Bang! Bang! Bang...

  Ellie's flintlock pistols spat out lead balls, the sharp cracks echoing across the highway as she peppered a dozen Goblins, sending them scrambling for cover.

  "Heh heh..." Ellie smirked, clearly enjoying the feeling of blasting away at the filthy Goblins, her face flushed with excitement.

  Chloe and the other girls joined in, loosing arrows from their crossbows. The Goblins were sitting ducks, dropping one after another.

  The Goblin formation that had been huddled around the Bronze Chest was completely shattered by the girls' barrage.

  The thing was, the Bronze Chest wasn't far from the highway, so the Goblins guarding it were well within range.

  The sudden attack by Ellie and the others caught the Goblins completely off guard, leading to significant casualties.

  Even the D-Rank Goblin Warrior was thinking about making a run for it.

  Jason wasn't slacking either. He summoned a Shadow Doppelganger and sent it into the fray, the doppelganger charging towards the D-Rank Goblin Warrior, wielding a two-star spear.

  The remaining Goblins, demoralized by the girls' attack, didn't dare to interfere with the doppelganger's assault, and just watched as it went for their leader.

  "Roar!" The Goblin Warrior bellowed, swinging a thick, three-foot-long wooden club like a hammer at the Shadow Doppelganger.

  The Shadow Doppelganger easily dodged the blow, and its spear flashed out, a blur of motion.

  The Goblin Warrior might have had D-Rank Strength and Physique, but its Speed and Spirit were still at E+, making it no match for the Shadow Doppelganger, which had D+ in all attributes.

  The two figures exchanged a few blows, and the outcome was clear.

  The Shadow Doppelganger riddled the Goblin Warrior with a dozen holes, finally putting the seven-foot-tall brute out of its misery.

  The seven or eight Goblins left standing immediately scattered in terror.

  Jason didn't bother with them, directing the Shadow Doppelganger to open the Bronze Chest.

  "Is that a Recon Drone?" Jason immediately recognized the drone among the items in the chest.

  Unlike the last time, when the Silver Chest only contained the blueprints for a Simmons Double Bed, this chest was overflowing.

  Besides the Recon Drone, there were also two smoke grenades, two flashbangs, two hand grenades, and hundreds of Escape Coins.

  After the Shadow Doppelganger inventoried the contents of the chest, it returned to the RV with the loot.

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  The haul was pretty good. The drone filled a gap in Jason's team's scouting capabilities, and the grenades and flashbangs would be useful in combat.

  Chloe and the other girls had also scavenged some weapons and gear from the bodies of the fallen followers, which Tiffany could sell for Escape Coins.

  "Alright, let's head back to the RV," Jason said to the women.

  Ellie and Lily were eager to play with the drone, but they put their curiosity aside and followed the others back to the RV.

  Stepping back into the RV was like entering a cool oasis, instantly refreshing everyone.

  "Ah, it's so cool in here. You turned on the AC," Lily said with a smile.

  The temperature outside had risen to over 100 degrees, just like a scorching summer day.

  Luckily, Jason had installed the two-star AC yesterday, allowing everyone to enjoy the cool air.

  Tiffany and Sophie greeted the returning group and complimented Chloe and the others on their performance in the "Chests mechanism".

  The four women were naturally pleased by the praise from their sisters, and they excitedly recounted their experiences in the battle.

  The atmosphere in the RV became light and cheerful.

  Chloe and Kira went back to the driver's seat to search for more Chests, Ellie and Lily started playing with the drone, and Tiffany continued to buy and sell items to earn Escape Coins.

  Sophie saw Jason lie down on the bed to recover the Physique and Spirit he had spent summoning the Shadow Doppelganger, and she snuggled up next to him.

  "Jason, someone in the Group Chat App posted a video of Chloe and the others fighting for the Bronze Chests, but it hasn't gotten much attention. Everyone's focused on the abandoned gas station..."

  "Is that so..." Jason nodded, acknowledging the information.

  When she wasn't busy, Sophie would monitor the Group Chat App. She had noticed the video of Chloe and the others' fight over the Chests.

  Jason lay on the bed and opened the system to check the Group Chat App.

  Sure enough, everyone was discussing the abandoned gas station, and no one was paying attention to the Chests mechanism.

  Jason knew more about abandoned gas stations than anyone else.

  Every abandoned gas station has a Golden Chest nearby.

  But Golden Chests are tough to take. Most teams don't have the strength to do it, and even Jason wasn't confident in his ability to take one down.

  To give you an idea of how difficult it is to take a Golden Chest, even a Goblin-guarded Golden Chest would be guarded by at least an entire Goblin tribe, including several C-Rank elite Goblins.

  Jason would have to turn tail and run if he saw that.

  A Golden Chest is definitely not something a single team can take down. That's why there's always an abandoned gas station nearby, acting as a gathering point.

  Teams and RVs come to the gas station to gather enough manpower to attack the Golden Chest.

  Of course, they can also just drive away without attacking it.

  But the real draw is that abandoned gas stations are public trading posts with the pursuers.

  Many people can buy what they need from them.

  The pursuers sell all kinds of goods and slaves, and you can trade with them using Escape Coins. But their prices are outrageously high. They're clearly price gouging, and there's nothing you can do about it.

  "I wonder if we'll run into an abandoned gas station today," Jason said with a sigh. Finding an abandoned gas station is a matter of luck, and you might not find one for two or three days.

  Huh!?

  Just as Jason was about to close the system, he noticed that he had a message from a friend.

  It was... Frank? What did he want?

  Jason usually ignored private messages, which was why the Feminism hadn't been able to contact him.

  But Frank was different. They had crossed paths in the Zombie World and had added each other as friends after they returned. Jason could still see messages from his friends.

  Jason opened his chat with Frank and saw the message:

  Jason, I have some information about you. Are you interested in trading for it?

  Information about me?

  Jason looked at Frank's profile picture, which had the Supernova vehicle team logo next to his name. He quickly formed a rough idea of what was going on.

  Did the Supernova vehicle team want to get rid of me?

  Jason didn't think he had any conflicts with the Supernova vehicle team. But who could guarantee that they wouldn't be targeted by a large group?