In the car, Gu Xiaoxi chatted idly with the driver to pass the time.  

Naturally, their conversation turned to the recent disasters affecting various brigades.  

The young driver, Xiao Xu, sighed and said, “We have no choice but to drive to Qingbei City at night—the mission is urgent, and we have to take a long detour. A lot of trees have fallen ahead in Shuangtuo Forest, completely blocking the road.”  

“Does the detour waste a lot of time?” Gu Xiaoxi asked casually.  

Xiao Xu nodded. “Yeah! Normally, taking the shortcut from Hongxin Commune to Qingbei City only takes two and a half hours. But now, it’ll take at least four or five.”  

“Hasn’t anyone cleared the fallen trees?”

“They only fell this morning, so no one’s had time to deal with them yet…”

As they talked, they unknowingly reached the fork in the road leading to Shuangtuo Forest.  

Just as Xiao Xu was about to turn left to take the detour, Gu Xiaoxi—whose vision was exceptionally sharp—hurriedly stopped him.  

“Wait, stop the car!”  

Xiao Xu froze. “What’s wrong?” 

Gu Xiaoxi grabbed a flashlight from the car and shone it outside. “Isn’t there a small bridge up ahead? It looks like it’s collapsed.” 

“N-no way?” Xiao Xu broke out in a cold sweat.  

There was indeed a small river ahead—not very wide, so the bridge was short, and the car could cross it in seconds.  

“I’ll go check.” With that, Gu Xiaoxi opened the door and jumped out.  

Xiao Xu and the accompanying crew member quickly followed.  

When they saw that half of the bridge had really collapsed, all three of them grimaced.  

Repairing the bridge at night was out of the question.  

Turn back?  

But the road was too narrow to turn around—they’d have to reverse all the way.  

And that would waste even more time!  

Understanding this, Gu Xiaoxi made a suggestion: “How about we clear the road and take the shortcut instead?”

Xiao Xu sighed. “There are too many big trees blocking the way. The three of us might not manage.”

But Gu Xiaoxi insisted, “We can use leverage to roll the trees to the side—just enough to let our car pass. Let’s try. If it doesn’t work, we’ll have to go back for help.”

Xiao Xu sighed again. At this point, they had no other choice.  

Gu Xiaoxi was a woman of action. Without delay, she began clearing the broken branches from the trees that had fallen due to the landslide.  

For the larger trees, she used thick branches as levers, applying force while discreetly using her *Clearing Technique* to easily roll them aside.  

Seeing that even a young girl like Gu Xiaoxi could move the heavy trees, Xiao Xu and the crew member quickly joined in to help.  

Working together—with Gu Xiaoxi secretly assisting—they soon cleared the first batch of fallen trees from the road.  

Once the path was clear enough for the car, Xiao Xu hurriedly called everyone back inside and drove forward slowly and cautiously.  

At that moment, Gu Xiaoxi noticed her merit points had increased by 2.

She was so delighted that she almost wished for more trees to block their way.  

After driving about a hundred meters, they encountered another pile of fallen trees.  

This time, without a word, the three of them got out and got to work.  

Once cleared, they got back in the car and continued.  

And so, within an hour, they cleared over a dozen obstacles of varying sizes blocking the road.  

By then, Gu Xiaoxi’s merit points had already risen to 36.

After driving smoothly for half an hour, Gu Xiaoxi and the group encountered a new problem—the car broke down and stalled.  

Xiao Xu and the crew member quickly got out to inspect and repair it. Seeing that they didn’t seem to need her help, Gu Xiaoxi took a flashlight and walked ahead alone.  

Xiao Xu immediately called out, *

“Sister-in-law, don’t go too far. It’s not safe at night.”

Gu Xiaoxi responded right away, “I won’t go far. I’m just checking the road conditions ahead. You focus on fixing the car—don’t worry about me.”  

Reassured, Xiao Xu turned his attention back to the repairs.  

Gu Xiaoxi walked forward and noticed scattered debris and loose rocks along the road. Without hesitation, she cleared them to the side.  

A little further ahead, she saw a waterlogged section due to the low-lying terrain. Concerned about driving safety, she tried using her **Drying Technique**, but soon realized it wasn’t effective for this situation.  

After some thought, she switched tactics—first freezing the stagnant water with her **Freezing Technique**, then breaking the ice apart with her **Disassembly Technique**, and finally sweeping the fragments to the side before incinerating the waste.  

But this process revealed a bigger issue: several large potholes dotted the road. If the car’s tires got stuck, it would be a major hassle.  

She glanced around, then walked back and collected the debris she had previously cleared, storing it all in her Old Goods Storage.  

When prompted with the “Trade Old for New” option, she exchanged the rubble for a pile of fine gravel, which she then used to fill the potholes.  

Surprisingly, this method worked well—the road became much smoother.  

Just as she was about to continue forward, she noticed her **merit points had increased—by a full 10 points at once!** Her heart swelled with excitement.  

“See? Serving the public really pays off!”  

She made a mental note to prioritize road repairs in the future.  

Glancing back, she saw Xiao Xu was still working on the car, so she ventured a bit further ahead. However, finding no major issues within sight, she eventually returned to the vehicle.  

“Still not fixed?” she asked.  

Xiao Xu, lying under the car, replied, “It’ll take a little longer.”  

“Take your time, no rush! The road ahead looks fine,” she said, deliberately not mentioning she could also help with repairs. Instead, she wandered around nearby.  

Spotting fallen branches and leaves by the roadside, she decided to collect some in her Old Goods Storage for future kindling.  

But to her surprise, the New Product Display Hall offered her four different types of saplings instead.  

Since she couldn’t take the saplings home to plant, she ventured into the woods on the right, found soft soil, poked holes with a stick, and manually planted the shortest saplings.  

Without proper tools, this was the best she could do.  

‘Hope these little ones are tough enough to survive,’ she thought.  

Just then, her merit points increased by another point.

Her eyes lit up—planting trees also earned merit!  

From then on, she didn’t care how deep the woods were or whether rain and dew would soak her clothes. Flashlight in hand, she busied herself collecting leaves and branches, planting every sapling she obtained on the spot.  

She only stopped when Xiao Xu called out, “Sis-in-law! The car’s fixed—we can go now!”  

Gu Xiaoxi quickly shook the mud off her hands, cleansed them with her **Cleaning Technique**, and ran back to the car.  

Once they set off again, the journey went smoothly. They only had to stop three more times to clear roadblocks before finally arriving in Qingbei City.