Free Web NovelChapter 175: Chapter 175: A Familiar Scene
At the same time, raging wildfires burned through forests everywhere.
The smoke in the air carried all kinds of scents—damp rotting leaves, giant trees, the acrid stench of burning animals...
Thick smoke seeped into the clouds, so the sky held not just the glow of sunset, but also the fiery haze of smoke.
The biting smell spread into the air, filling the whole world with a taste of destruction.
Flames blazed fiercely on the outskirts of the city.
They blocked off everything within several dozen kilometers outside the city districts designated by the Human Lords.
With cities as centers, outside the urban residences, all vegetation was uprooted, leaving a gap, and then firebreaks were laid down layer by layer to stop the flames from invading.
Humans without permission to enter the city stood on the edge, watching the crimson glow in the distance. The flames stretched on and on.
The entire city was surrounded by fire, and they were closest to it—feeling as if their bodies were about to ignite from within, even the hair on their skin flattened in the scorching heat.
They pulled up their collars, poured some water on them and covered their noses and mouths.
But under this fiery heat, the damp fabric quickly evaporated.
People outside the city watched the land and forest already turned to charcoal, falling into silence.
People inside the city watched the outer surveillance and live broadcast feeds.
Apart from Flying Eagle’s city, where every move was monitored by hovering eyeballs, the other cities still had traditional surveillance and live streaming devices.
The inner city residents stared at the fire enough to dye half the sky red—where once people wouldn’t hesitate to risk everything to extinguish wildfires, now they just calmly watched, seeing the flames spread, watching the fire persist and not fade.
Flying Tiger’s live broadcast not only showed Survivor dungeon runs, but also ordinary daily streams.
At this moment, all the major streams, with different viewpoints, displayed variations on the red glow.
Barrage comments slid across the crimson screen—none as eye-catching as the flames.
[Feels like I’ve seen this scene before.]
[I swear I’ve seen this somewhere.]
[God, this is so ironic. We used to save forests from wildfires; now it’s humans starting them.]
[Honestly, this feels eerily familiar.]
[You’re right. Because in every dungeon where Survivors are struggling, it’s all scorched earth, charcoal buildings, and now it’s the same here.]
...
Seeing this comment, everyone paused.
The environments in each dungeon were vivid in their minds—the land there was mostly black, decayed, devoid of life.
Every step, you could feel the ground crack and crumble.
It was as if those places had been burned hundreds, thousands of times; every grain of dirt lost its vitality to the flames.
Everyone fell silent. It felt as though they were walking the path of the old Spirit Body dungeon, yet also not.
Jiang Che observed the two people navigating the dungeon. He had no intention of interfering with their progress.
The rules would not change a bit; neither would they spare them just because they’re human, nor move the exit because they are human.
Flying Tiger watched the live stream—she hadn’t contacted her father, but from the barrage, she already knew the human elites were heading this way, bringing their minions, preparing to clear Jiang Che’s dungeon.
She had no idea what to do.
Should she tell them that this is Jiang Che’s dungeon, that it’s human territory, or keep silent and watch as people die here one after another?
The two people running the dungeon were in despair—they found they simply couldn’t shake off the Spirit Bodies pursuing them.
Though the Spirit Bodies had no features—their blurry faces were all alike—
You could still spot differences in their clothes if you looked closely enough.
They tried to lose the Spirit Bodies, but found that even if they did, the Spirits would always take another shortcut and surround them again.
During their escape, there was no time to decide to take the same path.
The corridors were all connected, but they’d already split onto different tracks.
"I don’t think I can hold out anymore; I’ve been injured three times, and each time the pain gets worse." The one in front spoke, face pale, legs trembling, but he didn’t stop.
He hadn’t deliberately tested how mild the first wound was—a veteran Survivor wouldn’t waste this margin for error.
He’d thought if he worked hard not to get hurt, he could last a very long time.
But he was too optimistic. He didn’t even last longer than the first teammate who died.
Almost exactly at the same time point, he took his first injury.
It hurt, but wasn’t too bad—he could bear it.
He hadn’t run far before the second injury hit.
The second time was nothing like before—it felt like a heavy blow landed right on his chest.
This second injury—for all the agony—didn’t kill him.
On the third, it felt as though his organs were crushed under a hydraulic press.
The fourth time...
Looking back at the relentless white Spirit Body, he knew—the fourth blow would be his death.
He supposed his first teammate died "easily"—he stopped after the first injury, and the second-through-sixth pain all came in a single instant; suffering only lasted a moment, and death was merciful in its own way.
"Every time the pain gets worse. No idea yet if stronger people can withstand more pain..."
"With my strength, I’ll probably only survive four hits." Up until the last seconds of his life, he still shared his experience with the viewers.
"The more blood-red crystals I collect in this dungeon, the more complete the map in my mind gets, and the radar for the crystals becomes more accurate."
He spoke as he rounded a corner.
Right around the bend, he saw a white Spirit Body rushing straight toward him.
Turning back, he saw three more Spirit Bodies—left, right, and behind—all coming for him.
In the end, he gave up struggling, chose the side with the most Spirit Bodies, and charged straight in.
The constant pain was unbearable—he didn’t know if he’d die after the fourth hit, but he definitely wouldn’t last much longer.
The best option now was to take several hits at once, die more quickly and cleanly.
"Brothers, this dungeon is nowhere near as easy as you think."
"Goodbye." He wanted to say more, but there was no time for anything.
As he just opened his mouth, the white Spirit Bodies rushed him; his pupils dilated in an instant, he went limp and fell to the ground.
The viewers watched it happen—even now, they couldn’t tell him, ’You did great.’
Because the other Survivor had already fallen more than ten minutes ago.
