How A Ride-Hailing Driver Comes To Dominate The World? [EN]: Chapter 517

The Great War (1)

Yang Chen was lying on the small bed, idly playing with his phone, when a rather robust woman walked in.

This was Zhang Li, the one Gao Qijun had mentioned earlier, and also one of his mistresses.

Zhang Li’s appearance and figure would likely appeal to older men. She had the kind of build that some would describe as “built for bearing sons.”

“Hello, honored guest, I’m technician number 002, and I’m very happy to serve you.”

Yang Chen: “How happy are you?”

Zhang Li: “Very happy.”

Yang Chen: “Then show me how happy you are.”

Zhang Li was taken aback for a moment, then grinned.

Yang Chen: “Not bad. Are you healthy? Strong?”

Zhang Li: “Boss, you’ve come to the right place. I’m the strongest technician in our shop.”

Yang Chen: “Really? Strong is good, come on then.”

Zhang Li: “Okay, boss.”

Zhang Li busied herself, instructing Yang Chen to put his feet in the wooden basin.

Zhang Li: “Boss, is this temperature okay?”

Yang Chen: “Yeah, just right. You can tell you’re a pro.”

Zhang Li: “Brother, you’re right about that. I’ve been in this business for almost ten years.”

Yang Chen: “Really? You don’t look that old, maybe twenty-five or six? Ten years?”

Zhang Li: “Yeah, I started working after graduating from junior high school [typically around age 15]. I was working in Dongguan City back then. Later, things weren’t so good there, so I came to Haicheng with my sisters [referring to other women in the same profession].”

Yang Chen: “Is that so? A child from a poor family.”

Zhang Li: “Ah… no choice. There are four children in the family, and I’m the eldest, so I had to go out to work early to support the family. Otherwise, relying on my parents to farm those few acres of land, our whole family would starve to death.”

Originally, Zhang Li wanted to gauge Yang Chen’s financial situation, but before she knew it, Yang Chen had already learned about her family situation first.

Halfway through the massage, Zhang Li realized that she had been asked all sorts of questions, but she still didn’t know anything about Yang Chen’s background, which made her feel a bit foolish.

Zhang Li quickly changed the subject and asked, “Brother, what do you do for work? You look really fit, are you a fitness coach? Or do you practice martial arts?”

Yang Chen: “Neither, I’m just an ordinary ride-hailing driver [similar to Uber or Lyft].”

Zhang Li: “Ah? A ride-hailing driver? In my experience, aren’t drivers all greasy middle-aged men? They usually don’t get enough exercise while driving, and their physical fitness is very poor. Because they sit for long periods without exercise, many drivers even have sexual dysfunction. I really can’t tell that you’re a driver. Your family must be very rich, right? Otherwise, how could a driver maintain such a good figure?”

Yang Chen: “Not really rich, but I have no worries about food and clothing. My parents passed away early and left me a few houses. I live in one myself, and rent out the rest. The rent is enough for me to live on. I drive for a ride-hailing service purely to have something to do.”

Zhang Li: “Brother, you’re so lucky. Do you have a girlfriend? If not, do you think I’m okay?”

Yang Chen: “Haha… don’t mess around, the boss will hear you later and beat me up. I just stopped by here for a massage and accidentally stole his technician; he would definitely fight me to the death. I don’t have a girlfriend at the moment. As soon as people hear that I’m a ride-hailing driver, they don’t even give me a chance to get to know them, and they just find an excuse to leave. After a while, I stopped wanting a girlfriend. I always feel that they are all very materialistic. Without money, you are not worthy to be with them.

Since that’s the case, why should I have to be with them if I have money? Isn’t it great like this now? When I’m happy, I come for a massage and foot wash, and it feels so good to spend money on myself. Why spend it on a woman who puts money first?”

Zhang Li: “Brother, you see things so clearly. But your parents passed away early, and you don’t have a girlfriend, wouldn’t you be lonely?”

Yang Chen: “I guess so. I used to have classmates and friends to hang out with, but as they all got married and started their careers, and had a lot of work and life pressure, we had less and less contact. And they all have proper jobs, and I, a ride-hailing driver, am not worthy of them.”

Zhang Li nodded and quickly said, “Actually, your kind of life is what I yearn for the most. Who wouldn’t want to live well by just lazing around every day? Unfortunately, I’m not as lucky as you. My parents couldn’t leave me a few houses in a place like Haicheng. Not to mention Haicheng, if my parents could buy me a house in my hometown county, I wouldn’t have ended up where I am today. A proper job pays two or three thousand, three or four thousand a month [currency unspecified, but likely RMB]. In this era of high prices, it’s difficult to live alone, let alone take care of a family. I have no choice. You can choose the life you want, that’s great…”

If he didn’t know that the boss of this shop was a drug dealer, Yang Chen might have been moved by Zhang Li’s words and might have chatted with her more.

The 60-minute service ended, and Yang Chen checked in for the night and slept there.

Zhang Li went to Gao Qijun’s office and told him all the information she had gathered.

“Damn! His situation is perfect for working with us. He has no ties, and as long as we can lure him to become addicted to the powder [a euphemism for drugs, likely heroin or methamphetamine], he will definitely do anything,” Gao Qijun said with a smile.

Zhang Li: “Brother Jun, forget it. He’s an honest person, why drag him into this? I’m desperate and have no choice but to take this path. His parents left him a few houses, and the rent is enough for him to live on. Driving for a ride-hailing service is just to pass the time. I’m so envious of his life. Don’t ruin him; he’s living my dream.”

Gao Qijun: “Damn, don’t tell me you like him because he’s handsome? Am I not good to you?”

Zhang Li: “You are good, but I earned all this with my life, which is no match for his kind of life. Including you, Brother Jun, didn’t you also earn everything you have now with your life? If you were given a chance to choose again, would you choose a free life or the life you have now? Answer me honestly.”

Gao Qijun was stunned and didn’t know how to answer for a moment.

For normal and ordinary people, they definitely want to live a life like Yang Chen, without worrying about living expenses, driving a ride-hailing service at their own will to pass the time, and not being tied down by a partner.

Gao Qijun now has a lot of wealth, but his wealth is just a house of cards, destined to collapse one day; it’s just a matter of time.

If he said he didn’t envy Yang Chen’s life, he would be lying.

If he said he envied Yang Chen’s life, he would be denying himself.

After hesitating for a while,

Gao Qijun gritted his teeth, sneered, and replied, “If I were given a chance to choose again, I would still choose the life I have now. Some people suffer for a lifetime, so what if they live to be a hundred years old? My life is exciting enough; 30 years is enough.”

Zhang Li nodded, then smiled bitterly and said, “You’re the boss, you have the final say. I’m just saying what’s on my mind; I don’t agree with you dragging an honest person into this. I’m going to be busy.”

After speaking, Zhang Li opened the door and left.

Gao Qijun sneered; the most taboo thing in this business is to be soft-hearted. How can you sell goods to others if you are soft-hearted?

Yang Chen locked the door and prepared to sleep for a while.

At this moment, Gao Minxia called him.

Gao Minxia: “Brother Yang, thank you.”

Yang Chen: “You’re welcome; it’s just a small favor. Are you in the car now?”

Gao Minxia: “Yes. I’m already in the car. I will definitely thank you properly when I get back.”

Yang Chen: “No need, it’s just a small favor. Be safe on the road, bye.”

Gao Minxia: “Okay. Thank you, Brother Chen.”

Hanging up the phone, Yang Chen was just about to sleep when Zhang Li sent him a message.

Zhang Li had already figured out the route, and Yang Chen directly forwarded it to Chen Qingxia.

Then Yang Chen replied to Zhang Li: Well done, thank you for your hard work. I’ll have others investigate the rest; don’t you get involved.

Soon, Chen Qingxia replied with a message.

“The anti-drug team and the customs have already started to take action. They will act tomorrow when someone picks up the goods. The three rooms opposite you are all comrades from the anti-drug team. If anything happens, shout loudly, and they will take turns on duty listening to the movements in your room. If the situation is urgent, you can take the initiative to reveal your identity. Ensuring your safety is the most important thing, and criminals can be caught slowly later.”

Yang Chen replied: Got it, don’t worry, I know what to do.

It was getting late; Gao Qijun drove away from the SPA shop and prepared to go home to sleep.

Halfway there, he suddenly turned around and went to his elder brother’s house.

Gao Qijun felt a strange sense of unease in his heart and planned to go to his elder brother now to inquire about the specific situation of the drug trafficking group being tracked and investigated.

Soon, Gao Qijun arrived at his elder brother’s house.

At this time, Gao Qiguo was already asleep. Hearing his younger brother calling his name, he quickly got up, put on his clothes, and came down to greet his younger brother.

“You kid, why are you back at this time? If you wanted to come back, why didn’t you come back earlier? It’s already past one o’clock,” Gao Qiguo scolded good-naturedly.

Gao Qijun: “I was thinking about going to pick up my sister with you tomorrow.”

Gao Qiguo: “Haha… it’s great that you think so. I’m not afraid of anything now; I’m just afraid that you’ll mess around.”

Gao Qijun: “Brother, what you said makes me, as your younger brother, a little embarrassed. Is this my status and image in your heart now?”

Gao Qiguo quickly patted his younger brother on the shoulder and explained with a smile: “I don’t mean that; I just hope you can be well and don’t get into any trouble.”

Gao Qijun nodded with a silly smile, using this to lull his elder brother’s suspicions.

A series of brotherly affections quickly confused Gao Qiguo, and unknowingly he said that the company being targeted was Qingyang Trading Company.

Hearing the words Qingyang Trading Company, Gao Qijun’s face suddenly froze.

Although he immediately returned to normal, this change in expression was still captured by his brother.

Gao Qiguo really loved his younger brother and didn’t want him to go astray.

“Xiaojun [a term of endearment for younger brother], you came back so late, are you here to test me? You’re still in contact with those people, right? Xiaojun, what are you thinking? I’ve been telling you so many heartfelt words almost every day; didn’t you listen to a single one?” Gao Qiguo asked sadly.

Gao Qijun quickly denied it: “Brother, what are you thinking? How can you think of your younger brother like that? You also know that I had some involvement with this industry before. I just wanted to know which company was being targeted, just to watch the fun.”

Gao Qiguo shook his head and said, “No! No, no… you are my brother. You were just born when I was 7 years old. It can be said that I watched you grow up. I know exactly what every expression of yours means. You came back at more than one o’clock in the morning just to get information from me. Give me your phone. From now on, you are not allowed to leave half a step. You can only leave after the police action ends tomorrow.”

Gao Qijun: “Brother, you… ah, I really don’t know what to say. Okay, okay, to put your mind at ease, I’ll give you my phone. From now on, I won’t leave the house a step. Is that okay?”

After speaking, Gao Qijun turned off his phone and handed it to his brother.

Gao Qiguo nodded and explained: “Xiaojun, don’t misunderstand your brother. Your brother just doesn’t want you to be implicated. Okay, go to sleep.”

Gao Qijun nodded, turned around, and went upstairs to his room.

He locked the door and took out another phone from his pocket and turned it on.

Gao Qiguo just said that he watched his younger brother grow up and knew what every expression of his meant.

By the same token, Gao Qijun, as the younger brother, also knew his elder brother quite well and guessed that his elder brother would definitely confiscate his phone, so he brought a spare phone in advance.

However, Gao Qiguo was still one step ahead. He directly cut off the internet at home and turned on a signal jammer. Gao Qijun turned on his phone and found that he could only play stand-alone games, and threw the phone on the bed speechlessly.

This won’t work; he must find a way to pass the message to Rivers. If Rivers is caught, as his partner, Gao Qijun will definitely be exposed.

Also, the subordinates and downlines developed by Gao Qijun must be notified immediately to escape.

Gao Qijun waited and waited. Seeing that the sky was already a little bit bright, he couldn’t wait any longer, so he climbed out of the window and went down along the drainpipe.

Gao Qijun ran quickly into the distance until his phone had a signal before stopping.

He immediately called Rivers and said, “You are being watched. Now, immediately, escape!”

Rivers: “Did your brother tell you?”

Gao Qijun: “Yes! My brother told me personally. In order not to let me participate, he also took my phone away. Fortunately, I brought a spare phone. Okay, that’s all I’m saying, you go quickly, you can’t delay for a second. I have to notify my people to run away and hide immediately, bye.”

Rivers: “Okay. Brother Jun, thank you; I will remember your kindness.”

Gao Qijun: “Okay, okay. Bye.”

Hanging up the phone, Gao Qijun immediately called his subordinates and downlines to notify them to leave immediately.

However, the police had already completed the deployment, so how could they let them run away?

Even Gao Qijun himself was being watched by the police in the dark.

After making the calls, Gao Qijun quickly went back. Before his brother and sister-in-law woke up, he quickly climbed up again.

However, Gao Qijun was discovered by the nanny at home when he went out, and she immediately reported the situation to Gao Qiguo.

Gao Qiguo opened his younger brother’s room with a spare key and sat on the bed crying.

Gao Qijun climbed in from the window. Just as he took two steps towards the bed, he saw a figure, which startled him and made him instinctively take two steps back.

Gao Qiguo turned on the bedside lamp and looked at his younger brother with tears in his eyes.

Gao Qijun knew that things had been exposed and knelt in front of his brother with a guilty expression.

Gao Qijun: “Brother, I won’t say anything. I’ll take responsibility for my own actions and will never implicate you and my sister-in-law. If the police ask you, just say you don’t know anything; don’t say anything else.”

Gao Qiguo was angry and sad, and slapped his younger brother a few times, saying, “Why can’t you listen to your brother? Even if you gamble, drink, prostitute, kill, or set fire, your brother can save you. But if you touch drugs, no one can save you.”

Gao Qijun also cried and said, “Brother, I understand the principle [referring to moral reasoning or understanding consequences], but I really can’t control myself. Things have reached this point, and there is no chance of turning back. Brother, don’t worry about me; every day I live is a bonus, I can’t implicate you. I’m leaving now; tell Tingting [likely his daughter or a close female relative] that I’m going on a long trip and will come back to see her when I’m done.”

Although Gao Qiguo was very reluctant to part with his younger brother, running away was the only option now.

“Take this piece of paper with you. It has my account number and password at the Swiss bank. After you go out, you can withdraw money from these accounts to live on. I will definitely not contact you. No matter what news you hear, don’t show your face. Go to the Golden Triangle [a region known for drug production and trafficking] and find a man named Zhang Lijun. I have some friendship with him, and I’ll ask him to take care of you,” Gao Qiguo instructed.

Gao Qijun nodded and got up to climb out of the window again.

Gao Qiguo quickly grabbed him and said, “Go through the basement passage. I guess our house is already being watched outside. If you go out now, you will definitely be followed.”

Gao Qijun nodded and quickly escaped from the basement.

After getting away from his brother’s house, Gao Qijun called his men.

“Kill that ride-hailing driver!”

Yang Chen delivered the documents to Qingyang Trading Company, and then something happened.

Gao Qijun felt that Yang Chen must be an undercover agent, and he would rather kill him by mistake than let him go.

A few minutes later, the anti-drug police comrades responsible for monitoring and listening to the movements in Yang Chen’s room saw several people sneaking around the door of Yang Chen’s room, looking around and secretly trying to push the door open.

As anti-drug police, they had keen insight and instantly understood that they were going to harm Yang Chen.

They quickly woke up their sleeping companions and all went out to surround those people.

“What are you doing sneaking around?”

“Who are you people?”

“Are you here to steal something?”

the police comrades asked.

Those people saw that something was wrong and quickly made excuses and left.

At this time, five bodyguards were guarding Yang Chen’s room.

Yang Chen also heard the movement at the door, opened his eyes and said softly, “Ignore them, they will definitely come again.”

The bodyguards nodded without speaking.

Yang Chen sent a message to Chen Qingxia, asking her to communicate with the anti-drug team and let those people in later.

More than ten minutes later, those people came again as expected.

The police comrades responsible for protecting Yang Chen discovered it but did not go out to stop them.

Soon, those people opened the door of Yang Chen’s room, and several people filed in and rushed directly to the bed and stabbed wildly.

At this time, the lights in the room turned on.

Yang Chen and his bodyguards blocked the exit.

Those people were frightened; how could there be so many people in this room?

Since they had been discovered, they could only go hard. They had weapons and had the upper hand.

However, as soon as they rushed forward, the bodyguards rushed up and knocked them all to the ground.

They were okay at street fights, but fighting against bodyguards who had undergone special training was purely asking for humiliation.

“Listen, I’ll only ask once, and you only have one chance to answer. Has Gao Qijun escaped?” Yang Chen asked.

Those people were quite loyal and didn’t say a word.

Yang Chen: “Hit them! Hit them until they talk. Cover their mouths so they don’t disturb the other guests.”

The bodyguards immediately squatted down, covering their mouths with one hand and pressing down on their heads, and punching them hard in the chest with the other hand.

Two hits, just two hits, and they immediately begged for mercy with their eyes.

The bodyguards let go, and these people immediately groaned in pain in their throats.

“You are abusing citizens; we are going to report you!”

“Yes! We are going to report you for using torture!”

…

Yang Chen: “I’m just a ride-hailing driver; how am I using torture? You came to kill me with knives, and I’m going to beat you to death now; you deserve it. You still won’t talk? Continue!”

Just as the bodyguards were about to take action, these guys quickly confessed.

“Don’t hit, don’t hit, I’ll talk, I’ll talk.”

“I’ll talk too! Brother Jun told us to kill you and then run away quickly.”

Yang Chen: “Are you telling the truth?”

“The truth! If I say a word that is false, may I be struck by lightning!”

Yang Chen nodded and said, “It seems that Gao Qiguo has something going on; he was able to find out about this top-secret operation and let his brother escape in advance.”

“You… who are you, how do you know so clearly?”

Yang Chen: “I’m a good citizen. Go call the anti-drug police comrades in, and control them first.”

The bodyguards nodded and quickly went out to call in the anti-drug police comrades.

Yang Chen: “Who knows about your operation?”

Anti-drug police: “Only the criminal police and anti-drug police who participated in the operation know the specific details. Oh, the people from the customs also know. But someone must know that we have an operation tonight. It’s impossible to hide it when so many people are mobilized at once.”

Yang Chen: “Gao Qiguo already knows that you and the customs are working together to deploy, and he told Gao Qijun. Gao Qijun has already escaped and even asked them to kill me. In other words, everyone on the line should know, and they should all be trying to run away now.”

Anti-drug police: “Ah? Damn it! There’s no way, we can only take action immediately and catch them first. I’ll report to the captain now.”

Yang Chen nodded and said, “You guys are busy; it’s none of my business. Remember, you must catch Gao Qijun. If he’s out there living a good life, I’ll be in danger.”

Anti-drug police: “Don’t worry, our people have been guarding Gao Qiguo’s villa; it’s impossible for Gao Qijun to escape.”

Yang Chen nodded and left the SPA shop with his bodyguards.

Just as he got into the car, Chen Qingxia called Yang Chen.

Chen Qingxia: “I just received a report, are you okay?”

Yang Chen: “I’m fine; the bodyguards are protecting me in the room. I always feel that Gao Qijun should have run away. Anyway, it’s already exposed, you should just go into the villa and arrest people. If he runs away, I won’t feel at ease.”

Chen Qingxia: “Okay! I’ll order the arrest immediately!”

Hanging up the phone, Yang Chen drove away.

A few seconds later, Zhang Lijun suddenly called Yang Chen.

Zhang Lijun: “Brother Chen, Gao Qiguo just called and offered me ten million US dollars as a reward to ensure his brother’s safety in the Golden Triangle. It seems that Gao Qijun is going to run to the Golden Triangle.”

Yang Chen: “Damn, you know Gao Qiguo?”

Zhang Lijun: “I’ve known him for ten years. He used to be involved in illegal activities, but he’s been on the right path in recent years and wants to launder his identity.”

Yang Chen: “Okay! If the police don’t arrest Gao Qijun, you control Gao Qijun and send him to the Kuncheng branch of Xingchen Defense [likely a private security company], and they will hand him over to the police. Remember, you still have to remain mysterious and have nothing to do with me.”

Zhang Lijun: “Understood!”

Gao Qijun, this unlucky kid, even if he is lucky enough to escape the police arrest, he will still fall into Yang Chen’s hands, and he is destined to be doomed.

Gao Qiguo originally wanted to find a backer for his brother in the dog-eat-dog Golden Triangle, but he personally sent his brother into the tiger’s mouth.

It’s all fate.

A few seconds later, Chen Qingxia called Yang Chen.

Chen Qingxia said anxiously: “It’s bad, I don’t know how Gao Qijun ran away, you must be careful. For safety’s sake, you should come to the city bureau. You can leave whenever he is caught.”

Yang Chen: “No need, I have Xingchen Defense to protect me, and my safety won’t be a problem. I’ll order Xingchen Defense’s national branches to find Gao Qijun and hand him over to you.”

Chen Qingxia: “This… I’m still not at ease, I want to stay with you.”

Yang Chen: “Haha… no need, you still have so many things to do, you can’t be sentimental. My safety is protected by Xingchen Defense and there won’t be any problems, so you don’t have to worry about me.”

Chen Qingxia: “Okay! Then you must call me as soon as possible if anything happens.”

Yang Chen: “Okay.”