On the highway service area, operations are typically government-built, government-owned, and government-operated.

This is the oldest method of operation with planning and design by the Transportation Department, land requisition, and construction. The construction costs are covered by fiscal appropriations. The highway management department handles the operations, and part of the earnings go towards the highway tolls submitted to the treasury, while the rest is managed by the department. Practice has shown that this management system is somewhat outdated and less efficient, but it benefits the preservation of state-owned assets by avoiding short-sighted management practices such as destructive operation. Some provinces are still using this model.

This operational method was the first experimental model for service area management reform. Once built, the Transportation Department would tender out the management of the service area, allowing individual fully integrated or network internal service areas to be contracted out. The contractors would obtain a certain operational tenure, pay management fees, and keep the remainder. This effectively revitalized the operational capabilities of the service areas and generated certain economic benefits, but due to the contractors' short-sighted behavior, it led to destructive exploitation of the facilities, which was detrimental to preserving state-owned assets.

Another approach is privatization. This model is fully market-oriented. The government doesn't spend a dime but directly tenders out the construction and operation of the service areas, attracting private investment for building and managing the facilities. After a certain period, the government would nationalize the service areas, and the operators would exit. This method finds a balance between not using fiscal funds and motivating private investment in highways, ensuring that the assets are well-maintained and developed during the operational period, achieving both effective returns and asset preservation.

Wang Xiaoqiang and Lin Xianshu were at such a privately-operated service area, not far from a toll station. Opposite them was a hotel.

The distance was less than one hundred meters, referred to as a service station because all the coaches would stop here to rest, but actually, there were no signs marking it as a service station. A cup of instant noodles which sells for three yuan fifty cents at a mall, this station charged twelve yuan per cup. If travelers brought their own instant noodles, sorry, but the station didn't provide hot water unless the noodles were bought there. The station offered two meal sets, one was twenty-five yuan each and the other thirty yuan each. The twenty-five yuan meal comprised two meat dishes and two vegetarian dishes, which sounded quite decent. The two meats were an egg and a small scoop of spicy pig head meat, and the two vegetables were a small scoop of cabbage and another of potatoes. Despite such meals costing twenty-five yuan each, even the eight yuan fast food meals at Dongmen Old Street tasted better. However, as low-quality and expensive as these meals were, they didn't even provide chopsticks, requiring travelers to spend an extra yuan to buy a pair. It's probable that this is the only place in the world where one must buy their own chopsticks.

Of course, Wang Xiaoqiang and Lin Xianshu were not accustomed to the food there, so they went to the hotel across the street.

The hotel was called Yijia Hotel. It provided accommodations and, although the prices were exorbitant, both the quality and the service attitude were better than at the service station.

It is likely that the owner of this hotel had some connections in this area. Otherwise, it would not be possible to run a hotel here.

Neither Wang Xiaoqiang nor Lin Xianshu was short of money, so they decided to stay at the hotel.

Seeing them arrive in a luxury car and dressed lavishly, the hotel knew they were not ordinary people and served them even more attentively, immediately offering the top-quality meals to welcome them.

After a satisfying meal, Wang Xiaoqiang and Lin Xianshu returned to their room,

Although it was a hotel, there were hardly any guests, resembling more a trap than a lodging. It's understandable, as normal travelers would stay at a service station, but no one in their right mind would dare to stay at this hotel of unknown repute, where they might arbitrarily overcharge you, not to mention the risk of losing one's life.

Since there weren't many guests, they didn't consider it much. If they happened to make love, they just had to restrain themselves from being too loud. Even if they were loud, it seemed no one would care. No one could govern the games played by men and women.

Wang Xiaoqiang's Yin-Yang Dual Cultivation Technique posed certain dangers if disturbed during cultivation. Therefore, the founder of this technique, taking this into account, created a protective shield around the man and woman. Unless it was a person at the Foundation Establishment Stage, nobody else could break through it.

What Wang Xiaoqiang and Lin Xianshu didn't expect was that during their dual cultivation, three uninvited guests intruded.

These three were the robbers who had been eyeing them at the service station.

These robbers had been watching them, and deep into the night, they used some techniques to sneak into their room.

This indeed took them by surprise.

If these three were actual cultivators, even if merely low-level ones, they would pose a considerable threat to them. Fortunately, they were just ordinary people, the only difference being that they were daring, fearless of death, and knew a bit of basic Kung Fu.

When the three snuck up to their guestroom, they heard noises familiar to them from inside the room. Upon hearing this, they were immediately itchy with desire, hastily climbing through the window, only to find the two engaged in their activity,

Looking at Lin Xianshu then, the three felt a fiery rush surge to their foreheads.

At this critical moment in Wang Xiaoqiang and Lin Xianshu's dual cultivation, they couldn't afford to be distracted and ignored the three ordinary men.

The three robbers immediately pounced, itching to tear Wang Xiaoqiang into pieces and violently take possession of that stunning body.

However, as they rushed to the bedside, they found they couldn't move a step further, as if a transparent wall blocked them. Seeing this, all three felt bewildered, thinking it was an illusion. They paused briefly, then rushed forward again, only to collide with the wall, leaving them with bruised faces.

In pain, the three gritted their teeth in silence, bearing the pain, with their faces showing even more bafflement.

However, these three reckless men, sensing something strange yet unwilling to leave, were in agony over the tantalizing sight before them, tantalizingly within reach yet unattainable, leaving them scratching in desperation.

"Damn, is this some kind of glass wall?" the oldest one exclaimed, pulling out a hammer and striking the Spiritual Energy Shield.

Without any sound, the man was bounced off by the Spiritual Energy Shield, crashing heavily into the wall, and falling down.

Blood spurted from his mouth and nose.

The other two fellows, seeing their companion knocked flying back with severe injuries, were so frightened that they immediately tried to flee.

At that moment, Wang Xiaoqiang and Lin Xianshu had just finished a session of Dual Cultivation.

Stopping, Lin Xianshu said to Wang Xiaoqiang, "Let's destroy their eyes first."

Her gentle words sounded like she was discussing something utterly mundane, but to the three bandits, it sounded like a voice from Hell. They immediately scrambled towards the window.

"Hmm," Wang Xiaoqiang nodded and laughed, "Who would have thought our Miss Lin also has her unguarded moments. Ha ha."

Listening to Wang Xiaoqiang's half-joking words, the three bandits bitterly smiled inside, hastening their movements. Just as they reached the window, Wang Xiaoqiang flicked his fingers and instantly, all three fell to the room's floor.

Wang Xiaoqiang flicked his fingers repeatedly, first sealing the mouths of the three bandits with three taps and then followed by six more. With each tap, there would be a scream like that of a slaughtered pig echoing only within the chest of each bandit, unable to make a sound outwardly.

The three men kneeled on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing to Wang Xiaoqiang.

Lin Xianshu pulled off the bedsheets, but this time, the three bandits couldn't see anything at all, for their eyes had been destroyed by Wang Xiaoqiang.

"How should we deal with them?" Wang Xiaoqiang frowned, "It's quite a troublesome matter."

"Just let them stay there while we continue ours," Lin Xianshu said.

"That's true, let them listen to us," he replied.

"Hmm, will you laugh at me?"

"Of course not. Let them agonize…" Wang Xiaoqiang said,

'Hmm...'

Then…

For the first time, those three bandits experienced what pain and torment really meant...

The pain in their eyes, the soul-stirring sounds by their ears, and the relentless fire within their bodies that they couldn't release nearly drove them to madness.

The next day, when Wang Xiaoqiang and Lin Xianshu woke up, they found all three bandits lying on the floor, under a warm damp patch.

Wang Xiaoqiang furrowed his brow.

He unleashed three streams of Fire Element Spiritual Energy towards the men, and as the Spiritual Energy hit them, it suddenly ignited their bodies.

Engulfed in flames, the three men twisted violently but couldn't make a single sound. Eventually, they turned into three piles of charred ash.

Wang Xiaoqiang released three streams of Water Element Spiritual Qi, which washed the three piles of ashes down the drain.

There was no longer any trace on the floor of the room.

There was also no odd smell.

Through their Dual Cultivation, both their Cultivation Bases had greatly advanced, with Lin Xianshu moving from the Mid Golden Core Stage directly to the Late Golden Core Stage.

Wang Xiaoqiang also took a significant step towards Solidification. When his power reached Solidification, there would truly be no one on this Earth who could threaten him, even if masters of the Divinity Transformation Stage joined forces against him. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to go to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote and buy monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)

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