Chapter 15: There Are Anomalies

"Xiaoxiao, did you find out anything about what Chen Ye and Captain Chu and Nana said?"Zhou Lan now felt some regret.

If she had known things would turn out like this, she shouldn't have contacted Chen Ye in the first place.

She had sent the gasoline away, and then made Xiaoxiao retrieve it.

She blamed herself for being dizzy-headed at the time, feeling reluctant to part with that barrel of gasoline.

But now that events had already unfolded like this, regretting it did nothing.

Chen Ye and his group had definitely offended them.

Still, Zhou Lan was a bit rattled that Chen Ye had walked away with a barrel of gasoline and a machete after just a few words.

It was unsettling that so much could be traded for so little.

Zhou Lan had asked Zhou Xiaoxiao to go ask around just to find out what Chen Ye had said to get those supplies.

"Sis, Old Bao said he doesn't know."

"He even said he was your fan last time—ha! Fake fan."

Zhou Xiaoxiao complained as she drove.

Li Jie was the bus driver.

Old Bao was the driver of Chu Che's modified off-road vehicle.

There were three people in Chu Che and Nana's vehicle.

Each formed a small group.

Zhao Xiaoxiao went to ask Old Bao for information and came back with nothing, which left Zhou Xiaoxiao dissatisfied.

"Sis, I know what you're worried about."

"Are you thinking that since we've offended that Chen Ye, we two sisters won't be able to survive in the convoy later?"

Zhou Lan remained silent.

Zhou Xiaoxiao smiled, speaking lightly: "What are you afraid of? Sis, we've survived until now by relying on ourselves. Every time we go scavenge for supplies it's a life-or-death gamble."

"That's exactly why we've outlived others in the convoy and are better off."

"Sis, that gasoline was hard for us to collect—why give it to Chen Ye?"

"Besides, we don't need others to protect us. We protect ourselves."

She said this with obvious pride.

"You, huh!"

Zhou Lan reached out and gently tapped Zhou Xiaoxiao's forehead.

For some reason, unease settled in Zhou Lan's chest and wouldn't leave.

...

Chen Ye traded for the gasoline from Chu Che and poured it into his motorized tricycle's tank.

The engine shuddered and the tricycle started.

The convoy moved a little faster today.

Maybe they were trying to make up for the two hours wasted that morning.

Chen Ye could see Chu Che occasionally stepping out of his vehicle up front, scooping a handful of dirt from the ground and tasting it, then pointing seriously toward a safe direction.

That had to be a Pathfinder Sequence ability.

When he used to trail at the back of the convoy, he'd never seen this happen.

It wasn't until the afternoon that Chu Che finally announced the convoy would rest.

Chen Ye took supplies from the tricycle's cargo bed and began to cook.

He'd been without a proper rice meal for days and was craving it.

Today's supplies were plentiful—many hadn't left Xinghua Town, but those who had came out with more than a little.

Somehow a blood moon hung on the horizon.

Maybe because everyone had food tonight, the camp's mood wasn't as bleak.

Just as Chen Ye finished eating, Old Bao, Chu Che's driver, came to find him with news: Iron Lion had woken up.

Chen Ye was surprised when he saw the legendary Titan Sequence big guy.

That day he'd seen the big guy's arm cut off at the shoulder.

Now, the arm had regrown a bit.

Was this also a Sequence Superpowers ability?

Nana and Chu Che seemed unbothered by the sight.

Iron Lion was slightly surprised to see Chen Ye too.

"So it was you. If not for your arrow that day, I would probably be dead."

Lying on the bed, Iron Lion sounded weak.

"If not for you, I probably would have died too!" Chen Ye said honestly.

If Iron Lion hadn't blocked the White Dress Scissor Woman that day, few people in the convoy would have survived.

"Iron Lion, Flesh Titan Sequence—this is the basic ability of our flesh titans: flesh regeneration. Hahaha... pretty awesome, right?"

Seeing Chen Ye staring at his severed arm, the big guy said it outright without any restraint.

"I heard you're Mechanic Sequence—great. From now on when the convoy's vehicles break down, we won't have to toss them!"

He was clearly a chatterbox who talked a lot.

After Chu Che told Iron Lion that black dog blood could affect Anomalies, Iron Lion expressed his gratitude to Chen Ye.

The convoy followed a fair-share principle, so the news didn't come free.

"What do you want?"

"That power bank of yours that can charge two degrees."

"Fine. Ask Old Li to give it to you later."

Just like that, Chen Ye added a power bank to his gear—a small step closer to converting his tricycle into a hybrid electric-gas vehicle.

The following days were monotonous and leisurely.

Sometimes the convoy headed east, sometimes it suddenly turned west.

Sometimes they walked half a day forward only to end up back where they started by nightfall.

At first people questioned it.

Chu Che stepped out and explained that anyone unwilling to follow the convoy could leave.

No one opposed after that.

The convoy's route was chaotic, as if driven by a madman—no plan, no order.

Only a few Sequence Superpowers users wore serious faces.

According to Chu Che, in recent days several Anomalies had been tracking the convoy's trail.

At the most dangerous moments, an Anomaly had come within three kilometers of the convoy.

If not for Pathfinder Sequence Chu Che, the convoy would have been wiped out long ago.

Every rest period, Chen Ye found chances to cut branches or bamboo to make bolt arrows.

With the machete, his production efficiency improved significantly.

Finished arrows were smeared with black dog blood along the shaft.

Chen Ye's quiver now held over a hundred bolt arrows.

It was a pity about the two black dogs in the convoy.

Probably drained for their blood, they looked listless all the time.

"Tomorrow we can reach Longevity Village. The convoy's supplies are low—we plan to search that village for supplies."

That was the first thing Chu Che said during the evening meeting.

At those words, everyone’s faces showed fear mixed with hope.

Except for a few Sequence Superpowers users, the convoy really did have little supplies left. If they couldn't scavenge more, the convoy might riot.

Chen Ye lit a cigarette and calculated silently.

In the apocalypse, the rule was: the more prosperous the pre-apocalypse city, the more fearsome it was to approach.

The super-large cities were off-limits for the living.

Small villages like this still offered opportunities.

With plenty of arrows on hand, he might even get a lot of Slaughter Points.

The system had told him before there was a way to truly awaken a Sequence, but it required three thousand Slaughter Points.

At that moment a terrified scream rang through the camp.

"Ah~~~~ there's... an Anomaly!"