[Lilith: If Big Boss Vikram isn’t interested in the common beauties at our Shelter, there’s no need to refuse so quickly.]

[Lilith: Besides pretty girls, our Shelter also has an auction coming up soon.]

[Lilith: Many powerful Shelter leaders from the Wasteland World will be attending. I wonder if Big Boss Vikram would be interested?]

"An auction?" Vikram was slightly startled, thinking to himself, "Good heavens."

Everyone else was desperately scavenging for supplies to survive, but this Lilith was quite clever, relying on these tricks to profit for herself.

Honestly, Vikram rather admired this unconventional approach.

Just the fact that she knew many Shelter leaders showed that Lilith was definitely no ordinary person.

Vikram guessed that the information he had just given her was probably already known to her; she just wanted to use it to get acquainted with him?

He shook his head, pushing this somewhat self-important thought out of his mind.

[Vikram: Tell me in advance what items will be in your auction, and I’ll consider it.]

He was indeed a little interested in this auction.

However, not just any old junk would catch his eye.

Basic Survivor tools or supplies could mostly be satisfied by the system. If it was just an auction for such things, it wouldn’t be worth his attention at all.

Going would just be a waste of gasoline.

[Lilith: Uh... I’m sorry, Big Boss Vikram, I can’t reveal too much, but I can tell you that the main attraction of the auction is an item that can greatly increase one’s strength.]

[Lilith: The reason so many big shots are willing to show up this time is mostly for this item.]

"Increase strength?"

[Vikram: This thing isn’t just a high-level crystals, is it?]

The information she revealed was vague, making it difficult for Vikram to determine exactly what it was.

[Lilith: Rest assured, Big Boss Vikram, to be honest, this is my first time hosting an auction. I absolutely won’t bring out inferior items to pass them off as good. I guarantee that most of them will be rare goods.]

Lilith on the other side of the screen replied with conviction.

Seeing Vikram’s long silence, indicating he was clearly interested in coming, she cleverly sent the coordinates directly to Vikram.

[Lilith: These are the coordinates for Crimson Desire Shelter. The exact time of the auction should be during the safe period after the Black Fog of Calamity ends.]

[Lilith: If Big Boss Vikram is willing to honor us with his presence, this humble one also has an exquisite gift to offer you~]

With that, she briefly said goodbye to Vikram and left the chat.

"Wow, Vikram, it’s an auction!"

"There must be a lot of good things inside. Should we go?"

Anjali said excitedly, holding Vikram’s arm.

She and Divya both came from well-off families on Earth.

While not major benefactors, they had seen such events many times.

Now in the Wasteland World, things had changed drastically, and she never expected to see an auction being held again.

Vikram did not rush to give a definite answer. After a moment of thought, he slowly said, "We’ll see. The auction is still far off, at least a week from now."

"No one can guarantee how many crises will occur in the Wasteland World within that week."

"It’s still too early to talk about these things." Vikram looked at the distance from here to her Shelter, which was the farthest he had ever considered traveling.

If he really went, a full day of travel might not even be enough, so he would definitely need to make thorough preparations.

The next day, Vikram took Ron and others and his four wives, but didn’t take ten Phanty or any plants team whose, to the factory.

Just as he got out of the van, Vikram was momentarily stunned.

"Snape isn’t sending people to collect supplies anymore?"

Looking at the empty processing plant, Vikram was surprised.

Compared to yesterday, there was indeed much less metal in the factory, but there was clearly still a lot of valuable metal that could be taken away.

However, the group of Green Wind Shelter laborers from yesterday had not come back here.

Ron next to him waved his hand and said as if it were obvious, "Big Brother, what’s so strange about that?"

"You kicked the second-in-command of Snape’s Shelter to death. They wouldn’t dare to trouble you unless they thought they were worthy, right?"

After carrying the toxin cleansing orb with him for a whole day, Ron clearly felt much more energetic.

The occasional itching symptoms he had experienced in previous days also gradually lessened.

In Vikram’s system analysis, the toxin invasion value was now only about 10%.

Vikram shook his head at his answer, noncommittal.

In any case, it was better without the people from Green Wind Shelter; collecting supplies would be easier.

He led the few of them inside for a thorough scavenging, until almost everything that could be taken from the factory was moved out, then they returned to the car...

—

Meanwhile, inside Green Wind Shelter.

Snape, after enduring Vikram’s continuous attacks yesterday, had been unconscious until now.

Clutching his heavy, aching head, Snape slowly got up.

When he recalled yesterday’s events, his expression instantly turned ferocious.

Two beautiful women were about to step forward to help and show their devotion, but they were unexpectedly pushed away by the enraged Snape.

They crashed heavily against the metal wall.

With just that casual push, one of the female Survivors was directly thrown back with such force that she coughed up a mouthful of blood, which splattered out.

"Go and call Edmund for me!"

Snape glared coldly at the two women kneeling on the ground, his voice filled with anger.

Seeing this situation, the two women dared not disobey. Soon, they brought Edmund, who was still guarding the sulfur mine, to Snape’s room.

"Boss... what are your instructions?" After yesterday’s battle, if anyone besides Vikram was most pleased, it was none other than Edmund, the Shelter’s third-in-command.

The second-in-command, who had always firmly suppressed him, was dead. He didn’t have to do anything, and his status in the Shelter rose by half a level.

"You immediately mobilize more than half of the Shelter’s forces and go flatten that little bastard’s Shelter for me."

"Bring me his head!"

Snape said hysterically, his eyes red.

Hearing this, Edmund’s heart first let out a smug, silent laugh.

Before, he never got to lead teams out to invade other Shelters, but now he was finally given authority.

However, he quickly shook his head again.

"Hmm?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you also want to challenge my authority?"

Yesterday, he had suffered immense humiliation from Vikram. Seeing Edmund shake his head, his nerves were instantly triggered, and he looked at him with an unfriendly expression.

"Boss, you misunderstood. I didn’t mean that."

"I just think that dealing with this Vikram requires a long-term plan."

"Coincidentally, our shelter also received good news that can enhance our strength."

Edmund reached out and pointed to his wrist, signaling him to look at the message inside.

"Oh?" Snape raised an eyebrow.

Green Wind Shelter had no shortage of manpower, but its top combat power consisted of only a mere five people, and now one second-in-command had died.

This method of increasing strength immediately caught Snape’s attention.

Although his son’s death saddened him greatly, he hadn’t completely lost his mind.

When he saw the message, a glint of light flashed in his eyes.

As a Shelter leader, Snape knew that if this message was true, it would definitely be an excellent opportunity to expand his influence.

The resources at the factory resource point were completely depleted, with nothing left to collect.

Upon returning this time, Vikram intended to accelerate the upgrade of his territory 2.

Nearly half of the Territory 2 area was purified. While the other half was in the process.

Vikram was currently seated in the back of the van, nestled between the four women, enjoying their embrace.

Their hands began to roam restlessly.

Every now and then, they would ’accidentally’ touch inappropriate places, eliciting giggles from the women.

It wasn’t until Harry, who was in the driver’s seat, suddenly slammed on the brakes, nearly sending everyone sprawling, that he reluctantly withdrew his arms.

"What’s going on?"

As a survivor who had been driving for over a decade, Harry’s driving skills were undeniable; the journey had been incredibly smooth so far.

The sudden braking immediately made Vikram realize something was happening ahead.

"Boss, there are Zombies blocking the road, and there are dozens of them."

"Dozens?" Since the day of the thunder, Vikram hadn’t seen Zombies on the road for a long time.

They had all hidden inside the strange buildings scattered along the roads.

He had actually intended to find time to investigate the situation, but he didn’t expect these Zombies to appear again today.

Vikram leaned out from the back seat and, through the front windshield, indeed spotted a cluster of Zombies.

Strangely, these Zombies, upon seeing people in the van, did not immediately rush to attack.

Instead, they remained stationary, like puppets.

Vikram glanced at the surrounding road; it was densely lined with trees. If he didn’t want to take a huge detour to return to his Shelter, he had no choice but to take this path.

Currently, Vikram’s gasoline supply was dwindling, and taking a detour was clearly not cost-effective.

"Boss, how about we just ram through them?"

Harry looked at the Zombies blocking the way and quietly asked Vikram.

But just then, a rustling sound came from the trees by the roadside.

Subsequently, a Zombie, noticeably larger in size, leapt out from the woods with a roar.

Its vacant eyes swept over Vikram and his group before settling on the cluster of Zombies blocking the path.

Immediately after, the previously motionless Zombies suddenly became agitated.

One after another, they charged towards the van.

"Go! Ram straight through them!" Receiving the order, Wang Songqing didn’t hesitate, immediately launching the vehicle and crashing into the horde.

Vikram frowned, "These Zombies, after a few days, why have their behaviors become so bizarre?"

"Yeah, it’s as if these blocking Zombies are all obeying the Zombie that burst out of the woods." Divya, beside him, kept her eyes on the Epic-level Zombie, her gaze filled with vigilance.

Fortunately, the van, has high defence. The Zombies in front had no power to resist and were immediately breached, creating an opening.

Just as Vikram thought this little interlude would end here.

Unexpectedly, the entire vehicle suddenly jumped half a meter high at that moment. When the van landed again, everyone inside could clearly feel the speed had slowed significantly.

This wasn’t the end; after the speed slowed, dense scratching sounds from zombies appeared on the roof and around the body of the car.

On the tightly closed side windows, several Zombies also dangled their rotten heads from the roof.

At the same time, Divya’s exclamation came from beside him, "Vikram, the Epic-level Zombie from behind is catching up!"

He hadn’t chosen to clear these Zombies mainly because he didn’t want to waste time.

But the current situation had clearly escalated to a point where they couldn’t escape by simply relying on the van’s brute force.

Seeing this, Vikram made a swift decision and shouted, "Everyone out!"

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly disembarked while the car doors could still be opened.

When Vikram got to the ground and saw the condition of the van, his expression grew cold.

The roof and rear of the vehicle were covered in Zombies, frantically scratching at his van.

Even though no damage was done to the vehicle itself, the military-green paint of the van was already beyond recognition.

At the left rear wheel, a Zombie was caught in the wheel hub, its entire body twisted into two halves.

Blood was still continuously seeping onto the snowy ground.

Seeing this, the others didn’t need Vikram’s command; they had already picked up their weapons and were swinging them at these persistent Zombies.

By the time the Epic-level Zombie, trailing behind, finally arrived, these Zombies had already been completely eliminated.