The comments said I was deeply affectionate, I just added points by using an alternate account.

Long Ao yawned, completely unaware of the silent exchange between his two teammates.

"How much longer?" he complained, already getting tired of sitting.

In this era where teleportation arrays are prevalent, traveling by car is only suitable for short distances; he hasn't had the experience of traveling for a whole day like this in a long time.

"We'll stop for a rest at the next service area," the driver said. Seeing this, Long Ao could only continue to wait, feeling utterly bored.

At 10 p.m., the convoy entered a large service area.

"Three students, please rest here tonight. I've already arranged your rooms."

Qian Yongnian jumped off the truck, his chubby face still bearing that enthusiastic smile: "Make sure you're well-rested so we can continue our journey tomorrow."

He booked the most expensive suite in the service area, and he didn't care about this small amount of money.

After Qian Yongnian left with his bodyguards, only the three of them remained in the room. An Changqing was the first to speak.

"I'm going out for a walk to familiarize myself with the surroundings." He looked at Long Ao and Chen Guan: "Want to come along?"

Long Ao frowned: "What's so great about the service areas? They're all the same."

He said that, but his body betrayed him by standing up.

Chen Guan remained silent, following quietly behind the two.

Using patrol as an excuse, the three easily bypassed the crowds and entered a dark grove of trees behind them.

The night wind rustled the leaves, carrying a cool breeze.

"What do you think of the protective measures on that transport vehicle?" An Changqing stopped and asked directly.

"That's gone too far." Long Ao crossed his arms, his expression serious this time.

"The vehicle body uses special steel from Rhino Heavy Industries, the tires are embedded with bulletproof fibers, and the chassis has a military-grade blast-proof structure. This is the S-class escort standard, just to transport a few broken bottles?"

Long Ao shook his head: "A waste of talent."

"Perhaps." An Changqing didn't respond to that, but turned his gaze to Chen Guan, who had remained silent: "What did you discover?"

Chen Guan pondered for a moment: "From the time we got on the highway to the time we entered the service area, it took five hours. Qian Yongnian made ten phone calls, each time half an hour apart."

This number caused Long Ao's brows to furrow instantly.

He could understand that wealthy people were busy with official duties, but the fact that they were always spaced half an hour apart seemed strange no matter how you looked at it.

It didn't seem like a normal business transaction; it was more like someone reporting that they were safe.

"That's the problem." An Changqing's face also darkened: "The client kept the most crucial information a closely guarded secret."

"So what do we do now?" Long Ao asked. "Just flip the table?"

"No way." An Changqing immediately shook his head: "We accepted the mission, and we can't take the initiative to overturn the table before Qian Yongnian tears off our relationship. That's the rule of the academy."

His gaze swept across the two faces.

My advice is to keep going.

"However, from now on, we must be careful in everything we do."

Long Ao snorted, which was taken as acquiescence to the plan.

The three reached an agreement, stopped talking, and turned to walk out of the grove.

Meanwhile, hundreds of kilometers away...

In the corner of a noisy underground bar.

A brown paper envelope was placed in front of the woman wearing a trench coat.

Suddenly, a waiter came over like a ghost, put down a photo, and bowed and backed away.

San Tai picked up the photo.

The photo shows the huge black transport truck parked in the service area.

She curled her lip. He's just a rich businessman, why does he have to look for her?

"Hello!"

Her voice caught the attention of the waiter who had spoken earlier.

The waiter quickly approached, bowed, and asked, "Is there anything else?"

"Go back and tell that guy this is the last time. Don't bother me with these kinds of trivial things anymore. I'm very busy lately and don't have time to take on side jobs."

After saying that, San Tai casually stuffed a few banknotes into the waiter's breast pocket.

Upon seeing the money, the waiter's smile became even more respectful: "Yes, I will certainly convey your message to you."

After the waiter left, San Tai picked up the wine glass on the table and drank the red wine in one gulp.

……

The journey on the second day was tedious and boring.

The scenery on both sides of the highway is monotonously repetitive, making one drowsy.

Long Ao stuck his head out of the window, letting the strong wind tousle his half-long hair in order to combat the stuffiness, while An Changqing continued to hold his e-reader, engrossed in reading.

Chen Guan leaned against the car window, seemingly resting with his eyes closed, but his spiritual power silently enveloped the hundred-ton truck in front of him, just as it had yesterday.

Qian Yongnian remained seated in the passenger seat.

But his condition was completely different from yesterday.

The smile on the fat man's face had completely disappeared, replaced by a visible anxiety.

The sweat on his forehead never dried, and he was constantly fiddling with the string of sandalwood prayer beads in his hand.

The most significant change was his phone.

From the moment I set off in the morning, the frequency of the phone ringing decreased from once every half hour to once every fifteen minutes.

The terrain ahead began to undulate, and the straight highway was gradually swallowed up by the continuous mountain range. Several eye-catching words appeared on the roadside sign.

Black Wind Mountain Tunnel Group.

Looking at the name on the sign, Chen Guan had a bad feeling.

Unpleasant memories flooded back.

"This tunnel complex, which is 63 kilometers long, is the most remote section of the entire route and also has the worst signal," An Changqing said softly, gesturing to the map in his hand.

These words took on a different meaning when they reached Chen Guan's ears: wasn't this a place with a high incidence of accidents?

The convoy plunged into the entrance of the first tunnel, where the light was instantly swallowed up, with only the orange overhead lights flashing past overhead one by one.

The roar of the engine was amplified in the narrow space, making it feel particularly oppressive.

Three minutes later.

The sharp screech of brakes ripped through the tunnel's silence.

The immense inertia threw the three people in the car forward violently.

"What's going on?" Long Ao was the first to frown.

Before the driver could answer, Qian Yongnian's distorted scream came through the car's walkie-talkie.

"The road is blocked."

The voice carried an undisguised panic.

"A tanker truck was lying across the middle of the road, it looked like it had overturned."

"Turn around!" Qian Yongnian almost roared, his voice sharp and piercing with fear. "Turn around now, quickly!"

Without him even shouting, the experienced driver had already started jerking the steering wheel, trying to make a U-turn in the not-so-wide tunnel.

But it was too late.

Chen Guan glanced back at the car. At the entrance of the tunnel, several black SUVs had quietly parked.

They lined up in a row, their bright headlights forming a blinding strip of light in the dim light, completely blocking any way out.

This is by no means an accident.

This was a premeditated ambush.

Squeak.

The sound of the car door opening was amplified several times in the deathly silent tunnel.

One after another, figures jumped out of the black SUV behind.

The leader stepped out from the group.

He wasn't wearing a mask, revealing a sharply defined face.

A powerful aura emanated from him, indicating he was at the sixth rank.

Chen Guan nodded to himself; it was largely the same as what he had sensed.