28: Chapter 28: Can you help her get revenge?

Hearing the girl's tearful, choking plea, Lu Yuan frowned slightly.

He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he casually swiped open the system panel and switched to the C-72 District's regional chat channel.

The once lively chat area had now descended into a living hell.

The entire screen was frantically scrolling with blood-red messages of desperate pleas and furious curses.

"Help! Coordinates 2145! Three modified vehicles from C-71 District are chasing me!"

"You bastards from C-75 District! I'll haunt you even as a ghost! You stole my water and killed my brother!"

"Anyone nearby? Brothers in C-72 District have formed a defensive convoy, hurry and join us to huddle for warmth!"

Lu Yuan glanced up at the regional survival count in the top right corner.

In just one night, the number of surviving players in C-72 District had plummeted from 850,000 yesterday to 800,000.

A full fifty thousand people had died a tragic death on this cold highway, all for the greed over a crate of fuel.

Lu Yuan closed the panel and looked at Yun Xiao kneeling on the ground, still saying nothing.

The atmosphere grew somewhat oppressive.

Lin Zihao, standing to the side, rubbed his hands together and spoke up, sounding a bit awkward.

"Brother Lu... this..."

Lu Yuan's tone was flat, betraying not a hint of emotion.

"Bring her along if you want to."

With that, he turned around without hesitation and pulled down the top hatch of the Red Wolf Tank.

*BOOM—!*

The slumbering steel behemoth roared to life with a furious growl, its exhaust pipes spewing scorching black smoke.

Although Lu Yuan had said nothing and his expression hadn't changed much,

Lin Zihao could faintly sense that this usually easygoing big brother was angry.

Lin Zihao quickly helped Yun Xiao up, had her sit on his armored motorcycle, and swiftly followed the tank's tread marks.

The convoy returned to the highway and continued advancing forward.

The morning sun illuminated a horrifying scene across the Gobi desert.

The roadside was littered with the still-burning wrecks of vehicles—C-72 District family sedans and modified pickups from other districts spray-painted with skull insignias.

Dark red bloodstains stretched in long trails across the asphalt.

It was easy to imagine the brutal, chaotic battle that had erupted here last night.

Just as the two vehicles rounded a massive rocky corner,

Yun Xiao, sitting on the motorcycle's back seat, suddenly stiffened and let out a heart-wrenching scream.

"Uncle Shen!"

The Red Wolf Tank ahead slammed on its brakes and came to a stop.

Lin Zihao also grabbed his brakes hard, looking in the direction Yun Xiao pointed.

In a sandpit at the edge of the road, a battered off-road vehicle lay tilted on its side.

Its entire body was riddled with bullet holes, and even the windshield was shattered into a web of cracks.

Shen Hai lay motionless on the ground beside the driver's seat, covered in blood.

Yun Xiao scrambled off the motorcycle, stumbled over to Shen Hai, and collapsed beside him. Tears instantly flooded her eyes as she let out a cry of utmost anguish.

Lin Zihao walked over to inspect the scene.

The off-road vehicle's trunk had been pried open by force, its contents completely looted.

Most telling was the wide-open fuel cap on the vehicle's side—not a single drop of gasoline remained inside.

As expected, it had been drained dry.

Looking at Yun Xiao's back, trembling with pain, a flicker of pity crossed Lin Zihao's eyes.

He walked over, gently patted the girl's shoulder, then turned and walked to the base of the tank.

"Brother Lu, can you help her get revenge?"

Lin Zihao took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and opened the trade panel.

"I'll pay the fee."

*Ding!* Lu Yuan's system received a trade request. Displayed on it was the entire massive haul of supplies Lin Zihao had received from the secret realm yesterday.

Sitting in the cockpit, Lu Yuan looked at the trade window and casually sent a private message.

"What? You've taken a liking to her?"

Receiving the message, Lin Zihao's face flushed bright red, and he quickly typed a reply.

"N-no! It's just... seeing people from other districts bully folks from our C-72 District like this really pisses me off."

*Ding.*

A system prompt: the other party has rejected the trade request.

Before Lin Zihao could react, Lu Yuan's cold voice came through the external speaker.

"Follow."

...

At the same time...

On a highway six hundred kilometers away from the Red Wolf Tank...

Four modified vehicles, welded with anti-collision spikes, formed a single-file line as they sped recklessly down the road.

When they ambushed Shen Hai last night, they only had two vehicles.

But after tasting the sweet success of looting a fully-fueled vehicle, they called for friends in the regional channel overnight, rendezvousing with two more armed pickups to form a small four-vehicle raiding party.

Deafening DJ music blared from the lead pickup's cabin.

A Bald Strongman with a fierce-looking face gripped the steering wheel with one hand, a cigarette—a luxury in this post-apocalyptic world—dangling from his mouth, his face beaming with smug satisfaction.

In the passenger seat sat a man as skinny as a monkey, excitedly clutching a military backpack stuffed with supplies.

These two were the ringleaders of the thugs who had led the ambush on Shen Hai the previous night.

Having not slept a wink all night, they were like tireless hyenas, leading their convoy to specifically target isolated C-72 District players.

In just one night, over a dozen C-72 District players had already fallen to their guns.

With the looted supplies and drained fuel, these guys were making a killing, practically reaching the peak of their lives.

While counting cans of food, the skinny man sent an arrogant voice message in the alliance channel.

"Brothers! The people in C-72 District are a bunch of pushovers, super easy to kill!"

"Just corner them, and a full tank of fuel is yours. Way better than opening supply crates!"

The channel immediately erupted with praise from other thugs.

"Bald Strongman is the man! Scoring so much loot in one night. Don't forget us brothers when you're rich!"

"Save a few for me! I'm flooring it to get there now!"

The skinny man closed the channel, glanced at the Bald Strongman, a flicker of worry in his eyes.

"Boss, if we keep killing like this, what if we piss off that big shot from C-72 District, the one who first-cleared the secret realm?"

"I heard his tank is ridiculously powerful."

The Bald Strongman blew out a thick smoke ring and let out a scornful laugh.

"Scared of what?"

"A frontrunner at that level is probably a thousand kilometers ahead of us by now. He's likely sleeping soundly in some woman's arms right now."

The Bald Strongman patted the steering wheel, arrogance plastered on his face.

"This is post-apocalyptic survival!"

"Who the hell has nothing better to do than turn back hundreds of kilometers for a few pieces of trash at the bottom?"

"Even if he's a badass, he can't just drop from the sky to punish me."

The Bald Strongman cranked the music to maximum volume, floored the accelerator, and continued searching for the next prey.

He was lost in the thrill of holding power over others' lives.

Completely unaware that Death was slowly closing in from behind...