Chapter 763: This Is Only the Beginning

"How's it feel? Pretty good being called Chief Seat, huh?!"

Little Fish wore the look of a clever little imp.

She hadn't gotten out of the vehicle earlier, but she'd heard every word of the group's conversation loud and clear.

Chen Ye showed not a trace of embarrassment at Little Fish's teasing. He simply extended the cigarette in his hand out the window and flicked off the ash. "Not bad!"

Little Fish pursed her lips.

Chen Ye continued on to the next pillar of light's location.

Truthfully, he was grumbling inwardly as well.

Thirteen pillars of light.

Having to check them one by one was way too much of a waste of time.

But there was no helping it. Currently, under this Chief Seat, he only had himself.

He would've liked to drag Dantai Bie in to help.

But this guy had made a ton of new friends these past two days. If he wasn't drinking at one place today, he was playing cards at another tomorrow.

You simply couldn't catch sight of him.

Soon, he arrived at the next pillar of light's location.

This time, Chen Ye didn't stop the vehicle. He just asked a couple of routine questions.

Once again, three Silent Council members saluted Chen Ye.

The answer he received was the same: "Everything's normal!"

When he arrived at the fourth pillar of light's location, he finally received a different answer.

Because when Chen Ye inquired about the Silent Council members at this location, the other party's response was that they hadn't seen You Hu.

Chen Ye's expression darkened slightly, but the corner of his mouth curved upward.

Well now, it's you again, you dumb oaf.

Perfect timing to make an example of you.

I still haven't settled accounts with you over that earlier business.

Little Fish pursed her lips. "Hey, One-eyed Guy, didn't you promise that little girl earlier that you'd forgive her older brother?"

"You're way too much of a promise-breaker."

Chen Ye chuckled. "Little brat, what do you know? Drive!"

...

You Hu's vehicle cut straight through the corner of an alley and onto Sunset Avenue.

Looking at the crumbling shops lining the streets, even someone as thick-skinned as You Hu couldn't help but feel a touch of melancholy.

"This location is great, it's just a bit of a shame!"

"Yeah, I came here too when I was young. Back then, the shops here cost over twenty thousand per square meter. And you know, back then houses in my hometown were only a little over a thousand per square meter."

You Hu and Third Uncle chatted idly, trading remarks back and forth.

When he saw a banner hanging outside the windows of the Haosheng Hotel.

Once he made out the words "Help" written on the banner, You Hu couldn't help but frown.

"Da Hu, don't go doing anything stupid. The things in there aren't something we can afford to mess with!"

"I heard..."

Blah blah blah...

The fact that the Haosheng Hotel on Sunset Avenue was a forbidden zone had already been told to each convoy's captain by Hou Junji back when everyone was relocating to Xi City.

It was specifically to prevent some fool from actually charging in.

By now, the Haosheng Hotel's main entrance had been completely sealed off by the Architect Sequence.

And at the entrance, two huge characters were painted in red oil paint: "Forbidden Zone!!!"

Next to it were other seals that read: "No Entry!"

The entire exterior of the Haosheng Hotel looked utterly terrifying and eerie.

It even formed a stark contrast with the rest of Sunset Avenue.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

You Hu's ears twitched. He could even hear what seemed to be someone banging against a wall.

You Hu merely frowned again.

Third Uncle stepped on the gas and quickly drove past the Haosheng Hotel's entrance on Sunset Avenue.

...

"Everyone hold on! As long as we reach Xi City, there's plenty of food there, and a safe environment!"

"By then, we won't have to live in constant fear anymore!"

"We'll be able to live good lives!"

"Oh~~~"

Everyone cheered!

On the road just a few kilometers from Xi City.

A long convoy stretched out like a snake in single file, extending far into the distance.

This convoy had at least several dozen vehicles.

And every vehicle's design was steeped in apocalyptic flair.

Some had no window glass at all, sealed up with old tattered clothes.

Others had roofs that looked like they were wearing heavy hats.

The supplies on the roofs were clearly substantial, weighing the vehicles down so they swayed left and right whenever they hit uneven road.

Some vehicles had all sorts of graffiti painted on their bodies.

Some simply had skull designs, or incomprehensible symbols.

Others rode motorcycles, clearing the way at the very front of the convoy, kicking up long trails of dust.

These motorcycles were also loaded to the brim with supplies.

At the mention of Xi City, everyone's eyes lit up.

Xi City, ah, that name had been circulating among the convoys for a long time now.

Back then, people had still been somewhat skeptical. Based on everyone's experience with apocalyptic migration, where in the world was there still a place where humans could survive?

Could this be something conjured by certain Anomalies?

After all, some Anomalies' intelligence was no weaker than normal humans.

Was the goal to lure the remaining humans in?

The people who had managed to survive this apocalypse were all cautious to the extreme.

But the name Xi City had been etched into everyone's hearts.

Soon, when they encountered other convoys and brought up the matter, those convoys also said they'd received similar information.

Comparing notes on both sides, everyone felt something was off about the whole thing.

But soon, another letter from Hou Junji arrived.

In Hou Junji's letter, he explained that Xi City had already become a human settlement and welcomed all humans to come.

Finally, some people began to crack.

Whether this was real or fake, they had to go check it out.

What if it was real?

The long nomadic life had long since worn humanity down to exhaustion.

More and more people received the letters Hou Junji sent out.

More and more people began wanting to go see Xi City for themselves.

And then...

The situation's development exceeded everyone's control.

Originally, everyone just wanted to take a look, and if Xi City really wasn't right, turn around and run.

But gradually...

Everyone's expectations for Xi City grew higher and higher, and the idea of just taking a look was slowly cast aside.

The rumors even grew more and more absurd.

Some said Xi City was the hope for humanity to rekindle the flame of civilization.

That there was plenty of food there, nice new clothes, and a safe environment.

Others said the reason Xi City managed to take a city back from the Anomalies' hands was because there was a Sequence 9 Superhuman in Xi City.

Still others said this had been planned by the government all along, that Xi City was the trump card the human government had saved.

Anyway, there was every kind of rumor.

Even when the various convoys' captains stepped forward to refute the rumors, they couldn't stop their spread.

Because at this point, the survivors were all willing to believe that Xi City was humanity's last sanctuary.

They only wanted to believe what they wanted to hear.

Even if some felt they should be more cautious, they still couldn't hold back the long-held expectations everyone had.

So, one convoy decided to go.

Once there was a first convoy, there was a second.

People converged on the road, forming an even larger convoy.

Currently, this convoy was the closest to Xi City.

Behind them, even further back, there was an even larger convoy, one with more people, more vehicles, and more Superhumans.

At first glance, there were at least over a hundred vehicles.

The number of Superhumans also far exceeded Xi City's side.

Elder Hou's ability was also flaring into action.

These convoys heading toward Xi City were only just the beginning.