Excited Robert

Robert clasped a warm hand and suddenly felt like crying. It had been far too difficult.

He had lived alone in an empty city for three years!

Modern shut-ins could stay indoors because online socializing replaced real-life interaction, but Robert had truly had only mannequins and a dog for company. He had genuinely spent three years with no one to talk to.

Seeing a living person excited him even more than getting laid.

Robert felt as though he had grasped hold of the future!

Li Wei kept up his cheerful smile and shook his hand, trying to shake off Robert's wandering grip. He failed...

After forcibly prying apart Robert's two hands, which had been squeezing his own so hard, Li Wei felt a little uneasy. He wondered if something was wrong with Robert's sexual orientation. Could he have been pent up for so long that seeing someone as handsome as Li Wei had changed his preferences?

"Oh! Sorry, sorry. Uh... I haven't seen another person in so long. Nice to meet you... Li Wei!" Robert realized that his behavior seemed somewhat inappropriate. He raised a hand to indicate that he needed to calm down. After taking several deep breaths, he finally smiled warmly and said, "Okay... Robert Neville, a survivor in New York City!"

He introduced himself again in order to make a better impression.

Li Wei did not mind having to say his name again and introduced himself once more. "Li Wei, a Chinese tourist."

There was nothing wrong with that statement!

Wasn't he being forced to travel right now?

After hearing his introduction, Robert did not know what to say for a moment. He opened his mouth, then pointed toward his car and tentatively invited him, "How about coming to my place?"

Seeing a living person had made him toss the enormous "crater" right beside them completely out of his mind. Even his speech had become more clipped than when he was alone.

Anyone could see how excited Robert was. Li Wei was not about to spoil the mood, so he naturally accepted the invitation while continuing to compress biomass within his body to make his weight a little more "normal."

"Sure!"

Robert led the way, repeatedly turning back to smile at Li Wei. It gave off a distinctly gay vibe!

As they climbed over piles of debris, Robert searched for a topic. "Li Wei, where did you come from? I'm not asking about your hometown. How did you get here after the disaster broke out?"

He had remained trapped in this place of sorrow all this time. Now that he had met Li Wei, he naturally wanted to learn more.

"I used to think there was no one else left in the world, but now I've met you, which means there are still survivors out there! So, have you encountered any other survivors?"

They did not walk quickly. Li Wei considered how he should answer that question.

Should he say that he was from another world?

Better not. It would be troublesome to explain, and there was no need for such a complicated explanation here. Ninety-five percent of the world's population was gone. He could make up whatever he wanted, and nobody could verify it!

"I used to work here in Manhattan, but when the disaster came, I went to Yellowstone National Park. After living there for a while, I went to a small town and lived there for some time before returning here. I did meet other survivors along the way."

Hearing that there really were other survivors, Robert became even more excited. Going from being the last person in the world to knowing that there was still a small group of people was incredibly encouraging.

"Oh! Really? What about the survivors you met? Didn't they come with you?"

Robert immediately pressed him excitedly, only to lose his footing and accidentally fall.

"Watch your step." Li Wei reminded the overly excited Robert before continuing his fabrication. "They're still in that small town and don't want to leave. I came back here because I'm planning to head farther north."

Robert continued onward, curious why Li Wei wanted to go north. "What's in the north?"

"I don't know what's there, but Darkseekers have consistently high body temperatures. Without insulation, they become sluggish in the north. Haven't you noticed that during winter?"

Li Wei had made that reasonable deduction after assimilating and absorbing Darkseekers.

Robert opened his mouth, then shook his head. "I never observed them that closely. Every day at four in the afternoon, I go back home. It's safe there."

Although he had been researching Darkseekers, he had never carefully observed how they reacted in winter. He simply did not dare leave his house at night. Those crazed Darkseekers would tear apart any living creature they saw.

Robert, who had been devoted to developing a vaccine, would not joke around with his own life. At most, he set traps during the day, caught a Darkseeker, and brought it home for research.

So he truly had not known that Darkseekers feared the cold!

As they talked, they reached the intersection where the tank was located.

Robert pointed at the depression in the ground that had nearly made him fall and warned him, "Oh! There's a pit here. I nearly tripped over it just now, so be careful."

Looking at the enormous pit stomped out by the giant pig, Li Wei silently bared his teeth in a wicked grin. The next moment, his expression returned to normal, and he indicated that he understood.

After they cleared the debris, Robert had Sam sit in the back seat, then smiled and gestured for Li Wei to take the passenger seat.

Once Li Wei got into the car, it visibly sank lower. Still excited, Robert did not notice anything unusual.

Robert simply got into the driver's seat, ending the day's activities, and drove toward his villa.

With one foot on the gas and both hands on the wheel, he occasionally glanced at Li Wei with a smile. What he thought about was going home and chatting with him all night like girls at a tea party!

That strange state of mind made Li Wei's mouth twitch. "Hey, Robert, don't look at me like that. You're making me feel like you're gay!"

Robert was somewhat embarrassed by that, but he was simply too happy. It had been three years since he had met another person.

"Sorry, I'm just... so happy. I haven't seen another living person in three years!"

His voice was slightly choked, making Sam poke half his head out from the back seat and lick Robert's face in comfort.

Only then did Robert realize that he had forgotten to introduce Sam. Stroking Sam's head, he said with a smile, "I forgot to introduce him. He's Sam, my good partner!"

Li Wei also reached out and rubbed Sam's head, smiling as he said, "I understand how you feel... It's lonely. But there were more than seven billion people in the world. Even if ninety-nine percent vanished, the remaining number still wouldn't be small. There will still be people where people ought to be. You just never went looking."

Robert fell silent for a moment, then shook his head helplessly. "I can't... This is where the KV Virus first broke out. I need to stay here and research a vaccine."

"How is the vaccine development coming along?"

Li Wei knew about this. He still remembered the plot of I Am Legend!

So he asked about the vaccine's progress, intending to help finish it quickly so Robert could take Sam and leave. Then there would not be so much trouble afterward.

I deleted all the later drafts to wrap up this world quickly. Alien vs. Predator will only have one update today; there isn't enough time to write more.