Chapter 94: Never Changed
As time ticked by minute by minute, the traffic finally started moving.
But it was moving much slower than Qi Xia had anticipated.
It seemed that right near the entrance, this strange weather phenomenon had indeed caused a car accident.
By the time the bizarre crack disappeared and traffic began flowing into Qingdao again, it was already eight o'clock in the morning.
During this time, Qi Xia had been calling Yu Nian'an's phone nonstop, but no one ever answered.
After thinking it over, there was only one reason that could explain the situation.
Yu Nian'an had already been taken into police custody.
"Driver, change the destination." Qi Xia keenly realized this, knowing he couldn't go home anymore, so he said to the driver, "We don't need to go where I got on. I'll give you a new address."
Qi Xia searched for an address on his phone and handed it over.
"Oh?" The driver took the phone, glanced at it, and knew the destination. "Alright, the mileage is about the same. I'll take you straight there."
Finally, around ten thirty in the morning, the driver pulled up to the destination.
This was a block of cheap rental apartments in the old district of the northern part of the city.
"We're here, young man." The driver let out a long breath. "I can't believe how long that took."
"It's fine, driver." Qi Xia took another one thousand five hundred yuan in cash from his pocket and handed it to him. "Thank you."
"No problem, no problem! It's the least I could do!" The driver took the money excitedly. "If you need anything else, just call me again!"
Qi Xia nodded and was about to head toward the rental apartment when he suddenly remembered something and turned back. "Driver, I know you're very tired now, but don't go home before noon. If you're tired, just rest in the car for a while."
"Huh?" The driver was taken aback. "What do you mean? Can't even go home?"
"I have no reason to lie to you." Qi Xia said. "Something big is about to happen. It'll be safer to stay outside."
With that, Qi Xia stopped paying attention to the driver and walked toward the rental apartment.
This was a backup living spot that Qi Xia and Yu Nian'an had rented, precisely for moments like this.
He planned to pack a few clothes here and then figure out his next move.
After taking seven steps, the phone in Qi Xia's pocket suddenly vibrated.
His heart skipped a beat. He quickly took it out and looked.
Incoming call from "A".
"An?" Qi Xia was stunned, feeling like his deduction might have been wrong.
Was Yu Nian'an not under police control?
Or... was this call forced by someone else?
"Hello?" Qi Xia answered, his tone calm.
He knew that even if this call was from the police, he had to make sure they took Yu Nian'an out of the building, or the consequences would be unthinkable.
"Xia!" Yu Nian'an called out weakly. "I'm sorry... I think I'm sick. I've been in a daze since yesterday afternoon and only just woke up."
"Sick?" Qi Xia frowned slightly. "Did you feed the fish yesterday?"
"Pfft..." Yu Nian'an gave a weak smile. "What are you doing? Throwing me a 'code word'? Nothing's going on. I'm just really not feeling well."
Qi Xia finally understood and quickly said, "An, listen to me. Pack your things right now and wait for me downstairs. I'm coming to get you."
"Huh?"
"No time to explain. Trust me." Qi Xia said urgently. "I've lied to a lot of people, but I've never lied to you."
"Okay..." Yu Nian'an agreed. "I'll pack up now. How long until you get here?"
"I..." Qi Xia checked his phone, feeling that the situation was not good.
From here, it would take at least an hour to get there by car, and they would probably hit the terrible earthquake right on time.
"Don't worry about how long I'll take. Just leave the house. Even standing at the doorstep is fine."
"Oh... alright then." Yu Nian'an nodded. "I'll wash my face and be down in about ten minutes."
"Good!"
Qi Xia hung up and hurriedly looked back for the taxi driver. He found that the driver hadn't left yet and was sitting in the driver's seat, using a miniature UV flashlight to check for counterfeit bills.
"Driver!" Qi Xia knocked on the window, startling the driver.
"Oh my god!" The driver quickly put the money away, only to realize it was that "big spender."
"Young man?" He rolled down the window and looked around. "What now?"
"Take me back to where I got on yesterday!" Qi Xia said. "And hurry this time too. I'll give you a hundred!"
"Ha!" The driver laughed and waved at Qi Xia. "Got it. Hop in!"
Qi Xia opened the door and sat down, still looking anxious. He kept checking his phone, but unfortunately, he hadn't noted the exact time when the earthquake struck.
He only knew the earthquake came around noon, but was it eleven or twelve?
Thinking this, he urged the driver again. "Please, a little faster."
"Young man, you're asking too much. I'm driving while exhausted..."
"Uncle, I'm really in a hurry."
"Alright, alright..."
The driver couldn't argue with Qi Xia and pressed the accelerator a bit more.
The usual one-hour trip took only forty minutes.
"Thanks, driver." Qi Xia threw down a hundred yuan and got out without looking back.
But as he looked around, something felt off.
Yu Nian'an wasn't waiting for him downstairs at all.
"What's going on?"
Qi Xia's first thought was that Yu Nian'an might be shopping at a nearby convenience store. He called her phone, but again, no one answered.
"An, where did you go...?"
Before he could figure it out, a series of loud rumbles came from the distance.
The roar came one after another, like tens of thousands of trains running on the road.
The next second, the ground suddenly shook violently. Qi Xia lost his balance and fell hard.
"Damn it!"
He knew it was bad. The last earthquake had caught him in the exact same spot.
It was as if fate had arranged it—the same time, the same place.
Even though everything had started over, nothing had changed.
Cars around him began to crash into each other, and screams erupted everywhere.
Qi Xia couldn't care about anything else. He rushed toward the entrance of his apartment building. Even if there was a one-in-a-million chance Yu Nian'an was still home, he had to save her. But moving during the earthquake was nearly impossible. He fell five or six times before finally regaining his balance.
"An!!" He shouted toward the upper floors. They only lived on the third floor—she should have been able to hear him.
Qi Xia steadied himself and stepped into the building entrance.
He remembered that when he had entered the building entrance before, the doorway had collapsed, and that was how he had died.
Thinking this, he quickly sidestepped. A huge chunk of stone slammed down right where he had been standing.
The stone was massive. If it had hit him, there was no way he could have survived.
"It seems I really did die back then..."