Chapter 17: The Outpost Base

The young man inside the armored vehicle cautiously opened the door. He knew that if this Blue Dragon big shot wanted to, he could easily destroy his vehicle. So, it was better to cooperate obediently.

The other party was sensible, and Ao Xin didn’t trouble him too much.

“A truck, half a load of diesel—I want your vehicle,” he said bluntly, stating his purpose directly. Since the truck wouldn’t be drivable after switching vehicles, it was better to trade it outright. As for the diesel, he couldn’t carry it all anyway, so trading it now suited him perfectly.

The young man’s mouth twitched. He wasn’t stupid and quickly understood Ao Xin’s intent. This was a classic case of trying to get something for nothing!

“Boss! I don’t want anything! Please take me with you, I’ll give you the vehicle!” After nearly two days of surviving the apocalypse, he deeply understood how terrifying the end of the world was—completely different from what he had imagined. If there was a strong ally now, when else to hold on to one?

Ao Xin was speechless; this guy was shameless! After some thought, he said, “I have other business and can’t take you. How about this: thirty points, enough for you to exchange for the Tricolor Dominance Cultivation Method, as payment for the vehicle.”

Yet the young man still tried to latch on: “Boss, please take me! I’ve studied wilderness survival! I can do a lot!”

He was a doomsday fanatic who had once fantasized about how to survive if the apocalypse came. So, he had specially customized this reinforced civilian armored vehicle, modified the door with a small window, and made a detachable two-piece boar spear. He planned to hide inside the armored vehicle and stab zombies through the window with the long spear.

He had prepared a full set of wilderness survival gear, plenty of canned food and supplies, and even raised two Kangal dogs and one Caucasian Shepherd, practicing archery diligently for more than three years. He thought that if the apocalypse really happened, he would live freely and unrestrained.

Unfortunately, man proposes but heaven disposes. His wealthy, indulgent father couldn’t resist the first wave of the zombie virus infection and turned into a zombie. His family was wiped out in an instant, and even the three dogs were infected and zombified. He luckily escaped to the vehicle, but all his survival gear and supplies were still in the warehouse, and he dared not leave the vehicle to retrieve them.

Listening to the young man’s story, Ao Xin was speechless. The apocalypse was never so simple!

“I can’t take you—I have other matters. But I can help you clear the zombies from your villa. With thirty points, you can exchange for the Dominance Cultivation Method and gradually become stronger yourself.”

Ao Xin stood firm on not taking him along. The youth was discouraged, but thirty points for the Dominance Cultivation Method was still a good deal.

While trapped in the vehicle, the young man had browsed all the items in the Divine Gift Shop. He understood deeply: the world had completely changed. Points would be the most important thing from now on!

Ao Xin and Ao Chen led the young man into his villa, where they killed his zombified family and dogs. After trading him thirty points, they loaded one-third of the diesel from the truck into the armored vehicle.

“Train well in Dominance. You can become a powerful survivor in the apocalypse,” Ao Xin encouraged him before leaving.

“Boss! My name is Lin Tian! Can you tell me your name? If I want to find you, where should I go?”

Just as Ao Xin was about to leave, he was taken aback by the youth’s persistence. But telling him caused no harm—if this person truly had talent, he might be useful later.

“My name’s Ao Xin. My home is in Bian City. If you can make it there on foot, I’ll consider taking you in.”

Leaving those words behind, he started the vehicle and vanished into the dust.

Lin Tian muttered to himself on the spot, “Ao Xin, huh? Just a walk to Bian City—I can definitely do that!”

Looking up, he saw zombies wandering closer. He hurried back to his villa and closed the door firmly. With points, he could cultivate Dominance now.

After changing vehicles, Ao Xin’s pace quickened. Gunfire roared in his ears, but he headed in the opposite direction.

Killing zombies was pointless. Even if their heads were chopped off, the dead would be consumed by others, triggering further evolution.

To completely eliminate zombies, one had to set them ablaze and burn their bodies thoroughly.

However, burning the corpses released accumulated zombie miasma into the air, increasing the viral concentration and infecting weaker humans. Moreover, the virus became more potent when catalyzed by high heat.

It was a dilemma.

The only solution was to cultivate Dominance.

Dominance was a process of body refinement—training the body to its peak so it would resist zombie virus and zombies alike.

All other methods were mere temporary fixes.

“Wish your treasure space was bigger,” Ao Xin complained to Ao Chen on the road. “Then we could carry all the diesel. Fuel is limited, so our search range is limited too.”

Ao Chen slouched in the passenger seat, slowly munching on a bag of chips. Hearing Ao Xin’s complaint, she rolled her eyes.

“Tch! You think I don’t want that? Developing fruit powers isn’t that easy.”

Ao Xin scolded her while driving, “Stop eating junk food. When you’re tired, exchange for some juicy meat at the Divine Gift Shop—it’s great for restoring energy.”

Ao Chen refused loudly, “No!”

Amid their bickering, Ao Chen suddenly became alert. She quickly put down the chips, sat upright, ears perked, nose sniffing hard. After a moment, she said to Ao Xin:

“Brother, southwest direction! Feels like there’s treasure!”

Ao Xin’s spirits lifted instantly. Hearing about treasure, he grew excited. He no longer got out to kill zombies but tried to avoid them, speeding toward the direction Ao Chen indicated.

When they finally neared the destination, they found it wasn’t simple.

It was a factory surrounded by wire fences, with small machines and discarded chairs piled at the entrance to block zombie entry.

Behind the barriers, someone had modified long-handled blades from factory tools to kill zombies trying to break through.

Inside, several people moved about, patching weaknesses to prevent zombies from climbing in.

If zombies tried climbing the fence, someone would immediately stab them with long rods welded with sharp blades, like spears.

This had become a rudimentary safe base.

Reaching this level showed the organizers were not ordinary.

“You wait in the car,” Ao Xin said.

There were too many zombies outside—this wasn’t a good place for Ao Chen to cultivate.

Ao Xin grabbed a baseball bat and opened the door without activating his Dragon Transformation. One blow shattered a zombie’s skull. Another strike completely exploded its head.

This scene stunned the workers hidden behind the entrance barricade.