Apocalypse Showdown: Carrier Conquest

Chapter 46: Symbiosis, the "Lù Xiǎo Fēng"

"Who are you?"

Wu Jiancai furrowed his brow as he looked at Tang Yili, who was standing behind Shao Hang.

"My name is Tang Yili. The one who called for help just now is my girlfriend, her name is Ai Bing!" Tang Yili said, trying to control his emotions. "Actually, I'm not an owner of this building. I came here to save my girlfriend."

"If you don’t believe me, you can ask Manager Shao."

Despite his imposing figure, Tang Yili's voice quivered as he spoke, his eyes reddening with emotion. He looked like a seasoned actor, and his display of anguish made Wu Jiancai hesitate. Turning to the camera, he spoke loudly:

"Did you hear that? Now someone is saying that you're illegally holding a woman captive. Open the door so we can verify!"

Inside the house, Zhou Caijun and Cheng Yali looked uneasy. Though they had a big business, they were fundamentally honest and wary of the government.

Wu Xue didn’t say anything but watched Zhou Li, who remained calm and unperturbed.

"Ai Bing? We don’t know any Ai Bing. My brother's ex-girlfriend's name is Yang Qiqi, not Ai Bing!" Zhou Li said coldly.

"Young lady," Wu Jiancai could hear the youth in Zhou Li's voice, "Tell your parents to speak with me."

"There’s nothing to say!" Zhou Li replied, "This is our private matter. My brother and she were about to get married, but then she suddenly demanded a million. That’s when everything broke down. It has nothing to do with outsiders. As for that Tang, don’t slander people, wait until my brother comes back and see how he deals with you."

Had they made a mistake?

Girlfriend? A million?

Wu Jiancai frowned, beginning to believe Zhou Li's words. After all, how much malice could such a young girl have? Especially one who couldn’t even use idioms or common expressions properly.

"Don’t they have any adults in their family?" Wu Jiancai asked Shao Hang.

"I... I think they do," Shao Hang replied.

"You call yourself a property manager?" Wu Jiancai glared at Shao Hang before turning back to the door. "Alright, here’s what we’ll do: no matter who she is, Yang Qiqi or Ai Bing, get her out now, and we’ll discuss the rest later."

"Cutting the roots doesn’t work, the spring wind will blow again! Don’t tell me about it later; my brother isn’t home. Just take her away now and we’ll be square, saving me the trouble of wasting food on her!" Zhou Li snapped.

Outside, Wu Jiancai and the others exchanged glances, unsure what Zhou Li’s words meant.

But whatever it was, getting the person out seemed like the right thing to do.

"Stay back, get further away," Zhou Li ordered.

Once Wu Jiancai and the others had moved a safe distance, Zhou Caijun and Cheng Yali shoved Yang Qiqi outside.

"Bang!"

The door slammed shut again, and Zhou Caijun and Cheng Yali let out a relieved breath. However, they weren’t quite celebrating. Who could say that letting Yang Qiqi go wouldn’t bring trouble later?

"Every step forward brings more problems," Zhou Li sighed like an adult, turning to Wu Xue. "Sister-in-law, do you want to take a break for a while?"

Wu Xue shook her head. She couldn’t abandon others in their time of need, and she wasn’t sure what Yang Qiqi’s situation really was.

Outside, Yang Qiqi stood in disbelief, still unsure that she had really been released. As soon as she realized Wu Jiancai’s identity, she burst into tears, making those around her think she had suffered terrible hardships in the Zhou family.

"Yang Qiqi, where’s Ai Bing?" Tang Yili shouted.

"What’s going on?"

Wu Jiancai, though initially furious, couldn’t help but feel a twinge of suspicion when he saw Yang Qiqi’s condition. Despite her distress, she was neatly dressed and moved normally. Apart from being a little dirty and smelly, she looked almost like someone from the pre-apocalypse world. If this was someone being mistreated, there were many others outside who would gladly take her place.

"Stop lying, we’ll clear this up!" Wu Jiancai scolded.

He had no time for trivial emotional disputes. "Just tell me, what’s your relationship with this family?"

"I..." Yang Qiqi hesitated, swallowing nervously. She had wanted to deny knowing the Zhou family, but this lie wouldn’t hold up. As she looked at Wu Jiancai and the others, a thought struck her. She recalled Zhou Li’s words.

"I... I’m just an ordinary friend of Zhou Lin. He... Ai Bing... yes, Ai Bing left, and Zhou Lin wanted me to marry him. Of course, I refused! I just used the dowry to placate them, but he tried to force me. He locked me on the rooftop and didn’t feed me, trying to freeze me to death! You, you represent the government and the military, you should arrest them!" Yang Qiqi cried out dramatically.

"In these times, whether someone is arrested is not for you to decide," Wu Jiancai responded coldly. "Well, I can see you’re fine now. We’ll talk later. We have more important matters to attend to."

Ignoring Yang Qiqi’s fake cries, Wu Jiancai turned and left. He was too busy to deal with her nonsense. She said she was starved and frozen. He had seen enough people suffer outside, no one would sympathize with her.

Inside the house, Zhou Li finally allowed herself to smile as Wu Jiancai and his group left.

"Brother, for now, it’s calm, but that woman will definitely not give up. You should prepare yourself," she warned.

"I know. I’ll be back as soon as I can," Zhou Caijun responded. He and Cheng Yali went upstairs to fix the tool room. Now that Yang Qiqi was gone, the responsibility for these things would likely fall to Zhou Caijun.

At the heavy truck repair shop in the car city.

Zhou Lin sat cross-legged on the ground, his brow furrowed.

In front of him, not far away, sat the twelve-meter-long "Conqueror."

Countless car parts, components, and various raw materials were neatly arranged around him.

Just hours ago, Zhou Lin had completed the "symbiosis" with the Conqueror, naming it "Lù Xiǎo Fēng."

Symbiosis:

Intermediate 1257/10000

Currently Symbiotic Vehicles:

Laifu (large surface vessel)

Lù Xiǎo Fēng (medium ground vehicle)

Available Symbiotic Vehicle Slots: 0

Storage: 1/2

Symbiosis Strength: 2.8 minutes/24 hours

Evolution Level I: 2.8 (2845/10000)

After the symbiosis with the Conqueror, Zhou Lin perhaps understood it better than anyone else in the world. He quickly drafted a modification plan.

The first concern was the terrain compatibility. The Conqueror, despite being a heavy-duty truck chassis, wasn’t designed for unpaved roads. After the apocalypse, finding an intact road would be a rare thing. Zhou Lin knew that for "Lù Xiǎo Fēng" to truly race across the land like wind, modifications to the chassis and suspension were necessary.

He planned to lift the chassis and install longer, more durable suspensions. While he had considered modifications for the snowy terrain, he ultimately decided it wasn’t necessary. There was no need for the entire family to leave the house, so it was highly unlikely that they would use "Lù Xiǎo Fēng."

Moreover, considering its heavy weight, venturing onto an uncertain route could lead to getting stuck, making it a burden rather than an asset. At times, it would even be faster to travel with snowshoes.

So, modifications for snow tracks were unnecessary, but he did plan to improve the vehicle’s waterproof capabilities.

Next on the list were the vehicle’s strength and bulletproofing. Though the area was still relatively safe, this wouldn’t last forever. Once the snow melted, more and more armed groups would appear, and weapons would proliferate among the population.

Luckily, the Conqueror’s windows were already bulletproof, so Zhou Lin only needed to reinforce the rest of the body for added protection.

What truly concerned him was...