Chu Jiangyue accepted the Crystal Core and then handed the girl two steamed buns.
Confirming she had no other business, Chu Jiangyue started the engine, drove out of the service area, and returned to the highway.
"Big sister, where are we heading now?"
Seeing the car back on the highway, the girl asked.
"I don’t know, just going wherever."
Chu Jiangyue’s idea was to just keep moving forward, eventually reaching T City.
She wasn’t sure if her team would be faster or if Ban Huafang would finish building the safe passage sooner.
Hearing Chu Jiangyue’s words, the girl couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
Given how tough the world is now, without any plan, if an accident happens along the way, wouldn’t their lives be in jeopardy?
Even though Chu Jiangyue is the leader, she can’t disregard everyone’s lives, right?
"Big sister, just wandering around aimlessly like this, isn’t it a bit risky? What if something happens..."
"My surname is Chu, and I own Jianglin Hotel. You can call me Boss Chu."
Due to Jiang Zhenzhen and Liu Yiyi, Chu Jiangyue developed PTSD with the word "sister." Hearing someone call her "sister" felt like a green tea girl calling her.
However, the girl’s words seemed like she was trying to teach her how to do things, which made Chu Jiangyue uncomfortable.
Since she felt uncomfortable, Chu Jiangyue started correcting the girl’s way of addressing her.
The girl clearly did not expect such a reaction from Chu Jiangyue and was momentarily puzzled.
Chu Jiangyue didn’t say anything further and concentrated on driving.
She suddenly missed the days when someone else took turns driving. She planned to discuss with Shen Zhigui and the others during the next break whether they wanted to ride with her.
The conditions remain the same—just take turns driving.
Riding with her could save on rental costs, a very cost-effective deal.
The subsequent drive on the highway went smoothly, taking less than two hours to exit the highway.
However, this area was not yet T City’s territory, but to Chu Jiangyue, it was desolate on the highway, making it hard to find anyone even if they wanted to scavenge bodies.
"What is this place, Big Sis... Boss Chu?"
The girl initially wanted to call her "Big Sister," but seeing Chu Jiangyue’s expressionless face, she changed it to "Boss Chu."
Recalling Chu Jiangyue’s earlier claim of being the owner of Jianglin Hotel, the girl’s heart felt even more imbalanced.
She didn’t show it yet because she managed her emotions quite well.
Although Chu Jiangyue sensed something off about the girl, she wasn’t concerned and didn’t pay much attention.
"Host, host, we scanned a survivor camp 1000 meters ahead to our left!"
Little Fox was lazily sitting in Chu Jiangyue’s passenger seat but unexpectedly detected a survivor camp, and it seemed like there were quite a few people.
As the name implies, a survivor camp has fewer people than a base but establishes a fixed survival point.
Without needing prompting, Little Fox already informed Chu Jiangyue of everything it detected.
Hearing Little Fox’s report, Chu Jiangyue considered bringing the people back to Jianglin Hotel.
Then, following Little Fox’s directions, Chu Jiangyue adjusted her course.
The people in the back, although unsure why Chu Jiangyue had changed course, followed suit due to their trust in her.
The girl sitting in the back seat furrowed her brows slightly as she saw Chu Jiangyue suddenly change direction.
It became clearer that when Chu Jiangyue said "just going wherever," she truly meant it.
If anything arose along the way, they could change route at any time; a strategy not even worth making.
"Why did we suddenly change direction?"
Though dissatisfied with Chu Jiangyue’s actions, the girl still asked when noticing the change in direction.
Chu Jiangyue, however, had no time to deal with her, flooring the accelerator to reach the location Little Fox mentioned for the survivor camp as quickly as possible.
When Chu Jiangyue parked, the girl also saw the survivor camp.
She didn’t quite understand why Chu Jiangyue drove there specifically.
’Little Fox, promotional flyers.’
Chu Jiangyue called Little Fox in her mind.
"Received! Host, please wait."
Anywhere with people is a potential customer for Jianglin Hotel, and Little Fox surely knew Chu Jiangyue’s plan.
Just a few promotional flyers, a minor energy expense for it, hardly worth mentioning.
The girl finally saw the surplus Jianglin Hotel flyers in Chu Jiangyue’s hands when she got out of the car.
Before she could ask about them, Chu Jiangyue had already stepped out with the materials.
Then Shen Zhigui, Jin Chuyu, Ling Feng, and others got out of the car, all staying by Chu Jiangyue’s side.
Seeing these people around her, Chu Jiangyue’s lips curled slightly.
Being protected feels quite good.
"Stop! Where are you from, and what do you want here?"
Chu Jiangyue’s group didn’t look easily provoked, making the gatekeeper nervous yet still dutifully blocking their way.
"Hello, we are from Jianglin Hotel in City B, passing by here and interested in doing some business with you."
After speaking, Chu Jiangyue flipped her hand, producing a steamed bun and a large meat bun.
These are staple foods that should attract many people.
Sure enough, when Chu Jiangyue brought out the steamed bun and meat bun, the gatekeeper’s eyes widened.
"A hundred-year-old steamed bun and meat bun!"
"There’s more, but it’s not convenient to show here. If anyone’s interested, ready your Crystal Cores, and you can come to buy from me."
After all, she could order directly from the hotel store, and no matter how much they bought, Chu Jiangyue had stock.
"I... please wait, I’ll bring someone over right now!"
If they could truly purchase such clean steamed buns and large meat buns with Crystal Cores, their recent food shortages might be solved.
But no one knew how big her space was or how much stock she had.
"Is Boss Chu planning to sell goods here?"
Shen Zhigui thought Chu Jiangyue would merely distribute flyers but didn’t expect her to sell goods too.
"Just casual sales. The main goal is to promote the hotel."
Jianglin Hotel hardly encountered new customers anymore since the nearby people were mostly gathered by outgoing superpower users.
Within a 50-kilometer radius of Jianglin Hotel, hardly a living soul could be found.
Shen Zhigui and the rest didn’t mind what Chu Jiangyue planned, always surrounding her to prevent others from swarming her.
The gatekeeper quickly returned, followed by a friendly-looking middle-aged man.
Chu Jiangyue guessed he might be the leader of this survivor camp.
"Hello, I’m Chu Jiangyue, owner of Jianglin Hotel."
"Lou Hongde."
Their hands parted after a brief touch, "This isn’t the place to talk. If you don’t mind, let’s discuss this in my office."