Highway Survival: My Wuling Hongguang was crammed full of school beauties

Chapter 17 Freight Helper?

Finally, just as the fuel gauge was about to hit zero and the engine began to make a sputtering, gasping "click" sound, the silhouette of a low-lying building, gleaming with cold metallic light, appeared on the horizon.

It was an incredibly spacious area, like a parking lot, with rows of silver-gray pillars standing densely on the ground, each topped with a familiar gas pump design—it was a gas station!

At a glance, there are probably nearly a thousand of them! Behind these gas stations is a simple, gray building that looks like a large warehouse, which should be the main body of the "gas station" mentioned in the announcement.

hope!

A tremendous hope, like a flame, instantly ignited Chen Hai's almost frozen blood!

His fingers trembled with excitement as he slammed on the gas pedal. The pickup truck struggled, like a dying ox, inching its way toward the area that symbolized the continuation of life.

There were already some cars parked there. Most of them were concentrated in the area near the gas station building, which looked clearly separated from the rest of the area.

Chen Hai didn't think much; he only had one thought in his mind right now—Go for it! Immediately! Right now!

He steered the pickup truck, slowly making his way towards the nearest few gas stations that appeared to be empty.

However, just a dozen meters away from the gas station, a figure suddenly rushed out from the side, blocked the middle of the road, and waved his hand forcefully.

Chen Hai was startled and immediately slammed on the brakes. The pickup truck slid forward a few more meters, almost hitting the man, before finally coming to a stop.

The man blocking the way was bald, tall and burly, wearing a dirty vest that revealed two tattooed arms, and a thick gold chain around his neck.

With a nearly burnt-out cigarette dangling from his mouth, he squinted and looked Chen Hai up and down at his dilapidated pickup truck, which was practically falling apart, and the haggard-looking father and daughter inside.

"What are you doing?" The bald man spat out his cigarette butt, crushed it with his foot, and said in a rough voice.

"Give me gas, give me gas!" Chen Hai quickly leaned out of the car window, a fawning, humble smile plastered on his face. "Brother, please do me a favor, my car's almost out of gas, absolutely nothing! Let me fill up with some gas, thank you, thank you so much, brother!"

The bald man ignored him and instead turned to shout towards the group of vehicles gathered behind him, "Hey Hai! Another one! A beat-up pickup truck, with a little girl!"

A middle-aged man with a hideous scar on his face and a sinister look in his eyes jumped off a modified heavy truck with tires taller than Chen Hai's pickup truck. He had a cigarette in his mouth and walked over slowly.

Behind him, next to the parked vehicles, a dozen or twenty people stood up, some sitting and some standing. Most of them were burly and casually dressed, carrying wrenches or steel pipes, or openly holding machetes or fire axes, looking at him with hostile eyes.

Chen Hai's heart skipped a beat; the nascent flame of hope was doused with ice water and cooled considerably. He realized that the situation might not be as he had imagined.

The scarred man approached and glanced at Chen Hai's car, his gaze lingering for a moment on the schoolbag in Chen Hai's daughter Xiaoya's arms before he looked at Chen Hai, forcing a smile that was utterly devoid of warmth.

"Go for it? Sure. Just wait."

"Wait...wait?" Chen Hai was taken aback, and subconsciously looked at the empty gas pumps. "Brother, aren't there some empty ones here? My car is really about to break down, you see..."

"Just wait, stop babbling!" the bald man snapped impatiently, pointing to the side. "Can't you see our boss's car isn't full yet? Go wait over there!"

Chen Hai looked in the direction he pointed and saw a heavy semi-trailer truck parked closer to the gas station building. It looked like a steel monster and its weight was estimated to be over fifty tons. The massive truck body was very imposing.

Several thick fuel lines were connected to the car, and refueling was underway, with the fuel gauge numbers jumping rapidly.

Behind this "jumbo" was a line of seven or eight trucks and vans of different models, all much larger than ordinary cars.

Are these people... all together? And it looks like they arrived first and are prioritizing refueling their own convoy.

Chen Hai was anxious, but seeing that the other side outnumbered him and looked formidable, he could only swallow back the plea that was on the tip of his tongue and force a smile:

"Okay, okay, I'll wait, I'll wait."

He slowly moved the car to the side and turned off the engine. The moment the engine stopped, the entire car seemed to relax, as if it had exhausted its last bit of strength.

The waiting time felt incredibly long. Every second felt like being fried in oil.

Chen Hai watched as the heavy truck's fuel gauge finally reached full, then disconnected the fuel line and moved aside with a dull hum. He felt a sense of relief and was about to start the truck when the bald man blocked his way again.

"Big brother, it's all added, I can..." Chen Hai didn't finish his sentence.

The bald man grinned, revealing teeth stained yellow from smoking: "What's the rush? No manners."

Chen Hai was stunned, not yet understanding what the "rules" meant, when he saw the scarred man, "Brother Hai," slowly walk over and stand next to the bald man.

At the same time, the twenty-odd men holding weapons silently surrounded Chen Hai's lone pickup truck, subtly encircling it. The atmosphere instantly became heavy and oppressive.

"Brother... what's this?"

Chen Hai's voice began to tremble, his bad premonition growing stronger. Xiao Ya, in the passenger seat, also sensed the danger, shrinking closer to her father in fear, her big eyes filled with terror.

The scarred man, "Brother Hai," slowly lit another cigarette, took a deep drag, and then, raising his voice and speaking in an announcement-like tone, addressed Chen Hai and the other vehicles that had just arrived and were observing:

"Look carefully, this area and these 1,000 gas stations are now under the management of 'Freight Helper'!"

Freight Helper?

Chen Hai and the other car owners who had just arrived were stunned.

The scarred man seemed satisfied with the effect and continued, "This gas station is indeed state-owned, but the gas isn't free! Want to refuel on our 'Freight Gang's' territory? Sure, but follow the rules!"

"What...rules?" a young man driving a car couldn't help but ask, his voice trembling with unease.

The bald man grinned maliciously and answered for "Brother Hai": "Simple! One person's worth of supplies for one day! In exchange for a full truckload! Fair trade, no cheating!"

One person's daily supply, to be replaced with a full truckload?

Chen Hai's mind went blank, as if he had been hit by a heavy hammer.

He stared incredulously at the group of people before him, then at the cold gas stations, a surge of absurd anger and icy chill coursing through his heart.

"This...how can this be?!" Chen Hai exclaimed, his voice trembling with excitement.

"This is a gas station! It's for people to fill up their tanks! What right do you have to occupy it? What right do you have to take things from it? This is robbery!"