A full day had passed. The team had only traveled a few dozen kilometers, yet they had already spent several hundred yuan. Fortunately, Ding Shi was a well-rounded powerhouse who managed to mitigate their losses somewhat.
By eleven o'clock that night, everyone had successfully obtained their C1 driver's license. Standing nearly two meters tall, Ritian emerged from the testing hall clutching his license, wiping away tears the moment he saw Chu Yu and Ding Shi. Mumu had been quite composed at first—she was, after all, the team's financial backer—but after failing attempt after attempt, the starlight in her eyes had faded into dead, hollow despair. When she finally held the certificate in her hands, she threw her arms around Chu Yu and adamantly refused to let go.
As for Chu Yu, she had given up on the exam right from the start. On the road to Nanyue County, when everyone tried taking the wheel, her stalling rate had reached ninety percent. Even the few times she barely managed to get going, she stalled immediately upon shifting into second gear.
Beneath the streetlights outside the testing center, everyone sat on cardboard sheets, chewing on compressed biscuits and drinking tap water. Shouts periodically echoed from the waiting hall: "I passed! I passed!"
Chu Yu said, "Not counting today, we have six days left. For 4,200 kilometers, we need to cover at least 700 kilometers a day."
The others nodded. That was not terribly difficult; one could usually travel at eighty to a hundred kilometers per hour on national highways.
Chu Yu continued, "We have 320 yuan left. At four yuan per liter, we can buy eighty liters of gasoline. At five liters per hundred kilometers, 320 yuan will only take us 1,600 kilometers. On top of hurrying, we also have to figure out a way to get money."
Brother Kai said, "Every way to make quick money is written in the penal code, and we all saw how formidable the robotic police were today."
Ding Shi spoke up at the opportune moment. "While you were taking your tests, I gathered some intel and found a bug in this instance."
"A bug?"
Ding Shi nodded. "To put it simply, where there's no cell signal, there is no law. All the robotic police can only operate within signal zones. The AI world covers a vast area, but its coverage isn't total. Also, look at the map."
Ding Shi unfolded the map and traced a finger across it. "From Nanyue County to Nanxia City, the total distance is 380 kilometers. But I found an unnamed road right here. If we take this unnamed road, it's only 200 kilometers from Nanyue County to Nanxia City, with the unnamed road itself being 120 kilometers long."
Chu Yu asked, "Ding Shi, do you mean the unnamed road might be a non-signal zone?"
Ding Shi nodded. "I believe the unnamed road is not only a non-signal zone, but also a danger zone. We might even run into humans resisting AI rule. My guess is they destroyed the cell towers to create a non-signal zone."
Ding Shi added, "Besides, there are many minor roads like this unnamed road—almost every province has two or three. The most extreme is this one, Heishuigou Road. It cuts what was originally a 600-kilometer journey straight down to 170 kilometers."
Brother Kai asked, "Heishuigou Road? The Heishuigou where the wanted criminal, Fei Lang the Axe-Thrower, is located?" He remembered the wanted posters they had seen at Nannan Village.
Ding Shi nodded and said, "That's how things stand. I'll defer to the captain's decision."
Chu Yu kept her eyes on the map and asked, "Who is the wanted criminal on the unnamed road?"
The others shook their heads. "No recollection."
Chu Yu said, "If we take the non-signal zones, we might be able to acquire some resources." Resources included gasoline and money—things that could only be obtained through monetary transactions in signal-covered areas.
Ding Shi said, "Whether we can get resources in a non-signal zone is hard to say. But in a signal zone, we have virtually no way of acquiring any. Besides, if we can really capture a wanted criminal or two, we won't have to worry about travel expenses for the rest of our journey."
Everyone waited for Chu Yu's decision. After a long pause, Chu Yu said, "If we can find non-signal zones on the map, other players can find them too."
Ding Shi disagreed. "Other players will only see them as shortcuts. Not many will know about any so-called non-signal zones."
Chu Yu asked, "How did you know about non-signal zones?"
Ding Shi answered, "It's just a deduction. There's a library next to the testing center. Books inside mentioned obstacles to AI development, among which are non-signal zones that signals struggle to cover. Many factors create a non-signal zone: magnetic field anomalies, terrain obstruction, and human sabotage."
Ding Shi continued, "Coincidentally, there is a route called Heishuigou Road, and coincidentally, we saw a wanted poster related to Heishuigou today. Connecting the dots, I inferred that Heishuigou Road might be a non-signal zone. Based on that deduction, I looked for roads similar to Heishuigou Road and found that all of them are shortcuts."
Brother Kai said, "So what it boils down to is this: we either stick honestly to the national highways, or take a gamble on the shortcuts. Taking shortcuts not only shortens the distance and offers a chance to gain resources, but it could also come with huge dangers. Taking the national highway ensures we remain under the protection of the AI at all times—which also protects other players and NPCs, leaving virtually no opportunity to commit crimes."
Brother Kai looked at Chu Yu. "Yuyu, whatever decision you make, I'll support you."
Dying in an instance or failing to complete the main task resulted in being forcibly teleported to Sixiang City to become a North City resident—the lowest class of residents. Furthermore, it was a one-way teleportation with no chance of ever returning to instances.
From certain angles, the cost of death and failure was quite heavy. Everyone preferred to complete two casual instances, obtain a one-way ticket, and take charge of their own destiny.
Chu Yu asked, "We don't have enough travel funds right now. Supposing we take the national highway, is there any way to obtain resources?"
Brother Kai replied, "In the cities, Sky Eye surveillance coverage is near saturation; trying to get resources inside a city is far too difficult. The national highway is different—the blind spots cover a larger area than the Sky Eye surveillance. But there are patrol officers and plainclothes undercover units on the highway, and Sky Eyes might even be hidden in the roadside bushes."
Chu Yu said, "My question is, do we have what it takes to be thieves? Or robbers? Let me ask you: if an NPC family is camping by the road, would you go up and rob them? If the family resists, would you strike to kill? To prevent being exposed, would you silence a child?"
No one answered.
Chu Yu said, "It seems our only choice is to try our luck in the non-signal zones."
Ding Shi said, "I disagree."
"Huh?" Everyone was puzzled. Hadn't Ding Shi just said he would defer to the arrangement? Ding Shi didn't seem like a two-faced person either.
Ding Shi said, "When our very survival is in jeopardy, if you can't even bear to harm NPCs on the national highway, what business do you have venturing into a non-signal zone?"
Ritian spoke up for once, countering, "Because everyone in the non-signal zones is a villain. Striking them won't weigh on our conscience."
Ding Shi thought for a moment. "I'll reserve my opinion and defer to the arrangement."
Having gotten a firm read on what everyone thought, Chu Yu said, "All right, we'll take the shortcut. Brother Kai, is there any way to gather weapons?"
Brother Kai replied, "I checked a few trash cans earlier. The contents were very monotonous—nothing but foam and cardboard. I suspect it's a backdoor the system left for us so we could survive by selling scrap."
Chu Yu nodded. "Everyone take another fifteen minutes of rest. Ritian, you're in charge of filling the empty bottles with water. Tonight, Brother Kai will drive and Ding Shi will navigate. The rest of us will sleep, and we'll switch shifts tomorrow morning. Brother Kai, Ding Shi, if you get tired, find a safe place to pull over and rest. It's all at your discretion."
Ding Shi and Brother Kai replied, "All right."
Chapter 44