A Manual for Surviving a Weird World

Chapter 362 Talented yet modest, virtuous yet radiant.

Mary, holding a pistol, slowly approached the driver's seat of the vehicle behind the accident, keeping the muzzle pointed at the window.

"Excuse me?"

Mary tried calling out a few times, but received no response; the driver of the car behind was probably already unconscious. So she turned to Plumeria, nodded, held a gun in one hand, and pulled a dagger from behind her waist with the other, slamming the hilt of the dagger against the car window.

Crash—the car window, which already had several cracks, shattered instantly. Mary took a step back and pointed the gun at the inside of the car through the window: "Sir, are you alright?"

She was answered by silence.

Under the night sky, only the howling wind rustled the roadside bushes, and two vehicles that had collided remained motionless in the middle of the road.

Crack! Another shard of glass fell to the ground and shattered. Immediately afterward, there was the metallic sound of mechanical transmission. The car door opened, and a bloody hand reached out from inside, clinging tightly to the door frame.

Mary held her breath, her index finger already hooked on the trigger. Crimson blood flowed down the door frame and slid to the ground, turning black. A thin man climbed out of the driver's seat, his hunched figure like a monkey, swaying unsteadily, struggling even to stand.

"Are you alright, sir? Do you need me to take you to the hospital?" Mary asked, gripping the gun.

The man did not answer, but instead struggled to stand up, his hands gripping the door frame, so that the streetlight could illuminate the dazed look on his pale face and his hesitant, lifeless, and confused eyes.

"Um... sir?"

Mary frowned slightly, her index finger on the trigger not loosening its grip at all.

Drip, blood dripped from the man's fingertips. In his deeply sunken eye sockets, his two eyeballs rolled around, finally focusing on Mary.

"Hello, ma'am." The man's face was still pale, and his body, weakened by blood loss, trembled slightly. He opened his mouth and asked, "Excuse me, how far is it from here to the Apostle's Path?"

"...?"

Mary looked the man up and down, her expression one of utter disbelief.

The man was thin, listless, with sunken cheeks and a sickly appearance. He was wearing a white shirt and a tie, and seemed to be an office worker.

But as the gaze moves downwards, the lower half of his white shirt is visibly stained with blood. A sharp metal piece, about the size of a palm, is deeply embedded in the man's abdomen, piercing through his stomach, from which blood gushes out.

The man, oblivious to everything, stared intently at Mary: "Tell me, madam... how far is it from here to the Apostle's Road?"

Mary gripped the gun handle tightly and swallowed hard. "There are still 1.3 kilometers left. If we follow this road for another 1.3 kilometers, we'll reach the old town. Apostle Road is right there."

After saying that, Mary paused for a moment and then asked, "You're going to Apostle Road? But you're already injured, shouldn't you go to the hospital first?"

“Apostle Road, 151 Apostle Road…I need to go to 151 Apostle Road…”

The man seemed not to hear anything, ignoring Mary's words. He simply straightened up, swaying slightly, and dragged his unsteady steps forward, muttering, "Home... 151 Apostle Road, I... I want to go home..."

The man seemed dazed, muttering to himself as he walked further and further away. "Miss, did you hear what he just said?" Mary watched the man's retreating figure warily, then whispered, "He said he was going to 151 Apostle Road, that's his home..."

“It seems his home is near our destination.” Plumeria took out her phone and checked the satellite map: “The ‘Anju Jiayuan’ hotel we’re going to is located at 114 Apostle Road, while 121-169 Apostle Road are all residential areas located behind the hotel. This man’s home is near the hotel… Can the car still start?”

“No problem.” Mary nodded. “The car behind us wasn’t going fast. Our car only suffered minor damage and can still drive normally.”

“Let’s go, let’s get to 151 Apostles Road before this man.”

"Okay, miss."

Plumeria made a phone call, notifying the nearest police officer to come and control the scene as soon as possible. Then the two drove away, leaving only the silver-white sedan, its engine off, parked quietly in the middle of the continent.

Under the night sky, the man's figure continued to walk slowly towards the old town, leaving a trail of bloody footprints on the road.

A kilometer or two is a short distance for a vehicle, and Mary quickly drove Plumeria off the highway and into the old town of Vivian Port.

The city lights were scattered in the early morning, far from the bustling Vivian Port of the past. Most of the residents had moved away ahead of time due to the upcoming urban development plan, and those who had not yet left would be gradually evacuated in the coming weeks, leaving the streets very deserted.

The deserted streets were brightly lit by only a few streetlights at the intersection. Mary drove to the intersection and quickly found the entrance to the 'Anju Jiayuan' Hotel, as well as two stone lions crouching on either side of the entrance. Several armed police cars were parked nearby.

"Which of you owns this hotel?" Mary got out of the car and got straight to the point.

“I am.” A tall, strong, middle-aged man stepped out from behind the police car and bowed slightly. “You must be Ms. Mary Lin? I learned about your appearance and license plate number from Mr. Julius.”

As he spoke, the burly man caught sight of the girl in the black dress getting out of the passenger seat and smiled, "Then this must be Miss Frimmislet. She is indeed as lovely as Mr. Julius described."

"Then, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Andrei, and it is an honor to meet you two ladies."

“…André?” Plumeria blinked. “Is that your French name? The pronunciation seems a little off…”

“No, no, no.” The middle-aged man who called himself André shook his head: “It’s not André, it’s André. If you listen to a Chinese name with French pronunciation, of course you’ll think it’s not standard.”

"Huh?" Plumeria was even more confused.

The middle-aged man laughed heartily, not taking it to heart, and reintroduced himself: "My surname is An. My family motto is 'Talent is hidden, virtue shines brightly.' We are ranked by generation, and I happen to be in the 'De' generation."

When I was born, my father invited Master Duan Geng from Mount Lu to divine my fate. He calculated that I lacked the element of fire, so he chose the character '烈' (lie), which is why my name is Andrei.

“I see…” Plumeria didn’t understand, but for some reason felt it was very impressive: “Brother Julius said that you two brothers run this hotel together, so why are you all alone here? Where are your brothers?”

“My brother Anderson is away on business these past few days. He just received the news of the hotel incident yesterday and is on his way back on a plane. He probably won’t arrive until six in the morning,” Andrei said with a smile. “He’s lacking the element of wood in his birth chart.”

(End of this chapter)