Chapter 702: The Unfortunate

Over seventy percent of Sunset Avenue had already been cleared.

The remaining thirty percent was closer to the center of Xi City.

Once you got near this area, the ominous dread rising from your heart was far more intense than at the outskirts.

A major anomaly was here!

It wasn't just the Fair Convoy that felt this way. The Shepherd Convoy and the Happy Family Convoy all sensed it too.

As a result, the pace of progress slowed down considerably.

Under these circumstances, even if the Silent Council was eager to push things forward, their efforts were largely ineffective.

Of course, the Silent Council's loans to help everyone boost their strength were still useful.

Quite a few people, thanks to the Silent Council's loans, had obtained sufficient funds and then purchased suitable Wonders or potions.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to clear out the outer anomalies in just a few days.

The Silent Council's Magic Potion Capsules had even sold out at one point.

Sequence Serums had also sold quite well because of this.

Compared to Magic Potion Capsules, Sequence Serums were much cheaper.

After all, for Superhumans, the importance of Sequence potions far outweighed that of Sequence Serums.

But even though Sequence Serums were much cheaper, ordinary survivors still couldn't possibly get their hands on one.

Only Superhumans had the qualifications and financial means to exchange for a Sequence Serum.

Because of this, many ordinary people were willing to do absolutely anything to get a Superhuman to help them exchange for a Sequence Serum.

Even those good-looking black-stockinged young women working at the Silent Council shop, who wanted to exchange for a Sequence Serum with their own abilities, found it almost impossible.

This was also why, when Chen Ye had gone to the Silent Council shop before, those black-stockinged women kept walking back and forth in front of him, trying to catch his attention.

A Sequence Serum...

There wasn't a single survivor who didn't want one.

It was the dragon gate that a carp leaps over to become a dragon.

It was the ladder to reach the heavens in a single step.

Because of this, after the Silent Council released some loans, quite a few stories unfolded at the base - some absurdly comical, others bleakly wordless.

The root cause of all these events was the Sequence Serum.

There was a notorious Casanova Superhuman with many girlfriends.

He had also received a loan from the Silent Council, and to get a share of that loan, those girlfriends pulled out every trick in the book, even causing a death.

This even alerted the Silent Council's people.

It was all caused by the Sequence Serum.

...

Today was another day of heading toward Xi City.

The Superhumans had left the camp early in the morning.

Not many Superhumans remained at the base.

Right now, more than half of all the Superhumans at the base owed loans to the Silent Council.

Therefore, everyone was highly motivated, wanting to take down Xi City quickly and pay off their loans to the Silent Council as fast as possible.

After all, people who genuinely wanted to borrow money and never repay were, by the simple sentiments of Daxia's people, relatively rare.

Ding Dong had gone out early in the morning, and no one knew what she was up to.

Ever since Ding Dong lost her left hand, this woman had stopped participating in the convoy's Superhuman operations to clear out anomalies.

But she still managed the Ideal Grain Seeds in the convoy.

On normal days, she barely left the convoy's camp area, so her going out early this morning did surprise Chu Che a little.

When he saw Ding Dong return, Chu Che narrowed his eyes slightly but didn't say much.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, he went about his own business.

But as he turned to leave, Chu Che couldn't help but let out a deep sigh.

Some things in life, if they're meant to be, they'll be; if not, they won't...

Ding Dong returned to her Panel Van.

At that moment, Zhou Xiaoxiao was inspecting the growth of the Ideal Grain Seeds, leaf by leaf.

They had been harvested just last night, and only this morning had the qualified seeds been planted.

Some of the grain seeds had already sprouted green shoots.

The growth was promising, but nothing surprising.

Although the Ideal Grain Seeds had a low yield due to various reasons.

These things were still the most important property of the entire convoy.

When other convoys heard that the Fair Convoy had Ideal Grain Seeds, they were so envious their eyes turned green.

The Shepherd Convoy even tried to trade ten fat sheep for them, but Chu Che sternly refused.

Fat sheep were good too, but the convoy had no Breeder Sequence, so the meat would just be eaten and gone.

But Ideal Grain Seeds could be recycled indefinitely. With proper care, although the yield was low, they were practically inexhaustible.

The two simply couldn't be compared in value.

Chu Che still felt heartache over the Ideal Grain Seeds he had traded away before.

Seeing Ding Dong return, Zhou Xiaoxiao straightened her back and respectfully called out to her.

"Master!"

"Mm, how's everything?"

"Same as before. I just watered them a moment ago..."

Zhou Xiaoxiao carefully reported the condition of the Ideal Grain Seeds in full detail.

This was one of her duties. Even though this woman was still crazily practicing her punches, she still completed her work conscientiously every day.

Ding Dong listened to Zhou Xiaoxiao's report while carefully inspecting the Ideal Grain Seeds herself.

After planting, the Ideal Grain Seeds basically needed to be checked every one to two hours.

These things grew too fast. If you only checked once a day, by the time you noticed something had gone wrong, it might already be too late.

The work was tedious, but Zhou Xiaoxiao did it meticulously.

Ding Dong listened just as carefully.

After confirming that the Ideal Grain Seeds hadn't changed, Ding Dong straightened her back, a satisfied expression appearing on her face.

"You've done well. Your work may be simple, but you can't slack off. Keep it up. I don't need to tell you how important the Ideal Grain Seeds are!"

"Mm, I know, Master!"

Zhou Xiaoxiao nodded, her attitude earnest and obedient.

There was no trace left of the spoiled young lady she had once been.

If Zhou Lan ever saw her again, apart from her face, she would never recognize this as her own sister.

"The seaside environment actually isn't the most suitable for planting Ideal Grain Seeds. The salinity of the soil here is relatively high..."

"Once we return to Xi City, although it's a city, the conditions will definitely be much better than the seaside. Then we can transplant these seeds into the ground!"

"During this time, the Ideal Grain Seeds have been planted in flower pots the whole while, which has severely restricted their growth. There's nothing we can do about it. Given our current situation, this is all we can manage..."

"Perhaps once we have a stable environment, the growing conditions for the Ideal Grain Seeds will improve!"

Ding Dong chattered on while carefully inspecting the growth of the Ideal Grain Seeds.

She even directed Zhou Xiaoxiao to wipe off the dust that had settled on the leaves.

Zhou Xiaoxiao listened earnestly.

"Xiaoxiao, help Master take something out of my pocket!"

Ding Dong tilted her body slightly, turning the pocket of her upper garment toward Zhou Xiaoxiao.

Without a second thought, Zhou Xiaoxiao reached into Ding Dong's side pocket and pulled out an object wrapped in red cloth.

"Open it!"

Ding Dong continued.

The red cloth was wrapped very tightly, layer upon layer. Clearly, there was something very important inside.

But no matter how tightly something was wrapped, there always came a moment when it was opened.

When the final layer was opened.

Zhou Xiaoxiao froze entirely, as if she had forgotten to breathe, forgotten time itself.

This woman, whose face was haggard but still bore delicate features, opened her mouth as if to say something, only to find that at this moment, she had lost her voice entirely, unable to utter a single word.

What the red cloth contained was a wisp of blue.

Within the blue liquid, it seemed as though a river of stars was flowing, harboring a strange and wondrous energy.

It was so beautiful it dazzled the eyes.

This wisp of blue had appeared countless times in Zhou Xiaoxiao's dreams.

Countless times...

Every appearance had been accompanied by hope and nightmares.

Every time it appeared, the outcome was Zhou Xiaoxiao jolting awake from her dreams.

This was a Sequence Serum...

Another Sequence Serum...

"M... Master..."

A hoarse voice squeezed out from the depths of Zhou Xiaoxiao's throat.

The voice had completely changed in tone, not sounding like Zhou Xiaoxiao at all.

"This is for you!"

Ding Dong smiled.

Zhou Xiaoxiao lowered her head, her hands trembling, her shoulders shaking, but unable to utter a single word.

"It's just a Sequence Serum. No one said that after using one Sequence Serum, you can't use a second one!"

"Some Superhumans only awakened after using several Sequence Serums!"

"Don't give up. The road of life is still long!"

"Go on!"

Before Zhou Xiaoxiao could say anything more.

Ding Dong had already turned and walked away.

Ding Dong knew how important the Sequence Serum was to ordinary people.

Just now, when she went to the Silent Council shop, the Little Girl who had brought her the Sequence Serum had such a complex look in her eyes, such intense emotions...

She remembered it vividly. If there hadn't been a Silent Council observer standing nearby watching, Zhou Xiaoxiao was certain that Little Girl would have kept the Sequence Serum for herself.

After all, in that Little Girl's eyes, she was nothing more than a disabled person...

For ordinary people, a Sequence Serum... was the most important thing.

Zhou Xiaoxiao watched Ding Dong's departing figure, and only then slowly raised her head. Her face was already covered in tears and snot.

She cried in silence. She couldn't even remember when she had last cried her heart out.

Then her whole body went limp, collapsing to her knees like a soft-bodied creature without a spine.

But those slender, frail hands still clung desperately to that blue Sequence Serum, as if clutching her very life.

Clutching it desperately...

Her hands crawled across the ground as she cradled that wisp of blue to her chest, pressing it to the spot closest to her heart.

Ding Dong had already walked far away. She knew that giving Zhou Xiaoxiao space at this moment was the most important thing.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Sunset Avenue.

Haosheng Hotel still stood by the seaside, forming a stark contrast with the blue-green seawater.

What should have been an incredibly romantic setting now featured this mottled, dilapidated staircase exuding an eerie aura.

Getting slightly closer to the Howard Johnson Hotel, you could even hear the sound of something pounding against the door panels.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

Again and again, as if there were living people inside, frantically hammering on the door panels, trying to get out.

Of course, this banging sound didn't happen all the time.

Those who could hear it were the unfortunate ones.

And on the fifth floor of Building One at Haosheng Hotel, that banner was still fluttering.

The blood-red words fluttering on the banner read "HELP!!!".

Every time you saw those two words and three exclamation marks, it sent chills down your spine.

But if anyone actually tried to get close to Haosheng Hotel.

They would feel an invisible wall blocking their path.

Of course, if someone was truly curious and wanted to go take a look.

Chen Ye would absolutely not stop them.

In Chen Ye's words, this was a deadly place. If anyone really wanted to explore it, just let them in. After a few people die, everyone will know this place is off-limits!

People can't teach people, but events can teach people. One lesson is all it takes!

Everyone was speechless at Chen Ye's words.

When Chen Hao learned that Chen Ye had said this, she gave him a good scolding.

As for whether Chen Ye actually took it to heart.

Only he knew.

The Haosheng Hotel matter was long over.

What Chen Ye and the others had to face now was new danger.

And the Hundred-Ghost Eater at his waist had brought new information.

In the dangerous center of Xi City ahead, there was a sacrifice it recognized.