Chapter 382: The Hidden Hand in the Future

The bright moonlight filtered through the dense forest, casting patches of light on the ground. Lin Xian and CC had been walking for an hour and a half from Queens Town before they finally arrived at Rhine Village, located by the river. The village was almost completely dark, except for a bonfire still burning in the middle of the square. Over the fire, a pot of water simmered, and a few night watchers sat around it, quietly chatting.

Normally, Granny Zheng Xiang Yue, the village chief, would still be awake at this hour. As CC had mentioned, Granny Zheng often used the quiet early morning hours to prepare lesson plans, grade the children’s homework, and plan for the village’s future. She was a dedicated and responsible leader.

Lin Xian and CC crossed the river, intending to enter the village and find Granny Zheng. But then they noticed something unusual.

“Granny Zheng?” CC called out.

An elderly figure dressed in white stood at the village entrance—it was Granny Zheng Xiang Yue. But why was she outside so late?

Hearing CC’s voice, Granny Zheng turned and sighed in relief, smiling. “CC, you’re back.”

CC nodded and walked up to her. “Granny Zheng, why are you out here? Were you... waiting for me?”

“Hehehe,” she chuckled warmly. “You’ve never come back this late before. I was worried something might have happened, so I came out to check.”

“It’s good to see you’re safe. There are often wild animals in the forest. It’s best not to come back so late... couldn’t things be done during the day? Right?”

Then, she looked past CC at the young man beside her. “And who might this be?”

CC stepped aside to introduce him. “Granny Zheng, this is my friend, Lin Xian.”

Upon hearing the name, Zheng Xiang Yue’s eyes widened. “You... you are...”

“Yes,” Lin Xian said, stepping forward. “I’m Lin Xian, the one you mentioned in your wish list. I’m sorry it took so long to come...”

He looked at her and smiled gently. “Xiang Yue, I’m here to see you.”

By the stone well in Rhine Village, the night was calm and peaceful. The bright moon rose higher in the sky, and the distant cicadas grew quieter, leaving everything still.

Lin Xian and Zheng Xiang Yue sat on the stone steps beside the well, holding a laminated piece of paper—a wish list that had been preserved for over a hundred years and existed in this world for six centuries:

“Things to Do After Waking Up from Hibernation!”

Bury my brother on the moon.

Repay Lin Xian properly.

Be a kind and loving person.

“This is what you wrote before you went into the hibernation chamber,” Lin Xian said softly, looking at the laminated paper. “You were very young back then, just over fifteen, almost sixteen. But mentally, you were probably only about eight or nine—very innocent and naive.”

“Because of that, you didn’t really understand what losing your memory would mean. You didn’t think it would be that bad. So, you didn’t prepare anything like notebooks or recordings like others did.”

Zheng Xiang Yue listened quietly, closing her eyes. “I see.”

“I always wondered why other people who woke up from hibernation had tons of notebooks and videos, but I only had this one sheet of paper. Now, I understand. It’s because of this.”

“For years, I kept thinking, why didn’t I leave any record of my memories before hibernation? I thought maybe I had lived a miserable life and wanted to forget everything and start anew. That’s why I didn’t leave any memories.”

She chuckled softly. “Looks like I was overthinking it.”

Lin Xian was silent for a moment before continuing. “It’s not entirely your fault. You had many caring adults around you, but almost everyone stayed silent about the idea of leaving behind a memory journal before you went into hibernation.”

“It’s hard to say whether this was misguided kindness or unnecessary compassion. But back then, I thought the same. I knew this wish list you wrote wouldn’t help much because the wishes were too simple, too vague. After waking up, you’d definitely not understand them.”

“Even though I knew this, I still didn’t say anything. Like the doctors, I thought it was better to forget such sad and painful memories. After all, you had nothing before hibernation, and you would have nothing after waking up. Starting fresh wouldn’t be so bad, right?”

Zheng Xiang Yue slowly opened her eyes and looked at Lin Xian. “So... Mr. Lin Xian, have you changed your mind now?”

“Are you willing to tell me about my past, about my real life before?”

Lin Xian nodded. “Today, I met a friend from Mars who is also searching for his memories and himself.”

“His name is a bit unusual, but his story is fascinating. He once hated his name, then forgot it, later doubted it, and even doubted himself. But in the end... he came to love his name.”

“It sounds funny, but it’s true. So, my thinking has indeed changed. A person’s life, even their memories, can’t be perfect. But memories aren’t just movie clips you forget after watching; they’re filled with emotions, the sweet, bitter, and sour parts of life.”

“Are you ready, Xiang Yue?” Lin Xian asked, holding the laminated paper so that the wishes faced her. The moonlight highlighted the three wishes written on it.

“Behind these three wishes are some very sad and heartbreaking realities,” Lin Xian continued, “but they also hold three different kinds of love, warmth, and kindness.”

“If you’re ready, I’ll start telling you. This is a story from over 600 years ago. Even after such a long time, some things never change.”

Zheng Xiang Yue stared at the laminated paper, focusing on the simple words written there. After a moment, she nodded.

“Mr. Lin Xian, please tell me,” she said softly. “Tell me about the life I once lived and the things that happened around me.”

Lin Xian began to share her story.

He talked about how she and her brother lost their parents, how Zheng Cheng He got bitten by a dog, and how the two of them left home and relied on each other in Donghai City.

He didn’t tell her about Zheng Cheng He’s involvement with the Seven Deadly Sins. Instead, he told her that her brother had found a generous employer who helped pay for her hospital treatment.

When it came to Zheng Cheng He’s death, Lin Xian stuck to the official story—a car accident, as reported in the news. After all, that’s what the teenage Zheng Xiang Yue had believed, and since the law had never convicted Zheng Cheng He, Lin Xian wouldn’t either.

He also spoke about the ticket to the moon, her agreement with Elon Musk, and the missing logo on the moon—he told her everything in full detail.

“In the end, you decided to go into the hibernation chamber,” Lin Xian said.

He handed the laminated paper back to Zheng Xiang Yue. “You wrote these three wishes while lying in bed. At first, there were only two, but then I told you... kindness needs to be shared. You could repay me by passing it on—help the country if you could; if not, build up your hometown.”

“It’s incredible that even after losing your memories, you traveled billions of kilometers from Mars to Earth and rebuilt Rhine Village on the ruins of Donghai City.”

Lin Xian finished his story.

As he had expected, Zheng Xiang Yue didn’t show a big reaction.

Even while retelling these stories, Lin Xian felt more moved than she did. Because he had lived through these experiences himself. But for the current Zheng Xiang Yue, it was like listening to a story from a 600-year-old movie.

How many people would still watch early black-and-white films? And how many would still be interested in the silent films of Charlie Chaplin?

It was understandable that Zheng Xiang Yue didn’t feel much. The life he described was so far removed from her current reality that she couldn’t connect to it.

Angelica’s thirst for revenge, on the other hand, came from years of self-persuasion and self-hypnosis, making those memories feel real to her.

Old Man Wei Sheng Jin’s tears for past memories were because the name “Liu Shiyu” became a bridge connecting his past and present.

“Thank you for buying me a ticket to the moon...”

Zheng Xiang Yue’s voice was soft and dream-like. Lin Xian wasn’t sure who was speaking to him—the elderly woman before him or the young girl who once said, “My dream is to be buried on the moon when I die!”

“Thank you for giving me a complete and regret-free life...”

Lin Xian kept his eyes closed. He felt the hands in his grip becoming smoother, softer, and warmer. Zheng Xiang Yue’s tearful voice seemed to merge with that of the strong yet lonely little girl from 600 years ago:

“Thank you, Brother Lin Xian.”

Suddenly, Lin Xian opened his eyes!

Boom!!!

Boom!!!

Boom!!!

A bright white light flashed exactly at 12:42, blinding him and making everything around him blur, including the smiling face in front of him.

In a quiet corner of his bedroom, Lin Xian opened his eyes. He stared at the ceiling above him. He didn’t move for a long time.

Maybe Zheng Xiang Yue had asked him to close his eyes because it would have been awkward for someone her age to call him “Brother Lin Xian” while looking him in the eye.

But...

Why did she end up saying it?

She had known he was her Brother Lin Xian ever since he had told her everything, but she always called him Mr. Lin Xian.

Had she regained her memory?

Definitely not.

But why did she cry when she saw that accurate sketch of the Rhine Cat?

Those were real emotions. Her memory hadn’t come back, but somehow, her feelings seemed to have traveled through time.

Lin Xian suddenly had a thought.

If memories can exist separately from emotions...

Then could emotions also exist separately from memories?

Right now, scientists all agree on one thing: memory loss caused by hibernation is irreversible.

In other words, the memory loss side effect from hibernation can’t be avoided, and once memories are lost, they cannot be restored.

But...

Is that really true?

What happened with Zheng Xiang Yue made Lin Xian question this widely accepted belief: Can lost memories from hibernation really never be restored?

He remembered something Angelica had said.

Elon Musk clearly hadn’t lost any memories, yet he looked far too young.

This was a very contradictory situation.

A youthful appearance suggests a long hibernation period, which should mean memory loss is inevitable.

No memory loss would imply a short and frequent hibernation, which would make it impossible to maintain a youthful appearance.

These two things seem to be mutually exclusive.

Lin Xian began to reflect on three key points:

First, no one has ever been able to fully explain the truth behind the super disaster that struck Earth in the year 2400.

Second, the mandatory history education for awakened humans on Mars is clearly selective and avoids certain topics.

Third, the Earth-Mars interstellar bus only runs once every two years, completely cutting off regular communication between Earth and Mars. If someone travels to Earth, they have to wait two years before they can return, effectively discouraging any interest in Earth tourism. This seems to be a deliberate attempt at control.

It all pointed to one thing...

“Some important truth is being deliberately hidden, intentionally covered up.”

“If people with real memories are killed, and those who survive lose their memories through hibernation only to have false memories implanted... wouldn’t that turn fake history into real history?”

As Lin Xian considered this, he began to suspect that the super disaster of 2400 and Elon Musk’s uncertain Mars migration plan might not be as simple as they appeared in the Fifth Dream world.

He sat up in bed, pulling open the curtains to look at the bright moon outside.

“Who could be Elon Musk’s enemy?” he wondered aloud. “Destroying all human technology, completely isolating Earth from Mars, forcing Earth back into a primitive era without even electricity... what is it afraid of?”

Lin Xian closed his eyes, trying to piece his thoughts together and find some clues.

The complete destruction of human technology.

The total isolation of Earth and Mars.

An era without even basic electricity.

Wait, why does this all seem so familiar?

It’s like... the pursuit and escape involving the super artificial intelligence VV back then!

The only “being” that might be worth this kind of extermination-level destruction could be just one.

Lin Xian’s eyes shot open as he recalled the scene of Kevin Walker being shot dead at the abandoned school in Mississippi, USA, and the digital life form that spoke confidently through the speakers, promising to always be fair and just—

“Turing.”