Uesugi Akizuki suddenly lifted her head, her eyes glistening with disbelief.
Uesugi Chiaki placed the documents in front of her younger daughter, "Look, it not only has his contact information, but also his home address, his past, his ID number, his age, his hobbies, his abilities, his height, and even detailed information about his ancestors."
"He sent this to you, hoping that when you recover your memories, you'll understand what kind of person he is. He wants you to choose - if you still like him, you can go back to him. If not, you can stay with your mother."
Uesugi Akizuki stared in shock at the dense pile of documents filled with black text.
Some confidential information, like his ID number and ancestral details, obviously couldn't be found on the Forerunner Official Website.
This information was painstakingly gathered by Haruna Sakurako.
Such information shouldn't have been easy to obtain, but when she went to investigate Su Ze's residence, she encountered Su Ze's father who had recently been released from prison.
Being already involved in investigating Su Ze, Haruna Sakurako knew about his father's recent release. With an investment of over a hundred thousand, she quickly obtained all this information from the middle-aged man.
After a long pause, Uesugi Akizuki looked up with reddened eyes and said hoarsely, "I... I want to go back!"
Children grow up, and eventually, they can't be held back.
Understanding her daughter's intention, Uesugi Chiaki nodded and led the confused Uesugi Chigenki to the study. She began writing something with pen and paper, "After we receive support from Huaxia, I'll notify you about the operation."
"Now take your sister to find that boy Su Ze and give him this letter."
Uesugi Chiaki sealed the letter in an envelope and handed it to her elder daughter.
"Mother, are you sending sister to Su Ze?" Uesugi Chigenki asked, surprised and somewhat shocked. "Are you... planning to marry sister to Su Ze?"
"No."
"If he proves worthy of our trust, he can only marry into the Uesugi family."
Uesugi Chiaki's dominance was on full display.
She was very intelligent; her daughters' naive nature came from inheriting their father's simple genes.
Uesugi Chiaki poured a cup of tea, "Remember, even if you find someone you like, he must marry into our family."
Marry into the family?
As Uesugi Chigenki pondered this...
Uesugi Chiaki asked, "Did Su Ze forcibly unlock Akizuki's genetic lock?"
"Yes."
This boy, so daring.
Uesugi Chiaki frowned slightly, silently noting this debt in her heart.
The reason she hadn't forcibly unlocked her daughter's genetic lock was that she didn't want her daughter to have the ability to participate in this war. She only wanted her innocent daughter to grow up happily.
Uesugi Akizuki's genetic lock had shown signs of loosening before, but each time Uesugi Chiaki had reinforced it with secret techniques.
Su Ze had unlocked Uesugi Akizuki's genetic lock mainly to give her self-preservation abilities during the blood moon. The power of the Candle Realm's intermediate stage was enough to survive in collapsing buildings.
Uesugi Chiaki flicked her elder daughter's forehead, smiling as she watched her daughter yelp and cover the spot, "Why are you just standing there? Hurry and take your sister over. Look how impatient she is."
Uesugi Chigenki turned to see her sister's cute face peeking around the doorframe.
...
Lang Province, at the entrance to the Land of the Living Dead.
This was the third mysterious realm to appear in Huaxia.
Su Ze's group parked their motorcycles in front of a stone-built fortification. Above its arched entrance were the words:
'Zombie Suppression Gate.'
The night watchman guarding this place looked down from the wall, and Su Ze met his weathered, stern gaze.
"Uncle Lu!" Su Ze waved with a smile.
He had been here several times and was familiar with the night watchmen.
Among the group, only Su Ze and Meng Xingyao had been here before.
So they were quite familiar with this middle-aged man called Lu Yusheng.
Su Ze jumped up to the wall walkway with his bag, "Uncle Lu, you've been working hard. As promised, I brought you something."
Lu Yusheng's face lit up with joy as he watched Su Ze pull out several packs of cigarettes from his bag, "The calf is teachable, the calf is teachable indeed!"
"...Uncle Lu, it's 'the youth is teachable,' not 'the calf is teachable.'" Su Ze awkwardly corrected Lu Yusheng's word choice.
"Is that so?" Lu Yusheng scratched his head, "I was wondering why those educated folks always talked about teachable calves. So I've been using the wrong phrase?"
Lu Yusheng had never attended school. During the natural disasters in Huaxia decades ago, he never had the chance to study. After unlocking his genetic lock at fourteen, he had charged into the disasters with a blade.
Extremely fierce in his youth, but after reaching middle age and coming to guard the Land of the Living Dead at the Zombie Suppression Gate, his personality had become somewhat gentler.
"Pure! Pure! This batch is so pure!"
Lu Yusheng opened a pack of cigarettes and inhaled deeply through his nose, his face excited as he heavily patted Su Ze's back, "You really know what your Uncle Lu likes."
Su Ze glanced at the stone houses within the fortification, where two middle-aged men were sleeping soundly, but didn't disturb them.
The Zombie Suppression Gate had three night watchmen who took turns patrolling to ensure no monsters from the Land of the Living Dead crossed the walls.
Lang Province was originally Huaxia territory.
Thirteen years ago, a mysterious law of unknown origin rapidly covered Lang Province,
This law corroded the land,
Cities collapsed, suffering was widespread, the soil turned grayish-brown, and everything - trees, vegetation, mountains, rivers, and seas - was polluted by this law.
Monsters tore through spatial rifts to enter this land and occupied it. Their arrival brought things from other worlds, such as heavenly materials and earthly treasures, as well as minerals produced by the law-corrupted land.
These monsters couldn't be killed. They had intelligence and could absorb the souls of intruders. When intruders died, they became living dead who acted on instinct, absorbing the souls of other invaders under the monsters' control, which in turn nourished the monsters.
Behind every living dead was a monster controlling it.
The monsters rarely left the Land of the Living Dead because doing so would cause them to lose the protection of the realm's laws, making them vulnerable to death.
"Uncle Lu, we need to enter the Land of the Living Dead now," Su Ze stated his purpose directly.
The Land of the Living Dead had been separated from this world by its laws, becoming an independent realm. However, the doors to this world remained open, with four entrances to this territory. Huaxia had established four checkpoints at these entrances, each guarded by several night watchmen.
Lu Yusheng glanced at the young people below the wall again, "Brought friends with you?"
"Yes, it's good to have companions. I'm going to attempt to break through to the next realm this time."
"Come back alive, I'll be waiting for you to bring more cigarettes," Lu Yusheng said.
He had witnessed countless young people venture into this place. Few came out alive, though many remained half-dead inside.
He wondered how many from Su Ze's group would make it out.