228 We’re Doing Legitimate Business
“That’s right!” He Xing nodded. “When we were on the expressway, we were listening to the interview, so I didn’t pay much attention. However, after we came off the expressway, our speed dropped and I didn’t hear the sound of our wheels crushing the bugs.”
Qinghe City was plagued by bugs. Even when they were on the expressway, they had to spray insect repellent and scatter medicinal powder when they parked their cars to sleep at night. Even last night, the soil around their car was still full of bugs crawling.
Du Yue was still trying to figure it out when she heard He Xing speak again, “There were still many bugs at the place where we slept last night. The bugs must have disappeared from this part of the road today. It was a pity that we didn’t notice it at the time, so we don’t know what’s the difference between this road and the one earlier.”
Du Yue furrowed her brows. “What’s the difference between this place and Qinghe? Why isn’t there a bug disaster here?”
“I don’t know.” He Xing was also puzzled. “Could it be because the city is close to the sea? Or could it be that the bug disaster just happened to disappear today?”
However, they could not be sure of the exact reason just by guessing. Seeing Du Yue’s worried face, He Xing reached out to stroke her hair and comforted her, “It’s okay, there’s always a way. When we get to the base, we’ll ask someone else and we’ll know.”
Upon hearing this, Du Yue’s expression softened. Now that things had come to this, she could not think of a more suitable way. After driving for a while, they still did not see a suitable field, so they could only stop the car by the side of the road. The second base was far away from the city, so they could only take small roads. There were obstacles blocking their way from time to time. They set off at around eight in the morning, and it was six in the evening now. The two of them were exhausted.
“Come down, I’ll get the RV. Let’s take a shower first,” Du Yue told He Xing.
Just as He Xing was about to nod, he looked out of the car warily. “Wait, someone’s here.”
Du Yue immediately looked out of the car when she heard He Xing’s words. As expected, she saw a few people approaching the armored vehicle. These people walked out of the thick fog and soon reached the car. The leader was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his 40s. He stepped forward and knocked on the window.
“What’s the matter?” He Xing rolled down the car window.
Before the man spoke, he laughed. His face was full of wrinkles. “Little brother, it looks like you’re planning to rest here. How can you sleep comfortably in a car? Come to our base! We have hot water for you to take a bath!”
He Xing and Du Yue were speechless. What was going on?
If it was not for the fact that the surroundings were too quiet, Du Yue would have thought that she had misheard. It was the apocalypse, right? Did this man tell them to go to the base? At a time like this, this group of people actually turned the base into a hotel to attract customers and make money. Even Du Yue, a native of the blue planet, had never seen such a scene before, let alone He Xing, an alien who had never seen the world!
Was it because she lived in a remote and backward place in her previous life that she did not know about such things in the apocalypse? The man was a little anxious, probably because Du Yue and He Xing were not saying anything. “Don’t worry. We’re a proper base doing proper business. Our accommodation is pretty good and cheap. We only need one jin of grains per night, so you can give us whatever you have.”
As the man spoke, Du Yue was silently observing him. Starting from the extreme heat, no one had ever seen the sun. Even those who were originally tanned had turned fair after not seeing the sun for a few years. However, the man in front was so pale that he looked unhealthy. The few people behind him had the same complexion as well. Other than their pale complexions, they were also as thin as a stick due to years of going hungry.
Sizing them up, Du Yue did not find anything strange about them. They looked ordinary, and their posture when they spoke was very normal. He Xing turned to look at Du Yue, and when he saw her blink imperceptibly, he agreed with a smile, “Alright! We were worried that we wouldn’t have a place to rest! Brother, please take me to your base!”
Seeing that they had agreed, the man laughed even more heartily. “Alright, alright. I’ll take you there. The base isn’t far from here! You guys just follow behind us in your car!”
“Alright!” They walked in front while He Xing followed behind in the car. After rolling up the car window, He Xing lowered his voice and said to Du Yue, “Let’s go with him and take a look. If they’re up to something, we’ll play it by ear.”