Chapter 94: Escaping the Snake’s Jaws

Chen Ye had crashed into the old man’s Elderly Mobility Scooter without offering a single word of apology.

He had forced the old man to help flip the overturned pickup back onto its wheels.

He had even bullied the old man into pushing the car out of the sand trap.

And after all that, when danger came knocking, this so-called “good person” had unceremoniously thrown the old man to the wolves—or rather, to the snake.

The old man couldn’t have imagined in his wildest dreams that Chen Ye could be this shameless. This cold-blooded. This heartless.

Watching the layers of razor-sharp teeth descending to swallow him whole, the old man felt a surge of unwillingness. And then, pure, unadulterated rage.

Riiiip!

His body underwent a grotesque transformation. A massive hump protruded rapidly from his back, tearing through his clothes.

A pale, ghastly head burst out from his spine.

Chen Ye, watching through the rearview mirror, felt his expression shift.

It was the Hunchback Thrall!

It was the same Anomaly they had encountered in Longevity Village. Who would have thought this monster had been hiding within the convoy the entire time?

Had it been following the convoy since the village?

Or was it following him?

What was this old creature’s purpose?

Thick, black smoke spewed from the eyes, ears, mouth, and nose of the Hunchback Thrall. The second head on its back did the same, screaming silently.

The entire scene was a nightmare of eerie horror.

Chen Ye expected a fierce battle between the Hunchback Thrall and the Sand Snake.

GULP.

The Sand Snake didn’t hesitate. It swallowed the Hunchback Thrall—eerie aura and all—in a single bite. Then, with a massive splash of sand, it dove headfirst back into the dune.

That split second was all Chen Ye needed.

The Doomsday Pickup surged forward, escaping the immediate attack range of the Sand Snake by a hair’s breadth.

The engine roared like a beast in pain.

Give me one minute. No, just twenty seconds!

Sweat carved a channel through the dust on Chen Ye’s forehead, sliding down his neck. He could feel the chassis vibrating through the seat.

His right foot was welded to the accelerator. He didn’t dare relax the pressure even by a millimeter. The steering wheel shook violently in his grip.

Right now, every second was bought with life.

Chen Ye didn’t care about the Hunchback Thrall disguised as a survivor. His anger was directed elsewhere.

If Captain Chu were sitting in the passenger seat right now, Chen Ye wouldn’t hesitate to kick him out, too.

That damn Captain Chu. There was a terrifying Anomaly hiding in his own convoy, and the “Pathfinder Sequence” hadn’t noticed a thing?

Can this Pathfinder Sequence actually do its job, or is he just for show?

If Chen Ye made it back alive, he was going to grab Chu Che by the collar and ask him just what kind of captain he thought he was.

The Sand Snake had vanished into the dunes and didn’t immediately resurface.

The sand was calm and undisturbed, as if the violence of moments ago had never happened.

But Chen Ye didn’t relax. He kept the pedal to the metal.

Only after putting a dozen meters between him and the impact site did he let out a shallow breath.

Just as he was wondering why the monster hadn’t pursued him…

BOOM!

The sand dune behind him erupted.

It was as if an artillery shell had detonated underground. Tons of sand and soil were blasted hundreds of meters into the air, raining down on the roof of the pickup like hail.

Pitter-patter.

Chen Ye stared into the rearview mirror.

The Sand Snake was rolling violently in the sand. A massive section of its body was bulging grotesquely, pulsating as if something was fighting to get out.

The densely packed eyes on the snake’s head were wide open, bulging with agony.

“MOOOoooo!—”

That low, penetrating sound blasted out again.

A visible shockwave rippled through the air, kicking up a dust storm wherever it passed.

The sound wave overtook the Doomsday Pickup. Chen Ye could hear the metal frame creaking under the stress.

Then, the wave hit his body.

Chen Ye’s face paled. It felt like someone had swung a sledgehammer into his back.

He gritted his teeth, refusing to let go of the wheel.

This Sand Snake… it’s terrifying!

BANG! BANG!

Both side mirrors shattered instantly under the sonic pressure.

Great. Now the Doomsday Pickup didn’t even have mirrors.

Chen Ye’s scalp went numb, and his head spun with dizziness. But his foot stayed heavy on the gas. The pickup swerved and wobbled, but it kept charging forward.

Behind him, the low roars continued.

Every scream triggered another visible ring of sound, blasting the sand into the air.

Even without mirrors, Chen Ye could imagine the destruction.

Wave after wave of sonic force assaulted the truck. The remaining paint was stripped away, revealing the raw, scarred metal underneath. The bodywork was dented and pitted instantly.

Chen Ye felt his internal organs trembling. A trickle of crimson blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

He looked like hell.

Finally, the intensity of the sound waves began to fade until they could no longer cause physical damage.

Only then did Chen Ye risk poking his head out the window to look back.

He wasn’t courting death. He was gathering intel.

He needed to know if the thing was dead or alive. If he encountered a Sand Snake again, he needed data.

The Doomsday Pickup was now a hundred meters away from the churning sea of sand.

In the distance, the giant snake continued to thrash and roll.

The Hunchback Thrall was clearly alive in its belly, wreaking havoc.

That old monster isn’t simple either, Chen Ye thought. To torture a beast that size from the inside…

The engine continued to thunder. The pickup’s speed never dropped.

Without a windshield, the flying sand stung Chen Ye’s face like needles, but he didn’t blink.

He hadn’t driven far when he saw a camel trotting toward him from a dune ahead.

On the camel’s back sat a figure with long, flowing hair.

It was that kid, Xue Nan!

When Xue Nan had fled with the convoy, he had realized an Anomaly was likely chasing them.

In a migratory life, being hunted was just Tuesday. Facing such horrors, even human Sequence Beyonders could only prioritize their own survival. Camels were slower than cars; falling behind meant death.

So, when Chen Ye’s truck flipped, Xue Nan had seen it clearly.

Riding his camel, he had watched with his own eyes as Chen Ye crashed into the Elderly Mobility Scooter.

Xue Nan’s heart had clenched. He had just pledged his loyalty to Chen Ye. He wanted to be his dog.

And now his new master was dead?

Xue Nan bounced rhythmically on the camel’s back, his mind racing.

He didn’t know how far he had run. When he finally looked back, he saw only two small dots on the distant dune… and the terrifying pressure of the Sand Snake.

Terror gripped him, but so did worry.

It wasn’t that his bond with Chen Ye was deep. They were practically strangers.

But Chen Ye had killed Mo Huairen. He had washed away Xue Nan’s shame and avenged him.

More importantly, Xue Nan needed Chen Ye. He needed a Sequence Beyonder’s protection to survive the desert and find his lost sister.

Before the apocalypse, Xue Nan had millions of fans. Countless people relied on him for their livelihood.

But in the post-apocalyptic wasteland, a million fans were worthless compared to a single Sequence Beyonder.

Xue Nan gritted his teeth. A savage determination filled his heart.

I’m betting it all!

To the astonishment of the refugees around him, Xue Nan had turned his camel around and charged straight back into the danger zone.

Xue Nan saw the Doomsday Pickup approaching. It looked even more wrecked than before.

A cloud of dust trailed behind the vehicle as it closed the distance rapidly.

“Mr. Chen! You—”

VROOOM!

Before Xue Nan could finish his sentence, the Doomsday Pickup roared past him without slowing down, chasing the convoy ahead.

Xue Nan blinked, spitting dust. He gritted his teeth, yanked the camel’s reins around, and galloped after the truck.

Inside the cab, Chen Ye was vibrating with excitement.

Steering with one hand, he reached into his jacket, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it.

He had escaped the snake’s jaws by the skin of his teeth.

If he had hesitated for a split second—if he had been just a few seconds slower—he would be the one in that snake’s stomach right now.

The thrill of brushing shoulders with death sent his adrenaline spiking. His hand trembled as he held the lighter.

But it was worth it.

He had “raided the raiders,” swallowing the camel caravan’s loot whole.

Between the massive amount of Supplies, the influx of Slaughter Points, and the newly deduced Beyonder cultivation method… this was a massive harvest.