The dinner was quickly finished, and the two of them tidied up the dishes together, then replenished their water from the small river and put it on the car.
The water in the river had already been checked by Gou; for Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei, it was safe for drinking.
Under the harsh conditions of this apocalyptic world, they were not picky; they used river water as needed.
After tidying up, Yao Wei drove the car a bit further away, found another decent spot, parked and shut off the engine, then took the quilt scavenged from the refuge and prepared to go to sleep.
Near the water, there would be more mosquitoes, making it unsuitable for resting. If staying long-term, the best choice would be a slightly elevated area with shelter for concealment, close to a water source, but at some distance from it.
Both of them had survived alone in this world for quite a long time, so they knew some basic survival knowledge.
However, they were on the road now and didn't need to stay long-term, so after eating by the water, they found another place to rest.
They reclined the seats of the driver and passenger, lay back, covered with the soft and warm quilt over their bodies, leaving only their heads out, and Lu Xi'an couldn't help but let out a moan, saying, "Comfortable!"
"Hmm."
Yao Wei wasn't as conspicuous as Lu Xi'an, but she agreed with what Lu Xi'an said.
Having two quilts like this was much more comfortable than putting clothes over themselves.
Especially her jacket, which was leather and quite stiff, couldn't compare to a quilt.
However, Lu Xi'an was still somewhat dissatisfied. Having such a quilt, stripping and lying down for perfect soft contact would actually be the best enjoyment.
Just with current conditions limited, doing so, whether for considering the difference between genders or safety concerns, was very inappropriate.
"Tonight, the stars seem nice; if your car had a sunroof, that would be great."
Finding it hard to sleep for the moment, he chatted idly with Yao Wei.
The night had deepened, and the sky was filled with more than just a few stars; as night deepened, more stars emerged.
From the outside, the sky was already densely packed with stars, so the view this night wasn't particularly dark.
"Hmm."
Yao Wei responded, also feeling the starlight outside was nice.
Then she said, "Used to have a sunroof; wasn't sturdy, so I changed it."
Lu Xi'an widened his eyes and examined the roof, not seeing any signs of splicing.
He thought for a moment and understood, asking, "Did you change cars?"
"Hmm."
Yao Wei again responded, explaining, "The previous car wasn't good, small fuel tank, very gas-consuming, and not sturdy. Later I encountered this one and found it could still run, so I changed."
Lu Xi'an said, "You're really lucky." He had traveled from north to south for almost a year and hadn't met a drivable car.
Along the way, he did see cars, but either this part had issues, or that part did, and the problems weren't small, so he couldn't even piece together a vehicle with parts.
But Yao Wei disagreed with Lu Xi'an's viewpoint and glanced at the mechanical dog, saying, "Not as lucky as you."
Lu Xi'an laughed heartily, saying, "Not too bad, not too bad. Isn't this good now? We've come together, I can ride with your car, and you can rely on my Gou."
Yao Wei thought for a moment, seemingly agreeing with Lu Xi'an's reasoning, nodding her head, and said, "Hmm."
Neither of them mentioned their previous agreement.
Before Lu Xi'an got in the car, he had agreed with Yao Wei to get off once they found a suitable living place.
After that, they didn't talk anymore, closed their eyes, and soon fell asleep.
This sleep was far better than yesterday's; upon waking up, the weather hadn't changed, there were no wild animals outside, and the air conditioner quietly hadn't been used.
Then they drove back to the river, ensured safety, set up the fire, roasted the leftover pork, and solved their own issues before returning to finish the roast.
The weather had been nice these two days, and the meat had been in the car for a day, if not eaten soon it would spoil. Eating it now was the best choice.
Surviving in this world, Lu Xi'an had long changed past habits, no longer having three meals a day. Two meals a day was normal, sometimes when food was scarce, even making do with one meal a day was common.
So filling up the stomach and replenishing energy before setting out in the morning was the best practice.
Then they set off, continuing west.
Passing Fengcheng County, and traveling quite a bit further, they arrived at another municipality.
Lu Xi'an looked at the map, which marked it as Mengxin City.
There's a highway between the two cities named Jiangjiang Expressway, with a service area in the middle that has a gas station. Traveling via the highway could cut their journey by more than half.
After checking the map, Lu Xi'an talked about the situation with Yao Wei.
But Yao Wei said it was best not to take the highway. Conditions were uncertain there, with no options for side roads, and barriers by the roadside; if the road was destroyed, they could only return the same way.
Or if someone was occupying it, they'd have nowhere to hide, and if met with danger, they might have to abandon the car to flee.
By then, all the supplies in the car would be lost.
Lu Xi'an had never traveled on the highway, nor driven, thus he hadn't considered these issues.
Upon hearing Yao Wei's opinion, he thought it reasonable and didn't refute.
So they took another route, indicated on the map as switching from municipal to county roads.
There were several gas stations on the way, and they carefully checked them when passing, some were intact and usable, others were completely abandoned. But in any case, the fuel was topped up.
However, upon reaching the county road entrance, they hadn't expected there were still three or four people occupying the gas station there.
Those people didn't immediately shoot like at Gaojiazhuang village in Fengcheng County, but hid upon seeing the car approach.
Yet, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei still chose to avoid that place, not stopping at the gas station.
Both adhered to the principle of minimizing the likelihood of conflict when possible, avoiding contacting those people and triggering people's tense, fragile nerves in this apocalyptic world was the best choice.
However, after passing another gas station on the county road, they hadn't expected to inevitably encounter people.
They hadn't actively sought others, but someone sought them instead.
"Beep Beep Beep——"
The county road wasn't narrow but not particularly wide, capable of accommodating two cars side by side, and then there was an emergency lane inside for cars to stop.
Yao Wei was driving in the middle lane when suddenly they heard honking from behind.
She glanced in the rear-view mirror, and Lu Xi'an also turned to look back, seeing a sedan speeding towards them.
Yao Wei unhesitatingly floored the accelerator, but this off-road-focused vehicle simply couldn't match the sedan's speed.
The sedan accelerated to catch up, and the distance grew smaller.
Then they heard a voice amplified from the sedan: "Car in front, want to exchange anything?"