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 surged across the horizon, stretching endlessly in both directions.

The world had been consumed by monochromatic ochre; the sky and the ground were no longer distinguishable.

Even the blazing sun above was swallowed whole by the encroaching dust.

The wind slamming against his face carried a stinging pain, while the car windows began to rattle with a sharp crack-crack-crack.

It felt like the end of the world all over again.

Chen Ye was a Sequence 1 Beyonder. He possessed an Artifact ranked within the top five thousand.

But that surge of newfound power didn’t make him delusional.

Could his meager strength contend with the wrath of nature itself?

The pressure bearing down on him—a force capable of obliterating heaven and earth—left him breathless.

Danger!

Even a Sequence Beyonder like Chen Ye was shocked into silence.

The other survivors fared far worse.

Zhou Xiaoxiao’s small mouth hung open. She stared, dumbfounded, at the approaching yellow wall, the gale whipping her ear-length bob into a frenzy.

A tremble of pure instinctual fear washed over her.

Sister… Sister isn’t back yet!

Xu Lina had originally planned to approach Chen Ye this morning. She wanted to gift him the half-sausage she had saved from last night’s ration.

She had resisted the urge to go to him the previous night. She didn’t want to look cheap.

Xu Lina had mastered the delicate art of male interaction: tease enough to create intrigue, but never enough to seem easy. It was a calculated vulnerability.

She knew Chen Ye didn’t lack half a sausage.

But it was the sentiment that counted. Often, a man didn’t value the price of the gift, but the heart hidden within it.

Xu Lina understood this game perfectly.

The wind was strong today, and with the sun obscured, the temperature remained bearable.

The gale whipped Xu Lina’s skirt, snapping it loudly against her legs and perfectly outlining her flawless silhouette.

During her years as a “Canary”—a kept woman—she hadn’t just built her own career; she had worked tirelessly to maintain her figure.

If the apocalypse hadn’t descended, she might have truly achieved something great.

Years later, she would have been hailed as an inspirational idol.

It didn’t matter if you were a man or a woman; once you succeeded, your dark history became nothing more than a testament to your resilience.

Did the great General Han Xin not endure the shame of crawling between a thug’s legs before rising to glory?

A grain of sand slapped against Xu Lina’s face, stinging her skin.

She ignored it. Her mind was entirely focused on drafting her opening line for Chen Ye.

Suddenly, she heard someone scream “Sandstorm!”

Startled, Xu Lina looked up.

In an instant, every hair on her body stood on end.

That yellow line between heaven and earth seemed to expand until it filled her entire vision.

Her legs turned to jelly. She stumbled, barely able to stand.

On the roof of the modified off-road vehicle.

The fierce wind grabbed a head of pink hair and yanked it backward, revealing a somewhat childish, intoxicated face.

Grains of sand pinged against the hilt of the longsword strapped to the girl’s waist.

The tall, long-legged, pink-haired teenager narrowed her eyes. Her expression was glazed over—she was clearly drunk, despite the early hour.

Down below, wet stains were already spreading across the crotches of several survivors.

Some stood with mouths agape, lips trembling, unable to form words.

“Damn it! What are you standing there for? Run!”

The first to react was Chen Ye.

With a roar, he abandoned the breakfast boiling in his pot.

He didn’t even spare a second to pack up the Portable Gas Stove. He turned and sprinted straight for his heavy truck.

“Mommy! Run!”

“Cousin! Get down here! We have to go!”

A small head popped out of the driver’s window of the modified SUV, screaming furiously at the pink-haired girl on the roof.

What time is this? Why is my cousin still posturing?

What sin did a beauty like me commit to get stuck with a relative like her?

“Lina! Get back here! The sandstorm is hitting! We’re leaving!”

Xu Lina stumbled, her face draining of color. She didn’t bother retrieving the half-sausage she had dropped in her panic. Her long legs churned the sand as she sprinted back toward the school bus.

Fortunately, she hadn’t wandered far. A few quick strides and she was back inside.

The bus engine was already roaring.

Old Li frantically cranked the wheel to turn the vehicle around.

“Go! Go!”

“Wait for me…”

“Screw you! The storm is here and you’re still crying over your breakfast?!”

It was prime breakfast time. Many survivors had just finished cooking.

Some, like Chen Ye, abandoned everything to save their skins.

Others hesitated, unable to bear parting with their hot food.

The entire camp descended into chaos.

Chen Ye threw himself into the driver’s seat of the Doomsday Pickup and wrestled the heavy door shut against the wind. The sound of sand blasting the metal hull grew louder, and scratches began to spiderweb across the glass.

Ignition. Gear engaged.

The truck lurched forward.

In the distance, the lead modified SUV had already peeled out. The two characters painted in red on its side—”Fairness”—flashed by, mocking the panicked crowd.

Right behind it, a second modified SUV followed close on its bumper.

It was Nana’s vehicle.

Chen Ye cursed under his breath.

No wonder those two were Sequence Beyonders. Their escape speed alone wasn’t something ordinary humans could match.

Even the school bus managed to wobble into third place. Despite the distance, the roar of its engine was audible as it swayed violently left and right, accelerating like a mad beast.

The sandstorm was moving faster than anyone imagined.

The yellow horizon was now right in front of their eyes.

Sheets of sand slammed against the windshield, rocking the heavy truck.

Inside the lead SUV.

“A’Che! Aren’t you a Pathfinder? Didn’t you sense a storm this big?”

Uncle A’Bao shouted over the engine as he wrestled the steering wheel.

Captain Chu glanced in the rearview mirror at Nana’s car following them and cursed. “I’m a Pathfinder, not a meteorologist! I can sense Anomalies, not the weather!”

Unless I advance my Sequence!

Captain Chu swallowed the last sentence.

Even the small sedan that had escaped from Deer City managed to tuck in behind the convoy.

Chen Ye had too many secrets. Whenever the convoy camped, he parked far away from the others.

Now, the disadvantage of his paranoia was glaring. Everyone else was already tearing down the road, while his truck was still wobbling, trying to catch up.

Worse, Chen Ye’s truck was a manual transmission. Its acceleration couldn’t match the automatics.

And worst of all, Chen Ye had only started driving stick yesterday.

He was slow. Painfully slow.

“Sis!”

“Sis! Chen Ye! Save my sister!”

A piercing scream cut through the howling wind and reached Chen Ye’s ears.

If his physical stats weren’t far beyond that of a normal human, he wouldn’t have heard it at all.

It was Zhou Xiaoxiao.

Her head was thrust out of the car window, her short hair whipping wildly, her face twisted in pure anxiety as she screamed toward him.

Last night, the Zhou sisters had parked in the center of the camp—also far from Chen Ye.

In this chaos, Zhou Lan couldn’t make it to her own car in time.

Chen Ye glanced at the side mirror.

He saw Zhou Lan, the famous beauty, just now scrambling out from behind a sand dune.

Morning hygiene in the camp was a hassle.

You could skip brushing teeth. You could skip washing your face.

But you couldn’t skip the toilet.

For women, finding privacy was a nightmare.

Especially for a superstar like Zhou Lan. Even in the apocalypse, eyes were always lingering on her.

So, every morning, she had to trek far out into the dunes to find a safe spot.

Today, she had chosen a spot relatively close to Chen Ye’s truck.

It was a deliberate choice.

After all, it was the end of the world. If something went wrong, she could shout, and Chen Ye would be close enough to help.

Surely that old incident was water under the bridge.

The man couldn’t still be holding a grudge, right?

The moment she finished her business, she heard the word “Sandstorm.”

Zhou Lan shuddered. She saw the yellow chaos dancing between heaven and earth and heard the wind howling like a banshee.

Terrified, she scrambled on hands and knees toward the camp.

The closest vehicle was Chen Ye’s.

That modified Doomsday Pickup was impossible to miss.

Chen Ye saw her chasing him.

The superstar’s eyes were filled with pleading and desperation.

If Chen Ye slammed on the brakes now, Zhou Lan might make it.

But the sandstorm might swallow him in the process.

Chen Ye had no intention of stopping.

No matter how beautiful the woman, she wasn’t worth his life.

The truck was already moving. Chen Ye wished he could stomp his foot right through the floorboard and into the fuel tank. There was zero chance he would slow down.

First gear. Second gear…

The truck began to pick up speed.

The despair in Zhou Lan’s eyes deepened.

“Chen Ye! I beg you! Save my sister!”

The scene was hauntingly similar to the one back in Longevity Village.

If kneeling would work, Zhou Xiaoxiao would have dropped to her knees without hesitation.

Chen Ye ignored her completely. The engine roared in anger, shaking the chassis as he pushed it harder.

Faster.

“Brother Chen! Save me!”

Suddenly, a man lunged from the side.

Chen Ye spared him a single glance and then looked away.

It was one of the men from Iron Lion’s group. He hadn’t wanted to leave his breakfast, so he was a step too slow for the bus.

He thought the school bus would wait. Old Li had left him in the dust.

Seeing Chen Ye’s truck, he rushed over, praying for a miracle.

Behind him, two or three others were sprinting toward the pickup in a panic.

One of them even spread his arms wide, standing directly in Chen Ye’s path to block him.

Chen Ye didn’t blink.

He slammed the stick from fourth to fifth gear. The engine bellowed, and the truck surged forward with renewed violence.

He gunned it straight toward the fleeing convoy.

Damn that Chu Che! Aren’t you a Pathfinder? What kind of route is this?

The man blocking the road screamed in terror and dove into the sand to avoid being turned into roadkill.

He lay there, cursing loudly at the taillights of the ruthless Chen Ye.