Chapter 1
Fang Xiaoyu suspected that she had traveled through time.
The first suspicious point is that the vehicle's GPS is malfunctioning and there is no cell phone signal.
She got on the highway at 7:30 a.m. and received a dense fog warning at 8:10 a.m., which turned from yellow to red. She immediately changed her navigation route and prepared to leave early.
Unexpectedly, the navigation system got stuck five kilometers from the ramp and stopped moving. Thirty seconds later, it reminded the user: "You have lost connection and cannot update your location temporarily. Please leave this area as soon as possible."
The message was repeated three times, and the disconnected music didn't resume playing. The car suddenly became quiet.
Thinking it was just a temporary navigation malfunction, she swiped to unlock her phone, only to find that all the signal bars were gray, and she couldn't make calls or send or receive messages.
The second suspicious point is that all the vehicles in front and behind have disappeared.
Before the navigation system malfunctioned, I could vaguely see the taillights of the car in front and the fog lights of the car behind through the fog, and occasionally hear a few horns blaring in the distance.
When the music stopped, she realized that it was extremely quiet all around. The hazy car lights were gone, and she hadn't heard the horn for a long time. It was as if she was the only one driving in the fog.
The third point of doubt is that the road has become unfamiliar.
Fang Xiaoyu usually relies on navigation while driving, but after seeing so many roads, they always seem somewhat familiar.
But after she drove out of the fog in fifteen minutes, she found that although the four lanes were still four lanes and the ground was clean and everything seemed normal, there was still a sense of unfamiliarity.
For example, the emergency lane is more than twice as wide as the ones I usually see.
For example, the soundproof walls I'd never noticed before seemed excessively high, over 30 feet tall, standing like city walls on both sides. Every hundred meters or so, there were stone steps leading to the top; I wonder who they were for. What traveler would dare to bypass all the checkpoints and walk onto the highway to enjoy the scenery?
What's even more frightening is that after driving for two hours straight, the only road signs along the way were for going straight, and the only white dashed lines on the ground were for lanes and white lines for going straight; no other road signs or markings appeared.
The fourth suspicious point is the extra trash cans on the roadside.
Fang Xiaoyu has a seven-year driver's license and one year of driving experience. Although inexperienced, she drives on the elevated highway, crosses the river bridge, and takes the ring expressway twice a day. She's never seen so many trash cans along the highway before, and she encounters one every twenty minutes or so—more often than a service area. She's been driving for so long and hasn't seen a single gas station or service area, just trash cans.
What kind of place is a highway where you can just stop anywhere unless something unexpected happens? How many people would need to use the trash cans here? Even if the person in charge of this started out making trash cans, they wouldn't blatantly use the budget to do this, would they?!
However, these trash cans have a heavy and exquisite appearance, and the recycling symbol is even reflective. Considering the quantity, one every thirty kilometers, the total cost must be considerable.
Thinking about this, she wasn't entirely sure about the questions above.
The fifth point of contention is the terrain and length of the highway.
After discovering that there were no cars around for a long time and no surveillance cameras were visible, and considering the previous suspicious points, Fang Xiaoyu boldly parked her car on the emergency lane, climbed the stone steps up the "city wall," and looked around from a high vantage point.
She clearly remembered that she was on the ring road elevated expressway, and knew that it was normal for the road to be at a high elevation.
But seeing the swirling clouds and undulating forest below, the highest point only reaching the ankles of the bridge piers, with the piers like rows of dense, anchoring needles, and the highway winding like a dragon across the stone piers for hundreds of miles without end, I was still slightly awestruck.
Fang Xiaoyu didn't know exactly how tall and long the world's highest and longest highway was.
But does Panda City have one? Having worked there for three years, she can guarantee it: no!
The wind up there made her skin crawl, so she only stayed for a short while before quickly getting down. Back in the car, her heart was still pounding.
Having accumulated the above five major doubts, Fang Xiaoyu has reasonable grounds to suspect that she has already traveled through time.
However, this is merely a suspicion and a conclusion cannot be drawn at this time.
Why?
First, two hours on the highway is enough time for her to leave the city and possibly even cross provincial borders. Perhaps she didn't notice while in the foggy area and ended up on a highway in some province that was recently completed but not yet officially opened? Maybe there are traffic police anxiously trying to contact her.
This also explains why there are no cars or people in front or behind, incomplete road signs, and unclear signals. It's because the infrastructure is still incomplete, including the signal towers, which may be too far away.
However, she seemed to have heard that vehicle positioning relies on satellites and has nothing to do with cell towers? She wasn't a professional and hadn't paid much attention to it. Normally, she might have already pulled out her phone and started searching for answers online, but she didn't have that option now.
Secondly, Fang Xiaoyu's trunk contained a lot of food prepared by her mother, such as fragrant rice, smoked meat, ham, honey bread, etc., all prepared for the Chinese New Year.
Fortunately, I didn't have time to put it at home because of work, so even if I really time-traveled, I didn't feel any urgency for the time being. I was only nervous for a short while at the beginning about being late for work or skipping work.
Third, Fang Xiaoyu thought that the first thing she did after transmigrating was to quietly call out to the system, the cheat system, the main god, the GM, various gods and aliens, etc., but there was no response.
In addition, she had worked hard for five years and owned a house and a car. Although she had some loans, she was able to pay them off through hard work. Moreover, she had harmonious relationships with her relatives and friends. She had no desire to travel through time and just wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. Ideally, she could return before others discovered her disappearance and restore everything to normal.
So she persisted and drove for another four hours.
The little white car's gas tank was just filled up last night, but after nearly seven and a half hours of continuous use, it finally gave out and the red light came on.
Fang Xiaoyu's heart sank when she saw it.
No! If we continue like this, we'll either have to push the car or abandon it. But on this vast highway, with no village or shop in sight, no one wants to choose either option.
At that moment, she saw a sign on her left that indicated she could go straight.
The sign indicates that there is a service area 50 meters ahead, providing services such as refueling, repairs, meals, and rest.
It can replenish resources! It can also help you find someone to ask for help, request leave from the company, and let your family know you're safe!
After receiving a shot of adrenaline, Fang Xiaoyu instantly perked up.
She arrived at the service area full of hope before running out of fuel, but her excitement waned as soon as she drove in.
The service area is small, the gas station is open-air, the repair shop is wide open, and the convenience store has large floor-to-ceiling windows. Only the rest area has curtains, but the curtains are not drawn, so everything can be seen at a glance. There are no staff members here, and it doesn't seem like there are any landlines.
Opening my phone, my mood plummeted by half again.
There is no signal coverage, and I cannot find any Wi-Fi hotspots.
Fang Xiaoyu didn't give up and poked her head out, shouting, "Hello—is anyone there—"
The only answer she received was her own echo.
Is anyone there?
"A person—"
"Ma—"
Fang Xiaoyu was disappointed, feeling as if a bottomless pit had opened up in her heart. Looking around, she decided to fill the void with supplies.
She arrived at the gas station first.
There was only one type of gas pump inside, without indicating which type of fuel it was. It simply said it was for regular car models, and listed regular car models with icons: sedans, SUVs, MPVs, off-road vehicles, new energy vehicles, RVs... It was densely packed with all the car models she recognized, as well as many car models she didn't recognize.
Is this a universal fuel?
I've never heard of it before.
But it's also possible that I'm just ignorant.
New energy, I don't think it's the electric car she knows, hahaha...
Okay, this isn't a good joke; in fact, it's quite terrifying when you think about it.
If she couldn't understand it, she put it aside for now and started studying the oil gun.
In the past, there were staff to help me refuel, so I never had to do it myself. Now I have to do it myself.
After studying it for a while, she opened the fuel tank cap, pressed the nozzle handle at the filler hole, heard the hissing sound of fuel coming out, and smelled the distinctive smell of fuel. She felt relieved.
It's not that hard to cheer up.
She filled the tank with gas and drove around the small service area dozens of times without noticing anything wrong with the engine or any abnormal vibrations in the car.
With that thought in mind, the oil was fine.
Next are food, drink, clothing, and daily necessities, which can be obtained at convenience stores.
Fang Xiaoyu let out a wheezing cry and ran to the convenience store, but before she could even grab a basket, her bladder reminded her that she needed to take care of her physiological needs first.
She went to the public restroom in the rest area to relieve herself, and after washing her hands, her senses returned somewhat.
Is it possible to buy things for free in uninhabited areas?
...Of course not. As long as we're still on Earth, it's illegal to consume without paying. Even if we don't see any cameras, we can't do that.
She had always been law-abiding and never ran red lights, but she never expected to suddenly have such a special experience.
But when I looked around, whether it was a gas station, a repair shop, a rest area, or even the cash register in a convenience store, it was empty and there was no QR code for payment.
I'm used to paying with my phone and don't carry cash. Now that my phone has lost signal, it's useless and I can't make payments.
what to do?
When will the traffic police find her, locate her, and take her away? That way, she won't have to struggle with whether or not to cross moral boundaries.
There were two hundred barrels of fuel next to the gas pump. Why not pack some up and take some with you? That way you won't run out of gas on the way.
But what if we drive a little further and then turn back? How will we explain to the police that there's a full tank of gas in the trunk?
They might be mistaken for thieves, or for selling smuggled oil.
Fang Xiaoyu spun around a few times, quickly figuring out how to respond. She picked up her fully charged phone and started recording a video, making sure to show the surrounding environment from every angle.
"Hello, police officer. My name is Fang Xiaoyu. I accidentally got lost on this highway. My phone can't make calls and I can't ask for help. Luckily, I just found this service area, but unfortunately there is no signal and no staff here."
"I got lost because I missed the nearest exit during a red fog warning and may have accidentally driven onto an unopened highway. I'm currently stuck. There are no road signs or numbers, the navigation system can't locate me, and I haven't found an exit along the way, so I have no choice but to keep going. I hope there will be a signal ahead so I can contact rescue or find someone who can help me."
"Because we don't know how much longer it will take to leave this place, or how far away the next service area or gas station is, we plan to buy fuel and other necessities before we set off."
"Because I didn't bring any cash, my phone couldn't make a payment, and I couldn't find the payment code on site, I recorded this video to prove my innocence and show that I didn't intentionally refuse to pay."
“I promise that all my purchases here will be recorded accurately, and I will ensure that my balance is sufficient to pay for them. Once the signal is restored, I will immediately find a way to pay off all my purchases without delay. I may need to trouble the police officers to help me confirm the payment code or the receiving unit.”
"I would also like to assure the police officers that I will not use the purchased bottled fuel in dangerous places, and I will voluntarily hand it over if there is any left over when I return."
"I'll leave a note later. I hope the service area staff will see it and contact me immediately. It would be even better if they could call the police for me. I'm sorry, and thank you!"
“It is now 3:06 PM on March 3, 33 years ago. I have been lost on the highway for a total of 6 hours and 46 minutes,” she said after quickly doing the mental calculation.
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