Lin Xi was at work when she heard those words. She stepped away from the shop and walked into the break room. Li Yucheng's voice grew clearer:
"Last year, after Zhang Qiang hit and killed your friend with his car, they transported Lin Duxi's body out of the capital overnight to cover up the crime. They buried it on a hillside in Hebei Province."
"That area is remote—no villages nearby, nothing around for miles. So an extra body buried there went completely unnoticed until now."
"Zhang Qiang didn’t dare sell the car involved in the accident, but he couldn’t drive it either. It’s been sitting in his family’s garage. We examined it and found traces of blood in multiple areas. DNA testing confirmed the blood matches the body buried at the foot of the hill—and it also matches Lin Duxi’s DNA records in the database."
Most children in the orphanage were victims of trafficking. To help them reunite with their families, the police had collected their DNA.
The case was straightforward to solve. After Li Yucheng submitted the copied surveillance footage and the statements taken at the Tongzhou police station, an investigation was launched. Once they had solid evidence, confronting Zhang Qiang and Fang Qianqian made everything fall into place.
Zhang Qiang had nerves of steel. Under police questioning, his answers were flawless.
Fang Qianqian, however, couldn’t hold up. According to her, ever since Lin Duxi’s death, she had been plagued by nightmares and lived in constant fear of Zhang Qiang, her boyfriend. She had tried to leave him multiple times, but he always threatened her and her parents, forcing her to stay.
Before the police even came knocking, Fang Qianqian was already on the verge of breaking. So when they pressed her, she spilled everything like a bag of spilled beans.
She claimed Zhang Qiang was the mastermind—she was just an unwilling accomplice, a victim herself.
The police didn’t buy it entirely. Their investigation showed Zhang Qiang had never restricted her freedom. For an entire year, she had been the one sending messages from Lin Duxi’s phone to others. She had countless chances to expose the truth about his disappearance but never acted. Regardless of other crimes, this alone was enough to convict her of obstruction.
As for Fang Qianqian, after two years in the post-apocalyptic wasteland, Lin Duxi had seen through her completely:
[Post-Apocalyptic Lin Duxi: Looking back, Fang Qianqian has always been like this—ever since we met in college and started dating.]
[No matter what happened, she’d let others make the decisions, then blame them when things went wrong.]
[Take her relationship with Zhang Qiang. He was our classmate, chasing her since junior year. In front of me, she’d complain about him being clingy, impossible to shake off. But she still replied to every one of his messages. It wasn’t until a month before my death that I found out her internship had been arranged by Zhang Qiang.]
[She claimed to reject him, but her actions kept stringing him along. I was just too blind to see it, believing her lies and blaming everything on Zhang Qiang. Now I realize—she was the problem all along.]
[I hate reducing people to stereotypes, but for Zhang Qiang and Fang Qianqian, it takes two to tango. A fly doesn’t land on a crack-free egg.]
[She wanted it all. In college, she chased me—the so-called campus heartthrob—to feed her vanity. Then, after graduation, when reality hit, she ran into Zhang Qiang’s arms. If they hadn’t killed me, I wouldn’t have held it against her.]
[People climb higher; water flows lower. Fang Qianqian wanting a better life is normal. Our relationship had its sweet moments too. If we’d broken up peacefully, I’d never have spoken ill of her.]
Lin Duxi had been waiting for Lin Xi’s message. When it finally came, emotions overwhelmed him, and he ended up pouring out more than he intended.
He wouldn’t condemn Fang Qianqian for chasing wealth—he had never been rich, even when they were together. Regardless of her reasons, he had genuinely loved her.
No relationship is guaranteed to last forever. Lin Duxi wouldn’t have stopped her from seeking a better life—just not at the cost of his own.
After venting, he asked Lin Xi to keep him updated on the case. He wanted to see justice served. Lin Xi agreed without hesitation.
She had taken on this task, and she intended to see it through. Otherwise, the bottle of genetic repair serum and the Buddhist amulet she’d received would weigh too heavily on her conscience.
Lin Xi believed Lin Duxi’s claim about Fang Qianqian’s vanity. She had seen his photo—sharp features, defined brows, striking eyes. A boyfriend like that would turn heads.
The thought reminded her of the video she’d taken at the orphanage. She had sent it to Lin Duxi long ago. He hadn’t commented on it directly, but in later conversations, he mentioned the ginkgo trees, Dean Huang, and Yu Xiaomeng.
Though he referred to Yu Xiaomeng as just a younger sister, Lin Xi sensed his lingering attachment.
Lin Xi always carried the Buddhist amulet in her bag. She planned to sell it—50% of the proceeds would go to the orphanage as Lin Duxi’s way of giving back.
Another 30% would buy supplies for him. The remaining 20%? Her well-earned fee.
She floated the idea to Lin Duxi, who had no objections. The matter was settled.
They had reached an agreement, but Lin Duxi had already decided to scavenge more jewelry for Lin Xi—partly as gratitude, partly because after tasting clean, fresh food and water, he couldn’t stomach the wasteland’s offerings anymore.
On Friday, her day off, Lin Xi headed to the orphanage early. Stepping out from the warmth of her home, the winter wind cut deep. The poplar trees lining the road stood bare, their branches occasionally cradling large bird nests.
By the time she reached the orphanage gates, the sun had risen—but in the north, sunlight was like a fridge light: all illumination, no warmth.
The gates were open. Just inside, four middle-aged men and women stood before Dean Huang, weeping as they spoke.
"Dean Huang, you have a kind heart. Please save our Zhang Qiang. He was spoiled by the family and doesn’t know any better. We can donate five million to the institute, as long as you write a letter of forgiveness." A well-dressed middle-aged woman spoke as she knelt before the dean.
"Yes, Dean Huang, this matter really has little to do with our Qianqian. It was all Zhang Qiang’s doing. She still has a bright future ahead of her—she can’t just throw it all away!"
The dean, no longer the gentle figure she once appeared, turned icy. "I am not Lin Duxi’s parent. I have neither the right nor the authority to forgive your children on his behalf! Those who do wrong must face punishment! Those who owe a life must repay with a life!"
"You keep saying your children have bright futures—but what about our Lin Duxi? Didn’t he deserve a bright future too? Was he just supposed to die at your children’s hands? He struggled his whole life, never knowing a single good day—what did he ever do to them?"
"How could you be so cruel? If they wanted to date, couldn’t they have broken up first? Was it so impossible to take things one at a time? Were they really in such a hurry?" Tears welled in the dean’s eyes as she spoke of Lin Duxi, her words growing harsher.
The parents of Zhang Qiang and Fang Qianqian stiffened at her words.
Yu Xiaomeng grabbed a large mop and swept it toward them. "Get the hell out of here! If you ever come back, I’ll beat you every time I see you. Disgusting, worthless trash!"
Yu Xiaomeng was strong, and the mop swung fiercely in her hands. The older children from the welfare home, who hadn’t left for school yet, watched with hostility. Neighbors had also gathered at the gate, many holding up their phones to record.
Though seething with anger, the parents dared not retaliate—they had no desire to become internet "celebrities." Covering their sore spots, they slunk away in defeat. Before they even made it past the welfare home’s gate, the two families, who had just been united in their plea, began blaming each other. Not far away, Zhang Qiang’s mother and Fang Qianqian’s mother started fighting.
Lin Xi was good-looking and had visited just a week ago. Yu Xiaomeng had no particular faults, except that she remembered handsome faces well. So she welcomed Lin Xi inside. "What were they here for?" Lin Xi asked.
Yu Xiaomeng replied, "Begging for mercy. Don’t mind them."
She couldn’t hold back any longer. She couldn’t speak freely in front of Dean Huang, and even less so in front of the children. Though she barely knew Lin Xi, his arrival was timely—she desperately needed someone to confide in.
"Last time you came, didn’t I mention that our welfare home once had someone with a name similar to yours? He went missing, but now the police have confirmed it—he was killed by his ex-girlfriend’s lover. The evidence is solid; there’s no false accusation here."
"Those two just now were the parents of his ex-girlfriend and the lover. They came to ask our dean for a letter of forgiveness. Forgiveness my ass! Their children deserve to die miserably!"
Yu Xiaomeng’s face twisted with fury. She had never believed Lin Duxi was the type to vanish due to work stress. If he had been that fragile, he wouldn’t have started working part-time in high school. Besides, he had only communicated via text—no calls, no video chats. Even his texting habits had changed, deepening Yu Xiaomeng’s unease.
Then she discovered Lin Duxi’s girlfriend had immediately moved on to a wealthy demolition heir. This only strengthened her suspicions.
She went to the police station repeatedly to file reports. She even confronted Zhang Qiang and Fang Qianqian at their homes multiple times. In Yu Xiaomeng’s mind, she needed to see Lin Duxi—alive or dead. Now that she had seen his body, she felt no relief, only grief.
Yu Xiaomeng had liked Lin Duxi since high school, but back then, like him, she was focused on getting into a good university. So she buried her budding crush.
By college, she was finally ready to confess—only to learn Lin Duxi already had a girlfriend. Heartbroken, she forced herself to move on. She thought their paths would never cross again, that the boy she once adored would remain just a distant memory.
She never imagined it would end like this. Yu Xiaomeng cried all night, her eyes swollen. Now, she had only one wish—for Zhang Qiang and Fang Qianqian to pay for their crimes.
The nosy neighbors had dispersed. Dean Huang, devastated by Lin Duxi’s death, had gone to rest. The older children who had surrounded Zhang Qiang’s parents had left for class.
Lin Xi listened quietly. When Yu Xiaomeng finished, he explained his reason for visiting.
One of his clients was in the jewelry business. The jade pendant Lin Duxi had sent her had already been sold. It was a high-quality ice jadeite with exquisite craftsmanship, but due to the urgency of the sale, the price was slightly lowered—settling at 500,000.
According to her agreement with Lin Duxi, half of that—250,000—was to be donated to the welfare home.
When Yu Xiaomeng heard the amount, she was stunned. In all the years since the welfare home’s founding, they had never received such a large personal donation. Even corporate donations rarely exceeded 50,000.
Still caught between anger and tears, she stared at Lin Xi in disbelief. "Ms. Lin, are you sure? A donation of 250,000?"
"I’m sure," Lin Xi said. "These funds are being donated on behalf of my friend. He grew up in your welfare home but couldn’t come himself, so he sent me instead."
Yu Xiaomeng fell silent. Over the years, many who had left the welfare home had given back, and some had even arranged donations through others. But this was by far the largest.
By noon, the donation formalities were complete. Lin Xi declined Yu Xiaomeng’s lunch invitation and headed to the nearest wholesale market.
Thirty percent of the jade sale was Lin Xi’s payment for supplies meant for Lin Duxi, who was now in a completely safe location. She needed to send him essentials—bottled water, rice, flour, cooking oil.
Lin Xi ordered a ton of mineral water and a thousand kilograms each of rice and flour. She rented a warehouse from a friend, conveniently located inside the wholesale market. Since there were plenty of restaurants and noodle shops in the market, and Lin Xi had been busy all morning, she was starving. She picked a crowded noodle shop, ate a bowl of noodles, and then headed to the pre-rented warehouse.
After checking the warehouse space and cleaning up the mess left by the previous tenant, Lin Xi called the suppliers. Since they were all within the same market, the first delivery arrived in less than twenty minutes. From then on, Lin Xi barely had a moment to rest—just recording the delivered quantities and directing the workers to unload the goods took her the entire afternoon.
By evening, Lin Xi rented a small van. The wholesale market had laborers who specialized in loading and unloading goods, so she hired a team to help. They worked until midnight before finally finishing loading everything.
After paying the workers and adding a little extra for their hard work, Lin Xi drove the van away at two in the morning. Once she reached a spot without surveillance cameras, she instantly transported the items.
At that moment, Lin Xi felt a surge of relief. Thank goodness she’d had the foresight to get her driver’s license early—and thank goodness she was bold enough to drive despite not having touched a car in so long!
The moment the items were transported, a system message popped up in the group chat for all members:
[System Message: Detection complete. Earth girl Lin Xi has sent a large batch of supplies to Lin Duxi of the Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland World. This action has been classified as cross-dimensional trade. As per regulations, a 5% handling fee will be deducted from this delivery.]
[The handling fee has been deducted from the supplies. Please take note.]
Before she could finish reading, another message appeared:
[System Message: Earth girl Lin Xi has completed the task posted by Lin Duxi of the Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland. Other group members in need may now post new tasks. Note: The trial period for the group chat has ended. For future tasks, the system will deduct handling fees directly from the task rewards. All members, please be advised.]
Sitting in the passenger seat with the heater on, Lin Xi relaxed when she saw the message. In her mind, free things were the most expensive. The fact that the chat system charged a fee actually made her trust it more—it felt more reliable this way.
At the same time, Ah Huahua from the Primitive World and Ye Bingbing from the Domineering CEO World both started typing in the group chat. But just before sending, Ye Bingbing hesitated, deleted her drafted message, and held back.
Having been groupmates with Ah Huahua for a while now, Ye Bingbing knew exactly how tough her life was—surrounded by prehistoric beasts and all sorts of savage tribes.
Sure, Ye Bingbing’s world was full of lunatics, and later she’d face family ruin and assault by thugs—but for now, her family was still safe, and those tragedies were still some time away. She could wait a little longer. Let Ah Huahua go first.
