TDU Chapter 357
Chapter 357 Slacking off?
“So, can’t you work a little overtime?” Su Shan asked. “Does your game take a long time to complete?”
“Not really,” Terrestrial Dog shook his head and sighed. “But it’s exhausting. I already killed a batch today, can’t we do this tomorrow?”
“Killed a batch…?” Lawyer Zhang showed a look of unease.
“Yeah, I’m a little tired. Let’s schedule it for tomorrow, okay?” Terrestrial Dog stood up and yawned lazily. “I’m afraid I’ll fall asleep in the middle of the game.”
Qin Dingdong turned to look at Su Shan. “Are you really set on participating?”
“Shouldn’t I be asking you all, are you ready?” Su Shan shot back.
Qin Dingdong let out a sigh.
“Lin Qin and I are both {Reverberatees}. Participating in this kind of game isn’t that stressful for us. Even if we lose, we’ll retain our memories. But what about the two of you?” Her gaze shifted between Su Shan and Zhang Chenzhe. “If you die before you trigger your {Reverberation}, you’ll forget everything that happened here.”
“I…” Zhang Chenze paused, then said, “Frankly, I have no strong feelings about it. I have no memories of before. If you hadn’t filled me in before, I’d have assumed I’d only just gotten here.”
Everyone’s gaze then shifted back to Su Shan.
“I’m not afraid of failure,” Su Shan declared. “The more painful the failure, the more likely my {Reverberation} will be triggered.”
Terrestrial Dog scratched his ear with his pinky, sensing incoming trouble. “Wait a minute, you… four are all veterans?”
“No,” Su Shan shook her head. “To be precise, only two are veterans; the other two are newcomers.”
“Two is still troublesome…” Terrestrial Dog curled his lip. “Can’t you find another venue? Though I really want to kill you, I’m pretty exhausted today.”
“How strange…” Su Shan looked at the gaunt dog-headed figure in puzzlement. “Can {Earthly Branches} refuse us from joining your game?”
“Not really,” Terrestrial Dog frowned. “If I could, I would’ve refused already.”
“Then…” Su Shan was puzzled. “If you can’t refuse, then why are you advising us to find another venue?”
“Because I’m stalling for time,” Terrestrial Dog leaned back against the wall, resting his arms behind his head. “Maybe if I stall a while longer, I’ll be off the clock.”
“That won’t work,” Su Shan shook her head. “I’ve made up my mind. Today I must participate in your game.”
Terrestrial Dog slowly closed his eyes and sighed. “Not to complain, but veterans are really the hardest to deal with…”
Qin Dingdong, Lin Qin, and Zhang Chenze exchanged glances. After a moment, Qin Dingdong spoke, “Xiao Shan, since he doesn’t want to entertain us, maybe we should just forget it. It’s getting late…”
Su Shan glanced at Qin Dingdong and said, “How about you go rest first? I think time is precious; I don’t want to waste it sleeping.”
“Huh?” Qin Dingdong didn’t expect Su Shan’s reasoning to be so tenuous.
After speaking, Su Shan looked back at Terrestrial Dog. “May I ask how many participants your game requires?”
Terrestrial Dog’s eyes dimmed as he looked at everyone, then replied softly, “What terrible luck; we just happen to need four people.”
Zhang Chenze nodded. “Su Shan, I’ll join you. Gathering intelligence will help me make better decisions.”
“Oh?” Su Shan looked at her, then nodded with slight satisfaction.
Lin Qin and Qin Dingdong clearly lacked motivation, both showing signs of wanting to leave.
“Su Shan…” Lin Qin called out, “Speaking as someone with experience, those who are most eager to play are often the first to meet their end.”
“So you’re saying those who drown are the ones who can actually swim?” Su Shan lifted her unusually bright eyes to Lin Qin. “But this whole world is flooded; we either learn to swim quickly or slowly drown. Which do you choose?”
Lin Qin pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly.
It is the continual emergence of such figures at {End Point} that reminds one of their own existence.
“Qin, what do you say?” Lin Qin turned and asked.
“Alas… what else can I do?” Qin Dingdong sighed dramatically. “I’m Su Shan’s {bestie}.”
“All right.” Lin Qin extended a hand. “Lawyer Zhang, Su Shan, for precaution’s sake, let’s shake hands.”
“Shake hands?” Both looked puzzled.
“Correct,” Lin Qin said. “As long as you’re willing to shake my hand, Ole Qin and I will follow you into this game.”
Without hesitation, Su Shan extended her hand and clasped Lin Qin’s. Afterward, Lin Qin released her grip and turned to Zhang Chengze.
Zhang Chengze eyed Lin Qin cautiously before saying, “I’ll pass. Unless it’s an emergency or medical situation, I prefer not to be touched by anyone.”
At those words, Lin Qin’s memory returned to her last Terrestrial Dog game with Lawyer Zhang, where she had said something quite similar.
“Although I don’t know why you’re so averse to being touched, once we shake hands, the chances of triggering your {Reverberation} will increase,” Lin Qin explained. “Are you sure you don’t want to shake hands?”
After a moment’s thought, Zhang Chengze ultimately extended her hand and gently touched the back of Lin Qin’s hand.
“Is this acceptable?”
Lin Qin nodded. “It’s not ideal, but we’ll take it as is.”
The four young women then turned to Terrestrial Dog, their expressions growing serious.
“Oh come on…” Terrestrial Dog felt his composure slipping away. “When did you {participants} start getting so caught up in this rat race? I only wanted to hide away in some empty corner, but today I’m stuck hosting two batches of guests.”
“Since you’ve opened the door for business, scenarios like this would inevitably occur,” Su Shan smiled. “So, how do you charge for admission?”
“Ho—How about this…” Terrestrial Dog pulled a coin from his pocket. “Let’s play a coin guessing game. If you guess right, I’ll give you one {Dào}, and we can call it a day.”
“Do you think we’ll agree?” Su Shan asked.
Terrestrial Dog’s expression darkened. He slipped the coin back into his pocket and ruffled the top of his head, clearly displeased.
“There are two kinds of people I absolutely hate…” he yawned, “First, those who slack off; second, those who stop me from slacking off.”
“So you must really hate yourself, huh?” Su Shan asked.
“Exactly,” Terrestrial Dog nodded. “Admission is three {Dào} per person; winners get ten each.”
“Not bad,” Su Shan remarked. “Truly worthy of a {Terrestrial-grade}; we’ve been busy all day and earned three or four {Dào} each, but your game can net us seven in one go.”
“It’s not like I wanted this.” Terrestrial Dog shook his head. “This slacker of an {Earthly Branch} somehow picked up a batch of overly ambitious disciples. If I don’t at least act like I’m putting in effort, I’ll lose all credibility.”
TL Note: Rant goes here ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)
