I was approached by a cat-eared girl.

"It shouldn't be too far..."

Bai Xiaoqi's tone seemed uncertain. After leaving the mountains, she had been running around aimlessly, going from place to place. She had even been caught by cat catchers along the way, and before she knew it, she had arrived in Yangcheng.

"Isn't there a map on your phone? You can just look it up on the map."

"Oh, I'll check."

Chen Shuo opened the map navigation app on his phone, and after typing in the word "cat," he suddenly realized, "You named that Cat Mountain yourself, how am I supposed to find it?"

"Can't find it?"

"It would be a miracle if we could find it. Here's the thing: after you came out of the mountains, which city did you go to first? We can find that city first and then investigate the nearest one."

"It's a small county town."

What's the name of the county town?

Bai Xiaoqi was silent for a moment, then said, "Cat Cat County."

"..."

Chen Shuo also remained silent for a moment, then frowned and asked, "Is it another name you just came up with?"

"Ah."

"Damn it..."

This guy still has the nerve to nod?

There was a satellite map app on their phone that could show the terrain features in real time. The two of them searched for more than two hours before finally finding the so-called Cat Mountain.

It's a pretty big mountain, but it's not called Cat Mountain on the map. It's marked with a name called Nine Ridge Mountain. It's more than 200 kilometers away from Yangcheng. The closest place to the mountain is indeed a small county town, but it's still more than 20 kilometers away.

A typical deep mountain forest.

This meant that the two of them would have to camp in the mountains. Chen Shuo was a little reluctant to go, as this was the season when mosquitoes were active. The mosquitoes in the mountains were not only numerous but also large, and one bite would leave a big welt.

With that thought in mind, he still took out a notebook from the drawer and picked up the pencil that Bai Xiaoqi had thrown on the coffee table to take notes.

"If we're going, we need to prepare everything in advance."

Chen Shuo opened his notebook, found a blank page, wrote the word "purchase," and then added a colon.

"These are things we don't need to buy at home: a tent, insect repellent, and one of those small hanging pots for cooking."

You'll also need to buy a kerosene lamp for nighttime lighting, and then you'll need to buy the matching kerosene. You could also buy candles, but candles aren't safe.

After saying that, he started a new line and wrote the word "prepare" with a colon and a dot, as usual. "These are the things we need to bring from home: flashlights, blankets, toiletries, toothbrushes, towels, toothpaste, cups, etc. We also need to bring a power bank to charge our phones."

Oh, I only have one power bank at home, I need to buy two more high-capacity ones, a lighter, mosquito repellent, mosquito coils, and some medicine...

Bai Xiaoqi sat beside him and, seeing him writing more and more, couldn't help but ask, "Are we going to stay at Cat Mountain for a long time?"

She always felt that this guy planned to live in the mountains for a long time, and might even be planning to spend the New Year there.

"About three to five days, at most a week."

"Then why bring so much stuff?"

“Your place is deep in the mountains and forests. As a human living in a modern city, you will definitely encounter various problems when you go to the mountains. So, in order to avoid these possible situations, we should be well prepared.”

"Humans are such a hassle."

"You are human now too."

"Oh..."

Bai Xiaoqi was speechless. She was now human, no longer the cat king who used to frolic in the mountains.

Therefore, when returning to the mountains, one needs to prepare many things and act like a normal human being.

I am Bai Xiaoqi, a modern human.

A smug look flashed across her face, and she unconsciously puffed out her small chest, prompting Chen Shuo to reach out and touch it as well.

"......"

"..."

Chapter 168 Returning to My Mother's Home [Bonus Chapter for Alliance Leader Dimqu]

After several days of preparation, we packed a bunch of stuff into two oversized backpacks, one for each of us. We unplugged all the electrical appliances in the house and turned off the power and water valves to prevent any electrical or water leaks.

Before leaving, they checked the doors and windows one last time to make sure nothing was missed before they went out hand in hand.

Bai Xiaoqi carried a backpack that was more than half her height, her face full of excitement, and she would occasionally kick a small pebble on the roadside.

For her, this trip was very different; it felt like returning home in glory.

Yangcheng is a small place, but its Maomao Mountain is even smaller and more remote.

The nearby small county town doesn't have high-speed rail either. There is a small train station, but there are no express or direct trains, only ordinary green trains, which take about three hours to get there.

She passed through the ticket check smoothly and entered the station step by step without any mistakes. Like a country bumpkin, Bai Xiaoqi looked around the waiting hall, finding everything new and interesting.

When do we get on the bus?

"The boarding announcement will be made in about ten minutes. Listen carefully; there will be a loudspeaker announcement soon."

"We need to check tickets again? Didn't we just check them?"

"That was ticket checking to enter the station, and now it's time to check tickets to board the train." Chen Shuo pulled her to a bench in the waiting hall. "Don't wander around, sit here patiently and wait. See those people?"

He pointed to a few train attendants passing by not far away and continued, "When people wearing those kinds of clothes stand behind the turnstiles, it means it's time to have your ticket checked and enter the station."

Considering our different schedules and to avoid missing the train if we got up too early, we specifically bought tickets for the noon train, which would arrive around 2 PM.

The journey takes three hours, which isn't long. There's no need to buy a sleeper berth; we bought seat tickets. After a short wait, the waiting room's announcement system will begin informing them that it's time to board the train.

Then Chen Shuo, along with Tu Bao—no, Bai Xiaoqi—lined up to have their tickets checked, then boarded the train and found their seats.

Bai Xiaoqi had only ever seen trains in movies or TV series. After sitting down, she found it even more fascinating and turned her head to look around.

I looked at the roof of the train, saw the passengers putting their luggage away, and then leaned out the window to look outside. There was another green train parked there, but the curtains were drawn, so I couldn't see what was inside.

"It moved! It moved!"

Suppressing her excitement, Bai Xiaoqi grabbed Chen Shuo's arm and shook it repeatedly.

"Don't get agitated, it's the car on the other side that's being moved."

Upon hearing this, she looked outside again. The train opposite slowly pulled away, revealing the platform on the other side, while her train remained completely still.

"When this green train starts moving, it shakes slightly and sometimes makes a hissing sound."

Chen Shuo explained that he had ridden these green trains many times during his four years of university and was very experienced.

After all the passengers had boarded, the conductor closed the doors. After another ten minutes or so of waiting, the train finally gave a slight jolt and then slowly started moving.

"It moved! It moved! This time it's for real."

This time, Bai Xiaoqi learned her lesson. Only after seeing the platform slowly move away and confirming that it was her train that was moving did she grab Chen Shuo's arm and start shaking it.

"I know, please stop shaking it."

Chen Shuo was puzzled by her two consecutive outbursts of excitement, feeling that this silly girl was becoming more and more naive.

As the train pulled out of the station, its speed gradually increased, and the scenery outside the window rushed past faster and faster. At first, you could see tall buildings in the distance, then low-rise houses, and then it became more and more remote and desolate.

The carriage they were in was only about half full, and the seats directly opposite them were empty.

Whether he felt regret or relief, Chen Shuo could only recall that every time he took this kind of train back then, the train was packed with people from all over the country, and they would quickly become acquainted with each other when they gathered together.

Goodness, these people who ride the old green trains know everything, especially the people in the hard seats.

His analysis of the economic situation was very detailed and insightful, his descriptions of domestic and international political events were quite vivid and engaging, and his account of five thousand years of history was even more remarkable.

Although we are sitting in hard seats and may not have much money, we, though of humble status, dare not forget our duty to the country.

Bai Xiaoqi peered out the car window for a while, but her excitement gradually faded. The novelty wore off, and she even started to feel a little bored. She pulled Chen Shuo's hand to her chest, looked up, and began to ask another question.

When will we arrive?

"It will take another two hours or so."

Just then, a flight attendant pushing a cart passed by, calling out in his distinctive loud voice, "Beer, soft drinks, mineral water, peanuts, melon seeds, eight-treasure porridge, do you need anything?"

Perhaps it was because there were few people on the bus, but without the classic line, "Come on, pull your legs in a bit," it felt like something was missing.

Behind her was another train attendant pushing a cart, selling boxed meals on the train. "Boxed meals are fifteen yuan each, this is the last trip."

Seeing this, Chen Shuo turned his head and asked, "Do you want to eat a boxed lunch?"

"There's food being sold on the bus?" Bai Xiaoqi seemed a little shocked.

"How novel! Why is there no food for sale on the bus, but someone cooking?"

"You can even cook?" Bai Xiaoqi was even more shocked. She hadn't expected that you could cook on a train. Where did the water come from? Where did the electricity come from?

"Yes, there is a special dining car, which has tables and chairs just like a restaurant, and you can even order food."

Chen Shuo knew this quite well. In the past, during the Spring Festival travel rush, when his legs ached from standing for a standing ticket, he would go to the dining car, order something, and sit there for half a day. This was all based on experience.

Seeing that the food vendor was about to arrive, he asked again, "Do you want some?"

"I'm not hungry." Bai Xiaoqi shook her head. The two of them had eaten before leaving the house, so they weren't hungry at all.

"Then we'll wait until you're hungry before we ask for it."

"Didn't that person say it was the last trip?"

"Don't listen to her nonsense, it's all a lie. She said it was the last trip, but it's not at all."

Just then, the attendant pushed the cart past. Chen Shuo pointed at the attendant's back and said in a low voice, "They'll be coming at least twice more in a while, and the price will be cheaper. It's fifteen now, then ten, and finally five."

"Then let's wait until it's five yuan before we buy it," Bai Xiaoqi suggested. Five yuan for a boxed lunch felt like a steal.

"I'll buy it when you're hungry. There's no need to deliberately endure hunger just to save a few dollars. What if you hurt your stomach?"

The two sat in their seats and talked quietly as the train sped by, the scenery outside constantly changing: vast mountains, expansive plains, and occasionally, passing by cities.

Are we almost there?

"It will take another hour."

"Why haven't we arrived yet?"