As I expected, it was another member of the Jiangbei Daggers. Since the Dog Trainer’s death wasn’t made public by the police, it seemed they held me accountable.
Clenching my fist around the phone, I asked, "Does my bone mean something to you? I don’t have a rare blood type so my bone marrow has no medical value. My bones aren’t special at all."
"Great Detective Song, you’re going about this the wrong way,” laughed the Infernal Bone Trader. “You shouldn’t ask what it's for. You should be asking what I’m planning to do with it."
"Well, go on then!" I said impatiently.
"After I receive the first bone, I’ll put out another bounty for the second one, and so on, until you’re left with a spineless body that cannot support your flesh. Hahaha, I can't wait to see you like that!"
Malicious laughter filled my ears once more, sending a tingle of goosebumps on my skin.
I would probably die after losing more than a dozen bones. This method of torture would cost the Infernal Bone Trader upwards of a hundred million yuan! His financial resources and degree of madness was unimaginable.
Upon hanging up, I removed my SIM card. Right then, I noticed a cab driving slowly along the road.
Realizing my opportunity for escape had arrived, I dashed towards the cab. The rustling of the grass sounded along with the Mythical Man’s movements and out flew another flying needle.
But because we were both in motion, the needle failed to hit me.
As the distance to the cab drew closer and closer, the Mythical Man grew anxious, jumping out of the grass and standing in my way with a thin pipe in his mouth. Without a second thought, I stared at him with the Eyes of Yama. Gripped by fear, the Mythical Man instinctively gasped, sucking the needle into the back of his throat. He rolled on the ground painfully, clutching at his neck.
After using the Eyes of Yama once more, I was overwhelmed by a sudden spell of dizziness and the ground beneath my feet seemed to be violently shaking!
On top of the fact I had recently lost some blood, my body was weak without the optimum water and food intake. That would be the last time I used the Eyes of Yama today.
As I passed where the Mythical Man lay, I reached out and grabbed something off of his body, then darted to the road and hailed the approaching cab.
Flashing the headlights twice, the cab driver pulled up in front of me. It was a gentle-looking middle-aged man who spoke with a Fujian accent, "Young man, where are you headed so late?"
Upon further contemplation, I decided that looking for Song Xingchen was too dangerous, especially since we had lost contact. After all, these criminals were after me. Therefore, the best solution was to leave this remote place and head directly to the city. As long as I managed to reach the police, my safety would be assured.
"Take me to Jianyang City,” I said.
The driver looked me up and down, taking note of my dishevelment. "I’m sorry,” he said, shaking his head. “I won’t take just any passenger in the middle of nowhere. I'm in a hurry to go home. You should wait for another cab!"
He was about to leave so I stood in front of the car, flashed my consultant ID and fabricated a bunch of lies about a mission. Only when I proved my credibility did the driver allow me to climb into the vehicle.
As soon as I was seated, I heaved a sigh of relief and felt exhaustion wash over me. The driver offered me a bottle of water, "Officer, would you like some water?"
"Thank you!" I replied.
Though my throat was burning with thirst, I didn’t dare take a sip. Right then, I caught the driver staring at me through the rearview mirror with a strange glint in his eyes. Unscrewing the cap, I poured out some water and pretended to take a few sips before handing the bottle back to him.
As the car sped along the country road, the pin-drop silence was almost too much to bear! Perhaps I was being overly suspicious, but something was amiss despite how decent the man looked.
He turned on the radio and chatted with his colleagues. Most of the time, they were talking, while he listened and echoed a few words of accord.
After passing several intersections, I gradually discovered the pattern. "Every time you pass an intersection, you say a few words, sometimes only two, sometimes three,” I chuckled. “You’re actually communicating with your partner, aren’t you? This trick of yours isn’t anything new. Even I’ve used it."
The driver turned to me dully, "What are you talking about?"
"Are you here for the bounty as well?" I cut straight to the point.
From the rearview mirror, I observed a slight twitch in the corner of the driver’s eyes, yet he still denied it. "Are you mad? I don’t understand a single word you’re saying!"
"Fine then, let's just say I'm seriously ill. You can stop here. Don’t worry, I’ll still pay the full fare."
"That’s not up to you!" The driver sneered, hitting the accelerator. The sudden increase in speed had me leaning into my seat.
"Don't bother resisting. I’ve added a little something into the water. Does your head feel heavy? Just go to sleep and when you wake up, everything will be alright."
"Do you really think I drank the water?" I scoffed.
"It doesn't matter if you drank it or not. We’re currently traveling at a hundred kilometers per hour. If you try anything funny, we’ll both end up dead!" threatened the driver.
"So how much is this worth now?" I pointed to my arm.
"It seems you’re well-informed,” said the driver. “Twenty-five million. Gee, I never dreamed that anyone would spend so much money for just one bone."
By this point, I understood how the reward increased. The reward went up by one million every hour as well as for every failed attempt. So far, I had lasted ten hours, and a total of five teams made an attempt on my radius.
Stuffing my hand into my pocket, I pulled out the object I picked up from the Mythical Man’s body. It was a little leather bag filled with thin pipes and needles that he carried on him.
The pipes consisted of two colors–red and green. The pipe in his mouth was green in color so that was most likely the anesthetic.
Placing the green pipe between my lips, I aimed a needle at the back of the driver's neck. With a low cry, the driver covered his neck and shouted, "What the hell did you do?"
"I just gave you a taste of your own medicine. That was an anesthetic so you'll fall asleep soon."
"Don’t you understand what’s going on? I’m driving!” shouted the driver.
"Are you willing to give up your life for twenty million and let your partner take everything? Besides, the person who put up the bounty doesn't want my life. If I die, my radius can't be exchanged for money so you would’ve died for nothing!" I mocked.
"Alright then, let’s see who gives in first!" yelled the driver. "I'm tougher than you!"
He accelerated to a speed of 120 kilometers per hour. Having dealt with numerous criminals, one glance was all I needed to judge the driver’s character. He wasn’t the sort of fearless criminal. At most, he was a fraudster, a little worm who cherished his life. There was no way he would sacrifice himself.
Although I was taking a huge risk, I was quite certain of my judgement.
The driver gradually began to feel drowsy, his head bouncing up and down. The car swayed dangerously from side to side. Fortunately, there weren’t other cars on this road. Shaking his head vehemently, the driver slapped himself but his eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
The car slowed down and finally stopped at the side of the road. "Hmph, you win!" muttered the driver before falling face down on the steering wheel.