"Buzz—buzz buzz—"

The sound of static in the RV speakers suddenly changed, instantly grabbing the attention of Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei.

Both looked at the speakers simultaneously, and soon the mechanical dog's synthetic electronic voice sounded: "Broadcast signal connected, please hurry and converse."

"Alright!"

Lu Xi'an said, "Thank you, Gou."

Gou: "Mechanical Dog 02 always serves you fully, no need to thank."

Lu Xi'an: "..."

After expressing gratitude to Mechanical Dog 02, Luo Ping's voice soon came from the RV speaker: "Big brother and sister? Why call so early in the morning? Is there something urgent?"

He took this broadcast signal connection as a phone call, but thinking about it, there's no issue since this private line contact indeed serves as a "phone." Lu Xi'an didn't refute.

Luo Ping continued, "Big brother and sister, you can tell me anything. Is there something you need us to help with? Where are you now? If it's truly urgent, we'll brave the cold weather to find you and assist!"

His tone seemed to thump his chest, taking on all tasks, but Lu Xi'an inexplicably trusted him, feeling he could indeed accomplish it.

Lu Xi'an said, "No need to brave this weather; the roads may have ice, too slippery and unsafe. We don't need anything, just at the east side of Tunshan Village, we found a fruit tree that has borne fruit.

"I wanted to ask if you guys know how to transplant. If you do, come over and move this tree to nurture it well."

"A fruit-bearing tree?!"

Luo Ping was shocked, "Big brother, you aren't kidding me, right?! I've already been all around Pingchuan City east, west, south, and I've visited the east side too—how could there be a fruit-bearing tree there?!

"If there were a tree, it would've long been occupied by the folks from southern Henan County. Anything edible wouldn't remain unclaimed till now, allowing you both to find it."

Lu Xi'an said, "That fruit tree is amidst a large bunch of fruitless trees, and it's quite small due to insufficient sunlight. Without careful searching, it wouldn't be found at all.

"We specifically went to find it, and that's how we discovered it."

"A large bunch of fruitless trees?!"

Luo Ping pondered briefly and quickly responded, "Big brother, you're talking about the ruins slightly to the south of Tunshan Village's eastern road, right?"

Lu Xi'an said, "Yes, that's the place."

Luo Ping was concerned, "Big brother and sister, why did you go there? Further south leads to Henan County and there's a Type C Neo-Human there, not easy to deal with."

Lu Xi'an said, "I won't go into specifics. Time is of the essence, and I don't know when this broadcast signal will cut. Let's get to the point.

"See if you know how to transplant the tree. If you do, hurry over and relocate this tree.

"That way, you'll have more apples to eat, and when we return, we can bring more goods."

Just as he finished speaking, Shu's voice came through: "I can! I can! I can do this!"

Luo Ping rejoiced and said, "Shu, you're incredible! How can you know everything?! Wood ah! Bah! Bah!"

The words mixed with strange sounds that Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei couldn't visualize, nor dared speculate.

But soon Shu's voice sounded again: "Junior Luo, can we not do this anymore? Biting on my roots isn't pleasant, is it?"

"It's unpleasant."

Luo Ping said, followed by two "bah, bah" sounds, "I got carried away with excitement, couldn't control it, sorry."

Lu Xi'an: "..."

Yao Wei: "..."

Luo Ping followed up: "Big brother and sister, you both wait. Although it's not far from there, once it gets a bit warmer...buzzz...buzz buzz..."

The signal cut again.

But fortunately, everything needed was said, so Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei felt relieved.

Lu Xi'an said, "Let's wait here, then. Once it warms up slightly and they come over, we'll point out the tree to them and leave."

Yao Wei nodded, "Sure, as you say."

Lu Xi'an said, "Time to exercise now."

The two changed clothes, stepped out of the RV, and began exercising outside.

The cold wind roared, biting into their faces and hands like blades ready to cut the skin.

They wore their thickest clothes, but they barely mattered—the wind recklessly pierced through, stinging skin, burrowing into bones, blood vessels, muscles—aggressively and brazenly.

In the past, before he became Neo-Human, Lu Xi'an felt he might have frozen to death instantly facing such weather and wind.

Online, he often saw debates about winter between north and south, physical versus magical attack; yet with extreme cold arriving, physical or magic lost significance.

This cold wind disregarded physics or magic, seemingly with one aim: to freeze you swiftly, violently, into ice shards.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei quickly began their exercises, letting their full bodies' strength emerge, muscles and bones moving as described scientifically in manuscripts, blood surging, adjusting repeatedly, both adapting to the environment and maximizing body exertion.

Then they sparred against each other; fast-paced, full-force duel quickly brought them into the groove, with blood rushing so the cold wind couldn't penetrate and instead surrounded them, becoming an aid to temper their bodies.

Until they practiced to satisfaction, returning to the vehicle, Lu Xi'an exhaled deeply, saying: "One must exercise like this, after training, not afraid of the cold anymore. Otherwise, like yesterday, it'd freeze a person to death."

Yao Wei said, "Actually doesn't freeze to death, just hard to endure."

Lu Xi'an nodded, "Indeed."

They had all experienced the bitter cold before; back when there were no heaters, every cold wave was a test of endurance.

Nowadays, with heating, life has become more bearable.

"So when the weather gets cold, we should still exercise outside more often, we must not forget this feeling, or our bodies might not adapt."

Lu Xi'an said, "Otherwise, if we encounter others who have already adapted to the cold, and we're used to the warmth, we won't be able to perform at our best in the ice and snow, which would be terrible."

"Mm."

Yao Wei felt that Lu Xi'an was right and nodded in agreement.

Lu Xi'an asked, "Are you hungry?"

Yao Wei replied, "Not really."

Lu Xi'an said, "Then let's have a simple meal, and we'll eat the main meal when we're hungry later."

Yao Wei asked, "What are we eating?"

Lu Xi'an, teasing a bit, smiled at Yao Wei and said, "You'll know once it's ready."

Yao Wei had no choice but to wait patiently.

And Lu Xi'an indeed prepared a very simple meal; he boiled water, cracked an egg into Yao Wei's bowl, poured the water over it, stirred with chopsticks, sprinkled a bit of sugar, stirred again, and a bowl of egg-flavored hot water was ready.

After cooling it down a bit until it was just right, he handed the bowl to Yao Wei, saying, "Here, try it and see if it tastes good."

Yao Wei took a sip, nodded, and said, "Mm, it's sweet."

Lu Xi'an laughed, "Of course, I added sugar."

Yao Wei didn't say anything more, just silently drank the sweet egg-flavored water. As she drank, she thought to herself, eggs are indeed good, no matter how you cook them, they taste good.

But she didn't voice this thought.

After drinking half of the egg-flavored water, she handed the bowl back to Lu Xi'an, saying, "Here, you drink some too."

Lu Xi'an shook his head and said, "There's still more hot water; you finish this and I'll make another bowl with your bowl."

But Yao Wei insisted, "You drink it, let's share it halfway."

Since Yao Wei insisted, Lu Xi'an complied. He drank his half of the egg-flavored water. It was sweet and smooth, with just the right amount of sugar, not too sweet to be cloying—a taste he hadn't had in a long time.

Truly delicious.

He thought to himself.

After finishing his half, he cracked another egg, poured in water, added sugar, and once again, shared it with Yao Wei. After drinking, their stomachs felt warm and cozy in the cold weather, making the defrosting experience all the more comforting.

"Actually, with this kind of egg-flavored water, you can add salt for a savory taste, which is different."

While cleaning the dishes, Lu Xi'an said to Yao Wei, "But we use more salt in cooking than sugar, so I thought about conserving it and just made it sweet. If you want to try it savory next time, we'll add some salt."

He didn't actually like savory; salty tofu brain was okay for him, but savory egg-flavored water and dumplings weren't his thing.

But when it comes to flavors, everyone has their preference, and it can't be forced.

He considered this when he didn't say he preferred sweet over savory, as that might've prematurely influenced Yao Wei's judgment.

However, unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Yao Wei shook her head and said, "No need, I quite like the sweet version; the savory one probably won't taste better, let's just use salt for cooking instead."

Lu Xi'an asked, "Won't you try it?"

Yao Wei shook her head, "No need. If I don't like it, it'll go to waste."

Lu Xi'an wasn't sure if Yao Wei genuinely thought the savory one wouldn't taste good or if she was thrifty, but given how decisive she was, he had no choice but to drop the subject.

In the following two days, they stayed there waiting for the cold wind to pass; each day, they woke up and went outside to exercise a bit against the biting wind, stimulating all their body's energy.

Two days later, as the weather warmed up, they tried connecting to the radio signal again, but to no avail, so they patiently waited.

Finally, that afternoon, a car appeared—one they and Yao Wei recognized.

—They'd seen it at the base warehouse of Institute 923, and it was indeed one of Luo Ping's cars.

A pickup truck, perfect for loading Shu.

The truck stopped behind Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei's vehicle, and then Luo Ping and Shu got out. It was just the two of them this time.

"Big bro, sis, have you been waiting long? Hahaha! It's great, we're meeting again!"

As soon as Luo Ping stepped out, he grinned widely and said.

Shu followed, also greeted Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei, "Big bro, big sis! You both seem much more spirited!"

"Really?"

Lu Xi'an smiled.

But suddenly his expression turned serious, his gaze passing through Luo Ping and Shu, looking into the distance behind them.

There... seemed to be some movement...