Ye Feng looked in the direction of the sound. A pickup truck, painted with a giant rat and reinforced to look like a hedgehog, sped past the Hummer, its occupants, a group of bald men, cheering wildly.
Behind the truck, a man was being dragged along the ground with his hands tied behind his back. He looked so near death it was as if he had been dragged all the way from Hainan to Tibet.
It turned out that while Ye Feng and Xue Yuli were chatting, they had unknowingly arrived at the imposing main gate of the Bald Gang's stronghold.
Just like the Marine Paradise yesterday, the large iron gate of Gasoline Town was blocked by numerous barricades, designed to prevent anyone from attempting to ram their way through.
Ye Feng scanned his surroundings, nodded to Xiao Xiao and Xue Yuli, and continued driving forward.
To Ye Feng's surprise, entering Gasoline Town did not require a ticket fee, unlike Marine Paradise.
As the Hummer approached the main gate, two bald men wearing peaked caps and carrying AK47s approached. After a brief inspection, they waved the vehicle through.
Many vehicles ahead of and behind Ye Feng were also waved through with just a cursory glance. It seemed anyone could enter.
"Whoa, so many bald heads!"
As the Hummer drove through the main gate, a large group of bald men, their heads gleaming under the sun, came into Ye Feng's sight.
These bald men were all shirtless, busily moving about. They were, without a doubt, members of the Bald Gang.
"Oh~~ oh oh!"
"Hahaha~"
"It's done! It's done!..."
Suddenly, cheers and laughter erupted.
Ye Feng turned his head. Not far away, he saw a charred human corpse hanging from an iron frame, bound by a heavy chain. Beneath the frame, a pile of embers from a dying fire still smoldered.
Around the fiery frame, a group of bald men sat together, holding utensils like knives and forks, ravenously devouring roasted meat, occasionally letting out cheers.
On the ground near the group of bald men, human bones, marked with bite marks, were scattered everywhere.
"These guys... ugh~!"
Seeing this, Ye Feng's stomach churned, and he almost vomited.
"Ah!~"
Suddenly, a piercing scream reached Ye Feng's ears.
Ye Feng looked and saw a group of men and women, their hands and feet cuffed, being escorted by several bald men wielding long whips. They were slowly being led in a certain direction.
"Move faster! Damn it!"
"Crack!~"
The whip-wielding bald men cursed and struck the men and women with their whips. Cries and pleas for mercy immediately filled the air.
However, this did not elicit any sympathy from the bald men. If anything, they whipped harder!
"Ye Feng, we didn't arrive at a good time!"
"Today seems to be the Bald Gang's... 'Skull Splitting Festival'!"
At this moment, Xue Yuli spoke to Ye Feng, her tone grave and her expression grim.
"Skull Splitting Festival? What's that?"
Ye Feng frowned, looking quite puzzled.
"It's no longer a secret that the Bald Gang eats human flesh. The 'Skull Splitting Festival' is what they call a grand banquet, usually held to celebrate a major victory."
"Unlike their usual cannibalism, on this day, the Bald Gang meticulously selects... humans with good conditions, mostly explorers from outside. They kidnap them... shave their heads, and then their leader, Su Shu, uses a knife to cut open their skulls while they're still alive, and eats their brains raw..."
Xue Yuli's words were a little hesitant, her brow furrowed tightly. Clearly, even speaking of it made her uncomfortable.
"Stop talking!"
Ye Feng felt a surge of nausea and just wanted to buy gasoline and leave as quickly as possible.
Xiao Xiao's face had turned pale with fright!
"Bang bang!~"
Suddenly, a burly bald man holding a large saber walked up to the Hummer and forcefully knocked on the driver's side window.
"Hey, what are you guys doing here?"
The bald man with the saber shouted fiercely at Ye Feng.
"Oh, we're here to trade for gasoline!"
As he spoke, Ye Feng pointed to the fuel tank symbol on the Hummer's dashboard.
"That way. It's the boss's birthday today, and also the day we achieved a great victory. Hurry up!"
The bald man with the saber pointed in a direction and said loudly.
Ye Feng remained silent, silently turned the steering wheel, and pressed the accelerator, driving in the direction indicated by the bald man with the saber.
As the Hummer moved just a few meters, the bald man with the saber suddenly took a deep breath, closed his eyes, a look of intoxication on his face.
Then, he abruptly opened his eyes and looked at Ye Feng and his companions in the Hummer, his eyes filled with surprise and madness.
"So fragrant!"
The bald man with the saber gave a cold smile and quickly ran off in one direction.
"Ye Feng, I'm afraid we're in trouble!"
Xue Yuli, who had noticed this scene in the rearview mirror, looked worried.
"Indeed."
Ye Feng nodded.
The burly bald man with the saber had just observed the inside of the Hummer.
Although Ye Feng and the other two had changed into clothes that fit in, making them less conspicuous, and Xiao Xiao and Xue Yuli had turned their heads away, some things couldn't be easily hidden.
Before long, the Hummer arrived in front of a gas station.
Yes, it was the kind of gas station Ye Feng was familiar with from his past life: a large concrete canopy with a few refueling equipment.
"This..."
Seeing the unusually familiar gas station architecture, Ye Feng was somewhat taken aback.
"Gasoline Town was once a strategic reserve of refined oil for the government. Although there is only this one small gas station, there are massive reserves of gasoline, diesel, and even aviation fuel stored beneath it!"
As if sensing Ye Feng's confusion, Xue Yuli spoke again.
"Oh, I see!"
Ye Feng nodded and drove the Hummer next to a refueling pump.
"Hey, Baldy Chen, those two just now were female celebrities. And you're trading for this little bit of gasoline?"
"Only 8 barrels. That's enough for two months at most!"
As Ye Feng got out of the car, a disgruntled male voice reached his ears.
The speaker was a man wearing a denim shirt and jeans, his muscles bulging. He was carrying a...
He was currently arguing with a hawk-nosed bald man holding a refueling gun.
"Gayboy Jiang, what are you talking about?! Female celebrities are only worth this much now. Today, because it's the boss's birthday, I've already given you an extra barrel."
"But these two female celebrities, people outside are offering good prices! It took me a lot of effort to get them into the Dunes. Add two more barrels!"
"Are your female celebrities genuine?"
"Absolutely genuine. I swear on my grandmother's chastity..."
"Your grandmother has no chastity! This is the price for gasoline. Take it or leave it!"
"Damn it!"
...
After a round of curses and arguments, the man in the denim shirt and jeans left in a huff.
"Bro, need to exchange for gasoline?"
Then, the hawk-nosed bald man looked at Ye Feng and asked familiarly.
...