Apocalypse: Everyone Levels Up, I Return to the Time Before the Server Opened

Chapter 30: Buy Something More Powerful!

After quickly eating something, Ye Qiu hurried out the door.

Since the gas tank had performed so well in battle and the first attempt was a success, he naturally had to keep up the momentum.

He needed to prepare more powerful items, but they also had to be easily obtainable.

For example, more gas tanks. And… Molotov cocktails.

The former could be purchased directly from the gas company.

As for the latter, he could make them himself.

Gasoline as a base, rubber for thickening, sugar for fuel, concentrated sulfuric acid as an ignition source, and finally, an empty glass bottle to hold it all together.

If necessary, he could also use liquid alcohol, something that had burned more than a few people to death.

“Uncle Su, do you know where I can buy a large amount of gasoline? Yes, in barrels and bottles, not for refueling a car… Alright… If you can drive over now, I’ll wait for you.”

Ye Qiu rarely called people.

On the other end of the line was one of the few people he knew, though they weren’t exactly close.

Back when his parents had their accident and needed to be rushed to the hospital, no one was willing to take them.

In the end, it was “Uncle Su” who carried Ye Qiu’s unconscious and injured parents into his car and drove at full speed to the hospital.

Uncle Su was a taxi driver.

Even though his parents ultimately didn’t survive their injuries, Ye Qiu had always been deeply grateful to him.

Even after twenty years in his past life, now that he had been reborn, he still remembered.

Within just a few minutes, Uncle Su arrived.

Ye Qiu stepped out, locked the door, and walked over to the taxi.

He opened the front passenger door and got in.

As soon as he sat down, Uncle Su asked curiously, “Xiao Ye, why do you need to buy gasoline? Stocking up before getting a car? If that’s the case, let me give you some advice…”

The moment cars were brought up, Uncle Su became a chatterbox. He could talk endlessly.

Ye Qiu just listened quietly.

The middle-aged man whom he hadn’t seen for twenty years was still in good health and didn’t look too old.

However, the wrinkles on his face were deep, and the gray hairs at his temples were more prominent.

Ye Qiu recalled his past life.

After the countdown in his mind had nearly reached zero, he had stayed at school with his classmates. The last time he saw Uncle Su was also at school.

That day, when the game descended into reality, many students lost their lives.

It seemed that Uncle Su’s child was among them.

Ye Qiu remembered clearly. That day, Uncle Su had looked lost, wandering around like a soulless husk, almost like a walking corpse.

Ye Qiu had wanted to offer some words of comfort but hesitated, afraid that it would come off as hypocritical or insincere.

The last thing a grieving person needed was empty condolences.

So, in the end, he turned back and returned to his dorm.

Out of sight, out of mind.

After that day, Ye Qiu never saw Uncle Su again.

That was until now.

Once Uncle Su finished talking, Ye Qiu finally said, “I don’t need too much, just a standard barrel, so around 150 to 200 liters.”

Uncle Su nodded. “That’s not much. An old buddy of mine owns a gas station. I’ll take you there and get it sorted.”

Ye Qiu immediately responded, “Thanks, Uncle Su.”

Uncle Su waved it off. “No need to thank me. It’s just a small favor. By the way, if you need a barrel, they’ll charge extra. But I’ll see if I can talk them into giving you one for free.”

Ye Qiu shook his head. “Barrels aren’t cheap, a few hundred bucks each. No need to take advantage. I can afford it.”

He really wasn’t short on money.

He had borrowed from every available loan platform.

Even mortgaged his house to take out high-interest loans.

Though a small house wasn’t worth much, he still had at least a few hundred thousand in cash on hand.

It was enough to buy what he needed.

As for gasoline, he didn’t need too much.

Only low-level monsters were afraid of Molotovs.

By the time he reached level 20, many monsters would have resistance to specific elements.

For instance, fire-resistant monsters.

If a Molotov’s power was lower than their resistance, not only would it fail to kill them, but it could even heal them!

Gas tanks were slightly better.

But even they would only be useful up to level 25 or 30 monsters. And that wasn’t even counting bosses.

A level 20 regular boss could potentially withstand a gas tank explosion and still survive.

And if the monsters weren’t instantly killed, they would go into a frenzy.

Inside the car, Uncle Su started talking about the game that had appeared in everyone’s minds.

He said that at his age, if he had to have something extra in his brain, he’d prefer it to be something useful and not some inexplicable game.

“This thing is for young people and kids,” he said, shaking his head with a chuckle.

“Uncle Su, did you log into the game?” Ye Qiu asked.

“I did. It asked me to bind my DNA and create an account… but I didn’t bother. I just asked around, found out it was just a game, and stopped paying attention to it.”

“Uh… actually, you should create an account,” Ye Qiu suggested.

In his past life, many people never created accounts.

This was especially true for children under 3 and elderly people over 70.

It made sense for children since they were too young to understand.

But for older people, most simply weren’t interested in games.

And those who didn’t create an account ended up remaining as ordinary people.

Because in ten days, when the game would descend into reality, new accounts could no longer be created.

“I’ll think about it when I have time,” Uncle Su sighed. “There’s enough real-world trouble already. Where would I find the mood to play a game?”

Ye Qiu didn’t press further.

Other people’s private matters weren’t his to meddle with.

As for the game in their minds, everything would happen as fate allowed.

Even high-level players struggled to survive after the game merged with reality.

As they talked, the car arrived at a gas station.

Uncle Su found the owner, and since the two were acquainted, they only exchanged a few pleasantries before completing the purchase.

The gasoline was divided into several small metal containers to fit into the trunk.

Once it was packed, Ye Qiu paid, and they left.

On the way back, Uncle Su received a phone call.

After hanging up, he looked slightly apologetic and said, “Something came up. I might be delayed for half an hour before I can take you back.”

Ye Qiu replied, “It’s fine, Uncle Su. I’ll just nap in the car.”

Uncle Su nodded. “Alright, take a rest. I’ll wake you up when I’m ready to drive you home.”

The car then turned a corner and stopped at a nearby auto shop.

Meanwhile, Ye Qiu had already logged into the game.

—

Inside the game world, the sun had fully risen.

Ding!

[Your friend ‘Thousand Faces Gentleman’ has sent you a voice message. Would you like to accept?]

The moment he logged in, a system prompt popped up.

He glanced at his inbox.

Thousand Faces Gentleman had sent him multiple voice messages.