Upon hearing Lu Xi'an's question, Yao Wei was momentarily unsure of how to choose.
Seeing this, Lu Xi'an said, "Never mind, I shouldn't ask you. Anyway, I have enough sheets here, so why not make one of each, long and short."
Yao Wei finally breathed a sigh of relief, nodded, and said, "Okay."
Lu Xi'an then continued cutting sheets and sewing clothes, making long pants for Yao Wei, then shorts, finished the shorts, then made a short-sleeved shirt.
When he was about to make clothes for himself, Yao Wei said, "Let me make them for you, you can't see yourself."
Lu Xi'an thought it made sense; if he made them himself, he couldn't judge his own size with his eyes, only by feeling. Leaving it to Yao Wei seemed like a good choice.
"Have you learned how?"
He confirmed with Yao Wei.
Yao Wei nodded, saying, "I've learned."
Lu Xi'an trusted Yao Wei as well as the Type A Neo-Humans, so he handed the task over to her.
Next, it was Yao Wei's turn to watch Lu Xi'an at work, making two pieces each of clothes and pants, one long and one short.
After finishing, it was almost dark, and they ate a simple meal, each changing into their newly made pajamas, ready to rest.
Lu Xi'an wore the short ones, and seeing this, Yao Wei changed into the short ones as well.
As they got under the covers, their arms and legs inevitably touched skin, and Yao Wei suddenly felt tense all over, realizing something, and glanced at Lu Xi'an.
Yao Wei didn't want to answer Lu Xi'an's question, feeling slightly angry, yet not really, and together with Lu Xi'an, held the Fungus Stone under their hands as they did every night, feeling the texture of the newly made pajamas and the slightly weighted blanket against their bodies as sleepiness gradually set in.
"How does it feel, comfortable?"
Yao Wei nodded, saying, "Let's sleep." Thıs text ıs hosted at 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⚫𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⚫𝔫𝔢𝔱
The phrase "Let's sleep" was said with great seriousness, and Lu Xi'an could only respond with an "Oh," obediently closing his eyes to sleep.
That night, he was overly conscious and didn't even watch a movie.
The next day they woke up to another cloudy sky. Without Lu Xi'an mentioning it, Yao Wei simply stayed in bed with him.
They really weren't in a rush and didn't have work to go to, so they took their time staying in bed as desired.
The main reason was that these pajamas were really comfortable, and the blanket made it hard to want to leave the bed.
After getting up, they cooked a quick meal with rice, dehydrated vegetables, and sausages, and started their journey.
This time, they had to return the way they came, heading back to the 923 Base and then changing course to go south from the easternmost part.
Although they had just traveled this route, they remained cautious on the return, and as usual, they planned to bypass Fengcheng County without even glancing at it.
With all the cargo they had on their vehicle, even if there were people with resources in the county, they likely wouldn't compare. Why go there? Just to show off?
Bypassing Fengcheng County, they continued west, and at the turn, Lu Xi'an planned to steer south.
But just then, he sensed something, and Gou immediately made a warning over the camper's sound system: "There's an unknown energy source blocking the road ahead, be cautious."
Lu Xi'an squinted his eyes, pressed the brake, and said to Gou, "Launch the drone."
Yao Wei in the passenger seat had already picked up the short needle.
The short needles were made from bicycle wheel spokes by Lu Xi'an. Yao Wei had gradually gotten good at throwing things, finding it better than a gun, with greater power, so the gun was put aside as a decoration.
At critical moments, Yao Wei preferred to separate the gun and bullet, using them as hidden weapons.
The unknown energy source ahead was a person, and after Lu Xi'an hit the brakes, he could see the person's silhouette from afar.
It was just an ordinary person, with long, messy hair, and dusty clothes, looking down and out. The hair hung down, obscuring the face, making it hard to tell if the person was male or female.
Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei could only determine that this person wasn't a Neo-Human, nor someone like Shu or Fish Rider they encountered in Jianshan City.
From the footsteps, weak heartbeat, and breathing sounds, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei could discern this.
No, it's not one person, but two.
The person was holding something in their arms, and Lu Xi'an could hear its breathing and heartbeat, even weaker than the person's.
The heartbeat was faster, like a dying struggle before stopping.
He frowned and picked up the hand-held microphone on the center console.
This microphone was originally installed in the camper, which also had external speakers; it's unknown what purpose the occupants had in mind for installing it.
It's useful now. Previously, while driving Yao Wei's car and encountering Fa's group from Tongzhou County, Lu Xi'an envied the speakers on Luo Ping's vehicle.
"You'd better move aside, or we'll drive straight over."
Lu Xi'an spoke into the microphone, the sound spreading through the speakers to the outside.
The person ahead must have heard, but upon hearing it, their staggering steps suddenly paused, and the whole person seemed to completely lose strength, collapsing to the ground.
Like kneeling in a bow.
Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei were momentarily taken aback.
This person didn't seem to want a confrontation, just accidentally blocking the way?
"Yes, I'll keep an eye on him with Gou. If anything seems off, I'll act immediately."
Yao Wei still clutched the short needle, saying this.
Lu Xi'an then steered the wheel, released the brake, intending to go around from the side.
But just then, the person suddenly spoke: "Save him! Please! Save him! Killing me is fine!"
A woman's voice, somewhat familiar.
Lu Xi'an stepped on the brakes again, knitted his brows, and turned his head to look at Yao Wei, only to see Yao Wei frowning too.
"Whose voice is that? Why does it sound familiar?"
Yao Wei said, "It seems to be that woman from Tongzhou County..."
Tongzhou County... It's quite far from here, isn't it?
As they spoke, the woman kneeling in front suddenly raised her body slightly, extending her arms forward, revealing the "thing" she held.
The breathing, the heartbeat were coming from this "thing."
"Save him! I beg you! I'm already dying, whether you kill me or not is up to you, save him!"
The woman spoke again, her voice filled with pleading, laced with deep despair, which Lu Xi'an could hear.
Lu Xi'an's foot pressed on the brake; for a moment, he couldn't bring himself to lift it.
"Hold on, let me go down and see."
Yao Wei said, opening the car door.
Lu Xi'an did not stop Yao Wei, thinking about whether this woman might have recalled the previous night's pinky swear to hang together.
"Gou, stay alert, be ready to fire at any moment."
Lu Xi'an issued the order to Gou.
Gou replied, "Mechanical Dog 02 understands."
This Gou is quite arrogant, even saying he doesn't mind being called Gou...
He also opened the car door, grabbing the handle and standing up, leaning his body out of the car, holding a short needle, ready to shoot it out if anything was amiss.
However, the ordinary person was indeed just an ordinary person, physically as weak as they had observed.
Yao Wei walked up to the woman, who trembled as she lifted her head, seeing Yao Wei and exclaiming in surprise, "It's you?!"
The shock seemed to give her some strength, she bounced up, holding the baby tightly in her arms, gripping tightly.
She then saw Lu Xi'an in the car, and cried out in fear, "It's you guys?!"
Yao Wei frowned, "So it really is you!"
This woman was indeed the leader in the South Street supermarket in Tongzhou County.
She was vying for power at the gas station back then with others, yet after a few months, unexpectedly ended up here.
"If you keep holding like that, you'll suffocate the child."
Lu Xi'an gave a reminder.
The woman suddenly realized and loosened her arms. Her whole body trembled; perhaps it was out of fear.
Yao Wei asked, "How did you end up here?"
The woman pursed her lips, her voice trembling as she answered, "My belly started to show; it was noticed and couldn't be hidden anymore, so the people in the city harmed me.
"They wanted to harm my child and make me give birth for them. I ran away, kept running here, gave birth to the child... But there's no food, and I can't find shelter..."
Since leaving Tongzhou County with Yao Wei, how many months have passed?
When did this woman begin to show?
Could it be that people in this world have even changed in terms of pregnancy and childbirth compared to the old world?
"How long has this baby been born?"
The woman answered, then hurriedly said, "Don't worry, this child is easy to raise! Very easy to raise! Just feed him a little bit every day, anything at all, crushed up and mixed with water will do.
"I beg you... raise him, he can work for you, find food. He can do anything! I beg you!"
Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei remained silent.
The woman's voice pleaded and pleaded, growing gradually softer, as if on the verge of dying.
Yao Wei was suddenly touched for a moment and impulsively said, "Okay."
The woman said these two words as if using her last bit of strength; after speaking, her body swayed, falling backward.
Yao Wei hurried forward to take the "thing" from the woman's arms that was about to slip.
The woman fell on her back on the ground, already lifeless.
The "thing" is a tiny infant, wrapped in the fur of some unknown animal, skin smooth and red, quietly asleep, unaware of the change in hands.
Yao Wei held the baby in her arms, hesitating for a moment, and said to Lu Xi'an awkwardly, "Sorry."
Lu Xi'an got off the car, rubbed Yao Wei's hair, and said, "I'll take care of it."
He knew very well that the woman was talking about childbirth because of him, using childbirth as a topic to trigger such maternal instincts.
So at the root of it all, it stemmed from himself; how could he blame Yao Wei?
Yet both he and Yao Wei were clear that along their journey, there might be danger; indeed, they couldn't take a child along.
"Gou, try connecting to the 923 Institute."
Lu Xi'an guided Yao Wei back into the car and spoke to Gou.
"Received, trying to connect."
The speaker in the RV emitted sound and after a while said, "Lucky, connection successful."
Then after a while, Luo Ping's voice came through, "Hey big brother, big sister, haha, finally got through again! I actually have something to ask you guys, what is that tube in your car for?"
Lu Xi'an did not answer him directly but asked, "Luo Ping, do you want a child?"