MWC – Chapter 7 Escape

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The black sedan bumped along the dirt road but sped forward quickly, with the green fields on both sides flying past.

In the back seat, Lu Ming opened a slightly worn small leather suitcase.

He glanced at Zhen Shi, who was looking out the window at the scenery. Rarely having traveled far, her beautiful eyes now held a different, lively color for the first time.

Lu Ming then turned to the small suitcase and slowly opened it.

Despite its worn appearance, the suitcase was filled with stacks of red banknotes.

These were Imperial Currency, commonly referred to as red notes, with the largest denomination being one hundred yuan. Each stack was ten thousand Imperial Currency, and there were twenty-six stacks inside.

That meant there were twenty-six thousand Imperial Currency in the suitcase.

The four northern military governors had the authority to mint currency, usually silver dollars, which were the most widely circulated currency in the northern provinces.

The official exchange rate was ten Imperial Currency for one silver dollar.

So, this suitcase contained over two thousand silver dollars, which was a significant fortune.

In Wuan, an average worker’s monthly salary was only one or two silver dollars, barely enough to support a family, with little left over. This amount of money would be impossible to save up even over several lifetimes on a worker’s salary.

Additionally, in the corner of the suitcase, there was a small iron box, the Lu family’s heirloom.

Fleeing this time, not knowing when he might return, he had to bring it with him.

He had seen the iron box since he was a child and had been solemnly instructed by his grandfather not to let his two older brothers know about it.

Now, it seemed that from a very young age, his grandfather had chosen him as the successor.

It was said that his grandfather made this decision based on a dream, which seemed far too whimsical to select someone so unreliable as the successor.

Closing the suitcase, he looked ahead, where the outline of a small city gradually appeared.

It was Lincuan County.

“Young master, they will understand sooner or later. How could you possibly have harmed Lord Long? When they calm down, you can come back,” said Jin Bao’er, who was driving.

Lu Ming nodded.

In truth, his flight wasn’t due to fear of the Double Dragon Association.

Jin Bao’er was right; with careful effort over time, he could resolve matters with the Double Dragon Association.

He was fleeing for his life because of the mastermind behind the scenes who wanted to wipe out the entire Lu family.

Especially now, if it became known that he had won the lawsuit, the next attempt on his life would be unavoidable.

“Young master, won’t taking all the bank’s reserve funds cause any trouble?” Jin Bao’er asked worriedly.

Lu Ming nodded, “Uncle Zhong will handle it.”

This money included all the reserves of the Lu family’s bank and much of the depositors’ money.

Earlier in the day, he had instructed Lu Zhong to close all businesses for a break and secretly ordered Jin Bao’er to take all the reserve funds from his family’s bank, along with the iron box from the safe. He had written an authorization letter for Jin Bao’er to show the security guards. If they disagreed, he was to use force, taking them by surprise, and Jin Bao’er should be able to overpower the few guards with the vault code, which was easier than dealing with robbers.

It was the only option due to time constraints.

He had also left a secret letter for the housekeeper and manager of the family business, Lu Zhong, to be delivered by lawyer Xie Wenquan that night.

The letter instructed Lu Zhong to liquidate most of the family assets to offset the reserve funds, to avoid making it seem like he was fleeing with the money.

The family’s business was already struggling, so it was better to liquidate now, keeping only the bank and the department store, the two best assets.

Lu Zhong’s mind was overwhelmed; it was too much to handle, so focusing on the bank and the department store would be better.

He had no family left.

His eldest brother’s wife, a modern woman, had remarried shortly after his brother’s death.

His second brother was still unmarried.

So there was nothing at home to worry about.

But he would come back eventually.

Looking out the window toward Wuan, Lu Ming gritted his teeth.

Transferring his soul to another world was such a mysterious thing, yet here he was, in such a dire situation.

“Jin Bao’er, stop the car! Get out and change clothes.” Seeing the car about to leave the dirt road and hit the paved road, where they would be exposed, Lu Ming gave the order.

Jin Bao’er immediately hit the brakes, and the black car stopped at the edge of the paved road.

In the trunk were the clothes Lu Ming had instructed Jin Bao’er to prepare: coarse clothes, wigs, and dyes.

Lu Ming handed a few items to Zhen Shi, along with a wig and some dye. “Change in the car, put on the wig, and make your face dirty. You learned how to do stage makeup, right? Make yourself as unattractive as possible.”

The peasant clothes emitted a foul smell, and Lu Ming had expected her to complain, but she simply nodded and obediently started following his instructions.

Returning to the car, Lu Ming and Jin Bao’er also changed into peasant clothes, put on wigs, and now looked more in line with the worn suitcase full of money.

“Now go to the largest pawnshop in Lincuan, Linji, and tell them there’s a car for sale for 20 silver dollars!”

Jin Bao’er was stunned, “Young master, that’s too cheap! Even if we’re in a hurry to sell, that’s too…”

Lu Ming waved his hand, “Old Lin has always been at odds with the Double Dragon Association. And because it’s so cheap, they’ll know we must be fleeing in a hurry and will help us cover our tracks. Selling it for 20 silver dollars will make them understand how urgent and severe our situation is, and they’ll help destroy the evidence quickly.”

Pointing to the car and the clothes they had just changed out of in the trunk, he added, “They will be thorough in helping us get rid of these, and the car will quickly be altered. Understand?”

Jin Bao’er’s eyes lit up, “Young master, you are indeed clever.”

“Go now,” Lu Ming waved him off.

Watching Jin Bao’er’s back, Lu Ming nodded.

In fact, ordering Jin Bao’er to bring such a large sum of money to meet him was a test of Jin Bao’er’s loyalty and human nature.

Though memory fragments suggested Jin Bao’er was extremely loyal, he was still a man who lived by the knife, and many things often came down to a single thought.

Lu Ming never wanted to test human nature because people’s bottom lines could be surprisingly low.

But he had no choice at the time and had to gamble. It seemed he had won.

…

Old Lin arrived quickly, clearly a smart man.

With a quick transaction, the deal was done.

Lu Ming and his companions were taken to the train station by Old Lin’s carriage.

Wuan also had a train station, but Lu Ming headed in the opposite direction to Lincuan County, a hundred miles away.

This wasn’t to avoid the police or the Double Dragon Association, but to make it more difficult for the mastermind to track him down.

He bought train tickets from Lincuan to Heishan City.

Heishan City was the most prosperous city in the province after the provincial capital.

In Heishan, they stayed at a small hotel for a few days.

Jin Bao’er was surprised when Lu Ming decided to part ways with him in Heishan, asking him to stay there.

They agreed that if Lu Ming ever needed to find him, he would place a missing person ad in the Heishan Evening News on the first of each month, with specific content written down by Lu Ming for Jin Bao’er to follow exactly.

After a few more days, Lu Ming and Zhen Shi boarded a train to the neighboring province.

At the small hotel, Lu Ming secretly slipped a stack of banknotes into Jin Bao’er’s pocket.

Ten thousand Imperial Currency, if deposited in a bank, would yield enough interest to support a family of three comfortably for life in a small town.

Three people arrived, but only two left, creating another obstacle for anyone trying to track them.

In the neighboring province, they stayed at another small hotel for a few days. Lu Ming even made friends with someone there and traveled together, buying tickets westward.

This way, the two became three, completely changing their appearance again.

During this time, Lu Ming saw news from Wuan in the local evening paper.

It reported a conflict between two army generals in Wuan, resulting in a battle.

This was all due to the Double Dragon Association’s uprising. Another general saw an opportunity, thinking the local general had weakened, allowing the gang to act recklessly.

Reading the paper, Lu Ming could only scratch his head.

The paper also mentioned that the Double Dragon Association had besieged the courthouse and seriously injured a police officer named Li.

As for his own case, although it was the root cause of everything, it was insignificant in this major event and was not mentioned at all.

Li Mingxuan, that poor guy, Lu Ming thought with a wry smile.

Throwing the paper into the train’s wastebasket, the train left the northern provinces, spewing black smoke as it entered the imperial territory.

…

In another city, they stayed for a few days before boarding a southbound train again.

This way, they went round and round, north and south, and finally arrived at Anshan Province in the northern region.

It had been more than two months since they left Wuan, and Lu Ming and Zhen Shi had changed disguises several times.

Zhen Shi never asked what Lu Ming was doing, just followed him around on the trains.

In Anshan, Lu Ming bought tickets to a city in the western region, a thousand miles away.

After arriving in that city and making a few more detours, they finally bought tickets from a city in the imperial heartland, called Hanzhou, to Donghai City.

Donghai City was Lu Ming’s final destination.

Donghai City, officially known as the “Donghai Special Autonomous Metropolitan Area,” was once the capital of the Zhongzhou Dynasty, incredibly prosperous.

In this world, Lu Ming was a Zhongzhou person.

A thousand years ago, Westerners had overthrown the Zhongzhou Dynasty, turning Donghai City into a royal private domain, granting it the status of a free city-state, which had evolved into today’s special autonomous area. Due to its unique geographical position, Donghai City had become the most prosperous and largest city after the imperial capital.

To Lu Ming, Donghai City was akin to how New York was to the United States in the 1940s or how Shanghai was to China at the same time.

He had seen photos of the bustling skyscrapers.

In his memory fragments, the original “Lu Ming,” a playboy, was also very interested in the highly developed and extravagant lifestyle of Donghai Metropolis. If it weren’t so far away, thousands of kilometers, he would have loved to visit.

Photos of Donghai City reminded him of New York in the 1940s, with their similar urban development.

This year was the 949th year of the Empire. In some ways, the technology and development level of this world were similar to those of the 1940s and 1950s in his original world. However, due to the unique geography of this world, such as uncharted regions and chaotic electromagnetic waves from the mysterious ocean, the entire world map had not yet been fully illuminated. Scientists calculated that this world was also spherical.

Due to these unique geographical features, the technological advancements in this world were different.

Of course, this was just a general understanding; the specifics would require further exploration.

For now, hiding in the court was not an option, but blending into the city was.

There was no better place to hide than Donghai City.

Going to the countryside would make him stand out more.

Donghai, with its diverse population, was inherently complex.

A city with millions of people surely harbored countless fugitives from other regions.

Moreover, thousands of kilometers away from the northern provinces, Donghai City and the northern provinces were practically two different worlds, with different lifestyles and mindsets, almost isolated from each other.

The mastermind behind his troubles might wield power in the northern provinces, but surely not in Donghai City.

Of course, he would still need to be extremely cautious.

More importantly, his family heirloom was also connected to Donghai.

He had many questions, including why his family had faced such a great disaster.

Perhaps the answers could only be found in the heirloom.

Therefore, Donghai was an inevitable journey.