A long, long time ago... well, perhaps just five or six years ago, Chen Mo, a graduate from the Chinese Department, entered society with the same uncertainty as his peers.
After several failed attempts and frustrations, he took a twenty-plus hour train ride, hoping to try his luck in a small southern city. It was there that he was taken in by Ye Rong, the current owner of a restaurant, and became a promising... well, a restaurant assistant.
In hindsight, the whole process was so dramatic that Chen Mo would later find it quite inexplicable when he thought back on it. The truth was, he had simply been exhausted from staying up too late and, upon entering the job market, he found an empty seat to take a nap.
Half an hour later, a fashionable woman sitting next to him could no longer tolerate it and gently nudged him. "Hey, are you here to apply for a job? What kind of work are you looking for?"
"Anything!" Chen Mo blinked sleepily, still not fully aware of his surroundings.
After a few trivial questions, the woman, who introduced herself as Ye Rong, nodded, handing him her business card. "Well, if you're open to anything, how about working at my restaurant? We offer fifteen hundred a month, with one day off each week."
For a few minutes, Chen Mo suspected he had run into a human trafficker. However, considering the offer of fifteen hundred a month, he followed Ye Rong to the restaurant and, almost by accident, agreed to take the job.
Later, Ye Rong explained the situation: "It's simple. Aside from the chefs, all my employees are women, and I was hoping to hire another woman."
"Wait, isn't that implying I'm not a man?" Chen Mo, a bit insulted, protested angrily.
Ye Rong smiled sweetly, and with a mischievous shrug, she said, "Well, what can I do? I couldn't find a suitable woman today. Besides, I've been observing you for quite a while!"
"You came here with no energy, so you're clearly lacking stamina. You even fell asleep in front of someone like me, which means you're not a womanizer. And, let's be honest, you're not exactly good-looking... In short, you lack any charm. You're as harmless as hiring another girl."
"Uh..." Chen Mo finally realized that sleep deprivation could have such unexpected benefits.
Setting aside the blow to his ego, the job wasn't so bad. Fifteen hundred a month was considered decent in this small town, and there were plenty of beautiful women in the restaurant to enjoy the view.
After a few months, Chen Mo found himself liking the job. Although he often threatened to quit unless Ye Rong raised his salary, he ended up working there for five or six years, and judging by the situation, he was likely to continue.
However, there were some downsides to working with so many women. For instance, whenever there was an order for takeout, the glorious task always fell to him.
As for the reason, Ye Rong would always act pitifully, casually painting her nails, and say, "Who else would do it? Can you really bear to send us beautiful women to deliver food? Not only would we be exposed to the elements, but our delicate skin would get sunburned!"
"I'd rather not do it, but it looks like I don't have a choice!" Despite his complaints, Chen Mo would still end up carrying two meals out the door, grumbling.
The customers were two streets away, supposedly admiring Ye Rong's elegance and placing orders just to support her. However, they were supporting her, while Chen Mo had to endure a thirty-minute run under the scorching sun.
Fortunately, all he had to do was sit on the bike; the real task was being handled by the endlessly complaining electric scooter.
"This isn't the life I imagined... Back in the day..." The scooter began reminiscing.
"Give it a rest! Back in your day, you were just a worn-out bicycle. It's only after all this time that you turned into an electric scooter!" Unfortunately, this attempt at showing off failed when the oven, stashed in the back, immediately shot down the bragging: "I bet that in a few years, you'll be nothing more than an Alto!"
Indeed, each of these four machines had its own dream, and they were said to be diligently training towards it.
The scooter's dream was to evolve into a Cadillac, Nono's dream was to become a Nokia from a no-name brand, Benben's dream was to one day become a Galaxy computer, and as for Guoguo... Even if it became a microwave, it wouldn't be anything impressive. So, it dreamed of being a world-class thief, preferably one with a bounty on its head.
However, with their half-baked powers, it seemed that day was still far off. At least Chen Mo had cynically remarked, "I believe in your persistence, but I'm also certain that the Earth won't last long enough for you to achieve it!"
This remark had only just been made that morning, so Benben and Nono immediately went on strike, claiming their self-esteem had been wounded. Only the scooter and Guoguo reluctantly agreed to join the expedition.
As they moved sluggishly along the road, they eventually turned a corner. Perhaps because they were too slow, a sports car behind them began honking incessantly.
A burly bald man, exuding a thug-like aura, leaned out of the window and yelled, "Hey buddy, with your fifteen kilometers per hour, can you move onto the sidewalk? I'm in a rush to race!"
"You're mistaken. I'm not even going ten kilometers!" Chen Mo removed his helmet and flashed a grin at the bald man behind him.
Before he could signal the scooter to move aside, a roar of an engine followed by the wail of a siren filled the air. A Jaguar sports car sped past in a dangerously narrow gap, nearly scraping both Chen Mo and the scooter.
Hot on its heels, several police cars sped past, their sirens blaring as they chased the Jaguar, but their speed was clearly much slower.
"Wow, that Jaguar must have been going at least 130!" the bald man exclaimed, clearly thrilled, and whistled in admiration.
Chen Mo, resting his chin in thought, suddenly had a sense of foreboding...
"Damn you!" Just as he had anticipated, the scooter began to tremble with anger, muttering in a low voice, "How dare this brat show off in front of me? Let's destroy it!"
"Do you think so? Actually, I... never mind!" Chen Mo sighed helplessly, quickly putting on his helmet and gripping the handlebars. This process was one he was now too familiar with.
In just two seconds, the angry scooter suddenly raised its front wheel, revving with a screeching noise as it shot forward, sending gravel flying.
In that moment, all the sounds of the street disappeared. Under the astonished gaze of hundreds of onlookers, the dilapidated electric scooter sped off, vanishing from sight in an instant.
"Who said our domestic products are no good?" A man, arguing with his wife about buying a camera, looked in awe at the scooter's departure and exclaimed sincerely.
Beside him, the bald man, his jaw hanging in disbelief, slapped his thigh and, with tears streaming down his face, said, "A true master, really. You can never judge a book by its cover... If anyone knows him, let me know, I'll pay for information!"
Setting aside the bald man's adoration, the so-called master was now shaking his head in helplessness. Though he didn't know exactly how fast he was going, with the telephone poles flashing by, it was clear that he was reaching incredible speeds.
Less than two minutes later, the scooter had blown through five or six red lights and managed to catch up to the police cars. Chen Mo sighed and gently reminded, "Hey, scooter, are you sure you've changed the license plate?"
"Of course!" The scooter hesitated briefly and then surged forward at an even more terrifying speed.
The sun glinted off the back of the scooter, reflecting the clearly visible license plate — NB666. As if to prove the plate's ferocity, the scooter accelerated again, easily overtaking the police cars and locking its sights on the Jaguar several hundred meters ahead.
The Jaguar, realizing it was being pursued, also sped up. The two cars, one in front and one behind, raced through the streets and alleys, narrowly avoiding death on multiple occasions.
"Damn it, what the hell is that electric scooter?" The driver of the Jaguar muttered, nearly collapsing in shock from what he saw in the rearview mirror.
Suddenly, he made a sharp turn, and with his companion's gasp, swerved past a heavy truck coming from the opposite direction.
Noticing the road ahead was blocked, the driver smirked. "You're all talk, go ahead and fly, let's see how you get through..."
His smile froze, however, before he could even finish the sentence. Just as he had mocked, the electric scooter soared over the truck, gracefully arching through the air before landing smoothly.
To make matters even more outrageous, the young rider casually pulled out his phone and answered a call while performing this stunt, leaving everyone in stunned silence.
Frozen for five or six seconds, the driver finally snapped to reality and slammed on the gas pedal, his Jaguar roaring forward again.
The electric scooter followed in pursuit, and in mere moments, they had entered the highway, much to the shock of the police officers at the entrance.
"Officer Lei, that criminal car just entered Highway 3!" The young traffic cop, after a long pause, reported into his radio.
After a few seconds of hesitation, he added, "There's something else...