ONEPIECE

As Yao Wei said that, Lu Xi'an understood. The three Xs on the map must be places Yao Wei had been to before but ran out of gas or couldn't refuel.

"Where's a pen?"

He asked, thinking to himself, This woman is truly something else. She has notebooks and pens but only uses them for her diary, wasting paper and ink, while this woman uses them for crucial things.

Amazing!

If only I had learned this trick sooner, I'd never write in my diary again. Even without a map book, drawing my route on blank paper would be better.

"Feel the bottom of the bag."

Yao Wei said four more words.

So, Lu Xi'an had to reach into the back seat and rummage through Yao Wei's backpack for a while. He found a pen at the bottom of the bag and then moved back to the front.

He uncapped the pen and drew checkmarks on the gas station icons. Then, Lu Xi'an noticed that on the edge of this map of Jiang Yu District, Yu Bei City, there was a very wide and long river.

On the blue icon representing the river water, the words "Jiangyu Reservoir" were written. Comparing its position, it should be the river they just crossed under the bridge.

The place where they crossed the bridge was the narrowest point of the river, so they hadn't entered the reservoir area.

Lu Xi'an thought it was highly likely that the tap water pipes of the villa at Jiangyu Road No. 272 were connected to this reservoir.

If that were the case, the main reservoir pipes might be fine, but what about other places? Would they also be functional and habitable?

He was lost in random thoughts when he suddenly heard Yao Wei say, "Page twenty-seven."

Page twenty-seven was in the latter half of this small booklet. Lu Xi'an noticed that this section was darker on the side than the others, clearly indicating Yao Wei had flipped through it more.

He turned to page twenty-seven of this "World Map One." It showed a provincial map, long and flat. In the upper right corner, the words "Mengze Province" were noted.

To the lower left of the Mengze Province map was Wanquan City. In the upper right corner of this irregularly shaped small map, a heavy dot was marked.

Lu Xi'an understood immediately. This was Yao Wei's target.

"Here?"

Lu Xi'an flipped a few more pages, to the page for "Wanquan City." He saw that it also had many markings, and the center area was circled.

"I'll go here before I find an oasis," Yao Wei said in a deep voice as she drove.

Lu Xi'an glanced at Yao Wei. A murderous aura suddenly overflowed from the corners of her eyes. She gripped the steering wheel tightly, staring straight ahead as if there were enemies outside the car, wanting to floor the accelerator and run them over.

He didn't need to ask to guess. This place likely held someone Yao Wei had a grudge against.

Recalling Yao Wei's earlier statement that her mother was dead and her words, "Only those who can't fight anymore hide in the North to eke out an existence," it was highly probable that her mother died in this very place.

Therefore, she hadn't been to the South, and the claim that the South was stronger than the North might be a lie.

But Lu Xi'an didn't press the issue. Seeing Yao Wei's current state, he felt that asking further would just be asking for trouble.

"Then good luck with your refueling."

He said.

Yao Wei didn't reply and continued to drive silently.

The car drove past the bridge and up a small hill. After continuing along the mountain for a while, the road ran parallel to a river.

Lu Xi'an flipped the map book back to the page for Yu Bei City. He turned to the next page, which showed a map of Fengcheng County.

A river flowed out from a reservoir occupying the edge of the map, heading straight towards the western district. It was labeled as the Gui River.

"What's an oasis?"

Lu Xi'an asked again.

Regarding Wanquan City, it might touch a sore spot, but this question was probably safe to ask, and he was somewhat curious.

The words themselves sounded suitable for living.

However, Yao Wei replied, "I don't know."

"You don't know? Then how do you know about oases?"

"My mom told me."

"..."

Lu Xi'an fell silent for a moment, then said, "I'm sorry."

Yao Wei shook her head, unbothered. She said, "If I find one someday and you're still alive, I'll tell you."

That's good. She's a decent person. Lu Xi'an said, "Thank you."

As he spoke, he suddenly thought of a movie he had watched in his previous life, a post-apocalyptic masterpiece called Mad Max.

The people in that movie were also looking for an oasis, and in the end, the oases turned out to be a deception.

But he didn't mention this to Yao Wei. After all, the worlds were different; one was a movie, the other was reality. How could he use movie plots as a reference for reality?

What if he told Yao Wei about the movie's story and it turned out to be a jinx? What if Yao Wei came at him with a knife?

Given how fierce this woman was, Lu Xi'an wasn't sure he could win a fight against her.

But when Yao Wei heard Lu Xi'an's thanks, she shook her head again and said, "Many people are looking for oases, heading South, but none have found them."

"..."

Lu Xi'an fell silent again, muttering, "ONEPIECE..."

How did Mad Max turn into One Piece?

However, this world's ONEPIECE didn't represent dreams, but the hope of survival.

Yao Wei slammed on the brakes, and Lu Xi'an almost hit the windshield.

"Thump!"

Doggy bumped into the front from its spot on the floor. Fortunately, the car wasn't going too fast, and neither Doggy nor the car sustained any damage.

"You know?!"

Yao Wei asked, somewhat surprised.

"..."

This woman mistook the ONEPIECE he mentioned for another name for the oasis.

Lu Xi'an had to explain, "No, I was talking about a place in a story. Many people were looking for that place too, and it sounds quite similar to the oasis."

"Oh."

Yao Wei replied dully, a little disappointed.

She wasn't interested in stories.

However, she noticed another issue: "What you said... was that a foreign language?"

Lu Xi'an nodded. "Yes."

He wondered if English existed in this world.

It probably did... after all, Chinese existed.

Yao Wei added, "If you find other world map atlases someday, help me take a look. The oasis might not be on World Map One."

The world maps were divided into several volumes. The one Yao Wei had was World Map One. Judging by her words, it seemed like she had already searched every location on World Map One.

When necessary, she could indeed talk a lot.

Lu Xi'an said, "We'll see then. There are many foreign languages, and I might not be able to understand them all."

"Okay."

Yao Wei nodded and continued driving.

Lu Xi'an looked down at the map of Fengcheng County.

He truly hadn't expected that this world would create such maps. Without electronic navigation, a small atlas clearly recorded and marked all the locations.

For instance, on this Fengcheng County map, places like the central plaza, the county government, and the Fengcheng police station were all clearly visible.

Outside the county town, villages were scattered, looking quite desolate.

"There's a gas station not far ahead, turn left."

Lu Xi'an glanced at the map and reminded Yao Wei.

So, Yao Wei drove to the intersection ahead and turned the steering wheel to the left.