**Day Three.**

A black steel RV cruised along the battered highway.

This world was vast.

According to the system's description, this area was called the Zombie Wasteland.

To Lin Hui, it felt much like the uninhabited regions of China's Tibet Province—cold, dry, and desolate.

The entire wasteland stretched endlessly.

Along the way, he encountered several vehicles upgraded to Level 2, including taxis, vans, buses, and even helicopters flying overhead.

Those who survived to the third day generally had decent vehicles.

Owners of bicycles, scooters, or wheelchairs couldn't survive in this environment unless they relied on other players.

[Survivors in C-996 Area: 3,001,314]

In just two days, seventy percent of the people in this area had perished.

The Grey Mist continued to advance from behind...

This meant no player could stop moving; everyone had to keep going forward.

Lin Hui glanced at the system interface.

[Time until Grey Mist arrives: 14:35:20]

[Grey Mist speed: 30 km/h]

[Current vehicle speed: 80 km/h]

Lin Hui sat in the driver's seat, one hand on the steering wheel, the other holding a bottle of chilled cola, taking a leisurely sip.

With tires that had the "Never Worn" trait and an engine with "Infinite Fuel," he paid no heed to the road conditions.

Whether it was broken glass or road spikes, he just drove over them. The vehicle only slightly shook, while the obstacles were crushed to dust.

"But this isn't enough."

The RV needed further upgrades!

Some players had already reached Level 3, giving him a sense of urgency.

Sighing, Lin Hui opened his personal panel.

[Name: Lin Hui]

[Species: Human]

[Status: Healthy]

[Sanity (San): 100/100] (Note: Sanity below 30 induces suicidal thoughts, below 20 causes whispers, below 10 leads to madness.)

[Mental Strength: 5] (Note: Average for a normal adult; higher mental strength increases sanity resistance and recovery speed.)

[Physique: 5] (Note: A composite of strength, speed, and defense.)

Yesterday, he spent the entire day hunting zombies, killing over two hundred.

Killing zombies dropped items, with Universal Fuel being the most common, followed by food, while medicine was the rarest.

Medicines were extremely precious!

Currently, Lin Hui had three types of medicines: antibiotics (2 bottles), fever reducers (1 bottle), and stomach medicine (1 bottle).

Looking at the RV filled with items, he sighed; there was no more room for zombie loot.

Thinking of this, Lin Hui took out the Level 3 Vehicle Upgrade Blueprint, and the system provided two upgrade options.

[Option A (Normal Version): Consume 70 units of regular steel, 10 electronic precision components.]

—Effect: Unlocks a basic vehicle-mounted machine gun (caliber 7.62mm), increases vehicle space by 20%, and enhances vehicle defense by 10%.

[Option B (Perfect Version): Consume 100 units of armor-piercing steel, 10 precision components, 1 fire control chip.]

—Effect: Unlocks a [Heavy Chain Cannon (caliber 25mm)]! Increases vehicle space to 20 cubic meters! Enhances vehicle defense to 200! Increases vehicle tonnage to 20 ton!

Without hesitation, Lin Hui chose Option B.

A 7.62mm machine gun might work against ordinary players, but it took several shots to kill a zombie; it was better to just ram them with the vehicle! Plus, stronger monsters were sure to appear later!

But a 25mm cannon? That could blast a zombie's head to bits with one shot and pierce an armored vehicle with two!

He already had the electronic precision components and fire control chip.

Obtained from that military helicopter.

However.

He still lacked 90 units of armor-piercing steel.

Lin Hui frowned slightly.

This level of steel could only be obtained by dismantling military vehicles, armored trucks, or aircraft.

Most players' vehicles couldn't produce such high-grade materials!

Fortunately, with a large player base, someone was bound to acquire this special steel.

"Let's check the Regional Channel."

Through these days of exploration, Lin Hui had figured out the speaking rules of the Regional Channel.

Each person could post ten messages a day.

For additional messages, one needed to consume 1 unit of Universal Fuel per message.

For urgent matters or to attract other players' attention, posting bold, colored messages cost 20 units of Universal Fuel for special effects.

A full-screen pinned message required 50 units of Universal Fuel.

After two days and nights of trials, the once chaotic channel now showed clear class divisions.

The pinned messages were no longer player pleas for help but bold, red recruitment notices.

[Overlord Alliance (Leader: Zhao Tianba)]

"The first guild on the server is recruiting! I've already reached Level 3 and unlocked autopilot! Now inviting players with heavy trucks, tanks, helicopters, and rockets to join! Join and receive fuel and beautiful slaves! Our goal is to establish the first mobile city! Only elites, no weaklings!"

[Rose Society]

"Our guild only recruits female players. Sisters, men are unreliable; we must arm ourselves! This is the only pure land in the apocalypse!"

[Iron Blood Heavy Industries]

"Buying all vehicle blueprints and special parts at high prices! We have the best mechanics and gunsmiths on the server. Join us, and your vehicle will never break down."

[Evil Wolf Guild]

"Heh, only the weak huddle together for warmth; the strong are predators. Recruiting desperados, robbers, killers, and those who want to do dirty work. Also, welcome to provide 'fat sheep' player coordinates; if the coordinates are valid, we'll reward the provider handsomely!"

……

The four major guilds, the structure was beginning to take shape.

Lin Hui looked at these recruitment notices, feeling a slight stir in his heart.

"Zhao Tianba... the first player in C-996 Area to reach Level 3 with their vehicle."

The emergence of these guilds didn't surprise Lin Hui.

In the apocalypse, humans are social creatures; gathering is human nature.

Moreover, there is strength in numbers.

Without the "Golden Trait Per Level," he might have considered joining a guild!

Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

But with his golden finger, there was no need.

As for forming his own guild, Lin Hui wasn't interested; managing an organization was too troublesome, hiring a few employees was enough.

According to the system's "Survival Rules" Rule 2.

[Inside your vehicle, you are the absolute master; other players cannot harm you inside. Items in the vehicle cannot be stolen unless the player dies.]

Hiring employees was absolutely safe.

Lin Hui thought silently, then turned his gaze back to the [Regional Channel], posting the same message seven or eight times.

[Buying: Armor-Piercing Steel.]

[Note: Open to item trades, price negotiable via private chat.]

But after an hour, he only managed to acquire 20 units.

And it cost him 5 units of Universal Fuel.

It wasn't until the player selling the armor-piercing steel reminded him that Lin Hui realized.

[Iron Blood Heavy Industries] and [Overlord Alliance] had posted exorbitant purchase orders, aggressively buying up aviation-grade steel, fire control chips, and other high-end materials.

This made acquiring aviation-grade steel time-consuming.

The emergence of guilds indeed brought a big problem.

The good stuff in ordinary players' hands was immediately absorbed by these behemoths.

They would gradually monopolize top-tier materials, thereby gaining a significant advantage in strength.

This was also why Level 3 vehicles appeared so quickly; there was strength in numbers! Concentrate resources to upgrade one strongest player, then lead the weaker ones to grow stronger.

Other players wanting to upgrade had to join them.

Lin Hui's eyes darkened.

He hadn't been keeping a close eye on the Regional Channel, missing out on much information.

"Forget it, since I can't buy steel, I'll buy some bullets for self-defense first."

Lin Hui's Axe Gun only had one bullet left, which made him feel very insecure.

He posted another message:

[Buying: Axe Gun Special Bullets, permanent purchase.]

[Note: Open to item trades, price negotiable via private chat.]

In less than ten seconds, a female player contacted Lin Hui via private chat.

[Su Qingqian: Do you have antibiotics? If so, I'll trade nine Axe Gun special bullets with you.]