novelraw Chapter 2: Accident
Chapter 2: Accident
Panting, panting!
Han Ming hurriedly made his way through the bustling morning crowd of office workers. The scene at the bank just now was no less terrifying than seeing a ghost. His heart was racing, and at this moment, he wasn't even considering the matter of meeting his client. He just wanted to get as far away from that bank as possible!
"Impossible, impossible... that was just a dream!"
"Marx, Lenin, Bolsheviks, and you are all staunch materialist warriors. These things can definitely be explained by science."
Han Ming's mind was in turmoil. The education he had received since childhood and his understanding of the world didn't allow him to entertain such unrealistic associations. Moreover, he was a lawyer. As a lawyer, rigorous logical thinking and maintaining rationality at all times were basic professional ethics!
Yet, even though he desperately tried to stay calm, the security guard's smiling face and the horrifying expression after his head was severed kept flashing before Han Ming's eyes like a slideshow.
"Calm down, take a deep breath."
Han Ming stopped walking. His gaze found a convenience store by the roadside, so he walked in and bought a bottle of ice-cold water.
"4 yuan, scan the code here."
The busy store clerk scanned the barcode on the ice water and then handed it to Han Ming.Han Ming's movement to take out his phone paused for a moment. Suddenly, he thought of something. Out of caution, before paying, he switched the payment account from that unlimited-balance bank card to another card he used for personal finance.
Beep.
Scan successful.
Han Ming took the ice water, walked out of the convenience store, unscrewed the cap directly, and gulped down more than half of it. The intense cold rushed from his mouth straight to his stomach, making him feel much more awake.
At this moment, he took out his phone and noticed that the deduction had occurred without any SMS notification. Han Ming was immediately puzzled. He promptly opened the app for that personal finance account.
Suddenly, Han Ming's pupils contracted sharply!
In the balance field, a dense string of '9's shot straight toward his forehead like a sharp sword, blanking his mind for a second.
"What's going on?!"
He refreshed twice in a row and found that the balance hadn't changed at all. He then clicked on the transaction history. But bizarrely, even though he had just paid 4 yuan, there was no record of it on his phone.
Han Ming immediately turned around and pushed open the convenience store door.
"Excuse me, did my payment just go through?"
Hearing this, the clerk tilted his head, checked the cash register computer for a moment, then nodded at Han Ming with a smile. "Yes, the payment was successful."
Han Ming walked out with a grim expression. He refused to believe it was some fluke, so he checked his other accounts. The result was that all the cash accounts under his name at various banks, even including the student loan account he opened during university, now showed a balance of 「999999999999」!
999.9 billion!
Han Ming felt his scalp go numb. His accounts spanned multiple banks, some of which he hadn't used for years. This situation absolutely couldn't be explained away as a simple banking system error.
"This time... I've really seen a ghost!"
Screech!!
Just as Han Ming's brain cells were about to explode, a sharp screech of brakes erupted. He looked up to see an out-of-control Porsche swerve onto the sidewalk across the street, crashing straight into a crowd. In a flash, it sent a little girl who had just gotten out of a car by the roadside, along with two people beside her, flying through the air!
"Ah!!" Screams immediately erupted all around.
The crowd began running toward the accident scene. Han Ming also instinctively ran over. The scene he saw was horrifying. The little girl and another woman, roughly in her forties, were lying motionless on the ground. Another man in a suit was wailing in agony amidst a pool of blood.
The out-of-control Porsche had crashed directly into a fountain. The hood was torn and flipped up, with black smoke curling out. The smell of engine oil and blood hung heavily in the air.
"Call the police! Call an ambulance!"
Han Ming shouted while taking out his phone. His first instinct was to try and help the injured.
"What are you saying?"
A ringing sound filled his ears. Han Ming, holding his phone ready to dial, looked up. The convenience store clerk before him was looking at him with a puzzled expression, still holding the ice water Han Ming had handed him, ready to scan it.
"Anything else you want to buy?" Not hearing Han Ming's words clearly, the clerk asked instinctively.
Han Ming looked around in confusion.
What was going on? Wasn't he just at the accident scene?
He looked outside the convenience store. The street was peaceful. The accident hadn't happened. Han Ming looked at his phone and was shocked to see that the time was exactly 5 minutes earlier!
"Did I foresee the future, or did I travel back in time?" His mind raced frantically.
"Hello?" Seeing Han Ming frozen, the clerk called out to him with a bewildered look.
"Nothing else to buy."
Han Ming snapped back to reality, his mind in a daze. However, when paying, he still switched his bank account before completing the payment.
Afterwards, he took the ice water and walked out of the convenience store. He opened his other bank accounts again. Sure enough, the result was the same as before. All the account balances had changed.
"Did the events just repeat?"
At this moment, he looked up toward the street across again. About a minute or so later, a black minivan drove over, preparing to park by the roadside. Han Ming immediately turned to look into the distance. Traffic on this street was sparse, and he quickly spotted the Porsche speeding toward them from a few hundred meters away.
"Hey! Be careful!"
Han Ming immediately shouted across the street. The middle-aged woman who had just gotten out of the minivan looked over in confusion. The little girl was also getting out of the car.
However, Han Ming's shout didn't have much effect. The Porsche was moving too fast. Accompanied by the screeching sound of brakes and loss of control, it crashed into the crowd once more.
This time, because Han Ming's shout had caused some people to stop and turn around, the Porsche ended up plowing through five or six people before stopping. The scene was horrific. The little girl died on the spot!
"4 yuan, scan the code here."
The clerk's voice sounded in Han Ming's ears again.
He looked up, his gaze falling on the ice water on the checkout counter. Condensation droplets slowly slid down the bottle. The world began to feel real again, emerging from silence.
Thump, thump.
His heartbeat was slow. Han Ming began to feel a stream of time flowing backward from between his eyebrows. This time, he confirmed it. He hadn't traveled through time.
From the moment he looked toward the street...
He had been standing inside this convenience store the whole time!
Beep.
Scan successful.
Han Ming took a deep breath. He picked up the ice water, pushed the door open, and walked out. This time, he directly crossed the street and went to the spot where the Porsche would swerve onto the sidewalk. He kept observing the distance intently.
He checked the time. One minute later, the black minivan slowly approached. This time, Han Ming noticed it was a customized Toyota Alphard, seemingly low-key but actually very expensive.
The minivan stopped by the roadside. The first to get out was the man in the suit. Then, the minivan's automatic door opened. The middle-aged woman, who looked like a nanny, got out and put a hat on the little girl. The little girl then held her hand and jumped down from the car. The little girl looked about five or six years old, lively and cute. For some reason, she noticed Han Ming's gaze, turned her head, and smiled at him.
Han Ming's nerves were stretched to the limit. At this moment, the roar of an engine began to echo from the direction of the street corner.
"Be careful!"
He turned around and directly waved and shouted at a group of people, "A car is about to crash over here!!"
His loud shout immediately frightened many people. The crowd scattered. The man in the suit instinctively picked up the little girl and ran toward the direction of the office building.
Bang!
The Porsche charged over violently. Han Ming directly lunged forward from the ground, rolling twice. Before he could get up, he heard a dull impact sound, followed by terrified screams from passersby.
Han Ming's heart sank. He flipped over and got up, then looked on in horror to see that the Porsche had actually taken a sharp turn, plowing into and sending both the man in the suit and the little girl flying!
"4 yuan, scan the code here."
Han Ming quickly ran across the street. As the little girl was getting out of the car, he directly shouted at the crowd, "A car is out of control, get back in the car quickly!!"
The nanny, realizing the danger, immediately picked up the little girl and ducked back into the minivan to take cover.
Screech!
The piercing sound of brakes rang out. The champagne-colored Porsche charged forward again. But bizarrely, the Porsche headed straight for the minivan.
Bang!
The minivan, sent tumbling, was pushed forward by the out-of-control Porsche, gasoline spilling all over the ground, black smoke billowing. The next moment, with a roar, the spilled gasoline ignited. Both vehicles were engulfed in flames. Screams erupted across the square.
Watching this scene, Han Ming's gaze turned grave. His lawyer's cautious nature finally allowed him to sniff out something unusual!
"4 yuan, scan the code here."
Han Ming walked out of the convenience store. This time, he quickly ran to the traffic light intersection. Ignoring the minivan, he waited for the Porsche.
1 minute and 53 seconds later, the champagne-colored Porsche drove over from the distance.
"2023 model, well-maintained, no scratches on the body, driving steadily, no signs of drug or drunk driving..."
Han Ming stood among the crowd waiting for the traffic light, his gaze fixed intently on the Porsche. The green light countdown began. The Porsche suddenly accelerated, rushing through the intersection, then lost control and crashed into the crowd.
"4 yuan, scan the code here."
This time, he went to the section of the road where the Porsche lost control and turned, waiting about 200 meters from the traffic light intersection.
2 minutes and 6 seconds later, the roar of an engine sounded. Han Ming stood his ground, waiting for the Porsche to charge at him!
Screech!
The high-speed Porsche skidded, turned, and swerved onto the sidewalk. Han Ming stood less than 5 meters from the spot where the Porsche lost control.
This time, through the privacy window tint, he caught a crucial detail.
The person inside made a motion of turning the steering wheel with both hands. The motion wasn't large, but Han Ming keenly sensed that it wasn't a panicked steering correction, but a deliberate turn!
In that second, the vehicle didn't have a tire blowout, nor was there any braking action.
As the roadside barrier was smashed, screams erupted ahead. The surrounding crowd rushed toward the accident scene. Only Han Ming remained standing where he was, following the black tire marks with his gaze toward the fountain square, his eyes sharp.
"Indeed."
This wasn't a traffic accident.
This was intentional murder!
"4 yuan, scan the code here." The clerk placed the scanned ice water on the checkout counter.
"Wait."
Inside the convenience store, Han Ming turned around, picked up a box of apples with practiced ease, and handed it to the clerk.
"68 yuan, scan the code here."
After scanning and paying, Han Ming, carrying the box of apples, walked out of the convenience store, directly crossed the street, and arrived at the fountain square in front of the office building across the way.
In the distance, the minivan slowly approached. At this moment, Han Ming, as if accidentally, deliberately tore open the cardboard box on the square, causing all the apples inside to roll out.
Then he immediately began picking them up.
Seeing this, several passersby kindly crouched down to help pick up the apples. The minivan also stopped at this time. After putting on her hat, the little girl had just stepped out of the car when she saw a large red apple rolling right to her feet.
"Thank you."
Soon, all the apples were picked up. Han Ming thanked everyone one by one, and the crowd dispersed.
"Here's another one~!"
A clear, crisp voice rang out. Han Ming looked up to see the little girl walking over, holding the large apple out to him. Her big eyes blinked as she said to him in a childish voice, "Here you go."
"Thank you."
Han Ming smiled and nodded, reaching out to take it.
Just at that moment, the piercing screech of brakes echoed through the street. Accompanied by the screams of people around, a roaring Porsche charged into the square, heading straight for Han Ming's direction!
"Miss, be careful!!"
The man in the suit standing behind the little girl noticed the danger and instinctively reached out to pull her away. Unexpectedly, he grabbed empty air. Han Ming, standing to the side, had already grabbed the little girl's wrist, the one holding out the apple, a step earlier. He yanked her forcefully toward himself, then executed a sideways roll.
Whoosh!
At that moment, Han Ming only felt a wave of hot air kicked up by the car brush past his back. However, he didn't even look. After getting up, he directly picked up the little girl and rolled again in the opposite direction!
It turned out that after missing its target, the Porsche, in a frenzy, actually shifted into reverse and tried to run them over.
But the driver clearly hadn't anticipated that his maneuver had already been foreseen by Han Ming. When he reversed back, he hit nothing but air. The driver kept checking through the rearview mirror but found he could no longer locate his targets.
Just then, his car window was smashed open. Several bodyguards in suits swarmed in, dragging him out of the driver's seat.
"Call the police quickly!"
"Restrain him!"
"Miss, check on the Miss!" The bodyguards acted as if facing a great enemy. The scene became chaotic for a moment.
Beside the fountain, Han Ming climbed to his feet looking rather disheveled. The little girl in his arms was clearly frightened, her small face looking at Han Ming with panic.
"Are... are you hurt?"
Han Ming wiped his forehead and found it was just a minor scrape. Good, this was the lightest injury he had sustained in these thirteen rehearsals.
"Thank you, Uncle... does it hurt?" The little girl looked at Han Ming, her panicked gaze carrying a touch of concern.
"It's fine."
Seeing the little girl's bodyguards running over quickly, Han Ming directly handed the little girl over to them, then turned and walked away.
"Sir!"
The bodyguard was somewhat surprised to see Han Ming leave so directly. He wanted to call out to him but found that Han Ming had already hurried away, disappearing into the crowd.
Han Ming returned to his apartment, tended to his minor injuries, then lay down on the bed, feeling only a heavy, dizzy sensation in his head.
5 minutes, 13 instances of foreseeing the future. At this moment, Han Ming felt so nauseous he wanted to die. His brain felt like it was full of stirred paste.
After confirming this was a premeditated murder, Han Ming's subconscious told him he had to make this rescue appear reasonable. He had to save the person without arousing suspicion toward himself, making it look like a simple act of bravery, because Han Ming didn't want to attract any trouble from this.
Moreover, Han Ming currently had a pile of bizarre things happening to him. In that dream, he had already been killed twice.
Regardless of whether the dream's premonition matched reality or not, he had already realized that the secret he carried was extremely dangerous.
His mind was a mess. Han Ming picked up his phone and requested half a day off from the law firm. Foreseeing the future seemed to have consumed something within him greatly, degrading even his ability to think. He felt heavy-headed and dizzy, falling asleep within seconds.
...
Jinghai Nanshan Yushui Bay is a famous affluent district. The lowest tier starts with townhouses. The standalone villas near Yushui Lake are each worth over a hundred million. The spacing between each villa is vast, featuring expensive landscaping that provides a high degree of privacy for the wealthy residents here.
At this moment, in a certain mansion, the television was broadcasting the morning news.
[This station reports: Around 9:15 AM today, a vehicle lost control on Yujin Road in Mingjiang District. A high-speed SUV crashed into the square area of Tianzhou Tower, causing multiple injuries. Currently, the driver at fault has been apprehended. Police indicated the cause of the accident might be dangerous driving due to alcohol consumption. According to reactions from eyewitnesses at the scene...]
Yan Jing, Chairwoman of Tianzhou International, watched the television, her face as cold as frost, making everyone in the room dare not breathe loudly.
She stood there motionless, her body slightly tense. Her coffee-colored bodycon skirt outlined the graceful curve of her hips. Her beautiful, long legs stood straight. Her high, full chest stretched the neckline of her blouse open, revealing a glimpse of snowy white and depth.
Her secretary stood a few meters away. Despite being such a stunningly beautiful woman, at this moment, he felt a palpitation-inducing aura of danger emanating from her!
"The driver is named Wang Wenzhi, the owner of Tianjiu Nightclub. We are already investigating his entire network of connections. We will have results within 24 hours at the latest. Additionally, the check-up for Miss Duoduo is complete. She is uninjured."
Yan Jing raised a finger, pausing the surveillance footage extracted by the news broadcast on the TV. Her gaze fixed on a blurry figure quickly leaving the scene behind her daughter in the accident footage.
"Find this person."
"Yes."