CHAPTER 360: CHAPTER 339: THE OLD SHIP

After landing, Hu Xiaodong and his son greeted Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei along with their family.

Having traded many times, giving them both Big Coins and Small Coins, and preparing so many supplies, Hu Xiaodong and his son’s family were clearly already familiar with Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei.

Therefore, now that they finally met, they all greeted Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei with respect.

They were overly respectful and nervous; even the children, in front of Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei, became cautious and looked very uneasy.

Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei noticed this, and after greeting them, they said to Hu Xiaodong and his son, "Let’s go. Take us to the ship."

"Oh, okay."

Hu Xiaodong quickly agreed and turned to Hu Dong, saying, "You take the water back and help with the household chores. I’ll take care of the ship."

"Oh, oh."

Hu Dong agreed repeatedly.

So Hu Xiaodong took Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei towards the stranded ship.

They didn’t head into the island but followed the edge of the lower level towards the ship beneath.

Walking along the outermost path with Hu Xiaodong, they could see the vast ocean outside and the crisscrossed fields inside, which added a distinct charm.

At this time, it wasn’t just the Hu Xiaodong family; other island residents were also laboring in the fields.

Those who saw Hu Xiaodong didn’t stop their work but would lift their heads to greet him.

"Big Hu, why are you back so early this time?"

"Big Hu, did you get the sweet water?"

"Why didn’t we see Xiaohu? Did Xiaohu go home to sell water? Can we buy it right away if we go now?"

Hu Xiaodong always spoke cheerfully with everyone, very amiably.

After greeting them, he explained to Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei, "This is how people have always called me on the island, from before until now, that’s what they call all of us in the family.

"I am Big Hu, my dad is Hu, my son is Xiaohu, my grandson is Xiaoxiao Hu. Once my dad passed, I became Hu, my son became Big Hu, and my grandson turned into Xiaohu.

"When my grandson has a child, then it’ll be Xiaoxiao Hu."

"I see."

Lu Xi’an nodded, finding the naming tradition of the Hu family quite intriguing.

He suddenly remembered something and turned to Yao Wei, saying, "We talked about searching for an oasis, and Luo Ping mentioned that many people are looking for some oasis. Do you think this place looks like an oasis?"

Yao Wei looked around and thought for a moment, then said, "Hmm."

She no longer worried that Lu Xi’an would leave her to live in the so-called oasis, so she spoke freely and answered neatly.

Lu Xi’an remarked, "Exactly, people search everywhere for an oasis, but it’s always been right beneath our feet.

"Being down-to-earth, putting everything into practice, striving to survive, and making one’s life better naturally makes the oasis appear.

"According to Luo Ping, the world almost had an oasis at one point? People labored diligently, intending to rebuild the old world, but it was always sabotaged."

Sometimes he even felt that the existence of Neo-Humans wasn’t beneficial for this world.

Everything here was so much like the country he was from in his previous life. The simple and honest old farmer Shu always made Lu Xi’an feel like they both had traveled through time.

The ordinary people here were naturally supposed to be hard-working and simple, resilient in the face of adversity, and indomitable.

They should have brought the skill of farming to its peak, even being able to rebuild civilization on ruins.

But the emergence of Neo-Humans resulted in catastrophic consequences.

The power of Neo-Humans was tremendous, with individual strength far surpassing that of those who once held a great wealth of capital.

The presence of one Neo-Human after another proved destructive to the structure of human society, as the ecosystem rebuilt on the ruins of civilization was too fragile for these Neo-Humans.

There weren’t many Luo Pings in the world; there were more characters like Boss Liang, Xu, and Xuan Xiaocao.

So the world headed for collapse, turning into what it is now.

Yet, East Island, isolated overseas, developed well due to being geographically separated from the Neo-Humans and turned into the paradise-like place it is now, full of life and vigor.

"Who runs things on your island?"

Lu Xi’an asked.

Hu Xiaodong answered, "There’s a committee that changes every five years, and people are elected by a vote of the whole island.

"Back then, my dad almost got elected as chairman, but he was too focused on the sweet water business and didn’t want to be chairman, so he withdrew."

"I see."

Lu Xi’an nodded and asked, "Then, do you need to inform the committee about us coming to this ship?"

"No need! Not at all!"

Hu Xiaodong grinned, reassuring Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei, "Everything that could be moved from the ship has been moved already. It serves no purpose being stranded here; it’s just a place for kids to play usually.

"I thought about your abilities and felt you might discover something, so I brought you both here.

"If you two have the ability to get things from inside that we can’t, that’s your skill, and we won’t say anything on the island."

Lu Xi’an said, "I’m just afraid this is your wishful thinking. If people on the island disagree with you when the time comes, and we take the stuff, it’s nothing to us, but it would be difficult for you on the island, don’t blame us."

Hu Xiaodong waved his hand optimistically and said, "Don’t worry, both of you. I know how people on our island are. There won’t be any problems!"

As they spoke, they had already arrived under the ship.

Looking at it from the sea, it didn’t seem like much, but now underneath the ship, its grandeur is truly felt.

Compared to the size of this ship, they were insignificant. Looking up from here, the ship’s bow seemed to reach the sky, unreachable.

"How did you get on board before?"

Lu Xi’an asked.

Hu Xiaodong pointed upward and said, "I’ve never been on the ship, but I heard from people before that they climbed up using ropes from the second level.

"Later, kids kept climbing up along the ropes; it was too dangerous, so the ropes were removed.

"Now, even if kids come, they can only play down here. My grandson loves coming here and climbs with these vines, but he can’t get very high.

"These vines are hard to climb."

Lu Xi’an nodded in understanding, then said, "We’re going up, you can head back, no need to stay with us."

"Ah, okay."

Hu Xiaodong agreed, then watched as Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei leapt high, directly grabbing the edge of the ship, flipping themselves into the ship and disappearing from his sight.

"Wow, that’s impressive!"

Hu Xiaodong couldn’t help but exclaim but didn’t leave, choosing to stay there.

This fellow was used to trading, perhaps thinking if Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei found something good, he could secure first-hand trade, buying from them directly.

Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei were already on the ship. This ship was massive, like a huge cruise ship, with numerous rooms, checking each could take quite some time.

Luckily, they had Gou with them, so there was no need to search painstakingly from room to room; they just needed to let Gou look at where there might be something, then follow Gou’s lead.

—If they didn’t have Gou, they’d definitely have Hu Xiaodong find an elder from the island who’d been on the ship to guide them.

They took a quick look, finding that all accessible rooms had indeed been searched, a complete mess in sight; calling it a robbery scene wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

They entered directly from the cockpit, jumping in from the deck straight into the cockpit, where anything useful had already been taken, with all the cabinets and drawers opened, their contents empty.

Lu Xi’an had Gou check to see if the control panel was broken and to confirm whether the ship could be set in motion. The result was clear.

This stranded large vessel was entirely scrapped, no way to be put back into use.

Plus, thinking further, this ship ran on fuel, not electricity, and operating such a huge ship required an enormous amount of fuel!

Even if it were intact, they couldn’t just sail this ship away now.

They began exploring layer by layer from the cockpit and reached the captain’s cabin, where nothing remained.

But as they were about to leave, Gou’s eyes suddenly gleamed, glancing toward the bed’s headboard.

On the surface, nothing was visible there, just a steel wall at the headboard, almost blending with the room.

Gou’s eyes glimmered on the wall, causing some reflective shine.

Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei approached, fumbling around until they noticed something amiss, picking at it with fingers and uncovering a secret compartment.

Behind the secret compartment was an electronic lock!

Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei exchanged glances and immediately searched around, quickly uncovering—

A safe was hidden here!

The secret compartment was the hidden panel on the safe door, opening it revealed the electronic lock of the safe.

"I never expected there to be a safe hidden in the captain’s cabin, undiscovered."

Lu Xi’an chuckled.

Thinking it over, it’s possible the islanders found it, but couldn’t open the safe.

"Hmm."

Yao Wei nodded, a touch of anticipation for the treasures inside the safe.

Lu Xi’an didn’t let Gou help, instead opting for a forceful dismantling, tugging the inside of the secret compartment, ripping the door open.

His strength had tremendously advanced since his roaming days in the north; no material could stop him now.

The edge of the safe door twisted, the lock came off, deformed along with it.

And the contents of the safe came into Lu Xi’an’s view.

There were cigarettes, alcohol, a gold bar.

Apart from that, there were numerous rectangular boxes; shaking the boxes revealed items rattling inside, making the cardboard rustle.

Suddenly, Lu Xi’an laughed, saying to Yao Wei, "Speak of the devil, it seems our dreams have come true."