Part 1: In the Martial World, Not in Control of One's Own Fate, Chapter 105: The Serpent's Journey Through Nine Curves
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a cacophony of noises, including the hum of machinery. Then the man's voice came through intermittently: "Wait a moment, don't hang up."
After about ten seconds, the other person's voice gradually became clearer, and the background noise gradually disappeared. It seemed that the man had moved to a quieter environment.
"Chen Yang".
I was slightly taken aback that he knew my name, but he quickly said, "Don't be surprised. Since last night, your name has been on the register throughout Southern Road..."
I gave a wry smile and remained silent.
“I know a little about the mess you’ve made. I won’t ask where you are now, I’m just telling you to call me at this time tomorrow. I’ll arrange a way out for you then.” The man on the other end of the phone spoke indifferently, without any emotion, just dryly telling me this.
I remained silent, and the other person suddenly gave a cold laugh. "What, you don't trust me? Since Jinhe told you to call me, you should absolutely trust me. Otherwise, you wouldn't need to make this call."
"Okay." I sighed and said slowly, "I'll call you again tomorrow morning."
Then I hung up the phone.
My mind is a bit confused...
I've got my number registered all over the streets in the south? These guys are really going all out!
I gave a wry smile. But I remained seated on the toilet, somewhat lost in thought.
I still have some doubts. Last night in Nanjing, how were they able to get to the train station and block me so quickly?
I thought for a moment, then picked up my phone and dialed a number.
This is the number I gave to Yan Di before I left. The phone rang only once before it was answered.
"Brother Xiao Wu! Chen Yang! Is that you?" Yan Di's voice sounded very excited on the phone.
"Yes, it's me," I said softly. "Are you alright?"
"I...I'm fine. Are you alright? How are you? Where are you now?"
“Not bad,” I hesitated for a moment. “I can’t tell you where I am, it’s for your own good. By the way, is Fang Nan there? Let her answer the phone.”
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by Fang Nan's voice.
Her voice was visibly trembling, but she tried to appear calm.
"What's the situation in Nanjing now?" I asked in a low voice.
"It's alright." Fang Nan smiled wryly. "Last night, around midnight, Cang Yu called me and said they had found your address and identity, and that you work for my company. Cang Yu told me to be careful, but they wouldn't dare touch me... By the way, Yan Di and the other girl are both staying at my uncle's house in the military region. It's a residential area for military leaders' families, with a very high security level. There are sentries in the military region, and outsiders can't get in. Don't worry. I'll be staying here for the next few days too; my home isn't safe anymore."
I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I heard that the girl had been transferred to the military area.
Then I voiced my question, asking Fang Nan if there was any news.
To my surprise, Fang Nan actually solved my question!
Last night, Cangyu called and said that the people investigating me had a very clever strategy!
It turns out Zhou Jing is quite cunning. On one hand, he sent people to investigate the call record in Ni Duoduo's phone; on the other hand, he almost immediately dispatched people to block all train stations, docks, and airports in Nanjing! None of the people who went there knew my identity or my name, but they all obtained descriptions of my appearance! There was even a highly skilled graphic artist who, based on the descriptions given by two bodyguards who had seen me during interrogation, immediately drew a picture of my face!
Zhou Jing's approach was undoubtedly brilliant. He didn't wait to find out my exact identity before hunting me down; instead, he immediately sent people to blockade Nanjing's transportation. This was a precautionary measure, and unexpectedly, he almost caught me!
However, Fang Nan also said that Cang Yu has indicated that she can no longer provide us with any assistance, and for safety reasons, Cang Yu cannot contact Fang Nan for the time being.
My employment with Fang Nan's company has been discovered. Zhou Jing also knows about the relationship between Cang Yu and Fang Nan.
I think Zhou Jing was quite surprised too. This guy who had caused him so much trouble was actually a young man he had met once before.
After saying this, Fang Nan hesitated for a moment and said, "Do you want to say a few more words to Yan Di? She has been waiting for your call since last night, without taking a break for a minute, and has been keeping an eye on the phone the whole time."
A sudden pang of sadness welled up inside me, and I didn't know what to feel...
I took a breath and hummed in agreement. Fang Nan immediately handed the phone to Yan Di.
"Yan Di," I said, trying to keep my voice as calm as possible, "Listen to me, take good care of yourself, be careful! Take good care of yourself..."
Each time I spoke, Yan Di would softly respond with an "Mmm" on the other end of the phone.
"...I'll check when I get back. If you've lost weight or even a single hair, I'll be angry, you know?"
“…Hmm!” Yan Di still didn’t say anything on the other end.
"I'll be fine, you can rest assured. I'll be back as soon as possible..." I thought for a moment and said, "If it's convenient, I'll find an opportunity to contact you."
“…Hmm…” Yan Di didn’t speak on the other end of the phone, but her voice trembled slightly, as if she was sobbing.
Afterwards, despite feeling extremely upset, I forced myself to hang up the phone.
I sat in the restroom, feeling quite uneasy about the consumer goods market. Even though I managed to get through to the phone number Jinhe left behind today.
However, I don't think this will help me solve any problems.
At most, it can help me escape!
But how should this be resolved?
Jinhe is Huan Ge's subordinate, and Huan Ge is the big boss's subordinate... So basically, I can't expect Huan Ge to help me solve this problem.
The only possibility right now is to escape!
Feeling a bit irritated, I locked the bathroom door from the inside, then took off all my clothes and took a shower.
There was no hot water available at the hotel this morning. But I didn't care. The showerhead was running cold water, so I stood under it, letting the icy water wash over my body, and then suddenly burst into a fit of mad laughter.
I started shivering from the cold water, but after rubbing my body vigorously, I began to get used to the bone-chilling cold.
My expression became ferocious, my face contorted, and my laughter grew louder and louder.
Damn it! Come on! Come on!
Whoever wants my life! I'll take theirs first!
When I came out of the shower, I saw Ni Duoduo sitting on the edge of the bed. She was curled up in the blankets, looking at me with a hint of panic in her eyes.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"You...you were laughing inside just now..." the girl said timidly, "It was...it was so scary."
I didn't say anything, just grabbed a clean coat and put it on, then left Ni Duoduo with the words: "Don't talk, don't wander around, and don't make any phone calls."
Then I left.
On the way, I randomly picked a hat from a street stall and bought it. It was an old-fashioned baseball cap that looked a bit silly, but I didn't care at the moment. At least with this hat on, as long as I lowered my head slightly, it would be difficult for others to see my face clearly.
I've been to Shanghai a few times, and I easily found the subway station and then headed to the train station.
Although the other party on the phone told me to call him tomorrow and said they would help me arrange things, I'm the type of person who doesn't rely on others!
I'm used to making backup plans!
When I arrived at the train station, I looked at the long queues in front of the dozen or so windows, hesitated for a moment, thought for a while, and then turned around and came out.
Shanghai Railway Station is very large, with a large plaza outside. The plaza has underground subway entrances on both sides. I casually walked across the plaza, and immediately many people surrounded me, trying to strike up a conversation.
Boss, need any documents made? Absolutely realistic!
Boss, do you need an invoice?
Boss, do you need train tickets?
I ignored them all and walked to a corner in front. There, a kid, about seventeen or eighteen years old, came up. He looked like a local thug. When he saw me coming, he came up to me and whispered quickly, "Boss, want some cigarettes? Zhonghua cigarettes are sixty yuan a carton!"
I laughed.
These kinds of things happen all the time at train stations in any city, so I'm not surprised. I just thought about it and saw this boy say, "Can you do me a favor? I'll give you a hundred yuan."
"Huh?" The kid's eyes lit up. "What's up?"
I pointed to the train station ahead: "Go to the window, queue up and buy me a ticket, then bring it back to me, and I'll give you a hundred yuan as a reward, how about it?"
"...This is it? Okay!" He seemed quite surprised.
I took out my wallet and pulled out a few bills: "Train to Luoyang, N638 tonight, two hard seats."
The thug took the money from my hand, hesitated for a moment, looked around, and whispered, "Boss, I have a way to get you a sleeper ticket. Do you want it? It's definitely a genuine ticket! I won't try to fool you with a fake one! I have connections at the station ticket office!"
I laughed and said, "Okay! If you can help me buy a sleeper ticket, no matter how much it costs, I'll give you an extra two hundred yuan as a reward."
The little rascal ran off happily, and I waited at a fast food restaurant behind the square, watching the scene outside through the glass.
Part One: In the Martial World, Not in Control of One's Own Fate, Chapter 106: A Cunning Rabbit Has Three Burrows
Six months later, I saw that scoundrel run back to the place where we had just been talking, looking around for me. I carefully observed my surroundings and, seeing that no one was following me, I felt relieved and went out.
"Boss..." The thug saw me and breathed a sigh of relief, as if he was afraid I would run away. Then he pulled two tickets out of his pocket and handed them to me. I checked the train number and time and they were correct. I held them in my hand and looked at them repeatedly to make sure they were genuine.
Seeing my actions, the scoundrel immediately said, "Don't worry! They're absolutely genuine! We won't cheat you with fake tickets! We have connections at the train station ticket office!"
I nodded without saying anything.
Everyone knows that scalpers mostly have connections with ticket offices! Otherwise, where would they get so many tickets every year? Without connections, where would they buy so many tickets? It's laughable that they keep shouting about cracking down on scalpers… can they even do that? They should investigate how so many tickets end up in the hands of scalpers!
The railway system is a murky mess!
The scoundrel asked for more than double the price of the two sleeper tickets, but I didn't haggle and bought them on the spot. I also readily handed him two hundred yuan.
After completing the transaction, I turned around and left, turning left and right on the street to make sure no one was following me before I felt relieved.
Then I found a nearby KFC, went in and ordered a FamilyMart takeaway bucket. When I was leaving, I passed a trash can, casually took out the two train tickets from my pocket, tore them to shreds, and threw them in.
Hmph, go ahead and chase me!
With a cold laugh, I casually crossed the street, carrying my KFC, and walked into the subway entrance.
My strategy is very simple:
These people who make a living at the train station—whether they sell fake tickets, fake documents, or scalpers—are all organized groups, fixed organizations that make money through shady means. It's like another world… what people often call the "underworld."
The underworld is not just the tattooed, violent thugs and petty criminals that people imagine. These people who make a living are also considered part of the "underworld".
I'm certain that Zhou Jingdi's people won't be able to catch me, so they'll quickly launch a search in the cities surrounding Nanjing, and Shanghai will definitely be a key target for their search.
Moreover, once they start searching, they'll find these train stations, docks, and long-distance bus stations, and the various gangs that make a living there. They'll ask them if they have any information, and then order them to keep an eye out.
After all, these people are local bullies!