So they turned south, and after walking a while, they reached a main road.
Lu Xi'an glanced back. Riverbed County was behind them, already a bit far, but the tall buildings in the county were still faintly visible.
The two of them also saw half a chimney outside the county, and a cylindrical building as tall as the half chimney, but several times thicker, which also looked like a chimney, but more like something familiar— Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⁂𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾⁂𝔫𝔢𝔱
Lu Xi'an pointed to that place and asked Yao Wei, "What is that place?"
Yao Wei was looking at the "World Map One".
Lu Xi'an thought if there was a mark indicating what kind of factory it was, that wouldn't be bad. If there was no mark, it was uncertain whether it was a launch base for the X-17 Strain. That thick and tall tower could very well be a launch tower.
Yao Wei looked in the direction Lu Xi'an pointed, then back at the map in his hand, and said, "That's the Riverbed Power Plant."
Lu Xi'an felt a bit regretful but also a bit relieved, "It seems that building isn't a launch tower."
He felt a bit conflicted in his heart. Regret was naturally because it wasn't a launch tower, missing a chance to look for Fungus Stone. Relief came from thinking that if it wasn't a launch tower, it probably wouldn't attract the Neo-Humans.
Having a launch tower wasn't necessarily a good thing. If some Neo-Humans who knew about the Fungus Stone came and obtained it for long-term gain, it would indeed be dangerous for him and Yao Wei.
Now knowing it wasn't a launch tower, they could simply ignore it and leave directly.
Yao Wei looked at the map again and said, "The map has a note there, saying it's the largest cooling tower in the continent."
Continent... that should be a term similar to Asia or Europe, right?
Not just the largest in the country, but the largest in the continent...
Lu Xi'an glanced through the rearview mirror again, thinking that this cooling tower was indeed quite large. He wondered how it operated inside, for what kind of cooling purposes?
"In that case, we don't need to go to the power plant. How about Riverbed County?"
While driving, Lu Xi'an asked Yao Wei, "How far to the next gas station? If it's too far, we might have to return a bit to Riverbed County to refuel?"
Yao Wei looked at the map again and said, "It's not far. With the current gas level, even if we can't refuel at the next gas station, we have enough to return to Riverbed County."
Lu Xi'an then said, "Alright, then let's not go to Riverbed County, shall we? We don't even know if there's anyone there."
Yao Wei replied with just one word to Lu Xi'an's question, meaning that since there was a gas station ahead, regardless of whether there were people in Riverbed County, they didn't need to go.
Lu Xi'an continued driving forward, and after about an hour, he saw the gas station.
The name hanging on the canopy of the gas station was still "First Petrochemical," and some of the letters had fallen off. Fortunately, the "First" was intact, the "One" was missing, and the "Stone" lacked a horizontal stroke and a dot, unlike the gas station south of Jianshan City, which became "Hanging One Petrochemical," but rather "First Mouth Chemical."
This "First Petrochemical" must be a fairly large chain brand, much like Mengxin's "Changshengtian Petroleum."
The two followed their usual practice and parked the car far from the gas station. After getting out, they first used the Resonant Gene Scanner to check, then let Gou control the drone to fly into the area, and only after confirming there were no issues did they enter themselves.
The drone quickly returned, and Gou, with a glint in his eyes, reported to Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei that there was a problem with the gas station.
Lu Xi'an immediately picked up a round stone—ever since he collected a lot of round stones from the river, he had gotten into the habit of keeping some in his pocket.
This was his lifesaving weapon, so how could he not carry it with him?
Meanwhile, Yao Wei also picked up a gun.
The two looked toward the gas station, preparing to decide whether to go in and take a look or retreat to Riverbed County to refuel, when they saw someone walk out from the gas station.
The person was dressed in tattered clothes, skin-and-bones thin, with a face full of wrinkles, seemingly just an ordinary person.
He raised his hands high, looking in the direction of Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei, his expression fearful.
Judging by his appearance, he must have been frightened by the drone, which led him to come out.
Lu Xi'an kept his eyes on the person and asked Gou, "Besides this one person, did the drone see any other threats?"
With his peripheral vision, he noticed Gou's eyes blink twice quickly, which reassured him.
It seemed that there was only this ordinary person in the gas station, which wasn't really dangerous.
"Just stand there, keep your hands up, and we won't attack you. We'll leave after refueling."
Lu Xi'an said to the ordinary person.
"Okay! Okay! Understood! Understood!"
The person nodded vigorously, agreeing.
Lu Xi'an then let Yao Wei drive to refuel while he rolled the stone in his hand, keeping an eye on the person.
Their arms raised for a while and began to sag involuntarily. They looked at Lu Xi'an with a hint of fear.
Yao Wei had already used Gou to power the gas station, confirmed the pumps were working, and was refueling the vehicle.
Lu Xi'an gave Yao Wei a glance, returning his gaze without addressing the person's slightly lowered arms and asked, "Why are you alone in this place?"
The person replied, "I-I escaped from Yao County. Yao County is haunted. Many people have fled! I ran too!"
Lu Xi'an was a bit taken aback.
Wasn't this an apocalyptic world? How could there be ghosts appearing?!
The person nodded repeatedly, saying, "Yes! Yes! It happened not long ago. The boss in the county was even killed by a ghost, witnessed by others.
"No one was there, and the boss suddenly died as if his neck was slashed. Some even heard the laughter of an old man and a little girl, saying it was vengeful spirits seeking revenge! It's terrifying!"