Chapter 38: Weird Extreme Weather

Chu Che maintained constant awareness of the anomalous energies throughout the night, not daring to relax even slightly.

At this moment, he was like a skilled martial artist dancing on the tips of blades—one misstep could cost him his life.

The relentless rain outside beat against the car windows with a continuous "pitter-patter."

Chu Che knew that after this ordeal, the convoy's personnel had been reduced by at least half, possibly even more.

On such a stormy night, it was easy to imagine many falling behind and failing to keep up.

Even though Chu Che found it unbearable, he still couldn't change any of it.

Chu Che could sense that some of the anomalous energies following the convoy had stopped tracking them.

He closed his eyes slightly, a flicker of pain crossing his face.

He could imagine what had happened.

The anomalies had followed the convoy's trail and found those stranded survivors.

They could now begin a delightful hunt or picnic.

These left-behind survivors would slow down the anomalies, allowing the rest of the convoy to escape safely.

With new food or toys acquired, the anomalies would likely abandon their pursuit of the convoy.

This was precisely why Chu Che always tried to bring along those survivors traveling on foot.

When a gecko encounters danger, it chooses to sever its tail to distract predators and make a clean escape.

Those foot-bound survivors were the gecko's severed tail.

But this secret was known to no one except himself.

Perhaps Nana could guess, but she had never questioned Chu Che about it.

When the first light of dawn appeared on the horizon, the tension finally eased from Chu Che's expression.

In his perception, the nearest anomaly was now over twenty kilometers away.

That distance was sufficiently safe.

A wave of exhaustion washed over him, and Chu Che was nearly at his limit.

Spotting a road sign ahead with two large characters: "Yanzhou!"

They had actually reached this place.

Chu Che felt a slight shock inwardly, surprised they had arrived so quickly.

When Chu Che saw a brilliant rainbow appearing not far away, he was at a loss for words.

But it was currently winter!

A wave of scorching summer heat struck him, and Chu Che was startled once more!

It was late November.

How could it be this hot!

This... was absolutely abnormal!!!

"Yanzhou? This is Yanzhou?"

"I actually reached Yanzhou?!"

Chen Ye stared at the road sign before him and the endless desert beyond, momentarily stunned.

He had actually reached Yanzhou already?

Without realizing it, he had traveled so far—from Jiangcheng to Yanzhou?

He remembered learning in school that Yanzhou's topography was quite distinctive, featuring mountains, river valleys, plateaus, gobi deserts, and sandy deserts among various landforms.

But at this moment, Chen Ye had no mind to appreciate the desert scenery before him.

The sky was already brightening with dawn's first light, the clouds tinged golden and incredibly brilliant.

Yet Chen Ye was in no state to admire it.

After hours of intense combat in Longevity Village, plus last night's frantic journey through the rain...

It was still late November, and the weather should have been quite cold.

Moreover, it had rained heavily throughout the entire night.

Chen Ye now felt dizzy and faint.

He had a premonition that he was about to fall seriously ill.

The heavy rain had finally stopped.

Chen Ye was completely drenched from head to toe.

His hair clung to his scalp, dripping water, while his face, eyebrows, and even eyelids were covered in rainwater.

His shoes felt heavy, clearly filled with water—with every slight movement, he could feel the sloshing inside.

Chen Ye's body trembled slightly as he stubbornly remained mounted on his motor tricycle, refusing to collapse.

Even the stunningly beautiful rainbow appearing as the sun rose failed to capture his attention.

Rainbows typically appeared frequently only in summer or autumn.

Yet here one was in late November.

The campsite finally came into view not far away.

Chen Ye forced himself to drive the motor tricycle to the camp.

The camp already had tents set up here and there, with numerous campfires burning in various spots.

The aroma of food wafted into Chen Ye's nostrils, and he greedily inhaled a couple of breaths.

A wave of dry heat swept over him, dispelling the chill from his body and providing some slight relief.

Chen Ye had reached the absolute limits of exhaustion—he couldn't bother questioning whether this sudden heat was reasonable or not.

When Chen Ye's motor tricycle arrived, several survivors glanced over before returning to their own affairs.

Their eyes were filled with confusion and despair!

Nothing about others mattered to anyone anymore.

After parking his motor tricycle, Chen Ye plopped down directly onto the scorching sand.

The dry heat continued to drive the chill from his body.

"Huff... huff... huff..."

Gasping slightly, Chen Ye pulled a pack of cigarettes from his chest pocket.

But as soon as he retrieved it, he noticed water droplets seeping from the cigarette pack.

"Damn it!"

Chen Ye set the soaked cigarette pack aside to dry.

Even completely drenched, he couldn't bear to discard the cigarettes—they could still be smoked once dried out.

Pulling out another pack, he tore off the plastic wrap and extracted one to light.

Fortunately, the plastic wrap had done its job, protecting this pack of Huazi from the rainwater.

"Inhale~~~"

He took a deep drag, consuming nearly a third of the cigarette in one go.

Feeling the nicotine circulating through his body provided some relief from the fatigue.

After smoking about a third of the cigarette, Chen Ye finally began to recover slightly.

It was only then that Chen Ye sensed something was wrong.

Why was it so hot?

It was late November—winter.

He'd never heard that Yanzhou's winters were this hot.

This wasn't the south!

Chen Ye finally began to examine his surroundings.

They were alongside the Yanzhou national highway, with vast desert stretching as far as the eye could see—his vision filled entirely with sand dunes and yellow sand.

A glaringly bright sun hung in the sky.

This was Chen Ye's first time seeing a desert in his life, and he was momentarily awestruck by the breathtaking scenery.

But Chen Ye quickly lost his appreciation.

Hot!

Extremely hot!

His previously rain-soaked body was already beginning to dry out.

His hair was already more than half dry.

Chen Ye noticed that the survivors nearby were all dressed in shorts and short-sleeves, typical summer attire.

Chen Ye also removed his jacket and jeans, hanging them on the handlebars.

He took off his shoes too, and when he turned them upside down, water poured out onto the sand and quickly disappeared.

He even stripped off his sweatshirt and long johns!

This weather was just too hot.

Chen Ye suspected this extreme weather shift was likely related to the apocalypse.

After finishing another cigarette, Chen Ye wished he could just wear his boxers.

By now, sweat was already seeping from Chen Ye's body.

After quickly eating two pieces of bread to replenish his energy, Chen Ye eagerly began checking his gains from Longevity Village.

When he saw the Slaughter Points value, Chen Ye was slightly astonished.

He actually had over seven thousand Slaughter Points.