Chapter 494: Chapter 493: Panic and Unease
In the taxi, Liu Zheng’s heart was filled with panic and unease.
He didn’t know what had happened to him.
......
Half an hour later.
"Phew!"
Liu Zheng let out a sigh of relief, his face revealing a relaxed smile.
"Finally here!"
"Driver, please stop here, thank you, no need for change!" Liu Zheng said to the taxi driver.
"Okay, I’ve transferred your card back to your bank account."
"No need for change."
"Your card has been frozen, so you’re no longer my customer now."
"What?" Liu Zheng was stunned, "What... What did you say? My card has been frozen?"
"What do you think?" the taxi driver said indifferently.
Liu Zheng’s face instantly darkened.
"My card was frozen?"
"Driver, you can’t do this. I’m paying you for your service, how can you just leave without payment? This isn’t very decent of you," Liu Zheng said angrily.
"Sorry, but you were the one with the big hand, turning into that..." The taxi driver shrugged helplessly, "I’m not the kind of driver who charges protection money."
"No, no, this can’t be left as is, you must compensate me," Liu Zheng bellowed.
"Otherwise, I’ll report what just happened to the police."
"You dare?" A cold, murderous intent filled Liu Zheng’s eyes.
"Ha ha...."
The taxi driver sneered with disdain: "I dare? Of course, I don’t dare."
After saying this, he slammed on the brakes abruptly.
Boom!
The taxi emitted a piercing noise and came to a halt.
"What, what are you going to do?"
"Get out, get out quickly."
Liu Zheng was startled and couldn’t help asking, "You... You’re not afraid of the police, are you?"
"If you don’t leave now, don’t blame me for being rude!" the taxi driver glared at Liu Zheng.
"You, you’re not a black taxi driver?" Liu Zheng’s face looked exceedingly ugly, "Who are you?"
"You’d better just get out!" The taxi driver snorted coldly.
Liu Zheng seethed with inner resentment, wondering what kind of lousy place this was where even the taxis were fakes.
Although he didn’t know the identity of the taxi driver, he was very clear about his current situation; he needed to find his way home quickly.
"Fine, since you’re not a black taxi driver, I’ll give you a chance now. Just compensate me a hundred yuan, and I won’t pursue today’s incident," Liu Zheng offered.
"What?"
The taxi driver’s face changed uncertainly.
He had assumed Liu Zheng wouldn’t dare to follow through, but to his surprise, Liu Zheng was actually demanding a hundred yuan in compensation.
"You’re robbing me in broad daylight!"
"Don’t you know I’m just a taxi driver making a hard-earned income? Is that wrong?" Liu Zheng snorted coldly.
Hearing this, the taxi driver’s face grew even darker, his fingers trembling slightly.
Liu Zheng felt a rush of smugness inside; this old driver clearly didn’t dare lay a hand on him.
Just as Liu Zheng was preparing to extort more from the taxi driver, something suddenly occurred to him, and he quickly spoke up, "Driver, I get it, you just want money. Wait for me to get back, and I’ll give you a thousand yuan right away."
Upon hearing Liu Zheng’s willingness to give him a thousand yuan, the taxi driver’s face visibly brightened, and the anger in his heart dissipated.
Liu Zheng looked at the taxi driver, a cold smile curling up at the corner of his mouth, thinking this kind of bully who fears the tough was not worth his time.
Liu Zheng pulled out a stack of crisp banknotes and handed them to the taxi driver.
"Here’s a thousand yuan for you. Now drive me home immediately," Liu Zheng said.
"No!"
"You’re not a black taxi driver? Then why do you want my thousand yuan?" Liu Zheng’s face bore a playful smile.
Seeing Liu Zheng’s expression, the taxi driver’s anger surged again, and he snorted disdainfully, "I’m not taking a penny from you, that’s already generous enough. And you still want me to drive you home?"
With that, the taxi driver’s face wore a mocking smile.
He didn’t know how he had possibly offended Liu Zheng.
He didn’t think he had done anything to make Liu Zheng despise him.
"Well, if you’re not taking me home, there’s nothing I can do. You can go!" Liu Zheng waved his hand dismissively.
"You......."
"What about me? You should know, the world isn’t full of good things," Liu Zheng snorted coldly, "If you don’t want to take me home, I can only take a cab home myself."
After saying that, Liu Zheng was about to leave.
"Where, where are you going?" The taxi driver quickly stopped Liu Zheng upon seeing this.
"Of course, I’m going home."
"You....." The taxi driver’s face turned ashen with anger, grinding his teeth in hatred. This kid was simply shameless.
But due to the stack of bright red banknotes in Liu Zheng’s hand, he really didn’t dare do anything to him.
"Fine, I’ll take you home, but you have to give me fifty bucks," the taxi driver said helplessly.
Liu Zheng couldn’t help laughing inwardly, but he put on a very unhappy face.
He took out fifty yuan from his pocket, threw it on the taxi seat, and said coldly, "I’m giving you fifty yuan, and we’re even. Now hurry up and go."
"Fifty yuan? Why don’t you go rob someone?"
"If you think it’s too little, then give me thirty, and we’ll call it even," Liu Zheng said with a smile.
"Alright, alright, I’ll give you thirty," the taxi driver stamped his foot in frustration.
"Haha...."
...
...
At this time, a taxi was driving toward an apartment building.
"Boss, your performance just now was simply brilliant," the driver praised with a chuckle while driving.
"Of course, that’s my specialty!" The man sitting in the front passenger seat showed a proud look, "And who do you think owns this car?"
"That’s true," the taxi driver laughed with a hint of flattery. He was just a runner, after all, his words filled with sycophancy.
Just then, he suddenly noticed a familiar face in the taxi’s rearview mirror.
"How can this be?"
The taxi driver’s face changed instantly.
"What are you doing?" The man sitting in the back asked, seeing the drastic change in the taxi driver’s expression.
"No... nothing."
The taxi driver shook his head quickly.
"If it’s nothing, why do you look so upset?" the man asked, puzzled.
"It’s nothing..." the taxi driver denied again.
"Nothing? You’re acting very strange, getting all worked up for what?"
"Well, boss, you didn’t see a silver taxi coming at you just now. Luckily we dodged in time, or else we would’ve been in deep trouble," the taxi driver said.
"Oh, so what? We are legitimate drivers. If we hit someone, it just means the driver’s skills are lacking, it doesn’t mean it was deliberate," the man stated.
"No, you’re wrong."
"Hmm?" the man asked, confused.
"Don’t you think the owner of that taxi looks very familiar?" the taxi driver said with a smile.
"Who are you talking about?"
"That taxi’s license plate number is xxxxx, I remember it clearly."
"Oh... yes, isn’t he that Liu Zheng?" the man suddenly realized.
"So you think, is he after me?" A flicker of fear flashed in the taxi driver’s eyes.
"Don’t worry, he doesn’t have the guts. This is the main street, if he dares to do anything, he’s done for," the man reassured.
Upon hearing the man’s words, the taxi driver finally breathed a sigh of relief.
These drivers all needed this job to make a living; if they upset the police because of this incident, their means of livelihood would be at risk.
"I knew it; that kid certainly wouldn’t dare to do anything to us. I suspect he wanted to harness our power to get back at you, so he extorted money from you," the taxi driver said with a laugh.
"Hmph!"
"Boss, you better be careful. These days, the wealthy are the most fickle. You see, they talk a good talk, but this sort of thing is all too common for them."
"You bastard, are you asking for a beating?" The man’s face twisted into a fierce expression, glaring fiercely at the taxi driver.
"Don’t be angry, don’t be angry, I won’t mention it again, I was just telling it like it is, all for your sake."
After hearing what the taxi driver said, the man finally calmed down.
Upon returning to the apartment, Liu Zheng immediately called Liu Yun.
The phone rang for a long while with no answer, and just as Liu Zheng was feeling dejected and about to hang up, the call connected.
"Hello?"
Liu Yun’s lazy and seductive voice came through the earpiece, tinged with sleepiness.
"Xiaoyun, it’s me!" Liu Zheng hurried to speak.
Hearing it was Liu Zheng’s voice, Liu Yun on the other end of the phone paused, then asked, "Liu Zheng, why are you calling me? Is something the matter?"
