Free Web NovelChapter 15: Return From the Coffin
Dungeon shutdown countdown: 3... 2... 1...
Darkness collapsed inward.
The black-and-white horror realm shattered like broken glass around Shen Yu.
Cold air hit his face.
Then—
He opened his eyes inside his apartment.
For a moment, he simply lay there silently on the dirty wooden floor.
The smell of stale cigarettes.
Cheap perfume.
Alcohol.
Sweat.
Reality.
The dim apartment lights flickered weakly overhead.
A television buzzed somewhere in the background.
And from the bedroom—
Voices.
"...where the hell did he hide it?"
A woman’s irritated tone.
Followed by a deeper male voice.
"He couldn’t have spent millions alone. Search properly."
Shen Yu slowly sat up.
His body still hurt faintly.
Not physically.
Conceptually.
Like parts of him still existed inside the dungeon.
The Death Crit icon glowed faintly within his vision.
His cursed inventory remained active.
Which meant one thing.
The system wasn’t gone.
The horror realm was real.
And he had returned alive.
A smile slowly spread across his face.
"...good."
Then he heard her again.
"Black Wolf, check the closet."
"Already did."
"Under the bed?"
"Nothing."
"Damn it!"
Shen Yu stood quietly.
Then walked toward the bedroom.
The door was half-open.
Inside—
His girlfriend was tearing apart drawers violently.
Beautiful face.
Sharp makeup.
Designer clothes bought using his money.
Yu Shuang.
And beside her stood a muscular man wearing black combat gear.
Level Seven Berserker.
Black Wolf.
The same man who had planned his death.
The same man who expected him to die inside Coffin Calamity.
Yu Shuang suddenly froze.
Because she saw him standing in the doorway.
Alive.
The room went silent.
Black Wolf’s eyes widened slightly.
"...impossible."
Yu Shuang’s face turned pale.
"You—"
Shen Yu leaned lazily against the doorframe.
"Looking for something?"
Neither answered immediately.
Because according to logic—
He should be dead.
HP at zero.
Triple fatal dungeon queue.
Silver-rank death instance.
No survival possibility.
Even Black Wolf himself had admitted it earlier.
Yet here Shen Yu stood.
Completely unharmed.
Worse— freewēbnoveℓ.com
Calm.
Black Wolf recovered first.
His eyes narrowed.
"You cleared Coffin Calamity?"
Shen Yu smiled.
"SS rating."
Silence.
Then Yu Shuang snapped.
"That’s impossible!"
She pointed at him accusingly.
"You had zero HP! No one clears that dungeon solo!"
Shen Yu shrugged.
"I did."
Black Wolf’s expression darkened.
"Bullshit."
A transparent interface suddenly appeared before his eyes.
[WORLD SERVER NOTICE]
Player: SHEN YU
Dungeon Cleared: Coffin Calamity
Difficulty: Silver
Final Rating: SS
Current Rank: #1 SERVER CLEAR
The room became deathly quiet.
Yu Shuang stared at the floating notification.
Her lips trembled.
"No..."
Black Wolf clenched his fists.
"...he actually did it."
Shen Yu walked into the room casually.
Stepping over scattered clothes and overturned drawers.
"You two really made yourselves at home."
Yu Shuang suddenly forced a smile.
A fake one.
The same smile she used whenever she lied.
"Shen Yu... listen..."
"No," he interrupted calmly.
"You listen."
The atmosphere changed instantly.
The old Shen Yu—
Weak.
Desperate.
Pathetic.
Gone.
What stood before them now felt completely different.
Like something that had crawled back from death carrying it on his shoulders.
Yu Shuang instinctively stepped backward.
"You’re misunderstanding—"
"You sent me to die."
Her mouth shut immediately.
Black Wolf moved slightly in front of her.
Protective.
Threatening.
Shen Yu noticed everything.
And smiled.
Interesting.
Even now, they still thought they controlled the situation.
Black Wolf cracked his neck slowly.
"Since you survived, good for you."
His voice deepened.
"But we still need that inheritance."
"There it is," Shen Yu said.
Yu Shuang’s eyes lit up instantly.
"Where?!"
Shen Yu pointed lazily toward the window.
"Outside."
Black Wolf frowned.
"What game are you playing?"
Shen Yu ignored him completely.
Instead, he glanced around the ruined apartment.
Broken furniture.
Missing cabinets.
Torn mattresses.
They had searched everywhere.
Like vultures tearing apart a corpse before confirming it was dead.
His expression slowly became colder.
"So this was your plan from the beginning."
Yu Shuang gritted her teeth.
"You don’t understand."
"No," Shen Yu replied softly.
"I understand perfectly now."
Memories surfaced.
The original owner of this body.
Debt collectors.
Isolation.
Despair.
Then Yu Shuang appearing like salvation.
Kind words.
Gentle smiles.
Warm touch.
Only to manipulate him into deadly dungeon runs for money.
Everything had been fake.
Even love.
Black Wolf stepped forward aggressively.
"Enough emotional drama."
A heavy pressure rolled off his body.
Level Seven Berserker.
Far stronger than Shen Yu statistically.
"At the end of the day, strength decides reality."
Shen Yu tilted his head.
"Really?"
Black Wolf sneered.
"You think clearing one puzzle dungeon changes anything?"
His aura exploded outward.
Floorboards cracked beneath his boots.
"I can still crush you with one hand."
Yu Shuang regained confidence seeing Black Wolf step in.
"That’s right."
She crossed her arms.
"You got lucky once."
"But you’re still weak."
Shen Yu remained silent.
Then—
A small notification appeared quietly before his eyes.
Death Crit Resonance Detected
Nearby hostility increases probability distortion.
Shen Yu almost laughed.
The system really was addicted to chaos now.
Black Wolf suddenly rushed forward.
Fast. freēwēbnovel.com
Far faster than ordinary humans.
His fist roared toward Shen Yu’s face.
Yu Shuang smirked confidently.
Then—
Shen Yu vanished.
Black Wolf’s punch smashed directly through the wall behind him.
Concrete exploded.
Dust filled the room.
Black Wolf froze.
"...what?"
Blink Extension — Phase Step.
Shen Yu reappeared behind him casually.
Not fast.
Not flashy.
Just wrong.
Like reality had skipped several frames.
Yu Shuang screamed.
"How did he—?!"
Black Wolf spun instantly.
But Shen Yu was already moving.
Not stronger.
Not physically superior.
But terrifyingly precise.
Every motion carried dungeon instinct now.
Every angle calculated.
Every reaction sharpened through repeated death.
Black Wolf attacked again.
Wild.
Heavy.
Violent.
Shen Yu dodged effortlessly.
A step sideways.
A slight lean.
Minimal movement.
Like he could already see the attacks before they happened.
Black Wolf’s expression changed.
Fear.
Just slightly.
"...what happened to you?"
Shen Yu smiled faintly.
"I died."
Then added:
"A lot."
Black Wolf roared and activated Berserker Strength.
Muscles expanded.
Veins bulged.
Attack power surged violently.
Yu Shuang grinned viciously.
"Yes! Kill him!"
Shen Yu sighed.
Then intentionally allowed the next punch to hit.
CRACK.
His ribs shattered instantly.
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
Yu Shuang laughed.
But Shen Yu smiled.
Which immediately made her stop.
The Death Crit icon pulsed.
Black Wolf instinctively stepped backward.
"...why are you smiling?"
Shen Yu wiped blood from his lips.
"Testing something."
Then he lunged forward suddenly.
Not to overpower Black Wolf—
But to force contact.
His hand touched Black Wolf’s armor.
The cursed inventory activated.
Item Theft Triggered
Success Rate Amplified By Death Resonance
Black Wolf’s gauntlet vanished instantly.
Appearing inside Shen Yu’s inventory.
"What?!"
The berserker stumbled backward in shock.
Shen Yu examined the stolen gauntlet casually.
"Oh."
"Nice quality."
Black Wolf’s face twisted with rage.
"THIEF!"
Shen Yu looked genuinely confused.
"You were trying to kill me."
"That changes social etiquette slightly."
Yu Shuang stared at him like she no longer recognized the man she manipulated before.
Because this Shen Yu—
Was smiling during combat.
Smiling while injured.
Smiling while bleeding.
Like pain itself had become entertainment.
And somehow—
That terrified her more than anger would have.
A new world notification suddenly appeared.
Server Discussion Trending
"This monster actually cleared Coffin Calamity."
"Never taking that dungeon again."
"Pull up the leaderboard."
"SS clear? Impossible."
"How did he survive the Bride?"
"Current theory: please the ghost."
"No one knows the real clear condition yet."
Shen Yu glanced at the floating comments.
Then quietly laughed.
They still misunderstood everything.
They thought survival was the key.
But the real answer had always been simpler.
The coffin wasn’t dangerous because of the ghost bride.
It was dangerous because it forced people to confront isolation.
To lie alone inside fear itself.
And somehow—
He had turned even that into a weapon.
Yu Shuang looked increasingly panicked.
"Black Wolf, stop playing around!"
"I’m not playing," he growled.
But deep down—
He was beginning to realize something horrifying.
Shen Yu wasn’t strong.
Not yet.
But he was becoming something worse.
Something abnormal.
Something impossible to predict.
And people feared unpredictable monsters most of all.
Shen Yu slowly looked toward Yu Shuang.
His smile faded slightly.
"You know..."
She flinched immediately.
"I really did trust you once."
For the first time—
A hint of genuine emotion entered his voice.
Not rage.
Not heartbreak.
Just disappointment.
Yu Shuang avoided his gaze.
Shen Yu nodded slowly.
"Good."
Then his expression returned to calm indifference.
"Because now I won’t feel guilty."
Black Wolf suddenly sensed danger.
"MOVE—"
Too late.
Shen Yu activated Phase Step again.
The apartment lights exploded.
Darkness swallowed the room.
And somewhere within that darkness—
Something laughed softly.
