Doomsday Traveler

Chapter 267 Final preparations
After exercising, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei washed up, cooked, and ate before driving down the mountain.

The reason they washed up and cooked first was that they planned to use up some water first, and then fill up the water at the pool on their way down the mountain.

The time was almost up, and the sea that had submerged Yangcai County would recede at any moment. According to Hu Xiaodong, once the sea receded, people from Jiangbei could arrive at any time.

Although the people who come from Jiangbei are most likely ordinary people, there are, after all, new humans behind them.

If possible, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei would absolutely not want to run into anyone from Jiangbei.

Therefore, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei wanted to fill the container as full as possible.

If possible, they can still come to get water later, but that doesn't stop them from keeping the water tank in the vehicle at its fullest capacity.

Just like when driving a gas-powered car, regardless of whether there's fuel in the tank, people will still go into a gas station to check it out.

I cooked rice for breakfast, and also added some barley. That's how I made a barley rice meal that combines refined and whole grains.

Lu Xi'an took out a potato and an eggplant, stir-fried some shredded potatoes with vinegar, and then stir-fried some braised eggplant. He ate it with barley rice and it was absolutely delicious.

"We have both whole grains and refined grains, and so many vegetables. Life is getting better and better!"

As Lu Xi'an ate a bite of shredded potatoes, a bite of barley rice, and then a bite of braised eggplant and another bite of barley rice, he couldn't help but sigh.

His stir-fried shredded potatoes with vinegar were quite good, but his braised eggplant was a bit lacking. He cooked the sugar for a little too long, so the color was a bit too dark and it had a slightly bitter taste.

But this didn't stop Lu Xi'an from enjoying her meal. It was a rare treat to indulge in such a luxury, and even the slight bitterness felt sweet.

Yao Wei probably thought so too. While eating her barley rice, she also ate a bite of stir-fried shredded potatoes with vinegar and a bite of braised eggplant. Just like before, she didn't care about Lu Xi'an and could only give a perfunctory reply: "Mmm."

"Zi...ZiZi..."

During the meal, Lu Xi'an kept having Gouzi connect to Institute 923 via the car radio.

The radio signal has always been bad; I tried connecting for ages but couldn't get through.

Even after we finished eating, the radio was still buzzing.

However, Lu Xi'an didn't care about this. He could just try connecting more times later, and once he connected, he would quickly tell Luo Ping and the others what he wanted to say.

After finishing their meal and cleaning up the dishes, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei did one more thing before getting up to leave.

They put the "dome energy receiving prism" back into the ruins of the mountaintop temple, and then put the woman's handbag, which had been soaked and was now damaged and unusable, into the same place, burying it together with the "dome energy receiving prism".

The lady's handbag naturally contained both complete and broken commemorative medals. These coins, large and small, were of little use to Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei, who had planned from the beginning to leave them for Luo Ping and the others.

The same applies to the "dome energy receiving pyramid".

With dogs around, this thing is completely useless to them. It's too bulky to even use as a throwing spear in battle, and difficult to control.

Originally, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei thought they should take this thing with them first and then deal with it depending on the situation. But now they thought that since they were going to keep all the commemorative medals, they might as well keep this pyramid as well.

If the intelligent AI at Institute 923 has stored relevant information and data about pyramids that can enable people to utilize them, then this thing can be put to its greatest use when it falls into the hands of Luo Ping and his team.

After placing both items and filling them with earth, stones, and temple ruins, the two jumped off the ruins and carefully examined them. Only after confirming that the surface of the entire ruins was seamless and without any flaws did they feel relieved.

The two returned to the car, where the stereo was still crackling, and the signal was still not working.

Lu Xi'an then let the "buzzing" sound continue, only turning down the volume of the speaker.

He and Yao Wei set off down the mountain. When they reached the pool, they filled the water tank, pot, ladle, and bucket with water before continuing their descent.

Upon reaching the southern coast, where the sea turtles had departed and the birds had all flown away, the sky was high and the sea was calm, Lu Xi'an inexplicably felt a sense of desolation and decline after the fading of prosperity.

"Zizi...Zizi..."

"Big brother/big sister?!"

The human voice from the stereo suddenly cut off the noisy "buzzing" sound.

The voice belonged to Chai Xin, and it sounded somewhat surprised.

Lu Xi'an asked, "Chai Xin? Where are Luo Ping and Lao Shu? Haven't they returned yet?"

Chai Xin said, "They're back, but they've gone out again. Everyone else went out with them, all heading to Shanyang County. I'm the only one left here to look after the house."

Lu Xi'an asked, "What did they do in the county town?"

Chai Xin replied, "Go get that pyramid, the one you mentioned last time, brother."

"After Luo Ping came back, I told him about what you mentioned on the phone last time, and then he asked about artificial intelligence."

“That pyramid seems to actually work. Luo Ping wants to install it in Shanyang County and develop Shanyang County so that they can plant more land.”

Hearing Luo Ping's words, Lu Xi'an asked, "So, did Luo Ping and Old Tree come back with anything? What kind of seeds did they bring back?"

Chai Xin said, "No. They made a wasted trip, only bringing back a lot of green water, nothing else. They plan to sort things out in Shanyang County first, and then make another trip."

Lu Xi'an was slightly disappointed.

I thought that Lao Shu and Luo Ping would surely find something useful on their trip, but they returned empty-handed. On the other hand, I encountered quite a few good things on my way east.

—Speaking of which, Yao Wei and I have certainly had more luck than others along the way.

Luo Ping had been to the east before, but he only said that the sea had flooded a lot of the land and he hadn't found anything.

When Yao Wei and I arrived, we were treated to seafood, potatoes, eggplants, and barley, and we even discovered a dome-shaped energy receiving pyramid.

Both Yao Wei and I have indeed been very lucky.

Moreover, with the dog around, Yao Wei and I wouldn't miss many places that others wouldn't.

Lu Xi'an then said, "Chai Xin, time is limited. I have something to tell you, so please remember it carefully and tell Luo Ping and the others later."

"Yes. I remember, brother. Go ahead."

As Chai Xin's voice rang out, Lu Xi'an felt as if he could see the little girl nodding solemnly as he listened to it.

It's been a while since I've seen her. I wonder if that girl has changed again? Has she grown up?

Lu Xi'an then took the opportunity to explain the situation at Caiyang Mountain, including the timing and scale of the tides, as well as the alternation of landings by forces from Dongdao and Jiangbei.

He then emphasized the situation on East Island, telling Chai Xin about the commemorative medal he had hidden and the dome energy receiving pyramid, as well as the purpose of the commemorative medal.

He was afraid that Chai Xin wouldn't remember all that he had said, so he was about to ask Chai Xin to repeat it when the signal was cut off.

With no other option, Lu Xi'an could only sigh and let Gouzi continue to connect with the 923 Institute base.

By evening, the connection was restored, and Chai Xin was still on the other end. Luo Ping and the others still hadn't returned; they were still in Shanyang County.

Lu Xi'an then asked Chai Xin if she remembered what he had said during the day, and if not, he would repeat it again.

Chai Xin smiled and said, "Don't worry, big brother, I'll remember."

"Moreover, this big screen here can also record. Even after you disconnect, as long as I want to listen, this big screen can keep repeating what you said, brother."

"After you disconnected, I listened to it several times. I've remembered everything you said from beginning to end, brother!"

Lu Xi'an thought to himself that he had been negligent. The 923 Institute base was so high-tech, how could it not have audio and video recording functions?

"That's good. Since you can record it, you don't need to take notes."

He told Chai Xin.

Chai Xin responded with "uh-huh," and then asked, "Where's my older sister? Is she home? She's still the same, not saying a word."

Yao Wei had been sitting next to Lu Xi'an in silence the whole time, but when she heard Chai Xin call her name, she finally said, "I'm here."

"oops!"

Chai Xin's voice was slightly surprised, "Big sister, you actually spoke?!"

These words made Yao Wei a little embarrassed. She didn't know what to say, and opened her mouth but couldn't say anything.

The next moment, the sound of static filled the speakers again, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

No need to say anything...

Lu Xi'an turned to look at Yao Wei, shook his head and chuckled: "You!"

Yao Wei glared at Lu Xi'an and said, "Go to sleep!"

Seeing that Yao Wei was inexplicably angry, Lu Xi'an obediently followed her to bed, held her hand, closed his eyes, and fell asleep without even watching the movie.

One night passed, and another day came; nothing happened.

That day, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei exercised, washed up, and ate simply, only using up the water in the pot. But they still carried the pot to the pond to fetch more water, ensuring they always had an ample supply.

As they prepared to sleep again at night, they suddenly heard the wind howling, the waves crashing, and the tide surging.

The two hurriedly lifted the car window cover they had just closed, and saw the tide receding in waves, as if a million-strong army had received a mysterious command and was leaving in an orderly fashion.

The white spray left by the receding tide rolled and surged, gradually outlining the silhouettes of tall buildings—vertical, upside down, tall, and short—all slowly reappearing in the receding waves.

The mountainside, soaked by the water, was damp, with loose rocks and soil stirred up. The tide receded quickly, disappearing from Caiyang Mountain in no time.

"call……"

Lu Xi'an took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, and said, "We've finally arrived. Let's go, let's go down the mountain tonight without turning on the lights."

"Ah."

Yao Wei nodded, rolled down the car window, and, as usual, held a short needle in her hand.

(End of this chapter)