I had expected to return to Shengjing smoothly and rendezvous with Yaoyao and Daji.
However, just as the taxi reached the highway entrance, we encountered a problem.
The taxi driver didn't notice anything amiss, but I remained vigilant. As I took the toll card, I activated my "xiang qi shu" (an ability to perceive energy) and discovered that the young lady inside the toll booth was a demon with green energy!
Not only her, but all the other booths at the entrances were also occupied by demons!
Were these fiends truly pervasive?
Or was it because the three minor demons from before had discovered Zheng Bingbing and me, leading them to set up temporary checkpoints and surround us?
Fortunately, the toll booth demon didn't seem to detect anything unusual about us. After all, the three of us had undergone cosmetic surgery and were allowed through normally.
But I grew more cautious. After the car passed, I adjusted the rearview mirror to observe the situation at the toll booths behind us. Sure enough, I saw the young lady rush out of her booth, holding a walkie-talkie and speaking into it.
"Why did you touch it?" the driver complained, turning the rearview mirror back to his angle.
"Is that pretty toll booth lady into you, big brother?" I asked with a smile.
"What makes you say that?" the driver inquired.
"She's coming out to see you!"
The driver looked back and likely saw the minor demon. He confidently flicked his hair, "Happens all the time, I'm used to it."
Chen Ke, sitting behind us, made a "disgusted" face.
"Brother, how far is the nearest service area ahead?" I asked. "She'll probably chase you to the service area to get your WeChat, believe it or not?"
"You're talking nonsense, doesn't she have a job?"
"If you don't believe me, let's bet a hundred yuan. If she chases after you, you give me a hundred; if she doesn't, I'll give you three hundred," I proposed.
The driver rolled his eyes, did some mental calculation, and nodded, "Alright. You two girls in the back can be witnesses. If I lose, you can't renege. Including the fare, that's twelve hundred."
I immediately took out two pink bills and placed them on the center console, "This is for the bet. The fare is separate, but I have one condition."
"Tell me, brother."
"What I said was that she has to chase you to the service area to add you on WeChat to count. If she catches up to you on the road, it doesn't count!" I stated seriously.
The driver pouted, "Regretting it already? Splitting hairs, huh? I'm not trying to deny you, I just want to prove my past credentials!"
"What credentials?" Bingbing asked curiously.
"A racer! Back in the day, I wore a sleeveless vest and raced all over Tangshan. I didn't know the meaning of 'opponent'!"
"Oh, then let us witness your racing skills, brother!" Bingbing had already understood my intention.
"Hold on tight!" The driver downshifted and accelerated. The damned G-force made me suspect his car had been modified with a turbocharger!
The service area ahead was Tangshan Service Area, only twelve kilometers away. The demons behind us did indeed chase us onto the highway. I don't know what cars they were using, but they certainly couldn't keep up with our "racer." By the time we reached the service area, the pursuers were at least a kilometer behind. I even worried they hadn't seen us pull off at the service area.
"Oh no, brother, you were too fast! I'm carsick, I need to go to the restroom! Ke, come with me!" As soon as the car stopped, Bingbing grabbed Chen Ke and they rushed into the restroom.
"I'm going to puke too. Brother's driving is insane!" I clutched my mouth and gagged, following them into the restroom.
"How many people chased after us?" Bingbing asked in a low voice.
"Two. One with green energy, one with yellow energy," I replied. One of them was the toll booth young lady. The other one's energy signature also seemed familiar; it was likely one of the three minor demons who had pursued us earlier.
"So… not that powerful, right?" Bingbing guessed.
I took off my backpack and showed Bingbing the dagger-gun inside. "It's not a big problem, but we can't shoot here with so many people. Go into the restroom and see if you can get out through the back window."
"What are you two talking about?" Chen Ke asked, confused.
"Nothing, just got tails on us, we need to shake them off," I said with a smile.
Bingbing entered the women's restroom and quickly came out. "There's a back window. There's a patch of woods not too far out. It should work."
"You two go first. I'll lead them away," I said.