Doomsday Traveler

Chapter 287 Friendship lasts forever
They said they would go to sleep after eating, but after eating, they all lay down on the ground by the fire outside the car, and no one was in a hurry to go back to the car to sleep.

As if knowing that they would have to part ways when they woke up, they cherished the time they spent together.

"Brother, sing a song."

While lying down, Luo Ping suddenly said, "It's been a long time since I've heard you sing. You sing so well, much better than the songs you give me on the computer."

"Mmmmmmm!"

Chai Xin nodded repeatedly.

Lu Xi'an laughed and said, "Nonsense! Do you think I don't know my singing level? Besides, the songs on other people's computers have accompaniment and arrangement, and maybe even auto-tuning. How can I compare?"

"Hmm~hmm~hmm~"

Chai Xin's three "hmm"s were tinged with ambiguity; he shook his head while saying "hmm," indicating that it wasn't like that.

However, it is Luo Ping who will explain why it is not.

Luo Ping seemed to be Chai Xin's mouthpiece: "How can that be the same? Their singing is fake, yours is real!"

"What do you mean by fake or real!"

Lu Xi'an chuckled, thinking that Luo Ping was truly worthy of his name, his flattery was incredibly smooth.

However, since Luo Ping had already spoken, and Chai Xin was so expectant, and when he turned to look at Yao Wei, who was also looking at him expectantly, Lu Xi'an stopped being coy and sat up, saying, "Okay, I'll sing."

Upon hearing what Lu Xi'an said, everyone immediately sat up and looked at him expectantly.

"What should I sing? Hmm..."

Lu Xi'an pondered for a moment, then clapped his hands and began to sing, "How can I forget my old friends, how can I not miss them? My old friends, how can I forget them? Our friendship will last forever..."

He stopped singing abruptly at this point.

Luo Ping stared wide-eyed and asked, "How is it over already?"

Lu Xi'an said, "Let me think about it..."

He seemed to remember the whole song from Scotland, but it had been so long that his memory was hazy. What he remembered most was the first verse.

He originally only intended to sing the first verse two or three times, but as he sang, he felt the lyrics being slowly pulled out from the depths of his memory.

He needs to think about it and recall it carefully.

The crowd fell silent and watched him quietly.

Under a vast sky and on a gentle breeze, the wild grasses that had sprouted again after the cold winter rustled softly around them.

The wind blew their hair. There were only two cars and six people in the world, in a desolate wilderness. Lu Xi'an looked at the four people who had come from the 923 Institute base, and at this world, memories slowly welled up in his mind.

He suddenly grabbed the pot from the side, which he had finished eating rice from but hadn't had time to wash, went back to his car to clean it, wiped it dry, took it out, turned it upside down, placed it on his lap as he sat cross-legged, gently patted the bottom of the pot, and continued singing:
"We once wandered aimlessly in the green hills of our homeland, and we also endured countless hardships, toiling and wandering everywhere. Long live friendship, my friend, long live friendship! Let us raise our glasses and sing together, may our friendship last forever..."

He repeated "Let's raise our glasses and sing together, may our friendship last forever" twice, and Luo Ping, Chai Xin, Liu Hua, and Tang Er all seemed to receive a signal and joined in singing: "Let's raise our glasses and sing together, may our friendship last forever..."

The song was so captivating that its melody quickly stuck in everyone's minds and was firmly etched in their memories. Lu Xi'an simply stopped singing the rest and started singing the first verse again.

The crowd followed him, singing along haltingly. After singing it once or twice, they memorized the simple lyrics and sang it more and more smoothly and boldly.

Even Yao Wei was deeply moved and started clapping.

But her clapping was no match for Luo Ping's increasingly unrestrained singing.

As Luo Ping sang, he picked up his rice bowl, looked at the rim with his chopsticks, and sang loudly, swaying his head: "Old friends, how can we forget each other? Our friendship will last forever..."

"Old friends, how can we forget them? May our friendship last forever..."

The singing grew louder and louder, blending together into a powerful and moving melody.

I don't know when it started, but Chai Xin also picked up his rice bowl and started tapping it with his spoon.

Then came Liu Hua, Tang Er...

Lu Xi'an shifted the blame to Yao Wei, saying, "Come on, let's sing together!"

Yao Wei glanced at Lu Xi'an, and finally joined him in patting the pot and singing.

As the sun sets, fiery clouds rise on the horizon, bathing the world in a golden hue. Beneath the vast sky, amidst the dust and wind, the sounds of pots and pans clatter and the murmur of friendship endure.

They sang this song for an unknown amount of time, and even after they finished, they didn't disperse and go back to their cars to sleep.

Tonight, the moon is bright and the stars are few, the world is clear and everything around us is clearly visible, so we continue to enjoy this brief gathering in the darkness.

Luo Ping knew that Lu Xi'an could tell stories, so he urged Lu Xi'an to tell a story for him to hear.

Lu Xi'an didn't hesitate and said, "Okay, I'll tell you one. Let me think about what to tell you..."

While he was pondering what to say, Liu Hua went to give the new queen ant an order, telling the ant colony to go and gather some stored food.

Now that the anthill is on the roof of the car, the ants can no longer form ant balls to find food as before. Instead, the ant colony flies out from the anthill on the roof, flying in a large swarm to collect food and then flying back to the anthill.

Lu Xi'an, as if remembering something, began, "Then let me tell you a story from a long time ago. Back in those prosperous times, before technology had advanced, before we had cars and power banks like we do now..."

"You mean ancient times? Like in martial arts novels?"

Luo Ping asked.

Lu Xi'an laughed and said, "Yes, it's like in martial arts novels. I'm telling a martial arts story—in times of wealth, there are also a group of poor people. They have a house, so poor that all they have inside is a bed, but this house is called Rich Manor."

"They were dirt poor, often went hungry, yet claimed to be the happiest..."

This story, of course, is Gu Long's "The Happy Heroes".

This novel, which stands out among Gu Long's many works, has a rather scattered story, but the feeling and tone it evokes resonate deeply with Lu Xi'an's current state of mind.

He told the story, about Guo Dalu's lover who left him, about Wang Dong's friend who betrayed him, about Yan Qi's true gender and his father who bore a bad reputation, and about Lin Taiping's family and fiancée.

Amidst laughter, the story gradually becomes moving, touching the viewer's emotions.

By the time Lu Xi'an finished speaking, a considerable amount of time had passed.

Anyway, looking at the roof of the car, all the ants had already flown back to their anthill. Looking up at the sky, the moon was high in the sky. Luo Ping let out a soft sigh and said, "I like this story. This story is better than all the martial arts novels I've read. Brother, if you lived in the past, you could definitely be a novelist!"

Lu Xi'an laughed and said, "I think so too. I could be a singer!"

If he lived in the past, with so much in his head, what was wrong with him being a plagiarist?

But in today's world, these things in one's mind have no place to be put to use.

"Yes, yes, yes! Big brother is awesome!"

Luo Ping praised it, saying it seemed a bit exaggerated, but also genuine.

In any case, at this point, this gathering should come to an end.

"Alright, it's getting late. Let's all go back to sleep. We have to travel tomorrow morning."

Lu Xi'an stood up and patted his bottom.

Everyone stood up, and Tang Er said, "You all go and rest, I'll keep watch."

Liu Hua said, "No need. With these ants around, I can just sleep a little lighter and make sure the ants pay attention."

Luo Ping said, "Alright, alright, you all go back to sleep. I'm so happy tonight that I won't be able to sleep for a while. You all go to sleep, I'll keep watch over you."

Lu Xi'an echoed, "Alright, alright," and then said, "You don't need to keep watch anymore. We're here. Why should you be on night watch?"

Everyone wanted to argue further, but Yao Wei said, "We have a dog."

Well, with this dog around, who can compete?

At the 923 Institute base, everyone had already witnessed how formidable Gouzi was; with Gouzi around, they could indeed all relax.

Luo Ping said, "Big brother and big sister, you guys are amazing! With Gouzi around, we don't even have to take turns keeping watch at night."

Lu Xi'an said, "Actually, even without dogs, we don't need them. We are Type A new humans, with very keen senses. We can wake up at the slightest sound without dogs reminding us."

"is it?"

Luo Ping scratched his head and said.

Lu Xi'an said, "Of course. Otherwise, how did we manage when we weren't together before, walking alone?"

Tang Er said resentfully, "Mr. Luo, I told you long ago that I could do it, but you just wouldn't believe me. Otherwise, we wouldn't have to take turns keeping watch now."

Luo Ping scratched his head and said, "I was just worried it might not be safe. Since my older brother and sister have said so, I'll rely on you to sleep soundly from now on, Tang Er."

"no problem!"

Tang Er nodded.

Luo Ping exclaimed again, "The Type A new humans are truly amazing!"

After saying goodnight to Lu Xi'an, he got into the car and went to sleep.

Just as Chai Xin was about to follow, Yao Wei suddenly spoke up: "Chai Xin."

"Ok?"

Chai Xin turned his head, tilting it slightly in a questioning manner.

Yao Wei asked, "Would you like to sleep in our car for the night?"

Lu Xi'an glanced at Yao Wei with slight surprise, not expecting Yao Wei to take the initiative to say such a thing.

Could it be that this woman also sees Chai Xin as her own daughter?
Chai Xin was overjoyed: "Is it okay?" She looked at Lu Xi'an and then at Yao Wei, afraid that one of them would refuse.

Yao Wei said, "Come on, but we only have limited space in the car, so you'll have to sleep on the sofa."

Lu Xi'an didn't say anything, but waved to Chai Xin.

"Mmmmmmm!"

Chai Xin nodded repeatedly and ran up to the RV.

She got into the car, lay down on the sofa, and said, "This is so nice!"

Seeing Lu Xi'an clearing away the dishes, she got up again, eager to join in the fun, but Lu Xi'an chased her away.

Lu Xi'an cleaned up the dishes and went to bed with Yao Wei. But they didn't fall asleep. They chatted with Chai Xin, who was lying on the sofa, for what seemed like an eternity before finally drifting off to sleep.

When they woke up the next day, they were all so reluctant to part.

After a quick breakfast, Chai Xin returned to Yao Wei's old car, and Luo Ping and the others were about to set off.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei stood outside the car, seeing them off.

As Luo Ping started the car, Chai Xin suddenly leaned out of the passenger seat and asked, "Brother, can you pat my head again?"

Lu Xi'an smiled, reached out and ruffled the girl's hair, making her no longer dry and yellow hair messy.

Chai Xin wasn't annoyed; he just chuckled.

Then she paused for a moment.

She didn't expect that after Lu Xi'an, Yao Wei would also reach out and pat her head.

"Alright, we're leaving now. Goodbye, big brother and sister. Have a safe journey!"

After the three of them finished interacting, Luo Ping spoke from the driver's seat.

Lu Xi'an nodded and said, "I also wish you a safe journey."

"That is required!"

Luo Ping grinned, stepped on the gas, honked the horn, and drove away.

Chai Xin, who had already climbed back into the car, climbed out again, waved vigorously, and said to Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei, "Goodbye, big brother and big sister!"

(End of this chapter)