“Confirm appraisal.”

Chen Ye gave the mental command. The System responded instantly.

[–100 Slaughter Points] [Appraising…] [Appraisal Complete.]

[Item Name: Scalp of the Skin-Peeler Ghost] [Type: Artifact Material] [Description: A material capable of forging powerful Artifacts with effects beyond mortal comprehension.] [Origin: Harvested from a Skin-Peeler Ghost by a Sequence 3 ‘Discipline Holder’ of the Buddha Path. After the Beyonder fell in battle, this item was scavenged by a survivor and eventually fell into the hands of Captain Chu Che.] [Analysis: Extremely Rare. The resulting Artifact will likely be ranked within the Top 2000. Warning: High probability of negative side effects.]

Ranked within the Top 2000?

Chen Ye’s heart skipped a beat.

Captain Chu’s Eavesdropping Radio was ranked #1257. While this material might not produce something quite that powerful, it was still in the same league.

This was a genuine Artifact.

According to Chu, these items were vanishingly rare. Even he had only stumbled upon the radio by sheer dumb luck. Nana reportedly had one—her sword, most likely—but it was ranked outside the top 3000. Iron Lion didn’t have one at all.

That made this scrap of skin priceless.

“You want this?”

Captain Chu looked at him. It was a question, but his expression screamed: I knew you’d come crawling back for this.

Looking at that smug, punchable face, Chen Ye had a strong urge to hawk a thick glob of phlegm right between the Captain’s eyes.

But he needed the goods. He swallowed his disgust—and his greed. He couldn’t let Chu see how much he wanted it.

“How much?” Chen Ye asked flatly.

Chu Che didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he reached for a plastic glove, pulled it on with theatrical slowness, and then picked up the red leather.

Motherfucker.

Chen Ye almost twitched. Just a minute ago you were tossing that thing around like a dirty rag. Now that I want it, you’re treating it like radioactive waste?

Your heart is truly black, Captain.

Seeing the skin up close, Chen Ye’s perception shifted. It wasn’t just leather. The red was too deep, too visceral—like it had been soaking in a pool of blood for centuries.

And the texture… it was unmistakably human. The pore structure matched his own skin perfectly.

“Since you have an eye for quality, I won’t lie to you,” Chu Che said, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “I don’t actually know where it came from.”

Chen Ye stared at him. “…”

“But I know it’s cursed. The survivor who brought this into the convoy? He died in his tent the next morning. Every inch of skin on his body had been peeled off. Cleanly.”

Chu Che held the skin up to the light. “I was going to throw it away, but… I had a feeling it might be valuable. So I kept it.”

“I was saving it to trade with a high-level convoy, but since you want it, I’ll let you have it.”

Chen Ye listened to the sales pitch with a stone face. The backstory was terrifying, but the intent was clear: This is going to cost you.

“Price,” Chen Ye said.

Chu Che smiled. “I want your ‘Spicy Fish Head’.”

He meant the Mini EV.

Chen Ye stood up, turned around, and walked toward the exit without a word.

“Wait! Wait!” Chu Che scrambled up. “Don’t be so hasty! We can negotiate! Young people these days, no patience…”

Half an hour later.

Chen Ye walked out of the tent, his inventory lighter but his spirit soaring.

He had paid a heavy price:

44 lbs of Rice.

22 lbs of Flour.

A case of instant noodles.

A case of mineral water.

Two jars of Lao Gan Ma chili sauce.

Ten sausages, ten spiced eggs, and 5.5 lbs of cured bacon.

In exchange, he got the Skin-Peeler Ghost’s Scalp and the broken solar charging panel, which Chu threw in as a “gift” to seal the deal.

“Yezi, don’t look at me like that,” Chu Che called out as he counted the sausages. “I have a whole convoy to feed. This barely covers snacks!”

You feed the convoy?

Chen Ye rolled his eyes. Chu had given the refugees free food for exactly two days before cutting them off.

He ignored the Captain and stepped out into the night.

Outside, he ran into Uncle Abao walking two massive black dogs. These were the dogs Chen Ye had recommended for their Black Dog Blood—a potent counter to supernatural entities.

The dogs looked miserable. Once sleek and muscular, they were now skin and bones, stumbling in the sand. Clearly, that vampire Chu Che had been draining them regularly for ammunition.

Further down, Nana staggered past, a beer in one hand, her sword hand resting on her hip.

She raised the can in a sloppy toast. “Yezi. Drink?”

“Pass. Enjoy yourself.”

Chen Ye didn’t know when everyone had started calling him “Yezi,” but he didn’t hate it.

He returned to his armored tricycle. The System countdown showed nine hours remaining for the upgrade.

He was about to climb into the cargo bed to rest when a shadow detached itself from the darkness.

A figure stood there, shivering violently in the freezing wind.

“Who’s there?”

Chen Ye’s hand snapped to the handle of his Heavy Machete.

“It’s… it’s me.”

The figure stepped into the pale light of the blood moon. Her face was white with cold, her teeth chattering.

Even under the eerie red light, she was stunning.

It was Xu Lina.

The convoy wasn’t that big. A woman with her curves and temperament stood out like a diamond in a coal pile. Unless you were asexual like Captain Chu, you noticed her.

“You…” Chen Ye relaxed his grip slightly.

Xu Lina lifted her chin, letting the moonlight highlight her delicate features.

“I… I’m Xu Lina,” she stammered, her voice trembling.

She introduced herself as if she were a nobody, ignoring her fame within the camp. It was a calculated move—playing the humble, invisible girl to trigger a man’s protective instinct.

A hunter disguised as prey is the deadliest hunter of all.

“I… came to… warn you,” she said, hugging herself to stop the shaking. “Someone… someone is planning to hurt you. You need to… be careful.”

She stomped her little feet to stay warm, clouds of white vapor puffing from her lips. She looked pitiful, fragile, and incredibly pitiable.

“You came out here in this freeze just to tell me that?”

Chen Ye looked her up and down. He had to admit, even shivering like a wet dog, she was a knockout. She had a soft, feminine vulnerability that the Zhou sisters lacked—the kind that made a man want to hold her, or perhaps bully her.

“Yes,” she whispered. “You’re a… good person. I don’t want to see a good person get hurt.”

The subtext was loud and clear: I would do this for anyone. I’m just that kind-hearted.

“Who is targeting me?” Chen Ye asked bluntly.

“I… I can’t say.” She bit her lip, looking away. “If I say it, they’ll target me. And if you know, you’ll fight them. I… I just don’t want anyone to get hurt. The world is cruel enough already.”

The smell of Green Tea is overwhelming.

Chen Ye scoffed internally. She was playing the “innocent saint” card to perfection. She gave him the intel but withheld the name to keep her hands clean and maintain her harmless image.

Xu Lina saw Chen Ye staring at her blankly and cursed internally. This dog of a man. I’m freezing my tits off here. Aren’t you going to offer me some food as a thank you?

She waited a beat. Nothing.

Feeling the awkwardness rising, she turned to leave. “I just wanted you to know. I didn’t come here for anything else.”

Just as she pivoted, Chen Ye reached into his jacket and pulled out a Snickers bar.

“Here.”

Xu Lina stopped. She stared at the candy bar, her throat moving as she swallowed hard.

Before the apocalypse, she wouldn’t have touched such a calorie bomb. It was poison for her figure.

But now? It was life.

Her mouth flooded with saliva. Her stomach cramped with desire. But she forced herself to look away.

“No,” she said, her voice shaking with genuine effort. “I… I told you because I didn’t want you to get hurt. Not because I wanted a reward.”

“That’s all. Rest… rest early. Goodnight.”

She twisted her waist and ran into the darkness, fleeing before her hunger could overpower her performance. She was afraid if she stayed one second longer, she would snatch the bar and ruin the elegant image she had crafted.

Chen Ye watched her retreating figure, a cynical smirk curling his lips.

“That woman… her level is high,” he muttered. “I wonder what she did before the world ended? She’s a pro.”

He tossed the Snickers bar in his hand, then pocketed it.

He climbed into the tricycle’s cargo bed and sat in the dark.

He fumbled around until his hand closed over a dry, wooden object.

The Willow Branch.

An idea had struck him during the appraisal of the scalp. If the System could identify the ghost skin, could it identify this branch from the Great Willow in Longevity Village?

What exactly was that tree?

And more importantly… if he combined the Skin-Peeler Ghost’s Scalp with this Willow Branch during the crafting process…

Would he create an Artifact ranked even higher than the top 2000?