Starlight and the Sunroof

They quickly finished dinner, tidied up the dishes together, then refilled their water by the river and loaded it into the car.

The dog had already checked the river water, so Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei knew it was safe to drink.

In the harsh conditions of the apocalypse, neither of them was particularly fussy. If they needed river water, they used it.

Once they had tidied up, Yao Wei drove a little farther away, found another decent spot, parked, and turned off the engine. She took the blankets they had scavenged from the shelter off the back seat, covered herself with one, and got ready to sleep.

There were more mosquitoes and other bugs near the water, so it wasn't a good place to rest. If they planned to stay in one place for a long time, the best spot would be slightly elevated and sheltered, with a water source nearby but not right next to them.

Both of them had survived alone in this world for quite some time, so they knew some basic survival skills.

But they were on the road now and didn't need to stay anywhere long-term. So they ate by the river and then found another place to rest.

They reclined the driver's and passenger's seats and leaned back. The soft, lightweight but warm blanket covered Lu Xi'an, leaving only his head exposed. He couldn't help groaning. "This is so comfortable!"

"Mm."

Yao Wei wasn't as unrestrained as Lu Xi'an, but she agreed with him.

Having blankets like these was much more comfortable than covering themselves with their clothes.

Especially since her jacket was made of leather, which was rather stiff. It couldn't compare to a blanket.

Still, Lu Xi'an wasn't entirely satisfied. With blankets like these, the best thing would be to strip down and lie there, letting the softness touch his whole body.

But given their circumstances, that wouldn't be appropriate, whether because of the difference between men and women or for safety reasons.

"The stars look nice tonight. I wish your car had a sunroof."

He wasn't going to fall asleep just yet, so he started chatting with Yao Wei.

It was getting late, and the stars overhead were no longer few and far between. As the night deepened, more and more stars appeared.

From outside, the sky was already densely packed with stars, so it wasn't too dark out that night.

"Mm."

Yao Wei answered. She also thought the stars outside looked nice.

Then she said, "It used to have a sunroof, but it wasn't sturdy, so I replaced it."

Lu Xi'an opened his eyes wide and examined the roof. It didn't look as if there were any signs of modifications.

He thought about it for a moment and understood. "You changed cars?"

"Mm."

Yao Wei answered again and explained, "The previous car wasn't good. Its tank was small, it used a lot of gas, and it wasn't sturdy. Later, I came across this one. It could still run, so I switched."

"You're really lucky," Lu Xi'an said. He had traveled from north to south for nearly a year, yet still hadn't come across a car that worked.

He had seen cars along the way, but each had problems, some here and some there, and the problems were all serious. He couldn't even have cobbled together a working car from their parts.

Yao Wei didn't agree with him. She glanced at the Mechanical Dog and said, "Not as lucky as you."

Lu Xi'an laughed. "I'm doing all right. Isn't this great? We teamed up. I get to hitch a ride in your car, and you get to hitch a ride with my dog."

Yao Wei thought about it and seemed to agree. She nodded. "Mm."

Neither of them brought up the agreement they'd made earlier.

Before Lu Xi'an got in the car, he'd agreed with Yao Wei that he would get out once they found a suitable place to live.

After that, they fell silent and closed their eyes. It wasn't long before they were asleep.

They slept much better than they had the night before. When they woke, the weather hadn't changed, and there were no wild animals outside. The air conditioner was quiet and hadn't needed to be used.

They drove back to the river, and once they'd made sure it was safe, they set up the fire and roasted the rest of the pork. Then each went off to take care of personal needs before returning to finish the meat.

The weather had been nice for the past two days, and the meat had been in the car for a day already. If they didn't eat it soon, it would spoil. Finishing it now was the best choice.

After all, to survive in this world, Lu Xi'an had long since changed the habits he'd had in his previous life. He no longer ate three meals a day. Two meals, morning and evening, were perfectly normal; sometimes, when food was scarce, getting by on one meal a day was commonplace too.

So the best thing was to fill their stomachs and replenish their energy before setting off in the morning.

Then they hit the road again, continuing west.

After passing Fengcheng County and traveling quite a bit farther, they reached another urban district.

Lu Xi'an checked the map. It was marked as Mengxin City.

A highway connected the two cities. It was called the Jiangjiang Expressway, and there was a rest stop halfway along it with a gas station. If they took the expressway, they could cut their journey by more than half.

After checking the map, Lu Xi'an told Yao Wei about it.

But Yao Wei said it would be better not to take the expressway. Conditions there were unpredictable, and there were no exits or alternate routes. Guardrails lined the road, so if it was blocked, they would have to turn back the way they came.

Or if someone had taken over the road, there would be nowhere to hide. If they ran into danger, they might have no choice but to abandon the car and flee.

And then they'd lose all the supplies in the car.

Lu Xi'an had traveled on foot before and had never taken an expressway or driven a car, so he hadn't considered those problems.

Yao Wei's reasoning seemed sound, so he didn't argue.

Instead, they took another route, which the map showed as a provincial road followed by a county road.

There were several gas stations along the way. They checked each one carefully as they passed. Some were intact and usable; others had fallen into complete ruin. At least they managed to top up their fuel.

But when they reached the entrance to the county road, neither of them expected to find three or four people holed up at the gas station there.

Those people didn't open fire at the slightest disagreement like the bunch from Gao Family Village in Fengcheng County. Instead, they hid when they saw the car approaching.

Still, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei chose to avoid the place and didn't stop at the gas station.

They both believed that they should minimize the chances of conflict whenever possible. Unless there was a real need, it was best not to approach those people and stir up the already fragile nerves of people in this apocalypse.

But after passing another gas station on the county road, they still hadn't expected to run into anyone. It seemed unavoidable.

They hadn't gone looking for anyone, but someone had come looking for them.

"Beep beep—"

The county road wasn't wide, but it wasn't narrow either. Two cars could travel side by side, and there was an emergency lane on the inner side where cars could pull over.

Yao Wei was driving in the middle lane when she suddenly heard a horn behind them.

She glanced in the rearview mirror. Lu Xi'an turned to look too and saw a car speeding toward them.

Without hesitation, Yao Wei floored the gas pedal, but her car was built for off-road performance and couldn't match the sedan's speed.

The sedan accelerated in pursuit, steadily closing the distance.

Then they both heard a voice through the sedan's loudspeaker: "Car up ahead! Want to trade?"