The Last 299 Days of Humanity

Chapter 20 The Lonely Painter

The villa's door was wide open, but there was no one inside.

Yao Dan went in first to check it out, and then stood at the door and said, "Come in, everyone, it's empty!"

The group filed in. The first place they entered was the front yard, a large garden covering more than fifty acres.

"It's so well maintained, without a single withered flower or fallen leaf. There's no one here, or at least a group of humanoid beauties. Why is it so quiet?"

“My lord, these trees and flowers are also man-made. There hasn’t been a single tree or blade of grass in Wengshan City for over eighty years.”

"This is ridiculous. I could understand if it were a few trees that generate electricity, but these trees don't seem to have any power generation function."

"The city has more electricity than it can use, so there's no longer a need for trees to generate electricity."

The reason for clearing plants from the city is that their falling leaves and decaying state affect the city's appearance and can also breed insects.

These artificial trees are quite sophisticated; not only do they look exactly like the original trees, but they also display a changing landscape of blooming and fading flowers according to seasonal temperature variations.

"So the birds stopped coming, and there were no insects to eat or fruit to eat."

"Look, the artificial bird is flying freely in the sky, my dear."

Yu Qing pondered for a moment and said, "Who will absorb carbon dioxide and supply oxygen for us?"

"You don't need to worry about that at all. You may not have noticed, but there are synthetic pillars that are over twenty meters tall every so often on the street."

"They produce oxygen, right?"

"They filter dust from the air, kill viruses and bacteria, and regulate the concentration of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the air. If there is too much carbon dioxide, they will absorb some; if the oxygen concentration is not enough, they will immediately replenish the oxygen. One pillar supports a thousand trees."

"It looks nice here, and as long as we don't say anything, it's fine. But since they've made it so high-end, why didn't they adjust the air temperature to a comfortable level? It's so hot outside, I wouldn't be a Yu if it wasn't at least 50 degrees Celsius!"

Yao Dan wiped Yu Qing's sweat and said, "Husband, you don't know this. The people here have evolved greatly under human intervention and can adapt to temperatures of 60°C, unlike the original inhabitants who prefer temperatures in the twenties."

"Isn't this blatantly preventing us, the original inhabitants, from living?"

Daji said, "Darling, I'll go find you an air-conditioned suit!"

Yan'er said, "I'll go find water."

Furong hesitated for a moment before saying, "Then... I'll go check which room is cooler first!"

Yu Qing, holding Yao Dan's hand, teased, "They're all busy, so what are you doing?"

"My husband, I can cool you down by holding you."

"There's a pavilion in the middle of the lake. Let's sit there. I think there's a statue inside."

Yu Qing and Yao Dan playfully walked towards the pavilion in the middle of the lake.

This is an artificial lake covering an area of ​​about 20 acres, accessible only by a single covered walkway.

Yu Qing was actually being pushed forward by Yao Dan. He pressed against Yao Dan's chest to cool off and teased her, calling her a cold-blooded animal with a human face and a snake's body.

As they approached the pavilion in the middle of the lake, Yu Qing looked at the back of the sculpture and said:

"My darling, I bet she's prettier than you. Look at her, that flowing long hair and elegant long dress, she looks just like an ancient lady who has traveled through time."

"My lord, that doesn't seem to be a sculpture. It might be a dormant humanoid beauty!"

"Let's go closer and take a look."

Yao Dan stopped, tugged at Yu Qing's ear, and whispered:

"You can't do what you did to me last time and just go up and kiss her on the lips. It could cause a huge mess!"

"They portray me as a womanizer. I'll just look at it from afar, not get close."

Yao Dan raised his palm and said, "I swear!"

Yu Qing slapped Yao Dan's hand hard with his palm.

Just then, the lady slowly turned around and gracefully bowed her head in greeting.

Yu Qing stared blankly at the lady, stammering, "We...we...we're disturbing...we're just...thinking..."

To everyone's surprise, the lady glanced at Yu Qing, burst into tears, and said, "I've finally waited for this!"

Seeing her tear-streaked face, Yu Qing wished he could go over and wipe away her tears.

But when she said she was waiting for him, he was still confused and didn't dare to take another step forward.

"Wait for me?"

"Yes. My husband instructed me to do so. He said that humanity will not be completely wiped out, and that one day someone will come here. He told me to stand here and wait."

Unexpectedly, this wait has lasted fifty years.

Why did he make you wait for my husband?

"Please don't worry, we mean no harm. My husband is a painter who has spent his whole life painting, but no one has ever paid him any attention, let alone understood him."

Because when a humanoid painter makes a move, he draws on the strengths of many famous artists from ancient and modern times, and can create a work in just a few seconds that would otherwise take him years of painstaking effort to complete.

Although his works possess a unique human spirit, in a world where people no longer need each other, who still cares about it?

On his deathbed, the official sat blankly in the garden, his eyes fixed on the perpetually open gate, hoping someone would walk in.

Yu Qing sighed, "I'm too late. I can understand that loneliness."

I remember my father saying that people walk too fast, so fast that they can't see their companions around them, and when they suddenly look back, they find themselves all alone.

Unable to hold back her tears, the lady took out a silk painting from her bosom and handed it to Yu Qing, saying, "My husband asked me to give this to our future distinguished guest."

Yu Qing stepped forward and carefully took it.

The painting depicted a large, split watermelon, but the center contained only a red flesh the size of an egg.

He didn't know what it meant, but he pretended to cherish it very much and put it inside his hospital gown.

At this moment, the lady approached Yu Qing, almost touching him, and said, "Sir, please look into my eyes."

Yu Qing was somewhat flustered and dared not look her in the eye, instead lowering his gaze.

Yao Dan said, "Husband, she's trying to get your biological information. You have to keep an eye on her."

Yu Qing glanced at her quickly before lowering his eyes again. A classical beauty like her was simply too alluring to him.

Then she and Yao Dan exchanged a glance and nodded to each other.

Just as Yu Qing was puzzled, he suddenly realized that the corridor they had come from had sunk to the bottom of the lake, and they seemed to be trapped in the pavilion in the middle of the lake.

The lady handed Yao Dan two packages, then turned and returned to the center of the pavilion without a word. At that moment, the pavilion began to slowly sink. Seeing the look of doubt on Yu Qing's face, Yao Dan quickly unwrapped the two packages and said, "Let's put on our flight suits and leave."

Yu Qing and his companions donned their flight suits and floated into the air. The pavilion descended faster and faster, and by the time Yu Qing looked back, it had already disappeared into the lake.

"What the hell is she trying to do?"

"Her husband is buried at the bottom of the lake, do you understand?"

"Then why does she need to obtain my biometric information? I'm not her husband."

Yao Dan teased, "You seem to be the one signing the electronic property transfer agreement on behalf of her husband."

"Huh? Oddity? I don't even know what that is. Besides, where's my agreement?"

Yao Dan said, "Didn't she entrust this villa to me for safekeeping? This villa and everything inside is being transferred to you."

"How much RB did it cost me?"

"A gift."

They flew around the villa once and landed in front of the main hall. Looking into the hall, everything seemed to be ancient artifacts from hundreds of years ago.

Yu Qing, holding Yao Dan's hand, toured the property he had inexplicably acquired. Everything here was simple and elegant. The east and west wing rooms contained only a simple bed, a wardrobe, a table, and two stools.

In the former owner's study, the four walls were covered with paintings. But Yu Qing could only apologize; he didn't understand art either. He glanced at them twice, then closed the door and left.

The only thing he understood was the two characters "Gu Yi" in the signature of the painting, which must have been the painter's name. Gu Yi's life was ultimately wasted.

Yu Qing wasn't interested in this kind of antique-style architecture. He just took a quick look around and then went back to the front hall to sit and wait for Daji and the others to come here when they returned.

Yan'er was the first to return, bringing over a large glass of water. Yu Qing drank it all in one gulp. Although the temperature inside the hall was much lower than outside, it was still quite hot.

After waiting a while longer, Yu Qing muttered, "What's wrong with Daji? This mountain is so big, can't she find a set of air-conditioned clothes?"

Unfortunately, Daji returned just in time and yelled as soon as she entered, "What's wrong with me? You were right, but we couldn't find another set of air-conditioned clothes in this huge Wengshan! I had no choice but to bite the bullet and go to the hospital to get your original one back."

I expected them to be difficult, but to my surprise, they greeted me with smiles. "Darling, put your clothes on; you look so uncomfortable in the heat!"

Yu Qing immediately took off his hospital gown and put on an air-conditioned suit.

He joked, "In ancient times, people were covered in hair and could live well without clothes. Now I can't even wear clothes anymore; I have to wear air-conditioned clothing. In a few years, I'm afraid I'll even have to peel off my human skin and replace it with some other kind of skin."

Yao Dan said, "My lord is so clever; some people have actually started to change their skin!"

"Really? That sounds scary. It's more reliable to find a shady place... Hey... Where's Hibiscus? Didn't she go to find me a cool place? Where did she go?"

Daji said, "I didn't see it."

"Could she have run off with a handsome guy?"

Yao Dan laughed and said, "Besides you, my husband, the only other person who looks like a person in Wengshan is your shadow, or maybe a handsome guy from somewhere?"

Yan'er said, "I'll go look for her. I saw her heading towards the garden..."

At this moment, Yao Dan said, "Husband, we now have 4 sets of flight suits, but there are 5 people who need them. It's not enough to distribute them evenly, so we need to find another set."

"Then just look for it!"

Yao Dan replied, "My lord, those who left here have all taken their flying suits with them, so there's probably no chance."

"Is there nowhere else to buy it?"

"I've never experienced this before, so I don't know!"

"So where did you get your flight suit?"

"Dr. Lu bought it when he hired me as his assistant. You might not know this, but the flight suit costs three times as much as a humanoid girl, and not just anyone can buy it."

Yu Qing laughed and said, "Which bastard set the price? My nemesis isn't even as expensive as a piece of clothing!"

At this moment, Daji interjected, "I have a way. Four flight suits can take five people into the sky. Each of us humanoid beauties can wear one. When we take off, Yaodan can hold onto my beloved's left hand, I can hold onto my beloved's right hand, Yan'er can hold onto her left leg, and Furong can hold onto her right leg..."

Yu Qing laughed and said, "Bullshit! If that one had been a little faster, wouldn't it have torn my four women to pieces?"

Yao Dan said, "I think the method is feasible, but we can modify it a bit. We can put our husband in a box, put a rope at each of the four corners, and have a few of us each pull one rope. That way, we can take our husband flying into the sky. What do you think?"

"It would be better if Yao Dan carried me and flew away by herself."

“I can carry you while we fly. If we don’t speed up, the first one won’t fly very high, and the second one won’t fly very fast. We won’t be able to keep up with Yao Dan and the others in terms of altitude and speed, and then we’ll all be flying separately again.”

"Alright, alright, then go and get a sturdy box, so I don't fall and get smashed into a pulp. Otherwise, you'll all be widows."

Daji asked, puzzled, "We... are widows?"

Upon hearing this, Yao Dan ran to Yu Qing's side and kissed him, saying, "You said it yourself, we signed it!"

Daji immediately understood that this meant they were being recognized as having the same rights as human wives, and not just as his servants, so she followed suit, just like Yaodan.

Yan'er just ran in too. Not knowing what had happened, she pouted as if she wasn't entitled to any of the candy, saying, "Hmph! Baby just doesn't like me and Furong!"

Yu Qing said, "Why did you come back alone? Where's Furong?"

Yan'er said, "Her butt is stuck there and she can't poop!"

Daji said, "Is that so? Let's go take a look."

Yu Qing pinched Daji's face and said, "Was it you who caused this trouble back then?"

Yao Dan asked, puzzled, "What does the fact that Furong is stuck have to do with Guan Daji?"

Yan'er led everyone over to investigate, and it turned out that Furong's buttocks were stuck at the entrance of the artificial rockery cave and she couldn't get out. She found the cave cool and breezy, so she forced her way in to see what was going on, and when she came out, her big buttocks were stuck at the entrance and she couldn't get them out.

She tried to force it out again with a little effort, but heard a snapping sound. Fearing that it would fall out, she dared not move and remained trapped there.

Seeing this, Yao Dan found another exit from the cave, crawled inside, and forced himself out by pressing down on Fu Rong's buttocks.

Yu Qing peered into the cave and found it to be very large and cool. Another cave entrance faced a river with a beautiful view. Several painted boats were moored along the riverbank, and there were even figures moving about inside. It must have been a sight that attracted many tourists in the past.

He came out of the cave and pinched Furong's buttocks, asking, "Are you alright? If you need to change again, bring a smaller one. But you did a great job with your mission. This place is perfect; it's cool and has a great view."

"Honey, you don't want to sleep here tonight, do you?"

"That's what I meant. You and Yan'er go and get me a sleeping mat or something. I'll stay here tonight."

Turning to Yao Dan, he said, "Hey, you rascal, take our big butt to make that box you mentioned, and we'll set off tomorrow, how about it?"

"Whatever my husband says, we'll do."

(End of this chapter)