Wasteland's Only King-Chapter 74 - 73: Origins

Old Yu’s Noodle House.

Yu Jin listened as Old Yu and the other finished recounting everything, then, looking grave, he opened the envelope.

Line after line of slightly messy, shaky handwriting came into view—

[Xiaojin, seeing these words is like seeing me in person.]

[Grandpa feels he doesn’t have many days left. There’s something I’ve thought over and over, and finally decided to tell you.]

[It concerns your origins.]

[Eighteen years ago, year’s end, December 31st, heavy snow.]

[That was the day you arrived at the orphanage.]

[I never told you how you came, nor did I tell anyone else.]

[Because your arrival was not something of this world.]

[That day...]

[I saw it with my own eyes—you appeared out of thin air at the entrance of the orphanage.]

[Yes, out of thin air.]

[It was as if you ’fell’ out of the air.]

[I was terrified, thought I’d run into ghosts or spirits, but...]

[You just lay there quietly in the snow at the doorstep, not crying, not fussing. Even though I was scared, I couldn’t bear to leave you, so I picked you up and brought you inside.]

[That night, after settling you in, I had a strange dream.]

[I dreamed...]

[Many, many suns turned black.]

[I dreamed...]

[Countless galaxies went dark, one after another.]

[I’d never seen such a scene, not even on TV.]

[I was frightened out of my wits.]

[What unsettled me even more was...]

[At the end of the dream, I saw you—still a child. You didn’t cry or fuss, just appeared quietly before me.]

[At the end of the dream, I heard a voice. I couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman.]

[They said: ’Jin’.]

[So I gave you a name—Jin.]

[After that, I considered whether to call the police, or to tell Guo Jia about it, but...]

[I figured no one would believe me even if I told them. Most importantly...]

[You were so well-behaved, so quiet. I thought, no matter where you came from, you’re still a child. If I gave you to Guo Jia, maybe you’d end up like in those TV shows, treated like a monster and sent off to be researched.]

[So I kept it a secret. The caregivers at the orphanage all thought you were like the other kids, deliberately abandoned at the doorstep by irresponsible parents.]

[No one knew you’d ’fallen out of thin air’.]

[Fifteen years ago, Li Min and Cao Fang came to adopt you. I hesitated whether to tell them about this.]

[But after thinking it over, I kept it to myself. I was worried it would be bad for you.]

[Now, my days are numbered, but what I still can’t forget is that snowy day eighteen years ago.]

[Child, when you read this letter, Grandpa will already be gone.]

[I’ve told Li Min, if there’s ever anything ’supernatural’, to give this letter to you then.]

[Child, I don’t know where you came from, but in Grandpa’s heart, you will always be a good child—quiet, and never causing trouble.]

[...]

Yu Jin closed the envelope in silence.

Inside him, waves of turmoil raged, impossible to calm.

Grandpa...

That was the head of the orphanage.

Before he was three, Yu Jin was raised by Grandpa alone at the orphanage.

But...

Yu Jin never could have imagined.

In this letter Grandpa left before he died, there would be so much information.

So much...

That Yu Jin felt lost, completely at a loss.

He ’fell out of thin air’?

Yu Jin felt awkward, an unspeakable discomfort in his heart.

But he believed Grandpa would not lie to him.

That gentle old man had given him all the love he had.

"Xiaojin?"

Old Yu and Cao Fang did not see the contents of the letter.

But seeing Yu Jin’s reaction, they couldn’t help but worry.

For eighteen years, Yu Jin had always been the most sensible child. They had never seen this dazed expression on his face before.

"Xiaojin."

Cao Fang grabbed Yu Jin’s hand, holding it tightly.

Yu Jin was still a little lost. He lifted his head numbly.

"No matter what was written in that letter..."

"You will always, always and forever, be Mom’s good child."

Cao Fang’s voice was already choked with tears.

On the other side, even Old Yu, for once, revealed a softer side as a father.

"Xiaojin."

"Your dad is right here!"

Old Yu patted Yu Jin’s shoulder firmly.

Tap, tap—

A moment later.

Yu Chen came running up the stairs.

He didn’t know what had happened, but seeing Yu Jin’s reaction—

Yu Chen ran over and gave Yu Jin a big bear hug.

"Bro!"

"You’ll always be my bro!"

...

...

Yu Jin sat alone in his room.

Old Yu, Cao Fang, and Yu Chen didn’t come to disturb him, leaving him time to digest his emotions alone.

From beginning to end,

The three never asked what exactly the old headmaster wrote in that letter.

No telling how long passed.

Outside the room’s cramped little window, night was already falling.

Whoosh—

Yu Jin let out a long, heavy sigh.

This letter really hit him hard.

Tying it all to the current ’Wasteland’ game on Blue Star, the imminent journey across the wasteland, the Oumuamua approaching Blue Star and threatening to shower it with pollution,

And the strange system bound to himself.

Everything, all of it, was shrouded in thick fog.

And Yu Jin stood at the center of the fog, unable to grasp anything, unable to see through.

"What should I do?"

Yu Jin asked himself.

Soon, he had his answer.

"Get stronger!"

For him, at this moment there was no way to see through the fog.

Only by getting stronger was there any answer at all.

Thinking this,

Yu Jin pulled out his phone.

He dialed Yin Yao’s number.

Beep beep—

The call went through.

"What’s up, President?"

Yin Yao sounded tired—Yu Jin didn’t know she’d spent the whole day on the wasteland, fighting monsters and leveling up.

"Can we move up the schedule for the nuclear waste mission?"

Yu Jin asked seriously.

According to the original plan—

He was supposed to set out for Daxia’s northwest nuclear waste facility early tomorrow morning.

But...

Yu Jin realized there might not be enough time.

He’d slept for an entire day after promoting from Tier Seven to Tier Eight.

And if advancing from Tier Eight to Tier Nine knocked him out for a long time again...

There wouldn’t be time for one good blast of ’Purifying Light’ at ’Oumuamua’ before crossing over! 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Yes!"

"I’ll go talk to Grandpa!"

Yin Yao didn’t know why Yu Jin wanted to move up the schedule, but she still gave an emphatic answer.

The call ended.

Yu Jin heaved a deep sigh.

Now that he was Tier Eight, any Tier Six or lower crystals were almost useless for advancing his tier, no matter how many he consumed.

He actually considered—

Today, the second-to-last day, maybe visiting the aquarium or the ocean to see if he could shave off a few mutant shark or whale ’Mutant Beasts’ for some easy crystals.

But in the end, he didn’t go.

Because spending loads of time getting a crystal or two from a Tier Six, Seven, or even Tier Eight Mutant Beast,

Wasn’t as worth it as moving ahead faster—straight to the nuclear waste!