Chapter 4: The Magical Journey of Picking Up Trash
Lu Yuan looked down into the depths of the earth, at the exaggeratedly green traces…
It was just too exaggerated, with green as far as the eye could see, occasionally mixed with gold and red!
The small car he was currently in was merely a drop in the ocean of the ruins.
Lu Yuan first felt excited, but then he thought sadly, "But what does it have to do with me? Am I supposed to dig out this city with my bare hands?"
If there were a bowl of fragrant beef noodles and a great ruin of civilization laid out before him to choose from, he would definitely choose the beef noodles!
Because… he really did have a ruin of civilization!
Lu Yuan thought of the beef noodles downstairs, 16 yuan a bowl, with delicious broth, chewy and elastic noodles, tender beef, and fresh vegetables. Just thinking about it made his mouth water.
No! He couldn't think about it anymore!
As evening fell, he was already fortunate to have found this car and couldn't wander around.
Lu Yuan had only eaten breakfast and his stomach was growling.
Without any knack for enduring hunger for three days straight, he could only scan his surroundings with his eyes like machine guns, finding a cluster of edible wild grass.
And… insects?!
"God, seeing as you've given me two abilities, today I am your follower."
"Today, I won't curse you, only for today."
"Tomorrow, if you give me a hundred abilities and something to eat, would that be okay?"
Lu Yuan talked to himself, dragging his weary body to start a fire.
Water, flames, shelter, food—four essentials of survival, none of which could be missing.
The shelter was barely managed with a broken car, makeshift as it was.
And starting a fire by friction was simply a hassle.
For someone utterly lacking physical nimbleness like himself, it was as tough as climbing to heaven.
So, Lu Yuan had no choice but to sacrifice his mobile phone.
He licked his dry lips, put effort into his arms, and with a couple of "pop" sounds, smashed open the phone screen with his Snake Scale Axe.
The newly bought Huawei 888 phone, done!
He took out the built-in battery.
He had seen in some news that now, mobile phone batteries mostly use lithium batteries.
And when lithium batteries are damaged, certain ingredients can react chemically with air to produce high temperatures and flames.
Thus, in an emergency, you could take out the mobile phone battery, smash it, and use it as an improvised fire-starting method.
"You immoral journalists, you absolutely can't be lying to me at a crucial moment!!"
With a "bang," a light sound signifying light and heat, flames appeared in this dim and harsh world.
Looking at the bright flames, Lu Yuan felt mixed emotions, rubbing his hands, not sure whether to feel regret for the phone or pity for the future of his life.
He found a piece of rusty iron from the car and worked the axe over it for a while, grinding away the visible rust.
He went to the river to fetch some water.
He then boiled some grassroots and wild vegetables in the iron sheet.
This was his dinner for the day.
It didn't taste very good, carrying a hint of an indescribable bitterness.
Lu Yuan dared not eat much, simply cooked it briefly and then chewed it down—remembering a character in a novel who ate too much grass, became severely constipated, and was suffocated to death by his own feces.
As the sun set in the west and night deepened.
Lu Yuan squatted alone in the forest, his thoughts surging like tidal waves.
As the inner peace gradually settled, feelings of loneliness slowly arose.
The most fortunate thing was that he had transferred 300 yuan to her this morning, fulfilling her small wish.
The most regrettable thing was that he hadn't given a little more…
A dress costing just a couple of hundred dollars is indeed too cheap, something around one or two thousand would be more appropriate.
This was actually a minor thing, hardly a water molecule in the vast river of history.
The Pangu Continent, how many civilizations and bitter stories are buried there?
But for Lu Yuan, currently eating grass roots, it was the biggest deal.
He really should be thinking about something more worthwhile.
He had to plan for the future, seek more potential "Milestone Rewards," search for the treasures left by "God," and find medicines and weapons in the relics of civilization to greatly enhance his chances of survival.
But now, he was just daydreaming uncontrollably.
If today's events had never happened, maybe he would still be cooped up at home playing video games? Or he might have gone out on a blind date?
There used to be a beautiful girl from a blind date right in front of me.
Only when I lost her did I regret it deeply.
If God could give me another chance, I would tell that girl, "Next time... during the blind date, could you possibly not eat so much garlic!"
"Hey, accept reality."
The sun set faster than expected, and as a city boy, Lu Yuan felt the pitch darkness of "not being able to see my own hand" for the first time.
Once he moved away from the range of the bonfire, the darkness was as dense as mercury, completely invisible.
Above him was a clear stretch of starlit sky, with stars shining like bright pearls scattered across the firmament.
A pale green moon slowly rose from the east.
This night was unusually quiet, with few insect sounds.
Lu Yuan sat in the car, covering the windows with weeds and branches, and dozed off in a daze.
"Goodnight, today's me."
...
When Lu Yuan woke from his deep sleep, the sun had already risen from the east.
He habitually wanted to sleep some more, "Let me sleep a bit more, don't disturb."
"I said don't disturb!!"
He slapped his face, a handful of blood.
That's when he realized he was sleeping in a battered car, and the itching was from mosquitoes biting him.
"Damn, yesterday's events weren't a dream!"
Reason told him he had to take advantage of whatever strength remained and start moving.
But emotionally, he didn't feel like moving at all.
Lu Yuan cursed for a while, even fiercely punching himself a couple of times.
Only with such actions could he find a bit of human courage again, allowing reason to regain the upper hand.
"I must seek the treasure."
"God, if you deliver, I won't curse at you today, don't be ungrateful!"
Once he had made up his mind, Lu Yuan picked up his Snake Scale Axe, buried the embers from the fire and began to walk slowly along the valley.
Since he was located above a relic of civilization and "God" had blessed him with a powerful pair of eyes, he actually found plenty of garbage.
Shortly, he picked up a metal pull can.
The surface imagery had been smoothed out by sand and rocks, but at least it didn't leak, so it could be used as a cup.
He also found... a car?
An overturned car, inside of which was a tattered notebook.
Unfortunately, the notebook had been weather-beaten, all the pages were covered with mold, unreadable, and even his "Pioneer's Eye" couldn't decipher any information from it.
He picked up something resembling a toothbrush, perhaps... it could still be used?
Lu Yuan grinned.
"I remember charcoal can be used as toothpaste..."