Chapter 71 Beijing Ruins - 7 *……
***
The RV drove along the snow-covered streets. The metal partition door between the driver's cab and the passenger compartment opened, and Lu Yi slowly walked in.
Anderson sat in the passenger seat and turned to look at Lu.
"..." Lu Yi sat down in the driver's seat in silence. He glanced at the time in the corner of the glass screen: 8:27 a.m.
The RV was driving on a rather congested main road, with many abandoned cars parked on the road, but the gaps between them were not so large that the RV could not drive.
Lu Yi reached out and tapped the screen to bring up the map. The RV was still in the outer ring of Beijing, heading south towards the city center.
"I'll get off when the road is clear," Anderson said indifferently, implying that he would leave on his own later.
Lu Yi listened with mixed feelings. He was so angry yesterday that he asked Anderson to get out of the car, but after calming down, he realized that his behavior was too ungrateful.
Although Anderson had a sharp tongue, he always agreed to help him despite his grumbling. He shouldn't have treated him that way.
Lu Yi felt a little regretful, so after thinking for a moment, he said in a mixed voice, "I need to find some down jackets and down comforters for the teacher. As for leaving... let's talk about it when I get back."
Anderson sneered, "What, haven't you had enough of using me as a tool? You want me to take care of him before I leave?"
"No, that's not it." Lu Yi apologized to him guiltily, "I said those hurtful things yesterday, I didn't really want you to leave."
“No, you really mean it.” Anderson casually rested his elbow on the car window, looked outside, and said sarcastically, “He’s already the most important person in your heart.”
Lu Yi remained silent.
The heavy snow had covered the entire abandoned city in a grayish-white hue, but it wasn't snowing today, and the clouds overhead weren't so thick. A few beams of winter sunlight pierced through the gray, cotton-like gaps, forming large pillars of light that shone on a few lucky areas below, where they reflected a bright light.
Because of the good weather, there were signs of many creatures on the road, mostly furry, cold-resistant creatures. Occasionally, a few poisonous humans could be seen shivering in the snow, their pale, emaciated bodies searching for food.
The mutated poisonous humans didn't seem to have spread here, which surprised Lu Yi. He had originally thought that a stronghold of poisonous humans like Beijing must have been secretly infiltrated by that organization.
Is it because this place is so close to Taicheng? Lu Yixin wondered.
However, even ordinary poisoners shouldn't be underestimated. Lu Yi stared at the map, watching the RV's route. Kai Ge slowed down a bit, analyzing the best route with Anthony.
The intersection ahead was blocked, filled with wrecked vehicles, while the overpass not far away looked relatively clear.
As they drove and circled around, they finally made their way into the inner ring road. The surrounding urban ruins were noticeably more desolate than those on the outer ring road, and the roads were much more congested, making it almost impossible to move. In the end, Kai had no choice but to drive on top of those abandoned cars.
Seeing that the speed was too slow, Lu Yi simply opened the driver's side door and got out of the car, following the RV on foot, while also searching the abandoned vehicles for any useful supplies.
But almost every car's trunk lid and doors were open, indicating that the crowds who flocked to Beijing for refuge a thousand years ago had already thoroughly searched the area.
Lu Yi suddenly saw a large square in the distance. The sculptures covered in white snow on the square were very large and eye-catching. His eyes lit up, so he stepped onto the roof of the car and returned to the RV.
He opened a hidden compartment in the driver's cab, took out the light-screen glasses inside, and said to Anderson, who was still sitting in the passenger seat, "I'm going to check out that square, teacher, please take care of it."
Anderson found it amusing that he could still ask him for a favor as if nothing had happened.
He didn't respond to Lu Yi, but just gave a cold smile.
Lu Yi took it as a yes, still trusting Anderson completely. After putting on the light screen glasses, he got out of the RV, nimbly stepped onto the roof of an abandoned car, and leaped high into the air, running towards the square.
Anderson watched him walk away before lazily getting up from the passenger seat.
But instead of getting into the carriage, he sat in the driver's seat.
The silver-haired, silver-eyed orc raised his wrist and pulled out a thin data cable from the side of his black bracelet.
The electronic camera, flashing red light, turned around.
"Anderson, what are you going to do?" Kai asked the orc in a gentle electronic male voice.
Anderson calmly plugged the data cable into the AI host interface located under the driver's seat.
“Of course, I’ll help your master.” Anderson looked up at it with a half-smile, meeting its electronic eye. “Your computing power is too poor to analyze the best escape route. I’ll have Anthony help you.”
“I’m connected to Anthony via the network, so I can let it calculate and then give the result… beep.” The flashing red light from the camera went out.
At the same time, the RV, which had lost control, came to a stop.
Anderson glanced at the lowered electronic eye and sneered, "A mere B-type armored cargo vehicle's AI dares to act like a high-level AI?"
After he finished speaking, he reached out and took off his wristband, placing it on the front desk.
“Anthony, get out of here.”
"Where are we going, Dad?" the AI boy's voice came from the bracelet, asking Anderson.
Anderson thought for a moment and said nonchalantly, "Anywhere is fine, as long as we get out of this city first."
"Oh!" the little boy responded. The RV, with the abandoned car on top of it, started moving again as its engine heated up in the cold air.
Anderson got up and went into the carriage. He casually walked over to Tang Bufan, who was still lying there asleep under a heavy animal skin blanket.
Anderson crouched down and gently patted Tang Bufan's pale face a few times.
"Get up."
The man didn't react. Anderson clicked his tongue and slapped Tang Bufan's face harder, making a loud "slap slap" sound.
Tang Bufan finally woke up. His eyes, which he opened with great effort, were blurry and he couldn't focus on the light. But because of the pain, he subconsciously reached out to touch his slightly red face.
“If you dare to fall asleep again, I’ll kill you.” Anderson looked down at him coldly, his silver-gray eyes filled with disdain, as if he were looking at an ant. Then, without waiting for Tang Bufan’s response, he stood up.
He walked towards the kitchen.
Boxes of food that Lu Yi brought up yesterday were stacked in the kitchen. Among them, a box of canned fruit was placed on the counter. Lu Yi had specially opened it for Tang Bufan yesterday, which was really too much of a flattery.
Anderson coldly picked up a can of fruit, held it up to his eyes, and looked at it. It was a can of peaches, and it looked very sweet.
Humans would probably like to eat it, right? Anderson thought to himself, tossing the canned food aside and then squatting down to rummage through the box next to the counter.
That was a medical kit, and because of Tang Bufan, it was mostly filled with medicines for human use. But Anderson managed to find a strip of capsules after searching around.
Anderson squinted, turned his head to look at the man, and saw that he was struggling to get up from the floor. He seemed to be in great pain, probably because he was forced to get up early. He crawled to the window, groaned in pain, and pried off the folding chair on the wall to sit down.
Anderson got up, strolled over to him, and then, with a "thud," put the can of peaches down in front of Tang Bufan.
The noise he made startled Tang Bufan, who opened his still somewhat drowsy dark eyes to look at him.
Anderson sat down opposite him with a smile, raised his right hand, pinched a dark red capsule between his index finger and thumb, and asked Tang Bufan:
Do you know what this is?
Tang Bufan was puzzled. He frowned and squinted, his long hair was messy and his face was extremely ugly. He was used to sleeping until noon or afternoon, but it was only ten o'clock in the morning. This kind of "early waking up" made his deeply poisoned body very uncomfortable. He felt that his internal organs were in pain.
But he was worried about leaving today, so he fought a fierce battle with his sleepiness in his mind before he finally managed to get up.
To be honest, he's so uncomfortable from not getting enough sleep that he almost wants to cry.
Tang Bufan was unable to answer Anderson and gently shook his head.
"Orcs use potent antipyretics that humans cannot take, as they can cause liver and kidney failure due to their excessive potency," Anderson said to Tang Bufan with a smile, holding the capsule in front of Tang Bufan. "To warn humans that they cannot take it, all orc medicines are labeled with this dark red color."
Tang Bufan was slightly taken aback, his eyes clearing a bit.
"Is Lu Yi sick?" Tang Bufan asked, turning his head to look around the carriage, but he did not see the orc boy.
As the RV drove along an abandoned commercial street, Tang Bufan realized that the weather was nice today, with sunshine outside.
“He’s not sick. This pill is for you.” Anderson smiled and placed the red capsule on the table under Tang Bufan’s puzzled gaze.
He pushed the canned peaches and capsules toward Tang Bufan together.
"...I don't understand." Tang Bufan vaguely sensed something was wrong; his Adam's apple bobbed. "Where's Lu Yi?"
"He went to the mall to find you a down jacket." Anderson smiled at Tang Bufan. Feeling that the air in the carriage was stuffy, he reached out and opened the window without waiting for Tang Bufan to put on the wolfskin coat.
The cold air immediately entered the car, and the coolness made Anderson feel very comfortable. This feeling of not having to take care of Tang Bufan was so pleasant.
He was really fed up with the fact that Tang Bufan had to come first in everything.
Tang Bufan, wearing a large and worn-out gray sweater, stared blankly at Anderson in the cold wind, exhaling a thin stream of warm breath.
"So..." Tang Bufan looked at the canned fruit and red capsules in front of him, still not understanding: "What does this mean?"
Anderson's gaze fell on Tang Bufan's neck, where the silver choker was half-hidden by the collar of his sweater.
“Tell me the collar code, and you can eat canned fruit.” Anderson tapped the surface of the can lightly with his fingers, making a knocking sound, then narrowed his eyes and changed the subject: “Or… take this pill and die a quick and painless death.”
"..." Tang Bufan's eyelashes trembled slightly. He was probably too nervous, and he didn't even feel cold.
He finally understood that Anderson wanted to kill him.
"If it's because of what happened yesterday, I apologize to you..."
"Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop." Anderson leaned closer to him, somewhat neurotically interrupting Tang Bufan as he pressed his index and middle fingers against his lips: "I don't want your apology, I want you to make a choice, understand?"
Anderson's silver-grey eyes glanced down at the rows of cans and capsules, then he looked up slyly: "Canned or capsules?"
Tang Bufan's heart raced. Due to tension and fear, Anderson's aura was too strong. Even though he had a frivolous appearance, the way he looked at Tang Bufan and his cold tone made Tang Bufan feel like a prisoner, and Anderson was his superior interrogating him, the kind who could explode in anger at any moment.
"I'll leave on my own." Tang Bufan tried to calm himself down: "Lu Yi isn't here now, I'll leave on my own."
“It’s no use.” Anderson looked at him seriously: “As long as you don’t die, Lu Yi will not leave you. He says he’s being discreet, and you say you’ll go far away, but in the end you will still get together, because not only does he want to, but you do too.”
Anderson moved a little closer to Tang Bufan, lightly tapping his slightly darkened lips with his finger: "You know very well, Madam, that you need him. You left to show me that you're leaving so that when Lu Yi catches up with you, you can continue to manipulate him with an innocent face. Look at you, how cunning you are."
Tang Bufan clenched his hands on his lap, then reached out to grab Anderson's hand, trying to push him away. Anderson noticed his intention, but smiled coldly and simply covered the lower half of Tang Bufan's face with his entire palm, gripping it tightly.
Tang Bufan was breathing heavily, his hands gripping Anderson's wrists, but he couldn't budge him an inch.
"Canned or capsule?" Anderson asked Tang Bufan again, his eyes slightly crazed: "Choose canned, tell me the collar code, and you will become Little Louis's wife, become one of us orcs, and become the First Lady of the Western Federation, revered by thousands. Choose capsule... hah."
Anderson couldn't help but chuckle: "All I can say is that you're an idiot."
Tang Bufan's mouth was forcefully covered, making it difficult for him to speak, but he was also helpless and unable to make a sound... He had no choice.
"Say it, say it!" Anderson pinched Tang Bufan's face hard until Tang Bufan's chest heaved so much that he could hardly breathe, then he flung his hand away and coldly released him.
Tang Bufan almost fell off his chair. His eyes were red as he clung to the table, his lips trembling, before he managed to say with difficulty, "I can walk by myself."
Anderson laughed again, first softly, then gradually exaggeratedly, and finally raising his head in laughter.
After he finished laughing, he reached out and pushed the red capsule toward Tang Bufan.
"Even now, you still won't choose Louis the Younger. You can eat it yourself."
Tang Bufan gritted his teeth and looked at the tall orc sitting opposite him: "...You have absolutely no right to decide my life or death."
“No, I have it, and I’m deciding right now.” Anderson was getting impatient and urged Tang Bufan, “Hurry up and take the medicine. Dying will end it all. You won’t be able to get to Penglai alive. You’ll just be a parasite clinging to Louis and sucking his blood.”
Anderson's analogy made Tang Bufan's heart clench with pain, and his eyes involuntarily reddened.
"I..." Tang Bufan opened his lips, but before he could speak, tears streamed down his face. He began to plead with Anderson across the table, "I'm not a parasite... I can live on my own... Please let me go... I know Lu Yi is in danger with me... I'll go on my own..."
With a loud bang, Anderson slammed his fist on the table. Tang Bufan was startled, and tears continued to fall from his eyes.
“Let’s get this straight, madam.” Anderson was truly exasperated. He growled at Tang Bufan with extreme impatience, “Don’t you understand yet? There’s no love in your heart! It’s filled with nothing but hatred! But little Louis is different! He doesn’t hate; he’s filled with nothing but you! Let him go! Stop dragging him along!”
"..." Tang Bufan listened in a daze, his throat felt sore, and after a moment, he slowly reached out and picked up the red capsule.
"!" Anderson's eyes widened slightly, his gaze trembling. Even though he had been urging Tang Bufan, he was still stunned when Tang Bufan actually picked up the capsule.
“You’re right.” Tang Bufan looked at Anderson with red, swollen eyes, tears streaming down his face. “My obsession shouldn’t hold Lu Yi back.”
After he finished speaking, he put the red capsule into his mouth under Anderson's watchful gaze.
"..." Anderson stared blankly as he swallowed the capsule, his Adam's apple bobbing. He suddenly twitched the corner of his mouth.
"...How could someone be so stupid?"
Tang Bufan felt his heart pounding faster and his internal organs burning. He smiled through his tears, a smile filled with bitterness.
"I'm not stupid. You've always said I'm cunning. I'm just... too unwilling to accept it."
After Tang Bufan finished speaking, he opened his mouth and vomited a large mouthful of bright red blood.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com