Apocalypse: Last Traveler

"What's wrong?"

After putting the corn into the pot, Yao Wei sat nearby watching it. Suddenly noticing Lu Xi'an standing at the edge of the forest deep in thought, she couldn't help but ask.

"Nothing…"

Lu Xi'an said, "I just suddenly felt like doing something useless."

"What useless thing?"

Yao Wei walked up to Lu Xi'an and also stared at the steep slope, but she couldn't see anything.

Lu Xi'an pointed at the slope and said, "Do you remember when we first arrived in Mengxin City?

"We found a notebook in a house next to the gas station. The owner wrote that they had set up a shelter elsewhere.

"Then we turned back, walked on the mountain road to Yubei City, and found the shelter on a cliff wall."

"Yeah."

Yao Wei nodded. Hearing Lu Xi'an say this reminded her, "We found our radio in that shelter."

Lu Xi'an smiled and said, "Actually, I used to watch a lot of videos like that.

"In some desolate wilderness, a snowstorm is approaching, and then the person in the video carves out a shelter from a cliff wall.

"When the storm hits, they stay in the shelter, warming themselves by the fire, listening to the wind, watching the snow.

"When the snow stops, they set up a small stove outside the shelter, heat some water, brew a cup of tea, and enjoy some snacks. It feels extremely cozy."

Yao Wei didn't ask Lu Xi'an where he saw such videos.

This guy, Lu Xi'an, seemed to know a lot, always familiar with things she didn't know. Even with videos, it was because of Lu Xi'an that she had seen them.

So the fact that he had seen videos she hadn't did not seem unusual to her at all.

No matter how strange the videos were, she wouldn't find it odd.

What puzzled her was another question: "But if it gets cold, digging a hole on a cliff and making a fire won't really keep you warm or anything."

Lu Xi'an chuckled. He knew Yao Wei's understanding of cold weather differed from his own, so he had anticipated this question from her.

"That's why I said it's a useless idea."

He told Yao Wei, "I'm just thinking out loud, not actually planning to do it. It would take a lot of time and isn't really meaningful."

Unexpectedly, Yao Wei paused for a moment and then said, "Shall we do it together?"

"Huh?!"

Lu Xi'an was momentarily taken aback.

Yao Wei turned to him with a slight smile and said, "After all, we're resting here for a few days, just like at that shelter, and there's not much else to do.

"Meaningful or not, we can find something to pass the time.

"And if it's something that feels cozy to you, it must be quite fun, right? I'd love to try it too."

The setting sun poured into the forest behind them.

Yao Wei's smile bathed in the dappled evening light, intertwining shadows creating an enchanting moment that Lu Xi'an found difficult to look away from, leaving Yao Wei a bit shy.

"Do you want to do it?"

Yao Wei diverted her gaze, asking him.

"Sure."

Lu Xi'an smiled, "Why not?"

The world is full of meaningless things; people can't always spend their time only on meaningful activities. There has to be room for a bit of meaninglessness.

That's fine.

"Shall we start now?"

Yao Wei asked.

Having decided to do it, she seemed even more enthusiastic than Lu Xi'an.

But Lu Xi'an looked up at the sky and said, "Let's not start today. The sky is getting dark, and the corn will be ready soon, too."

"We'll get started tomorrow."

Yao Wei said, "Okay."

They returned to sit by the pot, waited for a while as the water began to bubble and boil, and the aroma of the corn slowly emerged.

"Gou, come here."

Lu Xi'an called Gou in advance to check, "Just see if this water is drinkable?"

This place wasn't suitable for rolling tires, as Gou locked the wheels and wobbled to the pot. Lu Xi'an picked him up, scanned the pot, and Gou's eyes lit up.

With that assurance, Lu Xi'an was completely relieved.

The water in the pot was indeed drinkable for them.

Meanwhile, Yao Wei's attention was on Gou's wheels: "The wheels are really worn."

"Yeah, toy car wheels, not the best quality, don't quite match Gou."

Lu Xi'an nodded, "When we were at that villa in Yubei City, I didn't expect it to automatically connect to these toy motorcycle wheels.

"And then the power port, chip socket, it feels like it can adapt to anything. Plus, it can scan, illuminate, it's so smart.

"Do you think it was created for survival in such conditions, and for what purpose?

"I always feel, it's made for scavenging during the apocalypse?"

Yao Wei protested, "Don't say that. Gou is so capable, how could it be made solely for scavenging?"

She cared a lot about Gou and frowned when Lu Xi'an said that.

She thought on the journey from Yubei to here, Gou had been a great help to both herself and Lu Xi'an and they were fortunate to have it around.

Such a valuable thing, how can it be said to be made just for scavenging?

Seeing Yao Wei's frown, Lu Xi'an had to explain, "What I mean is that it was made to assist humans in surviving in end-of-world environments, emphasizing us humans.

"Isn't everyone surviving on scavenging these days?"

"Yeah."

This time, Yao Wei didn't argue. She said, "After dinner, shall we replace Gou's wheels?"

Lu Xi'an agreed, "Alright, we'll change them later. I noticed the wheels are quite worn before too and thought of replacing them."

"Fortunately, we didn't discard the hooves, otherwise Gou would be stuck with these worn wheels until we find suitable replacements."

Of course, he just said this casually.

Toy wheels were just toy wheels. He had anticipated that they wouldn't last long. Gou's metal hooves were eventually going to be reattached unless he found other useful parts.

How could he discard them?

Soon, the corn in the pot was cooked. They extinguished the fire, ate the corn, and drank the water used to boil it, the warmth flowing pleasantly into their stomachs.

As for the corn cobs, they deliberately placed them to dry on the roof of the vehicle, as Lu Xi'an mentioned they could later be used as firewood.

The next task was to replace Gou's hooves.

The original metal hooves were stored in the car, and Lu Xi'an found them easily.

Yao Wei used tools to remove the metal wheels, and Lu Xi'an handed over Gou's hooves, and just like before, Gou automatically installed them.

They tested Gou on the ground; it moved smoothly with a "clack clack" sound, showing no issues at all.

Seeing this reassured Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei.

Yao Wei noticed Lu Xi'an saving the four worn wheels, and asked, "Planning to use them as a hidden weapon?"

"Yeah."

Lu Xi'an smiled, this woman was already so in sync with him.