Both of them were looking at him, and there was something indescribable in their gazes.

Not anticipation, not worry, but a kind of... farewell.

It was as if they already knew that if he went, he might never come back.

Chen Mo did not say anything.

He turned and walked toward the door, toward his pickup truck.

The night was deep, and the fog had risen again.

He sat in the driver's seat, started the engine, and drove toward the Farmhouse.

In the rearview mirror, the lights of the Trading Post grew more and more distant, finally disappearing into the fog.

Ahead was darkness.

But deep in the darkness, a faint light was flickering.

Just like the light he saw last night.

White, distant, like a summons.

Chen Mo gripped the steering wheel tightly and accelerated forward.

No matter what was ahead, he had to go and see.

Because that was his only choice.