Chapter 91

"Customer!" a voice slowly sounded, "Wake up!"

Qi Xia slowly opened his eyes and found himself still sitting in the taxi, which was now speeding down the highway.

He sat up in a daze and immediately glanced at the sky, which was a clear blue, shocking him to the core.

"What's wrong with you, customer?" the voice beside him continued to ask.

Qi Xia ignored him and instead reached out to touch his shoulder, finding no wound.

He quickly rolled down the window.

A sweet and fragrant scent forcefully rushed into his nostrils, accompanied by the wind of high-speed travel, blowing wildly against his face.

It was fresh air.

It was a cool breeze.

"Did I escape?!" he shouted uncontrollably, his face filled with barely suppressed joy.

Could this taxi be the key to breaking the deadlock?

It was like the "Boat of the Styx," capable of freely entering and exiting that bizarre "End of the World," and this woman named "Xu Liunian" was like the ferryman "Charon," responsible for shuttling people between the living world and the other side...

Qi Xia turned his head and was momentarily stunned. Where was Xu Liunian?

Beside him was a large man wearing sunglasses, whose skin was tanned and shiny from his job.

"What's wrong with you, customer?" the man looked at Qi Xia with some fear, "Did you take drugs?"

"You... I..." Qi Xia felt like he had seen this man before, but when he thought about it carefully, he had no memory of him, "Where are we going?"

"Don't scare me, customer." The taxi driver, who looked strong and burly, still nervously swallowed, "Didn't you want to go to Jinan? We've already driven nearly three hundred kilometers. Don't tell me you've lost your memory."

The man pointed to the fare meter, which had already reached over nine hundred yuan.

"What?!" Qi Xia looked at the road signs in shock, confirming that the car was indeed about to enter Jinan.

He instantly recalled everything; he had indeed seen this man before.

Because the day before the earthquake, he had taken his car to Jinan without hesitation.

"Did I go back to the day before?" Qi Xia felt in his pocket and pulled out his phone. After a quick glance, he looked puzzled, "September 27th... It's indeed the day before the 'earthquake'... What's going on?"

Thinking about this, he hurriedly felt in his chest pocket, where there was a small piece of paper.

"Thank goodness... it's still here."

"Customer... what's wrong with you..." The driver was at a loss, only able to fumble for his phone, his thumb always on the emergency call button.

"Driver, we agreed on two thousand yuan for a round trip, and I'll pay you every cent." Qi Xia suddenly felt more at ease, though he didn't know what had happened, everything seemed to be starting over.

"Really?" The driver, seeing Qi Xia's more normal behavior, relaxed a bit, "You scared me, young man... I thought you were on drugs..."

"No, I just had a very terrible nightmare." Qi Xia kept the window open, enjoying the September breeze, feeling incredibly relieved, "Thank goodness I'm awake now."

"Hey, do young people all like to stay up late?" the driver said with a seasoned tone, "Not sleeping at night and sleeping all day, how can you have good dreams?"

"You're right, driver." Qi Xia replied casually.

For Qi Xia, he now had a second chance.

Although the earthquake would come at noon the next day, his immediate priority was to get the money, as today was the "deadline."

After about an hour, the taxi finally arrived in Jinan.

The driver also opened the navigation system and headed for Erhuan East Road in Lixia District.

"Kid... where you're going..." The driver carefully looked at the navigation, "It seems to be the provincial lottery center?"

"Drive well, driver." Qi Xia closed his eyes again to rest.

Soon, the car stopped in front of the lottery center, and Qi Xia decisively counted out a thousand yuan and handed it to the driver: "Driver, please wait for me here. If you're willing to return empty, I have no objections."

"That's what I thought... I'll definitely wait for you."

Qi Xia went to the lottery center, where a staff member was already waiting for him.

"Mr. Qi, right?"

"Yes." Qi Xia nodded.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time, please follow me." The staff member gestured for Qi Xia to follow him into the hall. After a few steps, he patiently explained, "The lottery redemption process has been simplified. A staff member will verify your ticket, and then you'll receive a bank check on the spot. Please wait a moment."

"I'm in a hurry, please be quick." Qi Xia nodded and followed the staff member to the ticket verification area.

"Can I have your ticket, please?" the staff member asked.

Qi Xia took out the crumpled piece of paper from his chest pocket and handed it to the staff member, who then passed it to the inspector inside the window.

The inspector took it very seriously and immediately began verifying its authenticity.

"Prize of 1.9 million, please wait." The inspector took out a device and scanned the numbers on the ticket.

Qi Xia waited quietly, making the staff member who had guided him feel a bit puzzled: "Mr. Qi, why don't you look happy?"

"Happy?"

"Yes, you should be happy after winning nearly two million."

"Maybe." Qi Xia nodded.

"Hey, let me tell you, a few days ago, someone won a million. It was August, but the person came wearing a down jacket and a big mask. You know, in this society, who still treats a million as a treasure?" The staff member laughed at his own joke, but Qi Xia showed no reaction, making the situation quite awkward.

"How much longer?" Qi Xia asked.

"Uh... don't be in a hurry..." the staff member waved his hand, "There have been cases of fake lottery tickets recently, so we need to be thorough."

"What do you mean?" Qi Xia was taken aback and looked at him.

"Hey, don't misunderstand..." the staff member hurriedly smiled, "I'm not saying your ticket is fake. Mr. Qi doesn't look like someone who would cheat."

Qi Xia didn't respond and continued to wait.

Soon, the inspector put away the device and smiled, "Verification complete. The ticket is genuine, and we can issue the check."

Qi Xia inwardly sneered.

The ticket was of course genuine.

This 1.9 million winning ticket was bought with 2 million in cash, a genuine winning ticket.

Although he had to pay 380,000 in taxes, the remaining money would be "clean."

To make the 2 million obtained through fraud appear legitimate, this was one of the simplest methods.

"Congratulations, Mr. Qi..." the staff member continued to smile, "I'll arrange for someone to issue your check. Would you like to make a donation?"

"Make a donation? Is it mandatory?" Qi Xia asked.

"Not really, but most lottery winners do make donations."

"Since it's not mandatory, I won't donate a single cent."