Chapter 65: The upgrade of the strange item is completed

The convoy started moving.

Leading the way was Captain Chu's modified off-road vehicle with the word "Fairness" painted in red on its body.

Following closely behind was the pink-haired, long-legged high school girl with a drinking problem.

Through the window, Chen Ye saw that this woman had gotten drunk again, passed out in the passenger seat.

He really didn't understand how this woman managed to be drunk for twenty out of twenty-four hours every day.

When she noticed Chen Ye looking at her, the woman shook her beer can at him.

Chen Ye raised his cigarette in response—a moment of mutual understanding between a chain-smoker and an alcoholic.

The Mopar pickup truck vibrated slightly as it shifted gears and started moving.

This large pickup truck with distinct apocalyptic styling followed behind the long-legged girl's vehicle like a massive beast.

And even numerous flaws.

For Chen Ye, this was the best vehicle one could have in the apocalypse.

Many survivors cast envious glances, wishing they could drag Chen Ye out of the vehicle and take his place.

Finding such a vehicle in the apocalypse was something most people couldn't even dream of.

Sitting inside the vehicle, he could see the endless desert stretching in all directions.

Aside from their convoy, there were no other signs of human presence around.

This would have been absolutely impossible before the apocalypse.

Before the end times, even in the most remote areas of this land, you could still find traces of human civilization.

It seemed like in just a few months, this land had transformed into something unrecognizable.

Chen Ye always had a feeling that this apocalypse might not be as simple as it seemed.

Take this harsh desert weather, for example.

The daytime temperatures could literally heat you to death.

While the nighttime temperatures could freeze you to death.

Such extreme weather patterns were unheard of before.

Then there were those anomalous creatures.

They definitely weren't organisms that should exist on Earth.

Some survivors had speculated that unknown dimensions might be merging with Earth's space.

Others guessed it could be a spiritual energy resurgence.

There were all kinds of theories floating around.

The weather remained unbearably hot as usual.

Chen Ye rolled down both windows, letting the scorching wind blow across the undulating sand dunes into the cabin, carrying away the sweat from his temples.

He wore black sunglasses on the bridge of his nose, blocking the intense glare from outside and giving his eyes some relief.

Before the apocalypse, these sunglasses wouldn't have been anything special.

But in the current situation of severe material shortages, many people envied Chen Ye's sunglasses.

Some had even tried to trade for them, but Chen Ye had refused all offers.

On his feet, he wore flip-flops.

His previous shoes had been lost during the major vehicle accident—when he got out to search for a new vehicle, the soles had melted off from the heat, forcing Chen Ye to wear flip-flops ever since.

What bothered Chen Ye even more was the smell on his body.

It had been months since his last proper bath.

The odor was truly unbearable.

Flicking his cigarette butt out the window, he kept one hand on the steering wheel while reaching to the passenger seat with the other to grab a bottle of water.

He drank the last remaining water in one gulp.

Feeling his mouth slightly moistened, he carefully tucked the empty bottle under the passenger seat.

Before the apocalypse, Chen Ye would have casually tossed such bottles into the trash.

But now, even these empty bottles counted as valuable resources.

Who knew when they might find a new water source?

These would become containers for storing water when that time came.

Chen Ye had already collected dozens of such empty bottles.

As time passed, the initial excitement of driving gradually faded.

Instead, Chen Ye began to feel somewhat bored.

If only he had a radio now to play some music.

Or even better, if he could install a car air conditioner—that would be perfect!

Also, this vehicle was way too stiff.

He could feel every small pebble on the road transmitting clearly through to his back.

The minimal shock absorption he'd designed into it didn't really help much.

Perhaps this was just human nature—never being satisfied.

First he wanted a vehicle, and after getting one, he immediately wanted better comforts.

Noticing the convoy gradually slowing down.

He leaned out to look and saw two vehicles parked by the roadside ahead.

They were two completely burned-out vehicles, reduced to nothing but charred frames.

Captain Chu's vehicle had already come to a stop.

A young man came running out from the vehicle.

Chen Ye recognized him—he was the third person in Captain Chu's vehicle.

There were three people total in Captain Chu's vehicle: Old Bao usually handled miscellaneous convoy matters for Captain Chu, while Captain Chu himself typically didn't involve himself in convoy affairs.

The third person was this young man called Xiao Wang, who served as Old Bao's assistant—sometimes helping with driving, other times assisting Old Bao with various tasks.

He'd always heard Old Bao refer to him as "Xiao Wang."

Essentially serving as the convoy assistant.

The pink-haired long-legged girl's vehicle had only two people including herself—besides the long-legged girl, the other person was called "Xiao Yu."

She was a petite girl under 150 cm tall, wearing black-framed glasses, and reportedly even younger than the pink-haired long-legged girl.

Twice, Chen Ye had seen this short girl struggling to drag the long-legged girl into their vehicle.

He'd even overheard the short girl calling Nana "cousin."

Chen Ye had even seen this petite girl driving the modified off-road vehicle.

If you didn't look carefully, you might think the vehicle was driving itself.

Under Chen Ye's watchful gaze, Xiao Wang quickly ran up to the two burned-out vehicle frames.

Seeing this, Chen Ye parked his vehicle properly and jumped out.

Nowadays, whenever he saw vehicles, his eyes would light up—who knew what useful items might be inside them?

Gathering supplies was the first rule of apocalyptic survival.

Others were getting out of their vehicles behind him, probably thinking along the same lines—checking just in case there might be something useful.

"Brother Ye!"

Xiao Wang was inspecting the situation and quickly greeted Chen Ye when he saw him approaching.

Chen Ye nodded, examining the two vehicle frames before him.

Both vehicles had been thoroughly burned, with nothing salvageable left inside.

Each vehicle contained two corpses, already partially carbonized from the intense heat.

Finding nothing useful, Chen Ye returned to his vehicle disappointed.

The others were equally disappointed.

The convoy started moving again.

After this minor interruption, the convoy returned to its previous lifeless atmosphere.

No one knew where they would rest tonight.

No one knew when this kind of life would end.

No one knew when this migration would finally conclude.

Everyone gazed despairingly at the endless desert.

Just then, horn sounds came from the front.

"Attention everyone! Route change—we need to leave the paved road!"

"Attention! We need to leave the paved road!"

This meant the convoy was leaving the highway.

This information immediately disrupted many people's rhythms.

The Zhou Sisters and people from another small car visibly changed expressions.

Driving on sand surfaces was completely different from driving on paved roads.

The other off-road vehicles could manage fine.

But the small cars would clearly struggle much more.

The convoy gradually came to a stop.

Many people went to ask Old Bao for explanations.

Chen Ye, cigarette in mouth, went to find Captain Chu.

Nana and Iron Lion also gathered around.

Captain Chu's expression looked somewhat troubled.

"No choice—there's danger ahead. If we proceed now, we might not have any survivors!"

"That dangerous?"

Chen Ye flicked his cigarette ash, his expression turning more serious.

"Extremely dangerous. Although our convoy has four Sequence Superpower users, if we encounter more powerful Anomalies, none of you might be a match for them!"

Captain Chu said earnestly.

"Alright, alright, leaving the highway it is then. Our vehicle can handle it!"

The pink-haired, long-legged high school alcoholic girl swayed as she spoke.

Probably because she'd drunk too much, she could barely stand steady, reaching out to support herself on Chen Ye's shoulder while giggling foolishly.

Chen Ye could only shrug helplessly.

Unaware that from the yellow school bus behind them, a pair of charming eyes watched with a hint of jealousy.

"Alright, everyone, don't worry too much. We'll be safe as long as we don't proceed forward. Everyone return to your vehicles and let some air out of your tires."

When driving in desert conditions, you needed to adjust tire pressure according to the sand conditions.

Chen Ye also returned to his vehicle, letting some air out of all four tires before returning to the driver's cabin.

After the convoy left the highway, everyone felt somewhat nervous at first.

But they quickly adapted.

The Zhou Sisters' sedan got stuck in the sand once.

Nana's vehicle pulled them out.

Night gradually fell.

But Captain Chu still hadn't given the order to stop.

A tense atmosphere permeated the convoy.

Chen Ye kept a cigarette constantly at his lips, the cabin filled with smoke.

The smoke was his weapon—within the range covered by his Smoke Breath, Chen Ye could detect everything happening in that area.

This smoke essentially served as Chen Ye's eyes.

There were still a few hours left before the machete's upgrade would complete.

Fortunately, when the blood moon hung high in the sky, Captain Chu finally announced they could rest.

It was only from Captain Chu that they learned it was already 9 PM.

In just half an hour, the first Wonder would complete its upgrade.