Apocalypse: Last Traveler

The row of ruined street-side buildings on the East Outer Ring was soon reached. After the drone confirmed safety from above, Lu Xi'an parked the car.

The coffin exposed in the ruins was still in its original place, with the lid of the coffin partially propped open.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei got out of the car together, not rushing over but instead looking around with caution.

A little distance from this ruin, at least the position of five street-side buildings away, Lu Xi'an spotted on another ruin a crooked, dilapidated sign weighed down by stones. Barely visible on it were the words "auto repair."

It must have been an auto repair shop back in the day, or perhaps not even a "shop," just a tiny car repair store.

Lu Xi'an suspected that the barrel of engine oil the person in the coffin once held might have been scavenged from there.

It might be a good idea to top up the engine oil later.

Lu Xi'an thought to himself.

But how should engine oil be topped up exactly?

"Gou, check if there's any danger inside?"

While Lu Xi'an was lost in thought, Yao Wei lifted the dog, Gou, from her hand and pointed him toward the coffin.

After a moment, Gou's eyes began to gleam.

"..."

Lu Xi'an watched this scene in silence.

He thought it was fortunate that Gou's gleaming eyes were harmless; if they were some sort of deadly ray, Yao Wei lifting the dog like this would look both cool and flamboyant.

After Gou confirmed there was no issue inside the coffin, the two of them approached together and peered into the coffin.

Along the side inside, there was a row of small rough holes with threads, likely drilled with a small drilling machine to allow ventilation for breathing.

There was even a blanket at the bottom of the coffin, with a mat spread underneath. At the head, a pillow had long been worn black from use.

Various miscellaneous items—bottles, instant noodle packs, bread bags, and plastic bags—were piled on top of the pillow.

The remaining food included an unopened bag of cookies and six packs of small bread.

It seemed this person had collected quite a bit of food back then and stored it here for hibernation.

This way, when he woke up from hibernation, he wouldn't need to step outside the coffin. Just eating a little would allow him to continue sleeping.

—Well, when needing to go big, he'd still have to go outside.

No need to go small. Lu Xi'an spotted several bottles filled with a murky foamy yellow liquid inside, varying in amount, making for an unappealing sight.

Clearly, these plastic bottles couldn't be collected anymore.

"This person sure knows how to live. It's a mini-shelter, perfect for someone hibernating."

After surveying the coffin, Lu Xi'an couldn't help but marvel and spoke to Yao Wei.

"Mm."

Yao Wei nodded, agreeing that it certainly felt safe inside.

This coffin was made of thick and solid wood. Even if the house collapsed, this person lying inside it, wrapped in a blanket eating, must have felt very safe and slept soundly.

But it was somewhat dirty…

After appreciating this mini-shelter, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei took the bag of cookies and six small packs of bread and left.

As for those plastic bottles, Yao Wei felt it was a bit of a waste, but since they contained things she found disgusting, and given their current water storage on the vehicle was adequate, she heeded Lu Xi'an's advice and abandoned them.

After organizing the collected cookies and small bread on the car, Lu Xi'an couldn't help but express his amazement: "I never expected to be able to collect such things here.

"Up north, I could still scavenge some bread and instant noodles, but the farther south I go, the more difficult it is to find these old industrial foods."

Yao Wei nodded, "Mm, the ones that can be found in the south have long been discovered. Mine were also found up north."

Ready to set off, she no longer needed to get on the roof, saw that the oil drum was still tossed in the front passenger seat, picked it up, let Gou check it again to ensure there was no issue, then went to the engine bay and said to Lu Xi'an:

"Open the hood for me."

This was something Lu Xi'an knew how to do. He opened the driver door, and after fumbling around for a moment, he quickly located the large handle, pulling which caused the car's engine cover to pop with a "click."

Lu Xi'an exited the car to see Yao Wei had already lifted the hood, propped the support rod, and placed her slender hand above the engine to feel it.

"What's the matter?"

Lu Xi'an asked.

Yao Wei said, "We should wait a bit, let the engine cool before adding."

"Mm."

Lu Xi'an nodded, waiting with Yao Wei.

He took the opportunity to lead Gou to survey the nearby ruined street-side buildings, letting Gou scan them one by one, but unfortunately returned empty-handed.

It seemed even though the area's contents were looted long ago, the unused, heavy, thick coffin in the coffin shop became someone's shelter post-apocalypse.

The food and that barrel of engine oil had likely been found a long time ago as well.

After a fruitless search, the engine had cooled sufficiently upon their return, so Yao Wei opened the oil filler cap and added the oil.

However, after finishing the refill, some oil was left; unwilling to discard it, Yao Wei attempted to tuck the oil drum under the rear seat foot space.

"Perhaps we should remove the rear seats and discard them, freeing space to store more things."

Lu Xi'an suggested, then slapped his forehead, regretting only realizing this now.

If he had thought of this earlier at the Tan Village Shelter, they could have carried several more bags of rice in the car.

What a waste!

His experience surviving in the apocalypse was clearly still too limited!

Yao Wei nodded as well, saying, "Mm. It's still enough for now. We'll remove it later."

As she spoke, Lu Xi'an already screwed the cap back on the oil filler, set down the support rod, and closed the hood.

The two got back in the car and resumed their journey, heading first to the West Ring Road to refuel.

After the car received the engine oil, the engine noise indeed reduced significantly, and the vehicle seemed to run more smoothly. Was this just an illusion?

Also, would fuel consumption decrease now after refueling?

In any case, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei had become accustomed to stopping at any available fuel source along the way to fill up before continuing.

This allowed them peace of mind when setting off.

They looped back to the starting point, reached the north side entrance of Gu County, and headed north. Not far ahead, they saw a lone figure walking slowly by the roadside.

Yao Wei rolled down the window and aimed her gun but realized upon getting a little closer that this person was actually the one from the coffin board.

The person heard the car and turned to look. Lu Xi'an had already driven past him.

"Whew…"

He let out a sigh, but soon saw the car coming to a stop.

"Shall we turn at the intersection ahead and give you a lift?"

Lu Xi'an leaned out and asked.

Having confirmed there was no danger, Lu Xi'an didn't mind extending a helping hand.

The person paused and said, "Sure, thank you."

Lu Xi'an asked, "Can you sit on the car roof?"

The man hastily replied, "No problem."

So Lu Xi'an waited for a while, and after the man clambered onto the roof, they set off again.

They proceeded for quite a bit until they reached the intersection, where Lu Xi'an stopped, waiting for the man on the roof to clamber down before turning onto an overgrown path.

The man going north waved and shouted, "Thank you!"

After hesitating a moment, Lu Xi'an stuck out his left hand from the car window and waved back.