37: Chapter 37 Bandit Interception

"Junior Brother Su, you aren't writing 'Liu Bei' literature, are you?"

Hearing Wang Hao ask this, Su Fan was slightly stunned: "What is 'Liu Bei' literature?"

Wang Hao's expression was one of surprise: "No way, big brother, you don't even know what 'Liu Bei' literature is? Are you sure you're actually a novelist?"

"I really don't know." Su Fan shook his head.

"Fine, 'Liu Bei' literature is just 'Little Imperial Uncle'..."

"Lit-tle, Im-pe-ri-al, Un-cle..."

Chewing on these three words, Su Fan finally understood.

These readers nowadays are really interesting; they are quite adept at playing with homophonic puns.

When Chen Qian heard that Su Fan was a novelist, her eyes lit up with stars, and she rested her cheeks in her hands: "I didn't expect you were a web novelist before. I love reading web novels the most."

"Then what types do you usually read?" Su Fan asked casually.

Chen Qian immediately opened the floodgates, speaking eloquently and incessantly.

"I like reading suspense and horror the most, as well as historical palace intrigues, and also the really crazy ones. For example, I recently read one where the female lead experienced Rebirth, returned to her son's high school, became a transfer student, and fought against her son's girlfriend. Her son's girlfriend is a trashy woman, and her son is a total idiot, getting deceived by the trashy woman everywhere. She kept slapping the trashy woman's face at every turn; it was so satisfying to read!"

"And there's one where a wife, to take revenge on her Phoenix man husband, hired a woman to pose as a rich heiress to seduce her husband. After getting evidence of her husband's cheating..."

Chen Qian continued to blabber on... but Su Fan and Wang Hao exchanged a look.

It was indeed quite crazy!

Qin Xiaoxiao couldn't listen anymore, so she gave a light cough and said: "Everyone, pay attention to reconnaissance of enemy movements. Don't just chat endlessly once you start..."

"Yes! Section Chief Qin!"

Hearing Qin Xiaoxiao speak, Chen Qian immediately stopped talking, her little face flushed red, and she gave a military salute.

Su Fan continued driving. Not long after, a small village appeared ahead. Most of the houses had been destroyed and collapsed, with only a few remaining intact.

Unexpectedly, wisps of blue smoke were rising from these few houses, and it looked like people were still living there.

The power and network in the village had long since been cut off. One could see a few villagers using candles and kerosene lamps for light, and they had moved their stoves to the doorway, where they were currently cooking.

Upon seeing the convoy, the few people standing at the doorways of the houses did not show any signs of surprise, as if they were already accustomed to convoys driving out from the Safe Zone.

"Why didn't they move to the Safe Zone to live? Mutant Beasts appear here from time to time; aren't they afraid?" Chen Qian asked, looking at these people.

"Three years ago, when the Justice Bureau was first established, we went to every village and town to mobilize them. The directive issued by the higher-ups was that every person must be relocated into the Safe Zone, but..."

This time it was Qin Xiaoxiao who spoke. Her tone was gentle; she opened her mouth and continued: "But, some people would rather die than relocate, saying they want to return to their roots and die in their hometown..."

"Then aren't they afraid of Mutant Beasts? Isn't this just a disguised form of suicide?" Chen Qian asked, puzzled.

Wang Hao muttered, "It's really strange. Three years have passed, and they are actually still safe and sound..."

Hearing this, Chen Qian couldn't help but retort: "Senior Brother Wang, what you said is a bit excessive. Do you actually hope for them to die?"

"Ahem... Junior Sister Chen, that's not what I meant at all! Listen to my explanation..."

"I'm not listening, that's exactly what you meant!"

"..." Wang Hao and Chen Qian were arguing.

Su Fan, however, noticed that the few people outside the houses had strange looks in their eyes, as if they were keeping watch.

One of the sharp-mouthed, monkey-cheeked men hurried away and then started running. The direction he was running in was clearly toward White Flame Mountain behind the houses...

"Do the people here not have access to the internet?" Su Fan asked casually; this question was clearly directed at Qin Xiaoxiao.

Wang Hao answered first: "There is a signal tower nearby, so there should be a network. It's likely that no one came to maintain it, so the network was cut off..."

"Then that's strange. Why run away..." Muttering this, Su Fan's brows furrowed slightly.

Hearing his muttering, Qin Xiaoxiao hurriedly asked him if he had discovered something.

Su Fan pointed, indicating the person running toward the mountain, and reported his discovery to Qin Xiaoxiao.

Qin Xiaoxiao's expression turned solemn. Not knowing what she was thinking, she suddenly picked up the walkie-talkie and said: "Notify all vehicles!!! From now on, all vehicles are to increase speed. Set the speed to 100 and drive at full speed for one hour!!"

"But... Section Chief Qin, it's dark now, and our people are struggling to hold on. They haven't eaten or rested all day. Shouldn't we eat and rest? There's a village right here. Should we consider resting and eating here?"

"Say no more, accelerate and move forward!!"

"But..."

"There are no 'buts'! Follow orders!!" Qin Xiaoxiao suddenly shouted, her brows furrowed tightly, clearly having lost her temper.

"Yes, yes, yes!" One vehicle after another turned on their high beams, suddenly accelerated, and sped along the national highway.

However, just five minutes later, the road ahead was blocked again.

"It's a roadblock. It looks like a landslide and falling rocks..."

"Tell the engineering team to clear it immediately!" After giving the order.

Qin Xiaoxiao threw her sunglasses aside, held her forehead, and frowned, appearing to be deeply troubled.

"Section Chief Qin, is there a situation?" Su Fan asked, having seen her expression in the rearview mirror.

Qin Xiaoxiao frowned slightly, her face clearly showing worry, but she stubbornly put on a brave face and said: "It's nothing. Once the roadblock is cleared, we'll leave immediately. It's nothing..."

Su Fan stopped the car, got out, and looked back in the direction the sharp-mouthed, monkey-cheeked man had been running. Merging his Divine Sense with his eyes, he was shocked to realize that this person was not a Mortal, but a Cultivator at about Qi Refining Layer 1. He had climbed to the top of the nearly 1,000-meter-tall White Flame Mountain in just five minutes.

At this moment, several dim, yellow lights suddenly lit up on the mountaintop.

He saw that person whispering something to the sentries on the peak...

Only then did Su Fan verify his hypothesis; this person really had gone to deliver a message!

Then, could the people on the mountain be... Bandits??

Qin Xiaoxiao's expression was so serious and worried just now; clearly, she was worried about being attacked by bandits, right?

Combining all the details, Su Fan was now very certain that the people on the mountain were Bandits, and these roadblocks were clearly set up by the bandits themselves...

Sure enough. Soon. On the mountaintop, a group of burly men, holding various weapons, came rushing down the mountain in a swarm toward this side...

"Section Chief Qin, we've encountered Bandits!" Su Fan called for Qin Xiaoxiao and the others to get out of the car.

"Ah? Bandits?" After getting out of the car, when she saw that large group of bandits rushing down, with two of them even flying down using artifacts, Chen Qian screamed in fear: "Section Chief Qin!!! What should we do!!! There are two at the Foundation Establishment level!!! What are we going to do!!!"

Wang Hao also seemed to have lost his soul, muttering to himself: "We're dead, we're dead, we're definitely dead this time. I haven't even taken a wife yet..."