Free Web NovelChapter 72: Chapter 72: Are All Those Who Stay Behind in the Dungeon Evil Spirits?
Xiong Jie led Jiang Che toward their destination. Ever since Jiang Che acquired the Earth Escape skill, it hadn’t been difficult for the two of them to hurry along.
The clinging mud had lost its suffocating grip, and Jiang Che hadn’t changed direction, nor did he fumble blindly through the swamp.
It was as if Jiang Che really just stepped into the swamp, felt something unusual underfoot, and simply picked it up.
He never veered from his path, never searched around. After picking something up, he just continued moving forward, as if nothing had happened.
Xiong Jie couldn’t tell whether Jiang Che finding these items was planned by the Dungeon master, because it really seemed random—like finding a hundred bucks lying there while walking, picking it up, then moving on.
Most people who stumble upon money behave just like Jiang Che; picking it up randomly, but not searching the ground further.
Xiong Jie said nothing. The hint his master gave him in his mind remained: don’t concern yourself with Jiang Che’s behavior. His task was only to escort Jiang Che and seek the exit.
At this moment, only Jiang Che and Xiong Jie remained in the livestream; viewers were going crazy.
[That evil spirit will freak out when it finds its Skill Book stolen.]
[Jiang Che and the others are going to be caught soon, right?]
[Caught? Your skill is my skill now.]
[They’ve gotten two skills already, why doesn’t Xiong Jie try to search too?]
[You think Xiong Jie doesn’t know? Is it really that easy? Does this nutcase really have that much luck?]
...
When Jiang Che said he’d stepped on something strange, Xiong Jie stomped on the ground a couple times himself. He knew better than anyone—so far, apart from the swamp’s constricting grip, he’d never even stepped on a rock.
He had never felt even a pea-sized bump underfoot, let alone a fist-sized ’Skill Book.’
He couldn’t tell if it was coincidence or deliberate arrangement. If arranged, it would be too fake; if coincidental, it was just too unlikely.
But he kept quiet, afraid saying too much would expose something. He needed to review the livestream playback for this segment, read the barrage comments, before voicing any opinions.
For now, watching Jiang Che, he could only attribute it to luck.
"Let’s hurry. Who knows how long the exit will stay open," Xiong Jie urged as he led Jiang Che forward.
"The exit?" Jiang Che paused. Every survivor had a hint in their head about the exit.
He and Xiong Jie had always thought heading this way was just coincidence, but now he realized— they really were on the way out.
"Where... is ’out’?" Jiang Che walked ahead with his head lowered, slowing his pace.
They had already crossed the muddy swamp; the exit lay not far ahead. At their speed, they’d reach it in less than ten minutes.
The air here was laced with vibrant colors; plants around trembled their branches and leaves. Coloured smoke billowed from them, and different scents assaulted their nostrils.
"Out? Out just means out," Xiong Jie was puzzled. What kind of question was that? But knowing Jiang Che’s status was higher than his, he answered truthfully.
"Does going out mean leaving here forever...?" Jiang Che’s voice was muffled, as if something blocked his throat.
What he wanted to ask was: after leaving, would he be separated eternally from the people and things here?
But he couldn’t say it out loud. He felt as if even his wife and Tuantuan were preparing for him to leave.
He’d prepared to leave to work and provide for his family, but it seemed that wasn’t what was happening now.
Xiong Jie heard Jiang Che’s question but didn’t know how to reply.
He could only sigh inwardly—it was exhausting to communicate with a lunatic.
He felt it wasn’t a real question, nor did he think he answered wrong—out means out, leaving means leaving here.
Seeing Xiong Jie stay silent, Jiang Che resorted to communicating with Tuantuan.
Since Ding Ning had intervened in their telepathy skill last time, it had turned from an automatic sensing of the other’s mind and presence into an active skill.
Normally it just gave a sense of location, but if you wanted to connect, you could actively initiate communication.
Like making a phone call.
Turning it on and off voluntarily.
"Tuantuan, is this leaving the Dungeon?" Jiang Che’s voice was hoarse.
"Will Ning and you come with me?"
He still remembered the day he entered the Dungeon, with black vortices gathering as though to suck him in.
That day, the nurse told him: only in the Dungeon could one find their family.
He’d never encountered such things in twenty years of life, so leaving now—would it mean waiting another twenty years?
"No," Ding Ning held Tuantuan’s hand, her voice echoing in Jiang Che’s mind.
"You’re just going out to work, going out to earn money; we can always stay in touch, we won’t ever be separated again." With this layer of telepathy, Ding Ning and Tuantuan felt the genuineness of his emotion.
He didn’t want to leave, even if staying meant death.
"So... do we have to wait twenty more years before we can meet again?" Jiang Che’s voice was soft, yet full of pain.
"No." Ding Ning’s voice seemed to soothe the soul.
"A short separation is just preparation for being together forever." Ding Ning comforted Jiang Che. "You have to leave now so from now on, we can always be together."
"You can come back later, and I can come out to find you. Don’t worry, it won’t be ten or twenty years, not even one or two years—very soon."
"Understood." Jiang Che nodded. He trusted his wife wouldn’t lie to him.
Since she said they’d meet again soon, Jiang Che knew what he had to do: get out, work hard, earn money, provide for the family.
"Leaving means exiting the Dungeon. As long as we pass through that exit, we can leave the Dungeon," Xiong Jie pointed at the glowing door in the distance, thinking his explanation was detailed enough.
"So that’s the exit of the Dungeon," Jiang Che stared at the door, his eyes unfocused.
"Yeah, you can’t stay in the Dungeon for long. Only three days here—if you don’t leave in three days, every survivor left will die," Xiong Jie realized Jiang Che understood nothing about Dungeons.
Recalling Jiang Che’s identity as a psychiatric patient, he quickly understood: the hospital staff hadn’t even done basic orientation.
He began explaining to Jiang Che the relationship between Dungeons and the outside world.
How every Dungeon was full of deadly evil spirits, and how humans faced tough obstacles inside.
How survival was so difficult, and escaping an SSS-level Dungeon was even harder.
"Anyone who doesn’t leave the Dungeon is an evil spirit?" Jiang Che suddenly asked Xiong Jie a completely random question.
