The air inside the van was freezing, the lingering chill of the Weirdness refusing to dissipate.
Just as the three of them thought the little girl had left, an unexpected change occurred.
“What… is that?!”
White Moon’s pupils constricted. She pointed at the empty space in front of White Night’s bicycle, her voice trembling.
In that previously vacant spot, an Inky Black Bowtie materialized out of nowhere.
It didn’t simply fall.
It was more like ink dripping into clear water, slowly bleeding out and coalescing into a solid shape.
That darkness seemed to swallow light itself; even the dim red moonlight from outside the window vanished upon touching it. It just hung there in mid-air, radiating a faint, cool mist.
The next second, as if it had found its target, it ignored gravity and drifted toward White Night.
【!!】
White Night’s soul instinctively felt its hair stand on end. She controlled her Soul Body to retreat.
However, the bowtie acted as if it had eyes, following her relentlessly. it hovered less than half a meter in front of her, neither too far nor too close. It was like a black butterfly waiting for its master to take it in.
White Night had nowhere left to retreat; her Soul Body was pressed against the van window.
The bowtie stopped.
A familiar, childish, and chilling voice echoed directly within the depths of White Night’s soul.
“White Night… don’t be afraid.”
It was the little girl’s voice. But this time, the greed that had once made her scalp tingle was gone. Instead, there was a rare hint of… sincerity.
“This is a gift for you.”
“You can accept it without worry.”
“You gave me candy… You are my friend. I won’t hurt you.”
“Equivalent Exchange. It is very fair.”
The moment the voice faded, the Inky Black Bowtie drifted slowly toward White Night and shook slightly. It hovered there quietly, as if waiting for her to take it.
The interior of the van was terrifyingly silent.
Auntie Frost and Mu Yingying held their breath, watching the scene with tension. They couldn’t hear the little girl speaking; they could only watch as the eerie bowtie cornered White Night.
‘A friend…?’
White Night was stunned. This Weirdness Little Empress actually considered her a friend? Just because of that jar of Rainbow Candy?
White Night hesitated. Eventually, she reached out with her translucent little hand.
She had expected her hand to pass right through it. After all, one was a soul and the other was a physical object. But the moment her fingertips touched that patch of darkness—
There was a sensation!
A cool, delicate texture, like high-quality soft satin, was clearly transmitted to her soul!
White Night’s fingers twitched, and she instinctively closed her hand. The Inky Black Bowtie was actually caught in her grasp!
‘I… grabbed a physical object?!’
Stormy waves rose in White Night’s heart. Since becoming a Rusty Bicycle, her Soul Projection allowed her to leave her physical form, but she could only pass through things. She couldn’t exert any physical influence.
Yet now, she was firmly holding this object!
This proved two things. First, this bowtie was no ordinary item; it was a Weirdness creation or perhaps even a part of a Weirdness.
Second, and the point that sent a chill down White Night’s back—if she could touch the Weirdness, the Weirdness could touch her!
Previously, she had thought her Soul State made her invincible to physical attacks. Looking at it now, in this world where Weirdness ran rampant, her Soul Body was simply a “physical entity” on a different level.
If she encountered a monster at the level of that little girl, the opponent could easily yank her soul out of the bicycle and tear her apart!
‘It seems I can’t just mess around carelessly in my Soul State anymore…’
White Night silently warned herself, engraving this lesson into her heart. She looked down at the bowtie in her hand. It looked creepy, but it wasn’t aggressive. Furthermore, since the little girl called it a “gift,” it was likely a special item.
‘Whatever. Fortune favors the bold.’
White Night stopped hesitating. Her Soul Body floated back into the Rusty Bicycle, and she carefully placed the bowtie into the front basket.
“White Night… is it really okay to keep that thing?”
Auntie Frost watched the black object settle into the basket, her brow furrowed with worry. “That’s a Weirdness item. What if there’s a curse on it?”
“Yeah,” Mu Yingying leaned in, wanting to poke it but not quite daring to. “This thing looks incredibly sinister.”
【Don’t worry.】
White Night’s voice echoed in their minds, sounding reassuring.
【I know what I’m doing. If that little girl wanted to hurt us, we would have already become the candy in her pocket. Since it’s a gift, it might be some kind of treasure.】
Hearing White Night say this, though the two were still a bit unnerved, they chose to trust her. After all, throughout this journey, White Night’s judgment had yet to be wrong.
—
Midnight had already passed.
The three of them looked out the van window. The camp was as silent as a graveyard. In the faint firelight, they could see dark red stains on the ground, along with scattered clothes and supplies.
The convoy, which had started with over 100 people, had been reduced to fewer than fifty in a single night. Aside from the Core Team, more than half of the survivors on the periphery were dead.
Those who had previously been gloating over their supplies were now either a mess on the ground that no one cared about or the candy in a little girl’s pocket.
“This is too miserable…”
Mu Yingying’s face, which usually carried a smile, was now full of solemnity. “To stay alive, you really can’t afford to make even one mistake.”
Auntie Frost gripped White Night’s handlebars tightly, her knuckles turning white. “Not only do we have to guard against the Weirdness, but we also have to guard against people’s hearts and our own greed.”
White Night looked at all this and sighed in her heart. In a peaceful era, Auntie Frost would be in an office signing documents, and Mu Yingying would have her own little villa. She would have just followed her two aunts around, complaining about being hungry and wanting food.
Those days were gone forever.
However…
White Night felt that compared to her previous life—where she was alone and plagued by illness—now was actually much better.
‘At least I’m not alone. I have Auntie Frost protecting me and Yingying to keep things lively. Even if I’m a bicycle, there are people to wipe me down every day and talk to me.’
This feeling of depending on one another was enough to satisfy the White Night of this life, who had been so solitary in her previous one.
‘Alright, enough sentimentality.’
White Night retracted her thoughts, her voice becoming cheerful as she tried to break the gloomy atmosphere in the van.
【I just checked the time; it’s past 12:00 AM. A new day means a new CD!】
【Auntie Frost, even though everyone was too tired to maintain me and earn points today, we still have a bit of points left. We can still do one draw.】
At the mention of a “draw,” Auntie Frost instantly snapped out of it. This was their only form of entertainment and their hope for becoming stronger.
“Let’s do it! Watch me!”
Auntie Frost rubbed her hands together, her confident aura of a “Luck Queen” returning.
【System, consume one point to start the draw!】
The virtual turntable emerged once again. The wheel of light spun rapidly, carrying the hopes of three people. The pointer spun crazily before slowly stopping on an icon flashing with metallic luster, right at the edge of a heart-pounding red light!
[Ding!]
[Congratulations to Driver Su Shuang’er! Your luck has exploded!]
[Obtained Common Equipment: Alloy Fighting Gauntlets (One Pair)]
[Item Description: Put these on, and even an ordinary person can punch through a steel plate. This is the best interpretation of “Brute force flies the brick!”]
The light dissipated.
A pair of silver-black metal gauntlets, looking ferocious and full of industrial violence, appeared out of thin air in Auntie Frost’s hands.
The gauntlets covered the entire forearm and palm. The knuckles featured sharp tungsten steel protrusions, and a faint blue glow flowed across the back of the hands.
They felt heavy and radiated an aura of lethal intent.
“Good stuff!”
Mu Yingying’s eyes widened. She couldn’t help but reach out to touch them. “This texture… with one punch, you could probably crush that big guy’s skull from earlier, right?”
Auntie Frost couldn’t put them down either. Her current weakness was that she had Supernatural Strength but lacked a way to use it in close combat without harming her own body.
When she used the dumbbell bar before, her hands had gone numb from the vibration. With these gauntlets, she was a true human tyrannosaur!
“With these, I can protect you even better, White Night.”
Auntie Frost spoke playfully, gently stroking the handlebars.
However, before the three of them could finish celebrating…
Screech—
A sharp burst of static suddenly echoed through the silent camp. Immediately afterward, Wang Ziming’s voice broadcasted through the loudspeakers.
“Attention everyone.”
“Attention everyone.”
“The convoy will break camp and depart in five minutes.”
“I repeat, departing in five minutes.”
“The convoy will not be responsible for anyone who cannot keep up.”
The voice was cold and hard, devoid of any emotion.
“Moving again? We don’t even get to rest…”
Mu Yingying was speechless. “What time is it? Everyone hasn’t even caught their breath, and we’re running again? Is he just leading us blindly…?”
Outside the window, the survivors were also wailing.
“Brother Ming! Let us rest for a bit!”
“We’re too tired! We really can’t run anymore!”
“Do you have any humanity?!”
However, the only responses they received were the roar of the black SUV’s engine and the dark muzzles of the guns held by several Core Team members. In the face of absolute force, all complaints became useless whimpering.
The survivors could only force themselves up, dragging bodies that felt like lead as they began to pack their pitiful belongings.
“Yingying, stop complaining. Let’s pack up and go.”
Although Auntie Frost was also exhausted, she didn’t waste words. She quickly slipped the gauntlets onto her hands and sighed helplessly.
“We don’t know where the Safe Zone is. Even though that Wang Ziming is a bastard, his team has a Navigator. We can’t just wander around blindly; we have to follow.”
Seeing that Auntie Frost’s mood was a bit low, White Night spoke up to comfort her.
【Auntie Frost, actually, we and Wang Ziming are just using each other.】
【He wants to use us as cannon fodder, and we are using him as a GPS.】
Mu Yingying nodded in agreement. “Exactly. When it comes down to a life-or-death moment…”
Auntie Frost finished the thought with a nod. “When it comes down to a life-or-death moment, it’s not certain who will end up being whose cannon fodder.”
【Exactly.】
White Night responded from within the van.
【Let’s go, Auntie Yingying.】
In the night, the remaining convoy looked like a line of frightened ants from afar, fleeing through the darkness.
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