Luo Ping drove far, until the car became a small dot, with Chai Xin still sticking her head out of the window, waving incessantly.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei could no longer see the young woman, but they could still hear the sounds from the car.

"Alright, we've gone so far, no matter how you wave, big brother and big sister can't see. Come inside now. Be careful not to fall out."

"It's possible! They are Type A Neo-Humans, even more powerful than regular Type A Neo-Humans. They can definitely hear! Big brother and big sister, goodbye!"

"What you said makes some sense... Goodbye, big brother and big sister!"

"Beep beep beep beep—"

The sound of the car horn began to blare.

Next, Luo Ping led the singing:

"How can we forget old friends, it is hard not to remember, old friends shall never forget, friendship lasts forever and ever..."

"Clatter bang bang—"

From afar, the car resounded with a chorus; some were tapping the steering wheel, others tapped the console, or the seats, which sounded muffled, completely different from the sound of pots and pans.

Hmm... seems like they've learned this song. Though lacking technique, they sang with such smoothness and gusto, it inevitably moved the heart.

Within the gusto, there lay a hidden sense of nostalgia and reluctance.

The mixed sounds of singing and tapping gradually drifted away, seemingly soaring into the sky, lazily disappearing into the clouds until vanishing.

"They've gone..."

After the song completely dissipated, Yao Wei said calmly.

But Lu Xi'an could still sense the loneliness and solitude following the boisterousness.

Such is always the case after the noise, needing some time to adjust.

Lu Xi'an hugged Yao Wei and said, "Hmm, it's just the two of us again now."

Yao Wei unconsciously rested her head on Lu Xi'an's shoulder. She had never learned such a gesture, yet doing it now, was entirely natural.

As if after the bustle fades, only this can provide the greatest solace.

Yao Wei said, "Back then I was afraid of this, that's why I didn't want to take Jiangbei."

She was referring to the time in Jianshan City, when they were blocked ahead, hesitating whether to pass from Jiangbei to reach the base Luo Ping mentioned.

Now it seems, she indeed had a point. Parting with those already familiar, returning from bustle to solitude, is truly uncomfortable.

During the time spent in the 923 Base, they also indeed felt reluctant to leave.

"Hmm."

Lu Xi'an nodded.

But fortunately, they possessed enough resilience, firm in their goals, separating from what was destined to be just beautiful scenery along the way.

After standing for a while, Lu Xi'an said, "Let's go, shall we?"

"Hmm."

Yao Wei nodded.

Last night, when dining and resting, they had already driven the car to the roadside, gazing across the ditch at Luo Ping's car.

Now, they only needed to lift the car across the ditch, onto the highway, facing east to continue their journey.

The car was driven by Yao Wei, while Lu Xi'an sat in the co-driver's seat, responsible for navigating the map.

Before looking at the "World Map One", he glanced at the Resonant Gene Scanner on the table behind, which showed five red dots moving away on the instrument's map.

Among them, naturally two were Fungus Stone. The remaining three would be Luo Ping and them, Tang Er wouldn't be shown.

"This time it's their turn to borrow the Fungus Stone for ambiance. Our three red dots can't fake it anymore."

Lu Xi'an smiled and said.

"Hmm."

Yao Wei said, "We appear weaker, which can lull others into a false sense of security."

"True."

Lu Xi'an laughed.

So it seems, whatever they say makes sense.

The Vast Sea has already thawed and receded, considering the time, the next tide should soon arrive.

Yesterday, Lu Xi'an talked to Luo Ping and them about the sea suddenly covering the sky, the terrifying engulfment of cities. Had it not been for Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei both being Type A Neo-Humans, they might have long been buried in the sea.

Thus, Luo Ping and them planned to hurry to Caiyang Mountain, before the tide arrived, driving the car up the mountain, then digging out the commemorative badge buried by Lu Xi'an, waiting for the tide to rise, and Hu Xiaodong father and son to sail the ship to them.

Back then, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei had pushed the car here directly from the ice on this path; for Luo Ping, they would need to take a slight detour.

Yao Wei drove the car to the intersection and then turned south. They needed quite some distance to reach the next city,

And on the map, representing their three red dots and Luo Ping's four represented by six red dots, finally began diverging, soon Luo Ping and them would leave the map range of the Resonant Gene Scanner.

Closing the "World Map One," Lu Xi'an said, "Let's go, roughly another day's journey, and we should reach Liangshan Village. Liangshan Village... hey, what a nice name!"

"What nice name?"

Yao Wei asked, sensing no particular charm in the name.

Lu Xi'an said, "There once was a story about ancient Liangshan, saying there were a hundred and eight heroes in Liangshan Marsh..."

Yao Wei asked, "Are they the kind of heroes you talked about last night?"

Lu Xi'an shook his head and said, "No. What I talked about last night, later people may indeed regard them as heroes.

"But those hundred and eight, by later standards, could only be considered as rogues, human dregs."

"Fleeting time, things change, I once visited Liangshan, times altered people's moral standards, and time also changes the environment.

"Liangshan has long lost its marsh, and now this Liangshan Village should be different from before, right? Maybe it's already been submerged by the sea."

"Hmm."

Yao Wei said, "Could you tell me the story about Liangshan?"

Lu Xi'an had nothing much to do, so he replied, "Sure." And started telling the story.

The tale is quite long, and Lu Xi'an had forgotten most of it. He just recounted what he remembered, starting from Grand Commandant Hong at Dragon Tiger Mountain releasing the demon star, to later Shi Jin, Wang Jin, Lu Zhishen, Lin Chong, then the birthday tribute, Song Jiang, to Wu Song.

By the time he finished the story of Wu Song slaying the tiger at Jingyang Mound, it was already dark.

Yao Wei commented, "They are so weak."

Lu Xi'an: "..."

Such an assessment, coming from Yao Wei, was fair enough. Whether it was Lu Zhishen uprooting the willow or Wu Song fighting the tiger, for Yao Wei, it would indeed be a matter-of-fact.

Compared to Yao Wei, Wu Song was so terrified after fighting the tiger that he sobered up from his drunkenness, and Lu Zhishen had to remove his outer garment to prepare for uprooting the tree, which lacked finesse.

Lu Xi'an inexplicably thought of the joke "Lin Daiyu uprooting the willow" from his previous life and mused that if Yao Wei donned ancient attire, she could somewhat evoke the feeling.

However, Yao Wei could only resemble Daiyu in stature; she certainly wasn't that frail in spirit. Her appearance might have the form but not the essence, and putting it online would incite criticism from netizens.

"We are Neo-Humans; there weren't any Neo-Humans in ancient times. For ordinary people to become like that, it's already impressive."

Lu Xi'an said.

"Hmm."

Yao Wei nodded.

They parked the car by the woods off the road, ready to rest.

No sight of the vast ocean here; who knows if they were truly far from the coastline or if the tide hadn't come.

Lu Xi'an compared the roads here and in Yangcai County and felt it should be the former.

Places submerged by seawater for years would undergo changes; through careful comparison, they could be distinguished.

The two made some simple preparations, sitting in the car watching a movie on a laptop while eating.

Lu Xi'an asked, "Do you think the people in the stories I told today are good or bad?"

Yao Wei pondered for a while, shook her head, and said, "I can't say for sure; I feel they're not good enough, nor bad enough. Is this what heroes are like?"

"Who knows?"

Lu Xi'an chuckled.

Afterwards, Yao Wei didn't ask Lu Xi'an to recount the story again. She felt the people in the story were too weak, listening wasn't interesting.

Lu Xi'an remarked, "The people in these movies and TV shows are quite weak too; why don't you find it uninteresting?"

Yao Wei replied, "Visuals make it better; you can learn something."

Lu Xi'an laughed, "Just like the one you watched that day, right?"

"Which one?"

Initially, Yao Wei didn't catch it and asked. Then, seeing Lu Xi'an's expression, she realized.

She wasn't shy at all, bluntly asked Lu Xi'an, "Are you thinking about having children?"

"..."

The straightforward question left Lu Xi'an somewhat speechless. After holding back for a while, he decided to follow his heart, "Yes."

However, Yao Wei shook her head, "No. We can't have children right now."

Lu Xi'an: "..."

This woman was truly driving him crazy.

The night passed here, and the next day they woke up, washed, exercised, ate, Yao Wei frowned and said, "We're running low on water; we need to find a place to get some."

There was actually plenty of water before, enough for the two to use for days. But Luo Ping and the others visited, cooked a big meal, and washed up, using quite a bit.

Now the water bucket in the car was empty, but the camper's tank still had plenty, conserving it could last a while.

Nonetheless, there's the saying: it is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Both had grown accustomed to having ample water supplies, and now this felt unsettling, prompting them to replenish it quickly.

"Okay."

Lu Xi'an agreed, opened World Map One, took another look, and said, "There's Guanhai River ahead, just north of Liangshan Village."

"We could drive over, and if it works, we can refill our water supplies."

"Hmm."

Yao Wei replied while tidying up the dishes from breakfast.

They continued driving south.

This time, it was Lu Xi'an's turn to drive. Yao Wei sat in the passenger seat, feeling the road conditions deteriorating, the car shaking increasingly, becoming more bumpy.

The trees on both sides arched around like a bridge on the road, seeming like they might topple over and crush the bridge.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei quickly saw the real bridge, battered and broken with a section already collapsed.

That broken part was precisely Guanhai River's gully. Water flowed rapidly in the gully, making a "splashing" sound.

With such urgency, it's no wonder it's called Guanhai River.

"Looks like we'll have to jump over shortly."

From afar, after spotting the broken bridge, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei remarked.

"Hmm."

Yao Wei agreed, parked the car at the bridgehead. They planned to lift the car across the river and then fetch water.

However, just as they got out of the car, suddenly they heard the mechanical dog from the car speak through the speakers, "Weak life form detected ahead, assessed as human. Please be cautious."

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