Chapter 795: Chapter 780: Curiosity (4)
"Wait, there’s still some work to do!"
"There’s more!" Wen Quanxin looked at the car, thinking everything that needed to be cleaned or installed was already done, unable to fathom what else was left to do.
Wang Zhongyu pointed at the two large headlights on the front of the car and said, "Lighting. In this dark night without lights, we’re like blind people. We can’t see the road conditions, and what if we go the wrong way in the dark and end up in a pile of zombies? That would be a huge problem."
After Wang Zhongyu’s explanation, Wen Quanxin nodded in understanding. Indeed, driving at night without the assistance of headlights is risky. The question now was where to find replacement bulbs for the car: "Xiao Wang, you don’t mean to find a car now and take its light to install it, do you?"
To be honest, what Wen Quanxin suggested had crossed Wang Zhongyu’s mind, but considering the compatibility of the car lights and the state of the electrical system, he ultimately abandoned this troublesome and uncertain method. Instead, he thought of a relatively simple yet reliable alternative.
"Of course not, we don’t have time for such hassles." Leaving those words, Wang Zhongyu dove back into a residential house. Minutes later, he emerged with several items in his hands, and when he spread them out on the ground, Wen Quanxin finally saw what they were.
"Flashlights?"
"Yeah! We got lucky. These hand-held radios were thrown intact in the corner of a first-floor shop, probably left by survivors who saw they were dead and didn’t bother to take them. Haha, now they’re ours for the taking." Wang Zhongyu chuckled, picking up four flashlights, tying them together with twine, and, after inspecting them, seemed unsatisfied, so he added several layers of packing tape for reinforcement: "Done! Our car headlights."
"Just this thing?" Wen Quanxin took what Wang Zhongyu handed him, what he called "car headlights," and shook his head in doubt: "You think this thing will work?"
"Whether it works or not, it’s what we’ve got. We don’t have time to make anything else now. As long as it can manage some lighting, it’s fine." Wang Zhongyu continued to work on the ad hoc lights while speaking.
He collected a total of 10 flashlights, and including the 2 they originally carried, he had 12 in total, which Wang Zhongyu arranged strategically.
First, four bound together were placed on the left and right sides of the truck to replace the original lights. As Wen Quanxin worried, Wang Zhongyu was concerned about the light intensity, so he tied two flashlights to the front center of the roof as additional support. This should suffice for nighttime road illumination.
Even if the headlights were to break or become inadequate, they could still use the two flashlights they carried as a backup.
After arranging the lighting devices according to plan, Wang Zhongyu busily turned them all on, partly to test the effect and partly to make some fine adjustments.
Once everything was adjusted satisfactorily, Wen Quanxin was quite pleased: "Whoa, who would’ve thought, this thing really is damn useful!"
"Yeah, not bad, it’ll do!" Wang Zhongyu modestly said. "Let’s hope they last until we get out of the town safely!"
"Alright, let’s get in the car. We’ve reinforced the protection, installed the headlights. I don’t think there’s anything else, just have to leave it to fate. Oh right, Xiao Wen, remember to buckle your seat belt properly. Don’t come complaining if you hit your head again, haha!"
Old Xu opened his eyes alertly, a figure becoming clearer in his pupils: "Old Lin! What’s going on?"
Recognizing the familiar figure, Xu Renjie immediately concluded who it was, instinctively worrying that something had happened.
His sudden voice gave Old Lin, who had just turned around to leave, quite a start.
"No, no, nothing happened. I saw you sleeping on the sofa, and it’s really easy to catch a cold sleeping like that in this weather. It would be problematic if you fell sick, so I just added a blanket for you."
Old Xu looked down at the blanket that slipped to the floor when he got up, understanding everything immediately. He picked it up somewhat sheepishly and said, "Oh, that’s it. I thought something happened, haha!"
"It’s my fault. You were sleeping so well, and I woke you up. Alright, since nothing’s happened, you can go back to rest." Old Lin was feeling very guilty, as Old Xu had been staying up nights for the past few days, undoubtedly drinking a large amount of tea.
Moreover, the issue with Spring Xiu’s group was mentally taxing, keeping his nerves constantly taut.
But human energy is ultimately limited. Even an iron-willed person would collapse under such long-term strain, which is exactly why Old Xu fell asleep unknowingly from exhaustion.
Old Lin naturally noticed all this. He had advised the former to pay attention to rest, but Old Xu always made excuses like "I’ll go rest after I finish this," and never truly closed his eyes.
It was quite distressing for Old Lin the past couple of days; he was genuinely worried Old Xu would collapse from overwork.
Hearing snores from the living room sofa, he thought to check who it was, intending to send them back to their room to sleep, never expecting it to be Old Xu.
"No need, I’ve pretty much slept enough. How long was I out?" Old Xu slapped his face to wake himself, though he was still quite drowsy, trying to fully wake up by force.
"You just slept for less than half an hour, Old Xu. I’m telling you, if you keep going like this, something will happen." Old Lin was annoyed, regretting his unneeded action as Old Xu would probably still be sleeping well otherwise.
"It’s nothing!" Seeing the seriousness in the other’s tone, Old Xu felt moved by his concern. But at this critical moment, he simply couldn’t sleep soundly, and Old Lin was in a similar sleepless situation:
"Old Lin, don’t just talk about me. You need to take care of yourself, too."
Old Lin indeed had little right to reprimand Xu Renjie. He barely slept two hours a day, and that included all his naps combined.
From this, it was clear his condition wasn’t much better. Compared to Old Xu’s continuous battles, his situation was somewhat better.
No use talking more. Old Lin knew Old Xu’s stubborn personality well; once he decided on something, nothing could sway him. So, he didn’t waste any more time on the topic. He had said what he needed to, and the rest was up to Old Xu to handle.
Since Old Xu was awake, he had something to discuss: "Old Xu, in a couple of days, it’s New Year’s. Should we celebrate a little, let everyone relax?"
The New Year celebration was originally planned, but with Spring Xiu’s attack and Liu Fugui’s sudden visit, Old Xu had completely forgotten about it. If Old Lin hadn’t reminded him, he wouldn’t have recalled at all. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com), vote for recommendations, and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)
