Apocalypse: Last Traveler

Turning around again, Lu Xi'an smiled and asked, "Shall we continue?"

Yao Wei suddenly felt something was off and quickly said, "No need, I want to try it myself."

"Alright."

Lu Xi'an didn't insist. He watched as Yao Wei imitated his previous movements, stepping forward twice and then letting inertia push her body forward to slide.

Lu Xi'an followed suit, sliding over, and asked, "How does it feel?"

Yao Wei thought for a moment and said, "It's too dangerous. If the car slides like this on a mountain road, the brakes wouldn't work, and it might fall into a ditch."

Lu Xi'an: "..."

What did he ask, and what did she answer?

But what Yao Wei said was true. Lu Xi'an nodded and said, "Then let's just stay here. I don't know when it will warm up."

Neither of them was overly playful; after staying outside for a short while, they went back to the car.

Inside the car, Gou turned on the air conditioning. They each took a book to read. As for the laptop, it still had battery life, but Yao Wei said she didn't want to use it now; they could turn it on when going to sleep at night.

It seemed to Lu Xi'an that this woman regarded the laptop as a hypnotic tool for him. Lu Xi'an could tell, but he didn't reveal anything.

Anyway, speaking in detail like this could help him sleep.

The day passed, night fell, and without light, they naturally couldn't read. They gazed at the night sky through the windshield, munching on jerky.

In this night sky, Lu Xi'an couldn't find the familiar Big Dipper or see the North Star; all the stars and their positions had shifted, yet their twinkling made him feel familiar.

"Want to hear a story?"

Lu Xi'an suddenly asked.

"Okay."

Yao Wei replied. If Lu Xi'an wanted to tell a story, she wanted to listen. It didn't matter what story he told; she could listen to anything.

So Lu Xi'an began, "Once upon a time, there was a cowherd..."

He was telling the story of Niu Lang and Zhi Nu.

From Niu Lang tending cattle to meeting Zhi Nu bathing on Earth; including Niu Lang stealing clothes and Zhi Nu staying on Earth, falling in love, farming together; to the Queen Mother obstructing them, separating them across the Milky Way, and reuniting at the Magpie Bridge. The story wasn't long.

But after listening to it, Yao Wei frowned.

Lu Xi'an could see that Yao Wei wasn't satisfied with the story.

He chuckled and said, "Why, don't you like this story? Honestly, even I don't quite like it.

"Niu Lang didn't even know her and stole her clothes.

"This is Zhi Nu; if it were us, she would certainly come and punch Niu Lang to death, right?"

"Yes."

Yao Wei nodded in agreement with Lu Xi'an's view.

But what she was dissatisfied with wasn't that. She said, "They are too weak, unable to become each other's help. When the Queen Mother acted against them, they couldn't even retaliate."

What bothered her the most was this.

Her thinking was indeed different from ordinary people of past life.

Lu Xi'an chuckled again and said, "This is an ancient myth story made up by ordinary people. Although Niu Lang and Zhi Nu are mythical figures, they're not Neo-Humans; it's normal not to have powers.

"The Queen Mother in the story symbolizes power and rules, representing different things.

"They are them, we are us. If something happens, we can always help each other."

"Hmm..."

Yao Wei nodded in agreement, feeling inexplicably elated, wanting to say, "Even if..." She started but suddenly didn't want to continue and shut her mouth.

"Even if what?"

Lu Xi'an asked.

"It's nothing."

Yao Wei shook her head, opened the laptop, and said, "Sleep."

This woman seemed a bit nervous; otherwise, she would certainly have said "watch a movie" instead of "sleep."

Lu Xi'an glanced at Yao Wei, silently reclined his seat, and lay down.

Yao Wei picked a movie, clicked play, pulled the bedsheet over, tossing one end to Lu Xi'an to cover himself.

The starlight in the night sky was dispelled by the glow of the laptop screen, and the flickering glow filled the entire cabin.

Lu Xi'an bent his arm, resting his hand behind his head, suddenly saying, "Even if there's something like the Milky Way separating us, we could rely on our own strength to reunite without needing the Magpie Bridge."

Yao Wei was silent for a long time and then said, "Hmm."

Lu Xi'an sneakily glanced at Yao Wei, seeing her mouth involuntarily curving upward.

He pretended not to notice and closed his eyes to sleep. If he exposed this, Yao Wei might feel uncomfortable again.

There was sound in the laptop, but with eyes closed, the flickering light still seeped through the eyelids. Yet such an environment was particularly hypnotic, and soon, Lu Xi'an fell asleep.

The weather in Jianshan City seemed intent on keeping Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei here. This cold wasn't particularly harsh, but the thin ice on the ground hadn't melted for five days.

Fortunately, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei were patient enough, reading books, watching movies daily, or dressing warmly, moving around the car, practicing boxing, stretching their limbs, and the five days passed easily.

During these five days, they tried their best to reduce food and water consumption, ensuring they could endure even if the cold lasted longer.

For the two Neo-Humans, it wasn't a problem at all.

Five days later, they still had plenty of jerky left and hadn't exhausted the water in the tank. Once the thin ice on the road melted and Lu Xi'an confirmed everything was fine, they continued their journey.

He calculated the time and said, "At this pace, when we arrive at Xiaogang Village, your aunt might visit again."

"Hmm."

Yao Wei said, "It's fine, we can keep going."

Lu Xi'an said, "What's the hurry? The refuge is still there; we can savor it again. When we left before, there was a bit of nostalgia.

"Previously, when we left here, the pressure above felt a bit annoying, but looking back now, it doesn't seem that bad anymore at Xiaogang Village.

"We stayed there before, and it was fine, wasn't it?"

Yao Wei was finally persuaded by Lu Xi'an and said, "Hmm."

They continued their journey without entering Jianshan City's urban area. When they reached Ox Head County, they had to refuel at the "First Petrochemical" gas station in West Fang Village.

The storage tank valve of this gas station had already been opened by Lu Xi'an. Approaching it again, Lu Xi'an feared something was wrong, like an explosion.

But fortunately, his worries didn't come true, and when they arrived at the gas station, everything was still intact.

Lu Xi'an had Gou check it and confirmed it was safe before cautiously removing the anti-theft bolts, opening the valve, and refueling with the pump.

After refueling, they didn't linger and continued their journey. When they arrived at Ox Head County, the pressure intensified the most.

So Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei didn't pause, nor did they intend to explore Ox Head Mountain, quickly leaving.

However, before leaving, they did visit one place—

The sewage treatment plant in Ox Head County.

In the office of this plant, there were two computers, one of which had a working monitor. Now that there's enough space, Lu Xi'an decided to take the working monitor.

Including the monitor's video signal cable and power cable.

"This way, the gaming console can be useful. Once we're in Xiaogang Village, we can try playing some games."

After packing these things into the car, Lu Xi'an said happily, "It's all thanks to you. Without you, there'd only be a monitor, with no gaming console."

"Hmm."

Yao Wei nodded. Seeing Lu Xi'an so happy, she also felt a bit joyful, feeling she had done something necessary before.