38: Chapter 38 Phone Virus and Traffic Jam

After bidding farewell to Zhou Xueyao, Zhao Fan twisted the throttle, and the motorcycle sped along the early morning road. The wind whistled in his ears as he stared fixedly at the delivery countdown flickering on his phone screen, feeling a slight sense of relief.

With half an hour remaining, at his current speed, he could still make it for this 10-kilometer journey.

He did not dare to slack off in the slightest, gripping the handlebars tightly as he sped with all his might toward Yunding International Villa District. However, just as the motorcycle had been riding smoothly for four kilometers, the phone, which had been displaying the navigation interface, suddenly went black without any warning, completely losing all function.

Seeing his phone suddenly go dark, Zhao Fan slammed on the brakes. The tires screeched against the road, and he came to a sudden stop on the side of the road.

He hurriedly grabbed the phone, his fingertips trembling as he pressed the power button, but the screen remained pitch black; no matter how he pressed it, there was no reaction at all.

"What's going on? Why did the screen suddenly go black!"

Cold sweat broke out on Zhao Fan's forehead in his anxiety. He kept pressing the power button, tried long-pressing to force a restart, and even repeatedly plugged and unplugged the charging port. He tried every method he could think of, but the phone still showed no reaction.

Just then, the phone suddenly lit up. Zhao Fan felt a surge of joy, but the hope that had just emerged was ruthlessly slapped away by reality, as the phone screen was completely unresponsive to his control.

He frantically tapped the menu button to open the background, only to discover that the phone had somehow caught a virus. The system was completely paralyzed and unable to function normally, let alone open the navigation.

"How could this happen!" Zhao Fan gripped the phone so hard his fingertips turned white, falling into a state of collapse once again. "I haven't downloaded any malicious software, and the phone was working perfectly fine before. Why did it have to get a virus at a time like this!"

He looked up at the unfamiliar road ahead and completely panicked.

This was a side road leading from the suburbs to the city center, which he had never traveled before. Without phone navigation, he couldn't even find the direction to Yunding International Villa District; he would just be like a headless fly, unable to move an inch.

He looked down at the time on his phone; after all that fiddling, there were only 20 minutes left in the delivery time limit!

The destination was still six kilometers away, his phone was completely broken, and he had no cash on him to hail a taxi.

The bus stop on the side of the road was too far away, and even if he rode his motorcycle there, he would still have to wait for the bus, which would cause him to completely miss the deadline; there was simply no time.

A series of blows came one after another. Zhao Fan felt his vision go dark, and a sense of despair engulfed him once again.

He stood by the roadside and screamed hysterically at the empty street: "What do I do! What on earth am I supposed to do! Damn heaven, why must you treat me this way! How exactly have I offended you!"

He was on the verge of tears, his eyes red-rimmed, his heart filled with unwillingness and resentment.

The delivery tasks over the past few days had been plagued by one accident after another. First his motorcycle flipped, then the delivery order was stolen, and now his phone had a virus and the navigation couldn't be used. All the bad luck had fallen upon him, and he simply couldn't understand why he was so unlucky.

"No, it can't be! I absolutely cannot fail again!"

Zhao Fan gritted his teeth hard, his cheeks tense, a flash of madness appearing in his eyes.

He had already failed twice. If he failed again, heaven knows what kind of even more terrifying and soul-crushing punishment the system would mete out. He could no longer afford any more failures.

Just as Zhao Fan was on the verge of madness, he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of a passerby standing not far away, head down, scrolling through their phone. The screen of the person's phone was shining blindingly bright.

And that phone, in Zhao Fan's eyes, was his last straw of hope!

"I'm saved! There's still hope for me!"

A light of survival instantly erupted in Zhao Fan's eyes. Without a moment's hesitation, he shot toward the passerby like an arrow released from a bow.

Before the passerby could react, he snatched the phone from the person's hand and turned to sprint back toward his motorcycle.

The passerby stood frozen in place the entire time, looking bewildered, with empty hands. For a moment, the person couldn't process what happened—they had just been standing on the side of the road looking at their phone, so how did it suddenly get snatched?

A few seconds later, the passerby finally reacted, instantly turning red with rage, and screamed frantically in the direction of Zhao Fan's escape: "Damn it! Stop right there! How dare you snatch a phone in broad daylight? Is there no law left!"

The person stomped their feet in anger, wanting to give chase, but Zhao Fan had already rushed to his motorcycle, leapt onto it, and twisted the throttle hard. The motorcycle roared and shot off instantly, leaving behind only a rapidly receding silhouette.

In the wind, only the faint, apologetic yet incredibly urgent echo of Zhao Fan's voice could be heard: "Sorry brother, I have an emergency, I'm borrowing your phone for a moment, I will definitely return it later!"

"Damn it, to be so arrogant after snatching a phone, daring to provoke me!" The passerby cursed loudly, but could only watch helplessly as Zhao Fan disappeared from sight, unable to do anything.

On the other side, Zhao Fan rode his motorcycle, clutching the stolen phone, and let out a long sigh of relief. His back was already soaked with cold sweat. He didn't dare waste a second, immediately opening the navigation app and entering the address for Yunding International Villa District.

Seeing the navigation route reappear, Zhao Fan felt a surge of joy and twisted the throttle again, speeding with all his might toward the destination.

But after riding only one kilometer, the scene on the road ahead extinguished the hope that had just been ignited, plunging him into an even deeper despair!

Zhao Fan slammed on the brakes, the motorcycle tires screeching against the road, and the bike shook violently as it barely came to a stop at the end of the traffic jam.

He widened his eyes, staring fixedly at the endless line of traffic ahead. His mind went blank instantly; he stood frozen in place as if cast under an immobilization spell, his blood seemingly freezing at that very moment.

Private cars, taxis, and business vehicles were bumper to bumper, packed tightly together, extending from the intersection before him to the end of his vision. The long line of cars wound and twisted, stretching endlessly. The originally spacious lanes were blocked completely, with not even a sliver of gap for a motorcycle to pass through.

The traffic light at the intersection was eerily stuck on red, the seconds frozen, as if it had completely malfunctioned.

Surrounding drivers poked their heads out, complaining and roaring with irritable expressions. The cacophony of car horns, curses, and arguments intertwined, making one's scalp tingle with the noise. The entire stretch of road was completely paralyzed; the traffic couldn't even move forward by half a meter, let alone drive normally.

Zhao Fan tremblingly raised his hand and looked at the delivery countdown on the phone screen. The bright red numbers kept flickering: Remaining time: 17 minutes 47 seconds.

And the navigation showed that there were still a full five kilometers to go to Yunding International Villa District!

17 minutes—normally, at the speed of a motorcycle, five kilometers would be plenty of time to arrive within the specified limit. But now, the gridlocked road reduced the motorcycle's speed to virtually nothing, making it impossible to arrive!