Highway Survival: My Wuling Hongguang was crammed full of school beauties

Chapter 20 Moral Blackmail?

"See that?" Cao Shuang turned off the channel and said to Chu Yao, whose face had turned pale.

"This is what I told you about, the new meat grinder. The danger used to come from the gray fog, zombies, and random conflicts. Now, the danger comes more from the exploitation and oppression of our own kind. Fuel has become the new shackles and credential for rank."

Looking at the faintly opposing camps in the distance, at the numb, angry, or humble faces in the queue, and then recalling the arrogant old lady Li and her son who had cut in line earlier, Chu Yao felt a deep chill.

She had initially thought the gas station represented hope, but now she realized that the threshold for that hope was so high that it could drive most people to despair.

"Then... what should we do?" Chu Yao's voice was hoarse. "Do we also have to hand over supplies? We... she wanted to say that we actually have more fuel than we need, but she didn't dare to say it out loud."

Cao Shuang's gaze swept over the territories of those forces, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

"Hand it over? On what grounds?" A cold smile curled at the corner of his lips. "Let's see how things go first. We're not in a hurry."

He wasn't in a hurry, of course; his "fuel tank" was always full. He was here mainly to observe the situation, gather information, and incidentally... see if there were any "suitable" targets.

The system's recruitment post hasn't received any high-quality responses yet, but this crowded and diverse gas station might be a good "hunting ground".

The Wuling Hongguang slowly moved with the flow of traffic to a position close to the edge of the "Freight Gang's" territory.

This is where the queues are the longest and the most chaotic. Members of the "freight gang," wearing dirty vests and carrying tools, weave through the convoy, shouting to maintain "order" and checking the vehicles that want to refuel, assessing how much fuel they can squeeze out.

Cries of pleading, haggling, and impatient scolding filled the air.

The leader glanced at Cao Shuang, saw it was a Wuling van, pursed his lips, and didn't pay much attention.

"Heh." Cao Shuang didn't care at all. His gaze was more focused on the core of those forces.

Heavy trucks resemble steel fortresses, buses form mobile slums, special vehicles gleam with a cold, hard industrial sheen, and sports cars shimmer with expensive paint.

There seems to be a delicate balance and confrontation among the four forces, with each side wary of the others.

The stench of blood seemed even stronger in the air. In the distance, in the shadows near the main gas station building, lay several unattended corpses, seemingly left unattended.

……

Like an old turtle in a mud pit, the Wuling Hongguang slowly made its way to the front of the refueling line.

Just a dozen meters further ahead was the area of ​​gas stations that had been fenced off by the "freight gang" with their vehicles, debris, and menacing-looking members.

The air was filled with the stench of cheap fuel, sweat, and blood, a mixture that made one want to vomit.

Through the car window, Chu Yao could clearly see the faces of those "freight gang" members.

Most of them wore dirty work clothes or vests, their bare skin was covered with messy tattoos, and they carried steel pipes, wrenches, machetes, and some even had something wrapped in cloth that looked like a pistol tucked into their waistbands.

They brazenly scrutinized every approaching vehicle and its owner, their eyes filled with assessment, greed, and undisguised contempt, as if they were looking at a flock of lambs to the slaughter.

Several men and women, dressed in rags and looking pale, were bowing and scraping as they spoke to a leader with a scar on his face. Then, they shakily pulled out half a pack of biscuits, a nearly empty bottle of water, or a few pieces of meat jerky of indistinguishable quality from their pockets and handed them over.

Scarface casually weighed it in his hand, nodded, and one of his underlings waved them through, directing them to an empty gas station.

If the amount handed over is too little, or if the other party is dissatisfied, they will immediately be shoved and cursed, or even physically snatched. If the car owner resists even slightly, they will be punched and kicked until they hand over more items, or they will be dragged to the side of the road and abandoned like a dead dog.

"How...how could they do this?" Chu Yao's face turned pale, and she instinctively gripped Cao Shuang's arm tightly, her voice filled with fear and incomprehensible anger.

"How is this any different from robbery? This gas station is clearly..."

"Shh." Cao Shuang gently slapped her hand away, his gaze calmly sweeping over the area.

"Now, this is the 'rule.' Here, violence is law, and resources are power. If you don't understand, learn to read it."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a burst of urgent horn blares and shouts of abuse came from the side.

It was that modified car covered in anime stickers again; it belonged to Grandma Li and her son!

Taking advantage of the moment when Cao Shuang was observing the road ahead and slowing down slightly, they once again used the same trick, suddenly turning the steering wheel so that the car almost grazed the front of the Wuling Hongguang, forcefully squeezing half a car length in front of Cao Shuang, and then stopping with a "screech," blocking Cao Shuang's way.

"Damn it, it's those two bastards again."

Cao Shuang's eyes turned cold, but this time he didn't immediately step forward.

Because he saw that after the modified car stopped, the driver's side window quickly rolled down, and Old Lady Li's mean face popped out again, but not towards Cao Shuang.

Instead, he turned to a member of the "freight gang" who was about to guide a vehicle to refuel, and his face instantly filled with a fawning smile that was almost distorted.

"Oh dear, young man, please have mercy, please have mercy!" Old Mrs. Li's voice was shrill and sharp, with an exaggerated sobbing tone.

"My wife is old and her bones feel like they're going to fall apart from sitting in the car so much. Her heart isn't feeling well either. Could you please let us fill up the gas tank first? We just need a little bit, just a little bit! My son is a good driver, he'll drive very fast!"

The "freight gang" member who was being stopped was a bald, burly man who was impatiently waving people away when he was taken aback by Old Lady Li's actions.

He frowned as he looked at her and her flashy car, then glanced at his blond son inside, who looked cowardly and didn't dare to get out.

"Get in line! Can't you see everyone's in line?" the bald, burly man roared irritably.

"Big brother, big brother, please be lenient!"

Old Mrs. Li persisted, even leaning half her body out of the car window. She somehow produced a small packet that looked like beef jerky and tried to stuff it into the bald, burly man's hand.

"We're really in a hurry! Look, I have some food here, just a little something for you! Let us catch our breath, it'll only be a moment!"

The bald, burly man glanced at the meager amount of beef jerky, his eyes flashing with undisguised contempt. He shoved Old Lady Li's hand away with such force that she almost fell out of the car window.

"Get out of the way! You think you can cut in line with this little thing? If you keep nagging, believe me, I'll smash your car!"

Old Mrs. Li was pushed and hit the car window frame, crying out in pain. The fawning look on her face instantly turned into disbelief and anger.

She's lived to such an old age, and in Shanghai she's always been able to act like a spoiled brat and throw tantrums without any problem. When has she ever been treated like this before?

In front of so many people, he was so rudely rejected and shoved by a "lower class"?

"You...you dare push me?!" Old Mrs. Li's voice suddenly rose, so shrill it almost pierced the surrounding noise.

"Do you know who I am? I'm a native of Shanghai! My son is a college student! How dare you, a stinky sports car driver, treat me like this in the apocalypse? Is there no law anymore?"

Don't you understand the concept of respecting the elderly and caring for the young? Where is your leader? Call your leader here! I want to file a complaint! This is robbery!

"Once the apocalypse is over, I'm going to call the police and have you arrested..."