Doomsday Traveler

Chapter 360 Preparations for Leaving the Island
After Lu Xi'an said that, Yao Wei realized that Luo Ping and the others had indeed not come for a long time, at least three times during the tidal bore.

Now that so much time has passed, all the vegetables in the car are gone. If we want to eat some vegetables, we can only eat the dehydrated vegetables that we stored before.

And there were no pigeon messages either.

The two exchanged a glance, got into the car, and asked Gouzi to "call" the 923 Institute base, but they couldn't get through no matter how many times they tried.

The two immediately wrote another letter, tied it to the pigeon's leg, and released the pigeon to fly northwest.

The string used to tie the letters was reused; it was untied and stored every time a letter arrived. The letter paper was also reused, with message after message written on it, much like a chat conversation on WeChat or QQ.

After all, resources are scarce, and none of them can afford to waste them.

However, the contents of the letters were always vague, never specific, and the address was never revealed, so as to avoid being intercepted by people with ulterior motives.

This is why their strength has increased significantly, giving them the confidence to deal with any external enemies. Otherwise, even if they sent this message, they probably wouldn't feel at ease.

Now that Luo Ping and the others have not arrived yet, and have not sent a message, Lu Xi'an became slightly more vigilant. He then took out a piece of paper and started a conversation on it.

The conversation began with just two simple words and a punctuation mark: Are you there?

If Luo Ping and the others saw this, they would naturally understand what it meant.

After sending the letter, I received no reply for a long time.

Then the tide came again, but it shouldn't have been able to stop the pigeons flying in the sky.

Hu Xiaodong, Hu Dong, and Hu Xiaodong's grandfather and grandson came by boat from Dongdao Island.

Hu Xiaodong's grandson, Hu Xiaodong, has grown up quite a bit. Hu Xiaodong plans to officially hand over the sweetwater business to his son and grandson, and then focus on being an official on the island.

So both times I brought my grandson with me to the island.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei saw this from the mountaintop, so they went down the mountain and asked on the east coast if Luo Ping and the others said anything before leaving the island during their last visit.

But Hu Xiaodong racked his brains to recall, and said he didn't say anything special, just that he would come again next time and that he wanted Hu Xiaodong to treat him to pork soup.

"I was just about to ask you two, Mr. Lu, Mr. Yao, and Mr. Luo, what's the matter?"
"They haven't come for so long. I already told Lao Hao that I'd make them pork soup as soon as they arrived. Why haven't Mr. Luo and the others come yet?"

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei exchanged a glance and frowned.

There's been a sudden silence from Institute 923. What happened?
The two exchanged glances and quickly made a decision. Lu Xi'an said to Hu Xiaodong, "We'll leave once the tide recedes this time."

"Before that, I need to make several trips to East Island to get more food. I need you to tell the people on the island to prepare more supplies, and I will exchange them for money later."

Hu Xiaodong was taken aback for a moment, then said, "Mr. Lu, Mr. Yao... are you leaving already?"

Lu Xi'an nodded and said, "It's been four years already, it's time to leave."

Hu Xiaodong was momentarily dazed, then said, "Yes, it's been four years. I've aged quite a bit, and I feel my bones have hardened. My grandson has already grown as tall as me."

"But Mr. Lu, Mr. Yao, you really can't tell, you're still as young as you were four years ago. The new humans are truly wonderful..."

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei looked exactly the same as they had four years ago, with not even a single wrinkle around their eyes.

But whether anything has changed, only they themselves know.

They are well aware of their increased strength and knowledge, and there is no need to explain it to outsiders.

Lu Xi'an smiled and didn't pick up on the topic. Instead, he said, "Are you still full of energy? If you are, why don't you leave the water buckets with me and go back to prepare?"

"We'll fill the buckets with water tomorrow and head to the island, then we'll buy supplies directly from your place. How about that?"

Hu Xiaodong patted his chest and nodded, saying, "No problem, leave it to me. Mr. Lu, you can rest assured. After all, I am now the chairman of our island's committee."

"Moreover, my prestige on our island is the highest in history. If I return to the island, the people on the island will definitely cooperate fully with just one order."

"We'll head back now. Mr. Lu and Mr. Yao, just come over tomorrow. I promise you'll have plenty of food prepared for you."

"Also, I can tell Lao Hao to get some pork soup. Mr. Lu and Mr. Yao, if you come tomorrow, you can just have it at my house."

"Before you leave, my family doesn't have much to give you, so please have some pork soup. After all, who knows when we'll have it again?"

Lu Xi'an did not refuse and said, "Then thank you very much."

Hu Xiaodong said, "Mr. Lu, why are you being so polite with me? I'm leaving."

As he spoke, he left both buckets for Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei, then called his son Hu Dong and grandson Hu Xiaodong to board the boat together, maneuvering the sails and heading out to sea.

However, since the wind was favorable on the way there but headwind on the way back, the ship inevitably had to travel in a zigzag pattern on the sea, which slowed it down considerably.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei carried four buckets back to the mountaintop, tidied up their belongings, pulled up the corn stalks that had grown extremely tall and were always producing corn, and broke off the corn kernels and stored them in the car.

This corn is poisonous to ordinary people, and it's not a main crop at the 923 Institute base anymore; only a small amount is grown for the new humans to eat. Lu Xi'an is worried that if he leaves the corn here, Hu Xiaodong and his group might pick it and eat it one day, and that would be the end of it.

So it's better to destroy them all. If we want to settle here in the future, we can just replant them.

As for the two chickens, Lu Xi'an thought about it and decided to deal with them separately.

I cleaned the inside of the car with water, and only wiped the windows on the outside; I didn't clean the rest of the car. The dirt and grime are a kind of camouflage for cars these days; there's no need to make the outside too clean.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei agreed that they should only clean the inside of the car.

After cleaning up, the two drove the car halfway up the mountain and filled it with water.

—This is just a temporary cleanup. When the tide recedes and we're really leaving, we'll definitely have to clean it up again.

After tidying up the car, it was almost evening. The two of them used some small umbrellas and rocked the car all night.

Before the tide recedes, they will probably rock for a long time. After leaving this place, they will return to a dangerous world and can no longer be as carefree as they are now. They will need to be vigilant at all times.

However, both of them were super-enhanced versions of Type A New Humans, with extraordinary physical abilities. Even after riding in a car all night, their mental state was not significantly affected when they woke up the next day.

After washing up and getting ready, the two carried four buckets and a wicker box on their backs, went to the pond to fetch water, went to the east coast to summon a large fish, and rode the fish to the east island.

There were two chickens in the wicker box, and an egg in Lu Xi'an's pocket.

It was inconvenient to keep them in the car, so they planned to leave the two chickens with Hu Xiaodong as collateral.

After arriving on the island, the two went straight to Hu Xiaodong's house.

A large group of people gathered at Hu Xiaodong's house, all waiting for Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei to collect the grain.

Old Yuan was also there, personally coming to Hu Xiaodong's house to make pork soup for Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei. It's unclear whether it's because Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei have enough influence, or because Hu Xiaodong has enough prestige.

Anyway, after observing for a while, Lu Xi'an felt that everyone's respect for Hu Xiaodong was mixed with friendliness, and they could even joke with Hu Xiaodong, so the relationship was quite good.

It seems that Hu Xiaodong is indeed a very good chairman.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei drank the pork soup there, collected enough supplies, and paid everyone.

During this time, he observed carefully and gradually figured it out—

This Hu Xiaodong is clearly copying Luo Ping in everything he says and does. No wonder this place gives off a low-budget version of the 923 Institute base vibe...

Since Lu Xi'an didn't have suitable tools to carry supplies, Hu Xiaodong generously asked everyone to finish the sweet water in the buckets so that Lu Xi'an could free up the buckets.

People hurriedly helped Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei put away the supplies, while Lu Xi'an took out two chickens from the wicker box and gave them to Hu Xiaodong, saying, "Here, these two chickens are for you."

"And this egg, we dare not eat it. We'll put it in the hen's nest to encourage the eggs to hatch."

Hu Xiaodong's eyes widened, and he hurriedly said, "How could I accept this?! How could I accept this?!"

But when he looked at the two chickens, his eyes widened.

Lu Xi'an laughed and said, "Just take it, why are you being so hesitant? Who are you trying to impress? It's inconvenient for us to carry these chickens around. If you don't want them, they'll just have to graze freely on the mountain."

Hu Xiaodong then stopped being coy, took all the chickens away, and handed them over to his daughter-in-law.

Four years have passed since then, and his old wife is no longer with him.

He looked at the two chickens with a hint of regret.

Lu Xi'an knew what that look meant as soon as he saw it, and said, "Two are enough. Do you want more? Let me tell you, these chickens are different."

"Look at this pair of overalls. It's for protecting the chickens. The more chickens there are, the bigger it gets. If you have a few more, it can grow bigger than you. Most Type A new humans can't handle it."

"I'll tear your house down then, you believe me?"

Hu Xiaodong was startled and exclaimed in surprise, "Is that so?"

Old Hao's eyes lit up, as if he was thinking that it would be great if pigs could do that too.

Afterwards, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei filled the wicker box with supplies, and surrounded by everyone, they arrived at the seaside and rode away on fish.

There were some drinks and small umbrellas left on the ship, which Luo Ping and the others had already brought back. So there was no need to worry about that now.

The water buckets naturally had to be returned. They returned to the island, rested for a day, fetched water for Hu Xiaodong, transported him to the island by fish, and then put some supplies in the wicker box, making the cart almost full.

The two spent the next few days exercising, eating, drinking, and using the restroom, until the tide receded. They then tidied up the car, filled it with water, and set off again.

(End of this chapter)