: What do you need an off-road vehicle for?

Qiao Ye was stunned for a moment.

Machine gun?

"What do you, an E-rank demon, need a machine gun for?"

"I found it while scavenging!"

Barnum jerked the steering wheel, running over several resurrected zombies that pounced on him.

He was originally complaining to himself with his two mouths.

But when he heard Qiao Ye's question, he immediately shut up.

Go back to the original answer and be honest.

"Some demons like to collect these things; I'll collect more to make money!"

Qiao Ye glanced back at the trunk.

The bodies of the four teammates lay there quietly.

He glanced again at the approaching horde of corpses.

Then he made a decision.

"Barnum!"

"exist!"

"Drive more steadily!"

Qiao Ye climbed over and onto the back seat, then opened the trunk.

Six M249 light machine guns were neatly stacked there, with several boxes of ammunition next to them.

Standard equipment of the U.S. military.

I don't know which battlefield site Barnum picked it up from.

Then he looked at the four corpses.

Petrov, Morini, Wade, and Aramaki Ichiro.

"Comrades," Qiao Ye said softly, "help me one more time."

Green light spread from his palm.

The four corpses moved at the same time.

They climbed out of the trunk and into the back seat.

Each picked up a machine gun and aimed it in a different direction.

Sienna, perched on Qiao Ye's shoulder, watched this scene, speechless.

Barnum saw the scene in the back seat in the rearview mirror, and all three of his eyes widened at the same time.

"He, they..."

"Drive your car!" Qiao Ye roared.

Barnum shut up and slammed on the gas.

Fifty meters ahead, the horde of zombies had completely blocked the road.

It was densely packed, like a moving wall.

"Fire!" Qiao Ye ordered.

Da da da da da—!

All four machine guns opened fire simultaneously.

Flames shot out of the car window, tearing through the dark purple night sky.

The resurrected corpses in the front row fell down like wheat being harvested.

The head exploded, the body shattered, and grayish-white rotting flesh splattered everywhere.

But those behind were still surging forward.

One row fell down, and two rows rushed up.

Two rows fell down, and four rows rushed up.

The ammunition belts of the four machine guns bounced wildly, and spent cartridges clattered and fell into the vehicle.

Qiao Ye was also firing.

[You have obtained the soul of an E-rank demon*1]

[You have obtained the soul of an E-rank demon*1]

[You have obtained the soul of an E-rank demon*1]

His marksmanship was terrible, but a burst of fire could still take down a whole group of resurrected corpses.

Qiao Ye has lost count of how many E-level demon souls he has obtained.

"How much further can we break through?!" he shouted.

"have no idea!"

Barnum shouted back, "I haven't been here at night either!"

Da da da da—

Another row of resurrected corpses fell.

Qiao Ye's magazine was empty.

As he was reloading, he saw a resurrected corpse lunging towards the car door.

That rotting face was right in front of me.

"roar--"

A burst of dragon flame shot out, instantly turning the rotting resurrected corpse into charcoal.

It's Sienna.

Thanks!

Qiao Ye changed his magazine and continued firing.

I don't know how much time passed—

Finally, the zombie horde thinned out.

The off-road vehicle overcame the desperate situation.

Barnum didn't dare slow down and sped off for another five minutes.

Only when the swaying figures could no longer be seen in the rearview mirror did I slowly release the accelerator.

Qiao Ye gasped for breath and looked around.

They had entered unfamiliar territory.

However, it is clear that this used to be a residential area.

The road is lined with two- or three-story houses, typical of the American South, with colonnades and balconies.

But now only ruins remain.

Cars, rusted to the point of being scrap metal, were parked on the street; their windows were all shattered, and their tires were nowhere to be seen.

"Are there no more resurrected corpses here?" Sienna asked.

"This is a safe zone."

Barnum shook his head and said, "We've already entered the outskirts of Demon Castle, and those E-rank demons dare not approach."

"Aren't you also an E-rank?" Qiao Ye asked.

"I'm different."

Barnum parked his car nearby.

Although he spoke sternly, he still dared not go inside casually anymore.

"Brothers, this is as far as I can take you."

He said, "Although I attacked you before, I also saved your lives, didn't I? We're even now. Why don't you let me go?"

Although Barnum was reluctant to admit it, tonight's experience had truly terrified him.

He had never seen such a horde of corpses before.

All he wants now is to find a place to hide and soothe his wounded heart.

What do you think?

Qiao Ye neither said he would let go nor said he wouldn't.

Instead, the problem was thrown back to Barnum.

Barnum's heart sank; he never expected to encounter such a heartless person.

Looks like I'm going to have to spend a lot of money tonight.

"Alright, alright, I'll give you this, see if you can let me go."

He handed me a map.

"This is a map I drew based on years of experience scavenging around here. It marks where it's dangerous and where it's relatively safe. Here, take this; it should be worth my life, right?"

"Killing you would also be mine," Qiao Ye said.

"Your mom..."

Barnum almost burst into a tirade, but reason prevailed and he held back.

"...I'm in good health! What do you want from me to let me go?"

Qiao Ye was still thinking when Sienna suddenly leaned closer—

"I think he's about to cry."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Ye suddenly raised his voice.

What kind of off-road vehicle do you want?

Sienna: ? ? ?

When did you say you wanted an off-road vehicle?

On the other side, Barnum gasped upon hearing this.

good good!

You're waiting for me here, aren't you!

"OK!"

Barnum jumped straight out of the car.

"You can have this car, I don't want it!"

He turned and walked away, limping, his back showing extreme stubbornness.

He never looked back.

Qiao Ye watched Barnum leave.

Sienna only peeked out from Qiao Ye's shoulder when she was completely out of sight.

"You really let him go?"

"He did help."

Qiao Ye unfolded the map and laid it on the hood. "Without him driving, we'd still be swimming in a horde of zombies right now."

Sienna leaned closer to look at the map.

Barnum's business is surprisingly good.

The lines on the map are crooked, but the markings are very clear.

Their current location is circled, with the words "Safe Zone (Relative)" written next to it.

About two kilometers ahead, there's a simple line drawing of a bridge with a big red cross on it, and the words "—" written next to it.

"Unknown Demon (at least C-rank) (Do not go there)".

Next to the red cross is a dotted line that bypasses the bridge and goes further east, marked "Smuggling Route (tried three times, returned alive twice)".

"Returned alive twice..."

Sienna read it aloud, "Isn't that just dying once?"

So, even if Qiao Ye had made a move just now, he might not have been able to kill Barnum.

This guy has some secret ways to save his life.

Let's continue looking at the map.

In fact, it's probably because Barnum's strength is so poor that the map is covered with red crosses.

They constantly use terms like "dangerous," "high-risk," and "extremely high-risk."

The place they are in now is an extremely rare safe zone.

Qiao Ye didn't say anything, he just kept looking at the map.

Finally, he made his decision and pointed—

"Found it!"

He said, "We'll go right from here!"