Chapter 56 Going Up the Mountain

Ling Wei walked quickly to the school building entrance and saw the old Party Secretary and Old Chen struggling to push out a motorcycle that was clearly not too old.

The old Party Secretary shakily straddled the bicycle, gripping the handlebars with both hands, but his eyes revealed a hint of bewilderment.

The motorcycle in front of him had a cluttered dashboard, and there were several buttons next to the keyhole that he couldn't understand.

He instinctively reached out with his foot to feel for the starter lever he remembered on the lower left side of the car, but only managed to kick empty air.

Looking at the relentless downpour, Old Chen's voice trembled: "Old Zhao, maybe... we shouldn't go? I don't think... it'll really collapse that easily. Maybe... maybe we can hold on?"

The old Party Secretary glared at him: "Nonsense! Can we gamble on that possibility? Better safe than sorry!"

Old Chen inwardly groaned: I'll return those words to you verbatim, Old Zhao!

Better safe than sorry. Can our old bones really hold up forever?

Just as he was in despair, a slender yet powerful hand suddenly reached out and precisely inserted itself into the keyhole.

Ling Wei nimbly mounted the motorcycle, her coat instantly soaked by the rain. She expertly checked the gauges and pressed the start button.

The engine emitted a deep, powerful roar, which was particularly clear in the downpour.

"I'll go." She wiped the rain off her face and looked at Old Chen. "I'll have to trouble you to lead the way."

She can indeed find her location directly through the system, but to outsiders, she doesn't even know the way.

The village secretary had gotten to know Ling Wei well these past few days, and seeing this, he hurriedly waved his hands, saying, "Ling, get down! This is too dangerous! How could a young lady like you ride something like this!"

Old Chen quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, the car is running, but... how about we wait for your Uncle Zhao to drive it?"

"I've been delivering food for three years."

Although he rides an electric scooter, it's still better than the old Party Secretary who has been blind for decades and hasn't touched a vehicle, right?

Old Chen visibly wavered: "This..."

Ling Wei added, "Never exceeded the time limit."

Old Chen instantly switched sides, slapping his thigh: "Alright! Uncle will go with you!!"

Old Chen also got on his motorcycle. He squinted in the rain to find his way. "Go east first. Yes, once you leave the school gate, go east when you see that old locust tree."

But before the motorcycle even started moving, he immediately changed his mind: "Wait, no, no, look at my memory! The road over by the old locust tree is narrow, it'll definitely flood if it rains. I have to go north first! That farm road to the north goes around to the back of the old ancestral hall..."

Before he could finish speaking, he muttered to himself, "That road to the north seems to have collapsed last year... So, should we go west?"

Ling Wei took out her phone: "...Uncle, could you briefly describe the location and I'll search for it on the map?"

She made up her mind that as long as the other party gave her the location, she would pretend to operate something and then say that she had found it.

The real responsibility of guiding others will be taken care of by the system itself.

Old Chen squinted and tried hard to recall: "Go straight northwest from this direction, along the mountain road behind the village... about twelve miles, it's halfway up the mountain."

Ling Wei tapped the screen twice with her finger. "Navigation is ready, let's go."

Old Chen clicked his tongue in amazement: "This high technology is really fast!"

The motorcycle had barely started to growl when a hand slammed down on the handlebars with such force that it brought the already started motorcycle to a complete stop.

"I'm coming, you come down." Qu Chen had followed him out at some point, his voice muffled in the rain.

Ling Wei turned to look at him, raindrops dripping from her hair: "What do you mean?"

“It’s so dangerous to ride a bike up the mountain now, you can’t go.” Qu Chen stared at her, his jawline taut.

Ling Wei was utterly shocked: "I won't do anything I'm not sure I can handle, and you're going? You can drive?"

She didn't believe a word that a person who spends all day cooped up in their room coding could ride a motorcycle.

The rain blurred his vision, but it also revealed certain emotions. Qu Chen was speechless when she asked him a question, and silence spread in the sound of the rain.

Old Chen was sizing up the young man who had suddenly appeared when he suddenly felt two hands grab his armpits and lift him off the bus.

Old Chen: ? ? ?

Before he could react, the young man grabbed Ling Wei's arm again: "I can drive, I'll go by myself."

"Qu Chen!" Ling Wei was utterly exhausted. The rain and her frustration made her voice sharp. "Stop making a scene, okay?! I don't know why you're suddenly like this... If you want to do good deeds, go find someone else! I know you're kind-hearted, you're the kind-hearted young man I always talked about, alright!"

However, the other person only paused for a moment, then stubbornly repeated, "I'll go."

you go?

Do you even have a system?!

Ling Wei took the simple diagram showing the valve type and the spare key directly from the still bewildered Old Chen.

"I have GPS, I'll go alone, wait for my call."

She stopped looking at Qu Chen, twisted the throttle, and the motorcycle roared forward.

Seeing that she was determined and there was no way to stop her, Qu Chen stopped talking, took a long stride, turned over and sat on the seat behind her, his arms naturally wrapped around her waist, firmly fixing himself in the car.

This isn't the protagonist of a redemption story, he's practically a madman! You'll never guess what he's up to until he says it.

Ling Wei ignored the madman, twisted the throttle, and the motorcycle shot into the rain like an arrow.

The old Party Secretary and Old Chen were left standing facing each other in the wind and rain, while the motorcycle's taillights flickered twice in the torrential rain before being swallowed up by the endless darkness and rain.

The motorcycle bumped along the road, and Ling Wei focused intently on controlling the direction. The system gave her clear instructions: "Turn right 300 meters ahead, beware of falling rocks."

"Well done, Xiao Ai." Ling Wei gave it a thumbs up and was about to turn around as instructed.

Just then, Qu Chen's voice came from behind: "Turn right ahead, but don't go too close to the side, the roadbed over there has been damaged by the rain."

Ling Wei was startled and subconsciously veered the car towards the middle of the road. Sure enough, she could feel the roadbed loosening where the wheels rolled over.

"How did you know?" she couldn't help but ask.

Qu Chen wrapped one arm around her waist to maintain her balance, and with the other hand, he lit up his phone screen. The screen displayed a clear satellite map, with road conditions marked in real time in different colors. Even the roadbed damage that had just occurred was clearly visible.

“I have access to data from commercial remote sensing satellites,” he explained. “VIP members can see the most real-time terrain changes.”

As if afraid she would associate it with something unpleasant, he added:

"I bought it through official channels before... and I've never used it for anything else."

As Ling Wei listened to him continue broadcasting, her hands smoothly switched directions, and the two developed an indescribable tacit understanding.

To be honest, in terms of navigation capabilities alone, Qu Chen is more like a system than her unreliable system.

Hearing Ling Wei's inner thoughts, the system protested indignantly, "...Does he even have me to criticize?!"