Highway 10

Bai Ci stiffened her neck, forcing down the wave of nausea. She picked up the empty plate from the table and walked toward the stamp area.

The stamp machine here looked different from the one she had seen at the first gas station. This one had two platforms side by side.

Following the instructions, Bai Ci placed the empty dining plate on the left platform, then pulled the red-covered Stamp Book from her trench coat pocket and placed it on the right platform.

Once both items were in place, the empty plate on the left was pulled in for verification. Simultaneously, the platform on the right pressed down, holding the Stamp Book in place.

After about three seconds, the empty plate on the left was fully retracted, and the pressed-down platform on the right lifted back up.

Bai Ci picked up the Stamp Book and looked down. A bright red stamp had appeared on the second blank space.

It read: Yefu District Traffic Management Bureau Stamp.

Could the next one be the stamp of the Yefu District Tourism Bureau? Bai Ci speculated.

Tucking the Stamp Book away, she walked out the door and saw the familiar red vending machine. The rules for this one were exactly the same as the first station.

Bai Ci thought about it but decided not to buy anything.

She hadn't even used her first can yet. Considering the unknown circumstances ahead, there might be other times when she would need to use her coins.

She turned and headed down the mountain of knives. The descent was much easier than the climb, taking her only a few minutes.

Not having to carefully plan her footing made the descent incredibly fast. Even when her steps were a bit hurried, those sharp blades would still precisely tilt away, leaving a safe space for her.

Opening the car door and sliding into the driver's seat, the first thing Bai Ci did was look at the navigation map on the center console.

Sure enough, completing the stamp-collecting task directly deducted three hours from her travel time. The estimated arrival time on the screen had dropped from nine hours to six hours.

The autopilot program initiated, and the vehicle smoothly departed from the second gas station, heading toward the next leg of the journey.

Just a few minutes into the drive, Bai Ci noticed the light outside the windows growing dim. Immediately after, a fine drizzle pattered against the glass, leaving dark red streaks in its wake.

It was red rain.

Or to be precise, a rain of blood.

Bai Ci tried to match what she was seeing with the Eighteen Levels of Hell, and it roughly corresponded to the Blood Pond Hell.

This was also why she concluded that the red liquid was blood.

The red rain poured heavier and heavier. The dense downpour blurred Bai Ci's vision, leaving nothing but a heavy, oppressive red before her eyes.

The range of the headlights shrank as well, limited to the small patch of road she would run over in the very next second.

Fortunately, the car was on autopilot and didn't rely on the driver's line of sight. It continued to glide smoothly along the expressway, completely unaffected.

Just then, the gentle, flat voice of the radio host, Beiguan, echoed through the car speakers once again.

“Dear tourists, if you encounter red rain falling from the sky, this indicates that you are currently passing through the outer section of the Yefu District industrial zone.”

“Due to a lack of oversight in the industrial zone, long-term high-pollution manufacturing operations have resulted in a high concentration of pollutants in the air along this stretch of road.”

“Therefore, the occurrence of red rainfall is a normal part of the industrial environment in this area. There is no need for panic, dear tourists.”

“As a friendly reminder, please do not open your windows and avoid contact with the red rainwater.”

“The rainwater contains high concentrations of industrial pollutants. Contact may cause physical discomfort, affecting your travel experience and even your physical health.”

“Please remain safely inside the vehicle and enjoy the industrial landscape along the way.”

Leaning back in her seat, Bai Ci listened to the host's solemn nonsense and couldn't help but mock him in her mind.

What a convenient, make-it-up-as-you-go excuse. What kind of industrial pollution could produce such a thick, red rain?

And high-concentration pollutants? With rain like this falling, and the distance being so short over such flat terrain, what is the ecological reserve ahead supposed to do?

Just wait to die?

Mocking aside, Bai Ci turned up the interior lights slightly and spoke aloud to herself, deliberately adopting a slightly annoyed tone.

“Oh dear. Back in the Buffet Restaurant, I think I found a letter behind the introduction sheet. I was in such a rush that I didn't get a chance to read it. I have no idea what's written on it. How careless of me.”

As she spoke, she pulled the neatly folded letter from her pocket and began to read it aloud, word by word.

The moment she read the line, “She is my wife,” a sudden burst of static hissed from the car radio.

However, the static lasted for only a few seconds before quickly vanishing, as if it were nothing more than a minor signal transmission glitch.

Immediately after, the voice of the host, Beiguan, rang out again, still in that same flat, indifferent tone.

“Dear tourists, we are terribly sorry. There was a brief signal fluctuation just now, which may have disrupted your listening experience.”

“Next, you will officially enter the core industrial zone of Yefu District. Multiple temperature fluctuations will occur within this section, which are normal phenomena resulting from industrial production. Please rest assured, tourists; a quick nap will get you through it smoothly.”

Signal fluctuation? As if she'd believe that.

Bai Ci hadn't expected the host to be so composed, managing to calmly change the subject even now.

She refolded the letter, slipped it back into her pocket, and pondered what she might encounter next.

She had already experienced one temperature-related obstacle. That left only the Ice Mountain Hell, and a choice between Volcano Hell and Steamer Hell.

...Actually, there was one more that could be related.

Would the Copper Column Hell materialize just like the Mountain of Knives Hell did?

The red rain outside showed no signs of stopping, the sound of the droplets battering the windows growing increasingly dense.

Not long after the host Beiguan finished speaking, Bai Ci felt the temperature inside the car begin to drop, bit by bit.

The once-comfortable cabin temperature rapidly plummeted to freezing, as if someone had suddenly locked her inside a freezer.

She wrapped her long trench coat tightly around herself, curling up in her seat.

Although the trench coat provided some insulation, it ultimately couldn't withstand this sudden, extreme cold. The freezing air seeped through her collar and cuffs, causing her entire body to shiver uncontrollably as her teeth began to chatter.

If only I had known...

Forget it. In this kind of temperature, even an extra down jacket wouldn't have made a difference.

Shivering in a daze, Bai Ci couldn't help but let her mind wander. However, she was never one to dwell on things that had already happened, and she quickly cast her regrets aside.

The sin corresponding to the Ice Mountain Hell seemed to be...

She couldn't remember.

In such a low temperature, even her thoughts seemed to have slowed down and become sluggish.

When she had tried to recall it earlier, she could at least conjure up some vague, distorted images, even if they weren't entirely clear. Now, under these conditions, she couldn't remember a single thing.

But she probably hadn't committed most of the sins in the Eighteen Levels of Hell, right?

Just as the blades on the mountain of knives had avoided her, the ice mountain wouldn't actually freeze her to death, right?

“Radio, change to some lively music. This light music is making me feel even colder,” Bai Ci muttered.