Chapter 142: Chapter 142: The Return Journey

An Ning and An Guoming headed north in their newly bought truck, a detailed map in hand.

An Guoming sat in the driver’s seat, the unique feel of the new steering wheel under his hands and the distinct new-car smell in his nose.

The feeling was just incredible.

Every man dreams of owning a bicycle.

And now, An Guoming could be considered the owner of half a truck.

"Little Sis, what are you going to do with the truck back home?"

An Ning, in the passenger seat beside him, shrugged.

"For now, it’ll just be for running errands, selling things, and hauling goods."

"Second Bro, if you want to use it for transport jobs, you can. I don’t really need it."

An Guoming glanced over at her, then immediately snapped his gaze back to the road.

’Safety first.’

He knew An Ning meant what she said.

"Let me think... I definitely can’t do it alone."

"The routes are too long, and the risks are too high."

An Ning agreed. In the interstellar age, there were still space pirates.

"You’re right, Second Bro. Robbery is one of the world’s oldest professions, with a long and storied history."

An Guoming, who was driving, couldn’t help but laugh at An Ning’s explanation.

"What, am I wrong?"

"No, no, you’re absolutely right. It’s just funny."

An Guoming’s response made An Ning feel even more validated.

"I get compliments like that a lot. I must be too humorous."

This time, An Guoming didn’t dare to laugh. He bit down hard on his lower lip.

’He’d rather draw blood than laugh. He absolutely could not laugh.’

"COUGH, COUGH— COUGH, COUGH—"

"Second Bro, you didn’t catch some disease, did you? It looks like you’re coughing up blood."

In his peripheral vision, An Guoming saw An Ning cover her mouth with one hand. There was a hint of worry in her eyes, but it seemed more like fear of catching something than actual concern for him.

"I’m fine. You can put your hand down."

Beside him, An Ning broke into a triumphant grin. ’He was trying to laugh at me. He must be jealous of my sense of humor.’

The siblings chatted as they drove, taking turns at the wheel. After more than five hours, they finally found a place to stop and get something to eat.

Gnawing on a piece of unleavened bread, An Guoming pounded his chest and took a swig of water to wash the food down.

"If we’re really going to be running transport routes, we’ll need to get a small stove or something. I can’t stand eating this stuff all the time." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

An Ning, sitting across from him with her cheeks puffed out, mimicked him, pounding her own chest to swallow.

"How does anyone even sell this stuff?"

"It’s cheap and it fills you up. Besides, weren’t you the one who bought it?"

An Ning looked regretfully at the large half of the loaf still in her hand. "I saw a long line of people, so I thought it must be delicious."

An Ning took another bite with tears in her eyes. ’I bought it, so I have to finish it, even if I have to get on my knees to do it.’

After choking down the deathly dry bread and taking care of business, the two got back in the truck.

After another hour of driving, a suspicion began to form in their minds.

"Little Sis, I don’t think this is the right road."

"No way. I’m following the map."

An Ning said with absolute certainty.

"But something feels off. The original road was much wider and had a lot of tire tracks. This road is so narrow, and there are almost no tracks."

An Ning glanced at the road outside. It did seem that way.

’But I’m sure I was following the map.’

"Little Sis, your map... the pages are stuck together."

An Guoming took the map book An Ning had been looking at.

There was a large, single-sheet map and sectioned, paged maps.

The two of them had drawn their general route on the large map, then used Xiao Zhang’s more detailed section maps to navigate.

An Ning slammed on the brakes and took the two map pages that An Guoming had just pulled apart. Her face was expressionless.

"It’s fine. We’ll just turn back."

An Ning put the map down, a hint of embarrassment finally showing on her face. "Sorry, I didn’t notice."

"Haha, it’s no big deal. We can just say we were sightseeing."

An Ning began to reverse, turn, and head back the way they came.

As they drove on, the sky began to darken.

"Second Bro, at this rate, we’re not going to make it to a rest stop."

"Mm. Our safety is in your hands."

An Guoming was all too aware of his own capabilities. Out here in the dark, if they ran into anyone, he would have to rely on An Ning.

An Ning gripped the steering wheel, her tone taking on an all-encompassing confidence. "If we really run into bad guys, Second Bro, you just stay in the truck and keep your hands on the wheel. If they try to hit you or open the door, just drive away."

"I’m serious. Don’t stick around. You’ll just get in my way."

An Guoming could only agree; there was nothing else he could say.

In his heart, however, he prayed that nothing would happen.

Unfortunately, his prayers went unanswered.

As the two drove down a sparsely populated road, a fallen tree trunk blocked their path.

"Second Bro, let’s switch places."

As soon as she spoke, An Ning unbuckled her seatbelt and deftly vaulted backward over the seats into the rear of the cab.

An Guoming quickly slid into the driver’s seat. In the back, An Ning grabbed a solid wooden club, weighing it in her palm as she prepared to get out.

"Have pity on us."

"Spare some money."

"We’re begging you."

Torches flared to life on both sides of the road.

There were no burly men as they’d expected. Instead, a group of elderly people, children, and women holding infants knelt in front of the truck.

Not only that, but several small children lay down under the wheels with a practiced ease that was both distressing and infuriating.

"Little Sis, don’t give them anything."

"I know."

An Guoming was afraid An Ning would be soft-hearted, but she felt no such inclination.

"Second Bro, I’m getting out."

"What are you going to do?"

"Throw them all out of the way, or tie them all up."

An Ning got out, club in hand.

The people outside saw that it was just a young woman getting out and rejoiced inwardly.

Their cries became even more genuine and mournful.

"Help us, please, give us some money."

"Spare some food. The children haven’t eaten in days."

A woman holding a child shuffled forward on her knees.

An Ning stood in front of the truck, holding her club, her voice clear.

"My mother told me that if you meet someone begging with a bowl, you should give them a bite to eat. They wouldn’t be out here begging if they weren’t desperate to survive."

"But if you meet someone who just asks for money, you don’t give them a thing. They’re all scammers."

"Most importantly, we don’t have any money."

An Ning took a step forward. Her spiritual power detected more people hiding behind the trees nearby.

"I’ll give you one chance. Move aside on your own."

An Ning’s fearless demeanor actually made several of them hesitate.

Anyone who lived this life knew that lone women, children, or elderly people were the most dangerous ones to provoke.

But fortune favors the bold, and once you got away with something like this, it became addictive.

These people had truly started out of desperation, just trying to make a living.

But after one success, after tasting the sweet rewards, there was no turning back.

An Ning silently counted to twenty. Since they weren’t moving, she would have to.

"Every trade requires some real skill."

"Relying on pity won’t get you far."

The moment the words left her mouth, An Ning moved.