CHAPTER 355: CHAPTER 334: SMOKING IS HARMFUL TO HEALTH

"Alright."

Everyone nodded in agreement, having no objections to Luo Ping’s arrangement.

Luo Ping asked Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei if they needed anything, but they took nothing, saying, "You have more people, use these among yourselves.

"We are heading to Caiyang Mountain afterward, the resources there are quite abundant, so we don’t have to worry about food and drinks, nothing is needed.

"We just need to explore the city to find some hidden weapons."

Luo Ping nodded, "Alright."

He didn’t say much and asked Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei if they wanted to go back to the 923 Base and wait for the mark to disappear before coming out.

He was quite sure that these two would not.

Big brother was easier to talk to, but big sister didn’t really like staying with others, plus they had other things to do. Having already headed south, they wouldn’t easily return to the base.

So, the others drove off to refuel, while Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei drove their RV around other parts of the county to see what they might find.

When they reached the Northern County police station, Lu Xi’an got the car to stop and entered with Yao Wei and Gou to take a look.

"I found my original gun and bullets from the gun vault at Mozhou City police station, let’s take a look here, maybe others couldn’t open the gun vault, and we might find something."

As they entered the police station, Lu Xi’an said this to Yao Wei.

"Mhm."

Yao Wei nodded.

However, to their disappointment, the gun vault here had already been forcefully opened. The door was intact, yet a side wall of the vault had a large hole, and the inside was empty, having been cleaned out long ago.

Lu Xi’an guessed that this was probably done by Boss Liang and his crew, those fierce Type A Neo-Humans. Making a hole in the wall with one punch was not a problem.

Just as they were about to leave, disappointed, Gou’s dog eyes suddenly pointed to the ground.

Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei exchanged a glance, exited the gun vault, and walked to where Gou’s eyes were pointing, discovering a staircase leading down.

They descended the stairs, arriving at the police station’s underground parking lot.

This underground parking lot held some long-abandoned and unusable household waste, covered in dust, clearly showing traces of past habitation, but now completely deserted.

The parking lot still had three cars, but they were also abandoned, clearly untreated products that couldn’t withstand the long-term changes of the apocalypse.

Yet Gou’s eyes pointed at one of the cars.

—Specifically, to the lower layer of the trunk of that car.

All the car doors had been opened, their windows long smashed, and all trunks pried open, indicating previous visitors over the years.

Yet, Gou was pointing at the trunk of a sedan.

Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei approached, finding the trunk already opened with the edges of the lid bent and twisted, clearly having been pried before.

The bottom cover of the trunk had also been discarded, exposing a series of recessed compartments, all empty, whatever had been there taken long ago.

But Gou’s eyes lingered on the largest of these empty compartments.

Lu Xi’an tapped it with his index finger and indeed found it was still hollow underneath.

After some exploration and using his Type A Neo-Human sensitivity, which far surpassed ordinary people, he finally detected an extremely subtle seam.

There was another layer below, but hidden so well it hadn’t been discovered!

After tapping and sensing again, Lu Xi’an confirmed that this should be a mechanism to press, but as it was now broken, pressing it had no effect. Lu Xi’an had no choice but to resort to a forceful dismantling.

He took out a small blade, found the seam, and gently inserted it, levering it open.

The board was lifted, revealing a surprisingly spacious hidden compartment below. Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei immediately saw its contents—

Two bottles of wine, two packs of cigarettes, and a plastic bag containing nine small packages.

The wine brand was Luo River Wine, obviously named after the Luo River, with an alcohol content of 48%, and the cigarette brand was Tian Yan; the rest Lu Xi’an couldn’t discern much from.

Well, what a find to have preserved wine and cigarettes here!

They were surely expired; the wine might still be drinkable, but the cigarettes’ smokability was uncertain.

However, as Lu Xi’an didn’t smoke, he could hand them over to Luo Ping and his crew later.

Lu Xi’an took out the three packaged bags and examined them, finding two bags of salt, two bags of sugar, and five bags of yeast.

The bags were specifically marked as special supplies, which Lu Xi’an guessed meant they were apocalypse provisioned. Pinching the bags found them indeed devoid of moisture.

This might have been supplies someone in the past prepared for the apocalypse but couldn’t use and had hidden in the car for preservation until now.

Although these preparations had become futile for those in the past, they were excellent finds for the current Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei.

He put the two packs of cigarettes into the plastic bag, took out one bottle of wine, handed it to Yao Wei, held one himself, and walked out with Yao Wei.

—Yao Wei had Gou in her other hand, so she could only use one free hand to carry the items.

Back in the car, after securing their items, Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei continued to search other areas but found nothing significant.

During this time, he attempted to contact the Institute 923, intending to ask Shu if he knew how to make steamed buns or similar items.

They currently had corn and barley, and with yeast, they should be able to try making steamed buns. However, compared to wheat flour, buns made from barley and corn wouldn’t be as fluffy and soft.

But given the current state of the world, why demand so much?

After several attempts to connect failed, Lu Xi’an had to give up.

As they passed the tallest building in the city, the building initially had some noise which suddenly turned silent. Knowing it was from ordinary people, they paid no attention and left directly.

They even overheard someone inside saying, "They must have a death wish! Coming to our Northern County when the master’s not here! Wait till the master returns, they’ll be sorry!"

This remark caused many inside to chime in with agreements, saying things like "Yeah, yeah," "They don’t want to live," and "Don’t know who’s the boss."

Treated like slaves or dogs yet still proud alongside the master, Lu Xi’an laughed it off, becoming even more disinterested in dealing with them.

Returning to the abandoned militia station, everyone else had already finished refueling and returned. Lu Xi’an took out the yeast, a bottle of alcohol, and two packs of cigarettes, handing them over to Luo Ping and the others.

As for the sugar and salt, it wasn’t necessary. They had depleted the supplies at the Tan Village, so there was plenty of these two items, and the 923 Base should still have ample reserves.

"Here, don’t treat these as drinks. When you get back, ask Shu, maybe there’s another use for them.

"And the cigarettes, you can try them. I’m not sure if they’re still good after so long?

"Moreover, take this yeast to Shu and see what he can do with it.

"Earlier, I tried to call Shu, but couldn’t get through. You’ll have to ask him yourselves when you get back."

Lu Xi’an instructed while handing over the items.

Luo Ping earnestly listened and nodded seriously, then praised Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei with exaggerated compliments.

After the flattery, this guy asked Lu Xi’an if he didn’t want any cigarettes. Lu Xi’an said he didn’t like smoking and warned Luo Ping to be careful not to get addicted as they’re not easy to find these days.

Luo Ping quickly agreed.

Then driving back, on the road, Lu Xi’an heard coughing sounds coming from Luo Ping’s car and Luo Ping’s complaints:

"What is this stuff?! How could anyone get addicted to it?! Those TV shows and movies must be fake. What’s the appeal of smoking this?"

Old Tang, riding with him, coughed twice and said, "You can have mine, I’m done with it."

"Wasteful!"

Luo Ping grumbled to Old Tang; he must have lit two cigarettes in the car, both taken by Luo Ping, with his coughing clearly heard by Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei.

Arriving at the Healing Village, Luo Ping wanted to share cigarettes with everyone, but Chou Nu, Tang Er, and Liu Hua all waved him off.

Two of them were Neo-Humans of Type A, and the other shared a car with one, having already witnessed the reaction in Luo Ping’s car.

And then, echoes of "cough, cough" sounded through Healing Village, everyone grumbling at Luo Ping for persuading them to smoke this stuff!

Bottle inspected the cigarette packaging, pointing out to Luo Ping: "Look, Mr. Luo, it says right here, smoking is harmful to health, and you’re making us smoke it!"

"..."

Luo Ping was silent for a moment, then pointed at Lu Xi’an, saying, "He’s the one you should talk to, he gave them to me."

Bottle replied, "I don’t care, it’s from you regardless."

Everyone agreed and chimed in.

Amidst the laughter and noise, the atmosphere was cheerful.

Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei watched silently from the side, saying nothing more.

As the day ended, Chai Xin spent his last night in Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei’s car. The next morning, Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei planned to depart first.

As for Luo Ping and the others, they needed to stay a bit longer, allowing the people of Healing Village to prepare food and pack up, and also to visit the place Lu Xi’an mentioned to check on the child called "Blade."

Once everything was done, they would head back to Shanyang County.

The villagers of Healing Village were to be settled in Shanyang County. Once trust is fully established, they could proceed to the 923 Base.

Old Tang and Lu Shou faced the same situation.

Before leaving, Lu Xi’an reminded Luo Ping to try not to venture elsewhere this year. Stay home to continue development and gather together for support, avoiding isolation and getting picked off due to their marks.

He also told Luo Ping he’d attempt to acquire seeds of East Island specialty before heading to Caiyang Mountain, so Luo Ping wouldn’t have to make trips to Caiyang Mountain repeatedly.

Luo Ping nodded seriously, saying, "You’re right, big brother, we’re counting on you."

"No problem, see you at Caiyang Mountain."

Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei got into the car together, honked the horn, and drove off.

"See you at Caiyang Mountain!"

Luo Ping and the others waved vigorously until the RV vanished from sight.