Apocalypse: I Can Upgrade Everything

Chapter 98: Dividing the Spoils

The Lovesick Lighter had originally belonged to Mo Huairen.

According to Xue Nan, the old man had used this Artifact to ambush enemies on multiple occasions, catching them completely off guard. The survivor’s face still held a trace of lingering fear when he spoke of it.

Mo Huairen had died too quickly. He hadn’t found a single second to draw the weapon before Chen Ye ended him. It was the same story with the youth from the Demon Sequence—a powerful Sequence Beyonder with terrifying abilities who had been slaughtered before he could use a single technique.

Chen Ye had been so focused on the Demon Sequence youth after the battle that he hadn’t bothered to thoroughly loot Mo Huairen’s corpse. This was how the Artifact had fallen into Captain Chu Che’s hands.

A thought stirred in Chen Ye’s mind. Speaking of the Demon Sequence kid… did he really have nothing on him?

As if reading his mind, Chu Che glanced over. “Don’t bother asking. That kid was a pauper. He didn’t even leave behind any Artifact materials.”

Chen Ye: “…”

By now, Xue Nan had finished explaining the activation method. The survivors gathered around, muttering in amazement.

Sun Qianqian flipped open the windproof cap. She struck the flint wheel, and a tiny, harmless orange flame danced into existence. To the naked eye, it looked no different from a cheap disposable lighter.

Then, following Xue Nan’s instructions, the pink-haired girl puffed out her cheeks and blew gently at the flame.

WHOOSH!

A roaring torrent of orange fire erupted from the nozzle, stretching 7-8 meters long. The darkness of the desert night was instantly banished by the blinding glare.

Rolling waves of scalding heat washed over the crowd. The survivors standing nearest to the blast screamed, scrambling backward in terror as their skin blistered from the sudden temperature spike.

It wasn’t a lighter. It was a pocket-sized flamethrower.

Even Chen Ye narrowed his eyes, shielding his face from the unbearable heat.

Sun Qianqian quickly stopped blowing, and the torrent of fire vanished as quickly as it had appeared. The survivors stopped running, chest heaving, staring at the girl with undisguised horror.

On the ground where the flame had struck, the sand was glowing a dull, angry red.

Chen Ye clicked his tongue. That kind of heat… in just a few seconds? If that hit a person, they’d be ash.

“Good stuff!”

Captain Chu spoke up, his eyes practically glued to the lighter. The mask of the mysterious, detached leader slipped, replaced by naked greed.

It made sense. The Pathfinder Sequence was essentially a support class. They relied on their teammates for protection and lacked direct offensive capabilities. For a Pathfinder Sequence, an Artifact that provided high-damage output like this was invaluable. Even though Chu Che already possessed an Artifact—one ranked in the thousands—he clearly coveted this lighter.

Chen Ye realized he had never actually seen Chu Che fight. Whether the Captain was hiding other cards remained to be seen, but right now, his desire for the weapon was plain to see.

Chu Che reached out and took the lighter from Sun Qianqian, handling it with the reverence one might show a newborn child.

The loot from the “black-on-black” raid—robbing the robbers—was substantial.

The two main prizes were the Bone of the Man-Eating Two-Headed Cow and the Lovesick Lighter. Mo Huairen’s pipe turned out to be a mundane item, worthless.

The rest was a mountain of supplies.

Cases of bottled mineral water, sacks of rice, flour, dried noodles, instant noodles, and various snacks were piled high. There were cartons of cigarettes—though not as many as Chen Ye would have liked—and bundles of clothing.

The sand dune had been transformed into a small, chaotic market.

The convoy had strict rules regarding loot: items seized during solo operations belonged to the individual. However, spoils from group operations were to be divided equally.

“Equally,” of course, applied only to the Sequence Beyonders. Ordinary survivors would be lucky to get scraps. In this world, fairness was dictated by power. This rule had been established at the convoy’s inception, and while it seemed harsh, it was the only thing keeping the group from imploding.

For this specific raid, the distribution was clear. Chen Ye was the mastermind and the one who had solo-killed Mo Huairen. He deserved the largest share. Sun Qianqian and Ding Dong were the executors, the muscle. Iron Lion was the tank—and the victim who had nearly died blocking the breeder’s attack. And Captain Chu Che? He was the Pathfinder Sequence. He got a share simply because without him, they wouldn’t know where they were going. Plus, he had led the escape from the Anomaly afterward.

No one objected. Without the Beyonders, none of these survivors would be alive to complain.

“Alright,” Chu Che announced, tearing his eyes away from the lighter. “Let’s handle the ordinary supplies first. Once that’s done, we’ll divide the Artifacts and materials. We’ll also throw in the Human-Faced Scorpion materials from the last battle.”

The mountain of goods was quickly broken down.

Chen Ye received seven cases of 550ml mineral water, along with sacks of rice and flour. He even got a decent pile of snacks.

According to Ding Dong, Mo Huairen’s camel team had looted a town recently, losing a Sequence Beyonder in the process. They had done all the hard work only to deliver the payload right to Chen Ye’s doorstep.

A respectable pile of supplies soon accumulated next to Chen Ye. The surrounding survivors watched with envious eyes, swallowing their dry saliva.

Iron Lion and Ding Dong ended up with the largest physical pile. Since Ding Dong was currently riding in Iron Lion’s heavy truck, their shares were stacked together, looking like a fortress of food.

Then, there was the matter of the camels.

40-plus camels represented a massive influx of resources, but they were also a liability. Without a “Breeder” Sequence Beyonder, the convoy couldn’t afford to feed or water them. The animals had been starving since morning and were already showing signs of exhaustion. By tomorrow, they would start dying.

They had to be slaughtered.

The camels would be converted into meat—currency in the wasteland—and distributed later. But this decision hit the ordinary survivors hard.

Many of them relied on the camels for transport. Without the animals, they would have to walk through the scorching desert or beg the vehicle owners for a ride.

This made Zhou Xiaoxiao a prime target. The girl had a car all to herself, and half the convoy was already eyeing her like wolves. If not for the strict no-infighting rules enforced by the Beyonders, she would have been swallowed whole, leaving not even bone dregs behind.

The Zhao brothers were also secure with their sedan. And Chen Ye… well, everyone had selectively forgotten that he drove a pickup truck alone. No one dared to question the man who butchered slavers.

Dissatisfaction simmered in the crowd, but it remained silent. In this convoy, once Chen Ye and the core team made a decision, it was law.

“That settles the general supplies,” Chu Che said, clapping his hands. “Now, for the main event. Artifacts and materials.”

He gestured to the items on the plastic sheet.

“We’re adding the two materials from the Human-Faced Scorpion to the pool. Ding Dong wasn’t with us for that fight, so she’s excluded from that specific split. If anyone wants those, they’ll have to buy out the other three shares using supplies.”

“As for the Cow Bone and the Lighter,” Chu Che continued, his gaze intense, “the same rules apply. Highest bidder wins, or we trade shares.”

He looked around the circle of Beyonders. “Any objections?”