Ling Cage, pick up Lu Mingfei at the start.

"Boss Bai, we've found the problem!"

Xia Dou's clear voice burst in, accompanied by hurried footsteps.

She looked up and saw Lu Mingfei steadily picking up a piece of glistening black pepper chicken breast with his chopsticks.

The boy's eyes, which usually carried a hint of laziness, were now exceptionally clear and bright because of the delicious food. He slowly put the meat into his mouth, his cheeks instantly puffing out into a satisfied arc as he chewed it carefully.

At this moment, Xia Dou really felt that Lu Mingfei was probably the happiest and most comfortable person in Dragon Bone Village. He lived next door to Boss Bai, ate meals cooked by Boss Bai every day, and it seemed that Boss Bai also managed his expenses... Oh right, and those "customers" who asked him to play games were eager to give him crystal coins.

She felt that her father and the others had never received this kind of treatment before.

I used to think he was pitiful for coming to the apocalypse all alone. I wonder if Lu Mingfei is being raised as a son by his boss!

If Lu Mingfei knew, he would definitely retort: ​​"You can say I'm freeloading, but this money is earned by me, Lu Mingfei, through hard work doing housework and working as a companion. I, Lu Mingfei, am not being kept!"

At least she wasn't completely kept by a sugar daddy/sugar baby...

When Bai Yuekui saw Xia Dou come over, he put down his chopsticks and wiped her lips, which had become exceptionally red and glossy from the oil, with a paper towel.

"Where did things go wrong?" Bai Yuekui asked.

Xia Dou snapped out of her daze, walked to the dining table, pulled up a stool, and said, "The shielding tower in Zone C3 on the northeast side has malfunctioned."

"What's the reason?" Bai Yuekui picked up a mushroom from the soup.

"It was manna bio-corrosion of the transformer that caused the short circuit," Xia Dou said.

"What? Isn't there a shielding tower? How come there are Mana creatures?" Lu Mingfei asked in surprise.

Bai Yuekui ignored him and instead said to Xia Dou, "It might be an overload of the filter equipment. We need to replace the plasma ring and myelin crystal as soon as possible."

Xia Dou nodded thoughtfully.

"Call for backup." Bai Yuekui wiped his mouth, stood up, glanced at Lu Mingfei, and said, "You come too."

Calling for reinforcements? Lu Mingfei muttered to himself. The way the word came from Boss Bai's mouth, coupled with her aloof face and silver hair, gave off a strangely strong sense of江湖 (jianghu, the world of martial arts and chivalry).

He suddenly felt as if he had joined a special organization hidden in the post-apocalyptic wasteland, and Bai Yuekui was the unassuming "big sister" who had been chosen by chance and taken in by his side.

"What are you standing there for? Keep eating! Let's go!" Bai Yuekui had already reached the door. Xia Dou saw Lu Mingfei reaching his chopsticks into the plate again, wanting to pick up another piece of meat, so she quickly pulled him up.

"Hey, I'm not full yet, it'll be cold by the time I get back."

"Time is of the essence!"

"Wait a minute, I'll grab a lunchbox and pack something to eat on the way. It'll be ready in a minute."

"Are you an idiot?!"

"I'm just trying not to waste food!"

After dawdling for a while, Lu Mingfei packed all the vegetables and put them into a bag.

Bai Yuekui held his head, wondering if he had really raised a pig.

"Alright, it's packed, let's go," Bai Yuekui said helplessly.

"Hey, you glutton." Xia Dou glanced at Lu Mingfei, snorted, and followed Bai Yuekui.

Lu Mingfei, carrying the lunchbox, followed after them. "What a glutton! This food is delicious. Try it on the way if you don't believe me."

Bai Yuekui, who was walking in front, heard the bickering behind him and shook his head slightly, but the corners of his mouth curved up almost imperceptibly.

On the way, Xia Dou left to find Mai Duo, while Bai Yue Kui took Lu Ming Fei to find the others.

On the way, Lu Mingfei learned that some people had already arrived, including Fang Yuan and Amuer. Lu Mingfei was not familiar with Amuer, but he had met Fang Yuan a few times. He would sometimes run into her when he came to Rensheng Dashi to buy clothes. She was the wife of the boss, You Feng.

Lu Mingfei was a little puzzled. Fang Yuan was clearly a "Return to Origin" warrior who had awakened her potential, so why was she with an ordinary person? In his original world, the kind of people who were dazzling like Senior Brother Chu Zihang, or those who had some assets like Zhao Menghua, were the ones that girls would pursue.

Although he had heard stories of poor boys marrying rich and beautiful women, and had even secretly fantasized about being with Chen Wenwen... But here, a woman with power in the apocalypse chose an ordinary-looking man, which made him feel that this was probably what "love" was, so pure that it was almost unreal.

Then he and Bai Yuekui went to find Shan Da and the others.

Shan Huishi was also there, along with a girl Lu Mingfei didn't recognize. Shan Huishi introduced her to him, saying her name was Jiang Ya.

Finally, the following people gathered at the village entrance: Bai Yuekui, Lu Mingfei, Shan Da, Xu Tong, Mai Duo, Xia Dou, Fang Yuan, Shan Shihui, and Jiang Ya.

Fang Yuan went ahead, followed by Amur who drove away.

Bai Yuekui and the others went to retrieve the items needed to repair the shielding tower.

With everything ready and about to depart, the group tacitly stopped Bai Yuekui from walking towards the driver's seat.

"Boss Bai, you should rest. I'll take care of the driving." Shan Da took the driver's seat first with his burly body, his tone leaving no room for doubt.

Bai Yuekui glanced at him, said nothing, and silently walked to the passenger seat. The vehicle slowly started and drove away from the peaceful village.

……

Lu Mingfei, Xu Tong, Mai Duo, and Xia Dou sat in the open cargo area, enjoying the slightly bumpy but liberating journey, while the others sat in the carriage.

"Don't we already have myelin crystals? Why do we need these?" Lu Mingfei asked curiously, pointing to the solar panels stretching along both sides of the road.

"After all, the production of myelin crystals is limited, and they can also be used for shielding towers, so they are a strategic reserve," Xu Tong explained lazily, leaning against the car railing. "Solar energy is great; it's free, long-lasting, and environmentally friendly, saving the village a lot of myelin crystals so they can be used more effectively."

"Oh, that makes sense." Lu Mingfei suddenly realized.

He took out his precious lunchbox, opened the lid, and the rich aroma of food immediately filled the air.

"Wow, you're something else, bringing your own food on a mission! You know how to enjoy life!" Xu Tong leaned closer, sniffing the delicious-looking dishes in the lunchbox. "But why is it all leftovers?"

"How can you blame me?" Lu Mingfei complained as he picked up a piece of meat and mixed it with rice. "It's all because Xia Dou came at the wrong time. Boss Bai and I were just eating."

"Pah! The boss is clearly ready to leave, but you, you big glutton, are dawdling!" Xia Dou didn't even look up, her fingers flying across the game console, but her words were sharp.

"Anyway, I'm not full." Lu Mingfei said matter-of-factly.

As he spoke, he magically produced an empty lunchbox and a pair of chopsticks, calling out to the passenger seat, "Boss Bai, you're still hungry, aren't you? I brought an extra set of chopsticks and a bowl!"

He felt that Bai Yuekui hadn't eaten much.

Bai Yuekui was reading by the light from the car window when he heard this. His forehead seemed to twitch. This child, can't he think of anything other than eating?

So she rolled down the car window and said to the outside, "Serve the rice and vegetables, and bring them in."

"Okay!" Lu Mingfei readily agreed. He filled a whole box of rice and piled on top of vegetables, then handed it to Bai Yuekui through the back seat.

Bai Yuekui took the lunchbox, feeling its weight. Opening it, she saw a mountain of food piled up. She was speechless again. She might not be full, but could her appetite compare to that of a half-grown boy?

Unfortunately, the journey was still long, so she had no choice but to pick up her chopsticks and eat in small bites.

In the cargo area, Xu Tong watched Xia Dou play games, while Mai Duo gently stroked the leather strap on her arm, occasionally glancing at Lu Mingfei who was wolfing down his food.

Lu Mingfei felt a little uncomfortable being stared at, assuming that Maiduo also wanted to eat, so he generously pushed the lunchbox containing the food over and handed her some spare chopsticks: "Would you like some too?"

Maido paused for a moment, then chuckled and waved her hand, "No need, I just... it's the first time I've seen someone eat so peacefully while on a mission."

Lu Mingfei blushed, but after this period of "training," his skin had thickened, and he quickly recovered. He ate his rice swiftly, his gaze falling on Cha Gai: "Cha Gai doesn't seem to have changed much. Hasn't he grown up yet?"

"It's only been two months since it hatched, it can't be that fast," Maiduo laughed.

"Let me see it?" Lu Mingfei asked curiously.

Maido carefully handed over the chagai. This was the first time Lu Mingfei had been so close to a small animal since coming to this world, and the furry touch made him feel very novel.

"Chirp chirp!" Chagai fluttered its little wings in his palm, its black bean-like eyes staring at him curiously.

"Oh, it's quite cute." Lu Mingfei said this, but he didn't really care about the pet and quickly and carefully returned it to Maido.

"Of course, my Chagai is the cutest." Maido took Chagai and affectionately rubbed her cheek against its soft feathers.

Looking at the close bond between the man and the eagle, a strange thought suddenly popped into Lu Mingfei's mind: what would happen if he and Chagai switched places? Immediately, the images of the muscular Ulan Aodeng and the gleaming Ulan Haisang flashed into his mind, and he couldn't help but shiver.

This subconscious action seemed to startle Chagai, and Maido cast a questioning look at him.

Lu Mingfei quickly turned his head away, blushing, not daring to meet her gaze.

"Let me play! Go and record the field message!" Xu Tong saw Xia Dou playing the game so enthusiastically that he couldn't resist reaching out to snatch it.

Xia Dou was playing at a crucial point and wasn't about to let go: "Go, go! We can record it when we get there!"

Xu Tong pouted and said sourly, "If you keep playing like this day and night, you might need glasses later!"

Ahead, Bai Yuekui, who was reading a book while wearing gold-rimmed glasses, felt offended. She paused slightly in her book-turning motion and placed her unfinished meal in front of her.

"Ah! I haven't recorded a message yet!" Maido exclaimed, taking out the familiar video camera from her bag.

"Hey, another routine day. What should we do this time?" She raised the camera, the lens panning across the swaying flower fields outside the car, bathed in the golden light of the setting sun. "How about... we sing a song?"

"Lu Mingfei, can you hold this for me?" She shoved the camera into Lu Mingfei's hands.

Lu Mingfei quickly caught it and adjusted the angle to aim at Maiduo.

On the screen, the girl stood up and began to sway gently with the slight jolt of the vehicle, her melodious singing drifting on the wind:

"We ride on

A rainbow sets sail for a distant voyage

The sea breeze howled, sweeping away the sorrow.

Don't be afraid of losing tomorrow's sun.

We want to change the shape of the world.

... "

Xu Tong and Xia Dou hummed along softly. Lu Mingfei stared at the girl in the sunset glow in the camera lens, momentarily stunned. Her sweet voice carried a beauty that didn't belong to the apocalypse.

When the song ended, a small hand took the camera back from him.

Maido shook the machine and laughed, "Hey, what are you thinking about? It's your turn."

"Me?" Lu Mingfei's face immediately showed the familiar embarrassment.

These "last words" style messages always left him at a loss. He had no talents to showcase and didn't know who to confide in.

He didn't believe deep down that he would die in this seemingly simple repair task. Besides, almost all the people he cared about most in this world were on this car.

"It's starting now." Mai Duo didn't care about Lu Mingfei's hesitation and pressed the record button directly. After spending so much time together, she already knew that she had to push Lu Mingfei a little.

"Uh... has it already started? Okay, the red light is on... um, I'm Lu Mingfei. Yes, the newbie who got stuck here a little over a month ago. This time I'm going on a mission with Boss Bai and everyone else."

Lu Mingfei touched his nose, his eyes starting to wander habitually, and he entered a state of self-talking and complaining:

"To be honest, recording this is more nerve-wracking than facing the Devouring Beasts. What's going on? We're not even dead yet, but we have to prepare our last words. It feels like writing a party wipe report before even entering a dungeon in a game... Okay, Xu Tong, you're right. This place is definitely a million times more hardcore than any game dungeon."

Xu Tong let out a sneer from the side.

Lu Mingfei cleared his throat, his tone becoming slightly more serious, but still tinged with uncertainty:

"Ahem, getting back to the point. If... I mean, if something really went wrong on this mission and I didn't come back, then I'd probably be completely wiped out. I never thought I'd be stuck here for over a month and eat so many meals from Boss Bai... Thanks, Boss Bai, the food was absolutely amazing, much better than my aunt's cooking."

At this point, he gave the camera a genuine, slightly embarrassed smile.

"If I could, I would like to eat it again in the future."

Recording complete.

Bai Yuekui had already taken off her glasses and put the book aside. She looked out the window at the magnificent world bathed in the sunset, listened to Lu Mingfei's last message which was always about "eating," gently shook her head, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.

She raised her hand, comparing the distance between the setting sun and the horizon, her calm voice breaking the warm yet slightly melancholic atmosphere in the carriage:

"The sun will set in an hour and a half, and we need to deliver the goods before dark."

"Alright! Hold on tight!" Shan Da responded loudly, stepped on the gas, and the vehicle roared as it sped through the mud and water, heading towards the unknown road ahead shrouded in the sunset.