Huge Sum

The middle-aged man did not answer Zhang Shuai. He merely fixed Zhang Shuai with a sharp gaze. Seeing that Zhang Shuai's clothes were clearly too large for him and looked rather strange, he said in a deep voice, "I'm asking who you are!"

Although Zhang Shuai had now become an expert capable of smashing stones with his strength, these people carried an intimidating presence, and they had handguns in their hands. No matter how formidable he was, he had not reached the point of being able to ignore bullets.

Though he could not figure out who these people were, Zhang Shuai was cowed by their aura and explained, "My name is Zhang Shuai. I'm an electrician. I was riding my electric scooter down the back roads to return to Qingshui City when this woman tried to run me over. Luckily, I dodged quickly, or she would've killed me. I was so angry that I chased after her and stopped her car, intending to make her give me an explanation..."

The middle-aged man turned and looked at the electric scooter by the grass more than a hundred meters away, then pointed at it. "That's your electric scooter?"

Zhang Shuai nodded and said indignantly, "Yes. That was practically attempted murder! I have to call the police and make her compensate me for my losses..."

The middle-aged man cut him off. "Enough. You don't look injured, so don't call the police. How much was that electric scooter? We'll compensate you. Is three thousand enough?"

Three thousand? He had bought that secondhand electric scooter for five hundred yuan two months ago. If they compensated him three thousand, he would net a profit of two thousand five hundred.

Besides, he had no idea who these people were, but they were clearly not to be trifled with. Zhang Shuai did not want to stir up trouble either. Getting three thousand in compensation would at least soothe the fire in his heart somewhat.

The man relaxed, then instructed the young man in his twenties behind him, "Xiao Fang, go get three thousand yuan in cash from the car and compensate him. Keep proper accounts and submit them for reimbursement when we get back to the unit."

Xiao Fang immediately went to the car, took out three thousand yuan in cash, and handed it to Zhang Shuai.

Zhang Shuai reached out and accepted it. Without another word, he turned and prepared to leave.

"Wait! How did you stop that woman's car just now?"

Zhang Shuai himself found the question baffling. Perhaps his rage had unleashed his potential, allowing him to burst forth with terrifying speed. But he certainly would not say that, so he casually explained, "I was furious, so I took off after her car. Maybe she wasn't driving that fast. After I caught up, I smashed her window, and she slammed on the brakes. I was about to drag her out of the car when you appeared."

"So you caused the injuries on her face?"

"I was too angry at the time. I only wanted to drag her out of the car and send her to the police station, so I may have hit a little too hard..."

As he spoke, Zhang Shuai kept a wary eye on the group, afraid they might suddenly turn on him.

"Fine. There's nothing else. You can go. Don't tell anyone about what happened today."

Zhang Shuai let out a breath. It seemed this group was not made up of vicious kidnappers. They had no intention of silencing him for good.

After Zhang Shuai had walked back for a while, he glanced behind him several times and saw that the entire group had gotten into their cars. The woman's white SUV had been driven away as well.

As the three vehicles passed him one after another, Zhang Shuai stepped aside to let them through.

His sharp eyes peered through the car window, and he saw the woman inside staring fixedly out the window at him. Her gaze was strange, carrying both resentment and fury, yet seemingly mixed with a hint of expectation?

Only after watching the group's vehicles vanish from sight did Zhang Shuai finally let down his guard.

He had truly been unlucky today. He had run into a crazy woman and nearly been run over. Still, the one consolation was that he had received three thousand yuan in compensation.

As for what those men had kidnapped the woman for, Zhang Shuai had no intention of calling the police. If the woman had not tried to run him over earlier, then if he encountered a woman being abducted on the road, Zhang Shuai would certainly report it in passing. But that woman had a heart as venomous as a snake and a scorpion. Zhang Shuai could not be bothered with whether she lived or died!

Zhang Shuai walked over to his electric scooter and helped it upright. It had been badly mangled in the collision and was basically scrap. He tried it, and sure enough, it would not start.

Helpless, Zhang Shuai could only pick up his fallen clothes, tent, tools, and other things, pack them into his travel bag, sling it over his back, and prepare to flag down a ride on the highway back to the city.

Then Zhang Shuai suddenly recalled that when he had jumped from the car, he had seen the woman throw a black plastic bag from the vehicle.

Thinking of this, Zhang Shuai curiously walked into the grass across the road and began searching. Before long, he found the black plastic bag.

When he lifted the plastic bag, it felt rather heavy, probably close to five kilograms.

The plastic bag had been tied in a dead knot. With a slight exertion of both hands, Zhang Shuai tore it open.

Soon, Zhang Shuai saw two large bundles of cash inside, along with a gray stone, a small USB drive, and a note.

When he unfolded the note, he saw a line of delicate handwriting: "Congratulations. You found this bag, and wealth and honor have already descended upon you. The two hundred thousand yuan in cash is yours. I'll also give you a phone number. Call it, and someone will come to collect the USB drive and stone from you. At that time, you will be rewarded with ten million yuan. Please make sure to hand the items over to them. The ten million will certainly be paid in full, not a cent less. Phone number..."

Zhang Shuai was stunned. Ten million? How could a poor country boy like him ever have imagined earning ten million?

But this ten million probably would not be easy to take.

The two hundred thousand was merely bait, meant to exploit human greed and get someone to deliver the USB drive and stone for her.

Without question, if the other party was willing to pay ten million, the secret in that USB drive had to be anything but simple. If he really handed it over, Zhang Shuai seriously doubted whether he would be silenced afterward.

Just from the woman's conduct, it was clear she treated human lives as nothing. Anyone connected to her could not be decent either. Perhaps they truly were capable of murdering someone to silence them.

Zhang Shuai began guessing at the woman's identity. What if she was a spy who had stolen important secrets from the Dragon Kingdom? If he really coveted that enormous sum of ten million and made the call, perhaps he would indeed be murdered and silenced.

In an instant, Zhang Shuai made his decision. He would give up the ten million. Taking the two hundred thousand was enough!

As for whether he should turn the things he had found over to the police station, the thought never even crossed Zhang Shuai's mind.

He truly had no good impression of the police. When he had first arrived in Qingshui, he had been bullied and gotten into a fight. He called the police and went to the station, but the attitude of the officer handling the case had left him furious and chilled to the bone. He was the victim, yet in the officer's eyes, he was the troublemaker. Nothing was resolved, and he was even lectured.

Besides, this was two hundred thousand yuan in cash! Zhang Shuai had never seen such a huge sum of money, and he could not bear to hand it over. That woman had just tried to kill him with her car, so he would treat this money as compensation for himself!

Zhang Shuai convinced himself deep down. He would keep the money for now. As for the USB drive and stone, if he had the chance someday, he could find an opportunity to hand them over to the state.

Zhang Shuai set down his travel bag and sorted through it, throwing away all his old clothes. He had lost a great deal of weight, and those clothes were now far too big for him. Before, he had no money and could not bear to throw them away. Now that he had money, it was time to get some properly fitting clothes.

Zhang Shuai packed the black plastic bag into his travel bag as well, then hoisted the bag onto his shoulder and strode toward the main road.

Zhang Shuai's stamina was now much better than before he lost weight. Though the travel bag weighed more than ten kilograms, it did not burden him in the slightest. And because it contained two hundred thousand yuan in cash, Zhang Shuai was in an excellent mood and did not feel tired at all. Even beneath the blazing sun, he did not mind being scorched by its rays, and he walked extremely fast.

In less than twenty minutes, Zhang Shuai reached the highway.

There was quite a bit of traffic coming and going. Zhang Shuai waited by the roadside for several minutes before a coach bound from Fuzhu County to Qingshui Bus Station arrived.