Chapter 1: The First Iron Rule of the Fleet

"Crackle... The current time is 10:23 AM, October 13, 2030."

"This may be this radio station's final broadcast!"

"Shanghai has fallen and become an uninhabited zone!"

"Do not go there! Do not go there!!!"

"To all survivor compatriots: Do not stare at the crimson moon for more than three seconds, do not greet shadows under streetlights, do not believe that deceased relatives will come back to life!"

"The human spark... will never be extinguished!"

"Crackle..."

Chen Ye listened to the chaotic static from the radio, feeling ice-cold throughout his body.

The entire convoy was filled with a suffocating atmosphere of despair.

Several months ago, global supernatural phenomena erupted.

In a very short time, some smaller countries directly became human forbidden zones.

Human firearms were nothing but a joke in the face of the supernatural.

The supernatural couldn't be killed, or rather, they were extremely difficult to kill.

Chen Ye had escaped from Jiangcheng and formed a convoy with other survivors, planning to head to the survivor base in Shanghai.

At this moment, Chen Ye was riding a 28-inch bicycle within the convoy, with a large bundle on the back seat containing all his belongings.

As for why, even in the apocalypse, he hadn't switched to a car as transportation and only had this 28-inch bicycle?

Chen Ye had once smashed a car window with a stone to open the door.

But without a key, he simply couldn't start the car.

As an ordinary person, he couldn't do what they showed in movies - pull out two wires, connect them, and drive the car away.

Without a key, Chen Ye found it very difficult to gain use of a car.

No one had expected the apocalypse to come so suddenly, so no one had learned such skills in advance.

As for why he hadn't gotten an electric scooter or motorcycle...

The reason was the same.

Even this 28-inch bicycle was the only one left in the bike shed.

This convoy was quite diverse.

Some drove modified off-road vehicles, buses, or rode motorcycles.

There were even people driving old people's mobility scooters and electric scooters.

Of course, there were also many bicycle riders.

After all, a bicycle's migration capability and carrying capacity were far superior to just using two legs.

People in this convoy had to strictly remember two iron rules!

First: Don't fall behind! Don't fall behind! Don't fall behind!!!

Second: Stockpile as many supplies as possible!!!

The first iron rule took priority over the second.

Without supplies, there were still ways to survive.

Because there would always be some kind people who would help you.

Or perhaps...

If you fell behind, only death awaited you.

Most people in the convoy were survivors who had escaped from Jiangcheng.

They planned to go to Shanghai.

As one of the country's top major cities, everyone believed Shanghai must have ways to deal with the supernatural.

But before they even reached their destination, they heard the news on the radio.

Shanghai had already become an uninhabited zone.

That was one of the country's top major cities, with tens of millions of people in just one city.

And now...

Hearing this news, desperate sobbing sounds came from the surroundings.

The small flames of hope that had been in people's eyes before had now turned into ashen despair.

The convoy advanced in this extremely low atmosphere.

An indescribable mood permeated the convoy.

Night fell, and the convoy camped.

The blood moon quietly rose into the sky, hanging on the treetops, casting a bloody veil between heaven and earth.

Supernatural aura instantly permeated the land, and the survivors suppressed their sobs, as if afraid of disturbing some unknowable supernatural beings in the depths of the darkness.

Night was when the supernatural were most active.

Faint cries for help came from the towns in the distance that had become human forbidden zones, luring humans to come to the rescue.

Similar tactics were common among the supernatural.

Chen Ye took the bundle from the back seat of his 28-inch bicycle, found his camping pot and portable gas stove, along with half a bottle of mineral water.

The camping pot and portable gas stove were items Chen Ye had collected during his escape.

Along with these, he had also collected a hand crossbow at his waist.

In such a chaotic apocalypse, sometimes humans were more terrifying than the supernatural.

He tore open the packaging, threw the noodle block into the pot, poured in half the bottle of mineral water, and lit the portable gas stove.

Blue flames licked the bottom of the pot, and bubbles slowly began to form in the water.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Ye added a sausage before he was satisfied.

This was the last canister of gas. Once this canister was used up, it would be difficult to eat anything hot in the future.

Steam rose from the pot, and the aroma of instant noodles slowly drifted out.

As steam slowly rose from the camping pot, Chen Ye fell into thought.

Now that Shanghai had fallen and become an uninhabited zone.

Which way should he go in the future?

He remembered seeing a post online before the supernatural outbreak.

The post said: "Supernatural beings cannot be killed. Only by awakening to sequence superpowers can one kill supernatural beings!"

At the time, he didn't believe this, thinking it was some mentally ill person being abstract.

After the supernatural outbreak.

He had shot a supernatural being with his hand crossbow.

The result was completely ineffective!

Sequence superpowers!?

The post said there were many ways to awaken to supernatural sequences.

Some people suddenly awakened without any warning.

Others could awaken by injecting something called sequence serum.

The post said there were hundreds of sequences, each with different abilities.

He was really curious~~~

What exactly were sequence superpowers like?

The portable gas stove pot emitted the aroma of instant noodles.

Chen Ye used to really dislike eating instant noodles.

But in the current environment, being able to eat instant noodles was already good enough.

Yet even this bowl of instant noodles was something many people didn't have.

Many survivors around, smelling the aroma of instant noodles, couldn't help but swallow saliva, their eyes revealing greed.

If Chen Ye hadn't raised his hand crossbow, someone probably would have already come to snatch it.

After all, some people hadn't eaten for a whole day.

He quickly finished the bowl of instant noodles.

Throughout the entire process, Chen Ye never put down the hand crossbow in his hand.

Washing dishes was such a luxury that it would have to wait until he found sufficient water sources.

Every drop of water was extremely precious now.

He lit the last cigarette in the cigarette pack, crumpled the empty pack, and threw it away.

In this apocalyptic context, cigarettes had also become scarce supplies - smoke one, and there was one less.

The faintly glowing flame illuminated the contours of Chen Ye's profile.

The mellow aroma wandered between his mouth and nose, slightly alleviating Chen Ye's anxiety and confusion.

He smoked the cigarette until it started tasting burnt before discarding it.

As night fell, Chen Ye planned to find the blanket he had collected from the villa area from his bag to get through the night.

Just as his hand touched the blanket.

A message appeared in Chen Ye's mind.

Upgrade?

A quarter hour later, Chen Ye understood the meaning represented by the line of text he saw.

What he had awakened wasn't a sequence ability, but an upgrade system.

As long as he was willing, he could upgrade any item he touched.

Like the blanket in his hand, the hand crossbow at his waist, or even the portable gas stove he just used for cooking.

The only requirement was that it needed kill points.

As long as he had enough kill points, he could even upgrade the blanket into a magic carpet.

After the initial joy, Chen Ye felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over him from head to toe.

He didn't have any kill points at all.

Just as Chen Ye was feeling disappointed, another line of information appeared.

It could even lend points?

Without even thinking, Chen Ye directly clicked to confirm the loan.

In such an apocalyptic situation, where he might be killed by supernatural beings tomorrow, not borrowing now would be foolish.

With kill points, Chen Ye looked at his 28-inch bicycle.

For his current self, this 28-inch bicycle was his most important asset.

Upgrading this 28-inch bicycle was definitely the most cost-effective plan.

Chen Ye had personally witnessed those who fell behind never catching up again.

The convoy's first iron rule: Don't fall behind! Don't fall behind! Don't fall behind!!!

Chen Ye tried sending this command to the system in his mind.

Soon the system responded.

Chen Ye immediately confirmed.

An hourglass countdown appeared above the 28-inch bicycle.

The apocalyptic night seemed quiet.

Perhaps because human activities had stopped.

Even the stars in the sky seemed more numerous.

If not for the occasional sobbing sounds around him, Chen Ye would have thought this world had never changed.

The horizon began to brighten with the first light of dawn.

A system notification startled Chen Ye.