Special forces soldier demobilization: Starting from the county government compound, a meteoric rise

That was a very, very long dream.

In her dream, Liu Ming returned to the leaky county government compound in Qingyun County.

Diao Deliang was pointing his finger at him, telling him to go clean the toilet.

Li Shaojie drove his flashy sports car arrogantly, intending to run over his newly bought secondhand Jeep.

Scene after scene. Event after event. They are all so clear, as if they happened just yesterday.

This time, however, Liu Ming was no longer the bewildered newcomer. He was like a player with a god-like perspective, watching the character named "Liu Ming" on the screen overcome all obstacles.

[Ding! Detected the bully "Nine-Fingered Strong" in the starting village. Quest triggered: Eliminate the Scourge for the People. Quest Reward: Reputation +100, Gold +540 million.]

[Ding! Regional BOSS "Li Yuankui" detected, triggering the quest: Purge the Officialdom. Quest Reward: +1 Rank Promotion, gain the key ally "Lei Tie".]

[Ding! Hidden BOSS "Luo Binwang" detected, triggering main quest: Blood Feud. Quest reward: ???]

The scenes changed rapidly.

The financial strangulation of Ningzhou. The power struggle in the provincial capital. The jungle hunt on the border. The technological breakthrough in the central government.

Every near-death experience was miraculously averted by an unseen force. Every seemingly hopeless situation turned into a miraculous victory.

[Ding! Congratulations to player "Liu Ming" for successfully completing the "Earth ONLINE" Hard Mode. The final boss "Shadow" has been eliminated. Hidden achievements "Peerless Hero", "Unrivaled Power", and "A Multitude of Wives and Concubines" (???) have been achieved.]

Liu Ming laughed so hard in her dream that she almost fell over.

He turned his head and looked at Xi Wanqing, who was sitting with him in the yard sunbathing, and said smugly, "Old woman, let me tell you a secret."

"What secret?" In the dream, Xi Wanqing still had that aloof demeanor, holding a palm-leaf fan in her hand and gently waving it.

"I suspect that the reason I've had such a smooth life is because I was born with a cheat code. Just like in those online novels, I might have a 'punishing evil and promoting good system' bound to my brain. You see, every time I kill a bad guy, I get promoted and make money, and I can also unlock new skills."

Liu Ming spoke with great enthusiasm.

After listening, Xi Wanqing merely glanced at him indifferently. Her gaze was as if she were looking at a sleepy idiot.

"system?"

She put down the palm-leaf fan, stretched out her slender fingers, and poked Liu Ming's forehead in an annoyed manner.

"Your system is your fearless courage, your willingness to withstand even a rocket launcher."

She then pointed to Liu Ming's chest.

"Your system is your conscience, which is determined to rescue the wronged souls of those more than one hundred miners, even if it is misunderstood by the whole world."

Finally, she gently tapped Liu Ming's head, which was already covered in white hair.

"Your real system is your brain, which is even more efficient than the Tianhe supercomputer at the Chinese Academy of Sciences."

Xi Wanqing rolled her eyes at him, her tone full of the kind of reproachful yet doting tone that only old married couples would have.

"There's no such thing as a magic touch in this world. Your scars, the nights you've spent staying up all these years, the paths you've walked through the gates of hell—those are your true trump cards."

"The so-called 'system' is nothing more than a tiny bit of insignificant luck that you earned with your life on the line."

"A system for punishing evil and promoting good? I think you're showing signs of early-onset dementia."

"Old man, I think it's time for you to take your medicine."

……

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Liu Ming suddenly woke up laughing from the recliner.

I opened my eyes and there was still that familiar courtyard house, and that same sun-drenched afternoon.

There's no game interface. There are no system prompts.

Only the two old jujube trees rustling in the breeze and the aroma of food wafting from the kitchen could be heard.

"What are you dreaming about? You're laughing like a two-hundred-pound idiot."

Xi Wanqing came out carrying a plate of freshly washed grapes and placed it on the stone table with a disgruntled expression.

Liu Ming looked at his wife's face, which was still beautiful despite its wrinkles, and then at his own hands, which were covered with calluses and scars.

He smiled.

He laughed with complete relief.

Yes.

There's no such thing as a system that falls from the sky.

However.

A mortal body, yet comparable to the gods.

The so-called "punishing evil and promoting good" is nothing more than a deep-rooted belief in family and country.

The so-called "defying fate" is nothing more than a tenacious will after countless trials and tribulations.

That so-called "divine assistance" was nothing more than the countless days and nights that lamplighters like his father, Old Lin, and Chu Tiankuo lit up his path forward in the darkness.

Liu Ming was never some chosen one.

He is just one.

By this land, by this era, by those heroic souls who refused to yield.

The chosen...sword wielder.

"Old woman."

Liu Ming picked up a crystal-clear grape and put it in her mouth.

Very sweet.

What should we eat tonight?

"Eat my ass." Xi Wanqing rolled her eyes at him. "Get up and move around. Your old bones are practically rusting. Xiaoxiao just called and said she's bringing her boyfriend, the soldier who just came back from Mars, over for dinner tonight."

"Oh?"

Liu Ming raised an eyebrow, a scrutinizing look, like that of a father-in-law looking at his son-in-law, flashing in his eyes.

"Alright, then I'll have to give him a good talking to."

"Let's see if his fists are harder, or if my old bones are harder."