Xiaohong wondered if he should make a trip back to their old school to seek out any information about Xiaohuang and Xiaolan.
Hhe no longer had any memories of that northern region although it had been the place where the three of them lived in and played together.
After contemplating for a short while, he started his navigation.
He drove toward the northern region, glancing down at his oil meter out of habit.
He had more than half a tank left, enough for him to make a few return trips.
Xiaohong stepped hard on the accelerator and sped down the highway and into the night.
Some time passed and he was about five kilometers away from the northern region.
The alarm for the oil tank went off and he stared at the flickering warning light in disbelief.
He was certain that the amount of oil he had at the start was enough for him to clock 200 kilometers instead of just 40.
He got off the car and made some checks but he didn't spot any problem.
Frustrated, Xiaohong searched on his phone for the nearest gas station.
Fortunately, there was one a kilometer away and he had just enough oil to get there.
It was a small-scale, private gas station and there was only a man sitting on a long bench. He was looking at his phone and up at the moon from time to time.
"99 oil, please," Xiaohong requested as he climbed out.
With a smile, the man asked, "From zero to full?"
"Yes. Is this a private company? Do you have 99 oil? Pure? I do not want to wreck the car," he said.
"If you're worried, you can hire a tow truck to get you to the next gas station over ten kilometers away," he suggested with a cold smile.
Xiaohong switched the engine off before pointing at his phone. "Do you know which direction leads to the northern region? It's a little secluded here and the navigation hasn't been accurate so I'm lost."
"Fill it up to the brim and go straight ahead," he answered, surprised. "Why are you going there at this hour?"
"To visit a school. I'm hoping to find some information from there," he explained half-heartedly.
"There are only abandoned houses there," he said, opening up the cap and putting the petrol gun in.
"Azure Primary. You know it?" Xiaohao questioned.
"Of course, I know it. It's my alma mater," he responded.
"What a coincidence! Are you my senior or junior?" Xiaodong smiled, his tensed face softening a little.
"Since we were fellow schoolmates, just pay me 200 and be on your way," he said with a sigh.
"40 liters of 99 oil for 200?"
"I'm giving you a discount since we were from the same school. Talk some more and I'll change my mind, schoolmate," he teased.
Xiaohong fished out two bills and handed it over to him before going back to his car and continuing his journey.
Northern region.
There were no lights at all and abandoned buildings stretched along a whole 30 kilometers of land.
Xiaohong wasn't surprised, of course, since he remembered the residents signing a consent form to move out. The deputy mayor then sold the land to a neighboring conglomerate before running away with the money. All 630 million of it.
20 years have passed since then, but the deputy mayor hasn't been caught yet.
Xiaohong's parents were only notified two months after they moved that year.
The new governor had no power to take over this matter since the whole of northern region land had been sold off at a low cost.
The contract was in effect and nothing could be changed.
Strangely, the conglomerate left that piece of land in ruins for twenty years.
Xiaohong arrived at the old school gate and climbed over the wall.
Finally, after half an hour, he found the storeroom containing all the documents of the school. It was on the second floor in the teaching block.
he flipped through the files for an hour but he found nothing useful.
Because the relocation happened at the end of the year, documents involving the final year of the students in grade six were left behind.
Xiaohong was still in the fifth grade at that time so no relevant information could be found.
Helpless, he went back to his car and glanced down at his oil meter again.
The oil was almost full but something was off.
Was there any way he could empty his tank quickly? He then thought back to his ability.
He clearly remembered that he started his journey with half a tank.
Schoolmate, discount, zero to full?
How did he know that I was at zero?
It clicked and he sped right back to the gas station.
It took him 20 minutes, and when he arrived, the man was still sitting on the bench looking at his phone.
"Xiaohuang?" he asked after getting off the car.
"How do you know my name? Wait, Xiaolan? Or Xiaohong?" he asked, bewildered.
"Xiaohuang? Is that really you? I'm Xiaohong! You're using your given power to run this business?" Xiaohong clarified.
"It makes sense now. You're really Xiaohong?" Xiaohuang smiled.
They exchanged hugs and Xiaohuang took his phone out and showed it to Xiaohong.
There were two roads displayed on his screen.
"Monitoring cameras nearby?"
"Yeah, I installed them and opened my gas station here," he smiled.
"Using your power to drain drivers' petrol, leaving them with no choice but to visit your station? Is that how you're earning your money?" Xiaohong asked.
"Exactly. It's not easy. It took me a long time to master the skill of exhausting their fuel just enough for them to get here smoothly."
"Isn't this dishonesty?"
"I have no choice. What about you? What have you been doing? Are you a magician, using your power to perform tricks? Is that how got yourself this decent car?"
"More or less. Do you know where Xiaolan is?" he asked impatiently.
Xiaohuang sighed. "Probably in the army. All because of that ruined piece of land. 20 years but no successful negotiation. War is about to break out, it seems."
"Which army? Any idea?"
"Your family moved away from here the quickest and I could only give Xiaolan my new address. She's been secretly writing to me but it doesn't have a return address, so I could only receive but not reply. The last one he wrote said that he was going to join the army. That's all I know."
Just then, cars appeared on his phone screen.
He kept his phone. "Let's get into your car and get out of here."
"Why?"
"The tyrants are coming. The cameras aren't clear so I'll drain the oil whenever I see cars. Recently, I've been draining their cars quite frequently and I think they're starting to suspect something. It seems like they're finally making a move now," he explained urgently.
"Let's go then," Xiaohong said while rushing back to his car.
Xiaohuang ran back into his kiosk.
"What are you doing?" Xiaohong shouted.
"Gonna take my money! I've saved quite a bit," he yelled back.
Xiaohong stared at his watch as seconds ticked by.
Vrooming sounds were becoming louder.
Frustrated, Xiaohong rushed into the kiosk to find out what he was doing.
He shifted a sack outside.
"Why do you have so much money?" Xiaohong questioned.
"Well... there are times where I do bad stuff," Xiaohuang confessed with a bitter smile.
"Bad stuff?" Xiaohong asked, not understanding.
"Don't you know how easy it is for us to kill someone?" Xiaohuang responded.
"Easy? Kill someone?" Xiaohong repeated.
"The human body consists of 70% water. We can drain them dry in an instant," Xiaohuang told her.
"You mean... you're killing for money?" Xiaohong asked, staring at him in shock.
"Why else would I open my gas station in such a deserted area?" Xiaohuang heaved out a breath as he put the sack down.
The whizzing cars arrived and about 10 gangsters got off.
A row of them stood before the gas station, holding weapons like machetes and metal rods.
"Before you came, I was a little afraid, but now that you're here, I worry less. Let's kill half each?" he proposed.
"What are you trying to do?" Xiaohong asked, puzzled.
Xiaohuang dropped his sack and rushed out.
The next scene left Xiaohong's mouth wide open in disbelief.
He saw Xiaohuang gazing attentively at the gangsters before him.
Almost immediately, their brains started drying up, their bodies shrinking and shriveling before they collapsed.
Within 10 minutes, the seven of them were motionless on the ground.
As the remaining six turned around with the intention to flee, Xiaohuang roared, "Let's see if you dare to come back again. Do you still want to take revenge because I got rid of your foul-tempered second chief?"
The six gangsters quickly hopped into their cars but Xiaohuang continued sucking them dry.
Xiaohong stopped him just as he was about to lock onto the last target. "You killed their second chief? You told me they're here because you sucked their oil dry! What's happening to you, Xiaohuang?"
By the time Xiaohuang reacted, the last gangster had already driven off.
"Why have you become so bad?" Xiaohong asked helplessly.
Sighing, Xiaohuang dragged a corpse into his kiosk.
"People die for money just as birds die for food."