“Zzzzt… The current time is 10:23 AM, October 13, 2030.” “This may be the final broadcast from this frequency.” “Shanghu has fallen. It is now classified as an uninhabited zone.” “Do not approach! Do not approach!!!” “To all fellow survivors: Do not stare at the Blood Moon for more than three seconds. Do not acknowledge […]

By the faint glimmer of light breaking on the horizon, Chen Ye saw that his “Old 28” Heavy Bike had undergone a radical transformation. The original two wheels had become three. The tires were significantly wider than before, sporting coarse, aggressive treads that screamed off-road capability. Even the spokes had thickened, reinforcing the structural integrity

What came into Chen Ye’s view was a massive, peeling archway towering over the town entrance. Faded red paint barely clung to the wood, spelling out a mockery of a greeting: “Welcome to Apricot Blossom Town!” The desolation was palpable. Beyond the archway, a long, straight street stretched into the distance. Though it was only

In the apocalypse, some people eye the supplies on the shelves, while others eye the supplies in the hands of their neighbors. While Chen Ye was inside the grocery store scavenging, he wasn’t alone. Jiajia and Qiangzi had been watching his every move. Between the two of them, they only had a single bicycle and

When Chen Ye arrived at the mall entrance, he found the parking lot cluttered with vehicles. There were modified off-road trucks, sedans, and even a heavy bus. He recognized them instantly; these belonged to the convoy. In the apocalypse, maintaining a vehicle was a logistical nightmare. Whether electric or combustion, sourcing fuel or power was

When he fled Jiang City, Chen Ye had heard the rumors. Anomalies cannot be killed. Only Sequence Beyonders can contend with them. Sequence Beyonders are humanity’s last hope. Along the arduous journey, people in the convoy whispered the same mantras. He just never expected that one of these mythical figures was actually among them. The

Anomalies could not be killed. Only Sequence Beyonders possessed the power to contend with them. Yet, the scene Chen Ye had just witnessed cast a heavy shadow over his heart. That devilish, muscle-bound giant was by no means weak—his strength was terrifying by human standards—but against the White-Dress Scissor Lady, he was utterly helpless. In

If not for that muscle-bound devil-man weakening the Anomaly, he probably wouldn’t have been able to scrape together even a thousand points. The desperate escape had seared a lesson into his mind: speed was life. Without the Power-Assist System on his tricycle, he would have been left in the dust when the convoy fled. And

The cigarette in his mouth had burned down to the filter. He casually flicked it away; in the apocalypse, no one was going to lecture him about littering. He lit another, savoring the rich, calming aroma of nicotine. With more than half his backpack filled with cigarettes, he wouldn’t be running short anytime soon. For

[Upgrade complete!] His tricycle shimmered with a faint, dull light, and when the glow faded, the vehicle before him was unrecognizable. It was no longer a bicycle. It was a Frankenstein’s monster of a motorized trike. The front half was the abandoned motorcycle Chen Ye had dragged over the previous night—handlebars, cushioned seat, and a

Nana’s announcement hit the crowd like a shockwave. Every eye in the clearing snapped to Chen Ye, filled with a potent mix of awe, disbelief, and naked envy. “Mechanic Sequence? Seriously?” “Hiss… lucky bastard!” “That makes four Sequence Beyonders in our convoy. We’re getting stronger.” Four? Chen Ye’s mind raced. So there’s one more besides

Chen Ye quickly grasped the survival laws of this convoy. While Sequence Beyonders held the power, ordinary people still made up the vast majority of the group. However, their capabilities were limited; most had barely scraped by and possessed nothing of value. Trying to trade for high-quality goods from them was an exercise in futility.

Chen Ye frowned slightly. The price quoted by the man before him was somewhat steep. In the apocalypse, food was the hardest currency, far more valuable than gold or jewels. This was especially true for raw staples like rice; most people had been surviving on processed biscuits and instant noodles for far too long. Among

“What? Sis, you gave the gasoline to that guy?” Zhou Xiaoxiao stared at his sister in disbelief, his voice rising in panic. “Sis, have you lost your mind? That’s a whole jerrycan of gasoline!” “We only have two cans total. What are we going to use if we give one to him? No way! Sis,

“Xiaoxiao, did you manage to find out what Chen Ye talked about with Captain Chu and Nana?” Zhou Lan was feeling a twinge of regret now. If she had known things would spiral like this, she never would have approached Chen Ye. First, she gave away their precious gasoline, then she let Xiaoxiao take it

The scream hit the silent camp like cold water thrown into a boiling pot. Chaos erupted instantly. Women screamed, children wailed, and men shouted in panic. Some began frantically packing, preparing to flee blindly into the dark. In a moment of distraction, Chen Ye saw a flash of sword light streak towards the source of

When Chen Ye heard this voice, he knew someone was starting to stir up trouble. It was the apocalypse, yet there were still people trying to play the gender card to make a fuss. Chen Ye sat up in the cargo bed of his motorcycle tricycle and looked in the direction of the voice. Standing

Slap! The sound was crisp and heavy, cutting through the morning air. The brat spun like a top under the force of the blow before landing hard on his backside. For a split second, there was silence, and then— “Waaaaaah!” The child’s wailing erupted, shrill and ear-piercing. In the old woman’s eyes, her grandson was

It was already early November, and the weather was turning cool. Even riding on his motorized tricycle, Chen Ye could feel the bite of the autumn breeze on his face. Next time he gathered supplies, he would need to prioritize finding cold-weather clothing. Otherwise, when true winter arrived, he might just freeze to death on

Chen Ye muttered to himself, bewildered. The apocalypse had only begun a few months ago, yet this device in front of him already bore a serial number over a thousand. Who was ranking these items? And Nana, this girl who looked no older than seventeen or eighteen—how did she know so much? Before Chen Ye

When leaving the large tent, Captain Chu sported a magnificent black eye on both the left and right sides of his face. The young Sword Immortal, Nana, shoved past Chen Ye and Iron Lion, stomping out of the tent in a huff, her cheeks puffed up with anger. Chen Ye threw Captain Chu a look

The hunchbacked old man did not merely walk away; he seemed to dissolve into the scenery, fading step by step until he vanished completely from their vision. A terrified silence descended upon the survivors. They exchanged glances, the air thick with palpable dread. “Ye, stay close to me,” Iron Lion rumbled, his voice muffled like

The silent erasure of the two survivors had zero impact on the vanguard’s pace. Neither Chen Ye nor the Sword Immortal girl paused for even a second. In this place, hesitation was a death sentence. The trio pressed on toward the Great Willow at the village center. As they ventured deeper, the pressure bearing down

When Chen Ye dropped his question, most of the survivors ignored it, too consumed by their own terror. But Zhou Xiaoxiao instinctively bristled. “That girl is just… just…” he stammered, the rebuttal dying on his lips. He wanted to argue. He needed to argue. But as he rifled through his memory, a cold realization struck

The interior of the Great Willow Mini-Mart was a survivor’s paradise. The shelves were surprisingly well-stocked, not just with the usual junk food and sodas, but with crucial staples like rice, flour, and cooking oil on the bottom racks. For a starving convoy, this was gold. Chen Ye spotted a glass counter near the entrance

“It’s 1:46 PM,” Nana announced, checking the watch on her wrist. Her face was grim. “We have just over two hours left. We must leave before 4 PM. If we’re still here when the sun sets, we’ll never leave.” The survivors’ faces fell. Time was passing terrifyingly fast. They had arrived just past 11 AM,

The three Beyonders exchanged heavy glances, reading the same vigilance and dread in each other’s eyes. The danger level of Longevity Village was several magnitudes higher than that of Apricot Blossom Town. And this was merely a village. “Let’s go in. Time is running out,” Chen Ye said, his voice low as he flicked the

The bounty within the cellar—or perhaps it was more accurate to call it a survival bunker—far exceeded their wildest imaginations. Chen Ye surmised that the Village Chief of Longevity Village must have sensed the encroaching darkness of the world long before the end arrived, hoarding these supplies in secret. Reports shouted up from the depths

The survivors cast one last, fearful glance at The Great Willow before turning on their heels. This time, they didn’t walk; they fled, footsteps hurried and desperate, aiming for the village exit. The atmosphere had shifted. The nervous whispers from before were gone, replaced by a suffocating silence. Zhou Lan and Zhou Xiaoxiao exchanged a

The “hump” on the Hunchback Thrall’s back wasn’t a deformity. It was a human head—a woman’s head, fused into the flesh, her hair matted and wild. A collective shudder ran through the survivors. Even Nana, the unflappable Sword Immortal, faltered, her blade dipping for a split second. “Save… me… save… me!” The woman’s head seemed

“Why hasn’t anyone come out yet?” “It’s already past 3:00 PM. We have less than an hour before the deadline!” “What the hell is happening inside that village?” “Are they… are they all dead?” “Impossible. There are three Sequence Beyonders in there. They can’t just die like that!” Panic was spreading like a contagion through

A few months ago, Zhou Xiaoxiao wasn’t just a survivor covered in grime. She was royalty in waiting. As the younger sister of the A-list celebrity Zhou Lan, she had been born into the spotlight. But she had more than just nepotism on her side; she had the look. If Zhou Lan was the elegant,

In the convoy’s hierarchy of power, Chen Ye was a ghost. Compared to the dazzling spectacle of the other Sequence Beyonders, he was invisible. Nana, the Sword Immortal Sequence, carried a blade that hummed with lethal energy. Moments ago, she had sliced a two-story house in half like a loaf of bread. To the survivors,

Just as Zhou Xiaoxiao opened her mouth to beg, the world screamed. A roar, deep and tectonic, drowned out her plea. The ground lurched violently, sending tremors up through the soles of their feet as if a great dragon were thrashing beneath the earth’s crust. Even the Corpse Thralls, bound by the willow vines, swayed

“16:21.” Chu Che glanced at the watch on his wrist, then raised his eyes toward the village entrance. His expression remained a mask of perfect, indifferent calm. He didn’t look like a man leading a convoy through the apocalypse. He looked like a man waiting for a bus. His gaze was serene, his posture relaxed.

“16:28.” Two minutes to the cutoff. The convoy engines were already idling, a low rumble vibrating through the desert floor. They were ready to move at a second’s notice. Despite the chorus of objections, the decision was final. The convoy was leaving. Panic began to set in among the remaining survivors. Some lost their composure

The fresh gasoline hit the tank, and the motor tricycle seemed to come alive. Chen Ye twisted the throttle. The engine responded with a rhythmic vibration that traveled up his arms, a mechanical purr that sounded better than any music. Power. Who said men didn’t need a sense of security? In the apocalypse, security wasn’t

Chu Che did not sleep. All night, his mind remained expanded, brushing against the cold, rotten auras of the [Anomalies] in the darkness. He dared not relax for a second. He felt like a martial artist dancing on the edge of a blade—one wrong step, one lapse in focus, and he would be cut in

Since entering Longevity Village, Chen Ye had been wading through a swamp of constant trouble. The battle inside the village had been a blur. Chen Ye remembered nothing but the mechanical rhythm of survival: cock the crossbow, load a bolt, fire. Cock, load, fire. At the start, he had spared a glance for the system

When Chen Ye rolled into the campsite, heads turned. The survivors stared at him with a mixture of shock and disbelief. Since the convoy had stopped to rest, he was the only straggler who had managed to catch up. “I didn’t think he’d make it,” Zhou Xiaoxiao whispered, her eyes wide. “Is he even human?”

The arrival of the [Elderly Mobility Scooter] turned every head in the camp. In this convoy, the weak were usually the first to go. The bitter grandmother and grandson duo who had antagonized Chen Ye? The grandmother had died in Longevity Village, and the seven-year-old [Brat] hadn’t been seen since the escape. He was likely

Chu Che watched the ceramic cup hit the table, his left eye twitching in a spasm of genuine emotional agony. That had been Pu’er tea. Vintage. Part of his personal collection from before the world ended. When the apocalypse broke, most people scrambled for canned food, batteries, or weapons. Chu Che had grabbed his tea

Chen Ye secured his cut of the loot: two cartons of Huazi, two cartons of Tazi, and a chaotic assortment of stray packs from lesser brands. Stacked beside the tobacco were two bottles of high-proof Baijiu and a survivalist’s holy grail of condiments: two jars of Lao Gan Ma chili crisp, soy sauce, vinegar, and

The final distribution was the largest in volume, yet it concluded with the most speed. Following the agreed 20 percent split, the supplies piled in front of Chen Ye formed a small mountain. The envy in the eyes of the surrounding survivors was palpable, a heavy, suffocating thing. If not for the terrifying presence of

Chen Ye had barely stowed his four 500ml cans of beer when Nana came knocking. The girl waved a full carton of Huazi cigarettes in the air, her grin predatory. “Yezi, four beers for a carton of Huazi. How about it? I’m letting you rob me here.” Chen Ye scoffed. During the loot split, Nana

The moment the System prompt flashed, reality dissolved. Chen Ye felt like he had been yanked out of his body and dragged into an endless river of stars. There was no pain, no sorrow, no joy—only a sensation of vast, overwhelming current. A strange energy surged through his veins, washing over him in relentless waves

Bzzt… crackle… The voice drifting from the speaker was distorted by static, but the words were clear enough. “…Nana and Chen Ye closed the deal. Four 500ml cans of beer in exchange for a carton of Lotus and a carton of Tazi cigarettes.” “…Nana feels cheated. She’s pissed. Keeps calling Chen Ye a black-hearted profiteer.”

Chen Ye would recognize that texture anywhere. It was a memory etched into his bones—the Great Willow of [Longevity Village]. In the pitch-black darkness of the covered tricycle bed, he couldn’t even see his hand in front of his face. But his fingers didn’t need light to identify the object. It was a willow branch.

Chen Ye’s revelation that he had Awakened a second Sequence drew immediate gasps from Captain Chu Che and Nana. Yet, neither of them looked envious. If anything, their expressions were heavy. The long-legged girl stared at him, her gaze complicated. “Dual Sequences? Sure, it sounds good on paper. But power comes with a price. Two

The moment the warning blared from the lead vehicle’s loudspeaker, the atmosphere in the convoy snapped tight. Engines downshifted. The convoy slowed to a crawl. Inside the SUV, Zhou Xiaoxiao grabbed a baseball bat from under the seat, her knuckles white as she peered through the windshield. But her view was completely blocked by Iron

In the apocalypse, a good vehicle wasn’t just transport; it was a mobile fortress. For a convoy constantly on the move, led by a [Pathfinder] through the most desolate routes to avoid Anomalies, a modified off-road vehicle was the ultimate status symbol. It offered cargo space, armor, and a steel barrier against the horrors of

The accident scene was a graveyard of twisted metal, a chaotic tangle of dozens of vehicles. Among the wreckage sat several high-end luxury rides. Chen Ye even spotted a Nanzi, along with a few other supercars he’d only ever ogled on TV or scrolling through his phone. Now, they were scrap. The Nanzi, once worth

As Chen Ye prepared to strip the vehicle, his eyes flickered with a sudden calculation. Why cannibalize this machine just to upgrade his tricycle? Why not attach a tow cable to the Bull Head off-roader and drag the whole thing with them? He could repair it slowly during the nightly rest stops. This alternative seemed

The survivors couldn’t understand the sudden urgency. Forty minutes had been promised, yet in the blink of an eye, the order to scatter was given. But no one voiced an objection. Even Chen Ye didn’t question Captain Chu Che’s judgment. If the Pathfinder said move, you moved. The lead vehicles rammed a path through the

By the time Chen Ye rolled into camp, he was physically shattered. His tricycle was groaning under the abuse. The cargo bed was slightly warped, crushed under the weight of the four massive all-terrain tires and the engine block. Behind him, the ‘Chili Fish Head’ Mini EV—tethered by a strained rope—had bumped into his rear

“Iron Lion’s new school bus seems to be a lemon. That half-baked mechanic in his squad can’t fix it.” “Iron Lion asked Chen Ye for help, but Chen Ye refused.” “He insisted on fixing his own tricycle first.” “What a selfish young man!” Inside the command tent, the Eavesdropping Radio broadcasted its unsolicited commentary on

Chen Ye didn’t work for free, but he didn’t welch on a deal either. He had already pocketed Iron Lion’s goods, so fixing the man’s vehicle was simply part of the transaction. As he approached, the gathered survivors set down their tools, their eyes tracking him with heavy expectation. “Yezi, you made it!” “Yeah. Came

Captain Chu Che knew exactly what Chen Ye had been up to with Iron Lion. Possessing the Eavesdropping Radio meant very little in the convoy escaped his attention. He heard the whispers, the deals, and the complaints—including the restless muttering of Xu Jiaojiao. However, Captain Chu didn’t bother himself with her. Punishing her without an

The desert was a bipolar hellscape. By day, the heat made you want to peel off your own skin. By night, the temperature plummeted so violently you wished you could wear every scrap of cloth you owned. The school bus, freshly repaired, had been sealed up tight. Windows were stuffed with rags and blankets, turning

“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

Xu Lina stomped the snow from her boots as she climbed back into the vehicle. The cold had already seeped into her bones, numbing her fingers and toes. Even her face was flushed a deep, stinging red. Under the crimson glow of the Blood Moon, the flush on her cheeks was undeniable. She had stood

Appraising the Red Leather—the Skin-Peeler Ghost’s Scalp—had cost a steep 100 Slaughter Points. Now, facing the strange willow branch, Chen Ye braced himself for another financial hit. He was mentally prepared to hemorrhage another 100 points. Although the thought made his heart ache, he didn’t hesitate. “System, appraise.” However, when the deduction notification flashed, Chen

“Pick up anything interesting last night?” Captain Chu stood by the window of his tent, a cup of clear tea in hand, watching Chen Ye work in the distance. When Chen Ye glanced over, Chu raised his cup in a silent toast. The Captain had to admit, he was genuinely surprised by Chen Ye’s vehicle.

Even a mountain of muscle like Iron Lion couldn’t hide the envy in his eyes as he stared at Chen Ye’s Doomsday Pickup. Eventually, the spectacle ended. The crowd dispersed, everyone returning to their own tents and vehicles to mind their own business. However, sticky gazes of jealousy still clung to Chen Ye’s vehicle. There

The convoy rumbled to life. Leading the charge was Captain Chu’s modified off-road vehicle, the word “FAIRNESS” painted in bold red strokes across its flank. Right behind him was the pink-haired, long-legged alcoholic. Through his window, Chen Ye saw her slumped in the passenger seat, already wasted. He genuinely wondered how she managed to maintain

After a grueling day of travel, the survivors in the convoy were pushed to the brink of collapse. Before, the asphalt road had guided them, offering a psychological crutch—a line connecting them to civilization. But now… Looking out the windows, there was nothing but endless, shifting sand. They had no idea where they were. Faint

A sandstorm? The moment those words registered, a chill shot down Chen Ye’s spine. He had never set foot in a desert before the apocalypse, but the terror of a sandstorm was common knowledge. He looked up. Hidden behind his dark sunglasses, his right pupil constricted to a pinprick. A rolling wall of earthy yellow

Chen Ye stomped the accelerator to the floor. The Doomsday Pickup was facing its ultimate test. Like a bolt fired from a heavy crossbow, the truck shot forward, screaming against the howling void chasing it. Sand lashed against the windows and scoured the chassis, a relentless hiss that sounded like the cold, mocking laughter of

Captain Chu Che’s expression was grim. The intensity of the sandstorm had far exceeded his calculations. It was the first time he had faced a natural disaster of this magnitude. Panic had clouded his judgment, leading to a near-fatal delay. Fortunately, he had corrected his course just in time. But the frown etched onto the

Held by the scruff of her neck, Zhou Xiaoxiao dangled in front of Chen Ye like a ragdoll. Her eyes bulged as she stared directly into the massive face looming before her. It was a human face, but grotesque and titan-sized. Its lips curled into an eerie, mocking grin, the corners stretching unnaturally wide until

“It hurts! It hurts!” The Human-Faced Scorpion shrieked, using a massive pincer to rub the cracked carapace where Iron Lion had smashed it. The expression on the colossal human face twisted in agony, eerily mimicking a living person. It was a sight that made the skin crawl. But then, the face on the scorpion’s carapace

That final slash had drained nearly every drop of Chen Ye’s stamina. The Human-Faced Scorpion fixed him with one last, venomous glare before the life faded from its massive frame. Under the harsh sunlight, the enormous human face began to dissolve. Then, the rest of its colossal body followed suit, breaking apart into specks of

Hearing the pink-haired girl’s exclamation, Chu Che moved with terrifying speed. He blurred, appearing almost instantly by her side, faster even than Chen Ye could react. Chen Ye’s gaze landed on the object that had caused the girl to cry out. It was a complete, flayed face. Soft, pliable skin with hollow voids where the

Seeing the System display a balance of over thirty thousand Slaughter Points, Chen Ye felt his entire world brighten. Even the crimson blood moon hanging high in the night sky seemed festive, like a lantern at a celebration. Thirty thousand points. That was enough to force a massive leap in capability. Whether he chose to

“Chen Ye, did I say you could leave?” Chen Ye had just started to rise when the pink-haired girl snatched at his pant leg, anchoring him to the spot. He frowned slightly. He wasn’t the type of man who lost the ability to walk just because a woman looked at him. Even if Nana was

“You want the Human-Faced Scorpion’s Face Skin?” Chen Ye was surprised when Nana—no, Sun Qianqian—confessed that she wanted the gruesome item. Just yesterday, when they had found the flayed face, she had recoiled in horror, refusing to even look at it. Yet before the sun had even risen, the woman had changed her tune entirely.

Since Awakening as a Sequence Beyonder, Chen Ye had dedicated every spare moment to honing his abilities. In this apocalypse, increasing one’s strength was the only reliable insurance policy against death. Unfortunately, his current training method was brutally inefficient. It involved chain-smoking, exhaling clouds of vapor, and then forcing that smoke to take the shape

Months ago, mobile phones had turned into useless bricks. Later, after the fall of Shanghu, the radios fell silent, catching nothing but static. The survivors in the convoy were effectively blind and deaf to the outside world. They had no idea what was happening beyond the horizon. So, when Chu Che revealed he had obtained

From the outside, the Doomsday Pickup didn’t look much different after the upgrade. The only visible change was a sleek solar panel mounted on the roof of the cockpit. Inside, however, the dashboard now sported a new array of switches and a digital battery display. By connecting the roof panel to the internal port, the

“The name’s Mo Huairen! You can call me Captain Mo, or just Old Man Mo, it’s all the same to me!” The barefoot old man stood on the scorching sand, clutching a long smoking pipe between his yellowed teeth. His face crinkled into a smile that resembled a dried chrysanthemum—wrinkled, deep, and impossible to read.

The blood moon hung high, casting an eerie crimson pallor over the desert. Beneath the sand dunes, however, the camp was alive with noise—though the festivity was confined to a very small, exclusive circle. Surrounding them, the other survivors could only swallow their saliva, tormented by the rich aroma of meat wafting from the bonfire.

While Chen Ye’s mind raced with calculations, a figure stepped out from the crowd, instantly commanding the attention of everyone present. She was stunning. Yet, the moment Chen Ye laid eyes on her, his gut twisted. It wasn’t that this internet celebrity—who once boasted millions of followers—was unattractive. On the contrary, she was striking. She

“No!” The three of them shouted in unison, shooting Chen Ye looks of collective disdain. Chen Ye swallowed a mouthful of curses. He looked at his teammates, exasperated. It’s the fucking apocalypse. Since when did we start caring about Boy Scout morality? In Chen Ye’s mind, robbing a slaver gang wasn’t a crime; it was

A quiet but intense debate brewed among the four Sequence Beyonders of the Fairness Team regarding how to handle Mo Huairen’s group. Opinions were divided. Chen Ye advocated for a preemptive strike. In the wasteland, he believed in the idiom: Strike first to gain the upper hand. With their heavy hitter, Iron Lion, currently incapacitated,

[Appraisal Cost: 70 Slaughter Points] The price tag caught Chen Ye off guard. Over time, he had developed his own mental benchmark for the System’s appraisal fees. Anything costing less than a hundred Slaughter Points usually turned out to be a run-of-the-mill Artifact material. Even if crafted into a finished Artifact, it wouldn’t crack the

Iron Lion’s convoy was the largest, and naturally, it held the largest stockpile of supplies. Since the beginning, whenever a survivor died, their belongings became Iron Lion’s private property. Furthermore, anything his passengers scavenged during stops was considered communal assets under his control. Through this aggressive accumulation, Iron Lion had become the undisputed tycoon of

In the wasteland, the old world’s economy was dead and buried. A million dollars couldn’t buy a single cigarette. In this new order, food was the gold standard. Other Supplies were distant silver and bronze. Everything had a price in calories. Even human lives. Take the limited-edition, red-and-white collaboration sneakers Chen Ye had just acquired.

When Chen Ye spoke those words, the air in the desert seemed to freeze. The reactions were immediate and visceral. Captain Chu Che’s face darkened instantly. The man, usually wearing a mask of amiable kindness, now looked thunderous. He had never expected Chen Ye to cross this line. Chen Ye was ruthless—Chu Che knew that.

The violence erupted and ended with terrifying speed. It was so fast that the mind struggled to catch up with the eye. It wasn’t until four bodies hit the sand that the survivors realized Sequence Beyonders had just been slaughtered. The reactions were a chaotic mix. Some felt a dark, vindictive pleasure they dared not

Chen Ye hadn’t wanted Iron Lion to die. Outsiders might brand him as ruthless, a cold-blooded pragmatist who weighed lives like currency, but he had lines he wouldn’t cross. He would never sacrifice a teammate without cause. But the world was unpredictable. Chen Ye was a one-eyed man, not a prophet; he possessed no foresight,