I Have a Post Apocalyptic Online Friend C24.2

Hey, first of all, thanks for reading my lousy Machine Translation. To be honest, I’d really like it if you guys corrected the mistakes I made. But please speak nicely and politely. My heart is not strong enough to read your too-harsh comments. Have a nice day. 🙂

Chapter 24. Part 2

After securing the garbage bag, Zhou An’an checked outside for zombies. Seeing none, she quickly got out of the car.

She dumped the trash by the roadside and turned to retrieve the wastewater tank. The tank, a fifty-liter plastic drum, was stored beneath the car, next to the water tank.

The full tank of wastewater was too heavy to lift. Lu Yuan had always handled this task before.

Not wanting to be seen as taking advantage of him, Zhou An’an gritted her teeth and forced herself to do it herself.

She disconnected the hose, sealed the lid, and struggled to drag the tank down. Fifty liters of wastewater weighed a hundred pounds, far more than her ninety-plus pounds. She had no choice but to drag it along the ground.

Even dragging was exhausting. The tank felt like a solid lead weight. After dragging it half a meter with all her might, she nearly tripped.

When they reach the desert, I’m going to eat like crazy and train like crazy to lift weights, she vowed silently, gritting her teeth and continuing to drag.

With frequent rests, she finally managed to drag the tank to the roadside. As she opened the lid to pour out the water, she suddenly heard a gunshot.

Looking up, she saw a zombie approaching, taken down by Lu Yuan.

She sped up the water disposal, secured the empty tank back in its place, and hurried back into the car.

“Thank you,” she said softly, closing the door.

“I’ll take care of the sewage buckets from now on,” Lu Yuan offered. He had seen how much effort she had exerted earlier.

Zhou An’an, who had been heading to the driver’s cabin, stopped at his words. “Didn’t you say you weren’t planning on dating anyone?”

Lu Yuan paused. “Mm.”

“Then why are you pretending to care for me?” She thought of the cooking and the sewage buckets. He was the one eager to distance himself, yet she was the one who seemed ungrateful. If she accepted his help without question, he’d probably just blurt out again that he wasn’t interested in dating.

Lu Yuan sighed. “I’m not pretending. You said to yourself we’re teammates and should help each other.”

“Just that?” Her eyes reddened slightly.

The words Lu Yuan wanted to say hovered on his lips. He forced himself to say, “Just that.”

Zhou An’an pinched her palm hard, forcing back tears. “I understand.” She fled to the driver’s cabin, but Lu Yuan followed.

“What are you doing here?” Her voice trembled with unshed tears. She didn’t dare turn around, afraid he’d see how much she was hurting.

“I…” Lu Yuan had never found speaking so difficult, as if a blade were lodged in his throat. However, he forced the words out through the pain. “I want to tell you something.”

Zhou An’an covered her face with her hands. “Tell me.”

“After I take you to the desert, I’m leaving.”

She whipped around, tears welling in her eyes. “What?”

Lu Yuan forced a strained smile. “Once I get you somewhere safe, I have to go.”

She couldn’t accept this news. Her mind grew increasingly chaotic, her thoughts tangled and incoherent. All she knew was that she couldn’t let him go, no matter what.

“Are you afraid I’ll fall for you? I’m not that desperate. You said you don’t want a relationship, so I won’t pester you.”

Lu Yuan shook his head quickly. “It’s not because of that.”

“Then what is it?!” Zhou An’an nearly shouted, her hands gripping the chair as she teetered on the verge of collapse.

Lu Yuan took a deep breath and said slowly, “You wanted to survive, so I decided to help you through the early days of the Apocalypse. Now that things are more stable and the desert should be safe, and you’ve learned to drive and use a gun—you can protect yourself—it’s time for me to do what I need to do.”

“What do you need to do?” Zhou An’an grabbed his sleeve. “I’m coming with you!”

Lu Yuan turned his face away, avoiding her burning gaze. “I have to go alone,” he said softly.

“Will you ever come back?”

Her voice held a desperate plea.

Lu Yuan pressed his dry lips together and murmured, “I don’t know.”

Zhou An’an released his hand, lost in thought, and leaned back against the chair, motionless.

The car was filled with a suffocating silence.

After a few minutes, Lu Yuan broke the quiet.

“Go rest if you’re tired. I’ll wake you when we reach City D.”

City D was the closest city to the desert. They had agreed to resupply there before venturing into the desert.

Zhou An’an hummed absently and went to lie down on the bunk, but she couldn’t sleep.

Lu Yuan was leaving—it was devastating news.

She wasn’t afraid of facing zombies and mutated plants alone. As he had said, the desert would be safe. Even if she encountered danger, she had a gun and could escape by car if necessary.

But she couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to live alone in this Apocalypse world.

Even in her old rental apartment, without family or friends, she had felt lonely enough.

In this world where even living people were a rarity, one could easily lose their mind after a long time.

She wanted to live with Lu Yuan, more than anything.

Had she been acting too over the top these past few days? Was that why he was deliberately finding excuses to leave?

It had to be.

Zhou An’an pulled the covers over her head, her mind racing as she desperately tried to come up with a solution.

Several hours later, as night fell, the Unimog crashed through a few zombies and came to a stop outside a supermarket in City D.

Lu Yuan parked the vehicle, walked to the bunk, and said, “Rest here tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll resupply and head to the desert.”

Zhou An’an lifted the covers to reveal her face, staring at him blankly.

Knowing she was upset, he asked, “What do you want for dinner? I’ll make it.”

Suddenly, Zhou An’an jumped out of bed, lowered her head, and muttered, “I’ll do it,” before slipping on her slippers and hurrying past him to the kitchen.

Lu Yuan watched her retreating figure, his heart growing heavier.

He didn’t want to leave either, but God had given him a second chance, and he had to seize it.

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