2026-07-27 22:36:31
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 27: New Trouble
With the fusion finished, Nikki said a quick goodbye to Jake, practically dragging Sierra back toward the vehicle to inspect every inch of their upgrade.The vehicle didn't look small from outside, sure, but stepping inside made it obvious the interior ran far more spacious than the exterior suggested.That was the origin card effect at work.Like fusion cards, origin cards fell under the rare-card category. Their whole value came from granting a vehicle special baseline traits.Some boosted overall structural strength. Others added speed. Some cut fuel consumption. All kinds of effects, depending on the card.Nikki and Sierra had used a Space Expansion origin card on their vehicle, with that boost active, the interior volume had grown by a full thirty percent over what the shell suggested....Elsewhere, two men were asking around for help lifting a van, propping it up on bricks and stone to swap out the tires.These two counted as another lucky pair who'd landed a working vehicle, n
Chapter 26: The Lucky Ones
By the time the modifications wrapped up, over an hour had passed and full night had settled in.The delay was entirely Reeves' doing, he kept tossing out new upgrade ideas mid-job.One-way white tint on the rear windows to match the body paneling, for instance, privacy and better concealment, all in one.Custom-fit curtains for every window, including the windshield, didn't interfere with driving, still let air and light in normally, but could be drawn shut fast if things got dangerous.He also floated a thick floor mat for the newly emptied cargo space, looked decent, cut down on noise inside the vehicle, which meant less chance of getting noticed while moving around at night.Then a fold-out cot, so even camping out in the open, the van could double as a basic RV.Jake couldn't help thinking Reeves was somehow turning his van into a hybrid of delivery truck and funeral home, but he had to admit, every suggestion was genuinely useful. Problem was, the full package blew way past what
Chapter 25: Modifications
If the story had stopped there, it wouldn't have been anything worth remembering. The real twist came after.Once the divorce went through, the husband hadn't even been that angry at first, right up until he found out the woman's new husband was the exact same guy who'd whispered in his ear about her refusing to pay for his rescue.And it turned out that same guy had also been the one quietly pushing her toward the divorce in the first place.Once that clicked, there was no missing what kind of game he'd been running.Both of them were furious. The woman regretted the whole thing on the spot, cursing the man out for being a snake.Her new husband wasn't backing down easy either, fine, call it off, but the bride price was coming back first.Jake blinked. "There was an actual bride price? Even now?"Nikki grinned. "Yep. Heard he handed over a weapon card as the dowry.""So did they give it back?""Not a chance. The ex and his ex-wife are refusing to return it *and* demanding he pay them
Chapter 24: A Farce
Out of the seven or eight people who'd supposedly lost someone in the rubble, it turned out only the kid had actually been looking for his father in good faith. The rest of it was pure theater.With almost nobody willing to actually pay, Captain Blake found himself in an awkward spot, he'd already given his word publicly, and backing out now would cost him.So he ended up covering part of the payment himself, scraping together a handful of high-Perception survivors to sweep the rubble. They pulled two injured men out alive.One was the boy's father. The other was the so-called husband from earlier."Dad!" The kid lit up, laughing and crying at once as he sprinted toward his father."Baby" The woman called out too, sweet as ever on the surface, though her expression didn't quite land right no matter how you looked at it.Both men had minor injuries, but a healing card sorted that out fast.As for everyone else still unaccounted for, no signs of life turned up. Likely gone for good.You
Chapter 23: Great Earthquake
Jake had just finished loading his haul into the minivan and was heading back into the shop for another pass when a sudden wave of dread washed over him, like something massive was closing in.He couldn't pin down the source, but he froze mid-step, scanning every direction.If a real Anomaly or a horde of infected were lurking nearby, they'd have already torn through the village by now. Why wait until this exact moment?Something was off, he just couldn't tell what.He'd considered the possibility it was all in his head. But the feeling kept intensifying instead, growing sharper by the second."...Perception?"Perception was a strange stat. Stay distracted on a task, and its warnings were easy to miss entirely. But once you actually noticed it, once a shred of doubt crept in, the signal kept ramping up fast.Jake backed off a few steps, pressed against the van door, and shouted toward the shop where the others were still scavenging. "Hey, anyone else feel like something's wrong?"Nobo
Chapter 22: Vehicle Upgrade
The couple had backed off, but Jake knew better than to assume they'd actually let it go. He quietly sent his drone up.It lifted off from the far side of the courtyard, circled wide, and swung its camera in toward the small building from a different angle.Sure enough, a careful scan turned them up, skulking nearby, scouting a decent ambush spot, clearly planning to put an arrow in him from hiding.The Caravan's rule against killing between members only held up on the surface. It did nothing to stop the scheming that happened once nobody was looking.And right now was about as good a window as they'd get, everyone busy scavenging, nobody paying attention to anyone else's business. Without a witness or footage, even if they stole his vehicle outright, who could actually prove Jake didn't just die out here on his own?Solid plan, except for one detail, the drone circling overhead was watching every move they made.Jake set the shotgun down and pulled out his folding crossbow instead.H
You may also like
Mon'Ter
ReinStriver29.2K viewsAscenders: Rising From Zero
Sir_Impeccable29.0K viewsAgainst Heaven'S Destiny
Djisamsoe 32.2K viewsSupreme Ancestor
Kingfisher22.8K viewsKeeper Of Two Worlds
Cedar Karamy44 viewsSHADOW KING'S RETURN
Adibi13 viewsThe Return of the wilderness God
Shuaib Balikis 277 viewsASKELADDEN: The Tale Of The Golden Quill
Lord Fenrir26 views