New Human Thinking

Luo Ping seemed to be telling the truth. Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei traveled together from then on, and after leaving Fengcheng County's jurisdiction, they didn't encounter anything else.

The latter half of the road in Fengcheng County became increasingly difficult, winding and twisting, rising and falling, a mountain road.

Moreover, the road was in disrepair, making it far more dangerous than other places. Lu Xi'an had to slow down and proceed with caution.

"Did we choose the wrong road? What if we run into a collapsed section or a rockfall?"

As he drove around a sharp bend, he couldn't help but wonder.

On this winding mountain road, in past times, one would probably need convex mirrors at the corners to check for oncoming vehicles.

The convex mirrors were still there, but they were so blurry now that nothing could be seen.

Fortunately, in this day and age, there shouldn't be many vehicles traveling on such a road, so they wouldn't encounter oncoming traffic. Traveling slowly, they were relatively safe.

It was a shame, though. They had encountered a fork in the road earlier, and they had chosen this path because they needed to head west. He wondered if Luo Ping, who was ahead of them, had turned at the fork.

If Luo Ping hadn't turned and was on the same road as them, it would prove that the road ahead was clear and problem-free.

After all, Luo Ping had come from the southwest, so he might have already traveled this same road.

"If it's collapsed, we'll block it. If there are falling rocks, we'll move them."

Yao Wei offered a novel solution.

Lu Xi'an finally came to his senses.

Right, he was a New Human now. How could he be stumped by such a small matter?

He deeply reflected on himself, realizing he hadn't yet adapted to the way New Humans thought and acted.

If there was a bridge, build one. If there was a wall, smash it. With his strength, he shouldn't be troubled by such simple problems.

It seemed Yao Wei already had experience dealing with such things.

"If the collapse can't be blocked, we can lift the car over it," Yao Wei added.

Lu Xi'an: "..."

It was true, they could lift a car, but Lu Xi'an couldn't help but picture himself and Yao Wei lifting a large, cargo-laden off-road vehicle like it was a game of hopscotch, and it felt incredibly out of place.

Fortunately, the road ahead didn't have any collapsed sections, only falling rocks.

About an hour into their drive on the mountain road, they saw the path ahead completely blocked by rocks that had fallen from the mountain at some unknown time.

The rocks were of various sizes. The small ones were fine, but the large ones were not something a person could easily lift.

However, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei were no ordinary people. After having their Mechanical Dog deploy a drone to scout the area and confirm that it was purely natural and not man-made, and that there was no one around, they got out of the car.

Working from the inside out, they cleared away both small and large stones, tossing them down the cliff. In a short while, the road was cleared.

They pushed the debris on the ground to the side with the shovel from the car, ensuring there were no sharp objects that could puncture their tires, and then they got back into the car and continued on their way.

"It's a good thing we're New Humans," Lu Xi'an said with a smile to Yao Wei.

Yao Wei nodded and replied, "Mm."

From then on, the road sloped downwards, and it seemed the mountain road was finally nearing its end.

Yao Wei opened the map and said, "Ahead is Mengxin City. It's all grassland, with nowhere to hide. We need to be careful."

"Okay, got it."

Lu Xi'an drove, looking out at the world below the mountain. It was vast and open, with large patches of clouds high in the sky, giving a sense of immense expanse.

He turned to look out the left window. In the distance, the hills were as dark as ink, with storm clouds covering their peaks. Yet, where he was, it was as if the sky was clear for miles, and it was hard to imagine that this blue sky would meet the black clouds.

Looking to the right, the black clouds stretched in a continuous line. The scenery beneath the clouds made the phrase "mountains like painted eyebrows" in Lu Xi'an's memory suddenly become concrete.

These "painted eyebrows" were no ordinary "painted eyebrows"; a woman with such eyebrows would surely have a pair of spirited, dark, and bold sword-like brows.

"Mengxin City... the name is really fitting..." Lu Xi'an murmured to himself.

No wonder Yao Wei said, "This isn't the true South yet." In the real South, one wouldn't see such scenery.

He had been walking on foot before, and it was too slow.

"What?" Yao Wei asked.

"Nothing," Lu Xi'an replied. He couldn't easily explain his past-life impressions, so he said, "I just inexplicably feel that this place is named so aptly. Mountains like these, grass like this, the sky like this, it just feels like it should be called this name."

"Mm," Yao Wei didn't find Lu Xi'an's answer strange or perfunctory. She nodded and continued to look at the map.

She pointed to the map with her slender finger and said, "Go straight ahead for a bit, and there's a gas station. Let's go check it out."

"Okay."

Lu Xi'an agreed and continued driving.

The unmaintained road cracked into pieces, and tenacious weeds spread from the roadside grass onto the road, forming patches.

Unlike the grass outside the road, the grass on the road was shorter, while the grass outside grew tall.

There was moisture on the grass, and in one or two places on the road, sunlight was blocked by bumps, and there was still ice and snow that hadn't melted. It seemed this place had just experienced a severe cold snap, and Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei had narrowly missed it.

Lu Xi'an suddenly remembered what Luo Ping had said.

These plants, growing tenaciously in a world of unpredictable changes, how did they survive round after round of ice and fire?

This was indeed worth researching.

If they could understand the principle behind it, perhaps they could grow crops in this world's harsh environment.

A gas station finally appeared ahead. The gas station's sign was surprisingly intact, allowing Lu Xi'an to read it completely: "Changshengtian Petrochemical Gas Station..."

After reading it, he couldn't help but say, "This must be a local gas station in Mengxin."

"Why?"

Yao Wei didn't understand.

Lu Xi'an explained, "I'm just guessing. I feel like a term like 'Changshengtian' would be local to Mengxin. Perhaps... it's a deity from the local ethnic beliefs?"

"I see."

Yao Wei was full of admiration for Lu Xi'an, thinking he knew so much.

--Though it was useless.

As they approached the gas station, they followed the usual procedure: first, have Doggy control the drone to scout, and after confirming there were no issues, they connected the power to refuel.

They were lucky; out of the four gas pumps, one was still functional. So, the two filled up their car and also filled their newly acquired oil barrels with gasoline, then stowed them in the car.

It had to be said, having many things in the car was quite good. These oil barrels, once stowed, couldn't move left or right and wouldn't even shake, making them safer.

Next to the gas station was a two-story building. It was a detached house built by someone in the old world, but its doors and windows had been removed. The courtyard was overgrown with weeds, indicating no one had visited for a long time.

When Lu Xi'an had Doggy check the gas station, it also checked the small building, confirming there were no dangers.

While Yao Wei was refueling the car, he went into the gas station's office but found nothing. Now, he planned to explore the small building.

Seeking support!