Apocalypse: Last Traveler

The drone flew forward, and Chai Xin sat up on the car roof's tire, staring blankly, lost in thought.

After a while, the drone returned and slipped back into the car through the window that Yao Wei had rolled down.

Chai Xin felt uneasy, waiting on the roof.

Inside the car, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei had already received Gou's signal; there was no one around, only sharp stones covering the ground.

The stones varied in size but were all extremely sharp, arranged densely. If one weren't careful driving over, a flat tire would be inevitable.

Who laid these stones?

For what purpose?

——Or rather, for which car?

Lu Xi'an looked up at the car roof and frowned.

"What should we do next?"

He asked Yao Wei.

Yao Wei also glanced at the roof; her eyes seemed to have made a decision. But she still said, "You decide." She had gotten used to letting Lu Xi'an make the decisions.

It's quite a relief to not have to think too much.

"Alright, then I'll decide."

Lu Xi'an said as he turned the car around, then knocked on the roof, saying, "Come down."

"Bang——"

Chai Xin jumped down from the car, landing on the ground. Being naturally petite and habitually hunched, she seemed even shorter, her head barely reaching the window's edge of the car.

Standing on the ground now, she had to look up to see Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei.

Feeling nervous, she quickly explained, "This has nothing to do with me, I know who did it! It's Mengxin City's people, it must be them!"

Lu Xi'an replied, "Mengxin City's urban area is still to the east, quite a distance from here. Why would they come here and scatter these stones on the ground?"

Chai Xin was momentarily speechless.

She knew that in this situation, explanations would be futile, so she didn't offer any, merely giving a wry smile, saying, "I really can't explain the situation here, but I can prove that I genuinely came to deliver things to you and nothing else.

"Since Mengxin City's people aren't here, it means they've already left, so there's no need to worry about them for now.

"My bow and knife have already been taken by you, besides, I couldn't fight you anyway. You can keep me tied up and throw me on the roof to continue your journey if you like.

"I'll guide you to get the good stuff, just like I planned to give you.

"It's really valuable, once you get it, you'll know I'm sincere."

Lu Xi'an sighed and said, "Sorry, what you say might be true, but with such events occurring, we can't trust you.

"We can't be certain whether you're signaling others, and having you with us could increase the risk. Unless we kill you."

Chai Xin closed her mouth.

Lu Xi'an chuckled and said, "Let's leave it this way. So far, we can't confirm your malice, but we also can't affirm your goodwill. After all, we've spent a short time together, we won't harm you.

"Wait here a bit, once we're further ahead, I'll throw your bow and knife out of the car. Once we're gone, you can pick them up.

"Fa in Tongzhou is already dead. With your abilities, you should manage to live well if you go back. There's no need to follow us."

He finished speaking, shifted gears, and prepared to step on the gas.

Chai Xin hurriedly said, "My hiding place is just ahead, after a turn and crossing a river, there's a hill where I dug a hole. The treasure is hidden under the wolf's skin in the cave."

"It's up to you to decide whether to take it or not. After all, I won't know or be able to direct others from here."

Lu Xi'an turned to look at Chai Xin but said nothing as he pressed the gas pedal.

"Also——"

Seeing the car start to leave, Chai Xin quickly pleaded again, "Could you give me back the quiver? You probably don't need two quivers anyway, that quiver belonged to my dad..."

The car had driven over fifty meters when Lu Xi'an instructed Yao Wei to throw Chai Xin's bow and knife out, and Yao Wei also tossed out the quiver they had picked up in Tongzhou.

With two quivers, keeping both was indeed unnecessary, so since Chai Xin asked, Yao Wei decided to give it to her.

Seeing Yao Wei's actions, Lu Xi'an asked, "What, do you believe her?"

Yao Wei shook her head, "I don't know."

"Actually, I don't know either."

Lu Xi'an sighed, "My judgment tends to believe she's telling the truth, but I'm afraid to trust it.

"After all, she told us how Fa rose to power. Who knows if she learned a thing or two from him?

"And the most crucial thing is, Chai Xin isn't just anyone; she has some special abilities. Having her in the vehicle, who knows if she could contact someone else?

"Someone lurking attacked our car. If we hadn't been careful, we could have had a flat tire already.

"We only have one spare tire..."

"Yeah."

Yao Wei nodded.

If the car truly got stuck here, unable to move, it would be a huge loss.

The stones on the ground earlier might have nothing to do with Chai Xin and everything could be coincidental, but Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei weren't about to take unnecessary risks.

So as they drove, they both focused intensely, keeping their eyes on the road ahead, afraid of missing any stones that might cause a flat tire.

After rounding a bend and driving a long while, they finally saw a small hill across the river by the roadside.

The hill was a bit distant from the riverbank, probably the location Chai Xin referred to as her lair.

Both their eyes were naturally drawn across the river to the hill.

After driving a while longer, almost leveling with the hill's height, Yao Wei suddenly suggested, "Should we... take a look?"

Lu Xi'an couldn't help but glance at Yao Wei.

Yao Wei said, "What if there's really a treasure?"

Lu Xi'an laughed, "You're thinking, what if we've wrongly accused her, right?"

Yao Wei didn't respond.

Lu Xi'an said, "Yao Wei, when did we start getting so soft-hearted?"

"I don't know."

Yao Wei responded gloomily.

Lu Xi'an said, "Actually... it's not really being soft-hearted. Mainly I want Luo Ping to have an ally, to make sure our Reconstruction Faction's broadcasts are on point."

"Mhm."

Yao Wei nodded, her voice sounding a bit more relaxed.

Being soft-hearted isn't beneficial for survival; it seemed to pressure her somewhat.

Lu Xi'an said, "Then why don't we take a look? Missing out on a true treasure would be unfortunate."

"Okay."

Yao Wei suggested, surprisingly taking the lead in planning, "Don't drive into the grass, just in case there are more of those stones. Stay in the car as backup, I'll go take a look."

Lu Xi'an said, "Better not. I'll go. You're a better shot, more suited for backup. My shooting, as backup, would be purely for show.

"I'll let the drone scout first. If it's all clear, I'll go."