South and North

Lu Xi'an eventually persuaded Yao Wei not to go back to the woods they'd left behind and look for the pig bones.

He told Yao Wei that making pork bone soup required simmering it at high heat for a long time. Since they were on the road, and the firewood they'd managed to gather was too precious to waste, it was best not to make any.

Firewood that could be burned was a necessity for survival, so Yao Wei had gathered some for her car, too, and piled it in a corner of the trunk.

Back in the woods, if the cold hadn't suddenly struck, she'd wanted to chop more firewood and stock up the car.

Unfortunately, gasoline was far too flammable to store safely. Otherwise, she would've kept some in the car as well.

They drove straight to the gas station they'd visited before. The sign on the canopy now showed only three characters, "Gas Station"; the rest had fallen off. Though this was their third time stopping here, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei still didn't know the station's name.

Yao Wei pulled up beside the one intact pump. As before, the two of them and the dog checked the place over. Only after confirming it was safe did Lu Xi'an tell the dog to connect the pump to the power and fill the car.

The dog had been powering the air conditioner in the back. When it heard Lu Xi'an's order, it didn't even need him to unplug it. Some mechanism inside it whirred, and it pushed the air conditioner plug out on its own.

The dog didn't even wait for Lu Xi'an to open the rear door. It spun its wheels, kicked out its mechanical legs, and sprang onto the front passenger seat, then exited through that door.

It rolled into the station office on the wheels attached to its four legs to check the place, without making a single sound.

"It's become even more useful."

Lu Xi'an smiled, quite pleased.

Yao Wei watched the dog hanging from the electrical box, unable to hide her envy.

Still in the habit of avoiding waste, she hurried to fill the tank, then had Lu Xi'an tell the Mechanical Dog to disconnect the power.

"That's enough. Disconnect and get in the car."

Lu Xi'an gave the Mechanical Dog the order. It disconnected from the circuit and landed on the ground, then spun its wheels and rolled over to Yao Wei's car.

Lu Xi'an watched it enviously. Those wheels looked so smooth and effortless. If only I could do that, too.

The dog and Lu Xi'an got into the car. Yao Wei returned the fuel nozzle, closed the fuel cap, got in, started the engine, and continued west.

Lu Xi'an had planned to have the dog reconnect the air conditioner, but Yao Wei stopped him.

"Save the refrigerant for when it gets cold."

Lu Xi'an thought she had a point and let it go.

It was bearable to open the windows when the car got hot, but when the weather turned freezing, not having air conditioning would be a real problem.

They drove past the place where they'd rested before, then continued for a long while. A wide river suddenly blocked their way.

The river was over a hundred meters wide. Its current was slow, lazily flowing downstream.

Fortunately, a bridge wide enough for two lanes crossed the river, allowing cars to pass.

The asphalt on the bridge had cracked and looked badly worn, making them wonder whether it could bear the weight of a car and two people.

But that clearly wasn't what Yao Wei was worried about. She twisted around and reached into the back seat, taking a pair of binoculars from her backpack. She carefully scanned the bridge, the river, and the far bank, checking whether they were safe.

"Binoculars? That's great!"

Lu Xi'an couldn't help feeling envious when he saw what Yao Wei had raised to her eyes.

He did what he could to help, lifting the dog from beneath his feet and setting it on the dashboard. "Dog, check ahead for danger."

The dog immediately swept its two eyes over the road ahead, scanning left and right, up and down. Then it flashed its eyes at Lu Xi'an.

Lu Xi'an understood and told Yao Wei, "There's no danger ahead."

Yao Wei lowered the binoculars and gave Lu Xi'an a quiet glance.

They drove onto the bridge, and there was indeed no danger.

As they continued, Lu Xi'an turned his head to the right and could see the rippling water below through the gap beneath the bridge railing. He asked Yao Wei, "Where are we going, heading west like this?"

"South."

Yao Wei said, "It's too cold in the north to survive. Going straight south is dangerous, so west is safer."

Lu Xi'an remembered Yao Wei saying, "This still isn't the south."

"Is the south suitable for survival?"

He asked.

"It's better than the north."

Lu Xi'an asked, "Then why did you come here?"

Yao Wei shook her head. "Someone else told me."

She paused, then added, "Only people who can't win the struggle end up hiding in the north, clinging to life."

That was much longer than anything she'd said before, but given how much it revealed, it was still far too brief.

Even so, Lu Xi'an understood—

Compared with here, the south was probably less prone to wildly fluctuating, extreme weather, and more suitable for survival. But the conflicts there must also be fierce.

Those who lost in the struggle, who couldn't survive in the south, had no choice but to flee north—or were driven north—to this desolate, harsh land, where life and death were left to fate.

"When we finish crossing this bridge, I'll find a relatively safe place to drop you off. Don't worry."

Yao Wei said this to Lu Xi'an at last.

Lu Xi'an's mouth twitched. "Thanks."

He thought for a moment, then asked, "What about you? Where are you planning to go?"

"I have an atlas in my backpack."

Lu Xi'an understood what she meant. He copied Yao Wei's earlier move, turned to the back, and rummaged through her bag until he found a palm-sized pocket book.

His movements weren't as supple and fluid as Yao Wei's, but they were still quick and decisive. With the pocket book in hand, he returned to the front passenger seat.

The cover showed what looked like a world map, with the words "World Atlas Volume One" printed across it.

The continents of this world were clustered together, unlike the seven continents of his previous life. At a glance, Lu Xi'an thought the map showed four landmasses: one at each pole, and two in the middle.

Once settled in the front passenger seat, Lu Xi'an looked at the cover again. Beneath the words "World Atlas Volume One" were a few smaller characters: "Newly Revised Practical Edition."

When he opened it, he understood what made this edition practical—

The atlas was organized by region and city. The roads and landmarks in each city were clearly marked, as were the gas stations.

Using the index, Lu Xi'an found Jiang Yu District in Yu Bei City. He saw several gas station symbols, three of which in the east had been crossed out.

"Take a pen and put a check mark here for me."

Yao Wei suddenly pointed to the gas station symbol at the westernmost edge of the map and said.