Chapter 92

Qi Xia held a check and walked out of the lottery center, heading straight for the taxi.

"Hey? That was quick, young man."

The driver was standing outside the car smoking, and the sea-blue car beside him stood out among the mint-colored cars in the area.

Qi Xia didn't respond, reached out, and pulled open the car door to sit down.

"Shall... we go back now?" the driver asked.

"Sure." Qi Xia nodded but, to be safe, this time he chose to sit in the back of the car.

"Alright." The driver threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out, then got into the driver's seat. "By the way, young man, aren't you planning to hang around Jinan for a bit? I have an old friend here, and if you're not in a hurry..."

"I'm in a hurry." Qi Xia said, "Let's go."

"Oh..." The driver nodded awkwardly.

Qi Xia recalled the last time he had spent half a day in Jinan to withdraw money from the bank, eventually returning home with a large bag of cash.

He had intended to surprise Yu Nian'an, but this time, he had to skip all the formalities.

Now, he needed to get home as soon as possible to take Yu Nian'an to a safe place.

Thinking of this, Qi Xia took out his phone and called Yu Nian'an to ask her to pack a few clothes so they could stay outside for the next few days.

He opened his contacts, found the first contact, the one marked as "A," and dialed the number.

This note was specially written by Qi Xia for Yu Nian'an, ensuring that her number always stayed at the top of his contacts.

After waiting for about ten seconds, no one answered the call.

"What's going on..." Qi Xia was puzzled. Yu Nian'an never left her phone, so why wasn't she answering now?

Qi Xia hung up and tried again several times, but no one answered, which made him increasingly worried.

He looked at the time on his phone; it was already 4:00 PM.

"Driver, if we can get back to Qingdao by 7:30 PM, I'll give you an extra 500 yuan for the fare," Qi Xia said to the driver.

"Really?" The driver glanced at Qi Xia in the rearview mirror and then looked at his watch.

Three and a half hours, 350 kilometers.

Although it was a bit challenging, it wasn't impossible for an experienced driver. If he maintained a speed of 120 km/h on the highway, they should arrive by 7:30 PM.

Earning 2,500 yuan in a day was indeed rare, and the driver seemed to find it hard to believe.

"I'm not lying to you," Qi Xia nodded. "Drive safely, let's go."

The driver had a vague idea of what was going on. Who would choose to take a taxi to another city?

Although taxis were expensive, the only advantage was that they didn't require real-name registration like trains or high-speed trains.

This man was trying to come to Jinan secretly, not wanting anyone to know, so he must have really won the lottery.

Only a prize of over one million yuan required claiming at a provincial lottery center, and the actual prize might be even more.

The driver shook his head in resignation.

They say the odds of winning the lottery are lower than being struck by lightning. It was truly frustrating to see a young man with such good luck while he, in his middle age, was still doing manual labor.

Qi Xia, sitting in the back, noticed the driver's complex expression in the rearview mirror and couldn't help but smile.

Yes, for anyone, having a lottery winner sitting behind them would certainly lead to all sorts of speculations.

"Unfortunately, you're the type who has the desire but not the courage," Qi Xia thought to himself.

The taxi driver was carefully chosen by Qi Xia from among several drivers. They were waiting for customers at a hotel entrance when this burly driver, who had cut in line, was scolded by a lean colleague until he begged for mercy.

At that moment, Qi Xia saw through him.

Everyone wanted to make money, and no one was worse than the other, but he was so timid.

Such a person wouldn't dare to rob or kill.

The driver's expression fluctuated for a while, but he eventually sighed and focused on driving.

Qi Xia leaned back in his seat and called Yu Nian'an again, but no one answered.

In the quiet environment, Qi Xia recalled the events that happened in the "End Place."

Everything was so real, it didn't feel like a dream at all.

He touched his left shoulder, which showed no signs of injury, but he clearly remembered everything that happened.

He remembered Han Yimo, Qiao Jiajin, Tian Tian, Officer Li, Zhang Shan, and Old Lü all dying there. He himself had also died but returned to his previous life.

Would those people also return to their own lives...?

This must all be a bizarre prank.

As the sky darkened, the lights on the highway guardrails slowly turned on.

Although he had only been in that place for three days, Qi Xia felt like it had been a long time since he had seen lights at night.

The rapidly moving lights in the rearview mirror gave him a sense of comfort.

It seemed the driver really wanted to earn the 500 yuan, as he maintained the highest speed limit on the highway.

Like everyone else, he was always working hard to make a living.

Qi Xia decided that even if they were late, he would still give the driver the 500 yuan.

The driver tried to make conversation a few times but gradually realized that the young man wasn't very talkative, so he turned on the car radio to ease the awkwardness.

"You are now listening to 89.7 Traffic Radio."

A slightly magnetic voice slowly came through, a channel that taxi drivers often listened to.

"It's now 7:00 PM Beijing time, and we'll take a look at the comments from our online platform."

The host clearly paused, not speaking for nearly ten seconds, which was a significant live broadcast error.

"Ha!" The driver said with a hint of schadenfreude, "Young man, look at this mess. Are today's hosts just buying their positions?"

Qi Xia frowned slightly, sensing that something was off.

Live hosts usually had strong mental fortitude. Even if most comments were irrelevant, they would quickly pick out key information to broadcast. Why had the host been silent for over ten seconds?

"The comments on our platform are a bit strange..." the host said with an odd tone, "The platform has received dozens of comments, all saying that a strange crack has appeared above the Qingdao entrance of the Qingyin Expressway. We will contact the traffic police to confirm whether the crack is from a sign or another structure. Please be cautious and avoid the area if you are passing by."