Chapter 101: Two-Headed Giant

Last night's events were known by almost the entire camp.

No one expected Xue Nan would do such a thing, nor did anyone think Xue Nan possessed such courage.

The outward-turned flesh made people feel physically uncomfortable just looking at it.

Previously, wherever Xue Nan passed, survivors in the camp would subtly cast their gazes toward his face.

But now...

When Xue Nan met those people's eyes again, they all avoided his gaze.

Chen Ye also hadn't expected last night's events would have such a significant impact on him.

From the moment Mo Huairen died, Xue Nan died along with him.

Chen Ye only glanced briefly before looking away.

This morning's breakfast was as abundant as usual.

A large portion of roasted camel meat was served.

Along with a bowl of relatively thick porridge, unusually adorned with a few green specks.

These greens weren't fresh vegetables, but dehydrated vegetables.

Obtained previously from the camel train.

Before, no one would eat dehydrated vegetables.

But now, these dehydrated vegetables were something only superhumans like Chen Ye and the others could consume.

After going so long without vegetables, many people in the convoy had developed large patches of peeling skin on their lips.

Although eating meat first thing in the morning felt somewhat greasy.

But having something to eat at all was already good enough - there was no room for pickiness.

Since the convoy didn't plan to keep these camels.

Sooner or later, all these camels would become food.

Old Bao arranged for several survivors to slaughter them overnight, so the camp had been filled with the scent of blood throughout yesterday evening.

About twenty-plus survivors were assigned to this work.

Each could receive a substantial reward of camel meat from Old Bao.

The slaughtered camel meat needed simple preservation.

During times of extreme scarcity, preserving camel meat wasn't an easy task.

Another twenty-plus people were responsible for the preservation work.

Each could also receive a considerable reward.

This was the convoy's rule.

Newly joined survivors would receive some material support from Captain Chu Che.

The remaining people needed to work to earn rewards.

This was considered fair.

Therefore, this morning, the entire camp was filled with the aroma of roasted camel meat.

Many people's faces beamed with happy smiles.

"Yawn~~~~"

"Yezi, morning!"

The pink-haired girl came over yawning to eat breakfast.

This woman had slept so soundly last night that she hadn't woken up at all when the incident with Xue Nan occurred.

"Morning!"

Chen Ye kept his head down while eating meat, but still responded to the pink-haired girl.

Just then, Chu Che, Captain Chu, also emerged from his tent yawning, clearly not fully awake yet.

"Auntie Qu, aren't there any other breakfast options besides roasted camel meat?"

Seeing it was roasted camel meat again, Captain Chu couldn't help but ask.

Auntie Qu looked embarrassed: "Captain, should I cook some noodles for you?"

Because she cooked for Chen Ye and the others, Auntie Qu had become somewhat important in the camp, at least living better than many others.

"Captain, seems like you're living too well now, even complaining about meat!"

Chen Ye teased Chu Che while chewing meat and giving him a sidelong glance.

Chu Che waved his hand: "Forget it, this is fine! No need to trouble yourself. We need to hit the road after eating!"

Chen Ye rubbed his teeth, feeling there was something off about that phrasing.

"Captain Chu, what's your plan for finding that water source today?"

Chu Che frowned: "It won't be easy. After the sandstorm, many landmarks have changed. Old Man Mo's map is also quite blurry. We can only try our luck."

Despite their current decent living conditions, if they didn't find water soon, everyone would likely perish before long.

After the sandstorm, the convoy had fewer than thirty people left.

After the camel train survivors joined.

The convoy's numbers immediately increased to nearly one hundred.

This placed tremendous pressure on the convoy's supplies.

Other things were manageable.

The several dozen camels were enough to feed everyone for some time.

The main issue was drinking water.

Although they obtained considerable drinking water from the camel train, it still wasn't enough.

The ordinary survivors' water rations had been reduced to the absolute minimum.

Actually, everyone understood - the convoy had decided to abandon some people to reduce water consumption.

Xue Nan was also among those scheduled for abandonment.

Anyone not from their original vehicles could be sacrificed.

If they insisted on taking everyone, the only result would be dragging everyone to their deaths.

Unless they found water immediately.

"Hehe... everyone, long time no see!"

Just as Chen Ye and Chu Che were discussing the water source problem.

A somewhat familiar voice suddenly sounded near them.

Before Chen Ye could turn around, he heard a scream.

The roasted camel meat Auntie Qu was about to serve Chu Che fell to the ground, her entire body trembling.

She screamed in terror: "A ghost!"

Chen Ye quickly turned around.

What he saw was a tall, sturdy body.

This body stood like a wall, completely blocking the morning sunlight.

The massive body bore two heads.

One head had its eyes closed, sleeping.

The other head wore a simple, familiar, warm smile!

"Holy shit... Iron Lion, you... you..."

Chen Ye was also thoroughly shocked.

He'd previously heard Chu Che mention that one branch of the Titan Sequence was the Two-Headed Giant, but seeing it in person was still incredibly shocking.

The pink-haired girl beside him initially reached for her sword in alarm, but now stood gaping foolishly.

After a long moment, she rushed forward and slapped Iron Lion's arm heavily, her voice choked with emotion: "Big Fool, you're finally back!"

Iron Lion's appearance naturally caused quite a commotion in the camp.

This disturbance was even more shocking to the survivors than seeing Xue Nan this morning.

All survivors who saw Iron Lion's two-headed form first felt fear and terror.

Followed by curiosity, horror, and unease.

This was probably the price to pay for Titan Sequence 2.

But for Chen Ye and the others, there was mostly familiarity and warmth.

When Auntie Qu served Iron Lion breakfast, her hands trembled uncontrollably.

"Damn, buddy, I thought you were dead that day."

"Later Chu Che said you weren't dead, probably awakening the Two-Headed Giant branch, otherwise you would have been buried alive."

"Hehe... I know, Mad Lion told me everything..."

According to Iron Lion, he originally had many days left before his head would regrow.

But after eating lots of camel meat last night, which greatly aided Titan Sequence's recovery ability.

His head regenerated ahead of schedule and he woke up.

Everyone expressed renewed amazement at the Titan Sequence's recovery capabilities.

Whatever everyone asked, Iron Lion answered.

All the little secrets about the Titan Sequence were revealed, except for what he hadn't fully figured out yet.

An otherwise ordinary breakfast left everyone in relatively good spirits.

The meal lasted about half an hour.

Several quick-handed people came to collect the used plates.

Before the apocalypse, these people might have been wives of important figures, corporate executives, or housewives.

But in the apocalypse, like other survivors, they struggled to secure work opportunities.

Here, they had only one identity - survivors!

Washing dishes in the desert wasn't as convenient as usual.

They threw the plates into sand piles, where the sand would remove the grease, achieving cleaning purposes.

Plates washed with sand looked almost as clean as water-washed ones, sometimes even grease-free.

Of course, the final step was carefully wiping the plates with damp cloths.

These women helping with cleaning could also receive some reward from Old Bao.

After breakfast, Chen Ye, with a cigarette in his mouth, prepared to return to his vehicle to hit the road.

But he discovered his extremely battered pickup truck had already been "washed" by someone.

Clearly, it had been covered in dust when he returned yesterday.

Now it looked spotless - well, spotless might be an exaggeration, but it was much cleaner.

The ugly man Xue Nan stood by the vehicle, holding a dirty garment whose original color was unrecognizable, his own clothes equally dust-covered and colorless.

Xue Nan watched Chen Ye with a reserved demeanor, seemingly afraid his efforts weren't good enough.

Chen Ye noticed some parts of the man's facial wounds were still bleeding.

After some thought, he pulled a bottle of water from his vehicle and tossed it over.

Xue Nan hadn't expected Chen Ye to give him an entire bottle of water, his eyes immediately reddening.

This was a whole bottle of water - the importance of water resources in the desert went without saying.

Just as he wanted to say something, Chen Ye interrupted him.

Xue Nan gave Chen Ye a grateful look before turning to leave.

Chen Ye simply returned to his vehicle.

Giving one bottle of water was already Chen Ye's greatest act of mercy.

Expecting anything more from him was impossible.

Whether that young man could survive would depend entirely on his own fate.