Chapter 58: Chapter 51 Cultivating Trust
In the garage, a wine-red Raptor pickup was covered in dust, having apparently not been washed for a long time.
But with its domineering size, six meters in length, two meters in width and height, and thirty-five-inch tires, the pickup still exuded a sense of wildness.
The obvious modifications, such as the welded metal bars at the front and the wire mesh on the windows, added a wasteland style to the vehicle.
“The only issue is that it guzzles fuel quite a bit, but for now, we’re not exactly short on gas…”
Jack sighed lightly as he examined the truck.
The virus outbreak had come so suddenly, so many dead, so few survivors. Although seven months had passed, gasoline was surprisingly easy to find throughout the city.
Fuel can go ‘bad’ over time, but that mostly just harms the engine; in a post-apocalyptic world, one can’t afford to be so particular.
Homemade gasoline incendiary bombs had always been an effective weapon for them.
“Let’s find something to eat first. We’ve already scavenged most places within close range, and other survivors probably have too. Nowadays, finding food usually poses some difficulty.”
Food was the first thing Jack thought of, and Tao Yu felt the same.
He had used up a total of four Qi Replenishing Pills just to recover from a brief skirmish the night before, so getting food was the priority.
“The two of us don’t need to bother with the trouble of transporting goods, so it should be easy to find.”
Before, Jack needed to lead a team to carry supplies, which made it much harder to ensure quiet and coordination.
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Now it was just the two of them; they could just fill their backpacks and leave.
Jack then started the pickup truck, which roared to life and charged onto the street.
Many zombies didn’t even have time to react before they were brushed aside.
Some that were blocking the road were simply rammed through.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Tao Yu felt the occasional jolts from the collisions and realized that the danger on their journey shouldn’t be too great under normal circumstances.
But how to shake off zombies after stopping was another problem.
“Where is the gas station those three guys were talking about? Are you considering checking it out?”
Tao Yu asked casually.
“I’m not planning on going for now; there might be other dangers. I’ve scoped out a few places with stock before. They’re a bit more challenging, but we can just go to one of them to find what we need this time.
“Once we’ve done that, we can go around the center of Las Vegas by the desert and head straight to the military base. We’ve got extra fuel in the trunk, and the tires are good for sand, so our range should be more than sufficient,” Jack answered while driving smoothly, much like a race car driver.
“Great.”
Tao Yu exhaled, then took out the gold pistol he got from Cao Shaolin and toyed with it. After a moment of silence, he said,
“I was the one who killed Cao Shaolin.”
Tao Yu’s revelation nearly caused Jack to lose control of the vehicle. It swayed before he managed to steady it again.
He didn’t yell or even stop the car but asked in a heavy, solemn voice,
“Why?”
“Because I had seen him before. He was a powerful pervert who took pleasure in killing. You also examined his body today; if I hadn’t attacked him by surprise, chances are I would be the one dead.”
Tao Yu turned his head to look at Jack,
“Do you believe me?”
The cabin fell silent for a moment, the only sound the roaring engine.
“I believe you. You didn’t have to tell me,” Jack responded after a pause, his voice tinged with a hint of melancholy.
He tried to put himself in Tao Yu’s shoes. If what he said was true, there didn’t seem to be any good solution!
If he had tried to discuss it with Jack, would Jack have believed him at that time?
The fact that Jack believed Tao Yu now was mainly because he had seen Cao Shaolin’s body and sensed the powerful aura lingering even after death.
After hearing Jack’s answer, Tao Yu also showed a slight smile.
He had changed his plan on the spur of the moment after seeing Jack’s suspicion about Cao Shaolin’s body.
Building mutual trust takes time.
Actually, when Tao Yu first teamed up with Zhang Wei, they also tried to build some trust between them. He even guided Zhang Wei in learning the Basic Breathing Technique, but the latter’s change in attitude following the appearance of the two people from the Inner City led Tao Yu to dismiss the idea outright.
Everyone has their own thoughts and interests, and that’s perfectly reasonable.
However, the level of trust affects the degree to which cooperation is possible.
Tao Yu then put away the golden handgun again.
Warlord’s Sidearm: Comes with Armor-Piercing, Precision, and Self-Repair effects. It also enhances the wielder’s Spirit Perception, allowing detection of malice and offering a degree of Perception towards mystical entities (can be stacked), and can be absorbed for one thousand and eighty units of Yuan Force.
Tao Yu had a handgun with precision ballistic effect, but its shortcomings became evident when facing Cao Shaolin; even with the spiritual impact of his Deified Shooting Technique, it barely managed to kill him after firing a whole clip.
And that was just Cao Shaolin. If he were to face someone even stronger, wouldn’t that just mean instant defeat?
This Warlord’s Sidearm was without a doubt a supplement to Tao Yu’s lethality, and the stackable Spirit Perception was probably a physical manifestation of a Perception ability similar to Cao Shaolin’s.
It was because of this ability and the stackability with the Crane-shaped Spirit Perception that Tao Yu could feel the sincerity in Jack’s previous words—he truly believed what Tao Yu had said.
This encounter had served as a wake-up call to a slightly complacent Tao Yu; Shadow Evasion was not omnipotent!
Beyond the Armor-Piercing and Precision, that Self-Repair feature was also quite impressive.
In addition to repairing the gun when damaged, the most important aspect was that when the magazine was empty, it could automatically replenish one ‘air bullet’ per minute, with the same effect as a regular bullet but unable to be removed.
A fourteen-round magazine could be refilled about every quarter-hour.
Bullets cost money, and they also take up a lot of space in a backpack.
Although one bullet per minute wouldn’t significantly reduce Tao Yu’s reliance on spare ammunition, it did give him the confidence to fire his gun when clearing lesser creatures on ordinary days.
It definitely qualified as a fine piece of equipment.
Although it only absorbed a little over a thousand Yuan Force, its actual value was certainly much higher.
“The protagonist is the protagonist, after all. It’s difficult to find such a character among Pioneers. A preliminary foundation of trust has been established, perhaps…”
Watching Jack, who was driving with his prominent nose, a few thoughts flashed through Tao Yu’s mind.
After pondering for a moment, he continued,
“Actually, the condition of your body being able to absorb Yuan Force, you’ll sooner or later hear some news about it. I think I might as well tell you now.”
The trust Jack showed and the fact that Tao Yu didn’t sense any malice warmed his heart. Although he had thought about exploding Jack for Gold Coins, actions speak louder than intentions, and after all, he hadn’t made a move.
And since he had decided to partner with Jack for a temporary team-up, he felt that he could give Jack a heads-up.
After all, this information was worthless to him, and Jack would find out eventually anyway.
“Yuan Force?”
At this moment, Jack hadn’t fully digested Tao Yu’s earlier words, his heart still unsettled, but upon hearing Tao Yu mention this, he vaguely felt that a major secret was about to be revealed.
“Yes, Yuan Force. It’s crucial for us Pioneers and for ‘Children of Destiny’ like you. The highlands and Rainforest to the south, you already know about, are actually different worlds…”
Compared to the unpredictable Pioneers, such a ‘protagonist’ setup was clearly more trustworthy…
…
“Abyss… World fragments… Yuan Force…”
Zzzt—The pickup truck stopped in an empty park, ripping a trail through the disheveled grass.
Jack finally couldn’t hold back anymore, letting zombies slowly approach as he leaned back in his seat and rubbed his temples.
“So, those three guys who disappeared were the Pioneers you mentioned? Was Cao Shaolin one too?”
“Those three were indeed Pioneers, but they have nothing to do with me. Cao Shaolin must be similar to you, except you are the hero, and he is the villain.”
Tao Yu gave an example, causing Jack to show a bitter smile,
“Now there’s a hero and a villain too, sigh, what a headache.”
“Compared to others who can’t even use Yuan Force, you’re doing well. Only by becoming stronger can you survive in this environment.”
“Alright, I deeply appreciate you telling me all this. Let’s go, find something to eat first.”
Jack opened the car door, pulled a shovel from the roof of the vehicle, and with a few swift motions, beheaded the approaching zombies, their heads flying off.
His strength indeed already surpassed that of the average person.
Given that he was designed to be a soldier king type and had been absorbing Yuan Force for seven months, Jack’s strength was not weak. No wonder he already felt different even though zombies provided only a small amount of Yuan Force.
Even though Jack and his kind couldn’t level up like Pioneers, their rate of absorbing Yuan Force must be higher…