However, his parents had already been drained of the previous ten million, and were about to turn fifty. At an age when they should be waiting for retirement in peace, where could they find five hundred thousand each year?
This was originally a despairing situation.
But the two elders did not blame the heavens or others, nor were they crushed.
In the face of desperation, they found their destiny and heard the thundering silence. To give their son another year each year, they summoned immense resolve, burst out with incredible potential, and gave it their all.
The two simultaneously resigned from their mid-level positions in state-owned enterprises, borrowed hundreds of thousands from relatives and friends, stepped out of their comfort zone, and at fifty, boldly entered the business world, beginning a life of early rises and late nights, working like desperate men.
This struggle lasted forty-five years.
In 2095, Ren Zhong's parents passed away one after the other at over ninety years of age, just a week apart.
Through forty-five years of hard work, they amassed a fortune worth billions and also raised another brother for him in 2060 using IVF.
Before their passing, his parents set up a trust fund to recharge Ren Zhong's Frozen Storage with a maintenance period of three hundred years.
Even if the cryonics project were to be declared a failure, the trust fund would hire basic technicians to maintain his Frozen Storage.
Ren Zhong also found in the data that around 2107, humanity had completely conquered terminal cancer.
But this introduced a new problem; scientists never managed to find a safe way to thaw the frozen bodies, leaving them unable to awaken for treatment. As such, his Frozen Storage did continue to operate for three hundred years.
For the next two hundred or so years, staff would update the data annually. The data mainly included the operating conditions of the Frozen Storage and a list of replacements for aging equipment parts.
As time went on, after the three hundred-year period ended, data records fell into disarray, and it was unknown what exactly happened.
The last piece of information was the parting words left by his parents to Ren Zhong.
He listened to it all and cried.
...
In the mountains and forests, Ren Zhong staggered forward, not knowing where he was or where he was going.
At this moment, he was very thirsty, with a slight feeling of hunger in his stomach, feeling dazed.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, he heard the gentle sound of water in his ears, hurried towards it, found a small stream, crouched down, and drank several handfuls of water, then washed his face with the cool, clear stream water.
The thirst was slightly quenched, and he felt much more alert.
Fatigue washed over him, and he lay on his back on the damp riverbank, staring blankly at the sky.
Above him were layers of dark blue leaves interwoven together, blocking the sky and making the light in the dense forest quite dim.
After a long while, he slowly sat up, casually picked up a flat stone from beside him, and threw it into the stream, making it skip a few times.
His face started to show some expression.
It was vitality, relief, liberation, contentment, but also confusion.
He had many questions.
How many years have actually passed?
Why, despite humans not having conquered thawing technology in three hundred years, was he able to awaken by himself in this wilderness and not in a research laboratory?
Metallic moss had grown over his Frozen Storage.
Near his Frozen Storage, many other unattended Frozen Storages were piled haphazardly.
Some were covered in vines, others were stuck into the ground, and some had even been engulfed by strange gigantic trees, with only a small section of the metal structure protruding outside.
These Frozen Storages had different models from his, some resembled his, while others had completely different design concepts.
Most of these Frozen Storages were empty, while some seemed to contain horrific skeletons.
Judging from those treed-in storages, the Frozen Storages had been abandoned for an unknown number of centuries.
Apart from the Frozen Storages, there were no signs of other human activity nearby.
Why is no one taking care of us?
Where are the other people in this world?
What is my path forward?
How do I reintegrate into society?
How should I spend this half-life I've gotten for free?
Sitting here pondering these questions is probably useless.
Ren Zhong shook his head and forced a smile.
Oh well, I've been resurrected anyway.
And I also know that my parents lived a good life.
After all, there's no regret in that.
I have no regrets at all!
Ren Zhong wiped his cheeks, wet to the touch, both warm and cool.
A life stolen by time can never be reclaimed.
Dad said, "Since you can't change it, you have to endure it."