Doomsday Traveler

Chapter 333 Friends walk together for a lifetime
After dismantling everything that needed to be taken apart, Luo Ping turned to Lu Laoshu and asked, "Do you want these sheet metal pieces? You can take them back and build a shed to keep out the wind and rain."

"Ah... oh..."

Lu Laoshu gave a blank reply, as if he hadn't reacted for a moment, and it was unclear what he had been thinking.

Seeing that he agreed, Lu Xi'an said, "Then let us do it and carry the car body back directly."

As he spoke, he lifted one of the cars, effortlessly, without much exertion.

Yao Wei was about to lift another car when Tang Er stopped her.

"Let me do it."

As Tang Er spoke, he went over and lifted up the other one as well.

The girl wanted to take the car that Lu Xi'an was holding so that Lu Xi'an could rest, but Lu Xi'an refused, saying, "It's okay, I can do it. Holding this doesn't take much effort."

The brat knew that Lu Xi'an was telling the truth, so she stopped arguing.

Looking at Lu Xi'an and Tang Er lifting the car, Luo Ping exclaimed, "Wow, the skills of the Type A new humans are really impressive! If we had known this, why did we bother disassembling the car and taking apart the parts? We could have just carried it all back together!"

Lu Xi'an said, "Didn't you think of that?"

Luo Ping slapped his forehead and said, "That's right, I really didn't expect that. My brain isn't working properly today. I haven't thought things through more than once. I'll have to be more careful in the future."

Lu Xi'an didn't waste any more words with him and said, "Let's go back." Then she took the lead and carried the cart back with Tang Er.

Yao Wei didn't get into the car. Carrying the dog in one hand and the sniper rifle in the other, she walked to Lu Xi'an's side. As for the drone, she didn't have a free hand to carry it, so she simply placed it on the car body that Lu Xi'an was holding.

Then the stinky girl and Chai Xin followed.

The girl said she wanted to see if she could help later, in case she needed to lift the car body, she could lend a hand. Chai Xin, on the other hand, simply wanted to follow Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei.

This girl was clever and perceptive; she knew that after this battle, their time together would be limited, and they would soon have to part ways. Therefore, she only wanted to seize every moment to stay by Lu Xi'an and Luo Ping's side.

As for the others, they all got on the bus and went back first.

Luo Ping, sitting in the passenger seat, leaned out and waved to Lu Xi'an, saying, "Big brother and sister, we'll head over first and prepare a meal for you at Lu Laoshu's village!"

Lu Xi'an waved in response, "Okay, take your time, no rush. Don't bring us half-cooked food when we get back."

Luo Ping's voice had moved to a place further ahead: "Don't worry, brother, it won't happen."

After Luo Ping and his companion's two cars had driven away in a swaying motion, Chai Xin, who was standing next to Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei, finally asked, "Big brother and big sister, where are you going next?"

Lu Xi'an replied, "Should we still go to Caiyang Mountain?" As he spoke, he turned to look at Yao Wei, waiting for her confirmation.

"Ah."

Yao Wei nodded without refuting.

Lu Xi'an then continued, "After this battle, we also realized that our strength is somewhat lacking."

"To avoid a repeat of this situation, where we encounter enemies we cannot defeat, we still need to improve ourselves."

"So we plan to go to Caiyang Mountain for seclusion, and only come out when we are strong enough to be confident in heading south."

Upon hearing what Lu Xi'an said, Chai Xin's eyes widened in astonishment: "Big brother and big sister, you think you're weak?! Look at the state you beat those two up!"

Lu Xi'an explained, "Because there are even stronger people in the south. We found some things in the south that were left behind after someone was injured."

"We can confirm that those things belong to two very powerful individuals, both Type A new humans, whose level of power should surpass ours."

"what!"

Chai Xin couldn't help but widen his eyes slightly and open his mouth, but couldn't say anything for a moment.

She thought her older brother and sister were the most amazing people in the world. Even before Liang Laoda and Xu Ma came, she still thought so and had full confidence in them. But now that her older brother said there was someone even more amazing than them, she couldn't believe it.

Lu Xi'an continued, "And don't forget, we still have our markings. Who knows if anyone else has eaten the fungus stone and survived if we go further south?"
"Eating mushroom stones doesn't require any skill; it all depends on hard work and luck."

"If there are people like those from the Northern County in the south, then if we go further south, it will be like walking naked, constantly exposed to others' sight."

"How terrible would it be if I couldn't even sleep peacefully then?"

"So we plan to go to Caiyang Mountain. The forces to the west there are Xuan Xiaocao, which we have already eliminated. To the south is Beifang County, which we have also dealt with. To the north is our territory, which is relatively safe."

"And as I told you before, it guards the East Island, and there is a water source in the mountains, so there is no shortage of food and drink, and it is convenient to live there."

"We can still see each other often!"

Chai Xin suddenly understood and became happy, saying, "Luo Ping said he's going to Caiyang Mountain later to trade with the people from Dongdao. That means I can go with Luo Ping there more often in the future!"

"Yes!"

Lu Xi'an smiled.

Yao Wei also laughed.

Not only them, but Tang Er, Liu Hua and Chou Nu, who were walking with them, also laughed and thought it was great.

Even carrying the car, the group walked briskly, returning to Binghao Village in no time. The villagers were overjoyed to see all the newcomers return safely, and they brought out all the food they had collected and stored over the past two days to cook a lively meal.

A group of new humans also joined in, and Old Tang even said he would go get some meat and call Lao Yao and Pingzi to go hunting together.

This past month or so has been enough for Lao Tang to become quite familiar with everyone. Moreover, with him and Lao Yao working together—one able to control the animals, and the other able to become invisible—hunting will be much easier.

Old Tang still had ants, although they weren't as good as Liu Hua's flying ants, but they were very useful at this time. Under his control, they spread out and could search for traces of prey.

Lu Xi'an and Tang Er parked the car and joined the lively crowd with the others.

This time, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei contributed everything that was left in the car—but because of that pre-battle feast, there wasn't much left in their car, only seasonings like oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar.

When Lu Xi'an took out all the seasonings, he went to Luo Ping and said, "Please bring me some things from the base later, otherwise I'll run out of food. Yao Wei and I are going to go into seclusion on Caiyang Mountain later."

"Of course, we won't use up all those seasonings at once, especially the sugar." But Lu Xi'an still mentioned it. He was worried they wouldn't be able to hold out on Caiyang Mountain.

Luo Ping was talking to Lu Laoshu when he heard Lu Xi'an's words and his eyes widened: "Good heavens, Big Brother and Big Sister, you're going into seclusion to cultivate! When you come out of the mountains, won't you be invincible?!"

Lu Xi'an said speechlessly, "You've really gone mad from reading martial arts novels."

Luo Ping laughed heartily. He turned his head and suddenly saw Lu Laoshu looking at him hesitantly, as if he didn't know whether he should come over.

He simply shouted, "Rat!"

Lu the Rat gritted his teeth and walked over.

Luo Ping said, "What do you want to say? Just say it directly, why are you being so hesitant?"

Lu the Rat still hesitated: "I don't know if I should say it..."

Luo Ping said, "Then you should see for yourself. I can't make the decision for you."

Lu Xi'an glanced at Lu Laoshu and then at Luo Ping, lost in thought. But seeing that Luo Ping didn't seem inclined to speak first, he kept quiet and didn't interrupt.

Luo Ping was very patient. He neither chased away Lu the rat nor urged him on. He just waited patiently.

After waiting for a while, Lu Laoshu seemed to have really been holding back any longer and finally spoke up: "Mr. Luo, I want... I want... I want to bring the people here to join you..."

He stopped there, afraid that if he said the second half of the sentence, "I don't know if you can agree," Luo Ping would simply refuse with a "no."

Unexpectedly, Luo Ping answered very readily, "Sure, why not? We've been together for a month now. I know everything about you and the people here. We definitely welcome good people like you to join us."

Lu the Mouse was immediately moved. A burly man who looked like Micah choked up as he spoke, "But I... but I used to..."

Luo Ping interrupted him: "The past is the past, and the future is the future. Let's not talk about the past."

Lu the Rat finally shut up.

Before long, Lao Tang and Lao Yao returned, bringing a large prey and a small prey. The group slaughtered and cooked them, and under the leadership of Luo Ping and the others, they didn't distinguish between new humans and ordinary people. They sat together and feasted.

The meal was a lively and enjoyable affair, with everyone having a great time. People chatted and ate, without any of the tension or restraint one would expect in this world.

After finishing their meal and conversation, Luo Ping, still feeling the excitement, led the group in singing: "How can we forget old friends, how can we not cherish their memories..."

This song was already widely known at the 923 Institute base. As soon as he sang it, everyone else started clapping along to the rhythm and then sang: "How can we forget old friends? May our friendship last forever..."

Lu the Rat and Old Tang were slightly stunned, and then, without realizing it, they also started clapping and tapping their hands to the beat. After that, the ordinary people did the same.

The song isn't difficult; the rest is basically a loop. Gradually, as they sang along, they even started singing along: "Long live friendship, friends, long live friendship..."

After the song ended, everyone was still eager for more. Luo Ping looked at Lu Xi'an and asked, "Brother, is there any more song?"

Lu Xi'an didn't hesitate and immediately said, "Okay, then I'll sing another one." He thought for a moment, thought of a song, and began to sing: "These years, alone, through wind and rain, through tears and mistakes, I still remember what I held onto..."

As they sang, before anyone knew it, everyone seemed to have learned it and joined in: "Friends for life, those days are gone, a word, a lifetime, a lifetime of friendship, a cup of wine..."

"Friends are never alone. One word, 'friend,' and you'll understand. There are still wounds, still pains, still a journey to go, and still me..."

So when he finished singing, Chai Xin asked curiously, "Brother, what is wine?"

Lu Xi'an smiled and patted Chai Xin's head, ruffling the girl's already messy hair into a bird's nest, saying, "When I find it again, I'll give it to you to drink."

"Uh-huh!"

Chai Xin nodded repeatedly.

Old Tang was originally sitting with Lao Yao and Pingzi, but suddenly he stood up and sat next to Luo Ping, saying, "Old Luo, I don't want to work alone anymore. How about I team up with you guys from now on? I feel really good with you guys."

"Sure, no problem."

Luo Ping grinned and readily agreed.

After he agreed, he turned to look at Lu Laoshu and said, "Look at him, and look at yourself."

Lu the Rat: "..."

(End of this chapter)