Apocalypse: Last Traveler

Lu Xi'an heard this person's words, and his heart skipped a beat.

According to what this person said, the sea under Caiyang Mountain indeed recedes, and the seawater that floods into Yangcai County has a cycle of ebb and flow.

When the tide comes in, this person would row a boat to arrive, but when the tide recedes, others would come to this place.

This person detected that he and Yao Wei were Neo-Humans and mistakenly thought they were leaders of an opposing group, hence the reference to "Your subordinates will arrive."

Thus, the real danger comes after the tide goes out.

Lu Xi'an knew that pretending to be someone else had little use anymore, and he hadn't planned to pretend anyway, so he asked directly based on his own thoughts:

"Where did you come from, what are you doing here? Who are those people you mentioned, where do they come from, how many Neo-Humans are there?

"Also, when will this tide recede?"

The two people tied to the tree were instantly shocked, one said: "You... You two aren't from Jiangbei?!"

So, those people this person mentioned, are they from Jiangbei?

From the map, coming from Jiangbei to here is quite far, right? What are they doing here?

Lu Xi'an pondered while speaking to the two people: "No one told you we were coming from Jiangbei.

"But you'd better answer my questions honestly, or I won't mind tying you two up here to wait for the people from Jiangbei to arrive."

The two looked panicked, as if they had heard something extremely terrifying.

"We... We are from East Island, my name is Hu Xiaodong, this is my son Hu Dong. We came here to fetch water."

The older one said again.

Lu Xi'an was somewhat puzzled: "Your name is Hu Xiaodong, and your son's name is Hu Dong?"

Hu Xiaodong nodded repeatedly: "That's just how we name our family. His grandfather was Hu Dong, my grandfather was Hu Xiaodong."

Tsk, a century of solitude indeed.

Lu Xi'an recalled the "World Map One" he had read before, and didn't see any East Island, but there was a Donglai Island, which Wangdao County is known for.

That island is viewed from the East Coast line of Fish Mouth District towards the sea; from the map, it looks like a fish mouth spitting out a pearl.

That's why Wangdao County got its name.

Lu Xi'an recalled the mirage he had seen earlier, judged the direction where these two had rowed from, speculating that this East Island Hu Xiaodong mentioned is the former Donglai Island.

Who knows how the name became what it is now? Nowadays Donglai Island has become East Island, and I wonder whether the people on the island know any Martial Arts or can perform the "Emperor's Qi Observation Skill" or the "Whale Breath Technique"?

Lu Xi'an pondered randomly, only thinking casually. Looking at these two people's physical qualities, how could they possibly be Inner Strength martial artists?

He hasn't seen any Inner Strength in this world yet.

"You are carrying these four buckets to fetch water, right?"

Lu Xi'an asked the next question.

Hu Xiaodong nodded: "Yes, to fetch water. We have nothing else to do, just fetching some water, and we'll leave once we've got it."

At this point, he pleaded, "If you two are not willing, we won't fetch the water, just let us leave, and we will go without any delay!"

Lu Xi'an didn't pay attention to his plea and asked the next question: "You should know when the tide rises and falls, right?"

Hu Xiaodong and Hu Dong heard Lu Xi'an's words and surprisingly showed a slightly relieved expression.

Lu Xi'an guessed they are now certain he and Yao Wei are not from Jiangbei County, which shows their fear of the group from Jiangbei County.

Hu Xiaodong answered: "The tide rises for about ten to fifteen days, then recedes. Then after ten to fifteen days, it rises again.

"Each time we hurry here when the tide has just risen, to fetch water before the tide falls back.

"This way we can avoid the people from Jiangbei.

"But sometimes we can't avoid them, and then we're finished. My father Hu Dong said my grandfather Hu Xiaodong injured his leg here and didn't make it back in time, and was killed by the people from Jiangbei.

"His dad's grandfather also got killed by Neo-Humans, right in front of him.

"I was too young then; after my grandfather Hu Xiaodong died, my father couldn't help but bring his grandfather Hu Dong here for water, and who knew the people from Jiangbei specifically called upon Neo-Humans.

"My father said the Neo-Human killed his grandfather with a single strike, deliberately spared my father, allowing him to go back and warn us not to come here, or whoever comes will be killed."

Lu Xi'an asked: "Then why do you still come? Is there no water on East Island?"

As he listened to this person talking about fathers, grandfathers, grandfathers of grandfathers, he was somewhat confused, with the names Hu Dong and Hu Xiaodong swapping back and forth, really reminding him of when he read "One Hundred Years of Solitude."

So he reminded him: "Say what you know directly, don't mention fathers' grandfathers or grandfathers of fathers again."

"Oh... alright!"

Hu Xiaodong quickly understood, then sighed and said, "Telling us not to come here is easy, but how do we live?

"We rely on fetching water here to survive."

He saw that Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei weren't as fierce as his father had said, nor did they look down on others with their noses in the air. As long as he cooperated and answered questions honestly, he felt he could still speak normally, which made him relax a little.

He was no longer as nervous as he was at first. He just took care not to mention his father and grandfather, and he spoke much more smoothly:

"There is water on the island, but it isn't sweet. The water here is sweet, different from the water on the island. Mixing it with some things makes it taste beautiful and comfortable, it's different."

He sighed again and said, "Our family doesn't have any land to grow anything to eat. We can only come here repeatedly to fetch water, take it back, mix it with sweet water, and trade with others for food.

"Otherwise, we would starve to death.

"—We can't steal, right? If we got caught, we would be expelled from the island and wouldn't survive."

Lu Xi'an was moved as he listened, surprised that the people on this island could actually grow crops?!

In this desolate, savage world, is there really an oasis hidden above the sea?!

"What do you grow?"

Lu Xi'an asked.

Hu Xiaodong replied, "Potatoes, barley, sweet potatoes."

Wow, these are all staple crops!

Lu Xi'an remained calm and said, "Go on."

Hu Xiaodong said, "Actually, according to the elders, there used to be other crops, but they couldn't grow. We managed to grow these three only after a long time.

"My grandfather said our family used to have land and grew vegetables, but they all died. We had nothing to eat, so we traded the land for other things.

"Later, when the land was all traded away, we had no choice but to go out to sea.

"Usually, we would also catch some fish and pick some wild vegetables, but it's still not enough. Just having vegetables and meat without rice makes working energyless.

"So we can't stop going out to sea. With this sweet water, we can barely get by."

Lu Xi'an couldn't be sure if the person was telling the truth, but it felt at least not entirely true.

Catching fish and gathering wild vegetables might not make life great, but it should be enough to scrape by.

Look at the people in Mengxin City, they manage to survive just on grass cakes.

Why did they need this sweet water so badly, risking their lives to get it?

Maybe it's already a luxury for the islanders, allowing Hu Dong and Hu Xiaodong's family to gain high profits and live in abundance through sweet water.

So, they couldn't bear to give up coming to the island to get water?

Of course, this was all just Lu Xi'an's guess, a thought that flashed through his mind.

This issue wasn't important to him, so he didn't ask further.

He asked the question he was most interested in: "After the sea recedes, when do the people from Jiangbei come here? When do you usually leave in the past?

"Aren't you afraid of them leaving people on the island during your visits?"

Hu Xiaodong said, "We usually leave once we get the water, wouldn't dare stay here.

"We're only sure they generally won't stay on the island, so we dare to come over.

"There's not much to eat on this island. In the past, they even killed my grandfather and survived the tide period by eating his corpse.

"Bringing food here is too troublesome, the people from Jiangbei probably won't do it.

"My dad told me the first time he brought me to the island that there's probably a place not far to the west where they live.

"That way, they can observe when the sea comes and when it recedes. As soon as the sea retreats, they can rush over quickly.

"My dad said they are also after the sweet water here, but they take more than we do, so they drive, which is faster."

"I see?"

Lu Xi'an nodded, gaining some insight and quickly formulating a plan, he asked, "Are there any signs when the sea recedes?"

Hu Xiaodong thought for a moment and said, "There shouldn't be any signs... I'm not here when the sea recedes, so I don't know. Neither my dad, my grandfather, nor my grandfather's dad mentioned it."

Oh well...

Lu Xi'an posed the last question, "When the sea rises here, will it continue rising or remain like this until it recedes?"

Hu Xiaodong said, "Probably not... Anyway, I've never seen it. Once the sea rises, it stays calm. Otherwise, we wouldn't dare to keep coming out to sea."

The term "going to sea" should be how the Hu Dong and Hu Xiaodong family specifically describe coming here to fetch sweet water.

With some thinking done, Lu Xi'an planned to drive the car further down later, to halfway down the mountain.

That way, once the sea recedes, they could quickly drive down the mountain, hopefully avoiding the people from Jiangbei.

Although the people who come from Jiangbei to fetch water are usually ordinary, who could guarantee a Neo-Human wouldn't show up one day?

It's better to err on the side of caution and prepare early.