"Passenger!" a voice slowly sounded out, "Wake up!"
Qi Xia slowly opened his eyes and found himself still sitting in a taxi, which was currently speeding along a highway. He sat up in a daze. His first act was to glance at the azure sky, and he was so shocked he couldn't control himself.
"Passenger, what's wrong with you?" the voice beside him continued to ask.
Qi Xia ignored him, instead reaching out to touch his own shoulder. There was no wound. He then hurriedly rolled down the car window.
A sweet, fresh scent unreasonably poured into his nostrils, and the wind, unique to high-speed travel, crazily beat against his face. It was fresh air. It was a cool breeze.
"I escaped?!" he shouted uncontrollably, an irrepressible joy on his face.
Could it be that this taxi was the key to breaking the deadlock?
It was like the "Boat of the River Styx," able to carry people freely in and out of that bizarre "Land of Endings," and that woman named "Xu Liunian" was like the River Styx ferryman "Charon," responsible for transporting passengers back and forth to the world of the living... Qi Xia turned his head and was inadvertently stunned.
Where was any Xu Liunian? Beside him was a large man wearing sunglasses. Due to his profession, his skin was burned dark and shiny by ultraviolet rays.
"Passenger, why are you so jumpy?"
The large man looked at Qi Xia, a little scared.
"You're not on drugs, are you?"
"You... I..."
Qi Xia felt like he had seen this large man before, but after thinking carefully, he had no impression at all.
"Where are we going?"
"Passenger, don't scare me."
The taxi driver looked big and burly, but he still swallowed nervously.
"Didn't you want to take a taxi to Jinan? We've already gone nearly three hundred kilometers, don't you dare go and get amnesia on me."
The large man pointed at the meter in front of them, which had already reached over nine hundred yuan.
"What?!"
Qi Xia looked at the road sign above in shock and saw that the car was indeed about to enter Jinan. He instantly recalled everything. He had indeed seen this large man before.
Because the day before the earthquake, he had taken this man's car and rushed to Jinan without a second thought.
"I've returned to the day before?"
Qi Xia felt his pocket, took out his phone, and after a glance, a look of confusion appeared on his face.
"September twenty-seventh... It really is the day before the 'earthquake'... What's going on?"
Thinking of this, he hurriedly felt his breast pocket. There was a small piece of paper there.
"Good... it's still here."
"Passenger... what on earth is wrong with you..."
The driver no longer knew what to do. He could only fumble for his phone in his pocket, his thumb constantly hovering over the emergency dial button.
"Driver, we agreed on two thousand yuan for the round trip fare. I'll give it to you, not a single cent less."
Qi Xia suddenly began to relax. Although he didn't know what had happened, it seemed everything was starting over.
"Really?"
Seeing Qi Xia acting more normally, the driver also relaxed his guard a little.
"You young fellow, you're so jumpy, I thought you were on drugs..."
"No, I just had a very terrible nightmare."
Qi Xia kept the window open, letting the September wind blow continuously, feeling incredibly refreshed.
"Thankfully, I'm awake from the dream now."
"Hah, do all you young people like to stay up late?" the driver said like a seasoned old man.
"Not sleeping at night, then sleeping like a log during the day, what kind of good dreams can you have?"
"You're right, driver," Qi Xia replied absentmindedly.
For Qi Xia, he now had a second chance. Although the earthquake would strike tomorrow afternoon, the most urgent task now was to get the money. After all, today was the "deadline."
About another hour passed, and the taxi finally arrived in Jinan city proper. The driver tactfully turned on the navigation and headed for Second Ring East Road in the Lixia District.
"Young man... this place you're going to..."
The driver looked carefully at the navigation.
"It seems to be the provincial lottery center?"
"Just drive your car, driver."
Qi Xia began to close his eyes and rest again. Before long, the car stopped at the entrance of the lottery center. Qi Xia decisively counted out one thousand yuan from his pocket and handed it to the driver.
"Driver, please wait for me here. If you'd rather return empty, I have no objection."
"What are you saying... Of course I'll wait for you here."
Qi Xia went to the lottery center building, where a staff member was already waiting to greet him.
"Mr. Qi, is that right?"
"That's me."
Qi Xia nodded.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time, this way please."
The staff member beckoned to Qi Xia, leading him into the lobby. After a few steps, he patiently explained, "The process for claiming lottery prizes has been simplified now. In a moment, a staff member will verify the authenticity of your ticket, and then they will issue you 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 counter.
"Um... can you give me the lottery ticket?" the staff member said.
Qi Xia took out the small, wrinkled piece of paper from his breast pocket and handed it to the staff member, who in turn passed it to the verifier inside the window. The other person took it very seriously and immediately began to verify its authenticity.
"The prize is one million nine hundred thousand. Please wait a moment."
The verifier started to take out an instrument and scan the numbers on the lottery ticket. Qi Xia waited quietly to the side, causing the staff member who had led him in to feel a bit puzzled.
"Mr. Qi, how come you don't look happy?"
"Happy?"
"Yes, winning a prize of nearly two million, you should be happy."
"Perhaps."
Qi Xia nodded.
"Heh, let me tell you, a few days ago someone won a million. It was clearly August, but that person came wearing a down jacket and a big mask. You tell me, in today's society, who still treats a million yuan like it's a huge treasure?"
The staff member made himself laugh out loud, but seeing that Qi Xia had no reaction at all, the scene became rather awkward.
"How much longer?"
Qi Xia asked.
"Uh... please don't be anxious..."
The staff member waved his hand.
"There have been cases of counterfeit lottery ticket fraud recently, so we have to be thorough with our verification."
"What do you mean?"
Qi Xia was taken aback and looked at him.
"Hey? Please don't misunderstand..."
The staff member quickly put on a placating smile.
"I'm not saying the ticket you brought is fake. Mr. Qi doesn't look like the kind of person who would commit fraud."
Qi Xia didn't answer and continued to wait by the side. In a short while, the verifier put away the instrument and revealed a smile.
"Verification complete. There's no problem with the ticket. We can issue the check."
Qi Xia sneered inwardly. Of course there was no problem with the lottery ticket. This winning ticket, worth one million nine hundred thousand, was something he had spent two million in cash to buy.
It was a genuine winning ticket. Although he had to pay three hundred and eighty thousand in taxes, the remaining money would be "clean." Wanting to make the two million obtained through fraud appear legitimate, this was one of the simplest methods.
"Congratulations, Mr. Qi..."
The staff member continued to smile placatingly.
"I'll arrange for someone to issue you the check right away. May I ask if you would like to make a donation?"
"A donation? Is it mandatory?"
Qi Xia asked.
"Not at all, it's just that most people who win the lottery make a donation."
"Since it's not mandatory, then I won't donate a single cent."
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