Chapter 91: Lottery

"Guest!" a voice called out slowly, "Wake up!"

Qi Xia gradually opened his eyes and found himself still sitting in the taxi, speeding along the highway.

He sat up in a daze, first glancing at the vast blue sky, and was utterly shocked.

"Guest, what's wrong with you?" the voice beside him asked again.

Qi Xia ignored him and reached up to touch his shoulder—there was no wound.

He quickly rolled down the window.

A sweet, fresh scent rushed into his nostrils without warning, accompanied by the wild wind typical of high-speed driving battering his face.

It was fresh air.

It was a cool breeze.

"I escaped?!" he shouted uncontrollably, his face lit up with overwhelming joy.

Could this taxi be the key to breaking free?

It was like the "Ming He Zhi Zhou," able to carry people freely in and out of that strange "Zhong Yan Zhi Di," and this woman named "Xu Liunian" was like the ferryman "Ka Rong," responsible for transporting passengers back and forth between the world of the living...

Qi Xia turned his head and froze—where was Xu Liunian?

Beside him sat a burly man wearing sunglasses. Due to his job, his skin was tanned and shiny from sun exposure.

"Guest, why are you so startled?" the burly man asked, a bit nervously eyeing Qi Xia. "You haven't taken drugs, have you?"

"You... I..." Qi Xia felt like he had seen this burly man before, but when he thought about it, he had no clear memory. "Where are we headed?"

"Guest, don't scare me like that." The taxi driver, who looked tough and burly, still swallowed nervously. "Aren't you the one who wanted a ride to Jinan? We've already driven over 300 kilometers. Don't tell me you've got amnesia."

The driver pointed to the fare meter in front, which had already climbed to over 900 yuan.

"What?!" Qi Xia looked shocked as he glanced at the road sign above, confirming that the car was indeed entering Jinan.

He suddenly recalled everything—he had indeed seen this driver before.

Because the day before the earthquake, he had taken this very cab and headed straight to Jinan without hesitation.

"I went back to the day before?" Qi Xia patted his pocket and pulled out his phone. After a quick glance, he looked puzzled. "September 27th... It's really the day before the 'earthquake'... How is this possible?"

Thinking of this, he hurriedly felt the pocket on his chest, where a small piece of paper was tucked away.

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

"Guest... what's going on with you..." The driver was at a loss, fumbling in his pocket for his phone, his thumb hovering over the emergency dial button.

"Master, you said the round trip would be 2,000 yuan, and I'll pay you every cent." Qi Xia suddenly felt relieved, though he didn't know what had happened, it seemed like everything was starting over.

"Really?" The driver saw Qi Xia acting more normally and relaxed a bit. "You gave me quite a scare with all that jumping around—I thought you'd taken drugs..."

"No, I just had a really terrible nightmare." Qi Xia kept the window open, letting the September wind blow in, feeling incredibly refreshed. "Good thing I'm awake now."

"Hey, do all you young folks like staying up late?" the driver said in a worldly tone. "Not sleeping at night and sleeping all day—who could have good dreams like that?"

"You're right, Master." Qi Xia replied absentmindedly.

For Qi Xia, he now had a second chance.

Although the earthquake would strike at noon tomorrow, his immediate priority was to get the money, since today was the "final deadline."

About an hour later, the taxi finally arrived in the city of Jinan.

The driver wisely turned on the navigation and headed toward Lixia District, Second Ring East Road.

"Young man... the place you're going to..." The driver checked the navigation carefully. "It seems to be the provincial lottery center?"

"Just drive, Master." Qi Xia closed his eyes to rest again.

Before long, the car stopped in front of the lottery center. Qi Xia promptly counted out 1,000 yuan from his pocket and handed it to the driver: "Master, please wait here for me. If you want to head back empty, that's fine too."

"Of course I'll wait for you here."

Qi Xia went to the building downstairs, where a staff member was already there to greet him.

"Mr. Qi, right?"

"Yes, that's me." Qi Xia nodded.

"I've been waiting for you for a while. This way, please." The staff member gestured to Qi Xia and led him into the lobby. After a few steps, he patiently explained, "The lottery claiming process has been simplified now. In a moment, a staff member will verify your ticket, and then we'll issue you a bank check on the spot. Please wait just a bit."

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

"Um... could you hand over the ticket?" the staff member said.

Qi Xia took the crumpled little ticket from his chest pocket and passed it to the staff member, who then handed it to the verifier at the window.

The verifier took it very seriously and immediately began checking its authenticity.

"The prize is 1.9 million yuan. Please wait a moment." The verifier started using instruments to scan the numbers on the ticket.

Qi Xia stood quietly to the side, making the staff member who had guided him curious: "Mr. Qi, you don't look happy at all."

"Happy?"

"Yes, winning nearly 2 million yuan in prizes—you should be happy about that."

"Maybe." Qi Xia nodded.

"Hey, let me tell you, the other day someone won 1 million and came in wearing a down jacket in August, with a big mask on. Who still treats 1 million like it's a big deal these days?" The staff member laughed at his own joke, but Qi Xia showed no reaction, making the atmosphere a bit awkward.

"How much longer?" Qi Xia asked.

"Uh... don't be in a rush..." The staff member waved his hand. "There have been cases of lottery fraud lately, so we need to check thoroughly."

"What do you mean by that?" Qi Xia paused and looked at him.

"Oh? Don't misunderstand..." The staff member quickly smiled apologetically. "I'm not saying your ticket is fake, Mr. Qi. You don't seem like the type to scam anyone."

Qi Xia didn't respond and just continued waiting.

Soon, the verifier put away the instruments and smiled: "Verification is complete. The ticket is genuine, and we can issue the check."

Qi Xia smirked inwardly.

Of course, the ticket was genuine.

This ticket, worth 1.9 million yuan, was one he had bought with 2 million in cash—it was the real deal.

Although he'd have to pay 380,000 yuan in taxes, the rest would be "clean."

It was one of the simplest ways to launder the 2 million he had obtained through fraud.

"Congratulations, Mr. Qi..." The staff member kept smiling. "I'll arrange for someone to issue the check right away. Would you like to make a donation?"

"A donation? Is it mandatory?"

"Not at all, it's just that most lottery winners choose to donate."

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