Chapter 7: Escape

Ever since the Anomalies erupted, humanity had never beaten them.

Anomalies could not be killed.

Only Sequence Superpowers could deal with them.

But everything he had just seen cast a shadow over Chen Ye’s mind.

That Muscular Devil Man had been undeniably strong, yet still helpless against the Scissor Woman.

In front of the White Dress Scissor Woman, the Muscular Devil Man looked like a child.

Chen Ye pedaled his tricycle fast, fleeing toward the town gate.

By now the sun had fully slanted west.

Shadows cast from both sides of the street covered four-fifths of the road in darkness.

Everyone was racing against time.

A dark figure flashed across a nearby rooftop.

Chen Ye only glanced once and saw a sword strapped to the figure’s back—a girl.

She moved like a legendary swordswoman, barely touching the edges of the street signs with the tips of her shoes, drifting forward like a gust of wind toward the supermarket where the fight had happened.

This… was another Sequence Superpower.

How did the convoy have so many Sequence Superpowers among them?

No time to wonder. Chen Ye had already reached the town gate and rushed past its archway.

No sooner had his group passed through the gate than a large crowd swarmed around them.

“Brother, what happened?”

“Honey, honey, are you back?”

“Little brother! Little brother! Where are you?”

A large number of people had gathered at the town gate.

Most of them were women.

There weren’t many old people or children.

In the apocalypse, the elderly and children are physically weaker, so they struggle to escape when Anomalies appear.

Adult women, on the other hand, have stamina and physical fitness only slightly lower than adult men, so they survive more easily.

Many of them clustered around Chen Ye asking questions.

Chen Ye didn’t answer; he gripped his hand crossbow and wormed his way out of the crowd, staying alert.

A man climbed down from the modified off-road vehicle at the front of the convoy.

He was dressed oddly: a hooded sweatshirt, loose jogger pants, and—strangely—no shoes.

The man’s face was solemn and cold.

He bent down, scooped a handful of dirt, and stuffed it into his mouth as if a chef tasting his latest dish.

Then his expression changed and he said, “Move! If we don’t leave now, it’ll be too late.”

After he said that, the faces of several people around him shifted as well.

They scrambled back to their vehicles, crawling and running as if some great terror was about to strike.

“What about Nana and Iron Lion?” someone asked.

“Don’t worry, they’ll catch up! Move, no more talking!”

Soon the movement of these vehicles was noticed by other survivors.

Are they leaving?

Right— it was already past five in the afternoon.

Night would come soon.

With the town so close, once darkness fell and the town’s Anomalies came out, everyone in the convoy would die.

“No! My husband hasn’t come back yet—you can’t leave!”

“Please, my brother isn’t back either! Don’t abandon us!”

Some panicked and even tried to block the convoy.

“You want to die? Get out of the way!”

The modified off-road ignored the blockers and accelerated wildly.

Chen Ye’s face changed and he prepared to pedal after them.

A middle-aged aunt suddenly grabbed the handlebars of Chen Ye’s tricycle.

“Young man, you can’t leave! Take us with you. We’re old—if you don’t take us, we won’t survive!”

Chen Ye frowned; a flash of disgust crossed his eyes.

He loathed this middle-aged aunt’s behavior.

Before the apocalypse many of these retired aunties’ pensions were practically higher than his salary.

They were energetic—either doing square dances or rushing supermarkets to snatch eggs.

Now they clung to age to demand a ride on his tricycle.

“Get lost!”

“Young man, do you even know what respecting elders and caring for the young means…”

Bang!

Chen Ye kicked the self-important aunt into a nearby drainage ditch.

He stamped on the tricycle and sped after the convoy.

A string of curses rose from behind him.

Seems like the apocalypse arriving so suddenly wasn’t all good—many people, like the Yoga Pants Woman, hadn’t fully adapted to the apocalypse’s rules.

The lead off‑roader picked up speed, abandoning its usual slow pace.

Survivors without vehicles quickly fell behind.

Fortunately, Chen Ye’s tricycle had an assist device; even with the cargo bed full, he could barely keep up.

At that moment, a bus lurched and swayed out of town.

Chen Ye recognized the bus—it was part of the convoy.

Earlier it had been packed, but now through the windows it looked noticeably emptier.

One survivor tried to stop the bus and was run over and flung away, his fate unknown.

The bus seemed like it had fire behind it—its accelerator floored as it chased the convoy.

Chen Ye stood and pedaled like mad.

His tricycle darted past several bicycles and dangled far behind a motorcycle.

Right then he wished more than ever that his tricycle were electric.

Maybe it was time to switch to a four-wheeler.

Refueling or recharging would be a pain, but it would be much better than this.

The tricycle kept racing.

Thanks to years of major infrastructure projects, the roads were still passable.

Even with some potholes, Chen Ye’s tricycle handled them fine.

He didn’t know why the people ahead seemed to be running madly, but he knew that if he didn’t keep up, he might die tonight.

Only today had he realized there were actually two Sequence Superpowers in the convoy.

Maybe that’s why the convoy had stayed safe until now.

Huff… wheeze…

Chen Ye was drenched in sweat; his clothes were soaked.

His lungs felt scorched, convulsing violently.

If not for the assist device, he would’ve fallen behind for sure.

Even so, the convoy ahead in his sight was reduced to a faint glimmer.

Heavy breathing came from not far behind—clearly a few cyclists were nearby.

As for those traveling on foot, he hadn’t seen any.

After who knew how long, the faint glimmer ahead seemed to stop.

A little hope sparked in his chest.

Half an hour later, Chen Ye finally rejoined the convoy.

People were getting out of the vehicles and setting up tents.

He saw a two-meter-tall Burly Man carried onto a patch of open ground, his left arm severed at the shoulder, blood staining the grass red.

By the Burly Man’s side stood a sword-carrying girl and the barefoot man.

Chen Ye’s arrival drew their glances—apparently they were surprised that the first to return was someone on a tricycle.

After parking his tricycle, Chen Ye collapsed with a somersault and panted heavily.

His chest heaved with each breath.

About five minutes later his breathing finally steadied slightly; his whole body felt like it had fallen apart.

He forced himself up, sat against the tricycle tire, and pulled out a cigarette, trembling as he lit it.

The glow illuminated Chen Ye’s silhouette.

Huff…

He exhaled a long plume of smoke and felt some of the exhaustion lift with the nicotine.

Only then did he feel a little better.

He pulled up the system and found his Slaughter Points had already exceeded twelve hundred.

Thinking back on the earlier chaos, Chen Ye had only one plan now—replace his tricycle with an electric tricycle.