Chapter 2

In the rearview mirror, Link saw that the two cars farthest back, which had not turned around in time, were already swallowed by the sinking quicksand.

At the center of the vortex, it seemed like a ravenous beast that could never be sated. The quicksand not only did not stop but expanded at an even more exaggerated speed.

The two cars that had turned around were now fleeing for their lives, especially the machine gunners in the back, who had a wide field of view. They watched as the entire ancient ruin sank into the sand, the camp vanished in an instant, and the slaves and mercenaries who had been fighting each other were now all gone.

As mercenaries of the Wasteland Gang, they had long been aware of the terror of quicksand from their frequent missions in the desert.

Seeing the quicksand rapidly advancing and about to engulf their feet, the remaining few mercenaries were filled with extreme panic.

"Damn it, go faster, go faster!"

"It's already at the limit!" The driver had already floored the gas pedal, and the entire leg was pressing down as if trying to pierce through the jeep's chassis.

Now, three desert jeeps were speeding, with Link leading the way, and the two mercenaries' cars driving side by side, forming a pin shape.

Link glanced at the rearview mirror; the quicksand was almost touching the rear wheels of the two jeeps.

"These four people are too busy fleeing to attack me, but once they escape, they will surely open fire first..." A glint of killing intent flashed in Link's eyes, and he decided to strike first.

Link turned the steering wheel, swiftly moving in front of the mercenaries' car, shifted gears, and braked in one smooth motion, suddenly slowing down.

The driver of the mercenaries' car, seeing Link slow down, was instantly terrified: "Open fire, kill him quickly, don't let him block the way!"

The mercenary in the back was still looking at the quicksand behind him and immediately turned around upon hearing this.

Just as he was about to pick up the machine gun, Link's car rear-ended the jeep, the massive impact directly throwing the mercenary in the back out of the car. In a blink, he was swallowed by the quicksand, only his hand struggling to stay above the surface before being sucked into the center of the vortex.

The two rear wheels of the jeep were also pushed into the quicksand, the rear wheels spinning wildly but unable to gain any traction. The entire jeep was barely supported by the front wheels thanks to the four-wheel drive system.

Link accelerated, the tires kicking up sand and gravel that crazily hit the rear windshield of the jeep, pouring into the car.

In less than two seconds, the mercenaries and the jeep disappeared into the quicksand.

[You have killed Wasteland Gang mercenaries using a vehicle, gaining 200 experience points] x2

This series of actions was completed in just a few seconds. It wasn't until the jeep was swallowed by the quicksand that the driver and the mercenary in the other car realized what had happened.

"Take him out! Take him out quickly!"

Because of the sudden deceleration and reverse, Link lost his leading position and was now only half a car length ahead of the opposing jeep.

The mercenary raised the machine gun and started firing at Link.

The machine gun spewed fire, and the bullets whizzed through the air.

Link gritted his teeth, crouching as low as possible to minimize his exposure, firmly gripping the steering wheel, and flooring the gas. The jeep occasionally made a clanging sound as it was hit by bullets.

"Stop! Stop the car quickly!"

The driver panicked; the recoil of the machine gun was too strong, and after firing, the jeep started to veer to the left, and the speedometer needle dropped by 5 points.

If they fired a few more shots, they wouldn't be able to outrun the quicksand.

Link's car, with only himself, was lighter and, under full acceleration, was now faster than the enemy car, which had two people, gradually pulling ahead.

Racing over the top of a sand dune, the jeep soared high into the air. Link felt his butt suspended, and the endless desert appeared to have an end. At the farthest point, a faint outline of an abandoned city could be seen.

"The abandoned city near the [Death Catacombs]..." Link quickly recalled the information about this abandoned city in his mind.

The desert was the territory of the Wasteland Gang, but the abandoned city on the Gobi was the domain of another force, the Mechanic Cult.

With no place to hide in the vast desert, Link's only chance to escape the other two mercenaries was to hide in the city ruins.

Bang!

The desert jeep landed heavily on the sand, and Link, who was in the seat, was jolted, and the jeep swayed as if it had drunk fake alcohol.

Just as Link regained his senses, he heard a hum behind him. The mercenaries' jeep had also escaped the quicksand.

Link floored the gas pedal and drove resolutely toward the northern city ruins.

The two cars were about 200 meters apart, chasing each other over the undulating sand dunes.

Link crouched, zigzagging to avoid the bullets, which sounded like fireworks at a wedding.

The shooting lasted for several minutes, finally ending when the ammunition was depleted.

"Phew, finally quiet."

Link's eardrums were ringing, the right rearview mirror was hit by a stray bullet, and the windshield had bullet marks, with most of the glass now a dense web of cracks.

Through the rearview mirror, he saw the relentless mercenaries behind him, pondering how to deal with them.

He thought they would "give up" after running out of ammunition, but the jeep was still in hot pursuit, showing no signs of giving up.

"It seems I can only find a way to shake them off in the city ruins."

Link glanced at the fuel gauge. After the escape and pursuit, the needle was now in the middle, and he estimated it would be enough to reach the ruins.

The two Wasteland Gang members had exhausted their machine gun ammunition, significantly reducing the weight of their vehicle.

Although the gap between them and Link was still widening, it was within an acceptable range.

Now, the entire ancient ruin and camp were buried deep in the sand.

Everyone was dead, and only the two of them had escaped. What would the boss think?

To return, they needed to bring something to prove they were not fleeing but pursuing.

Link's head was the best evidence.

On the other hand, Link was now slightly relieved and had the energy to study the system.

The system hadn't changed much, still divided into two main categories: [Attributes] and [Tasks].

Link entered [Attributes], and a few lines of light red data appeared in the lower right corner of his vision.

The system color also had a meaning: light red during combat, and light blue outside of combat.

Name: Link

Race: Human

Level: lv1

Experience: 400

Occupation: None

Identity: Slave

Health: 40 (Fatigued)

Stamina: 20 (Weak)

Attributes: Strength 3, Agility 3, Endurance 6, Intelligence 4, Energy 2, Charisma 1, Luck 1

Potential Points: 0

Talents: None

Skills: None

Equipment: Sharp Short Dagger (White)

Specialties: Basic Driving (Not Fully Mastered)

Evaluation: You are truly a "lucky one."

——

Black question mark face.jpg.

Link was a bit depressed. Just from the system's opening remarks, he knew it was a sly old fox. What did it mean by "truly a 'lucky one'"? He wanted to report it.

After reading the attributes, Link felt a bit uncomfortable.

In the game, the normal human setting, except for Energy, Charisma, and Luck, which are random, all other attributes are 5.

Now, except for Endurance, which is 6, none of Link's attributes reached 5, meaning he was even worse than a normal person.

However, Link could understand. As a slave who was supposed to be buried by the quicksand, what luck could he have?

But for Link, this wasn't a big problem. As long as he could escape, he could use his prior knowledge of the game's plot to make up for these attributes.

Link glanced at the experience points. He had killed two Wasteland mercenaries with his vehicle, and 400 experience points were enough to level him up to 2.

But with pursuers still behind him, as Link put it, "I can level up, but there's no need."

The chase continued, and the remaining two mercenaries were like hyenas, biting down on Link without letting go.

Link drove while searching his memory for information about the city ruins. As the ruins came closer, his memories gradually returned.

"The city ruins should still be in a state of abandonment. The Mechanic Cult will only start fortifying the ruins next year."

Link's eyes lit up, and he began to formulate a plan.

"The fuel is almost gone, he can't escape! Prepare your weapons!" the mercenary driver shouted, looking at the fuel gauge on the dashboard.

All the vehicles would be refueled after stopping at the camp. Now, their fuel was almost depleted, so the fuel in the leading car must be low.

The mercenary in the back started to organize the weapons.

"We only have a submachine gun and a pistol, with several magazines."

"Enough!"

If they couldn't kill an unarmed slave with these, they would have no face to return.

"We can catch up, but what about the fuel? How will we return?"

"Don't worry, I wouldn't have decided to chase if I wasn't confident." The driver pulled out a satellite phone from his pocket and explained, "I was reporting the earthquake and the catacombs when the rebellion broke out, and I put the phone in my pocket."

The mercenary driver glanced at the jeep in front, his eyes cold, and said, "Once we kill this kid, we'll call for rescue."

The city ruins were getting closer, and the outline of the ruins could be seen from a distance.

Unlike the abandoned high-rise buildings, rusted and overgrown with nature, the ruins of the Mechanic Cult were mostly like this: no high-rise buildings, all structures reduced to rubble, like demolition debris left uncollected. The entire city exuded a cold desolation, as if nothing could survive after the locusts passed.

Seeing the familiar yet strange ruins, Link was more confident in his plan. Many key points had not changed.

The fuel gauge needle entered the red zone, indicating it was almost empty.

Link glanced at the rearview mirror; the Wasteland Gang mercenaries were about 400 to 500 meters behind, giving him enough time to prepare.

Puff, puff, puff!

The exhaust pipe made a few sounds like a fart, and the fuel was completely depleted.

Link had already driven into the city ruins and, using the jeep's last bit of momentum, started showing off his driving skills, spinning wildly in place.

The rubber tires skidded, kicking up a cloud of yellow dust and black smoke, enveloping the entire jeep.

The strong smell of earth and the pungent odor of rubber mixed, making Link cough.

Taking advantage of the smoke, Link leaped out of the car and ran into the city.

The pursuing mercenaries, seeing the jeep enveloped in dust and smoke, shouted, "He got out and hid in the city!"

The mercenary in the back looked at the submachine gun and pistol slung around his neck. Both had an effective range of 50 meters, and firing now would only waste bullets. The machine gun seemed to have a few rounds left, so he decided to fire a few shots to see if he could hit anything.

The mercenary lifted the gun with both arms, almost pointing it at the sky.

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat...

The last few rounds were fired, leaving a trail of light in the air, flying into the dust and smoke.

Link passed through the smoke, familiar with the city ruins, and headed straight for his destination.

Hearing the "warning" shots from the machine gun, Link couldn't help but sneer, "Four to five hundred meters through the smoke, really using the machine gun like a thermal imaging sniper?"

As he spoke,

Whoosh—!!

A bullet whizzed past Link's ear, and at the same time, his right deltoid muscle felt a sharp pain.

[You have been hit by the BLN50 machine gun (grazing), losing 10 health points]

[You have entered the abnormal state [Bleeding]]

[Bleeding]: Lose 1 health point every 10 minutes, lasting 2 hours.

Link's face changed drastically, "This is ridiculous, how could it hit?"

Link looked at the wound on his right deltoid, about 1.5 cm long, with the skin burned by the bullet and some muscle torn. A clean piece of cloth would be enough to bandage it.

But the smoke was starting to dissipate, and the sound of the jeep was getting clearer, giving him no time to bandage the wound.

The first step of the plan was disrupted, and Link had no choice but to run to the planned location.

Originally, with 40 health points, he had a chance to show off, but now, with only 30 health points left after the grazing, his plan was disrupted.

Link didn't know if he was lucky or unlucky.

A shot through 300 to 400 meters of smoke, with a bullet that drops quickly, how could it hit unless the gun was pointed at the sky?

Is this shooting at a person or an airplane?

This guy could even graze him, which was really strange.

But on the other hand, if the bullet had been off by a centimeter, his entire arm would be useless, not even fit for roasting.

The streets of the abandoned city were desolate, with brown roots growing in the gaps of collapsed houses, winding around the bricks and stones. The buildings had crumbled into piles of rubble, with only the lowest walls still standing, their colorful paint peeling off, leaving only scattered patches on the bricks to show their original colors.

Whether it was residential areas, commercial buildings, or supermarkets, they had all collapsed into piles of bricks or irregularly shattered concrete. If you paid attention, you would notice that there was no trace of metal in the city.

Link was "used to" this. The Mechanic Cult was like locusts, and wherever they passed, the scene was always like this.

Link soon reached his destination, a massive concrete wall.