The Last 299 Days of Humanity

Chapter 95 Mist-Shrouded Long Creek
Yao Dan and the others sent messages from ahead, asking when they would catch up. They were currently stuck about four or five kilometers outside Changxi, unable to enter the city.

It wasn't that anyone stopped them, but rather that an endless thick fog blanketed the entire Changxi area, making it impossible for them to see anything more than a meter away. Their vehicle also lacked the capability to fly safely in such conditions.

So they could only stand there helplessly on the ground.

After the rain stopped, Yu Qing rushed over to meet up with Yao Dan and the others. However, upon seeing the thick fog in the distance, Yu Qing immediately ordered the vehicle to stop flying and land on the ground to find a way out.

He didn't want to end up like Yao Dan and the others, stuck in the thick fog for kilometers, unable to move forward or backward.

At this point, the straight-line distance between him and Yao Dan was only 6.2 kilometers. But according to Yao Dan, she was surrounded by weeds and trees, so she obviously hadn't fallen onto the road.

For now, Yu Qing can only have the car move forward at a snail's pace along the land route, slowly approaching Yao Dan's location, using its own trajectory as a marker, and then find a way to transfer Yao Dan from the air to the land route.

In such a scenario, even if you don't bump into others, they might bump into you, so you can only choose to enter Changxi at a low speed.

To Yu Qing's surprise, the roads here were full of all kinds of vehicles entering the city!
His car traveled intermittently for two hours, making only four or five hundred meters of progress. Moreover, the distance between him and Yao Dan was increasing, indicating that their initial distance was the shortest. Therefore, he had no choice but to risk having Yao Dan fly back to find a way.

After walking for about another half hour, the cars in front suddenly disappeared, and the visibility was much better, about thirty or forty meters ahead.

This wasn't because the dense fog dissipated naturally, but rather thanks to the streetlights and fog-clearing devices along the roads. Looking ahead now, the city's buildings appear and disappear in the mist, with countless lights scattered across the sea of ​​fog like stars in the sky.

Such scenery as Changxi is not recorded in any of the known materials about Chang'e. It seems that this is a phenomenon that has only appeared in recent decades.

The vibrancy here must far surpass that of Jishui, the city that never sleeps. Judging from the traffic jams when entering the city, there are definitely a lot of people here. Has this place also become an entertainment capital?
Throughout history, the most prosperous places in human history have mostly been entertainment venues. But Chang'e said that this is a small city, and back then only a few pharmaceutical companies had factories here because the raw materials were abundant.

However, Yu Qing soon realized that this was not a place for entertainment, because he saw a huge lightbox in front of a shop with the words "Medicinal Steamer" written on it. This indicated that this was still a city where people made a living from medicine.

But Yu Qing found it very strange that so many people were flocking here. Were they all sick? Thanks to the advancement of science, there were almost no intractable diseases left for humans. Besides, there were free pharmacies everywhere, so there was no need to travel long distances to seek medicine here.

Daji then pointed to a huge billboard not far away and exclaimed, "Darling, they have roasted whole horse here!"

Yu Qing laughed and said, "I've heard of roasted whole lamb, but I've never heard of roasted whole horse!"

Daji pointed at the billboard, unconvinced, and said, "Isn't that a picture of a roasted horse?"

Yu Qing went closer to take a look and said, "It's written very clearly here, it's 'medicinal roasting'. And that's not a horse, it's a man with a horse's face."

Chang'e laughed and said, "I've never heard of such a treatment method. What disease does the medicine cure?"

"I bet this isn't for treating illnesses. There's a medicinal steamer in front, a medicinal roaster here, and who knows, there might even be a medicinal bath downstairs!"

Furong exclaimed from the front, "My darling, this is amazing! There really is a medicinal bath here!"

Yu Qing laughed and said, "Let's park the car here and find a place up ahead that serves medicinal cuisine. We can eat while waiting for Yao Dan and the others, and we can also find out about the current situation in Changxi."

To Yu Qing's surprise, when he arrived at a medicinal cuisine restaurant, the waitress, who resembled a human, stood there, unsure of what to do.

Yu Qing asked, "Can't we eat here?" The waiter replied, "Yes, you can. It's just that I can't find a menu for someone like you."

"Then let's have two similar ones."

"In that case, we cannot guarantee their effectiveness."

"It's okay, we just want to fill our stomachs."

"Dear guest, are you sure you're paying a hundred times the price just to fill your stomach?"

Hearing that medicinal cuisine was a hundred times more expensive than ordinary food, Yu Qing was still somewhat surprised. He asked in confusion, "If it's so expensive, what exactly are its effects?"

The waiter pointed to several lines of large characters on the wall. They read: "May we live as long as heaven and earth, and shine as brightly as the sun and moon."

Yu Qing instantly understood that the medicine here was not for treating diseases, but for achieving immortality. No wonder people from all directions came here to steam, roast, and boil it.

He smiled and asked the waiter, "Will eating a bowl of these medicinal dishes grant me immortality?"

"You flatter me, sir. The real elixir of immortality is in Yunxian Pavilion, but you have to wait in line to get in. I heard the line is already ninety-four years ahead. Our medicinal cuisine here is made with wastewater discharged from Yunxian Pavilion, which can only slow down the aging process to a certain extent."

"Oh? How much longer can this bowl of medicinal food extend a person's life?"

"It depends on what type of person you are. According to statistics, for people with similar genes and structures to you, a bowl of medicinal food can extend their lifespan by about two hours."

"Then you'd have to eat from morning till night to live forever."

"That won't do. A person can only eat a maximum of three bowls a day, otherwise they won't be able to digest it and might even die from overeating."

"Coming all the way here just to live a few more hours, that's insane."

"You can't say that. You can live a few more hours each day. If you stay here for a long time and eat here every day, the extra lifespan you gain in the end is quite considerable. We have a regular customer here whose theoretical lifespan has reached four hundred years, but he is still queuing to enter Yunxian Pavilion."

While Yu Qinghe and Dang Gui were enjoying this expensive medicinal meal, Chang'e and Daji stood beside them, discussing its authenticity. Chang'e expressed strong skepticism, while Daji believed it might be true, otherwise everyone wouldn't be so eager to try it.

“My dear, you should also try to get into Yunxian Pavilion and take the elixir of immortality.”

"Only immortals can know if immortality exists. Besides, are you asking me to stand in line here for over ninety years? That's absurd."

At this moment, a waiter standing nearby whispered in Yu Qing's ear, "You can also buy a number; you don't have to actually wait in line for over ninety years. Some people don't want to wait anymore, so they sell their numbers and go home."

Yu Qing asked, "Do you have any appointments for today or tomorrow?"

(End of this chapter)