"Xiao Ning, if we keep going, we'll have to get off the highway. Look at the road signs, isn't that right?" Jian Anping said suddenly as he drove.

“Yes, turn right at the next intersection. After you get off the highway, you’ll be in Linyang County. Just follow the road for another five or six kilometers, and you should be there.” Jian Ning glanced at the map in her hand. This was it, no doubt about it.

Jian Anping drove off the highway. The road was clear; the soldiers heading to the base had probably cleared it for them.

They soon arrived in the county town. Due to the high altitude, the heavy rain did not have a significant impact on the area.

People were already walking on the road, and when they saw the brand-new SUV, they all stopped in surprise to look at it.

"I don't think the damage here is too severe. There are still people living in the buildings, and they even have water to wash clothes." Uncle Li observed carefully from the passenger seat.

Jian Ning looked up and saw a woman on the third floor hanging out bed sheets to dry. They were indeed freshly washed, and water was still dripping from them.

"That proves that building a base here is a good choice. There's plenty of underground water and many single-story houses."

The building only covers this section facing the street. It doesn't entirely rely on running water; having your own well makes things much more convenient. Brother, don't stop, go straight to the base.

Jian Ning noticed that two people were stopping the car ahead, so she quickly said something to Jian Anping.

The situation is unclear right now; there are elderly people and young children on the bus. If these people want to rob us, it would be bad if someone were killed before we even reach our destination.

If you can avoid taking action, then do so.

Jian Anping, who had slowed down, suddenly sped up again after hearing Jian Ning's words, and drove straight past the two people blocking his way.

"Damn, who's in that car? They're got some nerve. Boss, what do we do if we can't stop them?" The man who spoke was carrying a thick iron rod behind his back. After the car drove away, he turned to the man with him and said this.

“There must be something valuable in the car. Tell Lao San and the others to stop the car immediately and not let them get up the mountain to that lousy base.”

There are quite a few troops stationed there. If we really let them go up the mountain, we definitely won't get anything.

"We'll have to set up a checkpoint in our town and collect tolls before letting anyone pass." The leader was a man with a thick beard, tall and strong, with a face full of menacing features.

He waved his hand to the side, and the people hiding in the alley came out—more than twenty in total, all carrying weapons. They were surprisingly organized.

The man who spoke first walked over, took the carrier pigeon from another person, wrote a few lines on a small piece of paper, tied the paper to the pigeon's leg, and threw it away.

Jian Anping drove out of the county town and frowned as he looked at the road ahead.

"Xiao Ning, I don't think we can get across. How come there's such a wide ditch here? It looks like it was dug out by man."

"Don't get out of the car, I'll go check it out." Jian Ning said, then opened the back door and got out.

When I got to the front of the car, I saw that the ditch was more than a meter wide and more than two meters deep, and it had dug the road right in the middle. No one would believe it wasn't intentional.

Jian Anping's driving skills were quite good; he noticed something was wrong early on and stopped the car when he was still four or five meters away.

This was no big deal for Jian Ning; he just wanted to keep his true nature hidden and didn't want too many people to see it.

Just as I was about to turn back, about ten people suddenly emerged from a ditch by the roadside. They were carrying a rather thick door panel, and the tall, thin man leading them looked like a street thug, swaying his head as he walked.

Standing on the other side of the ditch, he shouted loudly, "Hey, people in the car, do you want to cross? Leave half of your food behind, and you can drive across."

"What if I don't give it to you?" Jian Anping rolled down the car window, stuck her head out, and shouted.

"If you don't want to give it to us, that's fine. You can leave the car behind and walk over. We won't stop you. Brother, judging by your appearance, you're someone who's been around in the underworld. We're all decent people; we only rob money, not lives."

"Brother, you have a wife and kids to support too. Your car is so new, you obviously don't lack for food or drink. How about it? Give me face, leave your things, and drive away?"

Jian Anping looked in the rearview mirror from inside the car and saw that Jian Ning hadn't taken a sword and was slowly walking to the front of the car.

"Hey! There's a beauty here. Brother, it's not very classy of you to put the woman first when things get tough, but I like it. If you guys agree, you can give this beauty to me as my wife, and then the car can drive over smoothly today."

The man in the lead drooled when he saw Jian Ning. In their small town, they had never seen such a beautiful woman.

She was so beautiful he didn't know how to describe it. Her skin was so fair and tender that you could probably squeeze water out of it if you pinched it. Those big, watery eyes—just one glance from them made him feel like his soul was about to fly away.

Jian Ning glared at him, her eyes filled with lust, and said, "If you know what's good for you, you'd better put up the door and let us through, or you'll face the consequences!"

"Hey! You're quite the feisty one. Brothers, grab your weapons, I'd like to see how you'll make us pay the price today!"

The man in the lead waved his hand, and the men behind him put the door panel on the ground and pulled out weapons from their backs. There were machetes, iron pipes, and long rolling pins—a real motley collection of weapons.

Jian Ning didn't bother arguing with them. She leaped over, a long whip appearing in her hand, and lashed out wildly. The dozen or so men lay on the ground, clutching their wrists and crying out in pain.

They never dreamed that these dozen or so people would be no match for a young woman.

That was way too brutal! Every blow hit their nerve endings. They couldn't hold their weapons at all, and every strike drew blood. It really hurt.

"Stop yelling! Where's your tough attitude from before? A few of you go and lay the planks out properly. If they're even slightly crooked, I'll kill you all!" Jian Ning kicked the man in the lead.

"Yes, Grandma, we'll set it up right away. Please wait a moment!"

The tall, thin man struggled to his feet, ignoring the blood dripping from his wrists from the whip, and shouted for his men to get up and carry the door panels to the ditch.

Then, he stood respectfully by the roadside, bowing low, waiting for Jian Anping to drive the car past before daring to look up at Jian Ning.

"Grandma, is there anything else you need?"

"No, get lost. Be more careful next time you're out in the world." Jian Ning didn't make things difficult for him. She opened the car door and got in. Jian Anping stepped on the gas. The SUV sped away.