The Ultimate Nightmare for Self-Driving

Because the altitude here was very high and the daylight hours were long, the sun was just now setting.

The sunset on the Northern Tibetan Plateau felt dreamy. The afterglow of the setting sun bathed the quiet little town, and curling smoke rose from many houses in the distance.

It was sparsely populated here, unlike some of the crowded places they had visited before. There was no bustling noise, only pure tranquility and the mundane beauty of daily life.

There were very few tourists on road trips in this small county town; at a glance, almost everyone on the street was a local.

The town's facilities were limited, so Zhong Qing booked a random hotel for them to stay in.

The three cars were parked in the hotel's parking lot. After checking in and dropping their luggage in their rooms, the group headed out to find some food.

By now, the sky had darkened, and they strolled along a street right outside the hotel.

"What do you guys want to eat?" Meng Wenzhou turned and asked.

"Anything is fine, as long as it fills the stomach. I'm not picky now that we're here," Liu Bo said with a smile.

"Then let's have yak beef hotpot again. Eat more beef to replenish our energy."

"Sure."

They found a decent-looking restaurant. In addition to the hotpot, they ordered some local specialties like thukpa, tsampa, blown lung, and highland barley wine.

After the long day, apart from Su Yang and Liu Bo who still looked energetic, the others felt more or less exhausted.

Driving eight or nine hundred kilometers in a single day on rugged country and national roads was bound to be tiring.

The girls also looked somewhat listless.

Meng Wenzhou laughed, "How come you guys look more tired than those of us who drove?"

"Riding in the car is tiring too."

"Then let's head back to the hotel early to rest after dinner. Once we've recharged, we'll enter the no-man's land early tomorrow."

"Okay."

Soon, a large spread of delicious food was served.

Everyone was already starving. With no time for idle chat, they buried their heads in their meals.

As expected, food always tastes best when you're hungry.

The meal ended quickly, but they weren't in a hurry to leave. They sat around to discuss various matters before their departure.

To enter the no-man's land, the first thing they had to do was handle the paperwork at the Gerze County Government Service Center, as well as get a permit to buy loose gasoline. Only then could they enter.

Liu Bo rolled his eyes thoughtfully, sat up straight, and looked at everyone. "On our way here, I've studied the route through the no-man's land several times. Let me give you a brief rundown."

"Go ahead," the group leaned back in their chairs, all ears.

"Here's the deal. The road through the no-man's land is over eight hundred kilometers long, which is National Highway G226. There are no supply stations, gas stations, or cell signals along the entire route."

"This road goes from Gerze County, where we are now, to Mingfeng County in Xinjiang, cutting right through the Qiangtang no-man's land, but..."

"But what?" Chu Qiunan asked.

"If we just take this road, it's actually not much of a challenge. The road is almost entirely paved with asphalt. If we drive fast, we can pass through it in a single day."

"So?" The group stared at Liu Bo.

"So, hehe, there's another extremely difficult and little-known route in there—the Keriya Ancient Road. Do you guys know it?"

Hearing this, everyone except Su Yang, Meng Wenzhou, and Pan Ning shook their heads in confusion.

Seeing this, Liu Bo took out his phone and played a video for them to watch.

After watching it, their previous listlessness vanished completely.

Zhang Ziming, very intrigued, said, "Are you suggesting we take this Keriya Ancient Road?"

"Exactly! We're already here, right? Since we're going to cross the no-man's land, let's pick the hardest route to conquer!" Liu Bo stood up, speaking with fiery passion.

The others were infected by his enthusiasm, though someone still brought up a crucial issue.

Zhong Qing asked, "But I just checked. If we take the Keriya Ancient Road, there are no paved roads at all. Will you be able to find the way?"

Liu Bo looked at Zhong Qing and smiled faintly. "Hehe, Xiao Qing, you still don't know me well enough. Do you know what I used to do?"

"What?"

"Your buddy here is a former Special Forces soldier. I can grasp various outdoor terrains extremely quickly. In fact, I've been studying it in detail for days. Trust me, with me here, I can definitely lead everyone successfully through this ancient road."

On this point, Su Yang and the others trusted Liu Bo entirely, though the difficulty of the Keriya Ancient Road was indeed very high.

This road was located to the northwest of the latter half of National Highway G226. They would need to drive off-road, making it essentially the no-man's land within the no-man's land.

The Keriya Ancient Road had no paved surfaces at all. The conditions were harsh, the temperatures low, and the altitude high.

It was known as the ultimate nightmare in the road-tripping world. Even so, it was the one place most road-trip enthusiasts wanted to conquer the most.

Once there, they would have to cross mountains and ridges. The terrain was complex and ever-changing. They would need to cross glaciers, drive through riverbeds, and navigate steep slopes, dirt roads, rock piles, volcanic craters, and a series of other hardcore off-road routes.

If anything went wrong with the cars in there, it would be truly miserable. That place had absolutely zero cell signal; they would only have fierce wild animals and extreme cold for company.

However, the more dangerous it sounded, the more interested everyone became. After all, they were a group of hot-blooded youths. What was the point if there was no challenge?

Moreover, if they took the Keriya Ancient Road, their final destination would change from Mingfeng County to Hetian City.

There happened to be an airport there. That way, they wouldn't have to make the arduous journey back to the Holy City and could just fly home directly from there.

At this point, everyone hit it off and agreed immediately.

Although a few of the girls were still somewhat worried about safety, the allure of an unknown challenge was highly attractive.

Meng Wenzhou then laughed, "Alright! We'll take the Keriya Ancient Road!"

"Great!" Liu Bo laughed loudly and sat back down.

Su Yang also spoke up, "Then tomorrow morning, we'll go handle the paperwork first, buy jerry cans to fill up on gas, and try to head out as early as possible."

"Okay. We've actually prepared very thoroughly this time; we have everything we need. However, it will probably take two days to get through this ancient road. We definitely have enough food, but we should stock up on a bit more water," Liu Bo added.

"No problem. We'll buy more water before we leave tomorrow."

After finishing their discussion, the group left the restaurant and returned to the hotel.

Su Yang and Pan Ning returned to their hotel room and each took a shower. Considering Pan Ning was also a bit tired today, the two didn't chat any further.

Pan Ning went to sleep before eleven, but that was still too early for Su Yang.

He opened his phone and studied the Keriya Ancient Road for two hours before finally lying down to rest.

The night passed silently.

At seven o'clock the next morning, everyone arrived at the hotel lobby to gather, fully revitalized and full of energy.

After eating breakfast by the roadside, Su Yang, Meng Wenzhou, and Liu Bo drove toward the county's Government Service Center.

After handling the procedures in the government hall and signing several forms, everything was finally sorted out.

Stepping out of the hall, Liu Bo pulled out some cigarettes and handed them to the other two. "Why does it feel like we just signed a death warrant? Haha."

"You could look at it that way~" Su Yang smiled as he took the cigarette.

"It's not that exaggerated. As long as the cars hold up, there won't be any problems."

"Speaking of cars, let's give them a thorough inspection before we head out," Su Yang reminded them.

"Okay."

After the three finished smoking, they drove to a hardware store near the gas station and bought six large jerry cans for extra fuel.

Two for each car, with each can holding thirty liters, meaning each car was equipped with sixty liters of spare fuel.

As long as there were no accidents, that would be more than enough, maybe even with some to spare.

After buying the jerry cans, the three drove back to the gas station. They first filled up the cars' gas tanks and then filled all six jerry cans to the brim.

Su Yang paid the bill and smiled, "All set!"

"Okay, let's go. We'll head back to the hotel to pick up the rest of the crew, and then we hit the road!"