Chapter 17: Refuse to solicit

Outside the dark tunnel exit, the night wind carried the chill of the Wilderness.

Mu Yingying gripped the handlebars tightly, her two powerful, long legs pumping with explosive force.

Pant… pant…

Because the Rusty Bicycle was so dilapidated and a semi-conscious Su Shuang’er was resting on the back seat, Mu Yingying was finding it incredibly difficult to ride.

She had to lift her rear and stand up, her entire 1.9-meter-tall frame swaying as she used her weight and muscle power to stomp on the pedals.

Creak—creak—

The little bike let out a mournful wail, clearly overburdened.

The rusty chain was stretched taut, looking as if it would snap at any second. Sparks almost flew from the bearings as she pedaled.

On the back seat, Su Shuang’er leaned weakly against Mu Yingying’s back.

Even though she lacked the strength to even raise a hand, her heart bled when she heard the bike’s creaks.

This was her precious Little White Night, something she usually couldn’t bear to ride too fast for fear of a single scratch. Who would have thought Yingying would just stand up and stomp on her like this!?

She was heartbroken.

“Yingying… be gentle!”

Su Shuang’er forced herself to look up, her voice full of distress and complaint.

“Don’t stand up to pedal!”

“With your build and all that force, you’re going to snap White Night’s chain!”

“Can’t you be a little more tender?”

Mu Yingying, drenched in sweat, rolled her eyes and snapped back breathlessly, “Easy for you to say!”

“You’re sitting back there comfortably on your big fat ass enjoying the ride, while I’m up here killing myself!”

Mu Yingying vented as she gasped for air.

“Do you think I want to stand up?”

“This little bike is as heavy as a block of lead. The tires are practically flat from our weight!”

“If I don’t stand up and put some power into it, we’ll both be midnight snacks for the spiders behind us!”

“Especially you! Aren’t you afraid of getting that big fat ass bitten off?”

“You… who are you calling a fat ass… your Side Effect hasn’t even kicked in yet, and you’re already talking so crudely!” Su Shuang’er said, flushed with embarrassment.

“Fine, sorry, sorry. I was just trying to lighten the mood.”

Mu Yingying was used to talking trash, but she knew Su Shuang’er had done most of the heavy lifting this time, so she backed down.

Mainly, she was afraid Su Shuang’er might punch her in the back. Even with her large build, she wouldn’t be able to take it.

“I’m not talking to you anymore.”

Heartbroken, Su Shuang’er reached out and touched White Night’s cold seat.

“Thank you for your hard work, Little White Night…”

At that moment, White Night, who had been transformed into a bicycle, felt like crying.

‘It’s okay, it’s okay, I can still hold on…’

White Night’s soul trembled within the frame. Under the heavy pressure of two well-endowed Aunties, she felt like she truly couldn’t take it anymore.

Furthermore, Mu Yingying’s wild, standing-pedal style was a massive trial for her fragile body.

However, listening to their bickering, White Night suddenly realized something.

When Su Shuang’er rode her earlier, it felt heavy, but never this difficult.

‘Right! Driver Permission!’

White Night had a sudden realization.

Su Shuang’er was the bound Exclusive Driver, so she had the lightness and smoothness buffs provided by the System.

Mu Yingying was currently just an illegal passenger, relying entirely on raw physical strength to pedal a rusty, heavy bicycle.

‘System! Immediately authorize Mu Yingying as the RV Co-driver!’

White Night quickly gave the command in her mind. If she didn’t authorize it now, she really was going to fall apart.

[Ding! Permission granted. Co-driver: Mu Yingying. Vehicle Control Buff activated.]

Mu Yingying, who was in the middle of a heavy stomp, suddenly felt the resistance vanish.

The pedals, which had been as heavy as lead, instantly became as light as if they had been coated in top-tier lubricant.

Because she used too much force, her foot almost slipped off, nearly straining her waist.

“Oh? Why did it suddenly get so light? Huh? It’s the Co-driver permission.”

Mu Yingying cried out in surprise and sat back down on the seat.

She gave the pedals two light experimental pushes and found the bicycle zipping forward. The previous friction had completely vanished.

Mu Yingying muttered, finally able to ride comfortably.

“Little White Night, you should have given this earlier. Look how tired you made your Auntie. I can barely breathe.”

‘Sorry, Auntie Ying, I just realized it myself.’

Squeak… squeak…

Even though pedaling was effortless now, the frame still let out overburdened sounds as it carried the weight of two curvaceous Aunties.

White Night was helpless about this. She was just a dilapidated bike, after all.

‘Hold on, hold on QAQ!’

Not long after they fled the tunnel, a deafening engine roar echoed from behind them.

Vroom—

Wang Ziming’s black off-road vehicle, covered in dents and green slime, burst out of the tunnel.

Closely following it was a heavy truck.

Two other sedans also made it out.

They had actually managed to break free from the Spider Tide as well.

The off-road vehicle accelerated to catch up with the three of them, braking sharply alongside the bike.

The window rolled down, revealing Wang Ziming’s pale, exhausted face.

He pushed up his cracked gold-rimmed glasses. He didn’t demand an explanation for why the two had fled on their own; instead, he glanced at the wobbling, overloaded bicycle.

“Get in.”

Wang Ziming’s tone was curt.

Su Shuang’er and Mu Yingying exchanged a look and nodded without hesitation.

It was a no-brainer. If they kept riding like this, White Night really would be scrapped. They were already worried sick about her.

The two women carefully lifted White Night into the back of the heavy truck and then climbed in after her.

As soon as they entered the truck bed, a thick scent of blood and an aura of despair hit them.

The truck was mostly empty. To increase their escape speed, they had clearly abandoned a large amount of supplies in the tunnel.

The human toll was even more tragic.

None of the dozens of ordinary survivors who had been following them made it out. They had all become spider food.

Even the core convoy that Wang Ziming had painstakingly cultivated had lost five people.

Now, the entire team, including the two of them, only had eleven people left.

In the truck bed, the surviving members were all injured, and their expressions were terrifyingly grim.

Silence fell over the group, broken only by the heavy, suppressed breathing of those who had escaped death.

They had survived.

The convoy continued driving into the Wilderness for a while. Only after confirming they were completely safe did they pull over for a rest.

Wang Ziming took two bottles of water and walked to the truck bed, handing them to Su Shuang’er and Mu Yingying, who were wiping the dust off White Night.

“Thank you for that punch today.”

Wang Ziming looked at Su Shuang’er, his eyes filled with deep wariness and a thirst for recruitment.

Su Shuang’er took the water but said nothing. She hadn’t even recovered enough strength to twist the cap.

Mu Yingying didn’t plan on drinking it yet either.

They didn’t intend to drink anything handed to them by a stranger.

Seeing that the two didn’t trust him, Wang Ziming smiled, not taking offense.

“Ladies, I’ve seen your strength.”

“In this Apocalypse, you won’t survive long on your own. Join my team.”

He began his practiced pitch.

“I have supplies, modified vehicles, and most importantly, we are powerful. We stood our ground against a spider nest, after all.”

“With you two, this team could go anywhere.”

“As long as you say the word, you’ll receive the highest level of treatment. Once the team grows, you’ll be the absolute core members.”

He specifically emphasized his bargaining chips.

“Furthermore, our convoy is known to have at least four people with an Awakened Ability. Your safety is guaranteed.”

Pfft.

Mu Yingying, who was just taking a sip of water, spat it out.

She casually wiped her mouth and cut off Wang Ziming’s long-winded speech.

“Alright, Boss Wang, stop making empty promises.”

“You still want to trick us into joining?”

Mu Yingying exposed him ruthlessly.

“What do you mean ‘at least four people with an Awakened Ability’?”

“When we were fighting for our lives in that tunnel, all I saw was you playing with some metal shards and that Big Guy turning into stone.”

“What about the others? Were they performing magic tricks in the back?”

Having his lie exposed to his face, Wang Ziming didn’t look embarrassed at all.

He was thick-skinned. He even smiled and pushed up his glasses, replying, “Miss Mu is certainly blunt.”

“But you wouldn’t understand. In ancient warfare, a few thousand men would claim to be an army of over a hundred thousand.”

“In this Apocalypse, one must mix truth with falsehood to deter the small fry, right?”

Wang Ziming wasn’t angry about being rejected.

He was a calculating man who didn’t show his emotions. Very few could see through him.

The power of that punch earlier had been too terrifying.

Even though he had been snubbed, he wasn’t angry in the slightest.

If these two women joined—especially Su Shuang’er—his team would truly gain wings.

Besides, he could see that these two had no intention of vying for power.

That made them the best and safest partners.

Having such powerhouses in the team to hold the fort brought nothing but benefits.

“You’re too calculating. If we became ‘core members,’ I’m afraid we’d be sold off while helping you count the money.”

“As for joining, forget it.”

Mu Yingying waved her hand before changing the subject.

“However, it’s the middle of the night and there are monsters behind us. We contributed quite a bit this time, so how about we hitch a ride and travel together for a while? That shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“Of course not. It’s exactly what I’m hoping for,” Wang Ziming agreed immediately.

“Since this is a partnership, I won’t be polite.”

Mu Yingying looked at the crowded truck bed. She knew White Night’s secret as a System RV could never be exposed.

She pointed to a standard sedan at the back of the convoy that was empty because its owner had died.

“We’ll borrow that sedan for a while.”

“We’re used to acting alone, so we’ll just follow behind you in that car.”

“Of course, it’s not a free favor. If we run into trouble, we’ll help out.”

Wang Ziming looked where she was pointing. It was just a common commuter car.

“Deal.”

He nodded with a smile.

5 minutes later.

Su Shuang’er and Mu Yingying had White Night settled properly in the back seat of the sedan.

The doors were closed, blocking the outside gaze and the cold wind.

Mu Yingying sat in the driver’s seat and quickly pulled out the Smooth Gold Coin to have a quick gamble with Su Shuang’er to satisfy her side effect’s addiction.

Of course, she lost again and switched into her lowbrow trash-talking mode.

Mu Yingying stretched her body languidly. She looked back at Su Shuang’er, who was lying weakly against White Night’s seat, and gave a wicked grin.

“Alright, fat ass.”

“There’s no one else around now, and this car has tinted glass. You can take your time cuddling and being clingy with your precious little bike.”

“Your big sister will be your Exclusive Driver. I promise I won’t peek in the rearview mirror.”

“Heh heh heh~”