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 Captain’s face didn’t soften.

His perception was screaming a warning. An Anomalous aura was approaching.

The chaotic scramble to form the defensive circle had likely attracted attention.

Even if the sandstorm passed, the convoy was far from safe.

Under normal laws of survival, Anomalies could not operate in sunlight.

This was the ironclad consensus among all survivors. If it weren’t true, humanity would have been wiped out long ago.

But… that “common knowledge” was beginning to fracture.

As a Pathfinder, Chu Che had sensed Anomalous activity during the day more than once.

Like at the car accident scene days ago.

A terrifying hypothesis had taken root in his mind: perhaps Anomalies, like Sequence Beyonders, could evolve.

The thought made his blood run cold.

It wasn’t that the idea was outrageous. It was that it was too plausible.

He had tried to suppress the thought, to deny the possibility. Because if the day came when the monsters no longer feared the sun…

That would be the true end of the human race.

Chu Che stared out at the raging yellow void.

With Iron Lion, Nana, and Chen Ye present, the storm itself wasn’t the real threat. They would survive the wind.

They might lose some Supplies. A few ordinary survivors might be swept away.

Those were acceptable losses.

The real problem was what came next.

The aura in his perception was getting closer. Sharper.

Once the storm broke, the convoy would be grounded, digging themselves out. They would be sitting ducks.

It seemed a direct confrontation was inevitable.

Anomalies were supposed to be invincible.

Was the end of the convoy right before his eyes?

The violent sandstorm had swallowed the world whole.

Chen Ye squeezed his eyes and mouth shut, relying entirely on his spatial perception to sense his surroundings.

The sand blasting against his skin caused a dull, continuous ache.

Time dilated. Every second he endured felt as long as a year of suffering.

Fortunately, the Heavy Machete was buried deep, anchoring the rope and keeping the formation from disintegrating.

He didn’t know how much time had passed.

His limbs were going numb from the pressure.

Then, finally, the gale weakened.

That slight drop in wind speed ignited a spark of hope in Chen Ye’s chest.

When the howling finally ceased, silence descended.

Chen Ye had become a sandman.

Half his body was buried under a heavy drift.

“Ptooey! Ptooey!”

Chen Ye spat violently. Sand was everywhere—in his ears, up his nose, grinding between his teeth.

He shifted slightly, and a cloud of dust exploded around him.

“Damn it. Well, I can say I’ve experienced a real sandstorm now.”

Channeling the power of the willow branch, he dragged himself out of the dune.

Nearby, Iron Lion was buried up to his neck.

Only his massive, bald head remained above the surface.

If Chen Ye didn’t know better, he wouldn’t have recognized the dusty sphere as a human being.

Two massive, fan-like hands erupted from the ground, clawing at the sand.

Iron Lion groaned, heaving his bulk out of the earth.

“Yezi! Me too!”

A girl’s dissatisfied voice muffled by sand came from beside him.

Chen Ye turned. All he saw was a patch of pink hair sticking out of the ground like a bizarre desert plant.

The girl was completely buried.

If she were an ordinary human, she would have suffocated long ago.

Fortunately, she was a Sequence 2 Beyonder. Her vitality was monstrous.

“Hahahaha…”

There is a dark comfort in seeing someone having a worse day than you.

Before Chen Ye could even reach for his cigarettes, he burst into laughter. He walked over and began digging around the pink tuft to free her head.

Nana gasped for air, glaring at him with dusty, furious eyes.

“Chen Ye! You bastard! You’re laughing?”

“Hahaha… Sorry, sorry! I really couldn’t help it!”

Chen Ye quickly apologized. This woman was a Sequence 2 swordswoman; annoying her while she was trapped was one thing, but genuinely pissing her off was dangerous.

It wasn’t that Nana couldn’t free herself.

She had just exhausted a significant amount of Beyonder power fighting the storm’s drag. She was drained.

Chen Ye dug out her arms. Iron Lion, having freed himself, lumbered over. The giant grabbed the girl by the armpits and plucked her out of the sand like a carrot.

Iron Lion had reverted to his normal size, though his face looked haggard.

Around them, other survivors began to emerge from their vehicles.

The first sound that filled the air was a chorus of coughing and spitting.

The vehicles on the windward side were half-buried. Everyone seemed alive, but digging out the convoy was going to be a nightmare.

And after a storm like that, mechanical failures were all but guaranteed.

Supplies had taken a hit.

Roof racks had been stripped bare by the wind. Boxes and bags were gone, scattered into the infinite desert.

Chen Ye’s Doomsday Pickup hadn’t escaped unscathed.

The makeshift canopy was gone without a trace.

Fortunately, most of his critical Supplies were low in the truck bed or inside the cab.

His food stash was safe on the back seat.

But the windows—left, right, and front—were shattered.

He wasn’t the only one.

The yellow school bus looked like a wreck. Almost every window was blown out; only a few panes remained cracked but intact. Being the tallest vehicle, Iron Lion’s bus had taken the brunt of the assault.

Chen Ye sat on a nearby dune and lit a cigarette.

The mellow smoke curled through his lungs, dispelling the fatigue and tension.

He surveyed the landscape.

Desolation.

The dunes had shifted. The terrain was unrecognizable. He had lost all sense of direction relative to their previous camp.

“Chen Ye! Chen Ye! Oh thank god you’re okay! You scared me to death!”

Xu Lina rushed over, clutching her chest, her face a mask of concern.

She wasn’t looking her best.

Covered in gray dust, hair matted, she looked nothing like the glamorous temptress of yesterday. She looked like a refugee.

Yet, her first instinct after surviving was to check on him.

Even a heart as cold as Chen Ye’s felt a flicker of emotion.

But only a flicker.

He didn’t believe for a second that this woman had fallen in love with him after a few meetings.

Impossible.

If danger came, she was still just a meat shield. A convenient pawn.

“I’m fine,” Chen Ye said, exhaling smoke. “How are you guys? Did you lose much food or supplies?”

Iron Lion carried the bulk of the team’s resources. If he was wiped out, the convoy was finished.

Xu Lina tucked a stray, dusty lock of hair behind her ear and opened her mouth to speak.

“Chen Ye! I’ll fuck your ancestors!”

A scream, sharp with hatred, shattered the calm.

A petite figure launched herself at him, sharp and fast like a drawn sword.

She was covered in dust like everyone else, but her eyes were manic—filled with a venomous, blood-red resentment.

Chen Ye recognized those eyes immediately.

Zhou Xiaoxiao.

He hadn’t saved her sister. Now, the girl wanted blood.

Zhou Xiaoxiao wanted to rip him apart.

She had watched her sister, her only family, disappear into the yellow abyss.

She used to think Zhou Lan was nagging, timid, even weak. But when her sister vanished before her eyes, Zhou Xiaoxiao felt her heart being carved out of her chest.

In her hand was a fruit knife she had scavenged days ago.

She didn’t care about the odds. She just wanted to plunge that blade into this man’s heart.

Chen Ye didn’t move. He simply exhaled a stream of grey smoke.

The smoke spiraled outward like a swimming dragon, instantly coiling around the girl’s wrists and ankles.

This was the gap between a mortal and a Sequence Beyonder.

Ordinary humans were powerless before the awakened.

“Chen Ye! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!”

The girl struggled against the spectral bindings, glaring at him with bloodshot eyes.

She had marked him as her mortal enemy.

The commotion drew the attention of the surrounding survivors. Dust-covered heads turned, watching the drama unfold.

When they saw Chen Ye subdue the girl with a mere puff of smoke, wariness filled their eyes.

“You want to kill me?” Chen Ye asked calmly. “Why?”

“You killed my sister! You killed Zhou Lan!”

The girl roared, her voice cracking into a hoarse sob.

Chen Ye frowned. “Have you gone mad? When did you see me kill your sister?”

“If it weren’t for you… If you had stopped to save her, she wouldn’t have died! She wouldn’t be gone!”

“Bullshit,” Chen Ye retorted coldly. “If I had stopped, I’d be dead too.”

“You…!”

“Zhou Xiaoxiao, are you stupid? Why should I save your sister? Give me one reason.”

“Because… Because my sister gave you gasoline when you needed it most!”

“And didn’t I give it back?” Chen Ye cut her off. “Or have you forgotten?”

Zhou Xiaoxiao froze.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, carving muddy tracks through the dust on her face. She bit her lip until it bled.

Her delicate features were twisted in grief.

But the hatred in her eyes didn’t dim. Logic didn’t matter. She needed an outlet for her pain.

And the man standing before her was the perfect target.

Chen Ye’s frown deepened.

Xu Lina stood to the side, looking awkward and unsure of whether to intervene.

Suddenly, Chu Che crawled out of his vehicle. His face was deathly pale, his body trembling.

“Careful! There’s… There’s an Anomaly—!”

Before Chu Che could finish the scream.

A nightmare erupted from the sand right beside Chen Ye.

It was a face.

A massive, grotesque human face, as tall as a man, shot out of the ground like a striking viper.

The face unhinged its jaw, revealing a cavernous maw, and lunged straight for Chen Ye.

Every hair on Chen Ye’s body stood on end.

Too close.

Too sudden.

There was no time to dodge.

Instinct took over.

Chen Ye reached out, grabbed Zhou Xiaoxiao by the neck, and swung her in front of him.

The future pop idol, the darling of the entertainment industry, became a meat shield in the hands of Ruthless Chen Ye.