Apocalypse: Last Traveler

The person behind waved and walked north, disappearing at the intersection.

Lu Xi'an saw the person leave from the rearview mirror, sighed, and asked, "Do you think he can make it to Liangcheng County?"

When that person was on top of the car just now, he deliberately slowed down to prevent the person from losing balance and falling off, then rolled down the window to chat with him for a bit.

Those few sentences were still swirling in his mind—

"How long do you think it will take to walk from here to Liangcheng County?"

"How long to walk? How would I be able to remember that? I've only walked twice... well, three times, came twice, went once. I never counted, and I slept all the way back, so even if I counted, I wouldn't remember."

"Why don't we give you a lift for a bit more? How about we take you to Liangcheng County?"

"Take me there?! No need for that, I can walk there myself. It's not like I have anything else to do anyway."

"But to be honest, looking at your condition, I feel you might not make it to Liangcheng County. The weather these days, I don't know if you know, changes suddenly, and if it suddenly gets cold, can you handle it?"

"I actually feel the same, I might not make it to Liangcheng. But it's okay, that bastard Liang Xiaobin is already dead, even if I go, I won't find anyone to talk to. I just want to find something to do for myself.

"As for the weather changes you mentioned, how could I not know? When I woke up and went back and forth to Liangcheng County, I experienced it.

"Rest assured, I can handle it. If it suddenly gets cold, as long as I fall asleep quickly, nothing will happen. I am very resistant to cold when I'm asleep now, absolutely nothing will happen. Even though I'm about to die, don't underestimate me."

"I see..."

"Yeah, that's how it is. What else can you do? What's the alternative? Ah... I don't even know why I turned out like this. Clearly, just slept for two naps from young to old, but why do I feel like an old man, so emotionally weathered? This sleep seems to only help resist the cold, ah..."

"Who knows? Maybe because the world has changed too thoroughly? Imagine waking up after two naps, and the world has turned into this mess, how can you not feel weathered? It's all the world's fault."

"Haha! Right, you have a point! It's all the world's fault! But... probably also because I feel like I'm about to die. Slept for two naps and woke up nearly dying, and turned into this mess... haha... hey... thinking about it feels ridiculous!"

"Think positively, at least you're still alive."

"True. It's all about perspective; in this world, just being alive is lucky, dying is also lucky. I'm lucky either way, why think so much?"

When they were talking, they walked to the vicinity of the intersection, Lu Xi'an asked again, "Are you sure you don't need a ride?"

"Really no need."

The person on the car roof said, "I've already said, whether I make it or not, it doesn't matter to me.

"If I make it, I'll just take a look at what kind of mess Liang Xiaobin turned into. If I don't, I'll just settle down somewhere, bask in the sun, and die.

"I've been sleeping in a coffin for so long, I haven't basked in the sun for ages."

Lu Xi'an then parked the car and let the person off.

As the person was getting off, he said, "Your coffin was nicely arranged, sleeping in it must be pretty comfortable."

The person replied, "Not bad. I suppose I slept in a coffin ahead of time, now dying outside it, at least I have no regrets."

Now that person had walked away, Lu Xi'an reflected on this conversation, but couldn't help recalling when he had just crossed into this world.

His mindset back then was probably similar to this person.

Living a modest life in a peaceful and prosperous world, not wealthy, but at least ordinary and happy, only to wake up and find the world freezing cold and desolate, empty of people.

If he didn't adjust his mindset in various ways back then, he might have exploded with loneliness.

Thinking about how he managed to endure and make it here is quite impressive. Now he even encountered Yao Wei and hitched a ride on her car, that's like fortunes reversed, right?

But this person's situation is actually tougher than his.

At least his skin and appearance are still good, and his originally ordinary body transformed into a Type A Neo-Human, considered a super formidable evolution.

But this person turned into this mess, waking up after one nap feeling like he's nearly done.

——Him being nearly done was what the person himself said, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei weren't the parties involved and couldn't tell from his words and actions.

But listening to this person's tone, Lu Xi'an felt he wasn't lying.

The sense of nostalgia, attachment, regret, entanglement, and liberation in his voice, Lu Xi'an could hear it.

So this person is actually more open-minded than himself, Lu Xi'an admires him quite a bit.

"Who knows."

Yao Wei answered.

"Hmm."

Lu Xi'an nodded.

Not knowing is fine, even if he can't guess. As the person said, he's just finding something to do for himself on his final journey in life, whether he reaches the destination isn't important anymore.

"In the end, didn't even ask his name..."

Lu Xi'an commented, then smiled unconsciously, a fleeting passerby, why need to know the name? The person didn't ask him or Yao Wei's names either.

"What are you laughing at?"

Yao Wei saw the smile on Lu Xi'an's face, asked.

Lu Xi'an said, "Nothing, just suddenly thought, in life's journey, why know so many people's names? In this world, knowing your name is enough."

"Hmm."

Yao Wei agreed, suddenly felt a heartbeat like when she was in the Xiaogang Village shelter.

Trying to calm her mind quickly, she looked for something else to do, like placing her laptop on the console in front, letting the computer's back panel bask in the sun.

Like checking "World Map One," confirming the road ahead, or picking up a language book to read, for some reason, previously she found the classical texts incomprehensible and utterly boring, but now they seem quite interesting.

The words Lu Xi'an said just now seemed to be like those in the book, strange and odd...

As she looked at them, she couldn't help but think to herself.

As she thought about it, she suddenly felt that she should respond in some way.

It seemed as if if she didn't respond to Lu Xi'an's words, it would be like committing some sort of mistake, and she would regret it later.

"I also..."

She thought for a moment and said, then added, "And my mother's name."

Lu Xi'an hadn't expected Yao Wei to respond and was a bit surprised for a moment.

While driving, he glanced over; Yao Wei seemed to have just casually said something, focused on the high-school language textbook in her hands.

The page open was a piece of classical literature, the content difficult and convoluted – even he had trouble understanding it. Who knows if this woman could understand it at all.

But hearing Yao Wei's response made Lu Xi'an quite happy, and seeing Yao Wei being so awkward, he decided not to point it out. He casually asked, "I've never asked you before, what was your mother's name?"

"Ye Wenxin."

Yao Wei replied.

Lu Xi'an said, "She must have been amazing, right?"

"Mm."

Yao Wei nodded, and said, "She knew a lot, just like you. I learned how to read because my mother taught me."

As Lu Xi'an listened to Yao Wei, he immediately felt that Yao Wei's mother was extraordinary.

This world has regressed from civilization to barbarity; not many can recognize characters now.

Back when they were in Fengcheng County, there was a high-flying flag with "Fengcheng welcomes you" written on it. Lu Xi'an at the time thought it was handwritten by someone from Fengcheng County.

But upon closer thought, the tattered white cloth, swaying in the wind, was so old that no one knew from when it had been brought down, and was merely being used as a show-off today.

Whether people in Fengcheng County could read those words was questionable.

Among others, only Luo Ping and those Neo-Humans who died in Mengxin City could surely read characters.

Chai Xin, the former boss's daughter from Tongzhou, didn't know how to read, not to mention other people from Tongzhou.

To know how to read, and even teach others, and in Yao Wei's eyes to be as knowledgeable as Lu Xi'an, Yao Wei's mother was definitely out of the ordinary.

Was there something mysterious about her death?

"What about your father?"

Lu Xi'an asked again.

Yao Wei shook her head: "I don't know, I've only ever seen my mother since childhood."

"Mm."

Lu Xi'an caught on, as Yao Wei's voice gradually turned a little low. He didn't ask further, and said: "When you're ready, tell me what happened back then?"

"Mm."

Yao Wei nodded, agreeing to it.

As if in response to Yao Wei's mood, the originally warm weather suddenly turned cold, with a strong wind arriving abruptly, blowing away the blazing sun behind clouds, causing the car to sway slightly.

At that moment, Lu Xi'an felt that even the steering wheel was drifting; with such a heavy car having such a reaction, it showed how fierce the wind was.

The wild grass outside the car, driven down by the wind, slapped against the car body with a "crackling" sound, like they had turned into whips.

Lu Xi'an pulled up his collar against the wind, feeling the temperature dropping below freezing in an instant, though to what degree was unknown.

He pulled the car over and said, "Let's wait it out until the weather improves, shall we?"

"Mm."

Yao Wei agreed and moved Gou to the back seat.

Gou was very conscious, didn't even need Yao Wei's instruction, and opened the switch cover at the back. Yao Wei connected the power for the heater, and the car quickly warmed up.

Lu Xi'an turned off the car, gazing at the overcast sky through the front windshield.

At this moment, the sky was filled with dark clouds, making the originally bright day gloomy.

This kind of sky, combined with such a wind, made Lu Xi'an feel a big snow would come, yet after waiting for so long, not a flake fell—only the howling wind disturbed his mind.

"I wonder how that person is getting on?"

He thought of that solitary person heading north, saying, "In this weather, he must be asleep again by now?"

As that person said, finding a place to lie down and close your eyes was indeed the best approach now. Come to think of it, Shu seemed to have survived this long just by lying on the ground.

Perhaps hibernation really was a unique ability of the D-type Neo-Humans.

And compared to that, Shu could camouflage and hide, but this person seemed unable to, which was somewhat lacking.

Shu, Fish Rider, and this recent person all dealt with the strains and green water variations; Lu Xi'an was unsure exactly which of these caused the differences and similarities among them. But from his analysis now, their similarities and differences at least related to these strains and green water.

"Mm."

Yao Wei casually nodded, seemingly not very interested in Lu Xi'an's question.

"Would you like to watch a movie?"

She asked Lu Xi'an. Compared to the person who had already left, this option intrigued her more.

Lu Xi'an said, "Sure, we can only wait for the weather to clear anyway, might as well watch a movie."

So Yao Wei opened her laptop, placed it in front, and chose a movie to play. Lu Xi'an grabbed a sheet, covering the two of them.

The wind rocked the car, and inside, an action movie was playing, as the two cozied up under the sheet, thoroughly enjoying themselves.