Mumu looked at Ding Shi. She wanted the off-road vehicle as well, reasoning that they needed to take shortcuts and that the quest might require drag racing against the War Police. An A-class small-displacement sedan naturally fell short against a 2.5T off-road vehicle.
Ding Shi ignored Mumu because he knew that the off-road vehicle bore fake license plates.
Ordinary license plates carried all kinds of anti-counterfeiting marks, their methods rivaling the banknotes of ancient money houses. Having gone undercover starting from an auto repair shop, Ding Shi had noticed that the off-road vehicle's plates lacked any anti-counterfeiting marks. Both the red sedan and Team Yuyu's car had distinct anti-counterfeiting features.
Ding Shi was torn, debating whether to speak up about this. Yingying's parents were currently preparing her body for burial. They would be leaving in the red sedan and had the keys on them; unless the team murdered them, there was no taking the red sedan.
If Ding Shi revealed the off-road vehicle's secret, splitting the group would become very difficult, essentially forcing Brother Kai into sharing a vehicle with those who had accepted the quest.
Yet if he said nothing, his conscience would trouble him. The moment Brother Kai reached the signal zone, surveillance cameras would snap a picture of him, and the War Police would swiftly intercept him. Given the severity of using counterfeit plates, there was no way Brother Kai could complete the main quest, leaving him no choice but to end up in North Community of Sixiang City.
What a pain. He really was better off acting as a lone wolf.
Ritian was probably the closest to Brother Kai. After a moment of thought, he spoke up and asked, "Brother Kai, are you sure you'll be assigned to the same city as Sister-in-law?"
Brother Kai froze. Whether passively or actively, after the two casual instances concluded, over eight million players were certain to leave the instance area and head for Sixiang City.
Ritian said, "Why not strive for a gold teleportation ticket? I bet none of the East Districts across the Sixiang Cities will be full. When the time comes, you could choose the Sixiang City where Sister-in-law is, and bring her to the East Villa District to enjoy the good life. Wouldn't that be much better?"
Brother Kai hesitated and asked, "Can a gold teleportation ticket designate a specific Sixiang City?"
Ritian replied, "Little Tangtang said that using a gold teleportation ticket brings up city options, unless the population across the East, South, West, and North Districts is completely full. The options will show people who have a legal relationship with you. Basically parents, spouse, and children."
Ding Shi questioned, "Little Tangtang would disclose that kind of information?"
That seemed to skew game balance a bit. Other people got little angels; his team got a little piece of shit.
Ritian replied, "I asked her if there were many gold teleportation tickets. She said that if I wanted more detailed information on them, I could trade the Three of Hearts to her. I didn't know what use the Three of Hearts had anyway, so I gave it to her."
Ritian looked at Chu Yu. "Captain, I didn't really want to take part in more instances; getting a house in Southwest Community was enough for me. But if Brother Kai insists on leaving, I'll go with him."
Brother Kai thought for a long time before finally speaking. "I'll accept the quest." He wanted to take control of his own destiny.
Mumu said, "If all five of us accept the quest, we won't be able to turn in the wanted criminals for the bounty."
Chu Yu said, "Then forget about that. Brother Kai, Ritian, go get the off-road vehicle. We'll switch cars."
Ding Shi said, "Let Mumu go drive it. She's the only one who hasn't been to the farmhouse. Who knows, maybe she'll find some treasure inside?"
The suggestion was somewhat forced. Mumu looked at Ding Shi for a second, sensing that he had an ulterior motive. She stood up and said, "Brother Kai, take me up for a look around."
Ding Shi glanced toward the red sedan and remarked casually, "Does Yingying's parents' car run on diesel?"
Ritian rejected the thought. "Definitely not. Anyone can tell it runs on gasoline."
Ding Shi said nothing more. Both Brother Kai and Chu Yu understood his implication—siphoning fuel?
Chu Yu said, "We're driving the off-road vehicle. Gasoline's useless to us."
Ding Shi made a show of sudden realization and fell silent, picking up a stick to draw circles in front of the campfire.
Ten-odd minutes later, Mumu and Brother Kai walked back on foot.
Chu Yu was puzzled as to why they hadn't driven the off-road vehicle over. Mumu explained, "The license plates are fake—fake as can be. The moment it hits the road, it'll be locked onto. Besides, Yingying's father killed the male dwarf, and her mother is still holding Yingying's body and crying. It might be a while before they come down."
Chu Yu said, "Get in the car. Let's go."
Everyone headed for Team Yuyu's car. Mumu shot Ding Shi a look, her eyes beaming a stream of messages: *You knew all along that the off-road vehicle had fake plates? Were you planning to let Brother Kai drive a car with fake plates after splitting up?*
Ding Shi pretended not to notice.
With the entire team having accepted the quest, each person received an X pathogen sample and put it away safely. Chu Yu warned, "If we truly can't escape, throw the X pathogen away. Hopefully, that will let us dodge disaster."
Ding Shi didn't reply. He doubted such an exploit existed. The moment they accepted the Speedy Express quest, they were destined to diverge from the other players and take a completely different path.
Ding Shi turned on the interior car light and examined the map. "After leaving the Unnamed Road, we take National Highway 211, then turn onto a rural road after thirty kilometers. We didn't see any War Police or police cruisers back in Nannan Village, so rural roads are relatively safer. Eighteen kilometers along the rural road, then back onto National Highway 211 for eighty kilometers to reach the vicinity of Nanxia City. Take the ring road around the city, continue on National Highway 211 for another 120 kilometers, and enter Heishuigou Road. Once we clear Heishuigou Road, we'll have covered a quarter of the journey."
Heishuigou Road and the Unnamed Road shaved six hundred kilometers off the team's total journey. Heishuigou Road was the most remarkable: a route that originally spanned six hundred kilometers was reduced directly to 170 kilometers by taking Heishuigou Road, most of which consisted of Heishuigou Road itself.
Ding Shi stopped reading aloud. His core belief was that there was no such thing as a free lunch. Taking the Unnamed Road had saved 180 kilometers, but they had run into the dwarf sibling killers. What kind of danger awaited them on Heishuigou Road, which cut out 430 kilometers? Ding Shi didn't know, but he knew it was bound to be extraordinarily dangerous.
...
The instant the X pathogen appeared in the signal zone, the AI received feedback. It immediately pinpointed the X pathogen's location via surveillance cameras. The sole reason Ding Shi and the others dared to venture onto the national highway was that the AI could only localize the pathogen to within a hundred meters.
The AI used surveillance cameras to scan the area and identified twenty-one suspect vehicles. It immediately dispatched the mission to its agents: "Attention. Suspect vehicles are located along the section of Highway 211 near the Unnamed Road. License plate numbers: SB711, NB711, 2B711... VIP711. In addition, relevant files have been transmitted to the yamen. The police will assist agents in the investigation."
A car with license plate 2B711 was pulled over by a War Police cruiser. The driver handed over his driver's license. Due to constraints imposed by AI regulations, the War Police could not impound the vehicle or detain the occupants as long as 2B711 had not violated any traffic rules. They could only gather information for the agents by inspecting driver's licenses and photographing the people inside the vehicle.
Meanwhile, several gray sedans drove out from various cities. These were the AI agents—referred to by the Resistance as the AI's lackeys. The fundamental nature of their duty was to protect the AI's security, and they possessed the authority to search any individual, personal property, or real property.
They were not robots, but players who had died for various reasons in the Taoyuan Village instance. Equipped with a handgun and basic police gear, if they could seize a sample of the X pathogen and arrest or kill its bearer, they would receive a choice: a one-way teleportation ticket to Sixiang City, or the qualification to continue challenging instances.
Quest Alert: Resistance Commander Lao Gui has issued a warning. The AI has dispatched agents who possess the authority to seize and search any vehicle and individual.
At present, all Resistance personnel were lying low within the signal zones, waiting for the right moment to stage another uprising, and the X pathogen was the catalyst they sought. Once an X pathogen vaccine was manufactured, they would no longer fear the AI's X virus.
Lao Gui would continuously gather intelligence and transmit it to the quest players carrying the X pathogen.
In the intelligence report, Lao Gui provided an explanation regarding the agents: *Agents: Personnel of a special department independent of the judiciary, dedicated to protecting the AI. They...*
Ding Shi translated this in his head:
Agents had the authority to arrest them; they were allowed to flee.
If the act of attacking an agent was witnessed by surveillance cameras or the War Police, they would become wanted criminals.
The AI War Police could not impound lawful vehicles, search individuals without criminal records, or attack individuals without criminal records.
Agents could enter non-signal zones.
However, Lao Gui failed to provide the single most crucial piece of intelligence: the agents were players. Of course, it wasn't that he withheld it—he simply couldn't give it. To his understanding, everyone was just human.
Chapter 49