Surviving the Long Night: Starting from the Gas Station and Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 13 The Merchant, The Iron-Footed Spider, and the Snipe and Clam Fight

Lu Sheng checked the pistol bullets, carried the A-frame ladder and set it up under the skylight, then quickly climbed up but did not open the skylight.

He listened patiently for a while, and only after confirming that the other party had not climbed onto the roof did he open the skylight and climb onto the roof.

On the outer wall, the woman clung to the eaves, gritted her teeth, and with one last burst of energy, lunged upwards, her upper body landing on the roof.

"call."

She breathed a sigh of relief and was about to lift her leg to flip herself over, but as soon as she raised her head, a gun was pressed against her forehead.

"Get out of here."

Lu Sheng's voice was cold and unyielding.

"Good sir, I'll die if I go down there, please give me a way out."

The woman gave up getting up, lay down again, and buried her head to discuss with Lu Sheng:

"Look, I think I'm not bad looking, and I have some savings. As long as you don't make me die, I'll cooperate with whatever you ask."

"Lie still and don't move."

Lu Sheng gripped the gun firmly with one hand, pressing it against the back of the woman's head, while using the other hand to search her body and remove the holster from her waist.

"Now, slowly climb down, and I will open the door."

"Oh? Thank you, brother. Good people are rewarded. You'll definitely have two women on your left and two on your right in the future."

Once the woman was granted permission to spend the night in the warehouse, she immediately perked up and began to slowly move her body down. Lu Sheng walked backwards back to the skylight and then down the ladder back into the warehouse.

Lin Ran stepped forward and asked:

"Is it a person?"

Lu Sheng nodded and tossed the holster he had just taken to Lin Ran:

"I'll keep an eye on her while you open the door. You bring her car in first, just in case there are any weapons inside."

"it is good."

Lin Ran put the holster on a shelf and followed Lu Sheng.

When the woman returned to the ground, the door to the gas station was already open. Lu Sheng stood at the door, aiming his gun at her. She also saw a girl behind Lu Sheng carrying her car into the warehouse.

Faced with the gun, the woman obediently raised her hands.

A few minutes later, the warehouse door closed, and the woman, who was tightly bound, sat down against the wall. Lin Ran handed the documents she found in the car to Lu Sheng.

"Her name is Jiang Shutong, she is 25 years old, she is a traveling merchant, she has a license issued by Baichuan Chamber of Commerce, and her documents and appearance match."

Listening to Lin Ran's explanation, Lu Sheng looked at Jiang Shutong in the corner, who chuckled at him.

"See, I didn't lie to you. I'm here to open a shop, and we'll be neighbors from now on. Can you untie me?"

Lu Sheng didn't respond, but instead asked her a question:

"Do you know how many cars have passed through here in the last three months?"

"How would I know that?"

"Twelve vehicles, that includes you."

Lu Sheng sighed:

"Now do you know why I tied you up like this?"

Jiang Shutong realized what was happening.

"Oh, I see. But the past is the past. Let me tell you, there's a reason why I opened this shop here."

She tried her best to explain:

"Boss, and this lady, you both know that the nearby side road is under renovation, right?"

Seeing that Lu Sheng and Lin Ran nodded, she continued:

"I have inside information that the road won't be repaired anytime soon, and in a few days, the traffic that was originally on that road will be diverted to this side."

There's only this one gas station for miles around on this road. If you just secure a good spot in advance, you can make money no matter what you drive.

After explaining, she added:

"Can you let me go now?"

Lu Sheng shook his head slightly:

"Please bear with me tonight. Since the folding house I ordered will arrive tomorrow, I can only believe everything you say after tomorrow."

Seeing that Lu Sheng wouldn't loosen his restraints tonight, Jiang Shutong could only say "oh" and slumped down.

After dealing with this unexpected incident, Lu Sheng told Lin Ran to go and rest. Lin Ran agreed and first went to rummage through the trunk of Jiang Shutong's motorcycle.

A little while later, she found a coat, walked over to Jiang Shutong and draped it over her shoulders before going to rest.

Jiang Shutong looked at Lin Ran in surprise, but she didn't say a word. She just used her chin and shoulders to hold the edge of her coat and cover herself up more tightly.

As night deepened and the night wind howled, with no ferocious beasts attacking, Lu Sheng felt somewhat sleepy.

He opened the online store on his terminal screen and browsed for items he might need later.

Professional well drilling, barbed wire installation, patrol drone installation, fixed machine gun turret installation...

Each one is more attractive than the last, and each one is more expensive than the last. Mainland students can't afford any of them, but they still find them more and more appealing.

As time passed, the wind outside subsided, and some sounds that had been previously muffled came to light.

Lu Sheng stopped swiping the screen. He heard it; it was a series of dense yet faint sounds, interspersed with occasional crisp sounds, like metal clashing.

Several keywords quickly came to mind: multi-legged, carapace, gregarious.

Finally, these characteristics came together, and Lu Sheng concluded that the ferocious beast in the darkness outside the house was an Iron-legged Spider.

He pressed his ear against the wall to judge the quantity.

The sounds were dense and heavy, indicating that there were many of them. The sounds merged into a torrent, pointing the way for these ferocious beasts of the night to head towards the ruins.

After the spider swarm left, Lu Sheng glanced at the small cart next to the shelf and mentally moved it up in the upgrade priority list.

A moment later, he heard the roar of wild beasts, followed by a thunderous tiger's roar, and then a wolf's howl.

After listening for a while and making a general guess about the situation, Lu Sheng put the revolver parts he had previously removed back on, picked up the small sniper rifle, and climbed onto the roof.

He crawled to the edge of the eaves, saw the situation clearly, and confirmed that it was as he had expected.

A conflict broke out between the ferocious beasts of the night.

A group of one tiger, as strong as a bear, stood on the carcass of a fat man-eating rat. Surrounding it were five black creatures that blended almost into the night—these were ink wolves.

The situation was clear: the Flame-Striped Tiger came out to hunt man-eating rats, but was encountered by the Ink Wolf pack, who were also hunting, and was surrounded.

At this point, the two sides were locked in a stalemate, both shouting at each other to intimidate one another, and neither side made the first move.

In the memories of the previous incarnation, the Ink Wolf was a very intelligent nocturnal beast. It would put pressure on its prey by surrounding and howling, and then swarm in when the prey made a mistake.

If the prey is fearless and strong enough, and the black wolves cannot find an opportunity even by the time dawn is approaching, they will give up the risk and quickly retreat.

The current situation is closer to the latter: the Flame-Patterned Tiger is alone, but powerful enough, while the Ink Wolves, though numerous, are not confident of defeating it.

Either of these two parties posed a significant threat around the gas station, but now, an opportunity for them to fight each other is right in front of them.

Lu Sheng raised his gun and aimed it at the Flame-Patterned Tiger's hind leg. Three seconds later, the crosshair was firmly on the target, but he did not fire.

"roar!!!"

As the Ink Wolf pressed forward once more, the Flame-Patterned Tiger let out a roar even louder than before, like thunder. At the same time, Lu Sheng pulled the trigger.

boom!

The gunshots were drowned out by the roars. The roaring Flame-Patterned Tiger swayed, and the Ink Wolves seized the opportunity to swarm forward.