Chapter 85: With More Teammates, You No Longer Need the Collar

“To be honest, do you really think that vengeful spirit is as it was described?”
“And so what if it is? We’re all going to become something like that after we die anyway.”
“Do you think there might be vengeful spirits in this poisonous fog?”
“Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised. They’d probably be poisonous too, considering every creature we’ve met so far has been toxic.”
“...”
Quite a few people had wrapped up their fights already; their speed was impressive.
Soon, the twenty-four-hour defense was over, and the dead vanished forever.
Their souls were left behind, trapped here eternally.
As for supplies, Lin Mu received over twenty thousand units of each type of metal, adding up to more than a hundred thousand points.
It went without saying that his convoy’s points skyrocketed yet again.
With a flash of light, the familiar world of green mist reappeared.
“Today should be the fourth day. Three more days to go, and then it's over. Next week...”
Lin Mu thought of the vehicle that had turned into a shelter previously.
Would his convoy also turn into a shelter together?
If not, what would happen to those vehicles—would the captains just store them somewhere?
“We’ll rest this morning. At three in the afternoon, we set out on time.”
After fighting for twenty-four hours, his people deserved some rest.
Lin Mu took this opportunity to reinforce his vehicles.
Vehicle enhancements, modifications—if it was useful, he installed it.
He added two more heavy machine guns to the rear.
No matter what happened in three days, he was determined to remain undefeated.
...
The following days passed without much incident; they did come across two other convoys, but each had only four or five vehicles.
By now, they had become his allies.
“001, take off the collar around his neck and finish it.”
“Yes, Master.”
Wang Changjun looked bewildered and then suddenly realized, “Mu, brother Mu, I’ve been doing nothing but eating and sleeping all day... why is this happening to me...”
“Well, simply because I like it that way.”
“...”
Wang Changjun wanted to protest, but 001 had already covered his mouth and was dragging him out of the vehicle step by step.
Moments later, 001 handed a restraining collar to Lin Mu.
Glancing at his convoy through the rearview mirror, Lin Mu nodded in satisfaction.
There were now twenty vehicles in total—one more or less made no difference.
Now, opening a single supply crate yielded forty shares of material.

A fully loaded convoy would net sixty shares, and if every vehicle was packed with people...
Lin Mu’s eyes shone with anticipation.
Unfortunately, he just couldn’t find enough people.
Especially after so many deaths, it was even harder to encounter anyone.
Whether in the regional or global channels,
everyone was complaining about the lack of other vehicles—far fewer than usual.
Plenty of people’s vehicle cores were stuck at level five, unable to advance, and those who could reach level six were rare indeed.
Let alone Lin Mu’s own situation—the number of cores needed for level eight was astronomical. Not meeting people was a disaster.
He didn't know exactly what higher levels would do, but he was sure they’d be stronger than ever.
“Captain, are we setting out?”
Lin Mu checked the time. “Go! Today’s the last day; everyone, stay alert.”
The vehicles started up slowly, with Shu Yi leading at a cautious sixty kilometers per hour.
It was the final day, and Lin Mu’s headlights could only pierce a hundred meters ahead.
And that was after yesterday’s upgrade—otherwise, today it would be just sixty meters.
Three hours passed, and they hadn’t encountered a single supply crate.
“Shu Yi, are you in the lead?”
“Yes.”
Lin Mu frowned. Something was wrong.
Normally, the slowest they’d go without a supply crate was two hours, but now it had been even longer.
He opened the regional channel.
“Damn! The fog behind me turned dark green! And there are black shadows inside—it’s terrifying.”
“You’re doomed. The last person who said that died.”
“Has anyone found a supply crate? I’ve been driving for four hours, still nothing. Even with terrible luck, one should have turned up by now.”
“I haven’t seen any either.”
“Same here.”
“+1”
“...”
So it wasn’t just him—no one else was getting supply crates either.
Could it be that, on this final day, not a single crate would appear?
Just then, someone posted a picture.
In the dark green mist stood a ten-meter-tall figure, vaguely resembling a giant.
“Player Tian Zhentao has been consumed by the poisonous fog!”
A red message flashed.
Like a switch had been flipped, similar messages appeared every few seconds.
Lin Mu left the interface open, watching as he drove.
Six deaths in one minute—not unmanageable,
but at this rate, the casualties would be considerable.
By ten o’clock, after lunch, they continued on.
“Mu, brother Mu, should we keep moving? We haven’t seen a single crate all morning, and we’ve wasted a lot of bullets and fuel.”
Although they hadn’t found any supply crates, they’d run into plenty of wild beasts and even four or five batches of vengeful spirits.
Luckily, Lin Mu had enough yellow talismans and cinnabar for everyone.
Otherwise, who knew how many of the nineteen would be left by now?
“We keep going, of course. Just look at the regional channel—see how many are dying?”
The chubby guy glanced at the channel and swallowed hard.
They were being forced to run for their lives.
The convoy hurried on, not daring to slow down—a moment’s hesitation could be fatal.
As for Lin Mu, he didn’t care about the danger; he just wanted to know if they would truly get no resources today.
...
Whoosh, whoosh!
[Congratulations on slaying an S-class vengeful spirit. Soul Essence (S) x1 acquired.]
That was the twenty-second vengeful spirit they’d slain today.
Not a single crate.
It was now five in the afternoon, and the convoy hadn’t stopped since noon.
Yet still, not one supply crate had appeared.
“Could it be Shu Yi’s luck has run out? But yesterday everything was fine...”
It seemed there would be no supply crates today.
By seven in the evening, the convoy finally stopped.
Supplies were distributed, food was handed out.
“Vehicles 15 to 20, go check the surroundings—pay attention to the color of the poisonous fog.”
“Yes!”
The early warning system was a must; it was still useful.
Once everything was arranged, Lin Mu reclined on the rear sofa.
001 brought him a prepared meal and a drink.
“Tsk tsk, 001, we can’t keep eating like this every day—too much rich food. Make something lighter tomorrow, and cook that lobster.”
“As you wish, Master.”
While Lin Mu enjoyed his feast, the others made do with instant noodles and sausage.
It wasn’t that he was stingy—there simply wasn’t enough to go around.
He only had a hundred pounds of beef; there was no way everyone could eat it.