Chapter 37: Convoy

The motorized tricycle, now fully refueled, regained its mobility.

Chen Ye twisted the throttle, feeling the engine roar to life, and a deep sense of security welled up within him.

Who said men don't need security?

In this apocalypse, the fuel in the tank and the supplies in the cargo bed were the ultimate embodiment of security.

Chen Ye took a deep drag of his cigarette, blew out a smoke ring, then twisted the throttle. The tricycle emitted a feeble roar before slowly starting to move.

It had to be said, the power of Chen Ye's motorized tricycle was still quite lacking.

Even with Chen Ye pushing the throttle to its limit, he still couldn't keep up with the off-road vehicles and bus ahead.

This time, the convoy's personnel had diminished once again.

Nearly forty to fifty survivors had entered Longevity Village.

Over thirty people remained permanently in Longevity Village.

Many of them were survivors who had previously escaped from Deer City.

These survivors had the least supplies, hence their desire to obtain resources was the most intense.

For those survivors who didn't make it out of Longevity Village, their loved ones who waited at the village entrance never saw them emerge, remaining there forever.

With their closest relatives not returning from Longevity Village, these people lost their will to live...

The remaining survivors had no time for grief, everyone was hastily gathering their belongings, rushing to follow the convoy.

The survivors who had previously escaped from Deer City possessed one car and two motorcycles.

Through the car window, Chen Ye noticed that the driver of this Deer City escape vehicle had changed.

Presumably, the original owner of this car had remained in Longevity Village.

Combined with the convoy's original two modified off-road vehicles, one bus, one sedan, one low-speed electric vehicle, three motorcycles, and Chen Ye's motorized tricycle.

Thus, while the convoy appeared smaller in numbers, there were still quite a few various vehicles in the fleet.

Several bicycles also followed at the very rear of the convoy.

The low-speed electric vehicle particularly caught Chen Ye's attention.

Since Chen Ye joined the convoy, this low-speed electric vehicle had always been present, and until now, it had never fallen behind.

Chen Ye knew the owner of this low-speed electric vehicle - an old man surnamed Zhang.

This old man was always cheerful, with quite a sharp tongue, and nobody knew how he managed to keep it charged.

All vehicles in the convoy began moving.

Under the setting sun, they formed a long procession.

Only the Zhou sisters' car remained stationary, unable to move.

Inside the sedan at that moment.

Zhou Lan and Zhou Xiaoxiao appeared utterly disheveled.

Not only were their clothes tattered and torn, but they also bore numerous injuries, looking quite pitiable.

Especially Zhou Lan's large, dewy eyes - no wonder she had become such a popular celebrity.

"Sis, what should we do? We're out of gas, the car won't move!"

Zhou Xiaoxiao said anxiously, her voice carrying a note of vulnerability.

This tomboy seemed to have become somewhat softer after the Longevity Village incident.

Within the convoy, it was this sedan that made the Zhou sisters stand out, distinguishing them from other survivors.

Without gasoline, this car would be essentially scrapped, and the sisters would become no different from other survivors.

"Sis, maybe I should go ask Chen Ye to lend us some!"

Zhou Xiaoxiao had seen Old Bao give Chen Ye a container of gasoline earlier.

For some reason, after having asked once before.

Zhou Xiaoxiao felt that asking Chen Ye again wasn't such a difficult thing to do.

"Xiaoxiao, do you think Chen Ye would lend it to us?"

Zhou Lan spoke up.

Back in the village, Zhou Xiaoxiao had already asked Chen Ye once.

Zhou Xiaoxiao naturally understood what her sister meant - Chen Ye hadn't extended help at that time.

Zhou Xiaoxiao glanced at the motorized tricycle outside the window, her expression quite complex.

"Sis, I'll just apologize to him, okay? He's a grown man, surely he won't hold a grudge against a young girl like me!"

As she spoke these last words, Zhou Xiaoxiao's voice grew quieter and less confident.

Chen Ye wasn't like those sycophants who used to surround her.

From the moment he unhesitatingly used that old woman as a human shield, Zhou Xiaoxiao knew Chen Ye was ruthless and merciless.

And now it was already the apocalypse.

Zhou Lan didn't know what to say, opening the car door and rummaging through the trunk.

Other survivors had already packed their belongings and were passing by the sisters' car.

Although these people found the sisters' behavior strange, nobody stopped, each face showing tense expressions.

Some rode tricycles, while others drove low-speed electric vehicles.

Some relied solely on their own two legs.

But nobody wanted to be left behind.

"Sis, what are you doing?"

Zhou Xiaoxiao asked, enduring the pain from her wounds, as her sister searched through the trunk.

Soon, Zhou Xiaoxiao saw her sister mysteriously pull out a gasoline container from the trunk.

When she saw this container, Zhou Xiaoxiao even forgot about her wounds.

"Sis, when did you hide this? You're amazing!"

This container of gasoline was something Zhou Lan had hidden during their last supply run, something even her younger sister Zhou Xiaoxiao didn't know about.

She had prepared it precisely for moments like this.

And so, the Zhou sisters' car also began to move.

The convoy had already started gradually accelerating.

This posed problems for survivors without any transportation, who could only grit their teeth and persevere.

These pedestrian survivors weren't unwilling to ride in vehicles or share transportation with others.

It's just that in the convoy, any assistance came at a cost.

Moreover, every vehicle in the convoy was already full, with no extra space available.

Fortunately, Captain Chu had chosen a relatively good route - a national highway with decent road conditions and no villages nearby.

A gentle breeze carrying a slight chill felt quite comfortable on the skin.

Occasionally, they encountered several vehicles parked by the roadside.

Initially, when seeing these vehicles, some survivors would ecstatically run toward them, only to return disappointed shortly after.

Chen Ye considered checking if these vehicles still had fuel in their tanks.

But the convoy was moving too fast, leaving Chen Ye no time to investigate.

Fortunately, the road conditions remained good.

If they were on rural dirt roads.

Not just the pedestrian survivors, but even Chen Ye would fall behind.

This motorized tricycle simply couldn't handle off-road conditions.

Just then, Chen Ye felt a slight coolness on his face.

Wiping his face with his hand, he found moisture on his fingers.

Chen Ye's expression immediately darkened.

Damn it...

Was it going to rain?

My vehicle hasn't been upgraded with a canopy yet.

At the same time, Captain Chu's expression also looked quite grim.

In Captain Chu's perception, anomalous energies surrounded the convoy from all directions.

Some were relatively close, while others were farther away.

The closest anomaly was trailing about seven or eight kilometers behind the convoy, rapidly approaching.

Captain Chu ordered the convoy to accelerate.

As Captain Chu sped up, the remaining vehicles also began accelerating.

The convoy's second acceleration spell trouble for those survivors without transportation.

Chu Che was already prepared to abandon these survivors.

And Chen Ye wasn't having an easy time either.

His motorized tricycle was already at full throttle, yet the distance to the four-wheeled vehicles kept increasing.

Even the motorcycles could leave Chen Ye behind.

The rain intensified, soaking Chen Ye's clothes, then his pants and shoes.

Chen Ye felt completely drenched, as if immersed in rainwater.

The vehicles ahead grew increasingly distant.

The survivors behind were also left far behind by Chen Ye.

The heavy rain obscured Chen Ye's vision.

Chen Ye wiped his face with his hand, flicking away the rainwater to gain brief moments of clear sight.

His ears were filled with the constant patter of raindrops.

The sky was layered with dark clouds, occasionally illuminated by flashes of lightning.

Chen Ye drove his motorized tricycle alone through the pouring rain.

Between heaven and earth, aside from the torrential downpour, there was only Chen Ye's solitary figure.

Chen Ye knew he couldn't stop - if he did, something terrifying would surely happen.

Based on his understanding of the pathfinder.

Chen Ye knew Chu Che wouldn't act this way without reason!

Fortunately, Chen Ye could still faintly see the distant red taillights, preventing him from losing the convoy.

At that moment, Chen Ye had only one thought: once they stopped, he must upgrade his tricycle with a cabin.

He also needed to upgrade the vehicle's power to avoid being left behind by the convoy in the future.

Ideally, he should upgrade the tricycle to a four-wheeled vehicle.

And he needed to spend three thousand Slaughter Points to exchange for the method to awaken Sequence Superpowers.

He wondered if he had enough Slaughter Points this time!