"Sir!" a voice slowly rose, "Wake up!"
Qi Xia slowly opened his eyes and found himself still sitting in a taxi, speeding down the highway.
He sat up in a daze, his first glance at the azure sky, so shocked he couldn't contain himself.
"Sir, what's wrong with you?" the voice beside him continued to ask.
Qi Xia ignored him, instead reaching out to touch his shoulder, finding no injuries.
He hurriedly rolled down the car window.
A sweet and fragrant smell forcefully invaded his nostrils, accompanied by the unique sound of high-speed travel as the wind fiercely whipped his face.
It was fresh air.
It was a cool breeze.
"Did I escape?!" he shouted uncontrollably, his face filled with unrestrained joy.
Could it be that this taxi was the key to breaking the deadlock?
It was like the "Boat of the Styx," capable of freely ferrying people in and out of that eerie "Land of the End," and this woman named "Xu Liu Nian" was like the "Charon" of the Styx, responsible for transporting passengers between the world of the living...
Qi Xia turned his head and was momentarily stunned. There was no Xu Liu Nian in front of him.
Beside him was a burly man wearing sunglasses, whose skin, due to his profession, was tanned to a glossy black by the ultraviolet rays.
"Sir, what's gotten into you?" the man asked, looking a bit scared as he glanced at Qi Xia, "Are you on drugs?"
"You... I..." Qi Xia felt as if he had seen this man before, but upon closer thought, he had no recollection, "Where are we going?"
"Sir, don't scare me," the taxi driver, who looked rugged, still nervously swallowed, "You wanted to take a taxi to Jinan, right? We've already covered nearly three hundred kilometers; don't tell me you've forgotten."
The burly man pointed to the meter in front of them, which had already climbed to over nine hundred yuan.
"What?!" Qi Xia was shocked as he looked at the road sign above, 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.
"Have I returned to the day before?" Qi Xia touched his pocket and pulled out his phone, his face immediately puzzled upon glancing at it, "September 27th... So it is indeed the day before the 'earthquake'... What's going on?"
Thinking this, he hurriedly felt for the pocket on his chest, where there was a small piece of paper.
"Sir... What's really wrong with you..." The driver didn't know what to do, so he could only fumble in his pocket for his phone, his thumb always on the emergency dial.
"Master, as agreed, a round trip fare of two thousand yuan, I won't short you a single cent," Qi Xia suddenly felt at ease, although he didn't know exactly what had happened, it seemed as if everything was starting over.
"Really?" The driver, seeing Qi Xia's normal behavior, also relaxed his guard a bit, "You're quite the young man, acting so strangely, I thought you were on drugs..."
"No, I just had a very terrible dream," Qi Xia said, opening the window and continuously blowing in the September breeze, feeling extremely refreshed, "Fortunately, I've woken up from the dream now."
"Sir, you're not old enough to be so mature," the driver said, "Staying up late and sleeping all day, what kind of good dreams can you have?"
"You're right, master," Qi Xia replied absentmindedly.
For Qi Xia, he now had a second chance.
Although the earthquake would come at noon tomorrow, the urgent matter at hand was to get the money, after all, today was the "deadline."
After about another hour, the taxi finally arrived in Jinan city.
The driver, being considerate, turned on the navigation and headed towards Erhuan East Road in Lixia District.
"Young man... the place you're going to..." the driver looked carefully at the navigation, "It seems to be the provincial lottery center?"
"Just drive, master," Qi Xia said, starting to rest his eyes again.
In no time, the car stopped in front of the lottery center, and Qi Xia decisively took out a thousand yuan from his pocket and handed it to the driver: "Master, please wait for me here, and if you're willing to return empty, I have no objections."
"That's what I'm talking about... I'll definitely wait for you," the driver said.
Qi Xia went to the downstairs of the lottery center, where a staff member was already waiting to greet him.
"Mr. Qi, right?"
"It's me," Qi Xia nodded.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time, this way, please," the staff member gestured for Qi Xia to follow him into the lobby, and after a few steps, he patiently explained, "The lottery prize collection process has been simplified. In a moment, a staff member will verify the authenticity of your lottery ticket, and then a bank check will be issued to you on the spot, please wait for a moment."
"I'm in a hurry, please be quick," Qi Xia nodded, following the staff member to the lottery check area.
"Could you... give me the lottery ticket?" the staff member said.
Qi Xia took out the crumpled piece of paper from his chest pocket and handed it to the staff member, who in turn handed it to the checker inside the window.
The checker took it very seriously and immediately began to verify its authenticity.
"The prize money is one million and nine hundred thousand, please wait a moment," the checker began to take out the device and scan the numbers on the lottery ticket.
Qi Xia quietly waited on the side, which made the staff member who had led the way a bit puzzled: "Mr. Qi, why don't you look happy?"
"Happy?"
"Yes, you've won a prize of nearly two million, you should be happy."
"Perhaps," Qi Xia nodded.
"Hey, I tell you, the other day someone won a million, and it was in August, but he came wearing a down jacket and a big mask. You say, in today's society, who still considers a million as a treasure?" The staff member laughed at his own joke, but Qi Xia didn't react at all, making the situation quite awkward.
"How much longer?" Qi Xia asked.
"... Don't worry about it..." The staff member waved his hand, "Recently, there have been cases of fraud using fake lottery tickets, so we have to check carefully."
"What do you mean?" Qi Xia was taken aback and looked at the other party.
"Ah? Don't misunderstand..." The staff member hurriedly smiled apologetically, "I'm not saying that the lottery ticket you brought is fake, Mr. Qi doesn't seem like the type to commit fraud."
Qi Xia didn't respond and continued to wait on the side.
In no time at all, the checker put away the device and smiled: "The check is complete, the lottery ticket is no problem, you can issue the check."
Qi Xia sneered inwardly.
Of course, the lottery ticket was no problem.
The lottery ticket that won one million and nine hundred thousand was bought with two million in cash, a genuine winning ticket.
Although he had to pay three hundred and eighty thousand in fees, the remaining money would be clean.
To legitimize the two million obtained through fraud, this was one of the simplest methods.
"Congratulations to you, Mr. Qi..." The staff member continued to smile, "I'll arrange for someone to issue you a check. Would you like to make a donation?"
"A donation? Is it mandatory?"
"It's not, but most people who win the lottery choose to donate."
"Since it's not mandatory, I won't wanna donate a penny."