Chapter 53: The Lonely Road

Outside Tianfeng City, on National Road 705.

Speeding along the national road—barely recognizable under a blanket of overgrown grass and cracked asphalt—Yenir crouched low as the fierce wind lashed his face.

Under nature’s relentless assault, the once pervasive network of vehicle traffic had long since been erased. If it weren’t for the survivors still using this route to transport supplies, the road would have been completely reclaimed by the wasteland.

Desolation dominated the landscape, with only the faded traces of former city boundaries visible in the distance. This area was nearly beyond Tianfeng’s vigilance.

Halfway through his journey, Yenir decided it was time to swap out his battery.

His first target was a large-scale instance located at the border between Tianfeng and Zhenjiang, strategically chosen to ease his next moves.

Even though battery technology had matured before the apocalypse, their range still capped at just 600 kilometers.

For this mission, he had deliberately strapped on two bulky battery packs.

“Maybe it’s time to upgrade my system vehicle…”

With practiced ease, he replaced the batteries and discarded the old ones, letting out a quiet sigh.

After clearing the next instance, he figured it was high time to consider buying his own vehicle—otherwise, he’d spend more time on the road than leveling up.

All it took was a dose of spiritual energy into his system vehicle, and with plenty of unused energy at his disposal, it was a perfect match.

Of course, it would be even better if he could get his hands on some Spatial Skills.

A teleport that could span a thousand miles—essential for wreaking havoc.

But that was wishful thinking; Spatial Skills were even rarer than spatial artifacts, elevating them to strategic status.

He flipped into the car, and the motor buzzed to life.

It wasn’t long before Yenir’s brow furrowed.

In the distance along the nearly vanishing road, several time-worn wrecks lay piled together, and in a patch of tall grass not far off, an abandoned truck sat stranded.

On the road, a few ragged survivors stood by an overturned truck, wildly waving their arms as if calling for help.

Yenir slowed and drove past them.

Among the aid-seeking survivors, a middle-aged man clutching a child seemed to have noticed Yenir.

He raised his right hand high, his face alight with excitement.

“Help!”

“Please, help us!”

Seeing Yenir in his unmistakable Awakened attire, hope flickered in their eyes. Soon, survivors gathered around the overturned truck.

Men and women alike, gaunt and worn, looked like ordinary folks.

“What’s going on?”

After coming to a stop and eyeing the group blocking his way, Yenir asked calmly.

The middle-aged man holding the girl quickly spoke up:

“Oh, great Awakened one! Our truck has overturned!”

“This vehicle is far too heavy—we can’t right it! It’s loaded with all our supplies. This is our lifeline!”

“Look, it’s about to pour! Please, lend us a hand!”

As he spoke, the man pointed behind him at a cluster of the elderly, infirm, and weak—his face etched with near despair.

Once his words faded, Yenir’s eyes flickered as he took in the circle of survivors surrounding him.

He scoffed, “What a pathetic act.”

Even leaving aside whether seven or eight people could manage to right a heavy truck, if they needed help they should have contacted the nearest Safe Zone.

Knowing full well that rain was imminent and yet banking on encountering an Awakened on the road, their excuse was nothing but a ruse to force him to stop.

Unperturbed, Yenir scanned the scene and nodded coolly.

At his silent agreement, hope flared in the eyes of the group.

One individual, a 0th-level Awakened seemingly equipped with gear, betrayed the inexperience of a rookie fresh from awakening.

What a soft target.

Not far off, the grass rustled gently as someone in the anxious crowd urged Yenir to hurry with their help.

Jumping out of the car, Yenir quickly flexed his mental energy and noticed a figure approaching from the side.

A cold laugh escaped him, though he paid it little mind.

If his opponent intended to kill him and seize his loot, why wouldn’t he be up for the same dirty tactics? After all, bands that prey on survivors in the wild usually have some cash.

Using his mental perception, he sensed that those creeping out from the grass were ordinary survivors—save for one 1st-level man who looked like the leader, hiding at the front.

Out of the corner of his eye, Yenir was surprised to notice a skinny man, as slight as a rat, staring at him in terror.

Huddled at the back, a diminutive man with sparse, whisker-like stubble trembled wildly, as if he’d seen something truly horrifying.

Judging by his stance, he seemed ready to bolt at any moment.

Approaching the overturned truck, just as Yenir feigned interest to inspect it, he heard a series of harsh shouts:

“Hands up!”

“Grab him!”

Several burly men from the roadside charged in, each wielding a mishmash of weapons and zeroing in on Yenir.

The middle-aged man holding the girl, standing closest, expertly drew a short knife and pressed it to the back of Yenir’s neck.

“Kid! Behave yourself!”

“You’ve had bad luck crossing our path.”

Seeing Yenir quickly subdued, the lead 1st-level Awakened grinned ferociously, brandishing a cleaver as he advanced.

“You rookie, didn’t anyone warn you not to stop out in the wilderness?”

“It’s the first time I’ve seen someone so foolish as to venture alone into the wasteland.”

As he spoke, the man greedily glanced at the boots on Yenir’s feet. Although it was hard to judge their level, they clearly qualified as proper gear.

“Oh, really?”

Turning calmly—unlike the panicked expressions around him—Yenir watched the lead thug with keen interest.

His smile suddenly froze.

The lead Awakened’s face paled as he took in Yenir’s unnervingly composed demeanor.

They had robbed and slaughtered many before, yet it was the first time he encountered someone so calm. Even a low-level Awakened would have been in a panic.

Unless… the kid is an idiot, he must possess some serious confidence!

In an instant, one of the thugs activated a skill and slashed with his blade:

“Shoot! Kill him first, then we’ll talk!”

No time for small talk—Yenir knew all too well that villains who chatter too much seal their doom!

However, no matter how quick their reactions, they were no match for him.

Standing his ground, Yenir’s eyes suddenly turned icy as he pivoted with uncanny calm.

Muscles tensed and, accompanied by a strange, piercing sound, his punch blasted through the nearest middle-aged man—the impact sending a burst of blood and entrails into the air.

At that very moment, a faint buzzing noise erupted.

Object Control!

Under his overwhelming mental power, those who had fired their guns were horrified to see their weapons seized as if by an unseen hand and aimed squarely at them.

They had no time to react.

“Bang bang! Bang!”

Flames erupted as gunshots rang out.

The redirected muzzle blast shattered the attackers nearby; at close range, the heavy-caliber bullets tore through them like splintered meat.

Smoke filled the air.

In an instant, the atmosphere was thick with the metallic sweetness of spilled blood.

“Whew!”

The wind howled as blades swept in.

Yenir stared coldly at the incoming battle-axe and, with a swift sidestep, dodged the full-force strike with surgical precision.

Letting the blade merely graze his face, his battle-hardened skills rendered even a 1st-level thug full of exploitable flaws.

In the next second,

“Pfft.”

A dagger was drawn and counterattacked!

With a powerful thrust, Yenir, clutching a dagger in his off-hand, didn’t hesitate to drive it straight through the thug’s temple.

One strike, fatal.

Before the attacker could launch another blow, the Awakened with a shattered skull gave Yenir one defiant look before collapsing with a thud.

The battle was over.

Slowly withdrawing his dagger, Yenir casually flicked the blood from his hand and turned his gaze toward the final two rushing at him.

Standing by the roadside, an ordinary man clutching a knife looked utterly terrified, his legs trembling and frozen in place.

So quick… too quick.

Though Yenir’s mark was only that of a 0th-level, his speed defied their wildest expectations.

In a single breath, their leader was dead—and the entire gang had been wiped out!

Unable to fathom the ability behind that weapon control, the two knelt in terror with a thud.

“Sir! Please… have mercy on me!”

“We were forced into this…”

“Whoosh!”

Without giving them a chance for words, the dagger under his mental control shot out in a flash. A blazing arc of silver light decapitated the last two knife-wielding thugs in an instant.

With bodies strewn across the road, after the fight, Yenir turned to face the feeble, elderly, and infirm who had served as bait.

“Tell me, where’s the loot you stole?”

“Ah! Ahhh!!”

“No! No, please—we—ahh!!”

Perhaps only then did the group of frail robbers blocking the road begin screaming, as a foul stench of urine drifted on the air.

Though these highway robbers were used to their leader’s ruthless methods and had seen countless deaths,

it was the first time they encountered someone as cold-blooded as Yenir.

Without wasting a word, he killed on the spot, not affording them even a moment to react. His ruthless methods stood in stark contrast to his striking looks.

“Speak another word and you’re dead.”

“And where do you think you’re going?”

Watching the elderly and infirm grovel for mercy, Yenir felt no compassion. These seasoned thugs had likely slaughtered countless innocent survivors—except for the children, every one of them was doomed.

The final remark was aimed at the Whisker Man.

As for the scrawny fellow who seemed to immediately sense something was off about him, Yenir was quite intrigued. He couldn’t believe anyone would notice his flaws so quickly—unless they were of 3rd-level perception.

The terrified look on Whisker Man’s face clearly meant he had seen something.