Apocalypse: Last Traveler-Chapter 394 - 373: Father-in-Law and Son-in-Law

Yao Huo took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. He didn’t answer Lu Xi’an’s question.

Instead, he said, "I don’t want to repeat this question too many times. When Weiwei asks me, I’ll tell her. She can let you know then."

Lu Xi’an didn’t press further on this question.

It was indeed better for Yao Wei to inquire about past events of their parents, as he had many other questions he wanted to understand.

About this world, about the history that once was. With such a good opportunity now, how could he not seize the moment?

He then asked, "As we’ve journeyed, we’ve discovered many historical fragments, like the Dyson Sphere Plan, the strains, and the wars.

"We’ve learned a lot about the Dyson Sphere and the strains, but what about the wars back then?

"How did this world end up as it is now, with such severe breaks in history? I’m quite curious, can you tell me about it?"

"Dyson Sphere? That can’t even be counted as a Dyson Sphere, let alone a Dyson Cloud."

Yao Huo snorted and again didn’t answer, but instead said something Lu Xi’an had heard and seen more than once in this world, "This world is nothing but a huge makeshift troupe. You can never imagine the chaos this makeshift troupe can stir up."

Lu Xi’an recalled a log he had seen in Jianshan City, where observers far above Sword Mountain and researchers returning from space had come to an agreement.

Regarding the Dyson Sphere Plan back then, it seemed there were quite significant errors.

"Back then, people envisioned beautifully and romantically. But they never considered whether this world could handle the issues and mistakes arising from such a grand plan involving so many different races, countries, and people across several generations."

Yao Huo continued, "You could never imagine, in such a precise and demanding plan, there were people cutting corners and faking, to reduce costs and pass the blame onto others.

"—When disaster struck, some of our people were sent to the Dyson Ring bands for maintenance and inspection.

"The inspection results came back, and our people finally confirmed that the Dyson Ring couldn’t be repaired and had to be abandoned. Only then did they fully shift focus to confronting the impending disaster.

"Do you know what originally led to the determination that it couldn’t be repaired?"

"Why?"

Lu Xi’an asked.

Yao Huo replied, "The people who went up discovered that many Dyson Ring modules were full of counterfeit materials, with many sections using standard materials only in some key structures, while the rest were poor substitutes.

"The inspection data returned at the time showed that those key structures could barely maintain the normal operation of the entire Dyson Ring, dispersing the energy absorbed by the Dyson Cloud to supply the Earth.

"So it can be deduced that these were all meticulously designed and calculated. Back then, there was more than one country or organization choosing to save costs or hide costs in this way, then shift the responsibility onto others.

"However, the risks inherent in this were either not considered or were deliberated overlooked.

"The fragile structures led to the Dyson Ring’s collapse, disaster struck. The world was destroyed, becoming what it is now, all self-inflicted by this world’s people."

Lu Xi’an was silent for a moment and then asked, "And what about the wars? How did wars break out later?"

Yao Huo continued, "How else could they break out? Disaster came, secrets leaked, and the world descended into chaos. Some countries dealt with the criminals involved in the Dyson Ring project, others shifted the blame to other countries, sparking wars.

"The entire world turned into a mess. Later, as international conflicts intensified, a large organization formed, driven by the ongoing wars.

"They chose to deflect the conflicts, pointing all the blame at us, using conspiracy theories to incite people’s anger, claiming that everything was our scheme.

"Because while the whole world was busy fighting and killing, we were the only ones shutting our doors, fully focused on disaster response.

"They said it was our attempt at world domination, and our ultimate goal was for people from other countries to disappear, leaving only ourselves.

"It’s a rough excuse, but people believed it, or it didn’t matter if they didn’t, because compared to them, our calm and organized disaster response was far better.

"So war broke out, and we faced the whole world with the strength of one country. All weapons were deployed in this war, and all the people were engaged in it.

"We blocked the enemy outside our borders, exhausting all of our people, leaving behind a legacy."

At this point, Yao Huo took another deep breath, then slowly exhaled, saying, "So what they said wasn’t entirely wrong. The final result was that we survived while the enemies were virtually annihilated.

"All these years, I visited abroad once, and indeed, there are hardly any people out there..."

After listening, Lu Xi’an still found it somewhat unbelievable. This past history sounded so simple and casual, like a story from an animation scripted by Ichirō Ōkouchi, everything seeming so matter-of-fact, direct and crude, absurd to the extreme.

But the real world is originally made up of all sorts of absurdities, so it’s not impossible for this world’s history to be so absurd...

"These things, I didn’t know beforehand either. I only found some documents at a base in East Sea City and came to understand.

"When war broke out, I was still in space studying the strains. After coming down, the world had already changed completely..."

Yao Huo added two more sentences.

After speaking, there was a long silence.

Contained within this silence was a certain sense of wistfulness, which Lu Xi’an could understand. When he first arrived here, seeing the desolate and cold world, wasn’t he the same as well?

The previous second was still in a bustling city, and at this moment, looking around, there was no one to be seen.

Before Yao Huo set off, although the world had already been transformed by disaster, at least there were still so many people, so many companions. But after returning, everything had changed, and people were no longer the same.

At that time, it’s difficult to describe the feeling with just the word "wistful."

Speaking of which, it was indeed quite impressive that I managed to get through it alone. Yao Wei’s parents were impressive as well.

Lu Xi’an was lost in thought, yet didn’t expect Yao Huo to suddenly look at him seriously and ask, "Who are your parents? Are they people from the old world as well?"

"Ah? Me?!"

Lu Xi’an asked in surprise, why did Yao Huo suddenly ask him such a puzzling question?!

Yao Huo replied, "You can understand what I’m saying, you must have received a good education. In this world, how can ordinary people have been educated?

"Look at my daughter, even with my constant guidance, she only half understands what she hears now, but you seem to understand it all.

"Your parents must be amazing, or your teacher is amazing. Other than people from the old world, and knowledgeable people at that, I can’t think of anyone else who could have guided you like this."

Lu Xi’an turned to look at Yao Sisi, only to see her utterly confused, looking at Yao Huo and saying, "Ah?! Dad, why are you talking about me out of the blue?"

Yao Huo asked, "Did you understand?"

Yao Sisi replied, "I didn’t."

Yao Huo said, "Isn’t that it?"

Yao Sisi: "..."

Lu Xi’an twitched the corners of his mouth, wanting to laugh but tried hard to suppress the smile creeping onto his face.

He answered, "I have a friend named Luo Ping, he’s amazing, knows everything, I learned from him.

"He has a teacher named Luo Zheng, who I don’t know where he is now. Luo Ping told me his teacher is exceptional, knows everything. Not sure if he’s from the old era."

"Luo Zheng?"

Yao Huo furrowed his brows and pondered for a long time, then said, "Never heard of him."

Yao Sisi countered, "The world is so big, Dad, you can’t possibly know everyone, isn’t that normal?"

From her tone, Lu Xi’an seriously suspected she was looking to stir up trouble.

Yao Huo probably thought the same but was too lazy to argue with his daughter, he glanced at Yao Sisi and said, "You’re right."

Then he turned to Lu Xi’an and asked, "Can you tell me about your journey here? Over the years, I haven’t been able to find Weiwei, and I want to know how she’s been, if she’s been suffering."

Lu Xi’an replied, "Sorry, I think this should be something Yao Wei tells you—if she wants to talk to you. I won’t overstep."

This move could be said as using one’s own methods against them, but Yao Huo didn’t mind, instead, he nodded and said, "You do know a lot, much more than my sister Weiwei. I often teach her many idioms, but she can’t remember them. That Luo Zheng must be an incredible person, right?"

Yao Sisi rolled her eyes, too lazy to speak. Lu Xi’an thought it was lucky Yao Sisi lived in the present, otherwise, in the past, she would probably be the child provoked by Yao Huo. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Perhaps Yao Wei was the same.

Yao Huo sighed and said, "Initially, I actually didn’t like you very much; I could tell at first glance that you and Weiwei were together.

"But then Weiwei suddenly said she’s expecting your child. If I could beat you, I would have made a move then and there..."

Lu Xi’an chuckled, thinking it didn’t matter. After all, you can’t beat me.

Yao Huo said, "But now I’m at ease. You’re very good. Although I’ve only had a brief chat with you, I can feel it. You really are impressive among today’s men."

Lu Xi’an remained silent. Regarding this issue, he actually didn’t care much from the beginning. Because Yao Wei always thought he was great.

After the topic ended, the three fell into silence.

Both Lu Xi’an and Yao Huo gazed at Ye Wenxin’s grave in the distance, and Yao Sisi did the same, but she would occasionally glance at Lu Xi’an, maintaining a great curiosity about her convenient sister’s convenient brother-in-law.

Quite some time passed, and it seemed Yao Wei finally finished her conversation with her mother and turned to look over here.

Lu Xi’an immediately understood Yao Wei’s intention and said to Yao Huo, "You should go over, Weiwei has something she wants to tell you."