Axolotl Translations

The journey from Shancheng to Xinjing was a long one. Fortunately, the thick smog that had lingered for months had finally cleared. The four of them took turns driving day and night, and after a full week on the road, they were now just a few dozen kilometers away from their destination.

As the sun climbed higher each day, the temperature steadily rose, pushing their second bus to its limits. Blowouts and mechanical failures had become routine, and the only reason they had made it this far was thanks to the spare tires and repair tools Brother Gang had given them.

By 8:30 in the morning, they had just finished installing their last spare tire. Gu Mengran, Liang Zhao, and Zheng Yijie climbed back onto the bus, their clothes drenched—looking less like they had changed a tire and more like they had just walked through a rainstorm.

It was unbearably hot. This bus had only been in use for three days, yet the cabin was already thick with the stench of sweat. Ventilation was a luxury they couldn’t afford, so the best they could do was maintain whatever personal hygiene they could manage under the circumstances.

As soon as the doors shut and the engine roared back to life, Wei Qianlan, sitting near the rear exit, wasted no time. Without hesitation, she yanked up the bedsheet hanging between the front and back of the bus, instantly dividing the space in two.

With the makeshift partition in place, Gu Mengran no longer held back. He swiftly retrieved a stainless steel bucket and a plastic washbasin from his space and began filling the bucket with clean water.

It was the first time he had openly drawn water from his spatial storage in front of Zheng Yijie. The guy stood there, stunned. But after weeks of encountering one unexplainable thing after another, he only hesitated for a few seconds before realization dawned.

“So you guys have been storing water in your space all along? Huh… didn’t know you could use it like this.”

Gu Mengran didn’t bother explaining. Instead, he pulled his backpack out from under the seat, took out a sun-dried towel and a bottle of shampoo, then crouched by the washbasin to scrub the sweat from his hair.

Since it wasn’t their first time washing up inside the bus, Liang Zhao wordlessly coordinated with him. He grabbed his own rinsing cup from his bag and helped pour water over Gu Mengran’s head when needed.

Short hair had its perks—within just ten minutes, all three of them had washed up. The sticky, sweat-soaked mess on their heads was replaced by the fresh scent of shampoo, and the stifling body odor in the cabin dissipated significantly.

With their hair clean, it was time to wipe down their bodies. Gu Mengran collected the washbasin along with the dirty water into his space and refilled the stainless steel bucket with fresh water.

Given their circumstances, taking a proper bath was out of the question. The best they could do was soak a towel and give themselves a quick wipe-down.

Sweaty clothes clinging to their skin were unbearable, and Zheng Yijie had been itching to strip them off. The moment Gu Mengran finished preparing the water, he immediately grabbed the hem of his T-shirt and pulled it over his head, revealing his scrawny, childlike frame.

Zheng Yijie was thin and short, with barely any muscle to speak of. Paired with his plain black-framed glasses, he really did look like an elementary school kid at first glance.

Amused, Gu Mengran couldn’t help but give him an extra look. Just then, Liang Zhao cleared his throat and, without any rush, peeled off his own T-shirt.

Unlike Zheng Yijie, Liang Zhao was tall, well-proportioned, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs.

Years of physical labor had left him with a lean yet powerful physique. His muscles were defined but not excessive, his abs sculpted yet natural. It was the kind of build that exuded strength without looking overly bulky—just right.

At night, when they bathed in the spatial dimension, they did so one at a time, so this was the first time Gu Mengran had gotten a full, unobstructed view of Liang Zhao’s impressive build.

Although he had seen him shirtless in his past life, back then, starvation had long since robbed Liang Zhao of his muscles.

After the initial surprise, Gu Mengran mostly just felt awkward. He only glanced twice before quickly shifting his gaze away, exhaling a breath of warm air as he lowered his head.

“Damn, bro, have you been working out? That physique is insane!”

Compared to Gu Mengran’s discomfort, Zheng Yijie was far more at ease. He didn’t hold back in showering Liang Zhao with praise and even reached out, attempting to get a feel for his muscles.

Unfortunately for him, Liang Zhao smoothly dodged to the side, avoiding contact with ease.

“Man, the difference between people is just unfair.” Zheng Yijie sighed, tilting his head as his eyes openly roamed over to Gu Mengran.

Both of them had taken off their shirts, leaving him as the odd one out. Feeling a little resigned, Gu Mengran let out a quiet sigh, put down his towel, and pulled off his shirt.

If Zheng Yijie had the build of an elementary schooler, then Gu Mengran’s frame was more like that of a college student. His proportions were good—lean, with defined lines—but he lacked any real muscle tone due to a lack of exercise. His biggest advantage? His fair skin.

The moment Gu Mengran took off his shirt, Zheng Yijie started staring.

Under his intense gaze, Gu Mengran felt incredibly uncomfortable. Just as he was about to scowl and call him out, Zheng Yijie suddenly glanced down at his own arm, then blurted out, “Wait a second. We’ve all gone days without a proper bath, so why are you so clean? No joke, if I took a soak right now, I bet I could scrub off two pounds of dirt.”

Gu Mengran chuckled. Well, when you get to take a bath in the spatial dimension every night, staying clean isn’t exactly hard.

Of course, he wasn’t about to admit that. Instead, he simply tipped his chin toward Zheng Yijie. “Quit stalling and wash up already. And let’s get one thing straight—no scrubbing off layers of grime inside the bus.”

Once they finished wiping down and changed into clean clothes, the three of them each returned to their seats to rest.

By the time the clock neared ten, Gu Mengran was already planning lunch.

If everything went as expected, they would arrive in Xinjing by evening. Their journey together was coming to an end, and before they parted ways, he wanted to cook one last meal for the kids.

More than that, he didn’t want to send them off empty-handed. As he considered what supplies would be easiest to carry, he realized there was no point overthinking it.

Taking advantage of the moment before the curtain was drawn, Gu Mengran retrieved two large hiking backpacks from his space and started packing them directly.

He filled them with dried fruit, candy, and other snacks—something to use for coaxing the kids if needed. Cold medicine, heatstroke remedies, and vitamins were added as well, just in case. As for food, he packed mainly dry goods, followed by instant noodles, self-heating rice meals, canned meat, and canned fruit.

Milk, chocolate, fresh fruit… Those things no longer belonged in this world. He would have liked to give them some, but there was no reasonable explanation for how he got them.

The other supplies were easier to justify. The two teachers knew Zheng Yijie had stockpiled a lot of goods, though they weren’t aware of the specifics. Back then, to avoid drawing suspicion, they had even gone back and forth multiple times, moving supplies onto the bus bit by bit.

Bringing too many supplies now would only attract unnecessary attention. Gu Mengran knew this, but he still couldn’t help himself—grabbing a little of this, a little of that—until both hiking packs were completely stuffed.

Partings were inevitable, but after traveling together for so long, he found himself feeling a hint of reluctance.

Cooking on the bus wasn’t exactly an elaborate affair. As noon approached, Gu Mengran stretched lazily, then reached up to take the electric cooker from the luggage rack, plugging it into the outdoor power socket.

Gu Mengran rinsed the rice and set it to cook into a porridge, adding some of the dehydrated vegetables Zheng Yijie had stockpiled. Then, making sure no one was watching, he quietly retrieved a bag of frozen shrimp from his space, washed them clean, and tossed them into the pot along with the vegetables and rice.

If anyone asked? Simple—Zheng Yijie had dehydrated shrimp in his stash too.

Stir-fried dishes were out of the question; there simply wasn’t enough space to cook properly on a moving bus. So, once the porridge was nearly ready, Gu Mengran grabbed ten boxes of different-flavored self-heating hot pots from the luggage rack and called Liang Zhao and Zheng Yijie over to help unpack them.

Tomato and pickled cabbage flavors weren’t spicy, so even the kids could eat them. In addition to the standard vegetable and meat packets that came with each hot pot, Gu Mengran added a can of luncheon meat and salted quail eggs to every box.

Fifteen minutes later, the porridge was done, and the aroma of the hot pots filled the air.

The moving bus slowly pulled to a stop by the roadside, and all the kids who had been playing in the cabin immediately turned their heads, rubbing their bellies and whining about how hungry they were.

“Did you all wash your hands? Get ready to eat!”

……

Everyone knew the farewell was coming.

After lunch, the kids settled into their seats for a nap. With a rare moment of downtime, the two teachers didn’t choose to rest but instead lifted the curtain and came to the front section of the bus.

Zhou Qin took a seat next to Liang Zhao, while Wei Qianlan sat beside Gu Mengran. It seemed they had already discussed this in advance because as soon as Wei Qianlan sat down, she got straight to the point.

“I have a feeling we’re close. Will we make it there today?”

Gu Mengran smiled and nodded. “You’re right. If all goes well, we should arrive before nightfall. But just to be safe, we plan to rest for a bit and take you into the city after dark.”

“No need, no need to take us,” Wei Qianlan quickly waved her hands. “The government base shouldn’t be too hard to find. We’ll manage on our own.”

They don’t want us to take them? Gu Mengran frowned, a little surprised. “What if there’s no base in Xinjing? Aren’t you even a little worried?”

Wei Qianlan chuckled, unconcerned. “That’s impossible. Like you said, Xinjing is the capital, the central hub. If there’s no base there, then there won’t be one anywhere.”

That made sense, but something still felt off to Gu Mengran. After a moment’s thought, he asked directly, “Then why don’t you want us to take you? Even if there is a base, in this heat, and without knowing the exact location, how long do you think it’ll take you to find it with a group of kids?”

Wei Qianlan, who had been staring at the floor, slowly lifted her head and met his gaze.

For a few seconds, she held his eyes.

Then, looking away, she lowered her voice and said, “I can tell… you don’t like Xinjing. Or maybe it’s more than that—you resist it. You’ve already helped us so much on this journey. Let us walk the last stretch ourselves.”

Was it really that obvious? Gu Mengran found himself at a loss for words.

Xinjing was no stranger to Gu Mengran. He had lived there for five years, including a long stretch after the disaster. So he knew that after the catastrophe, the military had taken control of the city, ensuring a stable supply of resources and maintaining order. For now, it was relatively safe.

But he had two main reasons for avoiding Xinjing. First, he carried secrets—secrets that made him unwilling to have any contact with the military. Second, he wanted to avoid any chance of running into Gu Decheng.

Biological father or not, Gu Decheng had once traded him for supplies in his past life. Gu Mengran had no sympathy for someone like that. But his grandfather might. And he had no intention of straining his relationship with his grandfather over a man who didn’t matter.

A few days ago, he had only vaguely hinted that Xinjing was likely to have an official base. Yet somehow, just from those few words, Wei Qianlan had figured out that he didn’t want to go there.

Women’s intuition was terrifyingly sharp.

Feeling slightly awkward, Gu Mengran rubbed the tip of his nose and admitted frankly, “I used to live in Xinjing. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience. But hey, as the saying goes, since we’re already here, we might as well see it through. We won’t feel at ease until we know you’ve reached the base safely.”

He thought that would be enough to convince her, but to his surprise, Wei Qianlan shook her head with a helpless smile. “It’s really not necessary. And it’s not just about you—this is a decision Zhou Qin and I made together.”

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