American comic: From Beijing with Love, starting with a mutant.

"Master! Grandpa! Ancestor! Can you please not drive straight into that pothole? My herniated disc is going to fall off!"

Stephen Chow jumped up from the back seat, his head hitting the car window with a loud thud.

The desert wind, mixed with the smell of the driver's pipe, pierced his nostrils, giving him a splitting headache.

The effects of last night's "Licorice and Cistanche Tonic Soup" hadn't worn off, and it had stirred up his internal energy into chaos.

In order not to delay the trip of this "special envoy to the capital", the old captain, based on the principle of "working as hard as possible to avoid dying", insisted on cramming him into this dilapidated off-road vehicle whose shock absorption relied entirely on human cushioning.

Fatty Wang!

If you don't reimburse my travel expenses at three times the rate for remote areas, I'll take you down with me!

Stephen Chow clutched his aching lower back, his face filled with utter despair.

From off-road vehicles to buses, from buses to minibuses, from minibuses to green-skinned trains, and from green-skinned trains to high-speed trains.

It features a comprehensive and multi-dimensional form of torture.

After a bumpy ride, by the time he finally stood on the square of Jiuquan South Railway Station, his body nearly falling apart, it was already pitch black.

He shivered in the cold wind, looking around.

I can tell from their eyes that they've been stood up.

I called Polaris to pick me up when I was at the bus station, but I haven't seen a single person yet.

What's even more infuriating is that she clearly promised me!

Stephen Chow sighed deeply. What Zhang Wuji's mother said was indeed a wise saying: the more beautiful a woman is, the more likely she is to deceive people.

Ugh......

People's hearts are no longer what they used to be; the world is going to the dogs...

"I can't take it anymore, I have to lie down right away. If I keep going like this, the compensation for my work injury won't even be enough."

Stephen Chow took out his phone and opened the "Unethical Map" app, where a long red line appeared on the screen representing the route.

Distance: 282 km.

Okay, let's wait and see.

Stephen Chow put his phone in his pocket and squatted by the roadside, sighing.

Just then, a black cab driver wearing a leather jacket approached him: "Hey buddy, wanna go?"

Zhou Xingxing's eyelids twitched: "How much?"

The driver held up two fingers.

"Two hundred? Sure!" Stephen Chow stood up.

"Two thousand! No bargaining! That's a no-man's-land; you couldn't even rent a wheelchair for two hundred!"

"You could have just robbed me, and you're actually being merciful by offering me a ride? Did your car grow up on fertilizer or run on gasoline and Moutai?"

"You think it's too expensive? I think it's too expensive too! Then you can walk there! You won't be able to get a taxi here even if you wait until dawn, except for me." The driver was fearless.

Before Stephen Chow could even begin his lecture on the core socialist values, a roar of engines exploded from afar.

Immediately afterwards, a military green Jeep sped up.

That big jeep showed no sign of slowing down!

"Whoosh!"

The jeep swerved three meters away from Stephen Chow and came to a steady stop in front of the two of them.

The most outrageous thing is that this car not only doesn't make a screeching sound of tires rubbing against the ground, but it also doesn't kick up much dust.

Stephen Chow crouched down to take a closer look...

Good guy!

The jeep's four wheels were suspended five centimeters off the ground!

So she just sat in the car, put it in neutral, stepped on the gas, and then used her abilities to make the jeep hover and move forward?

The car window rolled down.

Polaris's long green hair fluttered in the wind, and he wore large sunglasses, one hand resting on the steering wheel.

"Get on the bus, you country bumpkin."

Stephen Chow snorted at the unlicensed taxi driver next to him, opened the car door, and plopped down in the back seat.

"At least you still have a conscience, knowing to come and greet the emperor."

Just as he was about to lean back in his seat and catch his breath, a head popped out from the passenger seat.

Soft serve ice cream.

Now her complexion is rosy, and she has completely lost the inferiority complex she once had.

"Brother Zhou." A soft-serve ice cream box, emitting a slight chill, was handed over.

"Sister Lorna said you drank too much. This is mint ice cream with kudzu root and hangover-relieving strawberries to cool you down."

Stephen Chow's eyes lit up.

He snatched the cardboard box, scooped out a large spoonful, and stuffed it into his mouth.

The sweetness of strawberries blends with the refreshing coolness of mint, while the magical medicinal effects of kudzu root fill the mouth.

"call!"

My headache is gone, and my backache is gone.

This is a miraculous healing potion!

Even the nausea I felt from eating dirt earlier has completely disappeared!

"Cool!"

"Little Softie! This thing absolutely needs a patent! Apply for it tomorrow! Our Bureau 749 is going to make a fortune again!"

"I'll calculate your technology investment as equity, and we'll split the profits 20/80, I'll get 80% and you get 20%, isn't that fair?"

The soft-serve ice cream was amused by him, and she lowered her head and smiled with her lips pursed.

Lorna scoffed and floored the gas pedal.

The jeep took off and soared into the night.

The unlicensed taxi driver was left standing there, bewildered in the wind.

What the hell just flew out like that?

Half an hour later.

In Jiuquan city, there is a barbecue stall with a lively, bustling atmosphere.

Stephen Chow held the menu, carefully calculating his expenses.

"Boss, ten skewers of lamb kidneys—no, ten skewers of regular lamb, five skewers of beef tendon, and two grilled naan breads to fill my stomach!"

"We'll skip the beer; we brought our own thermos and water."

Lorna snatched the menu and slammed it on the table.

"Fifty skewers of lamb, twenty skewers of lamb kidneys, ten roasted lamb trotters, and two cases of beer!"

"Hey! Hey! Hey! This is over the limit!" Stephen Chow hurriedly grabbed the menu.

"I'm treating. Recently, Lao Gao has been insisting on giving me a project bonus, saying it's a chief expert's allowance. The amount in my account is so much that I'm getting annoyed."

Well, is this blatant showing off?

Stephen Chow withdrew his outstretched hand and straightened his tie.

"You should have said so earlier! Boss, also add a plate of cold preserved eggs and a bowl of mutton offal soup!"

Polaris rolled his eyes, opened a bottle of beer, and chugged it straight from the bottle.

Seeing the two eating normally, Stephen Chow breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's alright, it's alright."

"What's so good?" Polaris asked, gnawing on a lamb's hoof.

"You didn't pick up any strong Northeastern accents, and you didn't call me 'Brother Zhou, what are you doing here?'"

Polaris stared at him like he was crazy, "Has your brain been blown out of shape by the sandstorm?"

The soft-serve ice cream vendor handed him a tissue: "Brother Zhou, how many places have you been to these past few days?"

Stephen Chow wiped the grease from his mouth: "Don't even mention it. From Henan to the Northwest, my old bones nearly gave out on the road. How's it going for you guys? Those old scholars didn't treat you like guinea pigs, did they?"

"Who would dare? Old Gao treats me like royalty. Yesterday, a new technician tried to record my work schedule, and the old man immediately berated him and told him to get out."

"They even stewed a free-range chicken for me today, and stuffed it with such thick ginseng roots." She gestured with her hand to indicate the height.

"Where's Xiaoruan?"

"The cold drink truck is doing very well."

"Everyone's tired from working overtime, but eating ice cream will stop their headaches. There are always long lines of people waiting for them!"

"That's good. I was worried you guys would get sick from being cooped up for too long. The UV rays are strong here, did you bring enough sunscreen?"

"Old Gao bought a case for us."

Polaris pointed to the soft-serve ice cream, "But it's no use, she turns into sunscreen ice cream every day now."

"Sunscreen ice cream? What kind of cutting-edge technology is this?"

"Eating it can protect against ultraviolet rays."

"A path to wealth! This is an incredible path to wealth!"

"Physical sun protection combined with a delightful taste – this stuff, if applied to Xiaohongshu (a Chinese social media platform), would definitely be a sunscreen miracle that drives countless girls crazy!"

"Tomorrow! I'll call Director Wang first thing tomorrow morning to apply for company registration! I've already thought of a name: 'Sunscreen Assassin'! We're going to make a killing!"