Chapter 41: A Passerby in a 1970s Rural Stories (The End)

Jiang Yue hadn't been back for over a decade, and the village had changed quite a bit; it was unrecognizable from what she used to know.

The next day, Jiang Yue went to pay respects to her parents, visit Uncle Shuanzi, and see the elders in the village. Faced with this changed scene, she couldn't help but sigh at the impermanence of life and the helplessness of being unable to control one's own destiny.

Jiang Yue didn't stay in the village for long before returning to Beijing and starting a new round of busy work.

The next time I received a call from Er Gouzi, it was Er Gouzi informing me of the brigade leader's death. I rushed back to the village, but had to leave again due to urgent matters.

One by one, the old friends passed away, like leaves falling in the wind. After the brigade leader passed away, the others also left one after another. First, it was the brigade leader's wife, who followed him a few years after he passed away. Then it was Uncle Shuanzhu. By the time Jiang Yue was 70 years old, all the old friends had passed away, leaving only Li Mengqi and Liu Ruyan.

In recent years, Li Mengqi's health has been deteriorating. A few years ago, Li Mengqi handed over all the things she still used in her space to the country, and also distributed some money to Jiang Yue and Liu Ruyan. Jiang Yue retired when Uncle Shuanzhu passed away, but a school rehired her and she occasionally taught a few classes.

In the past few years, Jiang Yue accompanied Li Mengqi and Liu Ruyan. The three old ladies traveled together, went to bars to watch handsome men dance, and traveled around the world. When Jiang Yue turned 73, Li Mengqi could no longer hold on and returned to her world on a sunny day. Liu Ruyan and Jiang Yue cried uncontrollably.

When Jiang Yue turned 75, Liu Ruyan also passed away. After Liu Ruyan's passing, Jiang Yue's body became increasingly hunched. She chose another sunny day with flowers in full bloom to continue her next journey.

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Postscript, Li Mengqi's chapter.

When Li Mengqi opened her eyes again, all she could see was darkness. With a doting smile on her face, she called out, "Ruyan! What are you doing now? How old are you? Can't you stop being so childish?"

After shouting, she realized something was wrong. Why did her voice sound like this? It sounded like when she was young. And why did her body hurt so much? Li Mengqi reached out and touched her face. It wasn't smooth, but it didn't have any wrinkles either. She knew that when she got old, she wouldn't even look in the mirror, for fear of seeing her face full of wrinkles.

Once she calmed down, she used her mental energy to look around. She found herself under a pile of rubble. Li Mengqi was puzzled; had Jiang Yue and Liu Ruyan buried her in the rubble? Before she could react, the stones above her rapidly disappeared, and her mental energy revealed a familiar face…

"Captain! Captain, hang in there, we're coming to save you!"

After Li Mengqi saw the sunlight, she saw a familiar person. A girl ran over and her outstretched palm emitted a green light. She carefully placed it on Li Mengqi's wound. When the others saw that Li Mengqi was not speaking, they wondered what was wrong, and several of the children cried anxiously.

Li Mengqi raised her hand to block out the sunlight. If she hadn't looked at the things in the space, she would have thought it was all a dream.

"Hehe, God has really been kind to me," Li Mengqi said softly.

A moment later, Li Mengqi's injuries had been mostly healed. She stood up and hugged each of her teammates, patting them on the back. The other team members didn't dare to make a sound. After a while, someone cautiously asked Li Mengqi, "Captain? Are you alright?"

Li Mengqi brushed the dirt off her body and said, "It's okay. Let's find a safe place first. There might still be mutated zombies. Let's rest for a bit before we set off again."

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Postscript, Liu Ruyan's story.

When Liu Ruyan woke up, she found herself slumped over a table. It took her a while to realize she was on her own desk. Her colleague, seeing her dazed expression, waved and asked, "Empress Ruyan? What's wrong, Empress?"

Hearing that familiar nickname, Liu Ruyan was completely awake. She made an excuse to go to the bathroom, washed her face, looked at herself in the mirror, and muttered to herself with a bitter smile, "This dream was too long and too real."

She wiped her face and dried her hands before leaving the bathroom. After a few steps, Liu Ruyan slowed her pace and whispered, "System? The shopping mall system?"

After waiting for a while without any response, she shook her head and smiled, realizing she had really gone silly from sleeping too much. After finishing her overtime work that night, Liu Ruyan walked out of the company, went downstairs, and took a pre-booked ride-hailing car. After returning home, she ordered takeout and started watching her latest drama. She had only been watching for a short while when she felt something was off, because the plot seemed familiar, as if she had seen it before.

Then she switched to another show, and she could still guess the plot. Liu Ruyan felt like she was seeing a ghost. She sat on the sofa for a while, recalling the dream she had at noon. Every detail was still very clear, and the dream lasted for too long. Finally, she called out a few more times: "System? Shopping mall system?"

After waiting for a long time without any response, she shook her head, feeling like she was possessed. She forced herself to finish her takeout while enduring the strange feeling, cleaned up the table, took a shower, and was about to go to sleep. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she heard a crackling sound of electricity in her mind, followed by two heavy thuds. Liu Ruyan woke up with a start and quickly turned on the light, only to see two suitcases next to her bed.

Liu Ruyan carefully examined and touched the suitcases, and then found the two suitcases in her memory. In the last few years, Liu Ruyan joked with Jiang Yue and Li Mengqi, "Maybe we can go back to the world after we die."

She was just talking nonsense, but the other two seemed to be desperate and decided to try anything. So, for those few years, Li Mengqi went on a buying spree, buying a lot of food and seeds from abroad, storing a lot of delicacies, and even packing two suitcases of gold and silver jewelry for her to put in the mall in case she needed them when she got back. The others didn't really believe it, but they held onto a sliver of hope, after all, what if?

Liu Ruyan scrambled to open the box, which contained her previously stored items. Next to a bank card was a note explaining its origin: it contained the balance in her shopping mall system, which had all been converted into local currency. There was also a plan made for her by Jiang Yue and Li Mengqi. Since the time spent on the other side had exceeded that on this side, and the development progress was similar, they had made a plan for her on how to make money when she returned, and how to act discreetly.

Liu Ruyan didn't look at the gold and silver jewelry. After opening the letter, she found messages from Li Mengqi and Jiang Yue. After reading the letter, she cried and laughed at the same time. How wonderful! Heaven has been kind to her, the Great Emperor Ruyan.