Apocalypse: Last Traveler

Hu Xiaodong obediently bent down, picked up an object, and then raised it high. On the one hand, he resumed the previous action of raising his hands, and on the other hand, he temporarily showed what was in his hand to Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei focused their eyes and saw that Hu Xiaodong was indeed holding a large shell.

The shell was fan-shaped, dull black, and unremarkable on its own, not particularly outstanding. However, the magical thing was, the inside of the shell was emitting light, which made the black surface appear a bit bright.

"Is this okay? Touching it makes people dizzy and a little weak. I'm having some trouble holding it up."

Hu Xiaodong suddenly spoke, his voice carrying a hint of fatigue.

Lu Xi'an said, "Then why are you showing it to us?"

Hu Xiaodong replied, "But it seems useful. When we found the old turtle, it was lying on it sleeping, the blood had stopped flowing, and new flesh was bubbling on the wound on its head.

"We thought, could this thing heal wounds? So we wanted to show it to you two. We really have no other intentions. Please believe us!"

His voice was anxious, not like he was lying, Lu Xi'an saw it clearly but didn't fully trust him and asked Gou, "Gou, is there any danger with that thing?"

Gou's eyes flashed two times as it glanced at the shell.

Hu Xiaodong and Hu Dong, who had never seen such a thing, were so frightened that they trembled all over and dared not move. Hu Xiaodong almost lost his grip on the shell but quickly caught it again, startled.

Meanwhile, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei felt relieved.

The flickering of Gou's eyes twice indicated that the object posed no danger to them.

Lu Xi'an said, "Put that thing down and come ashore."

Hu Xiaodong and Hu Dong breathed a long sigh of relief, and Hu Xiaodong quickly put the shell down—it was really hard for him to bear holding it—and then paddled to come ashore.

—They were so close to the shore that they naturally didn't need to unfurl the sails.

Once ashore, Hu Xiaodong and Hu Dong got off the boat and took the shell down.

The father and son's eyes kept glancing at the Gou in Yao Wei's hand, and Hu Xiaodong exclaimed, "The Neo-Humans are truly amazing, having such treasures!

"How can people like us compare? My father, my grandfather, and my grandfather's grandfather told us to be careful and avoid the Neo-Humans, and it seems they were right.

"Fortunately, you are good people!"

Drip, another "good person" card was issued.

Lu Xi'an reached out to take the shell but didn't feel the kind of weakness or dizziness Hu Xiaodong mentioned.

Perhaps only ordinary people would feel that way; Neo-Humans might be immune.

Just like the Fungus Stone.

Wait a minute!

Thinking of the Fungus Stone, Lu Xi'an carefully felt again and suddenly realized that when he held the shell, the surge of spirit, freshness, and warmth he felt seemed somewhat similar to the Fungus Stone.

Yao Wei leaned in to look as well, so Lu Xi'an handed the shell to her so she could feel it.

Yao Wei's eyes widened slightly, indicating she felt the same as Lu Xi'an.

She raised the shell and looked through the gap inside, and Lu Xi'an took a look too.

With that one look, all the mysteries were suddenly clear.

Within the gap of the shell, a round ball-like object was nestled, seeming to be covered with glowing fur—if this wasn't a Fungus Stone, then what was it?

It's just that this Fungus Stone could emit light, unlike the one they had, which couldn't.

No one expected that the treasure hidden at the bottom of the sea, cherished by the old sea turtle, was actually a Fungus Stone!

No wonder the old turtle was somewhat peculiar and so intelligent; it turned out to have a Fungus Stone!

However, it didn't seem to benefit greatly from the Fungus Stone—only slightly enhancing its intelligence and strength, allowing it to dominate this sea area, but still far off compared to Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei.

Lu Xi'an didn't immediately open the shell to take out the Fungus Stone; instead, he let Yao Wei hold the shell while he went to help the father and son lift their water buckets onto the boat and said:

"Thank you both. While you were diving, we fetched some water for you and put it on the boat."

Hu Dong and Hu Xiaodong were overwhelmed by the unexpected kindness, and Hu Xiaodong said, "Ah! How can we accept this?!

"Thanks to you, we dealt with that old turtle and won't be in danger when coming here in the future.

"And now you're helping us carry water; we really don't deserve it!"

Lu Xi'an placed the buckets properly and waved a hand, "It's nothing. Speaking of which, we cleaned the barnacles off the old turtle, which is why it moved more easily."

Hu Xiaodong waved his hand, "It's no problem, no problem. Anyway, the old turtle is dead, and we're safe now, so it's not a big deal."

As he spoke, something occurred to him, and he paused before cautiously asking, "Just, um... the barnacles you two collected, I wonder if they're still there, do you want them?"

Lu Xi'an asked, "Why, do you want that stuff?"

Hu Xiaodong nodded repeatedly, saying, "Barnacles are a fine thing; their shells can neutralize acid and relieve pain, their meat can detoxify wounds, treat burns, and cure stomach diseases. They can sell for quite a bit of money!"

"I see!"

Lu Xi'an had a sudden realization.

He didn't know all that, only that barnacles could relieve pressure.

With the Fungus Stone that he and Yao Wei had, any issues with their bodies could be resolved, and being Type A Neo-Humans, aside from combat injuries, they rarely encountered other problems, so those barnacles weren't really needed.

The two brought them a piece of Fungus Stone, exchanging some barnacles wasn't a big issue.

Lu Xi'an then said, "Wait here," and left with Yao Wei.

The two got into the car and drove north. Once in the car, they let Gou connect to the camper. They glanced at the Resonant Gene Scanner and noticed an additional red dot, increasing the original three to four.

The extra one, naturally, was the new Fungus Stone in the shell.

The target Gou locked in on shore was exactly this.

And that sea turtle seemed to be able to only use this Fungus Stone for healing a bit, slightly enhancing its strength, but it hadn't turned into a "New Turtle Species" through it.

Otherwise, the Resonant Gene Scanner should have detected it long ago.

Drive north.

Lu Xi'an was driving, with Yao Wei sitting in the passenger seat, examining the shell that encased the Fungus Stone.

Lu Xi'an frequently glanced at her while driving and suggested, "Why don't you try opening the shell?"

The shell was quite large, making it inconvenient to carry. If they encountered any battles in the future, it wouldn't be easy to carry the Fungus Stone with them for recovery.

"Okay."

Yao Wei nodded, gently prying at the edge of the shell, which instantly came apart.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei saw a brilliant light emanating from inside the shell, which then spread out, with crystal-like silver light particles diffusing throughout the car, floating.

Both Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei felt a jolt in their spirits as they came into contact with the light particles, feeling much more alert and seemed to become stronger.

"Do you feel it?"

Lu Xi'an asked Yao Wei.

"Yes."

Yao Wei nodded, carefully sensing her internal condition, and said, "I feel like I've slept with the Fungus Stone for several nights."

That description was indeed quite accurate.

However, Lu Xi'an felt Yao Wei's statement was somewhat conservative: "It's not just several days, it feels like several months, even a year."

"Yes."

Yao Wei closed her eyes again, concentrating, and said.

Lu Xi'an thought the effect should be from the light particles.

He looked again and saw that the light particles had already disappeared without a trace, but inside the shell appeared something identical to what was wrapped in wolf skin in their hands.

In terms of shape and size, there was hardly any difference, only the color varied slightly.

——The Fungus Stone from the shell was whiter, a pearl white.

"Now there are two Fungus Stones."

Lu Xi'an remarked.

"Yes."

Yao Wei nodded. But for some reason, despite obtaining another Fungus Stone, she felt inexplicably a bit unhappy.

Lu Xi'an continued, "Let's try this new Fungus Stone tonight."

"Yes."

Yao Wei nodded again, and her earlier inexplicable unhappiness suddenly vanished.

The car reached the southern coast. They got out and walked to the shore, where the barnacles were left unattended on the ground.

Some sea birds were still hovering about, but upon seeing Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei, they all dispersed in a flurry and took to the air.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei went forward to gather up the barnacles, using the basket Shu and Luo Ping had given them. Just as they headed back to the car, they suddenly saw small sea turtles breaking through their shells, crawling one after another towards the sea.

Their speed wasn't fast, but there were so many of them that for the sea birds, this should have been a feast.

However, with Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei standing above on the coast, the sea birds were frightened and dared not descend, circling in frustration while squawking loudly.

Lu Xi'an thought for a moment, then shot down two birds, picked up a few sea turtles, and tossed them into the basket, taking them back to the car together.

The remaining sea birds, unable to concern themselves with the birds Lu Xi'an hit, just watched as the newly hatched turtles instinctively made for the sea.

Even if their kin beside them were captured, carried off by birds, or had their shells and heads pecked open and eaten on the spot, they seemed unaware.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei paid no more attention to the fleeing army of sea turtles and their predator enemies. Once inside the car, they drove back to the East Coast.

Upon reaching the East Coast, they got out of the car and found Hu Xiaodong and his father Hu Dong resting by the boat. After having drifted at sea repeatedly and diving to turtle-hunt, they were already exhausted and had to seize time to rest before setting off again.

Lu Xi'an picked up the basket, emptied all its contents into Hu Xiaodong and Hu Dong's boat, and said, "These are all for you. Have something to eat, rest well before you leave."

Hu Xiaodong and Hu Dong were overjoyed to see the massive pile of goods in their boat and hurriedly nodded, bowed, and thanked them, handing out "good Samaritan" cards to Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei:

"Thank you! Truly, thank you! You two are such wonderful people! Extraordinary people! How can there be such good Neo-Humans in the world?!"