Free Web NovelChapter 43: Chapter 43: Truly Brain-Damaged
Ya wasn’t dead yet. She stared fixedly at the door that had suddenly appeared right in front of her.
It was just one step away; she could have rolled over and touched the exit, escaped, and grabbed the first-clear reward for Dungeon 9 with just a twist of her body.
But she couldn’t move. She could only keep her eyes half-open, playing the role of the dead who can’t rest in peace, and watch as Jiang Che—this big fool in her heart—left.
Tuantuan and Ding Ning didn’t stop Jiang Che, even though holding him back would’ve taken no effort at all.
Every second felt like an eternity to everyone watching.
The hope that was so close in human eyes, for Ding Ning, was something that could easily be snuffed out on a whim.
Jiang Che’s hand drew closer and closer to the Light Gate; the livestream viewers count skyrocketed and, in the blink of an eye, surpassed ten million.
A beam of light shot up into the sky—every Survivor saw exactly where the Light Gate had opened. The Survivors hiding in the dark instantly made their move, rushing toward the exit.
This was only the second day of the Dungeon—everyone was elated.
They’d all been hopeless. In this ninth dungeon where nobody could find an exit, everyone had already resigned themselves to death—and yet someone actually found a way out?
The stream chat went wild:
[Fuck! What a lucky bastard!]
[If he actually pulls this off, who the hell would dare call him crazy again!]
[Brother Jiang Che, can we team up? I’m super strong, just need a bit of luck.]
[That luck—absolutely speechless!]
[Digging a grave and found the exit? Who’d have thought it was underground? No wonder nobody’s ever found the way out in the ninth dungeon.]
[Corpses everywhere in dungeons, but honestly, who in their right mind would bother to bury them?]
...
The viewers could only call it legendary—no one ever thought to bury dead bodies in dungeons like this.
With only three days to survive, even if your closest partner died, maybe you’d just dump the body somewhere cool and shady.
If Jiang Che touched the exit, he’d be the first ever to clear Dungeon 9!
Even if people thought he was crazy before, from now on nobody would dare say he’s nuts.
Jiang Che suddenly felt the whole world go quiet. It was as if, through that Light Gate, he could hear the bustling traffic outside, see the city’s neon lights, and catch the roar of a crowd behind the door.
There was a message ringing in his head as well:
[The exit to Dungeon 9 has been opened. Survivors, please proceed to escape.]
He didn’t really know what an exit was, but he felt it, strongly.
The Light Gate in front of him was the exit.
Leave?
What happens after he leaves?
He suddenly turned around and saw Tuantuan and Ding Ning still sitting on the side steps, mother and daughter chatting and smiling as if nothing had happened. The scene was so peaceful, it looked like neither of them even cared what he was doing.
Jiang Che could only think that if he left, he’d be separated by thousands of miles from this family he’d just met.
He didn’t want to leave!
He withdrew his hand and picked up the shovel.
"Tuantuan, Daddy’s finished digging. Let’s bury Aunt Ya together with Mom." Jiang Che picked up the remains and laid Ya’s body into the grave.
Tuantuan looked over, and Jiang Che waved her over, beckoning for the two to come join him.
The blood on Ya’s face had been wiped clean by Jiang Che—maybe he was afraid her bloody face would frighten his wife and child, or maybe he just wanted her to look more at peace.
Tuantuan smiled, tears rolling uncontrollably down her cheeks.
Ding Ning seemed lost in thought—she couldn’t understand why this human wasn’t escaping.
As she pondered, a small hand reached out to hold hers.
"Mom, come on, together." If before this moment, Tuantuan still called her "madam" and felt the awe one has for the strong—
Now, there was nothing left but calm acceptance in her heart.
She held onto Ding Ning’s hand, and they started their "bury Aunt Ya together as a family" game.
There were three shovels, all made by Ding Ning earlier—just enough for all three of them.
Soil was shoveled bit by bit onto Ya, until her whole body was buried beneath layers and layers of earth.
On Ya’s livestream, clods of dirt kept filling the screen. Sometimes slivers of light squeezed through, but as the soil got thicker, even those rays disappeared.
That’s when Ya could move again.
The viewers heard her heavy breathing in the darkness, the sound of earth scraping against her body.
But soon her breath quickened; dirt and dust began filling her airways. Little by little, Ya stopped breathing altogether.
The feed cut out.
She died—right in front of the exit.
As the grave was filled in, the glowing door gradually began to disappear too.
Throughout the burial, Ding Ning kept watching Jiang Che to see if he’d try to slip away.
But Jiang Che’s mood stayed steady—the fading light didn’t affect him at all.
It wasn’t until the radiance was swallowed up and the door vanished that things changed.
The Crystal Ball returned once more to Ding Ning’s hands.
At the same time, a prompt flared up in every Survivor’s mind.
[The main door to Dungeon 9 is now closed. Survivors, please keep fighting.]
Jiang Che’s face didn’t change; Tuantuan, connected to him, also heard that voice.
Tuantuan gripped Jiang Che’s hand tight, but was ready to let go at any moment.
"Aunt Ya, thank you." Tuantuan looked at the stick stuck in the dirt ahead.
They couldn’t find a tombstone, so they stuck a branch in at Ya’s grave, making do with what they had.
With limited resources, everything had to be simple.
Not until Jiang Che filled in the grave, not until the Light Gate vanished, not until that "door closed" notice popped up on the stream, did the viewers finally begin to panic.
[...He really does have a screw loose.]
[Now I’m convinced—he’s not pretending to be crazy, he actually is crazy.]
[Damn it, my blood pressure’s through the roof. I feel like my chest’s about to explode.]
[I was already suffering watching a madman clear a dungeon. Now that he didn’t clear it, it hurts even more than dying myself.]
[But the ones who are probably suffering the most are the Survivors in the dungeon. All those rats came out of hiding in an instant the moment they heard the exit open.]
[Just wait, when people find out, there’ll be chaos.]
...
After everything was done, Jiang Che held both their hands, one on each side.
"Mom and Dad have been waiting for us a long time. It’s time to go home for dinner." Jiang Che walked back along the route in his memory.
Tuantuan heard him mention "Mom and Dad"—before, she’d assumed he meant human parents...
But now,
She wasn’t sure anymore.
After all, this dad of hers seemed pretty clueless, the type to get tricked easily.
Ding Ning heard this and looked at Tuantuan, confused—just who were Jiang Che’s parents?
Tuantuan shook her head—she had no idea either!
She tried reading Jiang Che’s thoughts, but to him, "Mom and Dad" were simply "Mom and Dad."
Just like reading about wife and daughter in Jiang Che’s head—there was nothing out of the ordinary.
Meanwhile, far away in their villa—
The Blood Slaughter Couple felt the glow of the exit.
"Someone opened the door—good. When the time comes, begging that Lord to let our son leave should be no problem."
