Chapter 21: The Siege of the Scavengers

Moreover, after upgrading the vehicle to level 2, the portable storage feature can also be unlocked. 

Ryan thinks this feature is very convenient and crucial. 

Originally, players had to worry about whether their vehicle would be attacked by other players after temporarily leaving it somewhere. 

Once the portable storage is unlocked, there's no need to have such concerns anymore. 

Ryan picked up the vehicle core from the ground. 

He followed the path he took earlier and circled around to the side of the motel. 

After climbing over a low wall, Ryan propped up a bicycle resting by the roadside and quickly headed toward the agreed meeting point. 

... 

800 meters west of the motel. 

This area resembles an industrial park with many large factories. 

The zombies in the vicinity are relatively sparse, Ryan had crossed through this park when he first arrived, so he is quite familiar with the situation here. 

The meeting point was chosen here, as it is not far from the motel and relatively safe. 

However, Buddy, who was running on the road, suddenly stopped. 

Its ears perked up, and its sensitive nose twitched slightly, as if sniffing the air for scents. 

Buddy was unwilling to move forward, apparently having detected a large gathering of zombies in the distance. 

Ryan stopped the bicycle: "Is there danger ahead?" 

He quickly opened the system panel and checked the live surveillance to observe the situation ahead. 

Sure enough, the once quiet and desolate road was now crowded with a significant number of zombies, with an estimated count exceeding twenty. 

It seemed that the number of zombies in this area had increased. 

Ryan couldn't help but furrow his brow, the troublesome part was— 

The locations where the zombies were wandering were just outside the spot where Ryan had agreed to meet Leo. 

Ryan entered the private message interface, intending to contact Leo first and inquire about his current status. 

He wondered if these zombies were attracted by him. 

[Ryan: I've arrived near the agreed meeting point. Have you come over?] 

[Ryan: There are quite a few zombies gathering nearby. I'm worried they might trigger a horde. Should we consider changing the meeting location?] 

After sending the messages, Leo didn't reply for a long time. 

"Wooo wooo ah ah ah—" 

From around the corner ahead, the low growl of zombies could be heard. 

In the next moment, two zombies staggered toward Ryan. 

Ryan frowned: "Why have the zombies suddenly increased in number here?" 

Buddy immediately lunged forward, biting one of the zombie's arms. As it struggled, both zombies lost their balance and fell to the ground. 

Ryan pulled out the crowbar in his hand and quickly smashed their skulls before they could get back up. 

"Bang! Bang!" 

The heads of the two zombies cracked open. 

Their brain matter mixed with dark red blood slowly oozed out onto the ground. 

The duo, one human and one dog, easily dispatched the two zombies. 

Buddy seemed to have ignited its hunting instincts, it dashed off a considerable distance, starting to drag down more zombies in the distance.

"Buddy, come back." Ryan called softly, bringing Buddy back to his side. 

Soon, five minutes passed. 

Ryan still had not received any messages from Leo. 

"Could he have run into some trouble…?" Ryan wondered, checking the live map. 

The meeting point ahead seemed to have more and more zombies gathering. 

Those zombies were clustering around the perimeter of the factory, there had to be something inside attracting them. 

Ryan felt that Leo was somewhere nearby, but there was no sign of his vehicle, which puzzled Ryan. 

"Bang—" 

Suddenly, the sharp sound of gunfire broke the silence. 

The gunfire quickly spread throughout the area. 

In an instant, all the zombies wandering nearby became restless. 

"Damn it, what's going on?" Ryan immediately got on his bicycle, preparing to leave and contact Leo from a safer location. 

The situation was becoming complicated, and he was sure that sound was gunfire. 

But who fired the shot? 

It couldn't be players who had just entered the instance. 

After all, most areas in this instance had already been thoroughly scavenged by NPCs. 

That left only one possibility—the shooter was likely an NPC lurking nearby. 

"Bang!" 

Another gunshot rang out ahead. 

This time, the sound clearly shifted from indoors to outdoors. 

As Ryan dodged the approaching zombies and retreated to a safer spot, he opened the system panel. 

Sure enough, he saw several figures near the agreed meeting point. 

He zoomed in on the map to carefully observe the faces of these people. 

These individuals appeared disheveled, with tattered clothing. Two of them were holding weapons resembling shotguns, clearly NPCs living nearby. 

Among these NPCs, it seemed one person was injured. 

The injured person had an arrow lodged in their chest, likely damaging their lungs, as they were coughing up blood intermittently. 

It looked like death was not far off. 

Just then, Ryan suddenly received a private message. 

Leo finally replied. 

[Leo: Damn it, I've run into trouble over here, I'm being followed by these guys.] 

[Leo: They have firearms, and I got grazed on the arm. I'm blocked off by those people and need to find a chance to break through.] 

[Leo: Brother, our plan might have to be postponed for now…] 

Ryan could tell that Leo was clearly in trouble. 

Moreover, he wasn't sure he could escape quickly, realizing the enemy outnumbered him and not wanting to drag Ryan down with him. 

[Ryan: I'm nearby, I can see that group.] 

[Ryan: One of them seems to be injured by an arrow. Did you do that?] 

Ryan wanted to help Leo out of his predicament. 

This guy was straightforward and had no ill intentions. 

After all, Ryan's strength alone was limited. 

If he could find a reliable ally, many difficulties would be easily resolved when facing tricky problems.

Soon, Leo replied. 

[Leo: That was me. When I came over, I found a compound crossbow on a corpse. I encountered a scavenger while searching other supply points.] 

[Leo: I didn't pay much attention at the time and just let him go.] 

[Leo: Those guys must be the scavenger's accomplices. If I had known, I should have killed him then.] 

Ryan quickly thought through the situation in his mind. 

This group of scavengers must have confirmed that Leo was alone. 

That's why they came together to try to kill him and loot his supplies. 

Ryan checked the live map. 

Now, among the scavengers, some stayed on the outskirts to watch over the injured. 

The remaining six were paired off, blocking the three exits of the factory where Leo was located. 

Thanks to the live surveillance, Ryan could see everything clearly. 

The guns in the scavengers' hands were old-fashioned shotguns that required manual loading of powder and shot. 

These shotguns, while powerful, had a short range. 

Reloading them took a lot of time. 

They could only take full advantage of their power in close-quarters combat. 

If Ryan could get his hands on a compound crossbow, he could shoot them from the outskirts of the warehouse and catch them off guard. 

He only needed to help Leo break through one direction of their blockade for him to escape the warehouse. 

But there was one problem. 

That was whether Leo would trust him enough to hand over the compound crossbow. 

Ryan quickly edited a message on the system panel to inform him of his plan. 

[Leo: Sure, just break through one direction so I can get to the road.] 

[Leo: I'll count on you, Ryan, brother.] 

[The other party has gifted you a compound crossbow x1, crossbow bolts x9]

Although Ryan knew this guy was quite straightforward, this was a bit too generous. 

He couldn't help but mutter, "Where does this guy get his confidence? Doesn't he fear I'll just take the crossbow and run?" 

Ryan had initially thought Leo would draft a contract through the trading system. 

But the other party truly showed Ryan a lot of trust. 

He used the simplest method to gift it and sent the crossbow over directly. 

Ryan opened his system backpack and took out the compound crossbow. 

The crossbow was about the length of an arm, and its body was made of carbon fiber, making it exceptionally lightweight. 

Although he wasn't an expert, the components looked quite refined, and the scope seemed multifunctional, possibly even having night vision capabilities. 

The system panel also automatically unfolded, presenting detailed information about the compound crossbow.