Chapter 4
When I returned, there was a pot of herbal tea and a plate of snacks such as melon seeds, peanuts, dried fruit, and tofu on the folding dining table.
Director Li peeled a peanut, and the alpaca snatched it away and ate it while she wasn't looking. As soon as she looked up, the alpaca stopped chewing, incredibly cunning.
Director Li had already noticed, and suppressing a laugh, he saw Fang Xiaoyu return and flashed a wide grin, revealing eight teeth: "You've seen it? Was it fun?"
The alpaca's fur was blown about by the cool spring breeze. Although it liked to steal food, it didn't forget to shield its poor mother from the wind, who hadn't even had a few bites of peanuts.
Fang Xiaoyu: "It's alright, nothing special."
Director Huang narrowed his eyes to slits, stood up and said, "Come, come, sit down and let's talk slowly."
He gave the only two folding chairs to the lady, and then placed a plastic bag on the ground, put a cushion on it, and sat on the ground comfortably, with his back straight and the height of the table just right.
Fang Xiaoyu held the paper cup, took a sip, and said, "It tastes really good. Has anyone crawled through that trash can?"
Director Huang laughed, after all, he had also been curious: "I haven't seen any who did it voluntarily, but I have seen a few who did it passively."
These few words revealed the cruel truth that had happened. Fang Xiaoyu momentarily forgot the magic of the trash can and turned her attention to the safety of others, quickly asking, "What happened to them afterward?"
Director Huang said cheerfully, "It's all fine. We just happened to bump into them and chased them away. In the end, it was just some minor injuries, nothing serious."
He patted the alpaca and helped peel peanuts, saying, "Yangyang did a lot of work in this."
As she spoke, she recounted the details of what happened, and Fang Xiaoyu's expression changed several times as she listened.
After Director Huang had had his fill of storytelling, Director Li comforted him, saying, "It sounds a bit scary, but most people here are good, though there will inevitably be extremists everywhere."
Then she exclaimed, "Seven years, time flies!"
Director Huang casually chimed in, "It's a pity I didn't get that red certificate."
Fang Xiaoyu asked in confusion, "The red booklet?" It's not the one she's thinking of, is it?
"He regrets that he didn't get a marriage certificate back then and ended up here." Director Li laughed and patted Director Huang. "What's the big deal about the certificate? You still care about it? Aren't you afraid Xiaoyu will laugh at you?"
Director Huang chuckled: "How could I not think about it? We're on our way to get our marriage certificate, and I spent ages flipping through the calendar to pick an auspicious day."
Director Li is almost forty, and there are already faint wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. When he smiles, wrinkles appear: "Who wants to listen to you recounting old stories? When someone calls you 'mentor,' you should give them some serious, practical advice."
Director Huang smiled sheepishly: "Yes, yes, look at me, I've gone off on a tangent. Let's get back to the main topic and tell you about my experience over the years."
Fang Xiaoyu sat upright with a serious expression, listening attentively.
Director Huang began to share his insights in detail.
"This highway is very long, and I've never heard of anyone successfully leaving or finding their way to the end."
"It has a few obvious magical aspects. I'm just talking about the patterns it exhibits. They may be correct, or they may need to be revised when new phenomena appear in the future. You can listen to it, but it's best to verify it yourself later."
"For example, this rule must be remembered: there is no turning back here."
Fang Xiaoyu blinked in confusion, but Director Huang's expression remained inscrutable, as if he deliberately paused there to let her process the information without elaborating further.
She began to feel uneasy. What did this mean? Was turning back meant certain death? Fortunately, she was on the highway and had never considered turning back.
"It means you can't go back." Director Li interrupted his lover's attempt to look cool and pulled her back from her horse-riding reverie, saying, "That's not entirely accurate. Based on past experience, you can still reverse a short distance and go back a little bit. We haven't measured the exact distance. In short, the distance can't be too far. You'll understand once you experience it."
Fang Xiaoyu breathed a sigh of relief. So that's what it meant literally. Director Huang really does like to tease newcomers. She then silently memorized the contents of the document.
Director Huang took a sip of hot tea, exhaled comfortably, and continued, "Because we can't go back, we must not miss any service areas when we come across them, because we can only rely on them for all the supplies we need to live here. Moreover, their locations are not fixed; we might encounter one every three to five days, or we might only see one every two or three months. In short, we must cherish them."
Fang Xiaoyu nodded vigorously, thinking that she had restrained herself the first time and hadn't stockpiled enough.
Director Li added: "I used to see survival manuals written by others in service areas. They contained some very practical knowledge, such as how to handle first aid and common illnesses. But I don't know why I haven't seen them since. Maybe they were selfishly taken away by others."
She pulled out some photos from her phone: "Here, I took a few at the time. If you find them useful, I can send them to you via Bluetooth."
Fang Xiaoyu asked in surprise, "Bluetooth works?"
Director Li chuckled: "It works. It doesn't need a cell tower or satellite or anything. Two phones can transmit if they're close together. My old phone model was too old and didn't have this function. I had to learn it from another survivor."
Fang Xiaoyu quickly turned on Bluetooth, and after pairing up, she received more than a dozen photos.
What to do if you have a fever
How to provide first aid for heatstroke
How to handle blood loss
Essential Medications List Reference
Sharing my experience on maintaining a minimum calorie intake during periods of resource scarcity
How to ensure a balanced diet
Pet Health Care
...
Some of the content is familiar, while some is not needed for the time being, but it's better to be prepared.
Pointing to one of the pictures, she asked, "I didn't see any pharmacies in the service areas, nor in the convenience stores, not even a single plaster. How did you collect the medicines mentioned in this list? Could you please explain?"
"Isn't the service area you went to a bit small?" Director Li said. "Larger service areas have separate pharmacies. When you have the chance to come across one, you can easily collect everything."
Fang Xiaoyu realized what was happening, thanked her, and wrote it down again.
Director Huang changed his posture and continued sharing: "Don't be surprised if you see other people or cars suddenly disappear. They are actually still on this road. If you're lucky, you'll meet them again in three to five days. If you're unlucky, you may never see them again in this lifetime." By the end, his expression had become very serious.
Fang Xiaoyu also involuntarily sat up straight, and the corners of her mouth turned up as well.
Director Li sighed and added, "In the real world, you may be separated from your classmates, friends, and colleagues. Even if you are in the same country, the same city, or even the same neighborhood, you may rarely see each other. So what's the big deal? Don't overthink it, just let nature take its course."
She took a sip of tea to warm herself up and continued, "Furthermore, from our observation, people in the same car don't get separated or lost. I've also seen convoys of multiple cars linked together with tow ropes or something similar before, presumably to prevent them from getting separated, which should be effective. You can refer to this if you encounter a car convoy in the future."
Fang Xiaoyu asked curiously, "Didn't you consider coming with the convoy?"
Director Huang poured Director Li a cup of tea and smiled, "Too many people are a hassle. We prefer to be alone, so we don't join in the crowd. It's enough for us to chat with someone we click with on the street."
Then he muttered to himself, "Is there anything else I should pay attention to...? It seems like these are all the important things. Is there anything I've missed..."
Director Li warmed his hands with a teacup and said, "We considered joining the racing team at first, but some unpleasant things happened. It's better now; we don't need to socialize much. If we pay more attention to our daily lives, we can manage."
"It's just a bit lacking in entertainment, isn't it?" Fang Xiaoyu laughed, pulling up her phone's download history. "Do you like these? I'll send them to you via Bluetooth."
Director Li glanced at her with a puzzled look, but the next second his eyes were glued to her phone screen.
This folder contains titles like "X Fat X Thin", "XX Palace Intrigue", "XX Journey", "XX Biography", and "XX City's Richest Man"... Just by listening to the titles and promotional images, you can tell they're good dramas and films!
The next folder contains: "XX Variety Shows", "XX Stage", "XX Singer", "XX Street Dance"...
Another folder, a long list of novels, all of them completed!
Director Li… Director Li was so happy he could barely speak: “This, this, so many?!”
Director Huang glanced at the files out of the corner of his eye and was also stuck on the pages of male-oriented novels. This one, this one, and this one—each file was huge, easily at least a million words long.
He was also a little excited: "This...this is too much of a gift!"
Fang Xiaoyu was amused by their reactions and nodded: "Yeah, how much memory do your phones have? How many can you receive? I'll send them all to you."
The couple happily took out their new phones, accepting this incredible windfall.
It was late at night, the tea on the table had long since gone cold, and the food in my stomach had been mostly digested. Staying any longer in the cool early spring night, no matter how many layers I wore, would make me feel a bit cold.
The couple thought it over carefully and realized they had said everything they needed to say. With the new electronic entertainment they had acquired, their minds were elsewhere, and they soon said goodnight to each other.
Director Huang packed his things into the car one by one. Director Li then remembered something and said, "There are no laws or ethics here. It's best to be wary of strangers and cars. Don't approach them casually like you did today. After all, you're all alone, so it's better to be careful."
Fang Xiaoyu still had the pepper spray in her pocket, but her hands were no longer on it. Hearing this, she nodded obediently, "I remember, thank you."
After watching them close the car door, she returned to the car, closed the door, opened a small crack in the window to let in some fresh air, and plugged the electric kettle into the cigarette lighter to boil water.
After boiling the water, I kept one cup in a thermos to drink. I originally planned to use the rest to clean my body, but I gave up on that and saved it for washing and drinking tomorrow. I simply wiped my hands and feet with wet wipes, then wrapped myself in a blanket and lay down on the lowered driver's seat. Recalling the events of the day, I endured the aches and pains all over my body and drifted off to sleep.
At six o'clock in the morning, the sun rose, and the sunlight shone directly into people's eyes through the windshield without any obstruction.
Fang Xiaoyu was still a little sleepy when she woke up, and her body made a protesting sound with the slightest movement.
When they got out of the car, Director Huang was brushing his teeth in front of it. Director Li heard the noise and poked his head out of the car. He looked like he hadn't slept all night, with dark circles under his eyes, and he was unusually excited: "It's been so long since I stayed up all night watching a drama. I'm having so much fun watching it!"
Fang Xiaoyu stretched her limbs and smiled, "I'm glad you like them! I only kept them because I thought they looked good."
"Good eye!" Director Li gave a thumbs up and lay back down in the car.
The folding dining table has been put back in its old spot, with three bowls of steaming white porridge and some side dishes on it.
"Come over and have some porridge after you've washed up. It's the best thing to drink in the morning to soothe your stomach," Director Huang said in greeting.
Fang Xiaoyu thanked them, washed up and dried her face, and then had breakfast at the couple's place.
Director Huang said, "We plan to leave in half an hour. What about you?"
Fang Xiaoyu: "Let's go together, I'll drive slowly from behind."
Director Huang: "Okay, I'll call you when we set off."
Fang Xiaoyu thanked him and got back into the car to check her phone.
I first saw the self-proving video, then pressed the delete button, hesitated for a moment, and then released it.
Then I opened the chat software, skipped all the company groups 1, 2, 3, 4... and went straight to the bottom, opened the chat box with Fang's mother, and read through the unread messages one by one.
"Don't forget to put the food in the trunk in the fridge when you get home from get off work."
"Remember to put the preserved fish, smoked meat, and sausages in the freezer. They can be stored for a long time. When you want to eat them, just take them out, cut off a couple of pieces, steam them, and they'll be delicious."
"You can leave the pickled radishes out or refrigerate them as you like."
...
"Xiaoyu—" Director Li called out, "We're ready to go!"
Director Huang was sitting in the driver's seat, already fastened his seatbelt, and looked at her through the rearview mirror.
Fang Xiaoyu put down her phone and pressed the start button: "Coming!"
Soon, the SUV started moving and set off, with the white sedan following closely behind, pulling away from the roadside and returning to the normal lane.
Since the SUV was traveling at less than 100 km/h, Fang Xiaoyu also kept her speed low and maintained a following distance.
Fifteen minutes later, the air suddenly rippled like water, and in the blink of an eye, the SUV was completely wiped away by an invisible hand.
They've disappeared!
"squeak--"
Fang Xiaoyu slammed on the brakes, making a screeching sound. Her upper body lurched forward a head's length due to inertia before being stopped by the steering wheel.
She blinked hard, unable to believe her eyes.
Such a big car just disappeared like that?
She quickly opened the door and got out of the car, looking around frantically.
There wasn't a single trace on the ground, not even tire tracks.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com