Chapter 117, Chapter 116: The Ultimate Goal...

Don't let the kids take pictures of this.

Okay, I'll talk to her.

Treat this as a serious matter!

Zhuge Tongzhi really wanted to take this matter seriously, but whenever the person involved talked about it, he would start to drift off into his own thoughts, his gaze would wander, and then he would ask if it was time to eat.

Zhuge Tongzhi: ...

What, is the organization so poor behind her back that they can't even afford to eat? Are you starving?

Hmm... but it probably is now.

Aside from the armed helicopters, tanks, and other various firearms, all of the organization's other convertible assets, both online and offline, have been emptied by Ragnarok and Noah's Ark. Now, the once-great organization is probably indeed dirt poor.

But that's no excuse for you to beat around the bush!

Zhuge Tongzhi's attack was rejected by his sister with a smile. Instead, she began to urge her repeatedly to get an ID card so that the wanderer returning from afar could have a legal and compliant identity.

"Fortunately, we haven't entered the era of big data yet, otherwise it would be too difficult to tamper with data traces from more than ten years ago." The black-haired youth was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, holding half a watermelon, and said to Zhuge Tongzhi, who was also holding half a watermelon next to him, "But if we were in the era of big data, it might be easier."

"Right, Noah!" she cheerfully called out to the living room, which was empty except for the two of them, and was quickly met with a very electronic response from Noah's Ark.

Yes, Noah's Ark certainly came with them.

Thanks to this constantly learning and optimizing artificial intelligence, the two beer brands, which had long been secretly monitored by various forces, were able to buy tickets back to China without any obstacles, seamlessly blending into the group of Chinese tourists returning home, and deceiving everyone.

This capable assistant, who navigates the sea of ​​data, has no problem commuting across oceans or being overwhelmed with other tasks. As usual, he assisted with two beers and, with increasing skill, created two temporary identities for the two of them.

As a native of the world, Zhuge Tongzhi theoretically has an identity card here, but unfortunately, her memories before the age of six are blurred due to a high fever after the disaster. She only remembers the single character "Tong" in her name, and she is not sure if this is a nickname that is separate from her formal name.

Using these clues to sift through China's massive population of hundreds of millions to uncover her past, which spans only six short years, would likely take a considerable amount of time.

Moreover, this is not an era of universal information networking. Paper certificates are still the most common documents that people need to keep carefully. Files contain more detailed information about a person's life than the Internet.

People use medical records to document their occasional struggles and injuries, use newly printed lines in their bankbooks to calculate their annual income and expenses, use magazines filled with small print and newspapers with rustling pages to read about the world thousands of miles away, and use express delivery slips that take a long time to arrive to send a heartfelt package to their relatives and friends.

With the irresistible spread of mobile phones and the Internet, the information age is sweeping in, email is irresistibly replacing letters, electronic news is squeezing the space of newspapers, and a convenient yet hurried era is coming.

However, the years recorded on paper need some time to catch up with the times.

Therefore, Zhuge Tongzhi asked Noah's Ark to start by checking her medical records and entry and exit information, and used the life experience of the fake identity that had accompanied her the longest during the organization to create a half-true and half-false identity.

Lag, on the other hand, was much more casual. He prepared a document for someone a few years older than Zhuge Tongzhi, filled in his full name, and then took it along with Zhuge Tongzhi's document to apply for a replacement certificate.

Searching for the past is a long process, so Zhuge Tongzhi quickly adjusted his mindset and focused his attention on the present of this land.

She was born, grew up, left, and returned here. Her memories are filled with the simple yet hardworking development of this land, but unexpectedly, through Rag's eyes, she foresaw His magnificent and grand appearance decades later.

When he went on missions, Zhuge Tongzhi visited many cities. He saw the most advanced and trendy side of the world in the towering steel forests, and also walked through peaceful Western European towns and ranches. During breaks in his missions, he toasted and sang with kind people.

She thought she had long been accustomed to a nomadic life, and imagined that returning to the country that was already blurred in her memory would shatter the illusions that she had been constantly romanticizing with longing.

But when her footsteps carried her to the 9.6 million square kilometers of land, Zhuge Tongzhi felt a sudden sense of relief, realizing that the unease of living abroad had become so long that she had grown accustomed to it.

Yes, she's finally home...

Now, they live in an ordinary little home in this vast country. Using the money they had saved from working illegally for the organization, they spent a week decorating this home, which they had chosen together, into a warm and comfortable place.

They scoured the city's home furnishing stores, endlessly arguing about whether to wallpaper or paint, tile or wood flooring, and whether to use the room as a study or a playroom.

Sometimes, after finally reaching a preliminary consensus, we are drawn to a new design that suddenly appears and is included in the options, which then starts a new round of debate. After several rounds, we end up back at the original choice.

They explored the streets and alleys of the small town and discovered many fruit and vegetable shops with good quality and low prices. The barbershops on the street were popular with side-swept bangs that only showed the left eye and various hair dyes. Tony even praised Lag's light blonde hair for its even color.

Since there were no restaurant review apps available, the two randomly picked small restaurants to try one by one. Zhuge Tongzhi objectively left purely subjective reviews for each restaurant and marked a few particularly delicious ones.

Sometimes, when Lag is craving a particular dish, he's too lazy to manually search through his mental memos to find out which restaurant it is. So he uses Zhuge Tongzhi as his navigation tool, at the cost of having to be responsible for breakfast for a day. So far, he's already owed breakfast until the middle of next month.

When recording the newly received breakfast IOU on the calendar, Zhuge Tongzhi specifically emphasized the increasingly long repayment period, which earned him a firm promise from the person involved that he would repay the debt on time.

"What exactly are you planning to do..." The black-haired girl glanced at the young man who was sprawled on the sofa like he had no bones, puzzled. She casually circled a new date on the calendar, and only after circling it did she notice the small print under the Gregorian calendar date.

That day was New Year's Day.

Zhuge Tongzhi twirled the pen between his fingers a few times without saying anything. He then turned around, grabbed a small blanket from the bedroom, and threw it on Lag, telling her to cover her stomach.

The black-haired youth, who was usually lost in thought, only came to his senses when the blanket was smeared on his face. Without any annoyance, he covered his belly button and continued to daydream.

Zhuge Tongzhi ignored her and instead moved her laptop to the sofa—she needed to deal with the organization's outstanding funds.

This money doesn't belong to them or any particular faction, but it can't be left stuck here. She needs to find a suitable way to handle it... The black-haired girl pondered and created a new folder.

The quiet but not silent living room was filled with the intermittent sound of keyboard typing, the occasional chirping of birds and barking of dogs, and the sunlight streaming in through the window turning into twilight, silently filling this space with tenderness.

"Tong, let's go eat at that farmhouse-style stir-fried pork restaurant today, the one on the corner from the department store!"

Zhuge Tongzhi paused on the keyboard, then moved the mouse and clicked save. He closed the computer and looked at the black-haired youth stretching beside him. "Okay."

Isn't that something you can remember?

"Go Go Go, let's go!"

From that day on, Rag did not issue another IOU for breakfast.

It wasn't that she intentionally controlled the number of days, but rather that she left the city the day after drinking two beers, and often just casually arranged meals and lodging along the way.

Zhuge Tongzhi and Lag left their home and boarded buses, oxcarts, and green trains, venturing into the countryside and mountains outside the cities, to the poorest places on this vast land, gazing at the desolate chasms and touching the barren soil.

They received the juiciest apples from their rough little hands, and listened to the mountain girls beside them, who had to drop out of school to farm, talking longingly about the world beyond the mountains. The kind old man who had taken them into the mountains for free wiped the mud off his hands and indicated that it was time to leave!

Before venturing into the forest along the narrow mountain path, the black-haired girl with a high ponytail turned around as if sensing something. A woman with a deathly pale face was gazing blankly towards the village entrance, while her thin, frail children played outside, their upper bodies bare.

"Let's go." Rag raised his hand and placed it on the black-haired girl's shoulder, squeezing it hard.

Zhuge Tongzhi nodded silently.

On the long and rugged mountain road, the steady old man and Lag chatted idly, the everyday matters of the village, birth, aging, sickness and death, and the comings and goings of people quickly piecing together a blurry and gloomy background.

While chatting, they brushed past a young man on a narrow path.

The old man glanced at it casually and said, "That volunteer teacher from the city has made several trips for those girls."

"What's the use of studying? It's better to marry into a good family; at least you won't go hungry here..."

Zhuge Tongzhi couldn't help but look back. The hurried person had long since disappeared into the winding path, but those bright eyes remained in her mind, shining brightly.

As night fell, they boarded a train that was accompanied by the sound of a long whistle, heading towards their next destination.

The enormous sum of money, enough to provide for a person's enjoyment for countless lifetimes, gradually revealed its approximate destination as two pairs of sneakers, worn smooth from countless muddy roads, became increasingly clear in their dirt-colored patina.

Ordinary days flow by, and as late autumn turns into deep winter, the festive atmosphere of the New Year grows stronger in the streets and alleys.

On New Year's Eve, Zhuge Tongzhi and Lag returned home amidst the scattered red firecrackers that lit up the streets. From the old lady across the hall who had helped them sign for the package, they received two brand-new, official identification documents.

Without having time to check the details of their documents, the two, weary from their journey, quickly washed up and began preparing Spring Festival couplets and "Fu" characters, rushing to do a thorough cleaning of their home.

On New Year's Eve, fireworks and firecrackers lit up the sky outside the window. Lag hummed catchy tunes from the Spring Festival Gala, while Zhuge Tongzhi, with his hair in a bun, sat in front of the TV, slowly transferring what he had seen and heard into the computer.

"Tongtong."

A large bowl of steaming dumplings was placed in front of him. Zhuge Tongzhi grunted "hmm" without looking up, and was then shaken vigorously on the shoulder by Rag, who was not paying attention to him. He was forced to sit up straight and listen to his older sister speak.

"Cough cough cough cough, cough cough, cough!" Rag cleared his throat with his fist in front of his mouth, but before he could finish showing off his power, his expressionless sister pinched his lips flat with two fingers and raised her chin threateningly at him.

The black-haired youth raised his hands in surrender, and after regaining the right to speak, he went straight to the point: "I made a deal with the memorandum, or rather, the world consciousness."

Talking about a deal? Zhuge Tongzhi thought of Rag's behavior of spacing out whenever he had free time recently, and while he suddenly realized it, he was also very surprised.

After the judgment conditions are met, two single-choice options have been generated. Can we still discuss the transaction?

Rag smiled slightly at the girl's surprised expression, picked up a dumpling and dipped it in vinegar with the grace of a dragonfly skimming the water, and said, "As long as He is communicable and has a request of me, there will naturally be room for discussion."

"I added some conditions to the option of starting a second playthrough. The price is that there will be no memo in the second playthrough, but you will no longer start at the distillery, and the boss will not be able to illegally take my body."

That sounded really good. Even though they had already earned their codenames, only they knew the hardships they had endured. Zhuge Tongzhi understandingly applauded the excited Rag.

This woman has always harbored resentment towards the apocalyptic start of the story, often looking up to the sky and questioning the world why she wasn't given a classic fake wine script with money and leisure, but instead had to experience the life of a slave working for a shady boss in advance.

If one could have such an identity in the second playthrough, it would fulfill this person's dream.

How childish. Zhuge Tongzhi propped his chin on his hand, watching the black-haired youth in front of him quickly become proud after receiving applause.

"And what's more, I even managed to get you some benefits!"

The black-haired youth proudly raised his head, holding the dumpling high like a conductor's baton, and said to Zhuge Tongzhi with unbridled glee, "Tongtongtongtongtong~ Do you want to know what the good news is~"

I think you need to put down that dumpling with vinegar first. Zhuge Tongzhi looked at the single drop of vinegar dangling from the dumpling and sighed at the same time as the old man in the skit.

"You go first..."

The doorbell suddenly rang. Zhuge Tongzhi paused as he pulled out a tissue, then quickly stood up and looked warily at the door.

The two sisters had no relatives or friends here, and it was New Year's Eve, so no one would come to visit at this time. But Noah's Ark gave no warning... Could it be?

The black-haired girl with her hair in a bun subconsciously looked at Rag, while the young man, who hadn't finished teasing her, also looked somewhat surprised, but not in a way that suggested complete ignorance.

So who's outside the door? Zhuge Tongzhi was completely baffled.

The person outside rang the doorbell again, and after hesitating for a moment, gently knocked on the door.

"Thump, thump, thump."

She inexplicably sensed a sense of urgency, fear of disappointment, in the slow knocking.

"I secured a place for your parents."

Zhuge Tongzhi suddenly turned his head and met the helpless smile on the face of Lag after he put down his chopsticks and stood up.

“But we’re only trading locations,” the black-haired youth said during the third knock. “I want to give you the choice. Whether you want to see him or not, it’s up to you.”

On this day, Naomi Algent announced the development of an all-age recognition system.

This system, which can predict adult appearance based on childhood photos, has partnered with the world's largest family tracing organization, bringing tens of thousands of old photos online to conduct a comprehensive search based on global image data.

The knocking on the door continued relentlessly, and Rag tightly grasped Zhuge Tongzhi's hand, unsure of what to do with it.

"But it seems they found you first."

Final destination: 'Returning alive to my parents' side.'

"Route planning has been generated: ...%"

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Author's Note: These past few days, Chenxing has been so busy she feels like a helpless dog (collapses).

cough cough

But I'm thinking about the ending carefully!

…

"To return alive to my parents" is the ultimate goal proposed in Chapter Two.

It's Lag's goal, but it's also Xiao Tong's goal!

…

As for the organization's money

Naturally, it should be used in a more appropriate place.

Therefore, Xiaotong's future career path will likely lean towards non-profit organization management.

Of course, it's not just about planting flowers; it's about facing the world (awkwardly).

…

Why was Naomi's system able to cross Noah's Ark?

Setting aside all objective factors related to functional differences

Perhaps... it's because longing and love can transcend everything.

…

There should be one more chapter!

Mwah!