When you're in the Wolf Pack, your ability to obey orders becomes stronger.

Chapter 254 The Woman with Problems?

Xu Ge and Wan Xiaofei looked at the approaching car with some curiosity.

squeak!
The Land Cruiser stopped in front of the two men. The driver's window rolled down, and a middle-aged man wearing glasses asked, "Looking for a ride?"

"Yes!" Wan Xiaofei stepped forward with a smile and asked, "Big brother, where are you going?"

The man didn't answer, but said, "I can take you to Shiquanhe, it'll cost five hundred yuan for two people..."

"Are you really that short of 500 yuan? You're just out on a trip and you still have to do your ridesharing business, huh?" came a dissatisfied voice from the passenger seat.

Xu Ge looked over and saw a woman in her 30s sitting in the passenger seat, her face full of disdain as she spoke.

Xu Ge wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that this woman looked familiar, though he couldn't quite place where he had seen her before.

The man quickly turned around and smiled apologetically: "Honey, I'll just give them a ride for a bit. 500 yuan is still money, just consider it as earning gas money!"

"Have you forgotten that this is a rental car? Aren't you afraid of running into a police checkpoint on the road? If you get fined and have your deposit confiscated, you'll behave yourself!"

"No way, it's dark now, who would be checking cars?"

After the man finished speaking, he turned to look at Xu Ge and Wan Xiaofei, "You heard it too, my wife didn't want me to give you a ride, but I felt bad seeing you walking on the street so late..."

"Brother, don't say anything, I understand. Here's 600!" Wan Xiaofei counted out 600 yuan and handed it over.

The man immediately took it: "If we run into a traffic stop on the road, you know what to say, right?"

Wan Xiaofei nodded: "I know, just say that Big Brother kindly gave us a free ride!"

The man nodded: "Get in the car, sit in the back."

"Thank you, brother!"

Xu Ge and Wan Xiaofei immediately got into the car, and the Lu Xun then turned around and set off again.

I had heard from the woman that the car was rented, and it was clear that the man wasn't very skilled at driving it, especially after dark when he kept the speed at around 70 km/h.

After getting on the bus, Xu Ge didn't say much, while Wan Xiaofei kept chatting with the man.

It has to be said that Wan Xiaofei is indeed very good at chatting, and he quickly figured out the situation of the couple on the other end of the line.

The couple had only been married a short time, and this was the man's first time traveling here; he was mainly accompanying his wife on her trip.

Wan Xiaofei laughed: "Big brother, so you're here on your honeymoon!"

The man said with some pride, "Let me tell you, my wife used to cross the no-man's-land! I'm here mainly to help her relive that experience."

"Really? That's amazing!" Wan Xiaofei then looked at the passenger seat, "Which no-man's-land did your sister-in-law cross before?"

"I've traveled through Ali and Qiangtang."

As she recounted her glorious past, the woman became interested and turned to ask, "I see you two are carrying hiking backpacks, are you here for a hike? Where are you headed...?"

The woman saw Xu Ge's face and suddenly gasped in shock, her face filled with terror.

The sudden shout startled everyone in the car. The man immediately slammed on the brakes: "What's wrong? What happened, honey?"

Wan Xiaofei's expression also changed. He clearly saw that the woman only reacted this way after seeing Xu Ge, and immediately looked at Xu Ge with a questioning gaze.

Xu Ge made a gesture to reassure him that there was no need to worry, but inwardly he also found it utterly absurd.

Just as the woman exclaimed in surprise, Xu Ge finally remembered who she was.

Two years ago, when he went on a business trip to Qiangtang with Thor, they encountered a group of tourists driving themselves. Almost every driver had a female companion, and this woman was one of them.

Xu Ge remembered that the woman had approached him to talk to him when she asked Thor to help tow the car, but she was thinner and younger back then, which is why he didn't think of her immediately.

Judging from the other person's reaction, Xu Ge knew that they had also recognized him.

The man had already stopped the car and was asking the woman questions with a worried expression.

"I'm fine, I just twisted my neck a little." The woman's voice was a little flustered. "Hurry up and drive, how far are we from Shiquanhe?"

The man stepped on the gas and continued driving, saying, "We should arrive before ten o'clock."

The car fell silent for a moment. Wan Xiaofei was confused about the situation and didn't dare to speak. Xu Ge and the woman also remained silent.

Seemingly sensing the somewhat subdued atmosphere, the man took the initiative to ask, "Dude, didn't my wife just ask you guys where you're going hiking?"

Wan Xiaofei didn't answer, but instead glanced at Xu Ge.

Xu Ge said, "Let's go to Qiangtang."

The woman's body visibly trembled.

"What a coincidence!" the man laughed. "I was also planning a trip there with my wife, to relive our youth, hahaha!"

Xu Ge laughed as well: "Brother, since that's the case, why don't you just give us a ride along the way?"

The man had been waiting for Xu Ge to say this, and immediately replied, "If you take it to Qiangtang, the price won't be this high..."

"We're not going to Qiangtang!" the woman suddenly interrupted.

The man paused for a moment: "Honey, didn't we plan to take the northern route from Ali to Bingchacha and make a loop? Are we not going to Walong tonight?"

Walong is the closest township to Qiangtang, and it's also where they plan to stay for the night.

Xu Ge also looked puzzled and patted the back of the woman's seat: "Yeah, why aren't you going again? Are you afraid we won't pay?"

"No...no!"

"Oh? Why is that?"

"Because... I... I don't know, let's talk about it later!" The woman was so frightened by Xu Ge that she was almost incoherent.

Wan Xiaofei had already realized that Xu Ge knew this woman, so he stopped talking and left it to Xu Ge to do as he pleased.

"The price is negotiable."

Xu Ge leaned back and asked with a relaxed expression, "Big brother, which of you two is in charge?"

The man chuckled: "Of course she's my wife! I hand over my entire salary to her every month!"

Xu Ge laughed and kicked the back of the woman's chair: "Your husband says you're in charge, so tell me, how much are you planning to charge to send us over there?"

The man quickly gave the woman frantic winks.

The woman sitting in front had an unreadable expression, but her voice betrayed barely suppressed nervousness as she said, "They're all...they're all fellow travelers, it wouldn't be right to charge them, but we're going the same way anyway!"

man:? ? ?
Wan Xiaofei: ? ? ?

Xu Ge smiled and said nothing more.

. . .

. . .

At 9:30 p.m., the Land Cruiser entered Shiquanhe.

There were quite a few tourists in the town, and the streets were still very lively at this time.

Upon learning that the couple hadn't eaten yet, Xu Ge offered to treat them to barbecue. The man readily agreed with a smile, saying, "Just so you know, I won't be offering a discount on the fare, hahaha!" "No problem!"

After refueling the car, the four of them found a restaurant nearby.

After finishing their meal, the man habitually took out a cigarette and was about to light it when the woman frowned and said, "Go outside to smoke!"

"Hey!"

The man immediately stood up and, before leaving, looked at Xu Ge and said, "Young man, remember to pay the bill!"

Xu Ge smiled and nodded, then kicked Wan Xiaofei under the table: "Didn't you want to smoke just now? Go join your brother."

The woman's expression instantly tensed up.

Snapped!
After Wan Xiaofei got up and left, Xu Ge, who was sitting opposite the woman, took out a lighter, lit a cigarette, and slowly exhaled the smoke.

"What...what do you want to do?" The woman sat motionless in her seat.

Xu Ge looked at the other person with some confusion: "Don't you know who I am? Why are you so afraid?"

The woman remained silent, biting her lip tightly.

"You still dare to run into the Qiangtang region? Looks like you've got some nerve," Xu Ge said calmly. "Have you forgotten what happened last time?"

The woman shuddered and quickly shook her head.

No one can forget witnessing someone's head being smashed open.

"Then why did you come here this time?"

"My husband and I just got married, and we really just came here for a vacation!" the woman quickly explained.

Xu Ge looked at the other person: "Does your husband know about that?"

"I don't know, we all signed a confidentiality agreement last time!"

"Don't be nervous, I just want to chat with you, I don't mean anything else. We still need you to take us to Qiangtang."

"Okay! Don't worry, we'll definitely leave here tonight!"

"No need, just do whatever you want, just don't wander into uninhabited areas." Xu Ge waved his hand.

The woman relaxed, glanced at Xu Ge, and said, "I know, now that you're here, you definitely can't go into Qiangtang!"

Xu Ge was left speechless, both amused and exasperated: "What, are we the plague?"

The woman whispered, "After that incident, a veteran said you must be from a secret unit, and that people are bound to die whenever you show up!"

Xu Ge: ...

The two chatted for a few more minutes, and the woman, seemingly certain that Xu Ge wouldn't do anything to her, held out her hand: "Give me one!"

Xu Ge handed over the cigarettes and lighter: "Your husband doesn't seem to know you smoke?"

"Even if I knew, what could I do? I should be grateful that someone like him even married me!" The woman lit the incense skillfully, took a deep breath, and then looked at him with disdain.

"You seem very dissatisfied with your husband?" Xu Ge asked casually. "I heard him say that he gives you all the money he earns."

"Isn't this how it should be? If I weren't getting older and couldn't find someone better, would I have married a slovenly, honest driver like him?"

The woman sneered, "My ex-boyfriend could take me traveling everywhere, but what can he do? He's rarely even traveled far in his life. You've seen it yourself. When he finally gets to go on a trip, he's still worried about earning money for gas. I'm so unlucky to have married such an idiot!"

Xu Ge couldn't take it anymore: "In your eyes, honest people are just fools? I think your husband treats you quite well, so why do you look down on him like that?"

"I see you're not very old, and you haven't experienced many things, have you? Have you ever seen any man in this world who has achieved anything, and how many of them succeeded because of honesty and integrity?"
What's the point of him being nice to me? A loser is a loser. Even if he ripped his heart out for me, it would only prove he has nothing but a heart! And what use would I have for that? We still need to rent a car when we go out to play, right?

The woman didn't mind saying these things in front of a stranger like Xu Ge, since they would never have any further contact in this life anyway.

Xu Ge never expected that there would be someone with such bizarre values, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

Seeing that Xu Ge remained silent, the woman smiled: "Handsome, you deliberately sent your companion away to talk to me alone for so long, is there something you're thinking?"

Xu Ge chuckled: "What, you're not afraid of me anymore?"

“You are a soldier, and I am a law-abiding citizen. Your duty is to protect me. Why should I be afraid?” The woman seemed to have figured something out and deliberately tossed her hair.

"A law-abiding citizen?" Xu Ge glanced at the woman. "Aren't you afraid I'll tell your husband what you just said?"

"I don't believe you're that bored. Besides, he's madly in love with me, do you think he'd believe that?" The woman looked completely unfazed.

Xu Ge stood up: "Alright, we've eaten, let's continue."

The reason he specifically wanted to talk to this woman was to see if she had any problems.

The woman's appearance was too coincidental; it just so happened that foreign poachers were arriving at that exact moment.

Normally, someone who has experienced something like what happened two years ago would not revisit the same place, but according to the man on the road, this trip was planned by the woman.

This is very abnormal!
Remembering that the last group of poachers had arranged for someone to meet them in advance, Xu Ge needed to figure out the couple's true purpose in coming.

However, after talking for a while, Xu Ge did not notice anything unusual.

. . .

. . .

"What a slut!"

At the foot of a mountain in the Qiangtang no-man's-land, Lao Wang's Prado was parked. The two people in the car were wearing headphones when Li Dongshui, who was sitting in the passenger seat, suddenly cursed.

The driver's seat was reclined, and Thor, lying on it, turned his head: "Why are you cursing at her? I think what she said makes a lot of sense."

Li Dongshui: ...

"How does that make sense?"

She said that no man who achieves success is an honest man, and I think that's quite true. It seems that this woman has a story to tell!

Thor laughed and said, "White Legs, you're too honest, which isn't good. Sometimes it limits your thinking. Xu Ge is better than you in this respect."

"What makes him better than me? He's still wasting time chatting with others at a time like this!" Li Dongshui complained. "He's the contestant now, and I'm the examiner, okay?"

“You’ve misunderstood him. He thinks there’s something wrong with that woman.” Thor shook his head. “If I were in his shoes, I would definitely test her too.”

Li Dongshui asked, "So, did you realize that there was something wrong with that woman?"

"There shouldn't be any problem. The way she spoke didn't sound like she was acting; she genuinely felt resentful about marrying her husband."

"Then why is she running this way?"

"Who knows? Anyway, it has nothing to do with us."

Li Dongshui glanced at the electronic map and frowned, saying, "At this rate, those poachers will get into the depths of Qiangtang before Xu Ge and his group, and they even have vehicles."

"What, are you worried that Xu Ge and his team will fail their mission?"

Thor stretched and said, "Golden yak aren't so easy to find. Last time, that group of people searched the mountains for more than half a month and didn't find any. Just wait patiently."

(End of this chapter)