Home (5)

Mu Mu and Chu Yu had already sorted out the maps. Their first stop would be South Yue County, while their first major stop was South Shang Province. They would pass through four county towns and one city along the way.

Aside from the counties and cities under Southward Province being their destination, most players chose carpooling after weighing their options. However, carpooling greatly tested the team's trust, and no one knew whether everyone's journey would be enjoyable.

After finishing their free lunch, the players in the square began gathering up and setting off in their respective directions.

Chu Yu named the team the Fishy Team. She bought basic supplies such as flashlights, along with a large quantity of compressed biscuits. As long as they did not gorge themselves, there was enough for five people to gnaw on for seven days. Water was harder to deal with. First, it was heavy; second, it was consumed quickly. Chu Yu only bought one case of bottled water. Once the water was gone, they could not throw away the bottles, as they would be used to store water.

Roads were divided into four types. The first was expressways, with a total distance of around 3,500 kilometers. They would only need to drive 500 kilometers a day. At 0.3 yuan per kilometer, they were clearly a luxury beyond the players' reach.

The second type was national highways. The entire route was free, with a total distance of around 4,200 kilometers. They would need to drive 600 kilometers a day. The five of them could take turns driving, enjoy the scenery along the way, and make friends and chat in the car. From this point alone, the leisure instance really was quite leisurely.

The third type was county roads and township roads.

The fourth type was Nameless Road. They only knew that such a road existed, but it had no road number.

The national highway was obviously their first choice. Mu Mu calculated that, without using the air conditioner, the car would consume five liters of fuel per hundred kilometers. Forty-two times five meant they needed 210 liters of gasoline. Based on the fuel tank capacity, they would need to refuel five times. To leave room for error, they would refuel once every day. At four yuan per liter, that came to 840 yuan.

After Mu Mu's clever calculations, everyone's confidence in getting home rose greatly. With the reality tag, it was unlikely that demons, gods, or ghosts would appear. And with a mighty, invincible constable escorting them, the mission was not particularly difficult as long as the system did not play tricks. Perhaps Ita World had set up this mission merely to test the players.

Brother Kai became the first driver, while Chu Yu, as the navigator, sat in the front passenger seat. Poor Ding Shi could only sit in the middle of the back seat. He was not short, but he could barely squeeze in. As for Sun Heaven on the left, his head was already pressed against the ceiling, and he had to hunch his back to fit.

The car drove out through the exit. Ahead was one kilometer of player-only road, and Brother Kai taught everyone how to use the clutch. Sun Heaven was on the left and Mu Mu on the right, both craning their heads to watch, leaving Ding Shi nowhere to dodge.

After leaving the dedicated road, Brother Kai smoothly merged into traffic. That was right, there was traffic—cars driven by robots, as well as robotic pedestrians.

As the car moved forward, Chu Yu was a little nervous. She looked at the map while searching for road signs. The car entered a roundabout, and Brother Kai asked, "Fishy, which exit?"

"Go around one more time." Chu Yu rotated the map ninety degrees and studied it for a while. "There isn't a sign for the museum? Then take the third exit."

Ding Shi had a bad feeling and leaned forward to look at the map in Chu Yu's hands. Chu Yu did not notice and continued directing them. "Peace Road, turn left, turn left, turn left onto Peace Road."

After turning left and driving for several minutes, the car went up onto a bridge. Chu Yu was stunned. Where had this bridge come from? She had not seen it on the map. Still, she considered herself fairly smart, and she could understand train maps at the travel agency, so why was a road map so different?

Chu Yu bent over the map and searched. Ding Shi pointed with a finger, and Chu Yu saw it clearly. Realization dawned on her. The bridge they had just passed was not over a river, but an overpass. She said, "Make a U-turn ahead, get ready to turn right, then take Success Road."

Brother Kai said, "Roger."

Chu Yu turned to look at Ding Shi. "You can read maps?"

Ding Shi nodded. "I joined the cycling team in high school. The first skill I learned was reading maps." Paper maps had almost no advantages over navigation systems. But only almost. Paper maps had one trait: colors could distinguish differences in terrain elevation.

Besides cycling teams, many hikers and off-road enthusiasts also used paper maps. If there was no road, they would carve out one themselves. Electronic navigation, on the other hand, would tell you: please make a U-turn.

Chu Yu pursed her lips as she looked at Ding Shi. Ding Shi was puzzled, and Chu Yu said, "Why didn't you tell me when I asked what you could do?"

Ding Shi said, "It's not some remarkable skill." I can also fight, use firearms, and climb...

Chu Yu called out, "Brother Kai, pull over. Let him take over."

The two switched seats. Chu Yu squeezed into the middle seat, while Ding Shi took over navigation. In less than five minutes, the car had left South Yin County and was heading toward South Yue County.

Ding Shi put the map into the car's glove compartment, took out his own map folder, pulled out the twenty maps for the Southward Province region, and examined them one by one in order.

Mu Mu whispered in Chu Yu's ear, "He's a professional navigator."

Chu Yu whispered back in Mu Mu's ear, "I'm a professional at judging people."

The two laughed together. Sun Heaven used his bone-shrinking technique, doing his best to make a little more space for the two girls.

Ding Shi looked at the road signs ahead and said, "Brother Kai, leave the national highway five kilometers ahead and turn toward South-South Township. Keep an eye on the signs. If we pass through South-South Township before rejoining the national highway, we can save twenty kilometers."

Brother Kai said, "Roger."

The car drove off the national highway. A police car parked at the intersection turned on its lights, followed them, and sounded its siren.

Everyone turned back to look. Chu Yu asked, "What's going on?"

Brother Kai said, "I don't know."

Ding Shi said, "Pull over first."

The car pulled over. The police car stopped behind it, and two mechanical police officers got out. They looked exactly alike, their faces bearing obvious mechanical features.

Officer A knocked on the window. Brother Kai rolled it down, and Officer A said, "You crossed a solid line."

Brother Kai smiled broadly. "Sorry, sorry." He had just overtaken a robot-driven three-wheeler across a solid line.

Officer A said, "Ten-yuan fine."

Officer B tore off a ticket and handed it over.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It was only ten yuan; the system was still quite humane. Chu Yu handed Brother Kai ten yuan. Officer A glanced inside, accepted the money, and said, "Driver's license."

Brother Kai said, "Huh?"

Officer A said, "Driver's license."

Brother Kai said, "You need a driver's license?"

Officer A said, "You need a driver's license."

Brother Kai lowered his voice. "I don't have one."

Officer A stepped back, and his tone instantly changed, becoming extremely fierce. "Everyone, get out of the car immediately." One hand moved to his Taser.

Officer B guarded the side and shouted, "Hands off the steering wheel. Get out. Everyone out."

The five of them obediently got out. Brother Kai was pressed against the car and handcuffed.

Chu Yu stepped forward to negotiate. "Officer, how do we handle this?"

Officer A replied, "Driving without a license. Three days' detention, or a 300-yuan fine."

Without hesitation, Chu Yu said, "I'll pay." As she spoke, she took out banknotes, counted out thirty bills, and handed them over.

Ding Shi was rather surprised. When many people encountered something like this, their first question would be: was Brother Kai worth 300 yuan? For the sake of the team, abandoning Brother Kai would have been a decent choice.

Officer A scanned the banknotes with his titanium eyes, removed the handcuffs, and said, "Please do not challenge the law. Next time, it will be thirty days' detention or a 3,000-yuan fine."

Chu Yu and Brother Kai repeatedly said, "Yes, yes."

Officer B asked the other four, "Do you need us to call a tow truck?"

Chu Yu's heart lurched. "How much?"

Officer B estimated the distance and said, "Two hundred yuan."

Mu Mu suddenly had an idea. "Can't we push the car?"

Officer B said, "Occupying traffic lanes for non-traffic activities. Twenty-yuan fine."

Ding Shi took out a driver's license and handed it to Officer B. "I have a license."

Everyone looked at Ding Shi. You had a license? Why weren't you driving?

Under everyone's questioning gazes, Ding Shi gave a start and asked timidly, "Shouldn't drivers have licenses?" Wasn't driving with a license common sense? Why were they looking at him as though they had seen a ghost?