After the call ended, Lu Xi'an continued driving south.

The map showed that they had already entered the territory of Jiangdong City, and the first village adjacent to East Sea City within Jiangdong was Liangshan Village. The county belonging to Liangshan Village was named Lijiang County.

This Celestial River of Jiang Lin, in fact, was another name for the Luo River.

Lu Xi'an looked at the markings on the World Map One. The upper reaches of the Luo River, starting from Linghai Jiangdong and extending meanderingly toward Jiangbei and Jiangnan, were all still called the Luo River. But only this section flowing into the sea was called Celestial River.

He was not sure how people came up with these names back then, as there was no mention of this in the history books he had read.

Perhaps there were disputes or differences that have now been buried deep in the sands of time.

Soon they reached the Celestial River.

The map indicated that both the Luo River and Celestial River were quite wide, but fortunately, the section they were on had slower water flow.

Moreover, this narrowest section had a "Sky Bridge" constructed over it, which was also marked on the map.

When Lu Xi'an saw the name on the map, he felt a sense of wanting to complain without knowing how.

However, the quality of the bridge was excellent; it was certainly not a shoddy project. Even now, it was still in good shape, with a smooth road surface and few cracks. Unlike most of the places they'd passed, where the car would wobble and lurch endlessly.

One could say that the road on the bridge was the most stable they had encountered. As Lu Xi'an gripped the steering wheel and pressed the gas pedal, he felt that this stable sensation was something he hadn't experienced in a long time and wanted to relish it even more.

The bridge, however, was open on all sides, with only one way in and one way out, making it easy to be ambushed. Lu Xi'an, having played battle royale games, loathed such spots notorious for camping, and he didn't want to linger there any longer, so he drove straight across.

As they crossed the bridge, Yao Wei in the passenger seat focused her attention, ready to defend against any attacks.

"This bridge is really nice."

After crossing the bridge, Yao Wei couldn't help but glance back at the bridge in the rearview mirror and said.

"Yes."

Lu Xi'an nodded, "If all the roads in this world were of such good quality, that would be great."

A gas station came into view ahead; they couldn't tell if it was Lijiang Petrochemical Gas Station or Lijiang Petroleum Gas Station as the words "chemical" and "add" had been worn away, leaving only Lijiang Petroleum Station visible.

The gas stations in this world differed from those Lu Xi'an knew from his previous life. In the past, most gas station signs did not include the words "Gas Station," but in this world, some did and some didn't.

Yao Wei sat in the passenger seat, observing the station from afar with a sniper rifle, seeing that it was empty, with the mouths of the oil tanks open and unattended, unsure if the oil inside was used up or not.

The station building's door was open, and the glass windows were broken, leaving only jagged, chaotic glass shards in the corners.

Lu Xi'an parked the car far away, got out, and said to Yao Wei, "Let's leave the car here. The oil tanks at the gas station are open; if we drive closer, who knows if there's danger.

"You stay in the car, and I'll go pick up some glass shards. We ran out of short needles during the last fight, so we need to gather some sharp objects for future use.

"Those glass shards will come in handy. I'll see if there's anything else besides glass."

"Okay."

Yao Wei nodded in agreement.

Lu Xi'an then walked over by himself.

He had already confirmed using the Resonant Gene Scanner that the red dots displayed on the map, aside from them and the Fungus Stone, were only Blade near the return pod.

There were no Neo-Humans in this area, and while stopping the car, Yao Wei had thoroughly checked it out. Gou had also performed a scan, finding nothing in the gas station.

So Lu Xi'an could proceed confidently.

As long as he paid attention to the oil tanks, to avoid accidentally triggering an explosion.

— However, Lu Xi'an felt that perhaps he needn't worry about these things.

Looking at the photos and videos left by Yao Huo and Ye Wenxin, Jiangdong City was once a vast sea.

This was not very close but not too far from where the return pod was located, and perhaps this area had also been submerged by seawater at some point.

Could the oil inside the tanks still be usable if it had been submerged?

Cautiously, Lu Xi'an walked over to the oil tanks and peeked inside, finding them empty and confirming that indeed there was no need for concern.

Then he went inside the station building to take a look; it had already been emptied a long time ago, leaving only a table and a shelf.

There was nothing on the shelf; the display glass had long been shattered.

The drawer of the table was wide open, obviously having been searched through, anything of value already taken away, leaving just two empty bins.

Hmm... though some were soaked and ruined.

But these could still make do.

Lu Xi'an pulled both drawers out, gathering the glass shards from the ground into them, thinking that in future battles, while providing remote support, he could hold a drawer in one hand while tossing the glass shards with the other, and in moments of critical need, he could throw the drawer itself for a Celestial Maiden Scattering Flowers effect.

In Vast Sea, there was a unique skill on East Island called "Thousand Scales," and perhaps this could be considered an improved version?

However, "Thousand Scales" used inner strength to generate magnetic force, controlling iron and allowing for a degree of object manipulation at a distance, something he and Yao Wei could not achieve.

But he and Yao Wei had strength on their side, with accuracy and speed in throwing glass shards, making it difficult for most to evade.

Hmm... this should still be like Xiao Li's Flying Knife...

Lost in these wandering thoughts, he had almost filled both drawers and was about to stack them and carry them back to the car, when turning around, he saw Yao Wei approaching.

This woman had left the car at a distance, locking the doors. She was carrying Gou in her hand, with no clue what her intentions were.

"What's wrong?"

Lu Xi'an stood up and asked, "Didn't I ask you to wait in the car? How about these hidden weapons I made? We can each have a drawer, and toss glass toys when we meet someone, it's pretty good. Just not as convenient as short needles."

Yao Wei said, "It's quite good, having a drawer makes it easy to take."

After saying this, she explained, "Just now, Gou mentioned there was some discovery here, so I brought him over to have a look."

Gou wobbled in Yao Wei's hands, leaving the RV, and could no longer speak.

"What discovery?"

Lu Xi'an was slightly surprised. He had asked Gou before, and Gou didn't mention any discovery. He also circled around here and didn't notice anything.

Yao Wei seemed to see through Lu Xi'an's doubt and replied, "You previously asked Gou if there was any danger here, and Gou only answered no.

"Moreover, the thing is hidden quite deep, Gou only mentioned there was a discovery after a while."

"I see."

Lu Xi'an nodded. That's also good; discoveries are quite nice.

If there's something hidden in a place, it's generally not a bad thing. Just like the shelters they've found before.

"Where is it?"

He looked towards Yao Wei's hand which held Gou and asked.

Gou's eyes shone brightly as before.

But the place illuminated by Gou's eyes wasn't inside the gas station, but a wall on the inner side of the gas station.

The location Gou indicated was next to the oil tank well. Lu Xi'an walked over and, together with Yao Wei, explored the wall without finding anything.

He didn't dare to push too hard. This place should have been soaked by seawater. It hadn't broken, indicating its good quality, but no matter how unbroken, it was likely very fragile now.

He was afraid that with one push, he might directly bring down the wall, along with the entire gas station, collapsing…

They were still inside the gas station.

"Do you think there's something inside this wall?"

Lu Xi'an asked.

Yao Wei shook her head.

Gou's eyes blinked twice.

Alright, both human and dog answered.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei, having their answers, bypassed the wall and went behind it.

Behind the wall stood a towering tree, but it was already dead. The surrounding small trees grew luxuriantly, with lush green leaves, but this particular tree was lifeless, long since withered.

The trunk was filled with tumors, giving off an eerie and terrifying vibe. If it were before, this might be a perfect location for shooting a horror movie.

Gou's eyes shone towards the base of the tree.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei followed the light from Gou's eyes to the base of the tree.

Looking down, they couldn't discern anything.

The roots of the withered big tree were exposed, occupying this territory. The roots were in disarray, some protruding from the ground, others slightly even, with Xiaocao growing.

The spot where Gou's eyes pointed was naturally one where Xiaocao grew.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei exchanged glances and immediately said, "I'll go get a shovel."

He left Yao Wei and Gou there waiting, swiftly returned to the car, grabbed two shovels, bypassed the gas station again, and returned beside the withered big tree.

Going back and forth, it only took him a few breaths' time. The delay was due to fetching the shovel and assembling the separated shovel parts.

That's how quick Type A Neo-Humans are.

Returning to the tree, he handed Yao Wei a shovel, and the two swiftly cleared that piece of ground. They dug quite deep and finally felt they hit something.

Removing the shovels, they discovered the large tree roots underground.

But that wasn't the end. Those roots had long been cut off, buried there as if to hide something beneath them.

The two removed the roots one by one and finally saw what was hidden under the roots—

Two pieces of clothing, the texture of which felt extraordinary at first touch, vastly different from what they wore.

But that wasn't the most crucial detail; what mattered was that these two pieces of clothing were so familiar—they'd seen them in photos and videos.

—They were from the photos and videos left by Yao Wei's parents!

The photos and videos they previously found on the hard drive, in which Yao Huo and Ye Wenxin were wearing these very clothes!

These should be specially made outer space astronaut suits!

Both pieces of clothing, without exception, were dirty, with damage and large patches of blackish-brown with hints of red.

Judging by the look of it, it should be blood.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.