"Hello, comrade. Enjoy your driving.

This vehicle series is a modified version of the classic rugged off-road motorhome, Melenick, covered with lightweight composite materials for radiation resistance, equipped with the Mechanical Dog 02 full intelligent assistance module, offering top-notch driving experience and safety performance.

Despite this, please drive safely and refuse to drink. This is our last product, and we all cherish it."

The voice message ends here.

Lu Xi'an was taken aback. He initially thought it was Gou speaking, but after listening to it completely, he realized it wasn't at all.

The words of Gou would never say something like "equipped with the Mechanical Dog 02 full intelligent assistance module," nor would it say the last sentence.

The people who originally produced and modified this vehicle were all temporarily assigned, and the automobile factories and workshops were presumably temporarily activated as well.

Back then, they already knew this might be their last chance to work, hence they left such a message on the vehicle before it left the factory.

Gou's words likely wouldn't address "comrade," would they...

Not sure if they ended up going to the battlefield like the people here...

Lu Xi'an sighed inwardly.

I don't know what kind of war it was back then? That they even brought out the X-17 Strain, which was originally planned to be sealed away as an unstable model, and the researchers in the institute had to use the strain to become Neo-Humans and head to battle?

The movies seen in the past were all about developing gene medicines to create war weapons and then the evolvers, who were supposed to become war machines, ended up being peace messengers.

But in this world, it's completely different. These genetic medicines were produced to ensure human survival, eventually becoming tools for manufacturing war machines...

Yet... perhaps it's different elsewhere?

Outside this country, all those nations joining the attack originally had everything geared for war?

The reasons and the past are all dust of history now. There's no record of any of these in the history textbooks he found.

Lu Xi'an is somewhat interested in what happened before, but he doesn't feel the need to know it at any cost.

The past is the past, and the people then left these things here not for them to look back. What he needs to do is seize the future."

"Gou, can you speak?"

He asked the question most concerning him at the moment.

"Hello, user. I cannot speak by myself, but when connected to this vehicle, I have a voice module that enables speech functions."

The car's speakers suddenly emitted sound again, just like the electronic synthesized voice earlier.

At this moment, the passenger door clicked open, and Yao Wei and the others turned toward the passenger seat, opened the door, and heard the voice coming from inside the car, causing them to freeze for a moment.

"Is this... Gou?!"

Luo Ping asked in surprise.

"Yes."

Lu Xi'an smiled contentedly.

He always thought everything about Gou was great, except it had two drawbacks: its legs were too short, and it couldn't talk.

Now it's fine, both problems are solved with the assistance of the car—

Through this vehicle, it can make sounds, and when integrated with the car, these huge wheels are a substitute for its hooves, after all...

Sort of...

"Let's change the term. Don't call me user; it sounds awkward."

Lu Xi'an said, thought for a moment, and said, "Just call me Lu Xi'an."

The car's speakers promptly sounded, "Hello, Lu Xi'an."

At the same time, Yao Wei had just gotten into the car, and the voice said, "Hello, Yao Wei."

Yao Wei paused slightly, saying, "Hello, Gou."

The voice replied, "My factory name is Mechanical Dog 02, but I don't mind if you call me Gou."

Lu Xi'an: "..."

Yao Wei: "..."

The car's space is quite large; the passenger seat comprises two connected seats that can seat two people. If the size is a bit smaller, it can fit three people.

Thus, when Yao Wei came up, she brought Chai Xin along.

Chai Xin tried saying, "Hello, Gou, call me Chai Xin."

Gou had no reaction.

Chai Xin tried again, saying, "Hello, Mechanical Dog 02, call me Chai Xin."

Gou still did not speak.

Lu Xi'an thought for a moment and said, "Gou, call her Chai Xin from now on."

Only then did the speakers finally emit a sound, "Hello, Chai Xin."

Chai Xin immediately beamed with joy, responding, "Hello." Then said to Lu Xi'an, "It has to be you, big brother. When I talk to it, it doesn't respond."

Luo Ping did not enter, but stood on the ladder looking in, marveling. Hearing Chai Xin and Lu Xi'an finish their conversation, he grinned, "I won't humiliate myself; if Chai Xin's attempt failed, calling Gou won't elicit a reaction from me either."

Shu stood outside on tiptoes, looking in, not squeezing inside. Hearing Luo Ping's words, he nodded repeatedly, saying, "Dogs are the most loyal things. Gou already recognizes the big brother and big sister as masters, and certainly only listens to them, not you."

"..."

Lu Xi'an said, "What kind of dog are you talking about..."

Shu replied, "It's all the same, all the same, all are dogs."

Be careful, the drone might fire a couple of shots at you.

Lu Xi'an checked the dashboard and fiddled with the central control screen for a bit to understand the functions of this vehicle.

This car, modified from a civilian RV, still retained the features it had as a civilian vehicle. The large screen was equipped with music and video playback software, but the original voice-activated intelligent assistant conflicted with Gou and was replaced.

The date on the large screen was synchronized to April 4, 2197. It was unclear if this matched the Masked Men's calculations or if Gou determined the time.

No matter what, the current time would be considered April 4, 2197. Whether it was right or wrong in the past didn't matter to them now.

Other timekeeping methods no longer existed in this world; with this as a reference, this time was correct for their future.

On the large screen, Lu Xi'an also found a radio. When turned on, the sound of static came through, and as Lu Xi'an pressed the "forward" button to advance the channel, he finally heard a familiar voice:

"This is the National Emergency Disaster Command Center, this is the National Emergency Disaster Command Center. Attention, everyone: the disaster is not over yet. Experts have analyzed that this will be a long-lasting catastrophe, which cannot be alleviated in the short term..."

It was the same message, repeating endlessly.

Luo Ping couldn't help but widen his eyes and asked, "What's going on?!"

Lu Xi'an replied, "It's a radio signal. We found a radio before and picked up this signal. It's coming from the New District of East Sea City."

"That's pretty far, isn't it?"

Luo Ping said, "Who's continuously sending this signal?"

"Who knows?"

Lu Xi'an answered Luo Ping while suddenly thinking of something.

From Mengxin City to here, they had intermittently received this signal all along, and the broadcasting voice from the New District of East Sea City never stopped, indicating that their power was still being maintained.

He had always thought it was nuclear energy. Looking back now, could they also be using the energy from the Dyson Sphere?

The broadcast signal kept transmitting, always the same phrases, as if time had frozen in a certain period decades ago.

But is it possible... that there are no people there anymore, but they are continuously receiving energy from the Dyson Sphere to maintain power, and the broadcast signal is mechanically and endlessly sent out?

However... the Masked Man clearly said that their last achievement was only concentrated on Mechanical Dog 02, and the other general research was a failure...

Wait...

Lu Xi'an suddenly had some doubts.

If the second research project failed, then why was the power here maintained and suddenly activated when Gou arrived?!

The 923 Research Institute didn't have any connection with Gou.

Was the Masked Man lying?!

"Hey, can you guys check the back?"

Luo Ping's words suddenly interrupted Lu Xi'an's thoughts.

"Alright, go ahead and open it."

Lu Xi'an agreed, still wanting to continue thinking.

Luo Ping then got out of the car to take a look at the back.

Chai Xin also wanted to go over, so she jumped off the car too. After all, she was a Type D Neo-Human, and the car's height was no issue for her to jump off.

Yao Wei noticed Lu Xi'an's furrowed brow and asked, "What's wrong?"

Lu Xi'an said, "There's a problem. Let me think, I'll tell you once I figure it out..."

"Okay."

Yao Wei agreed and stayed silent, keeping close to Lu Xi'an's side without following the others down or interrupting him.

"Clack—clack—"

Sounds were heard from outside the rear of the vehicle, probably Luo Ping trying to open the back door of the car. But after a few attempts, it didn't budge, so he returned to tell Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei, "Hey, can't get it open."

Yao Wei said, "Gou, open the back door."

"Clack—"

Gou immediately followed the order and opened the door at the back of the vehicle.

Everyone boarded the vehicle. To prevent others from disturbing Lu Xi'an, Yao Wei squeezed through to the back.

—The car's front and back were connected as one, allowing access to the rear compartment from the middle.

The car's interior had ample space, with a bathroom, a restroom, and a built-in electric stove. The sofas mounted on the sides and the bed in the rear had everyone looking on with envy, thinking how comfortable it would be to travel in this vehicle!

Luo Ping even suggested removing the sofa since the couple only needed one bed to sleep at night, and during the day, they were in the front, making the sofa redundant and space-consuming.

If removed, it could be used to store more supplies.

Still, the table beside the sofa didn't need to be dismantled as the Resonant Gene Scanner could be placed on it, directly connected to the power outlet at the table's side, allowing them to check for Neo-Humans nearby at any time.

Yao Wei remained silent, constantly glancing forward.

Then she saw Lu Xi'an suddenly jump out of the car, prompting her to immediately follow.

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