Just like that, the vehicle drove smoothly for about an hour. The soft music on the car radio cut off once more, and the host Beiguan's voice rang out again.
This time, he did something rare, introducing the upcoming itinerary ahead of schedule.
“Dear tourists, before we arrive at the second service area gas station on Yefu No. 1 Expressway, the host would like to introduce a unique man-made landscape in the station's front plaza—the Mountain of Ten Thousand Blades.”
“The Mountain of Ten Thousand Blades is a masterpiece of modern steelmaking aesthetics, crafted from the most advanced specialty steel.”
“Its entire body is silver-gray, built along the mountain's slope. It stands over a hundred meters tall with a majestic presence. From a distance, it looks like a sharp sword piercing the heavens, showcasing the power and beauty of modern industry.”
“The Mountain of Ten Thousand Blades is not just a scenic attraction; it is also a symbol of industrial development in Yefu District, carrying the history and future vision of Yefu District's progress. It is a sightseeing spot that tourists absolutely must not miss.”
The host rambled on, praising the Mountain of Ten Thousand Blades to high heaven.
A plaza in front of a gas station?
That was a rather unusual term. It was the first time Bai Ci had ever heard of such a thing.
Instances really never failed to broaden one's horizons.
As soon as the host finished his introduction, the mechanical voice of the car's navigation system chimed in right on cue:
“Arriving at Yefu No. 1 Expressway service area gas station in one kilometer. Please confirm whether to enter. Repeating: please confirm whether to enter the gas station.”
Here it came.
Bai Ci sat up straight and looked ahead. She could already see a faint glow in the distance, which was likely the lights of the second gas station.
She reached out and tapped the confirmation button on the center console.
The vehicle adjusted its direction, gradually slowed down, and finally came to a smooth stop in the self-service fueling area.
Just like the first gas station, the facilities here were very new and the lighting was bright. However, there were still no staff members or other vehicles in sight, leaving the area feeling exceptionally empty.
Bai Ci unbuckled her seatbelt and prepared to get out of the car to stamp her book. But when she looked up and clearly saw the location of the stamp station and the Mountain of Ten Thousand Blades the host had described, she froze.
What on earth was this?
The so-called landscape before her was no masterpiece of modern steelmaking. It was literally a mountain of knives.
The entire mountain was pieced together from countless sharp, long blades and daggers, roughly as tall as a person. The blades pointed upward, gleaming coldly and reflecting a piercing glare under the bright lights.
It certainly lived up to the name of a 'front plaza'—you could only stand in front of it. Who would actually dare to climb up and experience it?
Looking at the obvious marker of the stamp station, Bai Ci felt a sense of impending doom.
Who was supposed to climb this mountain of knives?
Oh, right. It was her.
The stamp station was right at the peak of this mountain of knives. To collect her second stamp, she had to climb it.
One careless move and she would be slashed by the razor-sharp blades. Long before she was cut to pieces with her bones exposed, she would probably bleed to death.
Bai Ci explored the areas of the plaza that weren't part of the mountain of knives. The entire gas station's front plaza was completely empty, with no signs or anything resembling a clue.
As for the knives, she tested them with the sleeve of her jacket. They were incredibly sharp; just touching them sliced off a portion of her sleeve.
Furthermore, they seemed to grow firmly out of the Mountain of Ten Thousand Blades, making them impossible to easily pull out and use.
There was no turning back. If she wanted to collect the second stamp, she had to bite the bullet and climb.
Bai Ci took a deep breath, lifted her foot, and tentatively took her first step onto the mountain of knives.
She chose a gap between the blades to place her foot, carefully squeezing into the space to find her footing.
To her surprise, this first step went incredibly smoothly.
She stood firmly, without being nicked by the blades at all.
Bai Ci felt a slight sense of relief. She was glad she had a slender build. As long as she chose her path carefully enough, she might be able to climb to the top with only minor injuries.
As for getting up completely unscathed, she didn't dare to dream of such a thing.
Bai Ci began to shimmy upward step by step, carefully deliberating over where to place her feet each time. Her progress was as slow as a snail's crawl.
The blades acted like fragmented mirrors, reflecting her solemn expression in shattered pieces.
But as she climbed higher, Bai Ci gradually noticed something off.
It was going a bit too smoothly.
She only had one pair of eyes on her face, meaning she could only see the blades in front of her. It was already difficult to keep track of the blades on her sides, let alone the ones behind her.
No matter how careful or slender she was, it should have been impossible to avoid touching a single blade during the entire climb.
Yet, she had already covered nearly a quarter of the distance and hadn't sustained a single scratch. It couldn't be that her body's pain receptors had gone numb, could it?
Making a subtle movement, Bai Ci gave herself a pinch.
It hurt.
Something was wrong. This was definitely not right.
Bai Ci steadied herself and deliberately adjusted her posture.
She slowly raised her right hand, reaching toward an exceptionally sharp blade nearby.
Injuries to extremities like fingers or toes might cause pain or limit her movement, but they wouldn't be life-threatening.
Bai Ci intentionally slowed her pace, inching closer to the edge while keeping her eyes glued to the distance between her fingertip and the blade.
Just when she estimated she was about to touch the blade, the tactile feedback from her hand told her that she had missed.
She reached out to touch the blade again, moving a bit faster this time. The backward tilt of the blade became noticeably more pronounced.
The shift was subtle, but it precisely avoided any contact with her fingertip.
She tried it several more times, and it was the same every single time.
Whenever a part of her body was about to touch a blade, the blade would actively tilt away, as if deliberately avoiding her.
Were they alive? Or was this some kind of mechanism?
The wariness in Bai Ci's heart gradually dissipated, and she grew bolder.
However, she did not let her guard down. She still chose paths where the blades were relatively sparse, though she quickened her pace.
After all, nobody knew if there was a limit to how much these blades would yield.
The rest of the climb became much smoother.
Bai Ci stopped being overly tense. Even if her footing was slightly off, the surrounding blades would tilt away in time to clear a safe space for her.
After climbing for about ten minutes, she finally reached the summit of the mountain of knives. Aside from being a little tired from the physical exertion, she was completely unharmed.
The summit was a flat platform paved with smooth, black stone slabs.
Bai Ci stood in place and rested for a moment. As her fatigue eased slightly, a sudden wave of hunger washed over her.
Was this a genuine physiological response, or was some mechanism at play?
She wasn't sure yet.
Bai Ci scanned the platform on the summit and quickly spotted the stamp station not far away.
Unlike the stamp machine at the first gas station, the stamp station here was located inside a brightly lit building.
A sign hung by the entrance of the building, with four large, red characters written on it: “Buffet Restaurant.”
Well, now it was clear. The mechanism was indeed at play.
Rate on N.U.
