Chapter 48

Since the car navigation could no longer work, Mali simply dismantled it. Now that position is a compass plus a copy of the Jiadelan Gongguo map.

He took a sip of the coffee that was still warm, put the thermos cup in the cup holder, and then turned on the CD player. This time, "New Boy" by Pu Shu came out from inside.

Yes, I see sunshine everywhere / happiness floating over the city

The new century came like a dream / making me warm~

Is your old pocket watch still turning? / Can your old leather shoes still be worn?

Here is a future-brand cigarette / don't you want to taste it? ~

…………

This is a windowsGG song from 1999.

Although Pu Shu himself expressed in a later interview that he didn't like this song, "New Boy" indeed carried people's beautiful expectations for the millennium at that time and was once very popular.

Almost every street and alley was playing it.

That was precisely the period of China's rapid economic take-off. Gold was everywhere, and people were full of confidence in the upcoming 21st century, just as the song sang.

"There will be no more pain on the road in the future, how cool our future should be~"

Mali also hopes that the first trade of the caravan can go smoothly.

The mud tires of the truck pressed over the white snow and withered grass on the wasteland, and waded across a small stream covered with a thin layer of ice.

From time to time, branches stretching out from the side of the road brushed across the roof of the car, making a rustling sound, and further ahead, it entered the steep and rugged mountain road.

It is said to be a mountain road, but in fact, it is just a path that carriages and pedestrians have barely stepped out of. And because the geographical location of Baimu Cun is too remote, few people go there, so the road is also very original.

Mali remembers this place. When he drove the G300p past this section of the road before, he would also slow down, and now he is even more focused throughout the whole process, not daring to be negligent for a moment, and occasionally turning his head left and right to observe the rearview mirrors on both sides.

…………

Doing so can increase the turning radius and reduce the risk of side tilting.

However, the mountain road in the wild is not as sturdy and firm as the highway. Every time you stick to the edge, you have to be careful. From time to time, gravel and soil blocks roll down from the cliff.

In addition, relatively large falling rocks will occasionally be encountered in the middle of the road. At this time, Mali will stop the car and let Huodun and others go up to push the falling rocks away before continuing to drive.

I don't know if that "New Boy" really brought good luck. There hasn't been much rain recently, and the snow on the mountain hasn't melted yet, so the risk of encountering landslides is not high.

It's just that the reflection of the snow nearby is very strong, stinging people's eyes. Xia'er enjoyed the scenery outside the window for a while and began to rub her eyes frequently.

Fortunately, Mali was prepared early and put on sunglasses in advance, so he wasn't affected much.

He also took a pack of Little Raccoon crispy noodles from the storage box above his head for the half-elf girl as a snack.

Two hours later, the truck drove past the most dangerous section, and the road ahead became flat again.

However, before Mali could catch his breath, a new situation appeared.

Two groups of people seemed to be fighting under the hillside in the distance.

But because it was too far away, the details couldn't be seen clearly.

Mali directed Xia'er in the passenger seat to take down the binoculars from the top of her head. The half-elf girl had also used this thing before and got started quickly. She put it in front of her face, and the next moment she let out an exclamation.

"It's lizardmen! They are robbing... Uncle Bani's caravan."

"Do you know them?"

Xia'er nodded. "People in the village call him Black-hearted Bani in private, but people in Yingzui City prefer to call him Bani the Garbage Picker or Bani the Coward, because his caravan is very small, and there are only a few guards. He doesn't dare to run here or there, so big money deals never come to him. He is busy from beginning to end all year round, but can only earn some hard-earned money.

"But he is also one of the few merchants willing to come to Baimu Cun to do business. He will purchase grain and animal skins from the village and pull them to Yingzui City to sell. It's just that the price is often pressed very low, and he will also bring inferior iron tools and farm tools that city people don't like to sell to the village.

"He only came to the village about three days ago. I didn't expect him to be so unlucky to run into lizardmen on the way back."

"How many lizardmen are there? Are they very powerful? Compared to goblins?" Mali asked.

"Let me count, uh, one, two, three... a total of six lizardmen, and there should be a leader in the distance. I haven't fought with lizardmen, but I heard my dad say that they are much more powerful than goblins. Their strength is above humans, their agility is not bad, and they have scales on their bodies.

"Although they are far less hard than dragon scales and can't compare to chain mail, they also have good defense. If the strength is not enough or the weapon is a bit worse, it is very difficult to break their defense.

"They are natural robbers. Regardless of men, women, old, or young, they don't engage in production and rely entirely on robbery for a living! Like goblins, they can be seen everywhere on the Leiwateleisi Continent. Forests, swamps, deserts... they have strongholds everywhere and are the monsters that merchants hate the most."

After listening to the half-elf girl's words, Mali didn't hesitate for too long and made a decision, accelerating while shifting gears, and pressing the horn on the steering wheel.

Afterward, he also picked up the walkie-talkie, spoke to the passenger room, notified Weier and others of the sudden situation ahead, and asked them to prepare for battle.

Mali's idea was very simple. Besides saving people, this newly established caravan, whether it was the four guards or himself, was still a rookie. Their combat experience was very scarce, and they had almost never cooperated before. They needed to improve their tacit understanding through one real battle after another.

Seven lizardmen seemed to be suitable practice objects.

They were far stronger than those green-skinned goblins, but they weren't outrageously strong. And according to Xia'er, in the subsequent journey, there should be no shortage of dealing with this group of guys. It's better to test their reality here first.

As the truck accelerated, the distance between the two sides was quickly closed.

Now, even without the help of binoculars, Mali could see the appearance of those things clearly. They were indeed very similar to lizards, all with triangular heads, vertical pupils, and sharp mouths. There were sharp barbs growing behind their necks, and their skin was covered with scales, but they could walk upright like humans.

And their weapons and equipment actually looked quite good. Some lizardmen held flails in one hand and kite shields in the other. From the emblem on the shield, it could be seen that it was built by the Morales family, the ruler of Yingzui City.

This shows that these guys, or their companions, had fought with the guards of Yingzui City.

There was also a lizardman riding a wild boar on the hillside, who should be imitating the knights on the Leiwateleisi Continent, wearing full-body armor, but not wearing a helmet.

It was mainly because the shape of the lizardman's head was too different from that of a human. The armor could still be stuffed, but the helmet was completely impossible.

It also noticed the heavy truck driving over and looked toward this side with its head held high.