NABC Chapter 99 Hunter and Prey
Chapter 99 Hunter and Prey
The joint convoy arrived at the weathered rock area at dusk.
The jagged black rocks, like the skeleton of a giant beast, resembled an exposed riverbed under the blood-red setting sun, reflecting the crimson light.
After a series of sweeping renovations, Tashan was transformed into a relatively sheltered depression.
The fuel train convoy stopped in the depression, while the flame chariot stopped upwind of the fuel train convoy.
The massive body of the fire-fighting train caravan blocked the fierce winds raging across the Gobi Desert.
The side armor plates slid open again, and Lin Li jumped down first, followed closely by Huo Nan, Zhuang Guodong, and others.
Fu Xiaojian directed the vehicles in the train convoy to form an arc, with the front of the vehicles facing outwards, protecting the buses and ordinary vehicles in the middle.
Without being told, Tashan strode to the outer edge of the rocks, slammed his fists into the ground, and a low but sturdy rock barrier rose up. Although rough, it provided a precious sense of security.
Safety precautions must never be relaxed.
As soon as Jiao Jiao got out of the car, she jogged over to Xu Si, her face beaming with excitement at having just completed a "deal".
"Brother Dao, Brother Dao, how's my red stone?"
"Let me correct you, that's my brother's red stone." Xu Si glanced at her, deliberately keeping a straight face.
"Hmph, I'll go ask again and see if I can scam another one! I'll just give them a discount!" The little girl had already tasted the sweetness of success. If she encountered two more unlucky guys like these, she would have to pay off her debts.
"Cheap?" Xu Si grabbed her by the back of her collar.
"Small businesses must be honest; next time, I'll double the price."
"Huh? Why?" Jiao Jiao struggled.
"Because there are more of us."
Jiao Jiao's eyes lit up; she understood.
She was still not as dark-skinned as Brother Dao. After finishing his business with the little girl, Xu Si went back to his car.
At this moment, Lin Li walked over with Huo Nan.
She changed into a relatively clean casual outfit, tied her long hair up, and her smile remained friendly. Not long ago, Jiao Jiao's "purification" made her feel like she was reborn, and now she had to show a new look.
"Team Leader Fu, Brother Xu," she greeted.
"We have some extra gasoline here. Do you have a lot of drinking water? If so, could we exchange some?"
Because of the presence of the Fire Man, their team didn't consume much fuel, thus saving a lot along the way.
However, they haven't replenished their water supply since entering the Gobi Desert, and now they are almost completely exhausted.
"Great!" Fu Xiaojian's eyes lit up. Their convoy had just replenished their water supply and was now short of oil but not water.
The fuel depot has a lot of water resources, so nearly half of it was used to exchange for gasoline, which greatly improved the depleted gasoline reserves of the depot.
"So you encountered a checkpoint before? You were quite lucky!"
Lin Li felt envious. Their team had never encountered a large water resource so far. Let alone taking a bath, even drinking water was difficult.
Xu Si's vehicle had plenty of fuel thanks to the [Chi-Tailed Shark Crocodile], so he didn't trade supplies with the Flame Chariot.
What he really wanted to trade was the mysterious drop.
However, he doesn't have any bargaining chips to offer right now, and he doesn't want to offer any truly valuable ones, which creates a vicious cycle.
"What? Did you return empty-handed?" Seeing the little girl return to the convoy dejectedly, Xu Si guessed what had happened.
"Who said that? There were still some gains, okay?"
As she spoke, the little girl raised a piece of cured meat she was holding; this was a real treat.
"Who took pity on you and traded with you?"
"You think everyone is like you? Sister Aya is a really nice person, okay?" The little girl was a bit frustrated. She only used 'purification' to exchange for a piece of cured meat, and no one was willing to exchange for the strange drop anymore.
Even with her promise of a three-shot "recovery," no one was willing to switch?
If it weren't for the increasingly dangerous look in the boy's eyes, she might have increased it to four or five shots.
We need to reconsider whether to use scarcity marketing or low-profit, high-volume sales.
Dinner was again moss and dried fish soup.
With the little girl's purification, the fish soup is indeed much more delicious. The oily smell that used to linger is now completely gone, and the highlight is its freshness.
As for the Blazing Chariot, it rested directly inside the castle-like vehicle, without even setting up camp on the spot.
So the little girl couldn't see their food, but it must be better than theirs, since they even had cured meat.
After the flames of the flaming chariots died down, the campfire of the fuel train team became the only source of light in the depression.
Jiao Jiao sipped the hot soup, her gaze occasionally drifting towards the silently standing "Flaming Chariot".
Only the interior of the enormous vehicle emitted a faint orange light, like the eyes of a lurking beast.
"Sis, that red-haired kid looks a bit weird." Fire Man chewed on some jerky, his voice sounding muffled in the empty cockpit.
Lin Li leaned against the observation window: "Anyone who can survive the apocalypse alone until now, leading such a convoy, is no ordinary person."
"The way he looked at me was like I was a piece of firewood." The man snorted, but surprisingly, he didn't fly into a rage.
He got out of the car intending to provoke them and test their strength.
However, Xu Si did not get out of the car, and the way he looked at him through the car window was also very strange. They were clearly the same age, but he always felt that he was inferior to others.
Aya, who was in the corner, suddenly looked up slightly and whispered, "They seem to be... talking about us."
Lin Li's eyes flashed.
……
"After spending time together, what do you think of this convoy?" Fu Xiaojian was referring to his impressions of the small transaction they had just made.
"Sister Aya is such a nice person!" The little girl was oblivious, only caring about her own fanny pack.
"They probably don't mean us any harm!" Su Su commented, or at least that's what she thought.
"We can't be blindly optimistic. At least that big guy and that college student are still wary of us! And that fire guy is not easy to get along with either!" Shao Bing's reconnaissance ability is always on, so he has the deepest understanding of these things.
"Old Xu, what do you think?" Fu Xiaojian's caution was almost ingrained in his bones.
"It would be even better if they had ulterior motives!" Xu Si was also very interested in the 911th ranked artifact.
Moreover, he had already assessed the combat capabilities of both sides, and if the "Flame Chariot" were excluded, they clearly had the advantage in terms of sheer force.
Based on the opposing team leader's words, it's not hard to guess that if the Fire Man is empowered by "Flame Chariot," he cannot participate in the battle. If the Fire Man doesn't participate in the battle, then he is confident that he can take down those people on his own.
The worst thing is for the other side to cower inside the "Flame Chariot".
Of course, all of this stemmed from the fact that the Flame Chariots harbored ill intentions towards them.
If not, then everyone is naturally happy.
"My overall feeling is also positive, but we can't be too optimistic just because we've encountered survivors, nor can we let our guard down. If they want to be the hunters, we don't mind playing the prey. Also, pay attention to the mindset of the team members! Especially..."
"Forget it, everyone should just keep an eye on this!" Fu Xiaojian originally wanted to find Tashan, but the guy was already snoring, so he thought better of it.
Let them dig if they want!
Who told them that their strength on paper wasn't as great as the Flame Chariot!
This is a test for both the team and the survivors.