Apocalypse: Last Traveler

The wind was still strong, bringing a torrent of rain.

The mechanical dog retrieved the drone, Lu Xi'an drove the RV all the way up, and the rain kept falling and stopping, only settling down when Lu Xi'an reached the mountaintop.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei got out of the car, feeling the added saltiness of the sea in the air.

Looking down the mountain, the vast ocean came into view.

Lu Xi'an couldn't comprehend the principle here and could only sigh, "Going south all the way, it's truly one disaster after another. No wonder we don't encounter anyone here; given such conditions, having people would be surprising."

"Yes."

Yao Wei nodded.

Just then, he suddenly saw something on the distant horizon—it seemed to be a mountain and an island, with a rainbow spanning across. A small boat was leaving the edge of the island, with two people paddling, heading into the vast sea.

"What is that?!"

Yao Wei also saw this scene and asked.

Lu Xi'an replied, "A mirage..."

Wasn't this distant scene a mirage?

However, Yao Wei did not quite understand, "What is a mirage?"

Lu Xi'an thought for a moment on how to explain, then said, "It's an image formed by light refraction and reflection. Hmm... let's put it this way, the sky seems to become a mirror, reflecting distant things onto it, so we can see them here."

"Like that..."

Yao Wei nodded and said, "So this is someone far away rowing a boat?"

"Possibly..."

Lu Xi'an looked at the scene in the distant sky and exhaled gently.

Then he took out the "World Map One" and glanced at it, roughly judging the distance from Fish Mouth District in Wangdao County to here, feeling it should be impossible to see Fish Mouth District from this side, let alone a sea sunrise.

So, what does what's written in "World Map One" mean?

Could it sometimes be a mirage of a sea sunrise?

Or, did "World Map One" come out at the dawn of the doomsday, documenting the view of the city by the sea as it is now?

Back then, people sure knew how to find joy amidst suffering.

Forget it, better not overthink, just wait until the sea recedes and check again, then the truth will be revealed.

Lu Xi'an felt that the sea should recede, as it had done in the past.

He put away "World Map One," glanced back to see Yao Wei still staring at the distant mirage.

"Still watching?"

He smiled and asked.

Yao Wei nodded, saying, "Mm, it's quite beautiful."

"Then take your time to watch, anyway, there's nothing else to do."

Lu Xi'an said with a chuckle.

But he himself didn't plan to watch much.

On this mountaintop lay a temple, much like the one on East Mountain in Jianshan City, which had collapsed into ruins. He planned to take a look to see if there was anything good buried under the temple.

"Where are you going?"

Seeing Lu Xi'an turning away, Yao Wei turned back to ask.

Lu Xi'an replied, "I'm going to take a look over there."

"I'll go too."

Yao Wei said, then turned around to follow.

Lu Xi'an asked, "Aren't you watching anymore?"

Yao Wei shook her head, "Not watching, I'll watch later."

Lu Xi'an said, "What if the mirage disappears by then?"

Yao Wei said, "It's okay, there's still the sea."

Indeed, after walking inland for so long, now by the sea, looking at the vast ocean was a kind of enjoyment.

Though the sea blocked their path, it was calming down now and was quite pleasant to look at.

"I'll watch it with you later."

Lu Xi'an said.

Yao Wei nodded, saying, "Mm."

She now understood the steps and tools needed to explore a new place, and instead of directly following Lu Xi'an to the collapsed temple, she went to the car and picked up Gou.

The mechanical dog swayed as Yao Wei held it; it had gotten used to it, and its legs didn't even bother moving, seemingly content and convenient being carried like this by Yao Wei.

On the ruins, Yao Wei slightly lifted Gou forward and said, "Gou, find something."

Without the RV's audio support, Gou couldn't speak and silently began its work.

Lu Xi'an stood by, watching Yao Wei and Gou's seamless cooperation, feeling good about it, having Yao Wei help him operate saved him a lot of trouble.

Gou scanned for a while, its eyes quickly lighting up, shining a beam on a spot in the middle of the ruins.

Lu Xi'an went up immediately and began moving the bricks and tiles one by one from the ruins, finally uncovering a familiar object.

- A three-segmented pyramid.

Silver-white, its surface covered in dust, weighty in hand, just like the one in the temple on the summit of East Mountain in Jianshan City.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei exchanged a glance and immediately took the pyramid and returned to the vehicle.

Lu Xi'an still recalled when he found the identical pyramid at East Mountain's summit, he had asked Gou if it was useful, Gou's eyes lit up, signaling it was indeed useful.

But it didn't have a voice component then, unable to speak, thus not explaining in detail what use this pyramid had.

Later, when Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei arrived at the Institute 923 base, they got this RV where Gou could speak, yet that pyramid was left forgotten in the corner of Yao Wei's car, ignored along with the car given to Luo Ping, without asking about its purpose.

Now, having found another on Caiyang Mountain's summit, naturally it was time to ask Gou about this object's specific function.

Once in the vehicle, Yao Wei immediately placed Gou on the RV's dashboard.

Gou had been integrated with this RV for so long, Yao Wei watched it so often that she knew perfectly well where Gou should be placed to integrate with the RV.

She effortlessly settled the mechanical dog, impatiently even wanting to push it down into the RV's operational console.

Because she was so anxious, she didn't even wait for Gou to turn back into a box. As a result, when Gou merged with the RV, the electronic synthesized voice from the RV speakers seemed to carry a hint of emotion:

"Mechanical Dog 02 merging into the RV requires some time and procedure for integration, please don't be hasty."

Lu Xi'an: "..."

Yao Wei, a bit embarrassed, said, "Okay, I'll keep that in mind next time."

Mechanical Dog: "Thank you."

Lu Xi'an: "..."

This Gou is really polite.

After Gou and Yao Wei finished venting, he asked Gou, "Gou, what exactly is this pyramid, and what is its specific function?"

Gou immediately provided an explanation: "This pyramid is called the 'Dome Energy Reception Pyramid.' It serves as the central hub for Dyson Cloud energy conversion, capable of capturing energy projected by the Dyson Cloud, and contains high-density energy storage units inside.

"The Dome Energy Reception Pyramid is also one of the research projects of Institute 923, a preliminary outcome based on the idea of modular deployment and capturing the woven structure of Dyson Cloud energy proposed by researchers at 923.

"However, due to low energy capture efficiency and difficulties in conversion, it failed.

"But the pyramid can still absorb a small portion of Dyson Cloud energy and effectively store it. When used independently, it can serve a purpose with the appropriate technical tools."

"So that's how it is..."

Lu Xi'an nodded.

If that's the case, this thing isn't of much use to him and Yao Wei.

Who needs it when they have Gou?

Moreover, in this world, where can they find the appropriate technical tools for this gadget?

Hmm...

No, wait...

"The matching tools, does Institute 923 have them?"

Lu Xi'an suddenly thought of this point and asked.

Since this dome pyramid is a product of Institute 923, where else in the world would have its matching technical tools but Institute 923?

Gou answered: "Yes, you can consult the artificial intelligence of Institute 923 for specifics."

Alright, that's settled then.

Lu Xi'an immediately tried to contact the folks over at Institute 923, not expecting that while they were trapped on the mountaintop, the radio signal wasn't.

The signal connected directly, and Lu Xi'an didn't expect the receiver to be Chai Xin, instead of Luo Ping and Shu.

Only after asking did Lu Xi'an find out that Luo Ping and Shu had left again after planting the trees.

Inspired, the two went off to gather more plantable things elsewhere, and on the way, they planned to stop by the center city of Jianshan to bring back some of the green water for storage.

According to Chai Xin, they brought a big bucket to scoop the green water dry from the green pond.

Chai Xin was thrilled to finally receive a signal from Yao Wei and Lu Xi'an and couldn't stop talking excitedly.

But Lu Xi'an was worried about the signal dropping, so he quickly interrupted her and told her about the issue, asking her to remember and pass it on to Luo Ping.

Chai Xin agreed with a series of "yes, yes, yes," and sure enough, the signal dropped afterwards.

Lu Xi'an sighed and said, "This damn signal, it's so hard just to catch up with Chai Xin."

"Hmm..."

Yao Wei's voice also sounded a bit unwilling.

Having explored everything, with nothing else to do, the two of them went outside again, sitting down on the mountain edge facing east.

The mirage in the distance had disappeared, the wind gradually calmed but hadn't stopped, ripples still shimmering on the sea.

They sat on this mountain top, as if they could take in all that the world had to offer.

And the world felt so vast and monotonous, nothing but sea after sea.

"I wonder how it would look to see the sunrise over the sea from here back then?"

Lu Xi'an said.

Yao Wei shook her head, thought for a bit, and said, "If you want to see it, I can look for some videos later to see if there's any."

Lu Xi'an smiled and said, "What's the point in watching a video? The scenes in videos are never as beautiful as being there in person.

"Since we have nothing to do and nowhere to go, why don't we stay here and see if there's a moonrise over the sea tonight, and a sunrise tomorrow."

"Mm."

Yao Wei nodded again.

With nothing else to do, they really stayed there, just looking at the sea.

Lu Xi'an was in rare spirits, even sang a few lines of "If the sea could take away my sorrow."

The wind gradually ceased, the clouds slowly dispersed, and the weather turned clear.

With such a day, maybe they could really see what they wanted to.

By nightfall, when they gazed into the distance, they saw that there really was a bright moon slowly rising at the sea's edge, casting an irregular beam of light on the water.

The clear moonlight was so pure and captivating, harmonizing with the sea, a beauty to behold.

"Is it beautiful?"

Lu Xi'an turned to glance at Yao Wei and asked.

He actually thought that the woman with the ocean and moon reflected in her eyes was more beautiful than all the scenery before them.

"It's beautiful."

Yao Wei nodded, saying.

Lu Xi'an smiled and called out, "Gou, come see the moon!"

"Buzz—"

"Clang, clang..."

Gou's metal legs quickly hit the ground, running over and sitting down next to Lu Xi'an.

Lu Xi'an: "..."

He had spoken offhandedly, not expecting that Gou really came over.

A mechanical dog, who knows what kind of moon it could understand.