There was an east-west road outside the villa, its surface already cracked.
Weeds crowded the roadside, creeping onto the road and burrowing into the fissures.
Lu Xi'an glanced to either side and asked, "Which way are we going?"
"West."
Yao Wei replied, then turned and headed west.
Lu Xi'an followed after her and asked, "Are we looking for a place to get gas or going back to the car?"
"Gas."
Lu Xi'an: "..."
The two phrases Yao Wei had spoken, each just three characters long, sounded to him like "Go" and "Tianzhu." This woman would use one word to get her meaning across rather than two, whenever she could.
The problem was, he wasn't the Supreme Treasure who had forsaken the mortal world, and the woman before him wasn't some bald monk from five hundred years in the future. Her hair was thick and fine, and she was beautiful enough to make his eyes pop.
But then again, this woman was much more capable than Tang Sanzang. Her aim was true, she was strong, and she had plenty of stamina—just like him.
They had already endured an entire night and day inside Villa No. 272, and she still had energy to spare.
Lu Xi'an had never figured out why he had become so strong and enduring. He wondered if Yao Wei, whose physical condition seemed much like his, might know something.
But he didn't ask. He and Yao Wei weren't familiar enough yet, and they were still wary of each other. It wouldn't do to show too much weakness.
At his current rate, he could probably last another night. He had no idea how long Yao Wei could keep going.
As Lu Xi'an wondered about this, he followed Yao Wei west, walking and walking. They passed No. 274, No. 275, and No. 276 on Jiangyu Road, but there was no No. 273.
Nos. 274, 275, and 276 were also detached homes with their own courtyards, like Villa No. 272, but they weren't villas. They were nowhere near as nice as No. 272.
The houses in these detached compounds had collapsed after years of neglect.
When Lu Xi'an went closer, he saw rooftops caved in and brick walls toppled over. Vines tangled together in a maze, covering nearly everything. Weeds filled the yards, leaving nowhere to set foot.
He had walked from north to south and had long since grown used to scenes like this.
Buildings without reinforced concrete frames collapsed too easily, and there was unlikely to be anything worth salvaging inside.
If he weren't desperate for shelter, Lu Xi'an would never set foot in a place like this.
Past No. 276, Jiangyu Road led straight into a vast wilderness.
Under the night sky, a sparse scattering of stars shone overhead. The outlines of the weeds bowed in the wind, forming chaotic waves of ink.
A lone building stood by the road amid those dark waves. It was so far away that they could barely make out a tiny speck.
Lu Xi'an guessed it was probably a gas station.
Then he remembered something and asked, "Are you sure there's gas at the station? What if we get there and find nothing?"
"We'll take our chances."
Yao Wei replied.
Not bad. That was two more words than she'd used before.
Lu Xi'an smiled.
It was true. They had to take their chances. Where hadn't they taken a chance along the way?
If they couldn't get lucky and find supplies, they might not make it.
So he had always been pretty lucky. This time should be no different.
The two of them and the dog walked briskly through the darkness, listening to the howling wind. After about half an hour, they finally reached the building. Sure enough, it was a gas station.
Yao Wei strode ahead. Lu Xi'an asked, "How did you know there was a gas station here?"
"I have a map. From the old world."
Yao Wei replied.
That made sense to Lu Xi'an.
Gas stations had all been built in the old world. If she had a map from back then, and it marked locations like these, then finding this place would be easy.
But she didn't seem inclined to show him the map, and Lu Xi'an didn't ask to see it.
He just wondered whether it was a paper map or an electronic one. In this world, electronic things weren't reliable, but would a paper map usually mark all these places clearly?
Whether it was paper or electronic, if he got the chance, he had to get the dog to take a good look at it.
Once he and Yao Wei went their separate ways, having a map of his own would help him figure out where to go. That would be much better than blindly heading south as he was now.
"Doggy, go take a look first."
Lu Xi'an lowered his voice and gave the dog a new command outside the gas station. The station was pitch-black and seemed deserted, but he was still in the habit of staying alert.
The Mechanical Dog trotted forward on its little legs, wobbling as it disappeared into the darkness.
Yao Wei stopped too, watching the dog with a hint of envy.
But Lu Xi'an had already gotten a feel for Yao Wei's temperament. With just one glance, he caught the change in her expression.
The two of them crouched down nearby and waited for the Mechanical Dog to return from its reconnaissance.
Lu Xi'an sighed and said, "Actually, this Mechanical Dog isn't suited for scouting. It's too loud."
"Better than nothing."
"True," Lu Xi'an said. "It'd be nice if it had four wheels."
"Mm."
After a while, two beams of light appeared inside the gas station. Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei both recognized them as the Mechanical Dog's eyes.
"Let's go. It's safe. No problem."
Lu Xi'an said as he stood up.
He and Yao Wei entered the gas station together.
Yao Wei didn't head straight for the pumps. Instead, she circled the station building, found the electrical box hanging on the wall, and opened it to look inside.
Lu Xi'an had the dog help by shining its eyes on the box. Yao Wei glanced back and said, "Thanks."
Lu Xi'an smiled without saying anything.
He watched Yao Wei work carefully, but couldn't make sense of what she was doing.
After fiddling with it for a while, Yao Wei seemed to find a circuit. Then she set down her backpack, took something out, and connected it. The lights by the pumps came on.
"Impressive!"
Lu Xi'an praised her.
"I scavenged it." She meant the thing she'd taken out of her backpack.
"That's still impressive."
Lu Xi'an said.
His dog had been scavenged too.
Once the power was on, Yao Wei hurried over to inspect the pumps. Lu Xi'an followed her. There were four pumps, two with lit screens and two without.
Yao Wei went straight to one of the pumps with a lit screen and started fiddling with it again.
Lu Xi'an left her to it and took the dog into the gas station building.
The station building's glass door had been smashed long ago, so it stood wide open. The place had probably been looted more times than anyone could count.
But since they were already here, they couldn't just leave without looking. Lu Xi'an followed the Mechanical Dog inside.
The station building was a small convenience store. There were two or three rows of shelves, all completely bare, long since picked clean. A scattering of useless things lay in disarray on the floor, already coated in dust.
Brushing aside the cobwebs, Lu Xi'an looked around, shelf by shelf. Then he went to the counter and checked the office behind it. The desks, cabinets, and drawers had all been left open, empty and covered in dust.
Just as he thought...
He gave up completely and came out of the office. As his eyes happened to sweep over the floor, he suddenly spotted several torn packages scattered there, with pieces of their contents strewn about. They were toy motorcycles.
He didn't know whether the motorcycles had been crushed underfoot or smashed. Maybe they weren't useful in the apocalypse, so scavengers had deliberately destroyed them out of frustration.
But that didn't matter.
Lu Xi'an was looking at the motorcycle wheels lying quietly on the floor.
Before you continue