Starting from South America, speeding through the world

Chapter 336 A Joint Call to Action
Northwestern Virginia.

Jim drove his jeep, bumping along the country road.

The red dot on the navigation screen was flashing, and we soon arrived at the fork in the road.

A wooden sign stands on the left that reads "Potomac Cemetery".

Ahead, the iron fence was half-closed, and next to it was a wooden shed with a white guard sitting underneath.

The man was overweight, wearing a brown coat, and studying a newspaper.

Seeing this, Jim rolled down the car window and spoke to him:
"Hey, open the door. I need to go in and take care of something."

Upon hearing this, the man temporarily put down his work:

"This place hasn't been open to the public for a long time." He cleared his throat impatiently.

"Didn't you see the sign that says 'No Trespassing'?"

"My friend arrived and told me to just drive in."

Upon hearing Jim's answer, the man's eyes darted around, as if trying to determine whether it was true or false.
"Him? You actually know him?"

“We are comrades,” Jim said.

"Alright then." The guard clicked his tongue and picked up the newspaper again.

"Don't blame me, the people in the county are very sensitive about this place."

“Recently, a few homeless people came in, dismantled the railings, and sold the metal.”

“From then on, we stopped letting strangers in.”

"But since you're John's friend, then go ahead."

"Twenty minutes, and whatever you do, don't cause me any trouble."

Jim nodded to him, stepped on the gas again, and drove into the deserted forest road.

The further you go, the more winding the dirt road becomes, covered with withered branches and fallen leaves.

At the end of the road lies a nearly forgotten cemetery.

The weeds were ankle-deep, and the surroundings were eerily quiet.

Jim was inevitably a little confused.

He checked the satellite navigation one last time before finally getting out of the car.

Go east for about ten meters, pass the rubble altar and then turn left, passing through the broken fence.

Only then did Jim notice Zhou Yi—standing alone in an open space.

Two tombstones stood before him, their gray stone surfaces worn white by wind and rain.

"You've arrived." Zhou Yi turned around upon hearing the noise and spoke first.

"Did those people, Colin's relatives, cause you any trouble?"

Jim paused for a moment, then shrugged.

"Except for the two policemen who arrived later, everyone else was fine."

He sighed. "And you? Can you still hold on?"

"I'm fine," Zhou Yi replied calmly.

"I was just a little emotional that day, sorry."

"There's nothing to apologize for," Jim said with a wry smile, shaking his head.

“You’ve cleaned up worse situations for me before.”

"To be honest, I owe you for the rest of my life."

Zhou Yi's lips twitched, and he chuckled, but didn't reply.

After a while, he turned around and pointed to the tombstone on his right:

"I can't explain what was wrong with me at the time."

"I just feel that Colin should be here, not some bullshit Mississippi."

Jim took a few steps closer and then he could see that there were several lines of unfamiliar characters engraved on the monument.

"The grave of my late friend Colin Spencer."

Zhou Yi knew he couldn't understand, so he translated it concisely.

Jim took off his baseball cap and held it in his hand, then looked down at the tombstone.

One second, two seconds.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and it took him a long time to finally squeeze out a sentence:
"If Colin saw this, he might laugh at you for being nosy."

“He would laugh at my affectation,” Zhou Yi said, “but I did it anyway.”

The two were silent for a while.

"At least, he doesn't have to be surrounded by those Brookhaven addicts."

Jim said softly, "It's a complete mess there."

“He will no longer be alone.” Zhou Yi smiled.

“He has them with him, my father and my mother. They are both here.”

As he said this, he pointed to the tombstone next to him.

—The tomb of the late Mr. Zhou Binhong.

—The tomb of my late mother, Madam Li Jin.

"It's a pity they left us so early, I didn't have the chance to really bury them."

The wind blew, and the leaves rustled.

Jim opened his mouth helplessly, then fell silent for a moment.

"I...I really don't know what to say, brother."

His voice was a little hoarse. "There's simply no appropriate way to say something like this."

"But I'm here. I'll always be here. You're never alone."

Jim paused for a moment, scratched his head, and then said:

"If one day you feel you can't hold on any longer, then share some of the burden with me."

"I can't guarantee I can solve it, but at least I can be there for you through this."

Zhou Yi listened quietly, her face expressionless, but she didn't seem particularly sad.

"Thank you, Jim."

"I remember everything you've done for me over the years. I'm very grateful."

As he spoke, he turned his head again and looked at the tombstone in front of him.

I will come to see you tomorrow.

"But I want to be alone for a while, okay?"

Jim stared at him blankly, hesitated for a few seconds, and finally just nodded slightly.

"it is good."

He patted Zhou Yi on the shoulder and turned to walk out of the woods.

The gravel crunched under the soles of the shoes, then was quickly scattered by the cold wind.

When Jim arrived at the car, he couldn't help but stop and look into the distance.

On the open ground, Zhou Yi remained motionless, standing in front of the two tombstones, as if rooted to the ground.

A few minutes later, the Jeep started.

After a while, the roaring sound completely disappeared.

As Zhou Yi's thoughts raced, the long-lost system panel reappeared on the soil.

Name: Zhou Yi

【Sex: Male】

Special items: Handgun, Credit Card, TAC-50, HK G95A1, LCS-4

[Entry into window: Timeout 720:12:29]

[Application for Enforcement]

['Freely specify permissions' detected.]

[Suspension of Enforcement]

[To be confirmed: Target area and time.]

Zhou Yi stared at the floating characters and blinked.

This time I stayed in the real world for too long.

It took so long that I finally realized something.

This world is material; there is no fictional destiny, nor any divine will.

Colin's death is proof of that.

He wasn't an exception, and neither was I.

Thinking of this, Zhou Yi took another half step forward.

“Take me back,” he said softly.

“Send me back to that place, to that era.”

"I want to know why Li Jin committed suicide. I want to know what exactly happened to Zhou Binhong."

[Freely specify parameter input]

[Parameters have been entered]

[Searching for feasible world lines]

[World Line Matching]

[World Code: SEA-29461]

【Do you want to enter? 】

In an instant, Zhou Yi felt his heart pounding uncontrollably.

He originally thought it would be a futile attempt, but to his surprise, it actually succeeded.

The next second—

Everything went black before my eyes.

Name: Zhou Yi

【Sex: Male】

Special items: Handgun, Credit Card, TAC-50, HK G95A1, LCS-4

[World Code: SEA-29461]

[Official Mission: Redden Asia]

[Note: The threshold standard is ambiguous; the completion rate is determined by the system.]

[Note: Please make every effort to execute this; risks and uncertainties will be assessed on-site.]

[Official Mission Duration: 120 days]

[Official mission activated]

[Countdown: 2879:59:59]

(End of this chapter)