Chapter 6 Transcending the Apocalypse - Part 6 As dawn broke, the two...
The two set off as dawn broke. The outside temperature was 27°C, which made it easier for Tang Bufan to drive; otherwise, he would have been unbearably hot by noon.
Along the way, the two encountered small clusters of cacti and shrubs. Lu Yi was a person who had a keen eye for things, so he took the initiative to get out of the car to pick them. The cacti could be eaten, and the shrubs could be collected to make firewood.
While picking cacti, Lu Yi caught a gerbil and immediately returned to the RV to show it to Tang Bufan like a treasure. The tiny gerbil could only stick its head out of the beastman boy's big hand, its eyes were dark and pitiful, making Tang Bufan's mouth water.
"There's a barbecue grill in the kitchen." Tang Bufan, who hadn't eaten meat for almost two months, immediately stopped the car and walked into the passenger compartment.
Lu Yi followed behind him, holding the gerbil, and saw him push aside the pile of bushes in the corner of the kitchen and find a rusty barbecue grill.
"You sit down, I'll do it." Lu Yi walked to the kitchen counter, picked up the kitchen knife hanging on the car wall, pressed down on the gerbil and stomped his head. Since there was no water, he simply wiped his hands with a dirty rag, and then came to Tang Bufan's side.
The barbecue grill was rectangular, heavy, and large. Tang Bufan's thin limbs couldn't lift it, so he obediently stepped aside.
Kai opened the thick iron door of the RV, and Lu Yi carried the barbecue grill out. The sun was already high in the sky, and the solar panels on the roof of the RV were slowly unfolding.
There are four solar panels in total. When folded, two are on top, and when unfolded, the bottom ones extend to the left and right, which increases the charging area and can also be used as a sunshade for the RV.
Even with four large power boards, the RV still struggles with power. The RV is too heavy, which consumes a lot of electricity, and the power boards and batteries are severely aged. It can only be driven for a maximum of three hours a day. Tang Bufan needs to ensure that the batteries have 20% charge before nightfall every day.
Lu Yi stuffed some shrubs into the barbecue grill and lit it with a lighter. Tang Bufan saw that the outside was bathed in golden sunlight and the air was starting to feel hot, so he decided not to go out.
"You keep baking, I'll fix the car window."
"Okay," Lu Yi replied obediently.
Tang Bufan walked to the shelf and began to rummage through it carefully. A few minutes later, he rolled up a thick tarpaulin, took some scissors, went into the driver's cab, and used black tape to wrap the hole in the window several times.
Tang Bufan pressed it with his hand, praying that there wouldn't be a hurricane, as the tarpaulin and tape definitely wouldn't hold up.
The gerbils were roasted very quickly. After skinning and gutting a gerbil the size of a palm, there wasn't much meat left, and you could barely eat a few bites.
"You eat first, I'll go catch a few more." Lu Yi returned to the car and handed the roasted golden-brown gerbils to Tang Bufan.
Tang Bufan glanced at him and sincerely thanked him:
"Thanks."
Lu Yi was somewhat pleased, gave him a slight smile, and then went out again.
The RV's alloy iron door closed, and Tang Bufan folded down a chair and sat down. His mouth was already full of saliva, and he was so hungry that he immediately tore off the black cloth from his mouth and took a big bite.
The gerbils were roasted by Lu Yi and smelled delicious. Although no seasoning was added, Tang Bufan still ate with great satisfaction, and his previously weak body regained some strength.
In fact, Tang Bufan had seen this kind of animal before when he was picking cacti, but they were small and agile, and they would burrow into the sand as soon as they sensed something was wrong. Tang Bufan had no way to dig them out under the scorching sun of fifty or sixty degrees Celsius. At most, he could dig them out with a shovel after nightfall.
But Lu Yi, being an orc, caught it easily. He stretched out his strong, long arm and grabbed it in just one second.
He's truly a remarkable person. Tang Bufan looked out the car window, but the orc boy was no longer visible.
"Xiao Tang, he's not bad." The RV's AI emitted a gentle electronic male voice.
“I know, Brother Kai.” Tang Bufan sucked on the iron skewer with lingering satisfaction. “I’ll observe him for a while longer.”
"He'll get up at night to keep an eye on you, just in case, hide the gun under your pillow."
Tang Bufan stood up: "You're right."
Lu Yi didn't go too far, probably because he was afraid that Tang Bufan would abandon him and drive away. He only breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw that the heavy RV was still in the same place.
He caught a sand hare and seven or eight gerbils, their thin, fleshy tails held in his hands like ropes.
"So many!" Tang Bufan was pleasantly surprised, and squeezed into the small kitchen with him.
"Not many. I can catch a bunch more once the RV moves to another location." Lu Yidao said, taking a kitchen knife to cut off the rat's head and then deftly peeling off the skin with his hands.
"You're quite capable." Tang Bufan watched from the side, his gaze towards the orc boy changing slightly: "I originally thought you couldn't do these kinds of jobs."
Tang Bufan's first impression of Lu Yi was that he was a young master from a wealthy family.
“I’ve been wandering around for two months now.” Lu Yi became a little shy after being praised. “And the college organizes two field trips every year.”
They were still hunting mutated beasts and poisonous people.
"No wonder." Tang Bufan opened the large freezer next to him with trembling hands, put in the skinned gerbils, and the two of them would only need four for lunch.
The freezer had been empty for over a month and had long since stopped cooling, so Tang Bufan called out, "Brother Kai, turn on the freezer's cooling."
"Okay, Xiao Tang," came the gentle electronic male voice.
"Why is it called Brother Kai?" Lu Yi asked curiously while peeling the rat's skin. The army doesn't give AIs special names; the AI's name is whatever the vehicle's serial number is.
Moreover, the name Kai Ge is quite difficult to pronounce.
Tang Bufan hesitated for a moment before telling Lu Yi, "My colleague's name is Zhao Kai. His desk is right next to mine. I teach Chinese and he teaches math. At first, I called him Teacher Zhao, but he said I was being too polite and told me to call him Little Zhao. I said that wouldn't do, so in the end I just called him Brother Kai."
After finishing his sentence, Tang Bufan smiled nostalgically: "He was a very generous person, five years older than me, and he helped me a lot like a guide. I miss him very much."
The reason he gave the AI this name was simply to pretend that he still had familiar people around him, to pretend that the person talking to him on his long journey was not a cold artificial intelligence, but his best friend.
Lu Yi sensed the loneliness in Tang Bufan's words. He hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Do you like him?"
Tang Bufan paused for a moment, then his voice deepened: "He is my best friend. Don't always think about romantic love."
His anger caught Lu Yi completely off guard.
Tang Bufan looked at him, who was somewhat dazed, and then glanced at the rat meat on the cutting board. His tone softened.
"I like women, I'm not gay." Tang Bufan felt it was better to make things clear sooner rather than later, although he didn't think Lu Yi would like him: "I used to respect all sexual orientations, but after coming here, some things happened... I'm quite averse to homosexuality now."
Lu Yi glanced at the silver collar around Tang Bufan's neck and understood somewhat, at the same time feeling relieved.
"I'm sorry, there are very few truly committed heterosexuals these days," Lu Yi apologized to him.
There are very few women on the surface, and the underground cities don't easily release women either; they also need women with strong fertility.
"It's nothing." Tang Bufan's anger subsided slowly; this orc boy always had a very good attitude.
Lu Yi lowered his head again to continue processing the gerbils and hares. His two arms, exposed outside his vest, were strong and powerful, with muscles that were as beautifully sculpted as a Greek sculpture.
Tang Bufan noticed a black bracelet on his right wrist. It was exquisite and probably a high-end product, but the small screen was dark.
Tang Bufan had seen the bracelet yesterday, but Lu Yi was wearing a necklace and earrings, looking incredibly fashionable, so the black bracelet didn't stand out much on him.
"Is this a personal AI?" Tang Bufan asked. He had heard that high-level beastmen all had their own personal AI, powered by nuclear batteries, which could last for decades without needing to be recharged, and were extremely powerful.
More importantly, they are said to be able to connect to satellites and enable telephone communication.
Lu Yi's eyes flickered slightly, and he immediately covered the bracelet with his hand to conceal it.
“It… is broken,” he said.
"..." Tang Bufan raised an eyebrow, but did not continue to inquire.
The two shared the sand rabbit and three gerbils. Lu Yi ate most of them, while Tang Bufan could only eat two rabbit legs before he was completely full.
His stomach had shrunk from prolonged hunger.
"Take it slow, your appetite will increase." Lu Yi looked at Tang Bufan, who was wrapped in tattered black cloth and looked as thin as a withered tree, and planned for him: "Although there are toxins in the meat, with the help of an antidote, you will... slowly become healthy."
He spoke in a very tactful tone, but Tang Bufan knew that the antidote could only delay his death. The surface was not suitable for human survival at all, and no matter how much he recuperated, he would still die if he did not enter the underground city.
The RV was charged until 3 p.m. before the auxiliary battery was retracted and it set off again. Tang Bufan was still driving, and Lu Yi was sitting in the passenger seat giving him directions.
The RV stopped at 6 p.m. to prepare for the night, and Lu Yi went hunting again, returning half an hour later with two sand hares.
Tang Bufan found the last bit of salt, while Lu Yi carried the heavy barbecue grill outside.
The temperature was slowly dropping. Tang Bufan glanced at the temperature display on the glass: 39°C. He then took two camping chairs and got out of the RV.
"It's inconvenient for me to sit while I'm grilling meat. Please move away from the stove; it's hot." Lu Yi declined Tang Bufan's offer of a chair.
Tang Bufan then moved to a distance, unfolded a folding camping chair, sat down comfortably, and began to enjoy the breeze and watch the sunset.
The clouds began to resemble blood again, and they swirled eerily. Tang Bufan was terrified of these blood clouds, especially after he was left alone, and he often had the illusion of falling into hell.
Now that he has someone else by his side, he dares to look closely again.
Lu Yi was grilling the rabbit meat very seriously. Tang Bufan, having enjoyed the breeze for a while, chatted with him idly.
"You used to live in the Western Federation, right?"
Lu Yi sensed a subtle wariness.
"Yes," he replied.
"Which city?" Tang Bufan asked again, remembering that the Western Federation seemed to consist of six major cities.
The high-ranking orc families are a new noble family born in the apocalypse. The six major cities are also governed by the six families. Since Lu Yi is a high-ranking orc, his father is a senior commander, even if he is not the city lord.
Above that is the head of state who rules over the entire federation.
“I don’t plan to go back, so it doesn’t matter which city.” Lu Yi politely declined to answer, looking at Tang Bufan nestled in the camping chair.
"And you? How many years have you been wandering the ground?"
"Four years." Tang Bufan sighed deeply.
Lu Yi was somewhat surprised; it took longer than he had imagined.
"What about the previous owner of the RV?" Lu Yi asked again, "When did you kill them?"
“Two months ago,” Tang Bufan replied, then asked, “Was your mother a member of the resistance movement?”
Lu Yi's eyelashes trembled, and her expression changed. Tang Bufan then knew that he had guessed correctly.
Every year, many resistance-affiliated humans are captured and forced to marry orcs, and judging from Lu Yi's attitude towards himself, it is not hard to guess that his mother belongs to the resistance faction.
"Yes," Lu Yi admitted, his voice lowering slightly, "My mother hated orcs, but my father forced her into marriage, which made her life very painful..."
After he finished speaking, his one gold and one green eye looked at Tang Bufan with a slightly deep gaze, and he smiled gently with a complex expression: "So you really don't need to worry about me marking you. I have absolutely no intention of getting married."
While Tang Bufan was wary of him, Lu Yi was also worried that Tang Bufan would fall in love with him. This had happened many times before... because they wanted to marry him because he was good to them.
Upon hearing this, Tang Bufan met his gaze, and then the two of them laughed.
“But some of your behaviors don’t seem like it,” Tang Bufan teased him. “They’re easy to misunderstand.”
For example, the time he was suddenly pressed down on top of him.
"I have been reflecting on myself." Lu Yi said awkwardly, Tang Bufan's scent was really bothering him.
"But isn't it a bit hasty to decide not to get married so early?" Tang Bufan, as an elder, pondered, "You still have a long life ahead of you. You might meet a human who is a suitable beast-lover."
"No way." Lu flipped the rabbit meat on the grill over. "Orc genes aren't exactly good genes, and marriage means procreation. Having children would just mean letting them live in this sad apocalypse."
"You kid..." Tang Bufan looked at him in surprise: "You seem so sunny and cheerful on the outside, how come you're so gloomy on the inside?"
Hearing him call him "child," Lu Yi's expression turned somewhat strange, and she couldn't help but ask him, "How old are you?"
27.
"He's only ten years older than me."
"I'll always be ten years older than you." Tang Bufan found his advantage and began to rely on his age: "There's really no need to be so pessimistic. Look at me, I'm in this terrible state and I still want to go back. I've never given up. You're only seventeen, full of youthful vigor, be optimistic."
Lu Yi looked at him with a half-smile: "Are you lecturing me, teacher?"
"...Don't call me teacher." Tang Bufan realized that his well-intentioned advice was being mocked.
Lu Yi didn't mean to mock Tang Bufan. He stood in front of the barbecue grill and flipped the rabbit over again, thinking about Tang Bufan's nagging to him yesterday, urging him to go back to school, and the burlap schoolbag that he had excitedly hidden away...
"Why don't you be my teacher?" Lu Yi had an idea: "There's no entertainment on the bus anyway, you can teach me something."
Tang Bufan was taken aback, then refused without hesitation: "No."
In Tang Bufan's mind, he had long since lost the right to be a teacher.
He was a little unhappy.
"Just treat it as a pastime." Lu Yi, however, was quite interested, blinking her heterochromatic eyes at him: "Okay? Teacher?"
His kind attitude and gentle voice stirred Tang Bufan's heart, captivating him with the word "teacher."
But after sitting sullenly in the chair for a while, he shook his head.
"I've forgotten everything I learned in college," Tang Bufan said in a low voice, with a hint of regret in his heart. "I only have one year of teaching experience... What can I teach you?"
Lu Yi thought for a moment and said, "Chinese?"
After 1200 years of turmoil, many languages have disappeared, and the world now uses a universal language that evolved from English.
It took Tang Bufan a year to fully master the language after he came to this world.
"Chinese?" Tang Bufan hadn't spoken Chinese in a long time, and his eyes finally lit up.
Tang Bufan lacked confidence in other subjects, but he dared to teach Chinese. He was a Chinese language teacher and had also studied calligraphy for seven years.
“The leader of the Eastern Federation is working hard to restore the Chinese language, and there are many Chinese humans in the Eastern Underground City. If you teach me Chinese, I’ll definitely be able to use it in the future,” Lu Yi continued.
Tang Bufan still hesitated: "Let me think about it..."
"It's settled then." Lu Yi didn't give him time to continue hesitating, and a gentle smile appeared on his face: "Please take care of me in the future, Teacher Tang."
Tang Bufan smiled. He looked at Lu Yi, whose features were as beautiful as a painting, and leaned back in his camping chair, feeling relaxed as the evening breeze blew.
Becoming a teacher again... well, consider it fulfilling a dream before I die.
A note from the author:
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