Two days passed quietly, almost deceptively so, as if the world itself was holding its breath before unleashing something far worse. The convoy continued its routine, heading back and forth between the town and the village, gathering supplies with growing efficiency. Li Xuan worked tirelessly, his movements precise and calculated, stripping the town of nearly everything useful. By now, his storage space was nearly eighty-five percent full, packed with construction materials, metals, hardware, and anything that could be repurposed for survival.
He had even cleared out entire buildings alone, leaving nothing behind—vehicles, machinery, even furniture. At the railway station, he had stumbled upon something unexpected: a long train with twelve carriages sitting idle on the tracks. He didn't know how to operate it, but that didn't matter. "Defense… or shelter," he muttered under his breath as he stored it away. "Might come in handy someday."
During those two days, minor conflicts arose—mutated rats, oversized cockroaches, and swarming ants—but nothing serious. They were larger than normal, grotesque in appearance, yet still manageable. Even ordinary humans could deal with them if they stayed calm. No major casualties, no real danger. It almost felt… normal.
On the sixth day in the village, roughly a month after the apocalypse began, life had settled into a fragile peace. People moved about cautiously, small frictions between convoys occasionally sparking but never escalating into anything serious. It gave everyone a false sense of security, as if they could truly survive here.
That day, no one ventured out.
Li Xuan spent his time walking through the village, quietly gathering information. He observed other convoys, studied their members, and more importantly, their sequence abilities. He had already identified every sequencer in both his own group and the Spark convoy. Their abilities were decent, useful even—but nothing that truly caught his interest.
Except one.
A Tiger Gang member.
"Shadow sequence…" Li Xuan murmured, recalling what he had seen. "Shadow Leap… and Stealth."
He exhaled slowly, eyes narrowing. "Perfect for scouting."
That ability lingered in his mind longer than it should have.
There was still one group he couldn't figure out—the Jiang City convoy. They kept to themselves, always acting independently, never revealing their abilities. It annoyed him. "Too cautious," he thought. "Or hiding something valuable."
During one of the scavenging trips, they had encountered a smaller group of around twenty-eight survivors. Only one of them possessed a sequence ability—a Path Finder. Li Xuan had been tempted. That ability was incredibly useful.
But the man was middle-aged, composed, and clearly respected by his group.
Li Xuan had simply watched and let them go.
Later, that same group joined the Spark convoy.
"Unfortunate," he said quietly, though his tone carried no real regret.
That evening, Li Xuan sat inside his vehicle, working methodically. Glass bottles lined the floor, filled with gasoline and diesel he had collected—nearly two tons in total. He sealed each one carefully.
Molotov cocktails.
"If I can't fight directly…" he muttered, tightening the cap of another bottle, "then I'll burn everything in my way."
The village, for once, felt calm.
Too calm.
As the sun began to set, a faint crimson glow spread across the sky. At first, no one paid attention. But gradually, people started looking up.
And then they saw it.
The moon.
It wasn't white.
It was blood-red.
An eerie, unnatural crimson that seemed to pulse faintly in the sky. The moment people realized something was wrong, panic began to spread.
"What… what is that?" someone whispered.
"Why is the moon red?"
Some stared in fear. Others in awe.
Li Xuan stepped out of his vehicle, his expression darkening as he looked up—but only for a brief second.
"Something's wrong," he muttered, immediately lowering his gaze.
Within minutes, people began screaming.
"My head—ahh!"
"It hurts!"
Some clutched their heads, collapsing to the ground as intense pain overtook them. Others staggered blindly, disoriented and terrified.
A few sequencers reacted quickly.
"Don't look at the moon!" one of them shouted. "Get inside! Now!"
Some listened.
Many didn't.
Curiosity, arrogance, disbelief—whatever the reason, they kept staring.
Li Xuan rushed back to his tent. "Inside. Now," he told the girls, his voice firm.
"What's happening?" Sang Zhi asked, panic creeping into her tone.
"Don't ask. Just don't look at the moon," he replied sharply.
He sat down, heart pounding.
"What is this…?" he thought. "A mutation? A signal? Or something worse?"
Then it began.
Screams echoed from the distance.
Not the cries of pain this time—but something else.
Something final.
Li Xuan activated his perception ability, focusing on the direction of the noise. His expression darkened immediately.
Three bodies lay on the ground.
Blood flowed from their eyes, noses, and ears. Their faces were frozen in terror, eyes wide open, bloodshot and lifeless.
"They're… dead?" he whispered.
He approached cautiously, avoiding the sky. Kneeling beside one of them, he focused.
The blood…
"It's hot," he realized. "And there's… energy in it."
His eyes narrowed.
"The moon caused this."
He stood up immediately and returned to the tent.
"No one looks outside," he said firmly. "Not at the sky. Not even for a second. Understand?"
The girls nodded quickly, fear evident on their faces.
That night, no one slept.
The village was filled with whispers, cries, and the suffocating weight of fear. More people died—silently, mysteriously.
Beyond the village, even worse things were happening.
Creatures—ghosts, mutated beasts—stared at the blood moon with fanatic expressions. Some grew stronger. Others died. Some twisted into something unrecognizable.
Across the world, countless lives ended.
And some… awakened.
When dawn finally came, sunlight washed over the land like a blessing. The oppressive feeling vanished, replaced by a fragile sense of relief.
People stepped out cautiously, their faces pale.
Ye Fan gathered everyone and spoke firmly. "If anything like this happens again—don't look. No matter what. If you notice anything abnormal, report it immediately. This isn't just about individuals anymore. It concerns everyone's survival."
No one argued.
They had seen enough.
For the next two days, nothing happened.
But on the fourth day after the blood moon, everything changed again.
Several sequencers suddenly stiffened.
"…Do you feel that?" one of them whispered.
"Aura…" another replied, his face turning pale.
"Something's out there."
About two kilometers from the village.
Xu ming felt it too.
Without wasting time, he took out a drone he had collected earlier. Activating it, he guided it low across the terrain, his eyes fixed on the screen.
Five minutes later, the image stabilized.
And then he saw it.
A massive black snake.
Nearly twenty meters long.
One eye gouged out. Its body torn and scarred, as if it had survived a brutal battle.
But even injured, it radiated a terrifying presence.
Its head was pointed directly toward the village.
Waiting.
Xu ming's hands tightened around the controller.
"…Level 3," he whispered.
"Damn it…"
He immediately called his team.
At the same time, others who had seen it spread the news. Tiger gang members representive also came to invite other convoy to invite them to think about the solution regarding the snake .Within fifteen minutes, representatives from all convoys gathered in a central house.
Sixteen people sat around a table.
The atmosphere was heavy.
Mo Tianyu spoke first, his voice grim. "That snake… it's at least level 3. Maybe higher."
Silence followed.
"Level 3?" someone muttered. "We can barely handle level 2…"
"We can't fight it," another said bluntly.
"Then what? Wait here until it leaves?" Wang Lei asked.
"Or extend the safe zone?" someone suggested.
Mo Tianyu scoffed. "With what? That 'treasure'? I searched the entire village. It's not here." I have turned entire village upside down but not found any thing.
Murmurs spread.
Then, a quiet voice spoke.
"It is here."
Everyone turned.
A man who had remained silent until now looked at them calmly. "My sequence is Scholar. I have knowledge abilities. That 'treasure'… it's a clone. It is buried deep underground—about a hundred meters below the village center."
"What?" someone exclaimed.
"You can't retrieve it. Even if you do, it will return to its original owner."
Silence fell again.
In the end, they made a decision.
Wait seven days.
Observe.
Then act.
No one mentioned fighting.
Because everyone knew the truth.
They would die.
After the meeting, xu ming returned, his expression darker than ever.
He gathered everyone. "Limit food consumption. We don't know how long we'll be stuck here." ye fan came and gathered everyone and told them about the information they have gathered about black snake and he also told them that they have to save enough food and ration it as they don't no when they would find next supply point.
Fear spread among the survivors.
As for Li Xuan…
"This won't end well," he thought.
He began preparing.
If the others tried to escape, they might use civilians as bait.
"If that happens…" his eyes hardened, "I'll be ready."
He worked relentlessly, creating larger Molotov containers.
"If I can't break its skin…" he muttered, "then I'll burn it from the inside."
The girls huddled together, terrified.
"Will he… leave us?" one of them whispered.
"I don't know…" Sang Zhi replied softly.
They knew the truth.
He owed them nothing.
The next morning, Li Xuan called Sang Zhi. "Go invite the mother and daughter. Tell them I want to discuss forming a team."
She nodded and left.
As he prepared to head out and recruit others, someone approached him.
"Ming Yue?"
She stood there nervously. "I… I want to join your team."
Li Xuan looked at her silently.
"I'll give you all my supplies," she continued quickly. "I just… want to survive."
He studied her for a moment. He was delighted inside but had poker face outside.
Then he spoke coldly.
"You can join. But you follow my orders. No exceptions."
She nodded immediately. "I understand."
A faint smile appeared on her face.
For the first time since the snake appeared…
Li Xuan felt like things were still under his control.
At least for now.