The bald man clearly didn’t expect the RV to be so agile. He revved his motorcycle to its highest speed, hoping to escape with his agility and speed.
Little did he know, the RV behind him accelerated without any lag. Chen Wan floored the gas pedal, and with a loud bang, the RV’s front collided with the speeding motorcycle ahead. Another bang followed as the motorcycle shattered into pieces, and the bald man was sent flying in a parabolic arc.
Chen Wan snorted softly. Even if the bald man survived, he wouldn’t have the energy to harm anyone for the rest of his life.
Chen Wan didn’t continue the chase. At that moment, the mechanical voice in her mind sounded again, “Host, several people are heading towards Zhang Qiang, likely to get reinforcements. Please prepare to avoid any mishaps.”
After driving the RV for a while, Chen Wan had a good understanding of its performance. Surprisingly, the RV was better than an ordinary race car and had high safety features. However, Zhang Qiang’s men had a lot of firearms, likely looted from the public institutions in Weibei City.
Chen Wan didn’t dare to confront them head-on but wasn’t satisfied with just hitting a few people and leaving. She stopped the RV, quickly took out a radio from her backpack, installed the batteries, turned the volume to the maximum, and placed the radio on the ground in neutral. The deafening DJ sound was particularly jarring at this moment.
The zombies, previously driven away by Zhang Qiang’s men, started to gather again upon hearing the commotion.
Chen Wan hurried back to the driver’s seat, restarted the RV, and drove in the opposite direction of Zhang Qiang’s men. Watching the slowly gathering zombies, Chen Wan cheerfully teased her child, “Yang Yang, Mommy has chased away the bad guys. Let’s find a place to rest.”
Compared to Jiang Yanxin’s shock, the child didn’t understand much. She only saw the bad guys blocking them, then being knocked away by Mommy along with the stinky corpses. The child was also very happy, clapping her little hands, “Mommy is amazing!”
Chen Wan’s lips curved slightly. As she relaxed, her other senses became more acute. For instance, while driving the RV, she noticed a strange smell on her body, unsure if it was from the zombies or sweat, but it was quite unpleasant.
As she drove, the mechanical voice of the system sounded again, “The RV’s exterior and tires are damaged to varying degrees, and the fuel tank is running low. It is recommended to head to a densely populated area with many vehicles for repairs. Repairing the RV requires parts from one ordinary car and 20 level-1 zombie crystal cores.”
Chen Wan understood that repairing the RV didn’t require her to find specific materials. It could absorb parts from other vehicles for fusion. Repairing the RV was easy, as the abandoned city was full of unused vehicles. However, finding gasoline was more challenging.
Chen Wan voiced her concern, “How do we solve the gasoline problem? Are there any gas stations nearby?”
“The RV’s fuel is almost depleted. It is recommended to absorb fuel from other vehicles along the way. The RV will automatically absorb gasoline when in contact with other vehicles. Additionally, the RV’s water circulation system needs a large amount of water in the storage tank. The water source doesn’t need to be very clean; lakes and rivers will do, as the RV has a water purification system,” the system explained.
Chen Wan figured out what to do next but didn’t have a map of Weibei City, and the system didn’t have a map function. She decided to ask Jiang Yanxin, who had been hiding from zombies here for a while, if she knew the way to a gas station.
“Yanxin, do you know where the gas stations are in Weibei City? And are there any rivers nearby?” Chen Wan asked.
Jiang Yanxin was still in a daze, shocked by Chen Wan’s earlier performance. Not only had she shaken off the zombies, but she had also knocked away several of Zhang Qiang’s men. This was something the old Chen Wan could never have done. However, the current Chen Wan clearly had no ill intentions towards her and her daughter.
Following Chen Wan was much better than being alone with her daughter. Whether this Chen Wan was the same as before, she would find out soon.
“Drive along this road for five or six kilometers, then turn right to reach the river. The gas station is farther away, at least four streets away, and I’m not sure if there’s any fuel left. Where are we heading now?” Jiang Yanxin was worried, knowing that if Zhang Qiang’s men found them, it wouldn’t end well.
“Let’s find some water first, then head to the gas station,” Chen Wan replied while carefully driving the RV, nudging it against a small car to absorb its fuel.
Chen Wan knew what was happening, but Jiang Yanxin, seeing the RV stop and bump into a small car, couldn’t sit still. She pursed her lips and asked, “Why did we stop?”
Chen Wan saw that the fuel gauge had increased slightly but was still flashing red. The RV was lightweight and accelerated quickly, requiring a lot of fuel. The gasoline from five cars last night was almost used up in the recent chase. The RV’s fuel tank was compressed, taking up little space but holding a lot. A regular truck’s fuel tank is 140 liters, but this RV’s tank was ten times that. The fuel from the small car hadn’t even filled the bottom of the RV’s tank.
Chen Wan reversed the RV and nudged it against another car, explaining, “We’re out of fuel. We need to get some to keep going.”
When the vehicle came to a stop, Chen Wan pulled the handbrake and explained, “I believe you’ve noticed that this RV is different from others. It’s not as bulky as a typical RV; instead, it’s as nimble as a race car, with quick acceleration. And as long as it lightly touches other vehicles like this, the RV can activate an automatic fuel-siphoning device. I know it sounds unbelievable, but in a post-apocalyptic world, what isn’t?”
Jiang Yanxin’s mind was in turmoil. Recalling the novels she had read before the apocalypse, she cautiously asked, “Have you evolved into an ability user?”
Chen Wan chuckled lightly and, after some thought, replied, “You could say that. My ability is related to this RV. Only I can control it.”
Jiang Yanxin tightened her grip on her child. So, Chen Wan hadn’t been replaced; she had become an ability user, which explained the drastic change. Jiang Yanxin wasn’t sure if Chen Wan was telling the truth, but back at Zhang Qiang’s place, no one had evolved into an ability user yet. She couldn’t be certain.
Her mind was a mess, but given their current situation, she had no choice but to follow Chen Wan. Once they found a base with an official organization, she would figure out a way to leave with her child.
Seeing that Jiang Yanxin remained silent, Chen Wan didn’t say much either. She continued to maneuver the RV close to the cars on the roadside. However, the RV’s fuel tank was too large, and siphoning fuel this way was like a drop in the bucket. After siphoning fuel from over a dozen cars, the RV’s tank was barely covered.
This amount of fuel was enough to get them to the river. As for refueling at a gas station, they might as well keep siphoning fuel from the roadside.
With that thought, Chen Wan started the vehicle again. Occasionally, a few zombies would appear on the roadside, but they were no match for the massive RV and were easily crushed.
After the RV had run over three more zombies, Chen Wan received a system notification: “Congratulations to the host for obtaining three Level 1 Zombie Crystals. You now have a total of 57 Zombie Crystals. Keep up the good work. All obtained crystals are stored in the compartment in front of you and can be used for physical enhancement or upgrades.”
With a thought, Chen Wan opened the compartment in front of her and saw dozens of neatly arranged crystals, all clean and not looking like they had been dug out of zombie brains. The system was quite considerate.
In no time, the vehicle turned onto the road Jiang Yanxin had mentioned, and sure enough, they saw the river not far away. Chen Wan parked the RV by the riverbank but wasn’t sure how to draw water into the vehicle.
She directly asked the system, “Is there a tool for drawing water?”
“The RV comes with a water hose. Once the mechanical arm is installed, it can be used to store water or integrate other materials,” the system explained.
Chen Wan made a mental note and issued a water storage command to the system.
A long pipe extended from the side of the RV to the river, continuously drawing water into the RV’s tank.
The RV’s water tank, like its fuel tank, was highly compressed, taking up little space but holding ten times the capacity of a regular truck’s tank. The RV’s water tank could store 1,400 liters, so it took quite a while to fill it using the hose.
Meanwhile, back at Zhang Qiang’s place, chaos had erupted. Out of the dozen or so men who had gone out, only six had returned to report, and the fate of the others was unknown.
Zhang Qiang frowned at the disheveled men and asked, “Where’s Chen Wan? Did you find her? And what happened to you guys?”
The men had left full of confidence and determination, but now they were trembling with fear.
