How A Ride-Hailing Driver Comes To Dominate The World? [EN]: Chapter 502

The longer Yang Chen drove his sports car, the more diverse his passengers became.

He made it a rule not to initiate conversation unless a passenger spoke first.

After a while, a male passenger broke the silence, “Hey, man, ever been dumped?”

Yang Chen nodded. “Yeah, I have.”

“How’d you get over it?” the passenger pressed.

“She betrayed me,” Yang Chen replied. “All I felt was resentment, so it was easy to move on.”

“She betrayed me too…” The man’s voice trailed off. “Four years together, and just because I got transferred to Jinling [Nanjing] for a little over a month, she brings another guy home. I’m pissed, but I can’t shake her off.”

Yang Chen offered, “The person you’re crying over is already in someone else’s arms, brother. You’re stuck here, while she’s moving on with someone else. Is that really worth it?”

The passenger stared, momentarily speechless.

After a pause, he sighed. “Hearing you say it like that… I guess I don’t miss her as much as I thought. I’m even starting to feel disgusted.”

Yang Chen pressed on, “Exactly. Dwell on that disgust, and you’ll forget her in no time. A man’s career is what matters. Make money, and you’ll never lack for women. Kneel and cry all you want, she won’t feel sorry for you. She’ll just think you’re缠着 [chán zhe – clinging to] her and trying to guilt-trip her.”

“You’ve got a point, man.” The passenger seemed to perk up. “How much can you make driving for a ride-hailing app in a month? If I only drove from 6 PM to 12 AM, what could I expect?”

“Hard to say. Orders fluctuate daily. Some days are busy, others are slow. The quality of the orders also affects your income. But usually, six hours in the evening could easily net you three thousand yuan [approximately $420 USD]. That’ll cover your daily expenses, and you can save your salary from your main job. Judging by your accent, you’re probably from Wan Province [Anhui Province] or Yu Province [Henan Province], right? Work hard for about 5 years, and you could buy a house in your provincial capital back home. Ordinary folks like us have to rely on ourselves, or life will only get tougher, and no girl will want to be with you.”

The passenger nodded, lost in thought as he gazed at the city’s skyscrapers.

He remained silent until they reached the high-speed rail station.

After he exited the car, Yang Chen resumed accepting orders.

Soon, the system notified him of a new review.

It was positive.

“Thank you for your guidance, brother. May good fortune always be with you.”

Yang Chen smiled and accepted another order to the Pearl Tower [Oriental Pearl Tower], conveniently on the way to the Bulgari Hotel to see Wang Qianni.

The next passenger was a young woman, dressed in a strikingly fashionable and avant-garde style. She immediately began snapping photos of the scenery.

After a moment, she inquired, “Handsome, do you ever go to other places?”

“Depends on where you want to go,” Yang Chen replied.

“The Snow District [likely referring to a remote, snowy region]. Would you go there?”

“That’s a long way! You’re taking a ride-hailing car to the Snow District? Are you crazy? It’d be more expensive than a plane ticket.”

“I know, that’s why I don’t plan to pay.”

“Haha… beautiful lady, are you always so confident when you’re looking for a free ride?”

“I didn’t say I was taking a free ride. I can satisfy your needs on the way, once a day. How about that?”

*Damn!*

Yang Chen recalled a recent online story about a passenger traveling from Zhe Province [Zhejiang Province] to Su Province [Jiangsu Province] who left a note saying they couldn’t pay the fare and offered ‘favors’ instead.

Was this the real-life version?

He quickly declined, “Thank you for your kindness, but I prefer getting paid. If I changed my mind, I might end up in jail.”

“Don’t worry, I’m trustworthy. It’s not my first time doing this. I’ve traveled all over the country on a budget and hardly spent any money. I guarantee honesty and trustworthiness.”

*Amazing!*

“Haha… thank you, thank you. I can’t accept that kind of thing. You should contact another driver.”

“Tch, you’re such an idiot. Turning down a good thing. I don’t understand what’s wrong with you.”

*Damn!*

It was as if she assumed everyone was desperate for a woman. She showed no embarrassment, but Yang Chen found her proposition distasteful and potentially diseased.

After a pause, she spoke again, “I know there’s surveillance and recording in your car. I’m warning you not to spread it, or I’ll call the police and arrest you. Got it?”

“Don’t worry, I’m a professional. I’d never do something so low. But you should be careful. Your body is your own, don’t ruin yourself. And if you go to a place like the Snow District and run into bad people, you’ll be at their mercy. Be careful out there.”

“Oh, you’re such a warm man [a nice guy]. But warm men finish last. Who needs warm men in this day and age?”

Yang Chen chuckled and said nothing.

Soon, he dropped her off at the Pearl Tower.

Before exiting, she asked again, “Handsome, are you really not going to reconsider? I guarantee no tricks, honest and trustworthy, no deception of children or the elderly.”

“Thank you, I really don’t need it.”

“Okay, you’re such a prude. Remember my warning, don’t spread the surveillance and recording from the car, or I’ll definitely call the police and arrest you.”

“Don’t worry, I definitely won’t.”

The passenger nodded, closed the door, and walked away.

Yang Chen quickly drove off towards the Bulgari Hotel.

As he parked and prepared to log off his Didi account, the platform alerted him to a bad review.

“The driver is a prude and doesn’t use his brain. He doesn’t want a good thing that’s offered to him, acting like he’s so precious. What a joke.”

*Damn!*

It seemed his rejection had bruised her ego, prompting the negative review.

At that moment, the system issued a notification.

“Congratulations to the host for receiving a bad review. The system rewards the host with the technology to [Artificially Create Wind, Rain, Clouds, and Lightning]. Since these technologies can be used for military purposes, the system recommends that the host master the core technologies himself and not easily hand them over to others.”

Instantly, a flood of letters, numbers, and diagrams filled Yang Chen’s mind. After a moment, everything returned to normal.

“What am I supposed to do with these technologies?” he muttered.

Still, a reward was a reward. If he didn’t need it, he didn’t have to use it. It was always good to have more skills.

Yang Chen arrived at Wang Qianni’s room and knocked. She jumped up and hugged him, asking, “What took you so long? Why are you back so late?”

“I was solving a case. I just encountered a case of stealing female corpses. The forensic doctor at the Municipal Bureau is doing an identification, and there should be results soon. Go to sleep for a while, I might have to go help them later.”

“It’s already dawn, why sleep? You came back too late, I have to punish you.”

Yang Chen: “…”

…

After Wang Qianni’s playful antics, Yang Chen was wide awake.

At eight thirty, he drove away from the hotel and headed straight to the Star Chen Scientific Research Base.

The materials team was already assembled, awaiting his arrival.

Yu Shishi greeted him as he arrived.

“Mr. Yang, the materials team has all arrived and is waiting for you in the laboratory.”

“Okay. Thank you for your hard work. I’ll go talk to them.”

Yang Chen and Yu Shishi arrived at the materials team’s laboratory, where the person in charge, Zhang Yuchen, quickly approached.

“President Yang, hello. All the scientific researchers of the materials team are here. Please give us instructions,” Zhang Yuchen said respectfully.

Yang Chen smiled and waved his hand, saying, “Everyone doesn’t need to be so formal. I just happen to be free today, so I came to visit. Everyone can relax.”

“Then I’ll take President Yang to visit our laboratory and introduce our scientific research achievements to you.”

“Okay, okay. Then I’ll trouble Dr. Zhang.”

“Haha… President Yang is too polite. President Yang, this way please.”

The materials team’s primary research areas were stealth materials and high-temperature, high-pressure resistant materials, mainly in preparation for future weapons production for Star Chen Defense and research into controllable nuclear fusion.

It was no exaggeration to say that the first country to master room-temperature controllable nuclear fusion would dominate the world and even venture into the vast universe.

The principle of controllable nuclear fusion was simple, but the current obstacle was finding suitable high-temperature resistant materials.

These all required slow and steady research to prepare for the future.

Zhang Yuchen led Yang Chen on a tour, explaining the progress of each project.

Soon, they arrived at the new stealth materials laboratory.

Yang Chen stopped and carefully observed the experimental equipment and data. Noticing his interest, Zhang Yuchen focused on explaining their progress in stealth materials.

After listening for a while, Yang Chen subtly introduced elements of the [New Stealth Material] technology he’d received from the system, guiding Zhang Yuchen’s research in that direction.

Zhang Yuchen’s eyes lit up. “President Yang, you even research materials? What you’re describing is exactly the direction we’re currently exploring. We call it a metasurface film. It’s a new type of two-dimensional artificial electromagnetic material. If we could apply it to fighter jets or missiles, even the most advanced radar wouldn’t be able to detect them. However, we’ve encountered many problems we can’t solve. What you just said gave me some inspiration, and it seems there’s hope of overcoming those problems.”

Yang Chen replied, “Really? I’m just interested in military affairs and have read some related books. If my idea is useful, then it means I didn’t read all those books for nothing.”

Zhang Yuchen said, “I heard Professor Huang say before that President Yang is interested in quantum physics and has self-studied related knowledge, enabling him to guide them in developing quantum chips and proving quantum entanglement. I was a little confused. How could such profound knowledge be solved by amateur self-study? Now I believe Professor Huang’s words. President Yang is a scientific genius. It was a waste of talent for you to major in finance. If you had studied science and engineering, your achievements would be even greater.”

Yang Chen said, “I wanted to apply to Huaqing [Tsinghua University], USTC [University of Science and Technology of China], and other top universities, but my grades weren’t good enough. But I believe everything happens for a reason. If I had been admitted to Huaqing University, I might have just become one of those who went abroad, and I wouldn’t have had the opportunities I have now.”

Zhang Yuchen conceded, “What President Yang said also makes sense. We’ll go back and try to research according to your ideas. If it succeeds, we’ll be one step closer to researching the metasurface film. Can I call President Yang at any time to discuss our ideas?”

“Of course. As long as it’s for scientific research, Dr. Zhang can call me anytime. Let’s go, let’s see the other laboratories.”

“Okay, okay, thank you for your support, President Yang. This way, please.”

*Things have to be done slowly, and the technology can’t be handed over to Zhang Yuchen all at once.*

After visiting the materials team’s laboratories, Yang Chen offered some encouraging words to the researchers and left the Star Chen Scientific Research Base.

Yu Shishi asked, “President Yang, do you have any other instructions? If not, I’ll head back. I’ve arranged for temporary workers to set up the venue. If I don’t go back, the gatekeeper won’t let them in.”

“Then go back. Be careful and drive safely.”

“Okay! Then I’ll go, goodbye, Mr. Yang.”

Yang Chen nodded and watched Yu Shishi drive away.

At that moment, Chen Qingxia called.

“Hey, Brother Chen, you’ve made a great contribution. You’re definitely getting the Good Citizen Award, and I have to apply for another one for you. The forensic doctor has released the identification results. The soil collected from your car is exactly the same as the soil composition in the cemetery. The footprints on the car mat also completely match one of the many footprints found at the cemetery scene. This proves that the passenger who got in and out of your car is one of the criminal suspects who stole the female corpse. Come here quickly, let’s arrange an arrest plan.”

“That’s great. It’s good to catch this kind of immoral criminal as soon as possible. I’ll go over now, it’ll probably take about half an hour.”

“Okay, we’ll wait for you.”

Yang Chen quickly got into the car, started the engine, and called Wang Qianni.

“Hey, Brother Chen.”

“I have to go to the Municipal Bureau, so I can’t help you move. Call a moving company. I’ll take a picture of a business card and send it to you. Contact him to get the key.”

“Okay. If you have something to do, go ahead and do it. Don’t worry about me.”

“Okay. I’m hanging up.”

Yang Chen photographed the agent’s business card that Liu Jialin had given him and sent it to Wang Qianni.

More than half an hour later, Yang Chen arrived at the Municipal Bureau.

Chen Qingxia quickly led him to the conference room, which was already packed.

“Oh my god, so many people,” Yang Chen exclaimed, and quickly backed out.

Chen Qingxia grabbed him and said with a smile, “Why are you running? Everyone is waiting for you to provide information about the criminal suspect.”

“I’ll send you the video, you can tell them.”

At that moment, Director Li walked over, smiling.

“President Yang, thank you for your information and support,” Director Li said politely, shaking Yang Chen’s hand.

“It’s a cooperation between the police and the people. I just happened to run into it.”

“Come, come, come, President Yang, come in and talk. We’re all waiting for you.”

Director Li and Chen Qingxia pulled Yang Chen inside, and the police officers sitting upright immediately applauded to welcome him.

Too embarrassed to resist, Yang Chen smiled, nodded, and waved to everyone.

“To save time, let’s start directly. I cut two segments of the in-car video, let’s take a look,” Yang Chen said with a smile.

The first video showed the scene of the older man缠着 [chán zhe – pestering] Yang Chen to send paper figures and other items, including the scene of his family of three blocking Yang Chen’s car and refusing to let him leave.

The second video showed the same man taking Yang Chen’s car in the morning and being scared into running away.

After the viewing, Yang Chen said, “That’s all the help I can provide. Oh, and their address, which is Yongan Funeral Supplies Store at the South Gate of Kangxinyuan. I wish you all a smooth arrest and a quick resolution to the case.”

Director Li stood up and said loudly, “President Yang has already given us the key information. Now it’s up to everyone else. I have only one request: arrest all the criminal suspects as quickly as possible. Do you understand?”

“Understood!” Everyone responded in unison.

Director Li nodded and said, “Team Chen, this case is assigned to you. Be personally responsible. Be sure to arrest all the criminal suspects as soon as possible and recover all the stolen female corpses.”

Chen Qingxia said, “Received! Next, I will outline the arrest strategy, and each group will be responsible for its own area. If anyone is negligent and allows a criminal suspect to escape, I will punish them severely!”

Although Chen Qingxia was young, her case-handling skills were impressive.

She divided her colleagues into three echelons, surrounding the target funeral supplies store in three concentric circles to prevent any suspects from escaping.

With the arrest plan in place, everyone took action.

As the captain, Chen Qingxia didn’t need to participate in the arrest operation directly. She only needed to direct everyone’s actions from the command vehicle.

With nothing else to do, Yang Chen joined Chen Qingxia in the command vehicle.

At 12:30 PM, the target funeral supplies store was empty of customers, leaving only the family of three.

Chen Qingxia picked up the walkie-talkie and said, “Everyone listen, the arrest operation begins!”

The plainclothes police officers slowly converged on the store’s entrance. The people inside noticed the activity and quickly rushed to pull down and lock the rolling shutter door.

The three suspects ran in different directions: one upstairs, one through the back door, and one to the front to hold off the police, hoping to buy time for the others to escape.

However, the police had already formulated a comprehensive arrest plan, making escape impossible.

The woman who ran upstairs was apprehended by the officers waiting there. The man who fled through the back was apprehended as soon as he stepped outside. The old man who tried to delay the police at the front was apprehended by the officers who broke in after less than a minute.

Chen Qingxia put down the walkie-talkie and said to Yang Chen with a smile, “The arrest operation went smoothly. Let’s go down and take a look.”

Yang Chen nodded and followed Chen Qingxia to the funeral supplies store.

The family of three looked shocked when they saw Yang Chen.

The older man quickly asked, “Did you report us?”

Yang Chen replied, “Yes.”

“How did you know it was us?”

“You weren’t careful enough and left soil on the back seat of my car. Plus, you’re in this business and appeared less than three kilometers from the tomb that was robbed, so I suspected you were related to the case of stealing the female corpse. Sure enough, the forensic doctor confirmed that the soil you left on my car had the same composition as the soil in the cemetery. Oh, and the footprints you left on my car mat were also the same as one of the footprints at the scene. In short, you were unlucky and left too much evidence in my car.”

The older man closed his eyes in regret and accepted his fate.

Chen Qingxia instructed, “Take them all back, and have the others carefully survey this place several times. Contact me if you find anything. I’m going to have dinner with President Yang to thank him for his help.”

With that, Chen Qingxia pulled Yang Chen away.

“Team Chen, you don’t have to be so polite,” Yang Chen said softly.

Chen Qingxia replied in a low voice, “Stop talking nonsense, come home with me, I have to thank you properly.”