The Way to Unlock the Map Was Actually...!

"..."

That's roughly what the search results are like.

Footsteps sounded, Wang Xiaoman calmly closed the Baidu browser, then opened the system's built-in Internet Explorer browser, and said nonchalantly, "Is there anywhere you want to go?"

Yes, I have.

That's perfect.

US military base.

Russian military base.

French military base.

The Federal Reserve's underground vault.

Lockheed Martin Corporation's manufacturing plant.

And so on.

I want to travel.

I want to unite the people of the world.

If the map of the White Mist World can't be accessed, then there's nothing he can do but steal from places in the real world where he won't get into trouble... I mean, he'll have to play GTA 6.

But I can't say this to Old Wang.

Kang De sighed, "Xiaoman, I've been a bit tired these past few days and don't want to go out and cause any trouble, because..."

Just then, Old Wang said, "That's it! I've got it!"

She smiled at Kang De and said, "If you don't want to go out and have any trouble, why don't you go back to your hometown and rest for a while? Get some fresh air; my grandparents miss you very much."

The girl stood up and patted Kang De on the shoulder. "When I talked to Grandma on the phone last time, she said that your other old house is all renovated. Aren't you going to go take a look? You're a man with two houses."

To be honest, Kang De had neither the mood nor the time to make a trip back to his hometown; every day was precious.

But just then, a thought flashed through his mind.

My hometown is in the countryside.

Rural areas are far from cities, lacking the convenience of urban life and, relatively speaking, the social environment is not as transparent. This is quite simple: because of their small size, small cities and towns are still characterized by personal connections, and the social rule of "it's easier to get things done with connections" still prevails. Large cities, on the other hand, are different. Their massive administrative systems, in turn, force reforms, emphasizing transparency, efficiency, and service.

To put it simply, in small towns, getting things done by finding someone, pulling strings, or cutting in line is no big deal. But in big cities, if you dare to do that, and you encounter someone with a bad temper, they'll complain about you in no time. And if they complain, the leaders and the system will make you pay. The cost of currying favors far outweighs the risks; it's that simple.

In recent years, the administrative systems of smaller cities have become more standardized and transparent, and the personal connections and networks that our parents pursued have gradually become less useful, at least at the level of ordinary people. Kang De understood this, and of course, he also understood something else.

That means the smaller places haven't had time to complete their reforms yet.

Especially at the village level.

In other words... village bullies probably still exist.

It's simply a matter of convergence versus non-convergence.

The moment he thought of this, some ideas began to form in his mind.

As the saying goes, "He who possesses a sharp weapon will naturally harbor murderous intent."

Kang De was originally an ordinary young man, but he experienced the most bizarre encounters in the world. From the Holy Seal Archipelago to the Glittering Sand Viscounty, from a long period of solitude to the dramatic changes that occurred overnight, Kang De's ideas and temperament underwent earth-shattering changes.

He maintained a last shred of goodness on the verge of madness and collapse, and in doing so, achieved the best possible outcome, returning to his hometown. No one could understand the emotions and insights he felt in that instant, or even the sublimation of his entire soul—but the death, conspiracy, killing, and revenge of that day and night remained an integral part of his life, forever etched on his soul.

To give an analogy, if Kang De's realization of life upon returning to Earth made him a saint on the spot, then he should possess both the compassion and decisiveness of a saint.

Compassion means that he will not be distorted by the bloodshed and brutality of that night. Even though he is on Earth and possesses extraordinary abilities, he will still maintain awe for life, act within the rules, retain his humanity, and not act recklessly.

Decisiveness means that when he faces rule-breakers and bad people...

--They'll exclaim, "It smells so good!"

Now is the time to say "It's so good!"

The local gang leaders and bullies in villages and towns are much less prestigious than the underground rulers of a city, and their level of difficulty is incomparable. More importantly, intelligence is much easier to obtain from them.

The former's name will inevitably be passed down by word of mouth among the neighbors, while the latter will be more low-key and mysterious. Therefore, asking about the local bullies in the surrounding villages and towns will most likely yield results.

With this in mind, Kang De nodded and said, "Alright."

He planned to go to a hardware store or similar place in the city to buy some tools and equipment, but he figured it would be easier to find such things in the countryside.

After all, the level of control in big cities and towns is worlds apart.

Upon hearing this, Old Wang let out a barely perceptible sigh of relief, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

Then she smiled beautifully and nodded, saying, "Let's go then! We still need to buy some things!"

After a quick tidying up, a sports car slowly drove out of the underground parking garage. Wang Xiaoman on sunglasses and glanced at Kang De sitting in the passenger seat. "Aren't you going to drive? I remember you haven't driven much since you got your driver's license. You've almost forgotten everything, haven't you? What are we going to do after we buy the car?"

Kang De rolled down the car window, let the wind blow in, looked at the scenery outside, and smiled, "I haven't forgotten the light, I just don't really want to drive... it feels a bit pointless."

His voice carried an unintentional hint of melancholy.

Wang Xiaoman pursed her lips slightly, then said, "Is something on your mind?"

Kang De exclaimed "Ah!"

"Idiot, it's obvious," Xiaoman said while turning the steering wheel. "If you weren't still the same as before, just a little melancholy—otherwise, I would have suspected that you'd been possessed by some old monster. Did you really learn something from the brush with death?"

Kang De sighed softly, "It is indeed a bit... well, I don't know where to begin."

"Then don't say anything yet. Think about it slowly, and tell me when you've thought it through."

Wang Xiaoman said, "I didn't even want to tell me, it must be something really big... Hey, when the doctor asked me if I had experienced some major emotional setback, my first reaction was, how could that be? This guy has never had a girlfriend in his life, hahaha..."

As she said this, she burst into laughter to herself.

Kang De shook his head helplessly.

Xiaoman asked suspiciously, "This behavior... wow, you're not actually in an online relationship, are you?"

Kang De instinctively retorted, "How could that be!"

I knew it.

"Snort..."

The sports car drove along the straight main road, then onto the overpass, heading out of the city.

They chatted idly along the way, bickering and talking about the various trivial matters that had happened recently.

Kang De answered calmly, his mind growing increasingly at peace; in this situation, he was able to calm himself down.

Kang De, with his eyes slightly narrowed and gazing ahead, failed to notice that his childhood sweetheart beside him had grown increasingly worried after their conversation.

Boys can't understand girls.

Sometimes, a woman's mind is much more delicate than he imagines.

At least, after this conversation, Xiaoman's doubts grew stronger.

She sensed a profound... alienation from Kang De.

They talked about things that had happened in the last couple of days, from gossip to news, from politics to entertainment. Some of it happened just a few days ago, some just now, and some of it was things that Kang De was very interested in—but Kang De always gave her the impression of being uninterested, as if he were very, very far removed from these things...

What exactly happened?

Nearly two hours later, we finally arrived at our destination.

You can see endless fields and nearby railways. Cars drive on the road in the distance. The village has paved roads. Groups of elderly people sit together at the village entrance to while away the time. Some people play chess under the trees, while some young children run around with their mobile phones.

Everything is the same as before, yet different from before.

This is the place where Kang De and Xiaoman lived when they were children.

Things have changed. Kang De's grandparents have passed away, but his parents still come back every year for the Spring Festival. It's not just a tradition or a matter of filial piety, but because there are so many memories here.

The sports car slowly came to a stop on the side of the village's main road, attracting the attention of the elderly.

Even though life is getting better and better now, and more and more people in the village are buying cars, there are still not many families that can afford to drive such a nice-looking and obviously expensive car.

Especially since the driver was a very pretty young woman.

The elderly people immediately recognized the car's owner, and before the owner even got out, they cheerfully called out, "The young couple has gone back to their hometown for a visit again!"

The Kang Family and Wang families were old friends, neighbors in the city, and neighbors in their hometown. Kang De and Wang Xiaoman were inseparable since childhood, whether in the city or back in their hometown for holidays. As a result, they naturally became the object of ridicule in the village. Every time they saw each other, they would tease them, asking when they would get married and when they would have children.

The two were naive when they were young, and became somewhat embarrassed as they grew older. Now, however, they have thick skin and don't care at all; they can even play along with each other's jokes.

After Xiaoman got out of the car, she greeted everyone with a smile. Kang De opened the trunk to get something, and just then, a large wolfhound darted out from under the door of a house across the street. Although it was on a leash, it was still very fierce and howled at them.

The incident happened so suddenly that Wang Xiaoman was startled and let out a cry, instinctively backing away.

Then she felt a hand supporting her shoulder.

Kang De glared at the large wolfhound.

In an instant, the village entrance, where the sounds of chickens and dogs could be heard, fell silent. Immediately afterward, the birds on the branches flew into the sky like madmen, the tethered cows bellowed uneasily, and the fierce wolfhound tucked its tail between its legs and whimpered as it fled back home. Several more houses echoed with women's curses, and the clucking of hens continued incessantly.

The villagers looked around curiously, but no one connected all of this with Kang De.

But as Xiaoman turned to look at the calm-looking Kang De, this absurd association suddenly came to mind.

Kang De released her and went to the trunk to get his things. "Are you alright?"

Xiaoman responded blankly.

She quickly concealed her emotions.

"Let me take them all!" She snatched all the gifts from Kang De's hands, grabbed them, and ran off. After a few steps, she turned back, stuck out her tongue, and made a face. "Let my grandparents see how you come here empty-handed, trying to freeload like this!"

--This guy.

The two chased each other all the way to Xiaoman's hometown, where a sprightly old man was standing in front of his door, holding a water vat and carefully washing himself. Hearing the sound, he looked up and exclaimed, "You're here!"

Xiaoman ran over with a smile, "Grandpa! What are you doing?"

"Scrub this tank, it's got algae."

Grandpa Wang quickly took everything from his granddaughter's hands.

Kang De smiled and said, "Hello, Grandpa Wang."

"A-De's here too... wait?"

Grandpa Wang glanced at Kang De a few times, then exclaimed with a mixture of surprise and delight, "He's become much more composed. A university truly nurtures people!"

He called out, "Come in quickly!"

In an instant, they forgot about cleaning the vat and led the two children inside.

Xiaoman had already run inside, shouting, "Grandma! Grandma!"

Kang De prepared to enter, he noticed a large water vat blocking the doorway. This vat was an old object; when he was a child, he and Xiaoman often sat on it, staring at the clear water inside, occasionally reaching out to scoop some out and enjoying its cool, refreshing sensation.

Back then, a small impulse was to jump into the tub and soak in it.

That was a long time ago.

Childhood was filled with mysterious, interesting, heavy, and enormous things.

Kang De extended his right hand and grasped the rim of the jar.

Old Wang rushed into the yard, only to find that the usually enthusiastic and intelligent Big Yellow was not barking excitedly, but hiding in its kennel trembling, too afraid to come out. She sensed something was wrong and turned around to look.

Then we saw Kang De lift the heavy water vat aside and put it down.

With one hand, it's as easy as lifting a plastic flowerpot.

The girl's pupils suddenly contracted, then she walked away nonchalantly.

At noon, a hot meal was prepared at home. Xiaoman didn't mention the previous incident at all, pretending not to have seen it. The two chatted with the old man, talking about everyday things and their studies. As long as they could keep each other company and talk, that was enough.

In the afternoon, the girl accompanied Kang De back to his ancestral home and gave the house a simple cleaning.

In the evening, it was still a family dinner between the two younger generation and the two older generation. Kang De chatted with Grandpa Wang and subtly mentioned the news of some powerful local bullies in the vicinity of the village.

There has been no indication of Xiaoman yet.

Because Grandpa Wang didn't really care about these things.

As night fell and it was time to rest, Kang De took his leave. Grandpa Wang called out, "Why don't you take Big Yellow with you? It'll be more reassuring to have a dog for company."

Kang De smiled and said, "No need."

Grandma Wang whispered, "I wonder when I'll be able to sleep here."

Xiaoman ignored it.

Until late at night.

Xiaoman got dressed, went to the courtyard, walked onto the roof of the bungalow, and picked up her phone.

"Yes, Dad, please say hello for me... Please don't interfere, okay? I'm all grown up now, I know what I should do. And don't tell Uncle Kang and the others, if you do, Kang De and I won't talk to you anymore."

"Yes, yes, I can't go back now. Could you ask Uncle Ye to go and check the security camera footage in the building's elevator, especially to see if Kang De has left the house in the last four days?"

After hanging up the phone, Xiaoman slowly exhaled, facing the Xiaoman chilly night breeze.

"Just this once, Kang De, just this once..."

She murmured, "You scared me..."

The girl took her phone and started dialing another number.

What she didn't know was that her beloved childhood sweetheart had already gone to another world.

Kang De activated his ability and traveled to the White Mist World.

He wanted to take this opportunity to explore the neighborhood again and collect any useful items so he wouldn't have to go back and borrow them later... that would be too much trouble.

But when he opened his eyes, it wasn't a soft bed, nor a familiar ceiling, nor the bedroom he knew. It was cold and somewhat unfamiliar.

Beneath me was a hard bed board and a mattress that smelled slightly off from being unused for a long time.

This is... my hometown.

My bedroom in my hometown.

"... Hold!"

Kang De jumped up, ran to the gate, opened it, and stepped into the street. The vast area of activity almost enveloped the entire village, in addition to a thick White Mist.

This scene is exactly the same as in the neighborhood.

"This map... why is it open again?"

He muttered to himself, trying to figure out the connection.

The neighborhood over there, my hometown over here.

Sleeping isn't an option, going outside the designated area isn't an option, but this area is a perfect exception.

There must be some kind of pattern here.

Or rather, commonalities.

His expression turned strange as he thought about this.

If there's anything in common...

The house in the neighborhood was transferred to my father's name a few years ago, and the same is true for this old house, since there are two houses in the old family home.

In other words...

If you want to unlock the map...

"--I still need to buy a house?"

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PS1: Second update! 4500 words! Today's update is 7500 words!

PS2: You wouldn't believe it, would you! This method of map exploration! Hehehehehehehehe!