Chapter 207: Ai Yi Acting Cute
“Xu Sa!” Lu Weiyi called out to bring back Xu Sa before finishing his sentence, but an elderly voice came from inside.
“Clan Leader,” the man who had been speaking replied respectfully.
The elder stood above, opened a door that had been closed, looked down at Xu Sa, and asked, “You’re bringing children?”
“Yes, sir. The kids are very young. We’ve been traveling all day. Please be kind. If it’s not possible to stay in the village, we’ll just pass through,” Xu Sa said, glancing back toward the vehicle, hoping someone would understand and that Zhuang Ai Yi could come out to play the pitiful child.
Lu Weiyi glanced at the sky — it was already past eight in the evening — and went into the vehicle, gently picking up the bundled-up Zhuang Ai Yi. He whispered, “We’ll just go for a little walk.”
Ai Yi had heard the voices outside and obediently curled up in Lu Weiyi’s arms, in a babyish voice saying, “Mm, Ai Yi’s not scared.”
They got off the truck and took a few steps forward, standing right in the area lit by the truck’s headlights.
Lu Weiyi’s idea was just to let them see them, but the clever little Ai Yi shouted to the opposite side, “Grandpa, please let us pass. My dad has been driving all day.”
Children easily lower people’s guard. As soon as this was said, even Xu Sa couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up. Hearing the child speak, the elder said, “Come in.”
The elder must have a high status because as soon as he gave the word, someone inside used their ability to open the gate, just big enough for one vehicle to enter.
Li Zhuang drove the truck inside, while Xu Sa, Liu Rui, and Lu Weiyi carrying the child followed on foot.
Inside the gate was a man about sixty or seventy years old, with two burly men standing beside him, each holding an old hunting rifle, watching them warily.
“Sir, thank you,” Xu Sa took the initiative to talk to the elder.
“You’re welcome. Kids can’t handle this kind of weather. I’m the village chief of Li Family Village. Where are you from? Where are you headed?”
“We’re from the capital. Before the apocalypse, we were trapped in Qingyuan. Recently there was flooding there, which submerged where we lived. So we found some people to travel with and plan to return to the capital to find our families,” Xu Sa said, half-truthfully. “Along the way, many roads were blocked, so we’ve been detouring and got a little lost. Not sure when we’ll get home.”
He sighed with feigned sadness.
“Coming from Qingyuan is indeed a detour. This place is south; the right way is northeast,” the village chief said, glancing at Zhuang Ai Yi. “Such a young child, how old is he?”
“Hello, grandpa. Ai Yi is four years old!” Ai Yi’s eyes appeared from the bundle, and he answered actively, curiously looking at the three in front of him.
“Good boy,” the chief smiled warmly, then looked at Xu Sa. “This village wouldn’t be like this before. But now everything is chaotic. It’s unavoidable. It’s still about four hours by car to the next place with people. You should stay here tonight and leave in the morning.”
“That’s really very kind of you,” Xu Sa bowed deeply to the old man. “Ai Yi, say thank you to grandpa.”
“Thank you, grandpa,” Ai Yi said in a baby voice.
“You’re welcome,” the chief replied, then told one of the men nearby, “Junzi, take them to the Dahai family’s place.”
“The Dahai family’s members all turned into zombies. No one lives there now. There have been dead people in this area before, so don’t mind it,” he explained to Xu Sa.
“Having a place to stay is already great. Thank you so much,” Xu Sa said.
“Let’s go,” one of the men stepped forward and said to Xu Sa’s group.
“Goodbye, grandpa,” Ai Yi said as they said farewell. Xu Sa and Liu Rui followed the man toward the Dahai home, while Lu Weiyi got back into the truck holding Ai Yi.
“The Dahai family lives on the other side of the village, close to the exit. Don’t go out at night. The village has patrolling ability users, and if they misunderstand you, it could cause trouble,” the man said seriously, expressionless but thorough.
“Don’t worry, we won’t wander off,” Xu Sa replied.
About ten minutes later, the group arrived at the other end of the road. The man leading them opened the gate of a house near the roadside. “This place has been empty for a while. You can clean it up yourselves. Most things have been taken by others; whatever’s left is yours to use.”
“Okay, thanks for leading us here, brother,” Xu Sa said.
The courtyard gate was too narrow for the truck to enter, so they got off at the gate.
“Phew, it’s so cold,” Dean said as soon as he poked his head out, shivering immediately. Lu Weiyi, who had expected this, handed over a cotton coat before Antonio had even finished unbuttoning his jacket. The little guy quickly bundled up from head to toe.
“That’s a bit much,” Lu Xi, who followed behind, bounced around and waved his hands in the air.
“Ability users aren’t sensitive to cold; it’s about minus ten degrees now,” Lu Weiyi explained, then told Zhuang Mingxu and the others in the truck, “You guys stay inside for now.”
In the courtyard were two separate rooms, each with three bedrooms and a living room. A generator was placed on one side, and after cleaning, they lived on the other side. After some warm air circulated, a few ordinary people finally came downstairs.
“Let’s have a quick meeting,” Lu Weiyi said once everyone had entered.
Li Zhuang stopped his patrol steps and leaned against the doorframe. Others put down their tasks and gathered in the living room.
“It’s already late February. Normally it would be spring, but temperatures have been dropping. Last night’s low was minus 37 degrees, and today’s high at noon was only 10 degrees. Mutated animals and plants have been decreasing recently. I suspect winter is coming again,” Lu Weiyi said. The chaotic seasons were something that had started even before this life and was why he had been traveling day and night recently.
“Considering summer temperatures reached over fifty degrees, we’d better prepare for extremely cold winter temperatures too. If the trucks can’t start or it snows, we might not be able to drive at all. So I hope we can push on as much as possible before the severe cold, preferably reaching the capital again by then.”
“You want to keep driving overnight all the time?” Zhuang Mingxu asked, holding a notebook and studying their route and distance.
“Yes,” Lu Weiyi nodded.
“Maybe we can find a safe place to hole up for the winter and leave once the weather warms up?” After being stuck in the truck for over a week, Xu Sa was already struggling. Thinking about possibly staying for over a month made his bones ache.
“If winter is a low point for mutated animals and plants, then spring might bring a sudden outbreak. It’s too dangerous to travel then. I still suggest taking this chance to move as much as possible,” Lu Weiyi finished and looked around the room. “Let’s vote by show of hands; the minority obeys the majority.”
Choosing between safety and comfort didn’t even need asking — everyone knew which to pick. Though the vote passed unanimously, everyone looked visibly exhausted.
“We could modify another vehicle; this truck is too cramped,” Antonio said.
They were currently living in a five-meter-long truck trailer with just two bunk beds inside, barely enough to sleep eight people. Usually, they drove two vehicles; Lu Xi stayed in the other truck. After counting four drivers and four lookouts outside, nine people remained. It was a squeeze but manageable. Now, with only one truck in the cold, more than a dozen people crammed inside — they couldn’t even stretch their legs.
“How would you modify it?” Lu Weiyi asked.
“Something like this, but bigger. Add one more bed,” Antonio said. Comfort wasn’t the priority on the road, but for long trips, it helped.
Lu Weiyi glanced at his own vehicle — a brand-new truck he had taken from Wutong City, with a trailer. On such rough terrain, trailers weren’t very stable; a one-piece truck was better.
He compared dimensions with the current truck: “There’s one about nine meters long. Any longer and it comes with a trailer.”
“A nine-meter trailer?” Antonio asked.
Lu Weiyi nodded.
“That’s enough,” Antonio said, taking paper and pen to start planning the space.
“Can I apply for a second floor?” Lu Xi, squeezed into a single sofa with Bai Miao, raised his hand and looked over.
He had been studying Zhang Qian’s research materials recently and often mentioned new ideas.
“Will it hold up?” Xu Sa asked.
“A nine-meter truck can bear over twenty tons. Even if he puts some instruments up there, it will hold,” Zhuang Mingxu said.
“Then I’ll add a second floor… hmm… do chickens count too?” Antonio asked.
“Yes, and there needs to be space for a generator,” Lu Weiyi said. The truck might need a heater if the temperature dropped too low.
Antonio helplessly made an OK sign and resumed planning, occasionally whispering to Li Zhuang beside him.
“Are we going to be stuck eating just bread and biscuits?” Xu Sa said miserably, looking incredulously at Lu Weiyi.
Lu Weiyi shrugged helplessly.
“Brother Xi, Brother Xi, save the kids!” Xu Sa dramatically went looking for Xi Shi. Xi Shi, always good-natured, said, “I’ll cook something overnight for us to take on the road.”
“I’ll help,” Gu Qingyue volunteered.
“Me too,” Dean raised his hand.
Excited to show off their skills, the group got ready to get to work. Lu Weiyi laid out a pile of supplies, handed upgraded crystal cores to Li Zhuang and Lu Xi, helped Zhuang Mingxu choose a room, and flopped onto the bed himself.
Zhuang Mingxu rolled his wheelchair closer. “Is something wrong?”
They had been traveling together all along. He had learned from Antonio what had happened back at the base but hadn’t had time to talk about it.
He noticed Lu Weiyi had been unusually quiet, but since he was normally a man of few words, he thought maybe he was just tired. Now it seemed there was more to it.
“…” Lu Weiyi gathered his thoughts and retold what happened at the base, mostly as Antonio had described it. “Antonio wanted to kill them outright, but I…”
Lu Weiyi’s experience was limited, and he believed in the principle “If others don’t offend me, I won’t offend them.” If any of Liu Dali’s ability users provoked him, he would strike without mercy — just like when Liu Bei’s men tried to sneak in at night, he dealt with all three without leaving any chance.
But the ability users under Liu Dali didn’t make a move at all. In Lu Weiyi’s mind, this was like they had actively provoked others. Even if they did act in the end, it still left him feeling uneasy.
“You think it’s too ruthless,” Zhuang Mingxu spoke the next words on his behalf.
