Ita Era

Chapter 42 Going Home (5)

Mumu and Chuyu have already prepared a map. Their first stop is Nanyue County, and their first major stop is Nanshang Province. They will pass through four counties and one city along the way.

Aside from destinations in counties and cities under the jurisdiction of the southern province, most players opted for carpooling after careful consideration. However, carpooling heavily relies on trust within the team, and it's uncertain whether everyone will enjoy the journey.

After finishing their free lunch, the players in the plaza began to gather and set off on their own.

Chu Yu named the team the Fish Team. She bought basic items like flashlights and a large quantity of compressed biscuits—enough for five people to last seven days, unless they ate too much. Water was a different story; it was heavy, and the consumption was high, so Chu Yu only bought one case of bottled water. The empty bottles couldn't be thrown away; they were used for water storage.

Roads are divided into four categories. The first category is expressways, with a total distance of about 3500 kilometers. You only need to drive 500 kilometers a day. At 0.3 yuan per kilometer, it is obviously a consumer product that is out of reach for most players.

The second category is national highways, which are completely toll-free and cover a total distance of about 4200 kilometers, requiring only 600 kilometers to be driven per day. Five people take turns driving, enjoying the scenery along the way, and chatting with friends in the car. From this perspective alone, the casual mode is quite relaxing.

The third category is county roads and township roads.

The fourth category is unnamed roads, where people only know that there is such a road, but the road is not numbered.

Obviously, the national highway is the first choice. Mumu calculated that without air conditioning, it consumes 5 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers, so 42 x 5 would require 210 liters of gasoline. Based on the tank capacity, it would need to be refueled 5 times. To increase the margin for error, it would be refueled once a day. The price of gasoline is 4 yuan, so the total cost would be 840 yuan.

After Mumu's clever calculations, everyone's confidence in returning home increased significantly. Because of the realistic tag, it's unlikely that any monsters or demons will appear. Plus, with the powerful and invincible constables protecting them, as long as the system doesn't interfere, the mission shouldn't be too difficult. Perhaps the purpose of this mission in Ita World is simply to test the players.

Kai drove, Chu Yu sat in the passenger seat, and poor Ding Shi could only sit in the middle of the back seat. Although he wasn't short, he could still squeeze in. On the other hand, Ri Tian on the left had his head touching the ceiling and had to hunch over to fit in.

The car drove out of the exit, and ahead was a 1-kilometer-long road reserved for players. Kai Ge taught everyone how to use the clutch. Ri Tian on the left and Mu Mu on the right peeked out, crowding Ding Shi so much that he had nowhere to dodge.

Leaving the dedicated lane, Kai skillfully merged into the traffic. Indeed, there were cars, robot-driven vehicles, and robot pedestrians.

As the car moved forward, Chu Yu was a little nervous. She looked at the map and searched for road signs. The car entered a roundabout, and Kai Ge asked, "Yu Yu, which exit?"

“Take another turn.” Chu Yu rotated the map 90 degrees and looked at it for a while: “Aren’t there any signs for the museum? Then go up at the third intersection.”

Ding had a bad feeling and leaned out to look at the map in Chu Yu's hand in the passenger seat. Chu Yu didn't notice and continued to give directions: "Ping'an Road, turn left, turn left, turn left onto Ping'an Road."

After turning left and driving for a few minutes, the car went onto a bridge. Chu Yu was shocked: Where did this bridge come from? She had never seen a map, but she considered herself quite smart and could understand train maps at travel agencies. Why were the road maps different?

Chu Yu lay on the map searching, and Ding Shi pointed to something. Chu Yu saw it clearly and suddenly realized that the bridge they had just crossed was not a river bridge, but an overpass. So he said, "Make a U-turn ahead, prepare to turn right, and then take Chenggong Road."

Kai: "Received."

Chu Yu turned to look at Ding Shi: "You can read a map?"

Ding Shi nodded: "I joined a cycling team in high school, and the first skill I learned was how to read a map." Paper maps have almost no advantage over navigation. But only almost. Paper maps have one feature: they can use colors to distinguish the elevation differences of the terrain.

Besides cycling teams, many backpackers and off-road enthusiasts also use paper maps, creating their own routes where none exist. Electronic navigation systems, on the other hand, will tell you: "Turn around."

Chu Yu pursed her lips and looked at Ding Shi. Ding Shi was puzzled. Chu Yu said, "I asked you what you can do, why didn't you tell me?"

Ding Shi said, "This isn't anything special. I also know hand-to-hand combat, firearms, climbing..."

Chu Yu called out, "Brother Kai, pull over, you can come."

The two switched places, with Chu Yu squeezing into the middle seat, while Ding Shi took over navigation. In less than five minutes, the car left Nanyin County and headed towards Nanyue County.

Ding put the map into the car drawer, took out his map bag, pulled out the 20 maps of the southern province unit, and examined them one by one in order.

Mumu whispered in Chuyu's ear, "He's a professional navigator."

Chu Yu whispered to Mu Mu, "I'm a professional at judging people."

The two laughed together, and Ritian used his bone-shrinking technique to give the two girls as much space as possible.

Ding Shi looked at the road sign ahead and said, "Brother Kai, we'll leave the national highway in 5 kilometers and turn onto Nannan Township. Pay attention to the road signs. If we go through Nannan Township and then get back onto the national highway, we can save 20 kilometers of travel."

Kai: "Received." The car drove along the national highway, and a police car parked at the intersection turned on its lights, followed the car, and sounded its siren.

Everyone turned to look, and Chu Yu asked, "What's going on?"

Kai said, "I don't know."

Ding Shi said, "Pull over to the side of the road first."

The car pulled over, and a police car followed behind. Two robotic police officers got out of the police car. They looked exactly alike, with obvious robotic features on their faces.

Police Officer A knocked on the car window, and Kai rolled down the window. Police Officer A said, "You've crossed a solid line."

Kai smiled broadly and said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He had just overtaken a robot-driven three-wheeled vehicle on the solid line.

Police Officer A said, "A fine of 10 yuan."

X-Men B tore off a piece of paper and handed it over.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It only cost 10 yuan; the system was quite user-friendly. Chu Yu handed Kai Ge 10 yuan. Detective A glanced inside, took the 10 yuan, and said, "Driver's license."

Kai: "Hmm?"

X-Men A: "Driver's license."

Kai: "Do I need a driver's license?"

X-Men A: "I need your driver's license."

Kai whispered, "I didn't."

X-Men A took a step back, his voice immediately changing to a fierce tone: "Everyone, get out of the car immediately." He reached for his Taser.

X-Men B, defending from the side, shouted, "Take your hands off the steering wheel, get out of the car, everyone get out!"

The five men obediently got out of the car, and Kai was pinned to the car and handcuffed.

Chu Yu stepped forward to negotiate, asking, "Officer, how should this be handled?"

Police Officer A replied: "Driving without a license results in three days of detention, or a fine of 300 yuan."

Chu Yu replied without hesitation, "I'll pay." As she spoke, she took out 30 bills and handed them over.

Ding Shi was quite surprised. Many people would ask themselves first when faced with this situation: Is Brother Kai worth 300 yuan? For the sake of the team, giving up Brother Kai is a good choice.

Police Officer A scanned the banknotes with his titanium eyes, unlocked the handcuffs, and said, "Please do not challenge the law. Next time, you will be detained for 30 days or fined 3000 yuan."

Chu Yu and Kai Ge replied in unison, "Yes, yes."

X-Men B asked the other four, "Do you need us to call a tow truck?"

Chu Yu was startled and asked, "How much?"

Police Officer B estimated the distance and said, "200 yuan."

Mumu had a sudden inspiration: "Can we push the cart?"

Police Officer B: "Occupying traffic for non-traffic activities will result in a fine of 20."

Ding Shi pulled out a driver's license, handed it to X-Men B, and said, "I have a license."

Let's all watch Ding Shi's video: Do ​​you have a license? Why aren't you driving?
Faced with everyone's questioning gazes, Ding Shi was startled and asked timidly, "Shouldn't you need a license to drive? Isn't driving with a license common sense? Why are you all acting like you've seen a ghost?"
(End of this chapter)