Chen Ye’s eyes narrowed slightly.
His blood-red pupils fixed on the two identical men.
They seemed completely unaware anything was wrong.
Still sweating profusely, still happily working.
Both were very thin; even carrying one sack of rice was a struggle, yet this one insisted on hauling two.
Judging by their flushed faces, they were obviously ecstatic at seeing so many supplies.
But the other man noticed something different.
He had just finished carrying a sack of rice, turned, and saw two identical faces, both excitedly clutching two sacks and running toward the truck.
The man’s face changed drastically. “Old Zhou, Old Zhou... Mr. Chen!”
He stumbled backward in fright, finally collapsing onto the floor, the blood draining from his face.
“Why panic? Hurry up and work!”
Chen Ye snapped coldly.
The man sobered at Chen Ye’s rebuke.
“Don’t worry about them, do your own thing. Nothing will happen!”
Chen Ye ordered again.
The man stood up trembling and hurried out of the house.
Chen Ye didn’t say anything more to him, he simply stared at the two identical figures.
The man called Old Zhou clearly hadn’t realized anything.
Seeing Chen Ye watching him, Old Zhou even smiled at Chen Ye.
The smoke-breath simulated figures nearby didn’t care whether Old Zhou was human or an anomaly.
They carried sack after sack of rice out of the house.
The existence of the two Old Zhous didn’t interrupt their work.
The shop outside had almost been emptied of supplies.
Only then did Xu Lina realize something might be wrong in the house.
But she didn’t come over to help Chen Ye.
She knew Chen Ye could handle what he could handle without her help.
If Chen Ye couldn’t solve it, her help would be useless.
She directed Lai Baiwei and the man to load anything movable from the front shop.
This grain-and-oil store didn’t just have rice and flour.
There were many seasonings, daily necessities, iron pots, iron spatulas, and the like.
The truck bed was soon more than half full.
Xu Lina planned to put the remaining items on the Monster Pickup Truck’s roof.
Unfortunately, the roof was covered with solar charging panels.
She had to abandon that idea.
Chen Ye glanced at his digital watch.
Almost forty minutes had passed.
According to the plan, they were supposed to meet at the supermarket in an hour.
Chen Ye gripped Hatred in his hand and slowly backed away.
Seeing this, Xu Lina hurriedly waved to her cousin and the man.
The three of them quickly returned to the truck.
Old Zhou was carrying two sacks of rice out.
Seeing Chen Ye watching warily, Old Zhou froze. “Mr. Chen!”
Chen Ye said nothing.
“Mr. Chen, wait for me. There’s so much more. Load a bit more and we won’t go hungry!”
Old Zhou’s face showed panic.
He spoke cautiously, seemingly afraid Chen Ye would refuse.
Chen Ye shook his head. “Old Zhou, wait here. My truck is full. There’s no room left. I’ll come back on the next run!”
Old Zhou froze. “Mr. Chen, you want me to stay here alone?”
Chen Ye shook his head. “No, I won’t leave you alone. You’ve got a brother!”
He pointed to another man coming out from the inner storage area.
“Old Zhou, look, there’s another Old Zhou. He can stay with you!”
At that moment the other identical Old Zhou stepped up beside the first.
Both Old Zhous froze, fear flashing in their eyes.
“Y—you… who are you?”
“Who are you really?”
“Mr. Chen, he’s the fake!”
“Mr. Chen, I’m the real Old Zhou!”
“Mr. Chen, you can’t leave me!”
Even their terrified expressions were identical.
They trembled so badly their legs buckled, faces going pale, and they collapsed to the floor, crashing into the shelving behind them.
By now Chen Ye had stepped outside the shop, his hand gripping the hilt of Hatred.
Several blurred figures stood around him.
“Mr. Chen, you... you’re leaving?”
Seeing Chen Ye about to go, both Old Zhous panicked and scrambled up, taking a hurried step as if to chase him.
Chen Ye’s gaze chilled. “Stop!”
Chen Ye’s usual authority in the convoy made both Old Zhous freeze in place.
He looked at them coldly.
“Old Zhou, I told you — the truck is already full. Wait here for me.”
“When I unload the cargo, I will come back!”
“Then I’ll take you away!”
“Behave, or don’t blame me for being ruthless!”
At the last sentence Chen Ye had pulled Hatred out an inch.
Those blood-red threads reluctantly snapped from the blade.
“Mr. Chen, but...”
Old Zhou looked at his duplicate and felt a chill run down his spine.
Chen Ye pointed at the shop steps outside. “Old Zhou, sit here and wait!”
“I’ll be back soon!”
Chen Ye had already walked to the Monster Pickup Truck.
The two Old Zhous were too frightened to say anything else.
They went outside the shop.
Xu Lina and Lai Baiwei saw the two identical men.
Xu Lina’s expression changed; two guns suddenly appeared in her hands and the tail behind her head twitched alertly.
Lai Baiwei turned deathly pale, ducking beneath the truck’s bench, trembling.
“Stop! Or don’t blame me for what happens!”
Seeing the two Old Zhous move forward, Chen Ye’s blood-red eyes flashed.
A ball of flame ignited between him and the two Old Zhous.
The bursting fire blocked their advance.
“Mr. Chen...”
Old Zhou stopped at the entrance to the grain-and-oil shop, pleading eyes fixed on Chen Ye.
“Mr. Chen, I... I’m scared!”
Chen Ye continued to reassure him. “Don’t be. I will come back. There’s too much supplies for me to abandon them!”
“Mr. Chen, don’t lie to me!”
Old Zhou looked at Chen Ye earnestly.
Caught between fear and hope,
Old Zhou now looked more like an anomaly than the anomalies did.
On one hand he feared the identical “person” opposite him.
On the other he pinned his fragile hopes on Chen Ye.
Chen Ye answered with certainty, “I won’t lie to you!”
He opened the truck door, got in, and started the engine.
The Monster Pickup Truck shuddered and came to life.
Old Zhou tried to chase after them but was stopped by the flames.
Old Zhou shouted at Chen Ye. “Mr. Chen, don’t lie to me! Don’t lie to me!”
Chen Ye replied, “Don’t worry. Wait here. I won’t lie to you!”
Then he stomped the gas. The tires gouged deep tracks into the ground as the truck shot forward.
Old Zhou trembled within the flames.
The blood color drained from his face completely.
He looked like a corpse that had been dead for many days.
Old Zhou dared not look at the identical figure next to him.
He slowly squatted down.
He sat on the step outside “Old-Earth Grain and Oil Shop.”
The other identical man squared with him, squatting down too.
Old Zhou hugged his legs and buried his head between them.
The opposite Old Zhou also squatted and buried his head between his legs.
“Mr. Chen, don’t lie to me! Don’t lie to me!”
The other Old Zhou whispered as well, “Mr. Chen, don’t lie to me, don’t lie to me!”
The flames slowly died out.
The two Old Zhous were left as two vague shadows.
Occasional murmurs could be heard.
“Don’t lie to me, don’t lie to me...”
...
Chen Ye’s face was grim.
He clenched his teeth and said nothing, only the engine’s roar filled the air and the wind blew toward him, bringing a faint chill laced with an indescribable smell of decay.
Xu Lina’s face was pale as well.
After hesitating for a long time, she still asked: “Mr. Chen, are you... really going to come back for him?”
Chen Ye was silent for two or three seconds. “Come back my foot!”
“So Old Zhou...”
The man sitting in the back seat became excited at Chen Ye’s response.
Although he had looked terrified earlier,
Old Zhou was his best friend — they might as well have been sworn brothers within the convoy.
They wouldn’t have come aboard Chen Ye’s truck together if not close.
“He’s already dead!”
“Ah~~~”
The man in the back shuddered all over.
Chen Ye didn’t understand why he had said a few more words than necessary.
“Those two Old Zhous are both fake!”
“...”
When the rear man heard Chen Ye say that, he felt as if a spinal cord had been ripped out; he slumped limply in the seat.
“How could it be? Old Zhou is a good man!”
“He’s a good man!”
“He’s strong, he can carry two sacks of rice by himself. He cares about others. He’s a good man...”
“He can’t be!”
The man murmured quietly...
Lai Baiwei had been trembling all along.
Only Xu Lina remained pale-faced.
“Where to go next!”
Xu Lina quickly took out the crumpled map and began directing.
First law when meeting anomalies: run if you can. Avoid fighting if possible.
No one can tell what kind of anomaly they’re facing.
Maybe they could easily dispatch it.
Maybe the anomaly could easily crush them.
Slaughter Points are never as important as life.
Although they had many ways to protect themselves.
Soon Chen Ye drove to the previously designated rendezvous.
According to Sun Xixi, Hongqiao Town had two supermarkets.
One large supermarket was the gathering point for this rendezvous.
They had to abandon the other supermarket.
When Chen Ye arrived, he saw Gong Yong holding a chainsaw, guarding the entrance with Ding Dong.
Ding Dong’s vehicle was already packed with supplies.
Chen Ye braked sharply and exchanged a glance with Gong Yong, then with Xu Lina, Lai Baiwei and the man they rushed into the supermarket.
“Rumble...”
Soon sounds of fighting came from inside.
The pink-haired girl wielded the Fire Dragon Sword, locked in a fierce battle with a Giant Infant as tall as three stories.
That baby’s head had pierced right through the supermarket roof.
The pudgy head made anyone who looked at it shiver.
Its tire-like arms possessed unimaginable strength.
A light swing could snap a load-bearing column in the supermarket.
Iron Lion moved like a heavy construction vehicle, crazily scavenging every visible supply under the pink-haired girl’s protection.
Chen Ye snapped his fingers and dozens of simulated humanoids appeared, like hyper-energized ants.
They hauled the supermarket goods out.
Outside the supermarket the Monster Pickup Truck seemed to sense Chen Ye’s situation.
It extended a tentacle into the store and snatched items from people’s hands, pulling them back.
From the darkness,
some adult-sized Giant Infants crawled out of hidden corners.
Their shapes were similar to the enormous infant the pink-haired girl faced, only much smaller.
Some were about Chen Ye’s size.
Some reached three or four meters tall.
These Giant Infants were both male and female.
They crawled on hands and feet.
They seemed to think Chen Ye’s team were interesting toys.
Their gaze looked at Chen Ye’s group like one looks at playthings or food.
One Giant Infant snatched a fleeing survivor.
The survivor screamed but couldn’t break free.
Curious, the Giant Infant pulled the survivor’s arm off as if tearing the limb from a doll.
The survivor lost consciousness from the pain.
The Giant Infant stared at the limp “doll” puzzled, then looked toward Chen Ye.
A Human-Faced Scorpion tore itself free from the smoke.
Countless Crawlers took shape.
“Let me deal with these monsters!”
Iron Lion finally couldn’t hold back. He burst out from the piles of goods, rapidly expanding.
In the blink of an eye he became a two-headed, four-armed giant.
He was a battle maniac.
Putting him on scavenging duty—who knew what pent-up urge that caused in him.
Chen Ye sighed inwardly and turned to frantically gather supplies.
More simulated humanoids struggled up from the smoke.
Scavenging in Hongqiao Town was not going smoothly.
As they retreated from the supermarket,
the Giant Infants hiding in the supermarket followed them out.
Especially the one the pink-haired girl had fought — extremely hard to deal with.
Chen Ye filled the entire street with Smoke Breath Mist.
But the Giant Infants seemed unaffected.
Their noses twitched in the air.
The convoy’s vehicles followed up.
This was the first time Chen Ye had encountered anomalies against which Smoke Breath Mist was ineffective.
Captain Chu had long since prepared.
Once the crowd left Hongqiao Town,
the whole convoy, without a word, began fleeing at top speed.
Unexpectedly, the Giant Infants chased them out of Hongqiao Town.
Only when Captain Chu used Blood Path were they finally able to shake off the Giant Infants.
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