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The next day, at six in the morning.

A jeep departed from Rusted Iron City, heading toward Red River City.

The advance team consisted of five people. Besides Zhou Chen, there were Catherine and Ted, two high-ranking core members of the Poisonous Sore Gang. The other two were key members of the gang who had grown up in Red River City and would serve as guides for this reconnaissance mission.

The air quality in the wilds of North Carolina was significantly better than in the city. An hour after leaving Rusted Iron City, the haze in the sky had all but vanished. The orange-red sunlight illuminated the vast blue sky, and flocks of birds flew overhead, changing formation. The air was no longer thick with various foul odors but was instead filled with the scent of nature.

Catherine and the others stared blankly at the blazing Sun, only snapping out of it after a long moment to take out their phones and record.

"What are you filming?" Zhou Chen asked curiously.

"The Sun." Catherine was recording a video with her phone. "After the Poisonous Sore Gang was established two years ago, we made Rusted Iron City our base and rarely left. This is my first time out of the city in two years, and the first time I’ve seen the Sun. I’m recording it as a memento, so I can pull it out and watch it whenever I want. A few years back, I took a video of the ocean, but that phone was destroyed in a fight. Now, the only way I can see the ocean is online."

’The air quality in Rusted Iron City is just awful. Has it really been hazy for two straight years?’ Zhou Chen complained internally. ’Well, it makes sense. The upper class built all the polluting factories in the Poverty Cities. It’d be a miracle if the environment was any good.’

"Rusted Iron City has some of the worst air quality. The pollution in Red River City isn’t quite that severe. You can still see the Sun sometimes," said the man in sunglasses who was driving.

A woman with a ponytail in the back seat pursed her lips. "That’s because the factories dump all their pollution into the river. The mutated fish in the Red River can even eat people."

"Oh, right, have you guys heard of Red River City’s roasted piranha? It’s a local specialty you just have to try." The man in sunglasses described it vividly. "Some of those piranhas can grow to the size of an adult, with a mouthful of sharp teeth that can bite holes in steel plates. When I was a kid, I even saw a piranha this big kill a crocodile..."

As he spoke, he gestured to indicate an exaggerated length.

"...But for as ferocious as they are, they’re actually delicious. The meat is tender and savory. Even though eating too much of it can cause mutations and sickness, you can’t help it because it tastes so good. Even the rich folks downtown have to eat it every now and then.

"I had a relative who ate too much mutated piranha. He ended up growing scales and turning into a fish, then died of thirst in his bed."

’What the hell kind of bizarre horror story is this...’ Zhou Chen’s mouth twitched. His eyes then narrowed, his expression turning grim as he spoke in a low voice,

"We’ve got a situation. There’s a convoy one kilometer to our left."

"Probably wasteland bandits," Catherine said calmly, glancing in that direction. "Two months ago, the Government Army sent troops to wipe out the bandits near Red River City. These guys must be people who fled the city during the Crystal Disease outbreak a while back. They haven’t been bandits long enough to be a real threat."

Besides, everyone in their car was a Tier Two Ascender. Even if those people were well-trained wasteland bandits, they’d be no match for them.

The cloud of dust on the wasteland drew closer, revealing a convoy of four modified SUVs. A vehicle plated with welded steel sheets led the charge, while another had a machine gun mounted on its roof, looking thoroughly intimidating.

RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!

The window of one of the SUVs rolled down, and an automatic rifle poked out, firing into the air. The gunshots echoed across the empty plains. A voice then boomed from a loudspeaker on the lead vehicle: "Stop your vehicle now! We only want your money, not your lives! If you don’t stop, don’t blame us for opening fire!"

"Stop the car," Zhou Chen said, tapping the back of the driver’s seat. He was going to persuade these bandits to see the error of their ways and become good people.

The man in sunglasses immediately hit the brakes.

Two or three minutes later, the four SUVs stopped about a hundred meters away. Someone shouted through the loudspeaker, "Everyone in the car, get o—"

The person suddenly trailed off, going silent. In an instant, everyone in all four vehicles had been brainwashed by Zhou Chen.

"Hm?"

Just then, Zhou Chen let out a sound of surprise, and the others in the car gasped as well.

They had clearly sensed a foul Power emanating from one of the SUVs.

The man in sunglasses immediately started the jeep and drove up to the four SUVs. Zhou Chen got out and gestured to one of the vehicles, motioning for the people inside to come out.

Four bandits in worn-out clothes opened their doors and stepped out. Three of them were gaunt and sallow, clearly not eating well, and their bodies showed varying degrees of crystalline erosion. But the last one... no, it couldn’t be called a person at all.

It had no facial features. A tangled mass of gnarled, blackish-gray tentacles formed its head. The soft appendages, secreting a viscous fluid, squirmed constantly with a faint noise. It wore human clothes, but any exposed parts of its body were composed entirely of slick, blackish-gray tentacles. Its hands had even differentiated into five slender tendrils, serving in place of human fingers.

Despite its obviously abnormal features, none of its companions seemed to have noticed a thing.

Zhou Chen frowned. This was a Corrupter, and the corruption on it was by no means a natural degradation. It must have been influenced by some source of contamination.