109: Chapter 109 The Older Generation's Routine Concern

He sent it out, and not long after, a voice message came back. He tapped it and played it on speaker: "Got it. Be careful on the road. Have you eaten?"

He smiled and typed back: "I've eaten. Don't worry."

After a while, the other side sent an emoji, followed by a few words: "Drive well, and stay safe on the road."

He didn't reply again. He turned off the phone screen, put both hands back on the steering wheel, drove out of the service station, and got onto the highway.

The scenery on the road was nothing special. On both sides of the highway, trees, mountains, and the occasional corner of a village appeared and quickly passed by.

Some sections entered tunnels where the lights flickered dimly. Coming out of the tunnels, there was sunlight again, and his eyes had to adjust.

He drove steadily, without rush, holding the steering wheel as his mind slowly turned things over.

The matter of the Copper Box, the Silk-wrapped Documents, and the items he had retrieved from underwater yesterday evening—now that he had calmed down, he went over them all again.

That batch of items was quite old. When he scanned them with the Treasure Hunting Radar, the signal strength was above average, indicating that the quality and age of the artifacts themselves were decent.

He could roughly judge the craftsmanship of the Copper Box. The mortise-and-tenon joinery and the interlocking structure of the lid weren't something an ordinary craftsman could make; it likely had a significant origin.

As for that bundle of Silk-wrapped Documents, he had been gentle last night and hadn't forced them open. He needed to find a secure place back home and slowly unfurl them in the constant temperature environment of the System Space's Healing Pod. It couldn't be rushed.

With these thoughts revolving in his mind, his hands didn't stop moving. The car followed the flow of traffic. He changed road sections several times. The navigation prompted him to bypass a construction zone on the main road and take a side road. It took a bit more time, but it didn't delay his plans.

At around one in the afternoon, he stopped at a service area, turned off the engine, got out of the car, stretched, and moved his shoulders around.

The service area wasn't large. There was a restaurant inside. He went in, ordered a random rice bowl with extra rice, and after eating, drank a cup of hot water. He went to the restroom to splash some water on his face to wake himself up. After resting for about half an hour, he came out and got back in the car.

The road in the afternoon was easier to drive than in the morning. The traffic volume had increased, but the road was still smooth. He maintained a constant speed, passing through one section after another. The navigation spoke at intervals, its voice coming from the phone, steady and calm.

At past three in the afternoon, he passed through another mountain road with many curves. He lowered his speed and navigated the bends one by one. Once out of the mountains, the road straightened again, and the view opened up. The western sky was already starting to turn slightly yellow—it wasn't obvious, but one could tell the sun was lower.

He estimated the time; about three more hours should do it.

The phone vibrated. He waited for a straight stretch of road and glanced at it. It was a message from Zhou Waner, just one sentence: "How much longer until you're home?"

He typed back: "About 3 hours."

The other side didn't say more, just sent a 'stay safe' emoji.

He switched the phone screen back to the navigation and put his hands back on the wheel.

As dusk approached, the color of the sky by the roadside changed. The clouds deepened in color—orange and red mixed together, spreading across the western horizon. It looked alright. He glanced at it, didn't think much of it, and returned his gaze to the road.

The highway in the evening was slightly more congested than during the day. On the main road before entering the city, the speed slowed down. He followed the flow, stop-and-go, passed several toll booths, changed roads, and slowly headed toward Binhai City.

The buildings on both sides of the road increased. The silhouettes of high-rises appeared one after another, and the lights came on—streetlights, lights in the buildings, lights in the malls, densely shining in the twilight. Binhai's night was about to begin.

The navigation said to turn right ahead. He signaled and turned onto a main road, passing through a section of the city and several familiar intersections, heading toward the Yunding Area.

The Yunding No. 1 area was on the side of Binhai's suburbs near the mountains. The roads were quiet and the greenery was good. As he drove in, there were more trees, fewer cars, and less noise. In the night, this area was peaceful.

He turned off the navigation. He didn't need it for this last stretch; he knew it well. He drove in by instinct, passed the area's security post—the guard recognized his car and the gate lifted automatically—he nodded and drove in.

He drove along the small roads within the area for a bit, turned into the gate of his own villa, and pointed the car toward the garage door. He pressed the remote, the garage door slowly lifted, and he drove the car in slowly, parked it, turned off the engine, and pulled the handbrake.

The lights in the garage were motion-activated; they turned on as soon as he entered—white light, quiet.

The engine stopped, and he just sat there, motionless, hands on the steering wheel, eyes staring at the garage wall in front of him. He didn't think about anything, just sat there for a while.

From leaving the pier in the morning to parking in the garage now, it had been nearly eight hours. He had only stopped once at a service area; the rest of the time was spent driving. With his hands on the wheel the whole time, his shoulders, neck, and waist were all a bit tight.

He lowered his head and moved his neck around. His joints made a few light popping sounds, and he felt a bit better.

The door opened, and he got out of the car. He took his backpack out of the trunk, closed the garage door, entered through the villa's internal connecting door, and walked into the hall.

The lights in the hall were on—warm-colored and not glaring. The floor was clean, and the sofa was right in the middle. He walked over, dropped his backpack on the floor, and lay down on the sofa, flat on his back, motionless.

The ceiling was white, the lights were warm, and the sofa was soft. He stared at the ceiling, didn't speak, and let out a breath.

He really was a bit overwhelmed.

He knew his body had been strengthened by the system, giving him a physique at the level of a special forces soldier, more durable than an ordinary person's. But that was for dealing with physical exertion. Driving continuously for eight hours didn't just consume physical strength; it consumed attention and constant mental tension. Eyes on the road, hands and feet coordinating, the mind unable to relax—with this kind of thing, no matter how good the physical foundation, one would feel it over time.

He thought that next time he traveled far, he should consider taking a plane or the high-speed rail. Driving was fine once in a while, but for a distance of six or seven hundred kilometers, doing it once was enough; he didn't want to try it again.

Sunk into the sofa, he didn't move. He just lay there, closed his eyes, and let his mind go blank.

After an unknown number of minutes, the phone rang. It was Zhou Waner.

Hu Tian picked up the phone and answered. A voice came through: "You're home?"

"Yeah, I'm home."

Zhou Waner heard the exhaustion in Hu Tian's voice and said comfortingly, "You're tired."

It wasn't a question, but a statement.

"I'm alright,"

Hu Tian said without opening his eyes, "It's just that for this distance, driving takes too much time."

"Next time fly or take the high-speed rail,"

She said in a flat tone, "A flight is only a bit over an hour. You don't have to suffer through this."

"Yeah,"

He responded in a low voice, "Next time I'll fly."

Zhou Waner heard Hu Tian's fatigue and didn't say more. Her voice softened a bit: "You're tired, right? Get some rest early. We'll talk again tomorrow."

"Okay."

"Go take a shower first to wash away the fatigue."

She paused, "Don't just lie there and fall asleep."

Hu Tian heard the tone in her voice, indicating she still had a bit of a temper about him not replying to her messages last night. The corner of his mouth twitched. He comforted her with a few words and then said, "I know."

"Then I'm hanging up."

"Yeah, hang up."

The other end of the phone went quiet, and then the call disconnected.

Hu Tian placed the phone on his chest, his eyes still closed. The hall was quiet, the warm light hit the ceiling, and the sofa was soft. Sunk inside, he had no intention of moving for the moment.

She said not to fall asleep while lying there, and he knew that in his current state, he really could.

He moved his fingers, took a deep breath, propped himself up on the sofa armrest to sit up, picked up his phone and put it in his pocket, lifted his backpack, and walked upstairs.

He thought of the things in his backpack—the Copper Box and the silk bundle were still inside, packed tightly and without issue, but he still wanted to take them out and put them away as soon as possible.

He opened his eyes, sat up, moved his shoulders, stood up, and walked toward the basement.

Inside the underground collection room.

Hu Tian took the items out one by one. He set the Copper Box aside for now. The silk bundle was in a moisture-proof sealed bag and was in stable condition, so he put it to one side. The other miscellaneous items were placed separately. The silver and gold were added to his previous pile; in one corner of the collection room, a mountain of gold and a mountain of silver had already formed respectively.

He thought about it and put the Copper Box and the silk bundle back into the System Space. The temperature was stable there, so nothing would go wrong. He would take them out to study slowly tomorrow when he was in better shape.

He had intended to take out the broken ceramics as well, but then he thought about how they had been soaked in seawater for over a hundred years.

It was better to wait until he was prepared the next day to clean and protect them all together.

The night outside the window was completely dark. Binhai's night lights were shining, and the distant city lights were quietly spread outside the window glass. He rested his chin on his hand, took a glance, and then withdrew his gaze.

Home is still the most comfortable.

After sending a goodnight emoji to Zhou Waner, Hu Tian closed his eyes.

The quality of his sleep was excellent—no dreams, no disturbances. It was that kind of total, disconnected blackness, the comfort of sleeping until waking up naturally.

But this sleep lasted quite a long time.

The curtains were thick and blocked the light well, so the room was still dark. He wasn't in a hurry to check the time. He just lay there, feeling his body for a few seconds. His muscles were very relaxed. The soreness in his shoulders, neck, and waist accumulated from nearly eight hours of driving yesterday had all vanished after the sleep. The recovery ability of a body strengthened by the system was beyond what an ordinary person could compare to. He had always felt this was the most practical benefit of his golden finger, second only to the Treasure Hunting Radar.

He kept his eyes closed, his mind empty of any thoughts, just staying quiet like that.

This feeling was good. He rarely could completely let go. When out looking for treasure, he had to calculate, judge, and handle various emergencies. When he returned, he had to organize and research. His brain basically never stopped. To think of nothing like this was rare.

He was just planning to doze for a bit longer when the phone rang.

He frowned, reached out, and picked it up. The caller ID on the screen showed just two words: Mom.

Hu Tian immediately opened his eyes.

After settling down here in Binhai, the frequency of his contact with home had decreased a lot. Basically, it was once a month to let them know he was safe.

The last time he called was during that period at the Huaxin Bookstore. At that time, he had little to do and was flipping through books there. While flipping, he suddenly remembered and dialed. They talked for about twenty minutes, discussing the situation at home and his situation here. That was already a month ago. Counting it up, it had been nearly two months since he last called. The time wasn't exactly long, but it wasn't short either.

Last time he sent ten thousand yuan back, his mom nagged for a long time, asking if he had enough money for himself, saying the family had enough and he didn't need to send money, and so on.

Of course, urging him to bring a girlfriend home was definitely the usual operation for the older generation.

Pity the hearts of parents the world over.