The gas station exploded.

Watching the flames in the rearview mirror, Su Ling felt a chill down her spine, and cold sweat covered her body.

That was close!

If she hadn't encountered the man, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Just then, a dark shadow flashed ahead.

A tree over two meters tall suddenly toppled, coming crashing down toward the car.

In a critical moment, Su Ling closed her eyes and shouted in her mind, "Reinforce the car."

A pleasant prompt sounded.

"A person with a high degree of compatibility with the host's soul has appeared. The probability of successful reinforcement is eighty percent. Reinforcement successful. Armor +20, Endurance +20, Speed +20. Do you wish to continue reinforcing?"

At the same time, the tree had already smashed onto the car's hood.

Bang.

A huge sound echoed from the windshield. Su Ling didn't have time to react; she forcefully stepped on the accelerator and sped forward.

"Reinforce, continue reinforcing."

"A person with a high degree of compatibility with the host's soul has appeared. The probability of successful reinforcement is eighty percent. Reinforcement successful. Armor +20, Endurance +20, Speed +20. Do you wish to continue reinforcing?"

Continue, continue...

Su Ling shouted frantically in her mind, and soon heard the system's prompt.

"The vehicle has been reinforced one hundred percent. Reinforcement skill upgraded."

Taking a moment to check the system interface, Su Ling saw the notifications confirming that the car's armor and endurance had reached one hundred percent. She couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Inadvertently, she glanced sideways and realized that the man was squinting his dark eyes, watching her.

Seeing those inquisitive eyes, Su Ling felt that her car had become quite astonishing.

A tree that big had crashed onto the windshield, yet the glass didn't even have a crack. It was difficult to explain.

"Bulletproof glass?" the man asked.

Su Ling chuckled nervously, "I can't afford such glass. It's probably because the speed was fast enough to pass through quickly."

Glancing at the speedometer, which now showed 230 miles per hour, the man nodded.

"Not slow."

His voice was flat, making it hard to tell if it was praise or criticism.

Su Ling broke out in a sweat again.

Just then, the little boy, who hadn't spoken in a while, suddenly spoke with admiration, "Auntie, you're so amazing. Can you be my aunt?"

Su Ling's wrist slipped, almost steering the car into a ditch.

Kids nowadays are too open; they want someone to be their aunt as soon as they meet?

She managed to force a smile and said softly, "I don't even know your uncle, how can I be your aunt?"

"But you know him now, he's my uncle!" the boy proudly pointed at the man, blinking his big round eyes at Su Ling.

Su Ling was instantly embarrassed.

And the man didn't say anything, making the situation even more awkward.

Su Ling had to smile awkwardly again. "I'm sorry, I thought you two were father and son."

The man seemed to snap out of it, then frowned and asked, "Where are you going?"

Su Ling thought for a moment. "Let's go to Lizhou. There seems to be a shelter there."

She really wanted to meet her savior. As long as she was on this road, there was a chance they might run into each other.

The man considered for a moment and replied in a deep voice, "That works."

However, the little boy suddenly appeared shy.

The man immediately lowered his head to ask, "Kai Xuan, what's wrong?"

The little boy's face turned slightly red.

"Uncle, I need to pee."

The car's interior was not spacious, so Su Ling naturally heard it clearly and quickly stopped the car.

Fortunately, the road surface on this side remained unchanged, just like before.

The man got out of the car, holding the child in his arms. Su Ling also opened the car window and took a few deep breaths.

Since she hadn't turned into a zombie until now, she shouldn't be infected by the air.

What remained was how to survive in this apocalypse.

In the rearview mirror, Su Ling looked at the man.

Steady, calm, and capable.

This kind of man undoubtedly seemed like a reliable ally.

Su Ling planned to find an opportunity to ask about their plans when she suddenly remembered what the system had mentioned about a high degree of soul compatibility.

Previously, when she reinforced the vehicle, the success rate was only five percent, but just now, it had suddenly surged to eighty percent.

Could it be that one of the two nephews was highly compatible with her?

She immediately picked up a stainless steel water cup and conducted a test.

"Reinforce."

The mechanical voice quickly responded.

"Reinforcement success rate is five percent, Reinforcement failed. Does the host wish to continue reinforcing?"

As expected, it was still five percent.

Su Ling furrowed her brows.

Seeing the nephews coming towards the car, she hurriedly put down the water cup.

At that moment, the car's rear lights flashed, and another car whizzed past.

As the two cars passed each other, Su Ling caught sight of a familiar face.

It was Su Rou.

She hadn't died after all; trouble seemed to follow her everywhere.

Following that, came the sound of screeching tires as Su Rou's car stopped abruptly, swerving and blocking the road.

Su Ling's expression turned grim.

Clearly, Su Rou had also seen her.

Su Ling bit her lip and turned to the man.

"We... may have a bit of trouble."

Su Rou had already gotten out of the car, closely followed by Wei Zixuan, holding a baseball bat.

"Bitch, get the hell out."

Su Rou banged on the car door and cursed loudly, with a white cloth wrapped around her head, looking somewhat ridiculous.

The man's gaze deepened instantly.

"Know each other?" he asked.

"My step-sister and my fiancé," Su Ling replied with self-mockery, then continued, "They were fooling around in bed an hour ago, and I caught them in the act."

As she spoke, Wei Zixuan had come to the front of the car and swung the baseball bat at the windshield.

"Damn, you're messing with gigolos and still have the nerve to catch others in the act? Get out!"

After the dull thud, the glass remained without a single crack.

Looking at the Passat, which was as strong as a tank, Su Ling excitedly clenched her fist, feeling much more courageous.

"Ignore them; let's just watch the show."

She reached back and took some snacks, handing them to the little boy.

Rubbing his little head, she said, "Take whatever you like, and we'll wait here for a while before leaving."

While she was speaking, several more cars came from behind and surrounded Su Ling's car.

"Wei Shao, what's going on? Holy shit, isn't this your girlfriend Su Ling's car?"

A man with a sharp face jumped down from one of the cars, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, looking quite imposing.

Su Ling's heart sank. This was Wei Zixuan's childhood friend, Jiang Laosi.

Unexpectedly, he had joined up with Wei Zixuan's group.

This person had some background in Donghai and had been doing well in the social circles. People in society respectfully called him Fourth Brother. Facing them, it seemed there was only one way to go.

Su Ling took a deep breath and placed her foot on the gas pedal.

Ready to force her way through.

However, the little boy was not happy and held the man's big hand, saying, "Uncle, those two people are insulting auntie. They are all bad people. Please go down and teach them a lesson."

"Okay."

The man replied indifferently and opened the car door.

"Don't go." Su Ling wanted to stop him, but it was already too late.

The man was already outside the car.

Facing a group of hooligans, he casually hooked his hand in his pocket, looking composed, as if he was taking a leisurely stroll after dinner. His handsome face was calm.

Compared to the nearly 1.8-meter-tall Wei Zixuan, he looked like a skinny weakling.

"Damn, you little gigolo! So, you think you're something special!"

Seeing the man's excellence, Wei Zixuan was so angry that his eyes turned red, and he swung the bat.

But his swing was caught by Jiang Laosi.

To everyone's surprise, it was Jiang Laosi who held his bat.

He changed his arrogant demeanor from earlier and kicked Wei Zixuan aside.

With an extremely respectful expression, he said, "Mr. Sheng, why are you here?"

 

(Brought to you by Fairly Sleepy Dud with the help of the amazing machine!)