Apocalyptic Extraordinary Convoy, I'm really not weird!

Xu Xin liked it very much and always carried it with her, saying it would bring her good luck.

did not expect……

Zhou Lie slowly held the stone in his palm. The icy touch instantly transmitted to him, yet it seemed to carry an indescribable warmth.

The image of Xu Xin receiving the gift, her eyes filled with both smiles and reproach, seemed to reappear before my eyes.

Zhou Lie closed his eyes, brought the stone to his lips, and gently kissed it, as if in a silent farewell.

Then, he put the stone, which might be Xu Xin's last possession, into his inner pocket, close to his heart.

After the stone tablet was erected, the three stood silently for a moment.

Finally, Wu Feng patted Zhou Lie on the shoulder:

"Let's go. Those who are alive must keep moving forward."

····

Just as the convoy was busy collecting supplies and setting up a temporary camp, Wu Feng and the other two were erecting a stone tablet for Xu Xin and Xu Jiang.

A figure arrived nearby silently.

Su Ye lay prone on a high slope several hundred meters away from the camp.

At first glance, he accurately spotted the familiar figures of Chen Shou, Lin Wei, and Old Zhao, and also saw the Li Xiaowei sisters searching through the three wrecked vehicles with the survivors.

A surge of joy instantly welled up in my heart. The loneliness and tension of traveling alone in the wilderness for days seemed to have found a corner where I could temporarily let go, and the corners of my mouth involuntarily curved upwards into a slight smile.

They've been found... finally.

However, the smile froze before it could fully bloom.

His gaze passed over Chen Shou and the others, landing on three figures at the edge of the camp who were piling stones.

Those are Wu Feng, Wang Kui, and... Zhou Lie!

When Su Ye saw the three faces clearly, his pupils contracted sharply, and he held his breath for a moment.

"What's going on?!"

Alarm bells rang wildly in my mind, and an indescribable chill ran up my spine to the back of my head.

"Those three... aren't dead?!"

What's going on?

Xu Xin and Xu Jiang...did they lie?

The whole story about Zhou Lie losing control, Wu Feng being attacked, Wang Kui sacrificing himself to hold off the enemy, and them being forced to flee is all fabricated.

But if that's a lie, what's the purpose?

Was it merely to gain his sympathy, lower his guard, and then carry out the hunt?

But at that time they already regarded him as "prey" who had fallen into a trap, so why bother to weave such a complicated story?

Wouldn't it be simpler to just launch a surprise attack?

The most crucial thing is—that "blood flame"!

Su Ye's mind flashed back to the blood-red patterns writhing on Xu Jiang's gun, the inhuman blood light in Xu Xin's eyes, and the aura they exuded that, while sharing the same origin as Zhou Lie, was even more twisted and sinister.

If Wu Feng and the other two hadn't died, where did the "blood flame" erosion on Xu Xin and Xu Jiang come from?

An even more chilling conjecture came to mind:

Is Wu Feng and his group's current "normality" merely a facade?

Su Ye's gaze was fixed on Zhou Lie below. As he gathered the ashes, the deep sorrow in his eyes was palpable, even from a great distance.

This is absolutely not the behavior of a cold-blooded, ruthless madman who slaughters his teammates.

unless……

Su Ye's eyes sharpened as he rapidly reviewed every detail of his interactions with Xu Xin and Xu Jiang. At their first meeting, there was nothing amiss between them, except for that fleeting, chilling resonance that arose during their conversation due to certain words…

A cold yet clear thought gradually surfaced:

Perhaps the story of Xu Xin and Xu Jiang is not entirely fictional, but based on some kind of "distorted fact".

They did experience a tragedy, but the characters and the truth...

They may have been replaced, or perhaps, in the act of narrating, they were no longer the original "themselves".

"Things...are getting more complicated."

He muttered to himself, his eyes flickering with uncertainty. He had to figure out whether Wu Feng and the other two were "people" or something else in human skin.

Su Ye remained silent in the shadows of the high slope for a long time, while a campfire gradually rose below.

He felt he couldn't wait any longer; no matter how many assumptions he made, he couldn't be sure of the truth.

The fact that Wu Feng and his two companions "came back to life" is itself a huge mystery, and the risk of "blood flame" erosion that may be hidden behind this mystery is like the sword of Damocles hanging over Chen Shou's caravan.

He didn't know if Zhou Lie's seemingly "pure" blood flame would infect Captain Chen and the others unknowingly, just like it had infected Xu Xin and Xu Jiang.

Waiting and observing at this moment means handing over the initiative to unknown dangers.

"At the very least, we need to put them on guard."

Having made up his mind, Su Ye immediately took action.

Using the drop in elevation and the cover of the rocks, he quietly approached the camp.

He deliberately avoided the area where Wu Feng and the other two were located. It was actually a coincidence that their tents and Chen Shou's tent were located at opposite ends of the camp, which gave him room to maneuver.

Night had fallen, and most of the exhausted survivors in the camp had already crawled into their tents or wrapped themselves in blankets and curled up around the campfire, falling into a light sleep.

Only a handful of people mustered their strength and carried out limited vigilance.

When Su Ye's figure emerged from the darkness on the outskirts of the camp and walked straight toward the tents in the core area, the sentry spotted him.

But the expected questioning or alarm did not sound.

The night watchmen glanced at him with slight nervousness, as if trying to identify him.

Perhaps the dim light blurred the details, or perhaps his carefully concealed aura had an effect, or perhaps...

It's because in the team's past memories, "Su Ye" was originally a member of the caravan. More subtly, those who spent their days on the run with him seem to have subconsciously developed a certain "adaptation" to his presence. The faint, eerie aura that once made Xu Xin and Xu Jiang instantly wary is now covered by this vague sense of familiarity and the dullness of the late night.

They glanced at him a couple more times, and when they saw him walk straight toward Captain Chen's tent, they stopped paying attention to him and continued to monitor the deep darkness outside.

And so, Su Ye arrived at the familiar military tent almost without any obstacles.

Without hesitation, Su Ye raised her hand and gently lifted the curtain.

The scene inside the tent came into view.

Chen Shou sat on a simple folding stool directly opposite him, with Lin Wei and Old Man Zhao sitting on either side, watching him enter.

Clearly, Chen Shou and the others had already noticed his arrival.

Su Ye glanced around and walked straight to the empty folding stool opposite Chen Shou, where he sat down.

A brief silence filled the air under the lamplight.

Chen Shou's gaze calmly fell on Su Ye, his tone resolute:

"You've reached level two."

Su Ye met his gaze and nodded:

"Yes, I advanced to the next level last night."