Yang Jian stood on the street in Dongjiang City, Haidong Province, a look of bewilderment on his face. Surrounded by the ceaseless flow of traffic and bustling crowds, he felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness and irritation amidst the city's vibrancy.
He had been in this city, which had the largest migrant population, for a month. Every day was spent in a state of fear and anxiety. The three thousand yuan he carried with him was dwindling, and if he didn't find a job soon, he would starve.
After receiving the call from Lu Hao that day, Yang Jian had taken a motorcycle out of the city as quickly as possible. Before reaching the outskirts, he spotted a taxi that had just dropped off a passenger by the roadside and quickly switched vehicles.
He then paid three hundred yuan for the taxi to take him to Hongyang County in the neighboring province. The distance was only about eighty kilometers. By normal fare, it shouldn't have cost that much. At that time, the taxi's starting fare was only three yuan, and after five kilometers, it was one yuan two per kilometer. A metered ride would have cost just over a hundred yuan.
However, this place was closest to the provincial border, and Yang Jian was in a hurry to travel. The driver asked for three hundred, and he agreed without hesitation.
Since it was already past three o'clock, the driver wanted to return before dark. So, without waiting for Yang Jian to urge him, he accelerated. By four-thirty, they arrived at the long-distance bus station in Hongyang County.
Yang Jian had originally planned to take a taxi from here to Shang County, fifty kilometers away, as reaching there would mean crossing the provincial border.
At this moment, he was like a startled bird, without a concrete escape plan, only wanting to follow Lu Hao's advice and get out of the province first.
But as soon as he got off, he saw a conspicuous route sign hanging at the entrance of the dilapidated bus station, listing direct bus routes to Dongjiang City in Haidong Province in the south, with the nearest departure at 4:50 PM.
Over the years, with the deepening of reform and opening up, the economies of the southern coastal cities had entered a phase of rapid development, and migrant workers from inland provinces flocked there like a tide.
Consequently, county-level passenger transport companies in various regions had opened direct bus services, all operating at full capacity.
Yang Jian suddenly remembered that Biao Biao had given him his uncle's address and phone number, also in Haidong Province. He remembered the address was Dali Town, Nan Hai City, but he couldn't recall the phone number.
Going south might allow him to stay with his uncle temporarily. Moreover, it was late autumn, and the north was cold, which was not conducive to wandering.
Upon inquiring at the station, he learned that there were still seats on the 4:50 PM bus. It was a sleeper bus, and it would take over twenty hours to reach his destination. No ID was required to buy a ticket.
Yang Jian didn't hesitate. He immediately bought a ticket and boarded the bus. The fare was two hundred and eighty yuan.
Taking a long-distance bus carried a certain risk. There might be police officers checking passengers along the way. But Yang Jian was gambling that the arrest warrant wouldn't be issued so quickly. He would reach Haidong Province, over a thousand kilometers away, by tomorrow evening. He doubted the police would expect him to be there so soon.
The journey was smoother than expected. Apart from two checks for overloading, there were no other inspections.
At seven o'clock on the evening of October 10th, the bus arrived at the Dongjiang City Long-Distance Bus Terminal.
As soon as he stepped off, the city was already aglow with streetlights and neon signs. A wave of heat washed over him. The inland areas had already entered autumn and the weather had turned cool, but the summer here was clearly longer, with temperatures still above thirty degrees Celsius at night.
Yang Jian was wearing a t-shirt and a light blue casual suit jacket on his upper body, with jeans on his lower half. He was extremely hot and quickly took off his jacket.
As he walked out of the station with the crowd, he was immediately surrounded by a group of men and women, some trying to solicit customers for hostels, others for rides, as if they were snatching people.
Yang Jian quickly clutched his wallet. He knew that places like this were mixed with all sorts of people, especially pickpockets. If his wallet were stolen, he wouldn't be able to move an inch.
Fortunately, he had no luggage. After squeezing through the crowd, no one followed him to ask questions, assuming he was also a tout.
He went to a small restaurant nearby and ordered a plate of stir-fried rice noodles for a simple dinner. Yang Jian then began to consider accommodation.
Lu Hao had specifically told him not to stay in hotels or hostels. Therefore, hostels were out of the question. If he encountered a night inspection, it would be troublesome. It had been over twenty hours since he had fled Chengguan, and he couldn't be sure that the arrest warrant hadn't reached this place.
He had spent a few days in the detention center last time and knew some ways to avoid police checks outside. One of them was to go to a bathhouse. There, he could not only shower but also sleep, and they also provided late-night snacks. No one checked IDs there.
He checked his belongings: a driver's license, a wallet containing two bank cards, which were likely unusable, his ID card was inside, and he had 2,680 yuan in cash. Because he needed money for gas or in case of unexpected situations, he always kept two to three thousand yuan on him. This hasty escape prevented him from being in a more desperate situation.
He decided to find a bathhouse to rest for the night. Yang Jian wandered aimlessly on the street and found a bathhouse within half an hour. Upon entering, he saw that the minimum charge was fifty-eight yuan. He could sleep on the sofas in the lobby until eight in the morning, with late-night snacks and breakfast charged separately.
It wasn't bad. Although it was a bit more expensive than small hostels costing twenty to thirty yuan a night, it was safe. He could sleep soundly without worrying about police raids in the middle of the night.
Since he was on the run and had no income, Yang Jian planned to save expenses, but he needed to buy some clothes to change.
He spent a peaceful night at the bathhouse. The next day, he went to a street stall and bought two t-shirts, a pair of pants, two pairs of socks, two pairs of underwear, and a backpack. The total cost was less than two hundred yuan.
Although this city was prosperous, it was a city focused on manufacturing and light industry. Low-end clothing and shoes were even cheaper than in the inland areas.
"Damn it, an arrest warrant."
At the corner of a street, Yang Jian suddenly noticed an arrest warrant posted on a utility pole, featuring his photo.
This was too unlucky. He had only run a casino, not committed murder or arson. Was it necessary to issue an arrest warrant? And it was an A-level warrant, a nationwide manhunt.
How could he live like this? Yang Jian quickly moved away from the utility pole and entered a nearby small park, finding a secluded spot to contemplate his future path.
He had originally planned to take a bus to Nan Hai City to seek temporary refuge with Biao Biao's uncle. Once the situation at home calmed down, he would ask his uncle to arrange for some money to be sent to cover his living expenses.
But that was clearly impossible now. There were many people from Xinhe in Nan Hai City. Being wanted, he could easily be recognized. Not only would he be unsafe, but he would also implicate his uncle.
What to do?
Yang Jian found himself in a predicament. It was easy to find work in factories here, with recruitment advertisements everywhere. However, they all required ID registration, which was clearly not suitable for him.
Across the road, there was a construction site. He had carpentry skills and could try to get a job there. But thinking about the arrest warrants plastered on streets and alleys, it seemed risky to work on a construction site as well.
Fortunately, the pace of life in this city was very fast. Except for the local elderly people leisurely strolling in the park, most young people were in a hurry, and no one paid attention to the ubiquitous arrest warrants. Yang Jian felt that he was safer in crowded places.