Upon hearing Yao Wei's explanation, Lu Xi'an understood that the three places marked with X on the map were ones Yao Wei had visited before, but were either out of oil or couldn't refuel.
"Where's the pen?"
He asked, thinking to himself, this woman truly lived up to her reputation. She had notebooks and pens, but only used them to write diaries, wasting paper and ink. Yet, here she was finding a crucial use for them.
Impressive!
If only he had learned this trick earlier, he would have never written diaries. Even without a map book, sketching his route on a blank paper would suffice.
"Check the bottom of the bag."
Yao Wei uttered four more words.
Thus, Lu Xi'an had to fumble around the back seat, rummaging through Yao Wei's backpack until he found a pen at the bottom and then returned to the front.
Opening the pen, he marked a check at the gas station icon, and then noticed this map of Yubei City in the Jiang Yu District, with a very wide and long river along the edge.
On the blue icon representing the river, the words "Jiang Yu Reservoir" were written. By comparing directions, it seemed to be the river they had just passed under the bridge.
The place they crossed the bridge was still the narrowest part of the river, it hadn't reached the reservoir yet.
Lu Xi'an pondered whether the water pipes for the villa at Jiang Yu Road No. 272 were very likely sourced from this reservoir.
In that case, if the reservoir's main pipeline was functioning well, could there be other places that still had water, and could be inhabited?
He mused randomly and suddenly heard Yao Wei say, "Page twenty-seven."
Page twenty-seven was in the latter half of the booklet. Lu Xi'an noticed this section was darker on the edges, indicating that Yao Wei had flipped through it more often.
He flipped World Map One to page twenty-seven, displaying the overall map of a province. The map was elongated, with flat terrain, and in the upper right corner the words "Mengze City" were noted.
On the lower left of the Mengze City Map was Wanquan County. In the upper right corner of this irregular square map, a heavy mark was drawn.
Lu Xi'an instantly understood that this place was Yao Wei's target.
"Right here?"
Lu Xi'an flipped a few pages further to the Wanquan County page, noticing it had numerous markings, with the center encircled.
"Before finding the Oasis, I'll head here."
Yao Wei said in a low voice as she drove the car.
Lu Xi'an turned to glance at Yao Wei. Her eyes suddenly brimmed with hostility, clutching the steering wheel with her gaze fixed on the road ahead, as if there was an enemy outside the car she wished to mow down.
Without needing to ask, he guessed that this place likely had someone Yao Wei considered an enemy.
Recalling her mentioning that her mother was already dead and the phrase "only those who can't compete hide in the north to barely survive," it was highly likely her mother had died there.
Hence, she hadn't visited the south, implying the south being better than the north could easily be a lie.
But Lu Xi'an didn't probe further. Seeing Yao Wei's current demeanor, he felt asking would be asking for trouble.
"Then go ahead."
He said such a sentence.
Yao Wei remained silent, continuing to drive.
The car passed over the bridge, climbing a small hill, circling the hill before proceeding along a road parallel to a river.
Lu Xi'an flipped the map book back to the Yubei City page and then the following page, displaying the map of Fengcheng County.
A river flowed from the reservoir marked at the edge of the map, heading straight into the West District, labeled as Gui River.
"What is the Oasis?"
Lu Xi'an asked again.
The question about Wanquan County might stir unhappiness, but this question seemed reasonable. He was curious.
The words seemed suitable for habitation.
However, Yao Wei said, "Don't know."
"Don't know? Then how do you know about the Oasis?"
"My mom mentioned it."
"..."
Lu Xi'an fell silent and said, "Sorry."
Yao Wei shook her head, unbothered. She said, "If someday it's found, and you're still alive, I'll let you know."
That's decent of her. Lu Xi'an said, "Thank you."
After he spoke, he suddenly recalled a film he had watched in another life, a masterpiece of post-apocalyptic cinema called Mad Max.
People in it were also searching for an Oasis, but ultimately, all Oases were deceptive.
Yet he didn't share this with Yao Wei, since the circumstances were different, a movie is different from reality. How could he reference a movie's plot in real life?
If he discussed the story with Yao Wei and jinxed it, what if she brandished a Blade against him?
Such a formidable woman, Lu Xi'an wasn't sure if he could win.
But Yao Wei, upon hearing Lu Xi'an's thanks, shook her head and said, "Many people are searching for the Oasis, heading south, but none have found it."
"..."
Lu Xi'an was silent again, mumbling, "One Piece huh..."
Why did Mad Max suddenly become One Piece?
However, in this world, One Piece didn't symbolize dreams but the hope for survival.
Yao Wei abruptly slammed the brakes, almost causing Lu Xi'an to crash into the windshield.
"Thump!"
Gou hit the front underneath, fortunately, the speed wasn't too fast, and neither Gou nor the car seemed hurt.
"You know?!"
Yao Wei asked in surprise.
"..."
The woman took his One Piece reference as another name for the Oasis.
Lu Xi'an had to explain, "No, it's from a story, a place where many people were searching, sounded quite like the Oasis."
"Oh."
Yao Wei said tersely, somewhat disappointed.
She was uninterested in the story.
But she noticed another issue: "What you mentioned... it's in a foreign language, right?"
Lu Xi'an nodded: "Yes."
Did this world have English?
It probably did… after all, it had Chinese.
Yao Wei continued, "If one day, we find other world map books, can you help me look? Maybe the Oasis isn't documented in World Map One."
The world maps were divided into several volumes, and Yao Wei's volume was World Map One. As she spoke, it sounded like she'd thoroughly explored all places marked in World Map One.
When necessary, she seemed to speak quite a lot.
Lu Xi'an replied, "We'll see then. Foreign languages come in many kinds, not guaranteed that I can understand all."
"Alright."
Yao Wei nodded and continued driving.
Lu Xi'an lowered his gaze to the map of Fengcheng County.
He was genuinely surprised, finding the world had produced such maps, foregoing electronic navigation. A small booklet mapped every place comprehensively, clearly marked.
For instance, on the Fengcheng County Map, the central plaza, the county government, the Fengcheng Police Station were all clearly marked.
Outside the county town district, villages were scattered, looking very desolate.
"Ahead, turn left, a gas station is nearby."
Lu Xi'an observed the map and reminded Yao Wei.
Thus, Yao Wei reached the intersection and turned left.