Final Civilization

Chapter 48: Love Letter

Han Ming felt a slight chill in his heart at this moment. He didn't know; although he had observed a lot of information along the way, it was fundamentally impossible for him to know this much.

Yet, just now, all that information had rapidly flooded into his memory as he observed Chen Peng using the Deduction method.

It seemed that in 'Jiang Xing's' memories, there was quite a bit of information about this Chen Peng.

"People in town more or less know a little about what his father has been up to," Han Ming calmed down and said. "I've disliked him for a long time."

Hearing this, Shen Xia rolled her eyes at him and said with annoyance,

"If you're so amazing, how come he still managed to snatch it from you?"

Han Ming frowned upon hearing this. "When did he snatch anything from me?"

Seeing him deny it, Shen Xia's face suddenly flushed red. She glared at him, pouting angrily.

"Didn't you say it yourself? The one you wrote for me... was snatched by him. Are you lying to me?"

"A love letter?" Han Ming blurted out."It's not that!" Shen Xia's face turned crimson. "You said you wrote me a letter, that there was... something very important to tell me inside, and that Chen Peng snatched it away, didn't you?"

Then Han Ming couldn't remember this matter at all and found himself in a bit of a dilemma for a moment.

"That... I'll find time to get it back from him later."

"What's there to get back? It's just a letter, isn't it?" Shen Xia seemed to want to say more but stopped herself, avoiding Han Ming's gaze. She turned around and, lowering her head, said in an extremely soft voice, "If you want to tell me something, you can just say it directly."

Han Ming felt embarrassed. He guessed that might have been some kind of love letter Jiang Xing wrote for Shen Xia, but he couldn't very well start confessing his feelings now.

"Do you like singing?" Han Ming changed the subject.

However, Shen Xia, her cheeks still flushed, hearing him change the topic, simply turned and walked away in annoyance.

"Wait for me." Han Ming hurriedly caught up.

Shen Xia spoke as she walked, "We just got out of the Police Station, and now you've provoked Chen Peng again. You really know how to find trouble."

"Don't worry."

"I..." Han Ming gathered his thoughts and said, "What I want to say is, I'll write you another one. Consider that lost one gone."

Hearing this, Shen Xia's face reddened again. She avoided his gaze and said,

"Who cares about the letters you write."

The two of them walked slowly along the riverside in the afternoon. A refreshing breeze brushed against them, and the sunlight was splendid.

Han Ming silently observed this girl named Shen Xia. This dream was lasting longer than any before, as if he had truly returned to this era and was experiencing this very afternoon.

"Chen Peng's father is the director of Factory 45. He knows so many important people. You hinted in front of so many people that Director Chen is corrupt. What if someone takes it seriously? They might even come looking for your family."

"On the contrary."

"Why?"

"Because I wasn't making malicious, baseless accusations, but had reason and evidence. It's better for him if he doesn't come bother me. If he does, he'll have to weigh whether he can withstand being put on the scale. It's a special period now. If that Director Chen is smart, he wouldn't possibly come looking for trouble at a time like this, especially not with someone who can lay out his situation so clearly."

Shen Xia stopped walking and turned to look at Han Ming curiously.

"That's strange. How did you suddenly become so brave?"

"Was I very timid before?" Han Ming asked.

Shen Xia smiled. "Weren't you? You'd get all nervous whenever a stranger came to town, always hiding away studying things like the universe and celestial bodies."

She lowered her voice, speaking with a hint of annoyance. "I couldn't even get you to go with me to the city for a stroll..."

Hearing this, Han Ming felt a chill. This description did indeed sound a bit like a Wallfacer, but why would Jiang Xing be nervous? Could it be he was being watched by something?

On a patch of green grass by the riverbank, Shen Xia gathered her skirt and sat down on the ground. Watching the babbling stream, she said,

"Do you really not want to go out and see the world, just stay in Jiangping forever? Back in school, Teacher Zhang always thought you were great material for studying. Didn't you say back then that one day you'd go to a big city to make your mark?"

Han Ming also sat down, pondering in his heart. He tentatively said, "If... the world were going to end tomorrow, what would you do today?"

"Why ask such a question?" Shen Xia asked curiously.

"Just asking."

"Hmm... I don't know..." Shen Xia rested her chin in her hands, her voice clear and soft. She asked in return, "What about you?"

"Me? I might try to find a way... to save the world."

Pfft...

Shen Xia giggled and said, "Still clinging to your dream of saving the world? I think you're really hopeless."

"Isn't having such an aspiration a good thing?"

"But you have to be a bit more realistic. That Chen Peng, although he's a bit of a slacker, at least knows how to make money through contracting. And you? Running to the Police Station every other day. People who don't know might think you've done something wrong."

Running to the Police Station every other day?

Han Ming didn't understand. If Jiang Xing was a Wallfacer, he couldn't possibly lack that much vigilance. Moreover, judging by the scale of his Memory Palace, this was definitely a person of extremely high intelligence.

Then why was he hiding all day in this place called 'Jiangping,' and why was he constantly running to the Police Station?

And as a Wallfacer, how could he possibly be robbed by a hoodlum like Chen Peng, and of an important letter at that?

Wait...

The letter?

A thought struck Han Ming. He changed the topic. "What did Chen Peng contract for in Jiangping? Where can I find him?"

"Why are you looking for him? Don't you hate him?" Shen Xia looked at him, baffled.

"To learn. I want to try doing some business too." Han Ming found a random excuse.

Shen Xia gave him a strange look, then said, "Why are you talking so weirdly today? It's not like you don't know about that 'Pengcheng Agricultural Machinery Team' Chen Peng contracted. Why ask me?"

"Pengcheng Agricultural Machinery Team?"

Han Ming frowned. Why did this name feel so strangely familiar?

"Yeah, Chen Peng, Pengcheng. You even said his name was tacky before."

"Pengcheng..."

Han Ming suddenly stood up, his expression shocked.

"Pengcheng Industrial!"

He instantly opened his Memory Palace. A series of information surged forth.

「Chen Peng, born 1970, Jiangping County, Suiyuan City, Southern Province. Son of the director of Jiangping State-Owned Factory 45 Textile Mill. Leveraging his family's connections in the local textile system, he trafficked polyester fabric and garment accessories from the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region to the inland. Keenly sensing the construction boom, he shifted towards the more profitable wholesale business of hardware, rebar, and other building materials around 2000, completing his initial capital accumulation.」

「2002, officially registered "Pengcheng Building Materials Business Department." 2004, seized the local demand gap for aluminum profiles, invested in building an aluminum extrusion production line, established "Pengcheng Aluminum Industry," transitioning from trader to manufacturer. 2007, leveraging credibility and connections accumulated in the building materials circle, intervened in multiple residential projects' centralized building material supply through cooperation, significantly increasing business volume and cash flow...」

「2021 to present, Pengcheng Industrial completed group restructuring, becoming a comprehensive enterprise covering real estate development, aluminum profile manufacturing, and timber import trade. Chen Peng's personal wealth skyrocketed with the company's valuation and the appreciation of held assets, ascending into the local wealthy class.」

Han Ming's pupils trembled.

"Chen Peng, Marital Status: Married 1991. First daughter born 1992, Chen Yan. Second son born 1993..."

A chill ran down his spine. He murmured under his breath:

"Chen Yufeng!"

...

7:30 in the morning. The Sansu Manor villa awoke in silence. The soft footsteps of servants and the faint clinking of objects were exceptionally clear in the vast, empty corridors.

The Chairman of Pengcheng Industrial, 55-year-old Chen Peng, was slumped in an armchair like a sculpture eroded by wind overnight. On the coffee table before him, several empty red wine bottles lay toppled. The dark red liquid remaining at the bottle bottoms had congealed into ominous stains in the gloom.

The only light source in the room came from the huge television screen on the opposite wall.

The screen silently looped a mute stage performance video—the dazzling performance of the top girl group GIQUEEN. The brilliant lights and the dynamic movements of young bodies presented a bizarre sense of a silent film in the stillness.

Chen Peng's body didn't move a muscle. His face, eroded by time, had grown increasingly weathered. Only those bloodshot eyes were fixedly locked on the figure of Shen Siwei at the center of the screen.

On the screen, a close-up shot of Shen Siwei froze. Her nineteen-year-old face was radiant and dazzling, full of vitality, her eyes clear and transparent. Chen Peng stared at these eyes, the line of his jaw suddenly tightening, his Adam's apple bobbing once.

He had watched like this the entire night, just like that night three years ago.

The night he kept vigil for his son, Chen Yufeng.

His brow was filled with panic and astonishment towards the uncanny hand of fate!