Doomsday Wonderland

Chapter 1329: One Car, One Person on the Road

Hongyan’s Snack Bar was in an old neighborhood; its sign was invisible from the street outside.

Operating a restaurant in such a location meant business was undoubtedly bleak. Apart from the young office workers living in the shared apartments in the neighborhood, the only regular customers were a few buddies who often came by. As long as they didn’t go far, they usually came for lunch around noon, resulting in a line of unattended taxis parked at the neighborhood entrance.

Guan Hailian joined this taxi company late. In fact, he didn’t know Chen Hongyan’s husband, who died in a car accident. Due to past relations, he wouldn’t assist the deceased brother’s family. He often came here for lunch with the other drivers because he needed to make a few friends to blend in with ordinary people and appear more sociable and normal.

“After waiting for more than ten minutes, the woman refused to get out of the car, insisting she was looking for something and would definitely pay,” Chang Fan said, putting down his chopsticks. He looked both annoyed and frustrated, his dark face furrowed with wrinkles. “I even checked her bag. There was nothing but a piece of bloody gum. I recognized my bad luck then and said forget it and let her go.”

“What can you do when you encounter such people?” Wang Si, a short man with a crew cut, said, then greeted Chen Hongyan in the kitchen with a nod. “Sister-in-law, are you feeling better now?”

In this day and age, who still had a crew cut? Guan Hailian once made such a joke when he saw many photos and felt this line could be used humorously. He risked commenting on Wang Si’s new hairstyle like this.

The effect was quite good. Everyone had laughed; some even said, “Yeah, crew cuts are so outdated,” or “Can’t tell, Old Guan is quite fashionable.” Guan Hailian felt that to blend into this ordinary world and not be noticed as different, they mainly relied on these little details, accumulating the impression that ‘Old Guan is just an ordinary guy.’

Speaking of which, Guan Hailian wasn’t his real name either. His real name was Guan Dihai Feng, but there were no such names in this world, let alone being allowed to register such strange and culturally inappropriate names when obtaining citizenship. So, he changed it to Guan Hailian.

He could not do anything about his appearance; fortunately, he also had black hair and eyes. Gaining a little weight and making his face a bit rounder would obscure his slightly deeper facial features, making him pass for a local.

“I remember today is Old Guan’s birthday,” Chen Hongyan said with a smile as she came out holding a tray. “I made a few extra dishes, and this meal is on me.”

Guan Hailian was taken aback. His birthday couldn’t be converted into the date of this world, so he was not sensitive to the random date on his ID card. He had forgotten about this fake birthday. Suddenly embarrassed, he declined, “No need, no need. It’s my birthday, so I’ll treat everyone.”

Chen Hongyan didn’t insist on arguing with him; she set the tray down and went to get some drinks. When she was calm and silent like this, she had made up her mind, and no one could persuade her. Guan Hailian looked at her and remembered that her lemonade supply in the fridge was running low. He would have to bring in a crate before he left.

Although he had mentally noted it down, he still forgot when it was time to leave—probably because he insisted on paying. Guan Hailian put the money down and practically fled the store, leaving Chen Hongyan and her lemonade behind.

After nodding goodbye to the other drivers, he entered his car and drove onto the main road. After twenty years of uncertain life in the doomsday universe, he had finally settled down here, which was luck beyond his wildest dreams. His native world was completely different from this world; even the translator from Twelve Worlds had to slowly master the language. But because of this vast difference, he became more vigilant and cautious, which helped him better integrate into society.

“The news report about the Journey Number Carrier Rocket has ended, and now there’s an advertisement.” The pleasant female voice on the radio announced, “I arrived on June 2nd in this world, and my condition is still stable—”

Guan Hailian swiftly pressed the radio off button.

That posthuman was really audacious.

Guan Hailian slowed down his speed and watched the roadside. Whenever someone raised their arm, he prepared to stop. These past few days, this advertisement had been overwhelming, spreading even to the surrounding provinces and cities. Because of its strange content, it had become a topic of discussion nationwide—of course, this was what he had heard. After all, there was no internet in this world, so who knew if it could spread.

This person, Lin Sanjiu, was probably one of those young and spirited posthumans who enjoyed a few days of fame in Twelve Worlds but couldn’t stand the difference after coming here and wanted to return. Obviously, he—or she—knew nothing about this world and didn’t realize that the bigger the commotion they caused, the worse their fate would be.

Was it really that easy to return to Twelve Worlds? Even if they went back, what could they do? Sure, Twelve Worlds was safer than other places, had more rules, and could even be described as colorful—but all that was based on constantly buying visas. Could anyone afford to buy a Twelve Worlds visa just like that?

They lived peacefully every day, knowing that even if they didn’t strive to get a visa, they would still be living in the same place ten years from now, and even the restaurant where they had lunch would always be in the old neighborhood. Wasn’t this sense of security stronger than anything else?

Someone raised their arm by the roadside, and Guan Hailian immediately felt alert, ready to pull over. It didn’t matter what other posthumans were doing; he still had to earn his daily living.

A young man approached the passenger side and reached for the door handle.

Guan Hailian glanced at him and suddenly felt as if he had been pricked by a needle, his muscles tensing all over. He almost regretted not recognizing him from afar; the car wouldn’t have come close.

If the people coming and going on the street were loosely bound with straw, this young man was forged from refined steel, pressing heavily into this world and onto his retina. Ordinary people might not see the difference, but it was almost glaring for him.

Although the young man appeared relaxed and serene, just a moment of eye contact left Guan Hailian almost breathless. Before the young man could open the door, he quickly locked it again, turned the steering wheel, and sped off the road.

Another posthuman with abilities was getting into this car. Could his days still be peaceful?

“I didn’t ask him to get in,” he muttered.

Driving in the downtown area wasn’t fast, and he was afraid of another incident like the last time when he was stuck in traffic, and the female posthuman forced her way into the car. He made a sharp turn towards a nearby sports center. The area around the sports center was a large green belt of undeveloped forest, with no tall buildings and naturally fewer people and cars.

The traffic on the road quickly became sparse, and the speed gradually increased to 47 kilometers per hour. Guan Hailian glanced at the rearview mirror and saw that the nearest car behind him was about four or five car lengths away, let alone anyone who shouldn’t be there. He breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back in his seat.

A hand reached over and knocked on his window.

The surprise was immense, almost making Guan Hailian swerve and hit the roadside barrier. He quickly turned his head and met the face outside the window, which had caught up at some point.

“Hey,” the young man from earlier smiled at him, his voice muffled through the car window; as the car accelerated, he still looked relaxed, not even breathing heavily, and even pointed at the window, indicating for him to roll it down.

Even without looking in the mirror, Guan Hailian knew his complexion must be pale and unappealing right now. He clenched his teeth and stared at the road ahead for a few seconds, subconsciously hoping the young man would leave if he didn’t look at him. From the corner of his eye, he saw that the young man was still running alongside the car at a speed of 47 kilometers per hour—apparently, this wasn’t even close to the young man’s limit.

Continuing like this would be pointless; he might as well stop the car if he punched the window. In the end, he would still have to compensate.

Guan Hailian glanced at the rearview mirror and cursed inwardly, then reluctantly rolled down the window.

“As I thought, you are a posthuman,” the young man said with a smile, his voice steady despite the wind, engine noise, and footsteps. “Though it seems like you’ve lost your evolved abilities.”

“I don’t care about your business,” Guan Hailian said through his teeth. “I have nothing to do with posthumans. If you want to go somewhere, go by yourself!”

“You see, I know that,” the young man replied. “Wherever I want to go, why would I need a car? But I don’t know where that place is, so it’s a problem. I have to rely on a taxi.”

Guan Hailian didn’t want to be seen talking to a man who could keep up with cars during the day on the street through the car window. He gritted his teeth tightly, hoping his uncooperative silence would make the other person feel uninterested and leave him alone.

But with the honking and shouting from behind carried by the wind, someone must have noticed them already. If luck wasn’t on their side, maybe even photos would have been taken—fortunately, there was no internet in this world, so even if photos were taken, they couldn’t be uploaded, only viewed among a few friends and relatives.

The young man didn’t seem to care at all about the disturbance he caused. Instead, he enthusiastically asked, “You’ve seen the advertisement too, right? I’m going to find that Lin Sanjiu. How about it? Do you want to come along?”

“I’m not going!”

“Why not?” The young man sighed, accelerating and matching the taxi’s speed. “I’ve been in contact with her, and I believe there’s a good chance of regaining abilities after returning. If you come with us, you can regain your abilities too.”

“I don’t care about abilities.”

The young man sighed again. “Alright. Can you tell me how to get there, then? I’ll go by myself. The address is—”

Guan Hailian suddenly pressed the horn, drowning out the young man’s words. He leaned out the window, shouting at the empty road ahead, “What kind of driving is this?!”

The young man closed his mouth.

As he shrunk back into his seat, Guan Hailian whispered to the window, “Don’t say anything, just go away!” Then he closed the window.

He glanced at the rearview mirror. An amulet hung from it, a faint light shining next to the dangling red thread.