They had been traveling like this for about ten days when Guo Xiaobei crashed into a zombie and received a system notification that he had leveled up to level five, unlocking new system features.

Guo Xiaobei felt a moment of blankness, his consciousness swirling. The brief distraction caused the vehicle to lose control, and Xing Fang, sitting in the passenger seat, quickly lunged forward to grab the steering wheel.

“What’s wrong with you, Guo Xiaobei? Wake up!” Xing Fang shouted as he controlled the steering. Tian Tian, sitting in the back seat, turned pale with fright, while Jin Feichen showed a look of confusion.

Fortunately, Guo Xiaobei quickly snapped back to reality. Despite repeatedly assuring everyone he was fine, Xing Fang ordered him to stop the vehicle.

Xing Fang got out, kicked away a few nearby zombies, and moved to Guo Xiaobei's side, who then climbed over to the passenger seat. Xing Fang was being considerate, and Guo Xiaobei decided to go along with it, as he actually felt a bit fatigued. This upgrade felt different from previous ones; it was as if all his strength had been drained.

He closed his eyes to rest for a moment and summoned the system. Over the past few days, they had killed a lot of zombies, and it seemed that during the night patrols, the zombies Xing Fang killed also contributed to his experience, allowing him to level up quickly.

As the system underwent another upgrade, Guo Xiaobei watched the progress bar move slowly. He wasn’t sure if it was from exhaustion or something else, but he dozed off again until he was jolted awake by a notification sound.

The originally icy blue interface seemed to glow brighter for some reason, though it could just be a post-sleep illusion.

Ding. System upgrade complete. Main quest activated. Main quest must be accepted; failure results in host death, all survival points deducted, and all money deducted. The system will revert to the previous level.

Ding. Main quest: [Conceal Identity and Blend In with the Crowd] has been forcibly accepted. If this task is not completed, it can be restarted; failure results in host death. Task rewards: 200 experience, 200 money, 20 survival points. One random special weapon. Ten bottles of clean water, ten pieces of bread.

Ding. Main quest [Conceal Identity and Blend In with the Crowd] has been completed. Task rewards: 200 experience, 200 money, 20 survival points. One random special weapon. Ten bottles of clean water, ten pieces of bread. One extra gift pack. Need 1400 experience for the next upgrade.

Ding. Main quest [Level Up to Level Ten] has been forcibly accepted. This task has no time limit; failure results in host death, all survival points deducted, and all money deducted. Task rewards: 200 experience, 1000 money, 50 survival points. One random skill unlocked. Ten bottles of soda, ten pieces of cake.

Ding. Side quest [Follow Human Team to Escape] activated. [Eliminate One Basic Evolved Zombie] task has been forcibly accepted. Task rewards: 50 experience, 100 money, 5 survival points. One extra gift pack.

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Ding. Handgun skill unlocked.

Ding. …

A series of notifications played, but Guo Xiaobei lost patience with them. He was eager to see his rewards, particularly the mysterious weapon.

He opened the package, which was filled with various items: brain cores, clean water, bread, and assorted small gift packs. The most noticeable pack was larger than the others and had a design resembling blue-and-white porcelain rather than the usual pastel colors.

Excitedly, Guo Xiaobei opened the pack.

Ding. Host has obtained an ancient weapon: spear. Equip it?

A spear? Guo Xiaobei clicked his tongue. Who would even use this? Unlike a stick that you could just swing around, how does one use a spear…

Feeling a bit disheartened with the less-than-ideal weapon, Guo Xiaobei opened the other smaller gift packs without much thought. The clean water and bread merged automatically, and he found a few cards similar to the ones he had opened last time, all containing bullets. After a glance, he put them back; he couldn't afford to let anyone know he had a gun.

Looking at the considerable amount of clean water and bread, Guo Xiaobei felt a bit reassured. In the apocalypse, food equals life. However, he dared not take these items out easily, so he stored them away as emergency rations.

Though the weapon was not what he had hoped for—a submachine gun would have been nice—Guo Xiaobei equipped the spear. No matter what, it was much better than the nearly broken thick wooden stick he had.

Equipped with a spear, his combat power instantly increased by 5 points. Guo Xiaobei nodded to himself; perhaps he should use the spear like a club in the future…

After gearing up with his weapon, before he could open the skill panel to check his shooting skills, he felt a gentle push from an external force. It felt like a large, warm hand was nudging him; he guessed it was Xing Fang. Pretending to grunt a couple of times, he opened his eyes.

“Brother Xing.”

“Let’s eat something first. We’ll be going on night patrol soon,” Xing Fang handed him a warm flatbread, which had been torn open and filled with some pickled vegetables.

Guo Xiaobei took it and was surprised to find half a piece of fermented bean curd inside. His face lit up with joy.

Seeing him smile, Xing Fang smiled back. “We’re about to reach the next city. Xu Ge wants us to eat well and replenish our energy. Who knows what we might encounter.”

“Mm-hmm.” Guo Xiaobei squished the fermented bean curd into the flatbread and spread it around. Although it wouldn’t have been considered a delicacy before, now it felt like a gourmet meal. There was no need to think about meat or fruits; even if they had some, it wouldn’t be for them. Usually, they just ate plain flatbreads or steamed buns with a bit of pickled vegetables. Half a piece of fermented bean curd was already a rare treat.

The flatbread had cooled a bit, and looking at the sky, it had grown quite dark. This flatbread must have been made a while ago, so it was impressive it could maintain this warmth. Although it was called a flatbread, it was actually steamed. Each person's daily food ration was fixed.

The men in Guo Xiaobei's group received slightly more—two meals a day, with each meal consisting of a bun or flatbread and some pickles. The girls received relatively less, with only half a bun each, barely enough to stave off hunger. So the men in the convoy were a bit better off, while the girls, except for Xu Ge's partner, all looked pale and emaciated.

Guo Xiaobei quickly finished the flatbread and took a small sip from his bottle. Water was limited; each person only got half a bottle a day. Although Xu Ge had provided them with some extra water and food as compensation for leading the charge, they all tacitly agreed not to touch it. These supplies were essential for survival, to be used only in dire situations.

After resting for a bit, Guo Xiaobei and Xing Fang got off the vehicle, reminding the two girls to lock the doors. In these times, one had to guard against not only zombies but also predators.