Apocalypse: Last Traveler

The Zhuoshi River is very clear and shallow, with the riverbed's pebbles clearly visible.

After Lu Xi'an got out of the car and saw these pebbles, he was immediately tempted and picked up quite a few to put in the car.

Smooth and handy to hold, with some weight, nothing is more suitable as a hidden weapon.

Lu Xi'an felt these could be even more useful than bicycle spokes.

As he was picking up stones, he weighed them in his hand and, smiling, said to Yao Wei, "Why should I still be Xiao Lu's Flying Knife? Isn't Featherless Arrow better?"

"What's Featherless Arrow?"

Yao Wei heard a term she had never encountered before and asked.

Lu Xi'an explained, "It's a nickname of a person in 'Water Margin', whose name is Zhang Qing, skilled at throwing stones, hence the nickname 'Featherless Arrow', because the stones are likened to arrowheads without feathers. I'll tell you the story of 'Water Margin' when we have time; you might like it."

He suddenly remembered this character. When he first read 'Water Margin', he was very impressed by this character. Whenever he threw a stone, it sent the heroes of Liangshan fleeing in disarray, marking outstanding achievements.

"Hmm."

Yao Wei nodded, helping Lu Xi'an pick up a lot of pebbles.

Then the two of them took down the boar carcass from the car roof and dealt with it by the river.

This boar was big enough, so handling it was somewhat laborious; after skinning, deboning, and cleaning the viscera, they washed the meat clean. Yao Wei cut a quarter, set a fire to roast it, while Lu Xi'an took care of the rest, planning to make dried meat strips.

There were also parts of the boar's innards, like the heart and liver, which they cleaned and boiled, while something like the large intestine was too troublesome to deal with, so they decided to leave it since the boar was plentiful enough.

Whether they could endure hunger or transform into gluttons, it seemed to be a unique characteristic of Type A Neo-Humans.

Anyway, this physical trait was quite useful for Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei, just like before when the severe cold came, allowing them to reduce their food intake and survive the harsh winter.

And when they managed to hunt such large animals, they could feast, replenish enough energy to last several days.

The boar meat was large enough. While roasting and eating, they waited for the heart and liver to be boiled. Lu Xi'an fished them out, sliced them, added salt and vinegar for flavor, and they ate together. Once they finished the quarter of roast pork, both were quite full.

Then both barbecue stands were used to roast the meat strips that Lu Xi'an had cut.

There were too many meat strips, and it seemed the car windows couldn't hold them; Lu Xi'an suggested building a rack to dry them here. After drying, they would pack the meat strips back into the car and continue on their journey.

As for how to pack—the boar skin they peeled off hadn't been used yet, so they could scrape off the hair and use it as a wrap, putting the jerky on the car roof.

However, wrapping them this way makes it airtight, and the jerky might spoil quickly, so in the coming days, they would need to consume the meat strips first.

They decided on the plan and worked together. They set up the drying rack, put the grilled meat strips on top, washed the boar skin, scraped it clean, and cleaned the resin left on the trees where the boar had brushed against.

When everything was done, night had already fallen.

Lu Xi'an said, "We should keep an eye on things tonight, in case something comes and steals the meat, or insects bite it, which wouldn't be good.

"You go sleep in the car, I'll keep watch."

Yao Wei shook her head, "I'll do it."

Lu Xi'an chuckled, "Alright, no need to argue with me. If you're really worried about me taking the load alone, I'll take the first half of the night, and you take the second. Go to sleep, and I'll wake you up later."

Yao Wei finally agreed with an "Mm," and got into the car.

This night, without stars or the moon, the world was pitch black, barely able to make out the contours of everything.

But it was okay for Lu Xi'an, as his senses were sharp enough that, even in such a deep night, any movement or disturbance could be detected in time.

He found a place to sit down, keeping watch in the lonely dark, with no intention of waking Yao Wei.

After all, he was a Neo-Human, staying up all night was no problem; it was something he could do alone, without the need for both of them to stay awake.

Unexpectedly, when it got to the latter half of the night, Yao Wei woke up on her own.

She got out of the car but didn't question why Lu Xi'an didn't call her; she merely said calmly, "I'll take over, you go rest."

Lu Xi'an shook his head, just about to say "I'm not tired," trying to send Yao Wei back to sleep, but unexpectedly, the temperature suddenly dropped, and large snowflakes began to fall.

"Wow! You're the goddess of winter snow! As soon as you get out of the car, it starts snowing."

Lu Xi'an couldn't help but laugh, "Alright, now let's both get back in the car. Once the temperature drops, everything is quiet, and there won't be any bugs or animals visiting. We can watch from inside the car."

The primary concern outside the car was mosquitoes, which are hard to detect, but once the cold and snow come, they disappear, making it easier inside the car.

Yao Wei nodded, saying "Mm," and when they got in the car, connected to Gou, turned on the heater, and again told Lu Xi'an to go to sleep, saying she would keep watch, while Lu Xi'an insisted he wasn't tired.

Yao Wei suggested, "Then how about watching a movie?"

While they were dealing with the pork during the day, Yao Wei had deliberately placed the laptop under the sun to charge, so now it had enough power.

Lu Xi'an thought for a moment and said, "Sure, there's nothing else to do anyway."

So Yao Wei opened the laptop and placed it on the front console, choosing a movie to watch.

She actually picked the same one they watched last time, 'Eighteen-Year-Old Sky'. Lu Xi'an said, "Haven't we seen this one already?"

Yao Wei replied, "Last time we didn't finish it."

"Okay then."

Lu Xi'an said.

Since Yao Wei had always been the one choosing the movies before, he let her decide what movie to watch now as well.

Yao Wei had become quite adept at operating the laptop. After starting the movie, she used the trackpad to drag the cursor along the movie's progress bar, skipping over the bicycle riding part, before proceeding to watch.

Lu Xi'an didn't recline the seat, and Yao Wei didn't bother him, just dragging the progress bar into position, then quietly watched the film.

As they watched, Lu Xi'an gradually felt his eyelids growing heavy, soon dozing off.

Yao Wei glanced at the main driver's seat, wearing a "just as expected" expression.

After waiting a while, confirming that Lu Xi'an was sound asleep, she leaned over, reaching for the handle controlling the seatback on the left side of the seat.

By pulling the handle, she could recline the seat.

However, reclining relied entirely on the sitting person's weight. In this situation, if she just pulled the handle, the seatback would collapse under Lu Xi'an's weight, likely waking him instantly.

This wasn't what Yao Wei wanted.

So, Yao Wei had to turn sideways, knee on the dashboard, with her upper body leaning over Lu Xi'an, one hand holding the handle, the other supporting the seatback, pulling the handle to slowly recline the seat.

This truly relied on her strong core; without it, reclining the seatback wouldn't be this easy.

But moving like this, she inevitably ended up very close to Lu Xi'an, almost face to face, body to body.

Feeling the warmth from Lu Xi'an, and his steady breathing while asleep, Yao Wei tensed up, with an indescribable feeling in her heart, her heart pounding wildly.

Fortunately, she quickly reclined the seat, ending this overwhelming situation.

Yet, just as she fully reclined the seat, Lu Xi'an abruptly opened his eyes.

Yao Wei was startled, let go, and swiftly backed away.

"Don't talk, go to sleep quickly!"

Yao Wei said stiffly, sounding like someone caught red-handed and now angered out of embarrassment.

Seeing her discomfort, Lu Xi'an decided not to make it worse by questioning her, so despite not feeling sleepy at all, he agreed with a simple "Oh," and shut his eyes.

Meanwhile, the laptop continued playing the movie, with its flickering light and soft background music creating a drowsy atmosphere. Lu Xi'an, already in a drowsy state, soon succumbed to sleep after closing his eyes.

Yao Wei glanced over at the driver's seat, showing a 'just as I thought' expression.

She looked at the computer screen for a while, but couldn't really concentrate on the movie.

She truly hadn't finished 'Eighteen-Year-Old Sky' the last time; after the biking scene played, she shut the computer off.

She thought today she'd cleared her mind and had skipped that part, feeling she should be able to watch the movie till the end, but she hadn't expected this to happen again.

The night outside was starless and moonless, with the world shrouded in a seamless blackness. The falling snowflakes settled on the biltong hung on the rack outside, dusting it white. Yao Wei stared blankly at the meat strips, lost in thought.