Chapter 376: Good People in the Wasteland

The three motorcycles Gecko brought back had already been taken to the hotel and were parked in the backyard.

Lu Xin had planned to ride his own small motorcycle over, but remembering the other two belonged to the convoy and couldn’t be ignored, he spent twenty yuan near the hotel to rent a small truck. He lifted both old motorcycles into the truck bed.

He sat in the back, swaying along the bumpy ride to the Dacheng Motel.

As he approached, he saw the row of tall freight trucks from a distance.

This convoy from Red Leaf City had just finished dealing with the goods they’d scavenged along the way and were preparing to purchase supplies in Central City to transport back.

Although they had experienced a lot on this journey, even losing over twenty members, it seemed nothing could alter their plans. Delivering goods, selling them, buying more, and profiting from the round trip remained their top priority.

“Ah, Little Brother Lu…”

Just as Lu Xin entered the motel and started unloading the two motorcycles, he came face-to-face with Sun Gouzi.

Sun Gouzi was completely startled, letting out a cry before quickly lowering his voice.

His face showed a mix of delight and worry, “Why are you back? Didn’t you already…”

He trailed off, quickly making a gesture with two fingers signifying ‘running away’.

“I didn’t run away…”

Lu Xin wondered who started that rumor. He was a law-abiding citizen; why would he run away?

He smiled, “We just left the city earlier to visit a relative. We’re done with our business now.”

“Visiting a relative, and then the business is done?”

Sun Gouzi paused for a moment, his mind racing as connections formed. A look of sudden understanding dawned on his face.

“I knew you weren’t ordinary, Little Brother Lu. Turns out… you’re *this* extraordinary.”

Then Sun Gouzi let out a long sigh and approached warmly. While calling over two idle men to help move the motorcycles, he offered Lu Xin a filtered cigarette, saying, “The Boss was called to the Security Hall again. Apparently, our incident with that Zhao guy caught the attention of an official there. He’s a good person, heard about it, got angry, and said he’d definitely get justice for our Boss…”

As he spoke, he clicked his tongue repeatedly and lowered his voice, “We were wondering why the Central City Security Hall folks suddenly had a change of heart. Now I get it. Little Brother Lu, really, you’ve helped us so much this time… We really don’t know…”

Saying this, the large man actually looked like he was about to cry.

“What the hell…”

Sun Gouzi’s expression startled Lu Xin, who vaguely felt he might have misunderstood something.

He quickly changed the subject, “So, where are Old Zhou and Little Zhou?”

Sun Gouzi quickly replied, “They went out to sell the goods. They should be back soon… Come sit inside first.”

He eagerly led Lu Xin into the large dorm room where they were staying. Several old drivers still lingering at the motel gathered around, surrounding Lu Xin with curiosity, talking animatedly, their eyes filled with admiration.

“Little Brother Lu, that relative of yours must be quite formidable…”

“He is indeed very formidable. His abilities are actually very strong.”

“So he’s the one who helped you smooth everything over?”

“Yes, thanks to him, Central City decided not to pursue the charges against me for shooting that man.”

“Oh wow, this person must know many high-level people in Central City, right?”

“Yes, because of him, it seems quite a few high-level officials in Central City were directly dismissed…”

“Hiss…”

…

The group of old drivers looked at Lu Xin differently now.

A lone traveler met on the road, looking clean-cut and honest. He saved them when they encountered madmen and stood up for their Boss when he was bullied in Central City. Wasn’t that touching?

But was that the most admirable part?

Of course not!

What was more admirable was that he shot Zhao Hui, the warehouse quality inspection supervisor of the Dadi Group. Shot him right in front of police officers, emptying two magazines. They watched him being taken away by police cars, only for him to reappear the next day. Then, special arrangements were made, using their own convoy’s vehicles to help him escape the satellite city, acting as if he could come and go from Central City as he pleased.

Was *that* the most admirable part?

Still no!

The most admirable thing was this: the convoy had braced themselves to take the heat for him, preparing to face the wrath of some big shot in Central City. But unexpectedly, when they returned to the satellite city, hearts pounding with apprehension, no big shot came looking for trouble. Instead, the Dadi Group sent a high-level executive from headquarters to offer condolences and immediately settle some outstanding payments.

Even the compensation funds for the casualties and losses suffered by their personnel on the road were covered by the Dadi Group.

And now, just one day later, this mysterious traveler reappeared before them, bold as brass.

Whoa, that background.

…Terrifying!

And hearing that Lu Xin’s trip out was to visit a certain relative – didn’t that solve all the mysteries?

…

Lu Xin also happily chatted with them.

He thought it was a good thing to tell these old drivers from the convoy how he had perfectly resolved all their problems while adhering to the law.

After all, in this era of collapsing order, if everyone followed the rules and reasoned things out, unnecessary trouble could be avoided, and everyone could better resist pollution and rebuild civilization.

Old Zhou, Little Zhou, and Gao Ting returned together half an hour later.

It turned out that after selling the goods, Old Zhou and Little Zhou had conveniently stopped by the Security Hall to pick up Gao Ting.

Seeing Lu Xin appear in their motel room, they were overjoyed. Old Zhou rushed over excitedly, grabbing both of Lu Xin’s arms, tears welling up in his eyes, speechless for a moment before finally sighing, “Little Brother Lu, you’ve lost weight…”

?

Lu Xin didn’t quite react.

Little Zhou beside him said, “Uncle, Little Brother Lu was only gone for a day…”

Old Zhou, teary-eyed, corrected himself, “You suffered…”

Sun Gouzi, watching from the side, couldn’t stand it anymore, “Old Zhou, save it. How could Little Brother Lu suffer?”

“Do you even know what his relative does?”

…

Someone had already pulled the uncle and nephew pair aside, whispering mysteriously for a while, giving thumbs-ups, and sneaking glances at Lu Xin. The atmosphere in the entire room instantly became excited and reverent, as if everyone’s high had been triggered.

“Bring out the alcohol, bring out the alcohol! Today we must treat Little Brother Lu properly, thank him for his great kindness…”

Someone shouted, and the group of old drivers immediately buzzed with enthusiasm. They rushed out – some to buy alcohol, some to buy meat, others to sneak two Chinese cabbages from the motel kitchen and borrow a few pots. They set up tables right there in the large dorm room to have a hot pot meal.

Lu Xin had intended to collect the payment, but he couldn’t find an opportunity to bring it up with Old Zhou and Little Zhou.

Everyone came over to toast Lu Xin, one cup after another.

Lu Xin found it hard to refuse such enthusiastic toasts. Although he could hold his liquor somewhat, he couldn’t withstand the siege from so many old drivers.

Finally, Gao Ting stood up, planting one foot on a stool, and cursed:

“A bunch of bastards who only know how to act tough at the drinking table! In bed, you’re usually…”

Her face suddenly flushed, and she stopped, just raising her cup, “Tonight, I’m on Little Brother Lu’s team.”

Old Zhou got fired up too, shouting, “Let’s drink till the end! I’m also on Little Brother Lu’s team.”

Then he pushed Little Zhou, “Nephew, go!”

Little Zhou immediately grabbed a cup of white wine, stood up, and puffed out his chest, “Who’s first?”

And so, the siege on Lu Xin turned into a four-versus-thirty-four battle, drinking until everything became a blur.

Seeing that many were getting drunk, Lu Xin decided to pull Old Zhou and Little Zhou out to take a piss and finally talk about the payment for the goods.

Just then, someone suddenly asked, “This time, we really owe it to Little Brother Lu’s connections for sorting things out.”

“Otherwise, I would’ve just gone after them with a gun…”

“Speaking of which, where’s my gun?”

“Where’s my gun, the one with my girlfriend ‘Zixuan’ engraved on the grip?”

…

Lu Xin instantly sobered up considerably.

He’d forgotten about that.

When they went to Water Buffalo City back then, there wasn’t time to buy weapons, so he borrowed guns from this convoy.

Those guns were first on Gecko’s back, then Chen Jing threw the backpack to him. But he’d used them and discarded them along the way, completely forgetting about it. Now those guns… were probably still lying around in the lab beneath the Central Building in Water Buffalo City?

But the crucial point was that Water Buffalo City had been almost completely leveled.

Worry suddenly clenched his heart.

He couldn’t ask for that payment now. If they really calculated it, he might end up owing them money.

…

“My alcohol tolerance isn’t great either, I really can’t drink anymore.”

Before more people could remember the guns, Lu Xin raised his last cup to toast the old drivers.

“Wishing everyone a smooth journey. If you get a chance to come to Qinggang, I live in… the Fifth Satellite City.”

After saying that, he downed the cup in one go and smiled as he bid farewell.

The group of old drivers couldn’t persuade him to stay and saw him off, laughing smugly.

They all felt a bit proud, thinking that while Little Brother Lu was great in every other way, his alcohol tolerance was still just at an ordinary person’s level.

…

“I’ll give you a ride.”

Just as Lu Xin was considering whether to hail a vehicle on the street or head to the subway station, Gao Ting rode up on a motorcycle. Despite having drunk at least half a liter of white wine, her face was unchanged as she steadied the bike with one leg, smiling at Lu Xin.

Although Lu Xin suspected this might count as drunk driving, looking into her eyes, he still got on the bike.

Amidst the cheers and jeers of the old drivers, Gao Ting twisted the handlebars, and they sped away from the motel.

“You must have been worried we’d get implicated, so you came back specifically to check on us, right?”

On the road, Gao Ting kept her eyes forward, but her voice drifted back with the wind.

Lu Xin didn’t know how to answer, so he just mumbled an “Mm.”

Gao Ting didn’t say much more, just steadily gripped the handlebars. After riding quite a distance, she said softly:

“Thank you.”

Lu Xin was slightly taken aback, “Why be so formal? Wasn’t it just the right thing to do?”

Gao Ting chuckled, “Many people think that in the Wasteland, surviving is the only thing one should do.”

Lu Xin sensed a different kind of emotion in her words. He paused for a moment, then smiled:

“Out in the Wasteland, if you meet someone you can help, lend a hand. You were the one who said that when we first met.”

This was already the third time they had brought this up.

After a moment, Gao Ting smiled, “Did you really help us just because of that sentence?”

Lu Xin wanted to say it was initially for the half-truckload of goods, but that didn’t seem right to say out loud.

Instead, it was Gao Ting who, after a moment of silence, suddenly sighed softly and said:

“Actually, my former partner used to say that. He said everyone’s life is hard, so help when you can. Even though the Wasteland is dangerous, and nobody needs to be foolish enough to be a good person, at least when it comes to being a bad person, there’s no need to rush into it.”

“I used to think he was naive. When the Wasteland was full of Knight Orders, he was the only one being a good person.”

“Later, he died. I even felt like Heaven was taking him because good people didn’t deserve to live.”

As if the alcohol was taking effect, Gao Ting spoke more than usual, her tone soft, like a murmur:

“Although I often dream of him, sometimes I wonder, was it worth it?”

“The world is full of bad people, why can’t I forget that one good person?”

“Until I met you…”

“So, that’s why I have to thank you. Not just for helping us so much this time.”

“I thank you mainly because you showed me.”

She paused, then said softly, “That there are still people like him in this world.”

“That even in the Wasteland, good people don’t just die out.”

…

Hearing her deliberately light and casual words, Lu Xin suddenly thought of the matter of the Abyss.

The lingering pressure he felt when he first heard about the Abyss instantly vanished.

The Research Institute felt despair because the Abyss couldn’t be solved at its source, so the world had to prepare for the day it completely polluted everything. But from the people and events he had encountered, things didn’t seem quite so pessimistic.

“There have always been good people in this world.”

Thinking this, he smiled back, “You are too. Old Zhou and Little Zhou too. The people in the convoy too.”

Gao Ting laughed, “They used to be a bunch of scoundrels. Even now, they’re not much better.”

“At least what I saw was good.”

“Maybe it’s because they follow you to make a living, they’ve been influenced by you…”

Lu Xin answered with a smile, replying softly, “Being a good person is something that can spread to others too.”

They talked slowly, weaving through the streetlights on the main road, flanked by dazzling neon lights.

Lu Xin’s initially bad mood from not getting paid gradually improved significantly.

…

At the same time, back at the motel, the old drivers who had resumed drinking were also discussing:

“Our convoy was incredibly lucky this time. We went through so much but managed to pull through it all.”

“It’s all thanks to the Boss’s decision back then to let Little Brother Lu stay.”

“Shouldn’t it be because our convoy generally doesn’t push things too far?”

“If it were another convoy, seeing him alone with such a good bike, they might have just robbed him…”

“What would have happened if we had robbed him back then?”

“Yikes… If the Boss hadn’t taken a liking to him back then, maybe I really would have considered it…”

“That’s scary to think about…”

…

Amidst the discussion, Little Zhou suddenly exclaimed, “Ah!”

Everyone quickly turned to him, “What’s wrong?”

Little Zhou looked crestfallen, “Uncle, we still owe Little Brother Lu payment for half a truckload of goods! We forgot…”

Old Zhou immediately slapped his thigh, “We were too focused on drinking…”

“We’ll send it to him in Qinggang later…”

“Which satellite city did he say he lived in?… Number Five, right?”