After exercising, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei washed up and cooked before driving down the mountain.

The reason they washed up and cooked first was because they planned to use some water first, and then fill up the water at the pool on their way down the mountain.

The time was almost up; the sea that submerged Yangcai County could recede at any moment, and according to Hu Xiaodong, once the sea receded, people from Jiangbei might come at any time.

Although the people coming from Jiangbei would most likely be ordinary folks, they were backed by the Neo-Humans.

If possible, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei definitely did not want to encounter people from Jiangbei.

So Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei wanted to fill up with water as much as possible.

Afterwards, if possible, they could still come to fetch water, but that didn't stop them from keeping the water storage in the car always full.

It's like when driving a fuel car, regardless of whether there's fuel, they would still stop at a gas station to check.

For breakfast, they cooked rice with some barley mixed in, making a meal that combined coarse and fine grains.

Lu Xi'an took a potato and a long eggplant, stir-fried shredded potatoes with vinegar, and made braised eggplant to eat with the barley rice—it was simply delightful.

"There's both coarse grain and fine grain, and so many dishes, life is getting better and better!"

Lu Xi'an took a bite of shredded potatoes, a bite of barley rice, then a bite of braised eggplant, and another bite of barley rice, couldn't help but sigh.

His vinegar shredded potatoes turned out quite well, but the braised eggplant was a bit off; the sugar was cooked for a little too long, making the caramel slightly heavy with a hint of bitterness.

But that didn't stop Lu Xi'an from enjoying it. For once, a little extravagance made even a hint of bitterness seem sweet.

Yao Wei must have felt the same way, as she ate the barley rice, taking a bite of shredded potatoes and a bite of braised eggplant, barely giving Lu Xi'an any attention, only responding perfunctorily: "Mhm, mhm."

"Buzz...buzz..."

While eating, Lu Xi'an kept asking Gou to connect the car radio to Institute 923.

The radio signal was always poor, and they struggled for a long time but couldn't get connected.

After finishing the meal, the radio continued to buzz with noise.

However, Lu Xi'an didn't mind; they could try connecting later, and when they managed, he'd quickly discuss things with Luo Ping and the others.

After eating, cleaning up the pots and bowls, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei did another task before getting up to leave.

They replaced the "Dome Energy Reception Pyramid" back into the ruins of the mountain temple and also placed an old, badly soaked ladies' handbag inside, burying it along with the pyramid.

Inside the handbag were intact and broken commemorative badges, these Small Coins and Big Coins were of no use to Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei—they originally planned to leave them for Luo Ping and the others.

The same went for the "Dome Energy Reception Pyramid."

With Gou around, this pyramid was utterly useless for them; using it as a spear wasn't feasible, it was unwieldy.

Originally, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei thought to take it along and decide later, but now, since they were leaving the badges, they decided to leave the pyramid too.

If Institute 923's AI contained information that enabled utilization of the pyramid, then it would be most useful in Luo Ping's hands.

Having placed the items securely, covered them with soil, rubble from the temple ruins, ensuring everything looked seamless without any visible flaws, they felt relieved.

They returned to the car with the radio still buzzing, the signal yet to connect.

Lu Xi'an let the buzzing continue, just lowering the volume on the speaker.

He and Yao Wei set off down the mountain, arrived at the pool, filled the water tank, pots, ladles, and barrels with water before continuing downward.

Reaching the southern coastline, where turtles had gone, birds had flown, the sky vast, the sea calm, it inexplicably made Lu Xi'an feel a sense of desolation and decline after prosperity.

"Buzz...buzz..."

"Big brother! Big sister?!"

A voice from the speaker suddenly cut through the noisy buzz.

The voice was Chai Xin's, sounding a bit excited.

Lu Xi'an said, "Chai Xin? Where are Luo Ping and Shu, haven't they returned?"

Chai Xin replied, "They returned, but went out again. Everyone followed them to Shanyang County's town. I'm the only one left to watch the house."

Lu Xi'an asked, "Why did they go to the town?"

Chai Xin answered, "To get that pyramid thing, the one you mentioned last time."

"After Luo Ping came back, I told him about what you said over the phone, and then he asked the AI.

"Apparently, the pyramid really can be used, Luo Ping wants to install it in Shanyang County, to get Shanyang County going and cultivate more land."

Lu Xi'an listened to Luo Ping's words, asked, "So, did Luo Ping and Shu make a harvest? Bring back seeds?"

Chai Xin said, "No, they went on a wild goose chase, only brought back a lot of green water, nothing else. They plan to get Shanyang County sorted first, then make another trip."

Lu Xi'an felt slightly disappointed.

He thought Shu and Luo Ping going out would definitely yield some results, but unexpectedly, they returned empty-handed.

In contrast, as he traveled eastward, he really came across many good things.

—Speaking of which, he and Yao Wei indeed had much better luck than the others on this journey.

Earlier, Luo Ping also went east, but only mentioned that the east sea had flooded a lot of land without discovering anything.

Whereas he and Yao Wei found seafood, potatoes, eggplants, barley, and even discovered the Dome Energy Reception Pyramid.

He and Yao Wei's luck has indeed always been quite good.

And with Gou around, many places others couldn't find, he and Yao Wei had no trouble at all.

Lu Xi'an then said, "Chai Xin, time is limited. Let me tell you something important, make sure to remember it, and pass it on to Luo Ping and the others."

"Alright. I remember, big brother, tell me."

Chai Xin's voice echoed out, and Lu Xi'an felt like he could almost see the young girl nodding solemnly just from hearing her voice.

It's been a while, has that girl changed again? Has she matured?

Lu Xi'an hurriedly described the situation around Caiyang Mountain, including the tide schedule and scale, as well as the alternating appearances of forces from East Island and Jiangbei.

Then he emphasized the situation on East Island, informing Chai Xin about the concealed commemorative medal and Dome Energy Reception Pyramid, as well as the medal's purpose.

After saying so much, he feared Chai Xin might forget. Just as he was about to ask her to repeat what he said, the signal cut off.

There was no choice, Lu Xi'an could only sigh and let Gou continue contacting the 923 Base.

By evening, the connection was reestablished, with Chai Xin still on the line, and Luo Ping and the others still hadn't returned, remaining in Shanyang County city.

Lu Xi'an asked Chai Xin if she remembered what he said earlier, and if not, he could repeat it again.

Chai Xin giggled and said, "Don't worry, big brother, I remembered it all.

Moreover, this big screen here can record. After the disconnection, I can hear your words repeated endlessly on the big screen if I want.

After the disconnection, I listened several more times. Big brother, I remember everything you said from start to finish!"

Lu Xi'an thought he had been careless and realized that with the high-tech at 923 Base, how could they not have recording capabilities?

"That's good, since you can record, you don't need to focus on memorizing."

He told Chai Xin.

Chai Xin agreed with a few "uh-huh" sounds, then asked, "Is big sister there? Is big sister still the same, always quiet?"

Yao Wei had been sitting silently beside Lu Xi'an all along, and upon hearing Chai Xin's call, she finally spoke a word: "I am here."

"Wow!"

Chai Xin's voice was slightly surprised, "Big sister, you actually spoke?!"

This remark made Yao Wei a bit embarrassed, unsure of what to say next, she opened her mouth but didn't utter a word.

The next moment, the sound system was overtaken by a "zzz" electric current noise, and she finally sighed in relief.

No need to talk...

Lu Xi'an turned to look at Yao Wei, shook his head and smiled: "You!"

Yao Wei glared at Lu Xi'an and said, "Sleep!"

Seeing Yao Wei was inexplicably a bit angry, Lu Xi'an obediently got on the bed, holding hands with Yao Wei, closed his eyes, and without watching any movie, drifted into dreamland.

One night passed, another day arose, uneventful.

That day, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei exercised and freshened up, eating more simply, just finishing the water in the pot. But they still took the pot to the water pool to refill and maintained an absolute abundance of water.

At night, as they were getting ready to sleep again, they suddenly heard the wind howling, waves crashing, and tides surging.

Hurriedly lifting the newly closed car window covers, they saw the tides retreating wave after wave outside, like a massive army receiving mysterious orders, orderly and tidily leaving.

As the waves receded, they whipped up white foam, gradually revealing building outlines, erect and fallen, tall and short, all gradually reappearing in the retreating waves.

The half-mountainside soaked in water was damp, causing much loose soil and stones to come loose. The tides retreated swiftly, and within a short while, the entire Caiyang Mountain was freed from water.

"Finally..."

Lu Xi'an took a deep breath then slowly exhaled, saying, "It's finally here. Let's go, don't turn on the lights, and head down the mountain amidst the night."

"Yes."

Yao Wei nodded, rolled down the car window, and as usual, clutched a short needle in her hand.

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