Chapter 32: Afterword and Bus No. 404

He curled his lips into a smirk, murmuring softly, “Baby, you must behave. Your husband swears he’ll find you soon...” When he finds the baby again, he will demand thorough compensation. And if there’s a clingy pest by the baby’s side... well, he’ll just have to eliminate them completely. After all, who could blame him when the baby is so adorable? It’s entirely their fault for shamelessly seducing the baby.

The red-haired man lowered his hand, the obsession in his eyes sending chills down one’s spine.

[ Ding! Welcome, NPC Jiang Shengsheng, to the mystery-solving game! ]
[ Completed the quest “Relocating the Grave”! OOC level below 15%! Perfect performance achieved! ]
[ No deaths at critical points; NPC Jiang Shengsheng’s points deducted by 1000! ]

Good grief, she only earned 1200 points for a flawless performance, and now they’ve slashed almost all of it. Jiang Shengsheng lay on the bed, feeling helpless, patting her chest, “Why is everyone such a psycho? The game must be pushing them too hard.”

Hearing her quiet muttering, the system responded silently: “...”
Defamation! It’s all slander!

[ Would you like to review the main storyline of the quest? ]
[ Yes ] [ No ]

The familiar interface appeared, and Jiang Shengsheng clicked [Yes] with practiced ease. She seemed to finally understand who the decomposed corpse was—after all, no one else cared about strangers except them.

[ Rewinding main quest storyline! ]

The creaking ox cart pulled away a group of hopeful young villagers heading to the countryside. They faced the barren earth, working until their palms peeled, gritting their teeth through the hardship.
“The laboring people are the most glorious!” The spirited slogan rang out alongside the cicadas’ song in the lush trees, marking the beginning of Stone Village’s path to prosperity.

Young Shi Yong was honest and simple: “Here’s your ticket...” The city’s darlings didn’t hold them back, nor did they drag down the village’s production baseline.

Life was improving steadily, until one day a huge rock shattered the calm surface—the reinstatement of the G exam!
“Yes! It’s back! We can get into college!”
A handsome man pushed open the door, his usually stern face lifted by the exciting news.
“That’s great!” The youths gathered around the earthen stove, huddled in small groups, repeatedly poring over the newspapers.

However, despite their joyful participation, weeks passed without any acceptance letters for the G exam; the results had been published half a month ago.
Growing impatient, the youth took matters into their own hands, deciding to go to the nearby town to seek news.

“Why won’t they let us borrow the ox cart? We’ll definitely return it,” they pleaded.
A man guarding the cowshed stammered weakly, “I don’t know why... just stay in the village, that’s best.”
Confused, the youths sought out the village chief Shi Yong, only to be turned away again.

“Then we’ll go on foot—I have to ask!”
“Me too! My family’s waiting for good news!”
At the village entrance, a crowd blocked their way, refusing to let them leave.
“How can you go? Better to wait a little longer.”
“What’s the rush? What’s wrong with Stone Village? Does leaving so hastily honor our old slogan?”
“Stay and help build Stone Village together, isn’t that better?”

Late at night, the honest young man opened his wardrobe and took out a black bundle.
He glanced deeply at a stack of black-and-white papers, chuckled softly, then grabbed the burning oil lamp nearby and set fire to the papers and the black cloth until they were completely consumed.
Alive, they were people of Stone Village; dead, they were ghosts of Stone Village.

“Dad! I’ve taken a fancy to the woman at the office—she’s truly beautiful, just like a pampered city girl.”
Sitting by the oil lamp, the man inhaled deeply on his pipe, exhaling white smoke slowly, “Fine, but we’re not raising her for nothing. Women are women; they’re not supposed to be so delicate.”
“Of course, once married, I’ll have her work in the fields to properly honor you and mom.”

Shi Yong’s son had taken a liking to the pretty woman at the office.
He had always looked down on women.
Why study so much? Staying home to support the husband and raise children was their proper role!

One night, the burning torchlight illuminated faces twisted with rage: “Write it! If you don’t, you’ll regret it!”
“We won’t! You’re forcing us!” Those who stood to resist were pinned to the ground by burly men.
Dirty shovels slammed down fiercely, pounding until the rebellious spirit in their eyes was thoroughly crushed before the blows finally ceased.

With the threat effective, no one dared resist anymore, muffling their sobs with their hands.
Three years passed, and the arrogance of those oppressors only grew; they no longer showed any restraint or courtesy toward the youths, bossing them around at every turn.
Since they were capable and promising young scholars, knowing more than the others, wasn’t it only right they did more work?

That same year, Jiang Luo and Shi Yusheng fell in love.
They had a child.
Unable to leave Stone Village, they named her Jiang Shengsheng.
Jiang Shengsheng was born in the shrine.
Jiang Luo suffered a difficult labor with heavy bleeding, drawing the attention of Qi Man, who possessed a divine body, and he used divine power to assist with the birth.
The cost: her daughter must remain as his little bride.

Time may erode one’s will, but it cannot bury the persistent thoughts deep within the heart.
“Whose child is this? You haven’t been with anyone else recently—how could you be pregnant?”
“Sun Xiaomei, you’re confused! Speak up!”
The woman huddled in the corner, her long hair disheveled, hands protecting her swollen belly. No matter the shouts or scolding, she refused to say a word, silently clutching herself and weeping.

The following year, her child was born—a plump, hefty boy.
The village chief inexplicably brought smoked meat as a ‘reward’ for their recent good behavior.
“Where’s Sun Xiaomei?!”
“She jumped into the river; she didn’t survive.”
“Hmph, such a loose woman who gets pregnant out of wedlock deserves death. I doubt even the King of Hell would take her; truly filthy!”
The old women at the village entrance snorted with disdain.

Sun Xiaomei’s body was dragged out and carelessly dumped at the chaotic burial ground on the hillside, without even a straw mat.
In the end, the youths pooled their money grudgingly to give her a respectful send-off.

The wave of prosperity and road-building surged, and Shi Yong smiled at them, “We’re all part of the village. We provide the funds, you provide the labor—it’s a win-win.”
The money was spent, but in the end, only crumbs remained in the youths’ hands.
Hard labor did not fill their stomachs; Jiang Luo’s nutrition lagged behind, and her milk supply dwindled pitifully.

Helpless, Shi Yusheng begged the men for more work, promising to do anything for extra food.
“Let them raise pigs—I’m exhausted just cutting pig grass every day!” the eldest son proposed.
The youths glanced at the lurking overseers around them, bitterly amused.

Soon, they taught themselves a few simple sign language phrases.

A vehicle arrived from outside—the driver was a stranger.
“We must send the child away overnight. We can’t leave ourselves; the child can’t be trapped deep in the mountains.”
Jiang Luo sewed items into the little one’s pocket and quietly handed the child to the stranger under the cover of darkness.
The outsider was a kind person.

Welfare homes in various places soon discovered abandoned children left at their doors.
After moving through several cities, they finally fulfilled the entrusted task.

The rainy season arrived; the once vibrant youths were now gaunt and broken, tortured almost beyond recognition.
“Even tigers don’t eat their cubs—how could they abandon their own flesh and blood? Tsk tsk.”
“Hmph, a bunch of heartless creatures.”
“Go! Give them a lesson so they remember! Do they think I’m just a figurehead village chief?!”
“Cut more rations, give them just enough water to survive.”

Shi Yusheng was beaten and had his leg broken for stealing food. That very night, floods broke the embankments, and mudslides cascaded down—Stone Village was devastated.
They all died, every last one of them.
The few survivors faced even harsher vengeance.
“It must be you! You angered the mountain god, bringing this catastrophe upon Stone Village!”
“Blood must be paid! Someone must pay!!!”

Jiang Luo, lucky to escape to the mountains, hid in the shrine. She set fire to the soft little garment she carried, then resolutely returned to Stone Village.
They were not animals trapped in the mountains to be toyed with—they were flesh and blood, with dignity and spirit.

“Fire!”
“The ancestral hall’s burning! It’s that wretched woman! She set the fire!”
Outside the ancestral hall, faces twisted with hatred; inside, the flames engulfed her completely.

Years later, a returning villager’s casual remark caught Shi Yong’s attention: “I saw that woman—she looked just like back then...”
Letters were sent to various cities.
The parents of the traveling players were among the youths sent down to the countryside back then, only relocated to even more remote, backward mountain areas. The village chief wanted to find them but was powerless.
He never expected such a coincidence.

Over a decade ago, he had secretly sent their children out of Stone Village under cover of darkness.
Years later, by different fates, their children returned to Stone Village.

[ Rewind complete ]

Shi Shengsheng’s feelings were a complex mixture upon learning of Shi Yong’s wicked deeds.
After calming herself, she continued with the task.
Before starting, the system announced: “Your points are sufficient to start live streaming; streaming rewards will be doubled.”

Streaming?
Jiang Shengsheng hesitated a moment, then decided to try it once. If it didn’t go well, she could always turn it off—it was a guaranteed win.

“NPC live streaming function activated!”

[ Ding! Welcome, NPC Jiang Shengsheng, to the mystery-solving game! ]
[ Your mission—fully embody your role and maintain control over the quest’s mortality rate! ]

The woman lying on the bed slowly awakened. Outside, dusk deepened; the orange-yellow afterglow on the horizon was swallowed by the moon.

[ Warning! NPC must not go out of character! A role-play level below 80% will result in termination! ]
[ Quest three: Bus No. 404 is a special bus. On certain special days, a woman longing to return to her grandmother’s home finally fulfills her wish! ]

It was now 11:40 p.m.