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.

It all came back to him.

During his desperate escape from the village, the tree’s roots and branches had lashed out, binding his ankles to drag him into the abyss. He had only survived because his [Heavy Machete], soaked in [Black Dog Blood], was within reach. He had hacked himself free in a frenzy.

This branch must have been severed then, still wrapped around his ankle, hitching a ride all the way out of the exclusion zone.

Chen Ye raised his hand to toss it out, but he hesitated.

Wait.

This was a piece of the Great Willow.

It had been over twenty-four hours since he left the village, yet the branch felt unnaturally fresh. The leaves were crisp and tender, pulsating with a faint, eerie vitality, as if they had just been plucked from the main trunk.

An idea sparked in the darkness.

Chen Ye drew his [Hand Crossbow] from his waist, his thumb tracing the frayed bowstring.

The intense combat in Longevity Village had taken its toll. The string was worn down to its last fibers; a few more shots and it would snap, rendering the weapon useless. Without the crossbow, his ranged combat capability would plummet.

Could this willow branch replace the bowstring?

Better yet… could it create an Artifact?

Captain Chu’s [Eavesdropping Radio] had left a deep impression on him. Artifacts were game-changers. If he could forge an Artifact-grade crossbow, his lethality would skyrocket.

Chen Ye didn’t waste time. He placed the glowing willow branch on top of the crossbow. Lying flat in the dark, he summoned the System interface.

“System, can I fuse the Willow Branch with the Hand Crossbow for an upgrade?”

[Affirmative.]

Chen Ye’s heart raced.

“Will the fusion result in an Artifact?”

[Affirmative.]

Chen Ye’s right eye lit up in the dark, and even his mutated, white-pupiled left eye seemed to shimmer with excitement.

He didn’t hesitate. “Confirm upgrade.”

It was an Artifact! According to Nana and Chu Che, every Artifact possessed a unique, supernatural ability. Even if the ranking was low—which was likely, given the branch was just a minor trimming from the main tree—it didn’t matter. An Artifact was an Artifact. Even the 10,000th ranked item was better than a standard weapon.

He waited for the magic to happen.

Instead, a cold bucket of reality splashed over him.

[Error: Insufficient Funds.] [Upgrade requires 5,000 Slaughter Points.] [Current Balance: 4,000+ Slaughter Points.] [Please continue to accumulate Slaughter Points, Host.]

The excitement died instantly.

He had started with over seven thousand points. After the vehicle modifications and repairs, he was down to just over four thousand. He was short by nearly a thousand points.

“Damn it.”

Chen Ye tossed the crossbow aside and pulled his coat tighter. It seemed power would have to wait.

The desert night was far colder than Chen Ye had anticipated.

The temperature plummeted at a terrifying rate. By midnight, the air was sharp enough to cut skin. Even with his enhanced constitution, the chill woke him from a dead sleep.

Shivering, Chen Ye dug out every piece of thick clothing he owned and piled them on top of himself. Only then did the shivering subside enough for him to doze off.

The post-apocalyptic climate was broken. If he hadn’t upgraded the canopy with the wind-resistant steel frame during the day, he might have frozen to death in his sleep. The enclosed space didn’t generate heat, but it blocked the wind, which made all the difference.

Morning came, and the pendulum swung back.

As the blood moon set, a blazing sun leaped over the horizon, painting the dunes in blinding gold. The white frost that had crusted over the vehicles during the night evaporated in minutes.

The camp began to stir.

Survivors crawled out of the bus, looking disheveled and dusty. The independent survivors—those with motorcycles or small cars who refused to join the collective—emerged from their tents.

Life in the convoy was a tale of two cities.

Those on the bus had security. They had Old Li distributing food and water. But they had no freedom; everything they found belonged to the collective.

The independents had freedom. They kept what they found. But they starved if they failed.

Yet, for those with resources, the apocalypse offered a twisted kind of liberty.

From a small, battery-operated [Elderly Mobility Scooter], a voluptuous woman emerged, adjusting her disheveled clothes. Following her was a withered, dried-up old man.

The old man grinned, his face a map of lecherous wrinkles, and handed the woman a chocolate bar. He winked at her, his expression sleazy enough to curdle milk.

The woman rolled her eyes, snatched the chocolate, and swayed her hips as she walked away.

In the old world, that transaction would be unthinkable. Now? A piece of bread or a chocolate bar could buy things that used to require a diamond ring.

Nearby, the Zhou sisters climbed out of their SUV.

They looked rough. The temperature swing had caught them off guard, though they had survived by huddling under piles of scavenged down jackets.

“Yawn… Sis, I thought I was going to turn into a popsicle last night,” Zhou Xiaoxiao muttered, shivering at the memory.

Since their identity had been blown a few days ago, Xiaoxiao had dropped the boy disguise. Her cap was gone, revealing a chic, ear-length bob that framed her delicate features. She was playful, vibrant, and undeniably gorgeous.

In the morning light, wearing women’s clothes again, she looked every bit the starlet. It was easy to see why the media used to say, “The entire entertainment industry is waiting for her to grow up.”

Zhou Lan, the older sister, smoothed her long hair, looking equally stunning despite the sleep in her eyes. “I filmed in Yan Province once. I knew the desert had temperature swings, but this? This is abnormal.”

She sighed. “Xiaoxiao, next time we scavenge, prioritize thermal gear.”

“Got it, Sis.” Xiaoxiao smacked her lips. “Ugh, morning breath. I need to brush my teeth.”

“Are you insane?” Zhou Lan glared at her. “We’re in a desert in the middle of an apocalypse. Water is life.”

“Please? Just a little bit?”

Zhou Lan couldn’t resist her sister’s puppy eyes. They found a secluded spot behind the car and shared half a cup of water, carefully brushing their teeth.

Little Fu, the college student, stepped off the bus just in time to catch a glimpse of the sisters. He froze, face flushing red, his heart hammering against his ribs before he quickly looked away.

Thump.

The bus suspension groaned as a massive figure stepped out.

Iron Lion stretched his arms toward the sun, his joints cracking like pistol shots.

“Yaaawn…”

The big man had slept for a full twenty-four hours. His wounds were mostly scabbed over. His recovery speed was nothing short of monstrous. While Chen Ye had nearly frozen under a pile of coats, Iron Lion had slept in shorts and a t-shirt, no blanket, and looked completely fine.

Chen Ye sat on the edge of his tricycle, lighting a morning cigarette to wake up his brain. Brushing teeth was a luxury he couldn’t afford; the nicotine would have to do.

“Yo, Yezi!”

Iron Lion walked over, his eyes immediately locking onto Chen Ye’s face. Or rather, his left eye.

The pupil was stark white, contrasting sharply with his normal right eye. It gave him a sinister, asymmetrical look.

“Your eye…” Iron Lion frowned. “What happened?”

“Nothing serious,” Chen Ye said, exhaling a plume of smoke. “I Awakened a second Sequence last night.”

He said it casually, as if discussing the weather.

He had no intention of hiding his status as a Sequence Beyonder. In a convoy of fifty people living in close quarters, secrets like that didn’t last. Besides, having power meant getting a bigger cut of the loot. It was a deterrent.

Iron Lion froze mid-step. His jaw practically hit the sand.

“You… you Awakened a second Sequence?”

The big man stared at Chen Ye, his honest face a portrait of absolute shock.