The whole nation is trying to survive on the cable car; I'm choosing one of three options at ea

He had studied the cable car's altitude; it wasn't fixed. Sometimes it would ascend to several thousand meters, with clouds below and nothing visible; other times it would descend to around a hundred meters, where you could count the leaves on the leaves of trees on the ground. At this current altitude, it wasn't considered safe, but it wasn't dangerous either.

He glanced at the map; the green coordinates were getting closer and closer.

There are still more than ten kilometers to go.

It's time to get ready.

Su Mu squatted down and began to count the things he needed to bring.

First, there were two grenades. He had traded them for from Lin Yuwei. He clipped one into the left slot of his belt and put the other in the right pocket of his tactical chest pouch... that was a quick way to retrieve items, saving half a second in a critical moment.

Then came the pistol. His M500 was already loaded with seven rounds, and he added three more quickloaders, stuffing them into the left pocket of his chest sling. Three loaders, eighteen rounds, plus the seven rounds in the pistol—enough for most situations.

Then, he glanced at the pile of gleaming yellow ammunition at his feet, grabbed a backpack, and stuffed all the bullets inside. It was heavy, and he could feel its weight as he carried it on his shoulder.

Water. A bottle of mineral water, stuffed into the side pocket of the backpack.

Food. Two chocolates and a pack of compressed biscuits, just in case. Monsters might drop food, but what if they do?

Nylon rope. Found among the supplies I'd looted before; twenty meters long, coiled up and hanging on my backpack. I don't know if I'll ever need it, but it's always good to have it.

Two cell phones. The ones he found earlier, both with only a little over ten percent battery left. He wrapped them in a plastic bag and stuffed them into his backpack. This thing, combined with the axe, could be used as a remote "alarm clock" to lure monsters away.

Finally, he glanced at the purple skill book and put it in as well.

It can only be used at level three.

Today's goal is to reach level three.

Su Mu slung the backpack over his shoulder and weighed it... about forty or fifty kilograms. For him, with a strength of 56 points, this weight was nothing, and it didn't affect his movements at all.

He was about to take another look at the map when he suddenly remembered something.

He clicked on Lin Yuwei's profile picture.

"You said you owed me some information, shouldn't you give it to me now? You only tell me when I don't bring it up! You have absolutely no credibility."

Lin Yuwei: "Who are you calling untrustworthy... The reason I didn't tell you is because this information is extremely dangerous."

After typing that sentence, seemingly afraid of misunderstanding, he quickly added another sentence.

"I don't think you'd take that risk. I don't want to give it to you and then accuse me of cheating you. It'll only make things unpleasant."

"Stop with the nonsense," Su Mu said. "How will you know if I'm going or not if you don't tell me?"

"Okay." Lin Yuwei's reply had a hint of "I knew you would say that" in it. "There are Lv5 mutated creatures."

Su Mu fell silent.

Level 5.

Although he knew that level didn't mean everything, and that the gap between people of the same level could be huge... a level 2 Giant Axeman and a level 2 Licker were not even in the same league... but the number 5 itself was enough to make people hesitate.

He really can't go.

However, having information about a level 5 monster... Su Mu quickly considered it in his mind.

"What's there? A silver treasure chest or something even more valuable?" he asked.

"No need to guess, there's no information about treasure chests," Lin Yuwei said. "But I can tell you, it's an armory."

arsenal.

Su Mu's eyes lit up.

He has plenty of ammunition now, but the pistols are too restrictive... they can only hold six rounds at a time, and their effective range is only fifty meters. If he could get his hands on a submachine gun, or even a sniper rifle...

The idea is very promising.

But he quickly calmed down.

He wouldn't take that risk until he reached level four or five. Even at level five, if the talent he unlocked wasn't strong enough, he didn't plan to go for it.

Based on previous experience, the richer the reward, the more dangerous it is. Even if there aren't any treasure chests in that armory, it's obvious there's something good inside. But the prerequisite for getting the good stuff is... you have to come out alive.

Moreover, given Lin Yuwei's terrible luck, the information she provided would probably be 20% more dangerous.

However, from this conversation, Su Mu confirmed one thing... Lin Yuwei's talent is very likely related to obtaining unknown information.

It's even somewhat similar to his "Daily Intelligence" report.

After closing the chat window, Su Mu glanced at the faintly visible cable in the distance, then turned his gaze back to the channel.

It was still early, so he thought he might try his luck and find something useful.

The messages scrolled by quickly, but most were fragmented transactions... iron ingots for food, glass essence for water, and someone selling clothes stripped from zombies. Su Mu scrolled through them one by one, but didn't see anything worth buying.

Until a message made him stop typing.

"Did you hear? Someone from that five-person talent team has reached level two!"

"Really? So fast?"

"They said it themselves, how could it be false? They're hiring now, but only for talented people."

"Only accepting gifted individuals? No ordinary people?"

"They said that talented people team up with other talented people to be more efficient. Ordinary people can't help much."

Su Mu frowned slightly as he looked at the messages.

He recalled that team... Everyone had combat talents, including fireball, wind blade, and strength enhancement. They worked together seamlessly and were able to take on two or three zombies on their own yesterday.

Someone has now reached level two.

This means they will be stronger and expand faster.

It's finally here.

Compared to Zhou Zhenguo's approach of being willing to take ordinary people along, this team chose a different path... elites banding together, while the weak were sidelined.

In the apocalypse, this is understandable. Resources are limited, and having dependents will only hinder you.

But for ordinary people, this is undoubtedly a signal: those with power are starting to band together, while the rest are left to fend for themselves.

No one in the channel objected to the team's approach.

Perhaps they dared not... After all, five talented individuals were already a considerable force at this stage. Or perhaps they tacitly accepted... the laws of the apocalypse dictate that the strong rule, and there's nothing more to say.

Su Mu shook his head.

The emergence of such an organization is not good news for him. It's not that he's afraid they'll threaten him... with his current strength, he's not afraid at all.

The problem is that once these organizations are formed, the best items will inevitably be traded internally first. What flows into the market is what they've rejected.

If he wants to get something good, he either needs to offer something they can't refuse, or...

Forget it.

As long as he levels up quickly enough, he will always have the initiative.

Su Mu turned off the channel and glanced at the map.

There are still two kilometers to go to the green coordinates.

He could already see the general outline ahead.

The so-called "West Mountain" is not some remote mountain forest.

At the foot of the mountain, there is a sparse cluster of buildings, not the kind of mud-brick houses typical of rural areas, but rather suburban residences with courtyards, red roofs, and white walls. Several of them still have signs that read "Farmhouse Inn".

The mountain itself isn't very high, probably around 400 or 500 meters, and is covered with dense trees. A winding path and a few pavilions can be vaguely seen halfway up the mountain.

It should be a tourist attraction.

Su Mu stared at the forest for a long time, but did not see any moving figures.

The intelligence reports that there are Lv2 mutated creatures.

To be on the safe side, he naturally wouldn't wait until the location landed.

He glanced down at the cable car... just as they were passing through a dense forest, the canopy so thick it looked like a green carpet. He couldn't see the ground, nor could he see what was inside the forest.

He waited for the cable car to glide forward a little further until the dense forest thinned out and the outline of the ground could be vaguely seen before pressing the confirmation button.

We are currently about one kilometer away from the target point.

The cable car doors opened, revealing a purplish-black vortex.

Su Mu took a deep breath, gripped his pistol, and strode in.