Chapter 14 Desert Gas Station - 1 *** ……

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Tang Bufan didn't know how long he had slept, only that he had slept very soundly, so soundly that he felt he was about to wake up even in his dreams.

But no, he had to wake up. He had to find the man in the white coat and go back to the 21st century to give the child's grandmother and the school an explanation...

As Tang Bufan was thinking this, his body suddenly trembled and he woke up.

The curtains of the RV were half-drawn, letting in the scorching desert light. He lay on the 1.5-meter-wide iron-framed bed, his body swaying slightly as the RV moved.

A bag of clear medicine, connected to an IV tube, hung in the air. Tang Bufan looked down; the other end of the IV tube was connected to the back of his hand.

"Lu Yi, Xiao Tang is awake." Kai Ge's gentle electronic male voice rang out.

"Brother Kai, you can drive the car." Lu Yi's voice came from the driver's seat. Tang Bufan looked up from the bed and met Lu Yi's gaze, who had his hair tied up.

Lu Yi's hair was tied up haphazardly, with an old hair tie wrapped around his golden curly hair and tied into a low bun at the back of his head, while two strands of curly bangs hung down in front of his forehead, making him look handsome and dashing.

"Teacher, you're finally awake." Lu Yi walked to the bedside, squatted down, and pulled out a medical kit from under the bed.

It was very hot today. Lu Yi, wearing a vest, was covered with a thin layer of sweat. Tang Bufan also raised his heavy hand and lifted the thin blanket off himself, feeling much cooler immediately.

"How long have I been asleep?" Tang Bufan asked in a very unpleasant voice, his throat extremely dry.

"Four days." Lu Yi took out iodine and cotton cloth to wipe the wound on Tang Bufan's thigh. In this hot weather, it is even more important to pay attention to the anti-inflammatory treatment of the wound.

Tang Bufan then realized that he had been dressed in a pair of tattered shorts. The shorts were so loose that if he pulled them up, his black underwear would be visible.

Tang Bufan glanced at Lu Yi with concern. The orc boy with his hair tied up was squatting there, gently wiping his wound with a cotton cloth. His head was lowered, his bangs were hanging down, and he looked focused.

"..." Tang Bufan realized he had been judging others by his own petty standards; no one would even covet his frail, skin-and-bones body.

"Did you get the antidote?" Tang Bufan asked him, lying there.

"Got it, I've already given you the injection." Lu Yi put down the gauze, tightened the iodine, squatted down, and smiled at Tang Bufan: "Does your head hurt less now?"

Tang Bufan touched his forehead with his other hand, which wasn't hooked up to an IV drip, and indeed, the grogginess and nerve throbbing he usually experienced upon waking were gone.

He looked at his hands again, and the trembling had lessened considerably.

Tang Bufan was overjoyed and immediately thanked Lu Yi in a hoarse voice: "Thank you!"

"I told you I would take you to the East District Underground City." Lu Yi smiled gently and warmly. He pushed the medical kit back under the bed and got up to walk towards the kitchen.

"I'll get you a glass of water."

Tang Bufan looked out the window at the blazing sun and asked him, "Are we heading east now?"

"No, we're going to a gas station." Lu Yi quickly brought over a worn-out mug and bent down to hold the weak Tang Bufan in his arms.

His chest was broad, but his body temperature made Tang Bufan uncomfortable; Tang Bufan could feel the thin layer of sweat on his body even through his clothes.

But Tang Bufan had no strength at all and could only drink water with his help, like a paralyzed patient.

With his collared throat bobbing up and down, Tang Bufan swallowed large gulps of cool, clear water. The water nourished his limbs like a spiritual spring, and after finishing the entire cup, Tang Bufan suddenly felt much stronger.

He immediately got out of Lu Yi's warm embrace, dragged his weak body around, and leaned against the car wall.

"Would you like more water?" Lu Yi asked him, his beastly eyes, one gold and one green, filled with concern, seemingly oblivious to Tang Bufan's deliberate distancing.

"That's enough," Tang Bufan said gratefully.

Lu Yi then took the mug back to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

“The RV is well-stocked now. I killed all the poisoners in that small town and moved everything I could carry into the RV.” Lu Yi took a piece of frozen meat from the refrigerator and put it aside to thaw. Then he bent down and took out a basket of lettuce from under the kitchen cabinets, showing it to Tang Bufan like a treasure: “Look, they can even grow vegetables.”

Tang Bufan was shocked that Lu Yi had actually killed all those mutated poison people. He couldn't help but feel a little sorry for them. They had obviously restored their productivity and had even started growing vegetables... But when he thought about how he had almost been turned into a human pig by them, he suppressed his sympathy.

"Which gas station are we going to?"

“There’s another group of drug addicts working at the oil field. The RV has enough water but no fuel. The underground city in the East District is far from here, and we can’t get anywhere without fuel,” Lu Yi explained, picking up a kitchen knife to chop vegetables.

Tang Bufan agreed with Lu Yi. The RV's battery was severely aged and the charge was dropping rapidly. If they didn't have 20% charge left before nightfall, they would be in a lot of fear. But with fuel, it would be different, and they would be much bolder driving.

He then pressed further, "How far is that gas station and oil field from here?"

"We should be there soon," Lu Yi said. "We've been driving there for two days."

Tang Bufan noticed the uncertainty in his words and his gaze fell on the wrist, where he discovered that the screen of the bracelet had turned completely black again.

"Why don't you turn on your AI?" Tang Bufan asked curiously. "Your AI can use satellite positioning, right?"

The great war between humans destroyed 95% of the world's satellites. One day you bomb me, the next day I bomb you. Satellite debris then affected many high-altitude orbits, directly causing a major setback in human communications. Now, very few satellites are still functioning normally.

Under such circumstances, satellite communications can only be used by a very small number of people, who connect to the network by logging in with personal accounts.

Judging from the gentle female voice AI's performance that day, there is no doubt that Lu Yi has internet access.

Lu Yi, who was chopping vegetables, looked a little embarrassed. He hesitated for a moment before confessing to Tang Bufan, "Actually, there's a reason why I didn't turn on the AI. It's because I... am being chased."

Tang Bufan was stunned.

Lu Yi continued chopping vegetables as the RV rustled across the scorching desert. Tang Bufan leaned against the wall in silence for a moment before calming down.

"Explain in detail."

“It was an assassin sent by my brother.” Lu Yi sighed softly. “Although I left the Federation, he doesn’t intend to let me go. Activating the AI ​​will expose my location, and that assassin will come after me.”

His father would also know his whereabouts. Lu Yi's eyes narrowed slightly; he didn't want to go home.

"Do you and your brother have such a deep-seated hatred?" Tang Bufan found it hard to believe, and sending assassins to hunt down one's own brother was something no ordinary family would do. Tang Bufan then looked at Lu Yi suspiciously: "Your family isn't one of the six great families of the Western Federation, is it?"

"..." Lu Yi lowered his head and remained silent.

His silence was the answer, and Tang Bufan sighed, "You really are the city lord's child."

At first glance, Tang Bufan guessed that the Lu family was not simple. With its shiny hair, fair skin, and clear eyes, it was impossible for an ordinary family in the post-apocalyptic world to raise such a refined child.

When he inquired about which city Lu Yi was from, Lu Yi did not answer, so Tang Bufan guessed that his father was a city lord of high rank and power.

If it's about seizing the position of heir, then the pursuit is justified.

"I'm sorry." Lu Yi carried the prepared lettuce salad over and placed it on the table, apologizing to Tang Bufan in a low voice: "I dragged you into this."

Tang Bufan was not angry.

"Why should I apologize? I'm a wanted criminal anyway." Tang Bufan was starving and forced himself to get off the bed, but his legs gave way and he almost fell to the ground.

Lu Yi quickly reached out and hugged him, and Tang Bufan's face pressed against that warm and broad chest.

"..." Tang Bufan was speechless. Did this damn leg really have to force him to put on this show of throwing himself into someone's arms?

It was only after Lu Yi revealed his identity as the city lord's son that things became quite awkward.

Lu Yi pulled down the folding chair on the wall, put his strong arms around Tang Bufan, and helped him sit down in the chair.

"I'm sorry, I'm not feeling well, I didn't mean to fall into your arms." Tang Bufan was a little afraid that Lu Yi would misunderstand.

Lu Yi found his elaborate explanation rather amusing.

“I have no doubts about you, teacher.” Lu Yi looked at him gently. “I can tell whether someone likes me or not.”

He could tell that Tang Bufan didn't have those kinds of feelings for him; the man's mind was entirely focused on returning to the East District Underground City.

Tang Bufan breathed a sigh of relief. He picked up a fork with his weak hand and began to eat his salad, continuing to chat with Lu Yi about the assassin as he ate.

"We were both being hunted and wanted, and it just so happened that we ended up fleeing together," Tang Bufan said, chewing on lettuce. "Don't worry about that assassin. When he comes, I'll help you deal with him."

He owes Lu Yi a life.

Lu Yi fell silent for some reason. A complex expression appeared on his still somewhat childish face. After a long while, he finally spoke to Tang Bufan, "I don't want to kill him."

Tang Bufan wasn't too surprised. Killing a fellow countryman is different from killing a poisoner. It's normal that Lu Yi, who is kind-hearted, didn't want to kill that person.

"Then break his legs," Tang Bufan said.

Lu Yi shook his head again.

Seeing the complex expression on his face, Tang Bufan vaguely understood.

"You have a relationship with him?"

Lu nodded and then said, "His name is Anderson, and he's like... another brother to me."

Tang Bufan listened curiously, chewing his lettuce with smacking sounds.

"His family and my family have a friendship of over two hundred years. Our ancestors founded the Western Beastman Federation together. Because my brother and I didn't get along, he took my brother's place when I was a child, played with me, taught me manners, introduced me to other high-ranking beastmen, and even taught me to be gentle with humans when I was three or four years old."

Tang Bufan was surprised. This person sounded like a very good person, so he asked curiously, "Then why would he be chasing you?"

“Because of an incident that happened 11 years ago.” The orc boy lowered his eyes, his eyes filled with guilt: “He was locked up in a mental hospital… partly because of my mother.”

A note from the author:

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