TDU Chapter 366
Chapter 366 Turbulence
“Round four, Player One kindly {draw}.”
A mere phrase from the loudspeaker was enough to fray Su Shan’s nerves.
It was already the fourth round—half the game had passed.
If each round represented a {year}, then four years had gone by, and everyone had been battered and broken by the {Nian Beast}.
Of the three lights above the Nian Beast, only one had been extinguished.
Two more lights had to be put out to win the game, but clearly, Terrestrial Dog was far from easy to deal with.
Lin Qin was severely wounded now; one more {Calamity} could spell her end.
Zhang Chenze’s situation was even more grim. Her room was shrouded in that gray-green hue, making it impossible to locate her. Yet from the movements of the insect swarms, she was still struggling fiercely, causing massive waves of disturbance.
Could she still {draw} or make {wishes} in this state?
Now, only she and Qin Dingdong were still in relatively good shape, yet with one leading and the other closing the round, they were destined to miss every chance for cooperation.
Terrestrial Dog now had two strategies for the upcoming {Calamity}. The first was an aggressive approach—continuing to strike the seasons already afflicted by {Calamities}, using the tactic of {misfortunes never come singly} to completely wipe them out. But this came with drawbacks, because Zhang Chenze was connected to Su Shan, and Lin Qin to Qin Dingdong; theoretically, they could still save one another. So unless Terrestrial Dog was desperate, such aggressiveness was unlikely.
The second strategy was to play it safe—targeting the seasons that were still safe. This way, the overall condition of all four would deteriorate, and the year would be filled with {Calamitites}, making mutual rescue and cooperation difficult, and victory even harder.
The biggest challenge of this game was that {no one could die}. Yet relying on her alone, how could Su Shan save everyone?
She had a premonition: after two more rounds, everyone would be injured, and even if they escaped Terrestrial Dog’s arena, they would certainly be unable to participate in other games.
“So this is {Terrestrial-grade}...” Su Shan smiled bitterly. “I still vividly remember Qi Xia from the last reincarnation—we lost to the {participant} then, and this time we’re losing to the {umpire}. I truly am unsuited to survive here...”
Now Su Shan had only one {No Land Shall Lie Fallow} and one {Default} left in hand.
In theory, the only path to victory now was to make a wish for {No Land Shall Lie Fallow}, but {Summer} was overrun with {Locust Plagues}.
Who in their right mind would {wish} for {No Land Shall Lie Fallow} during {Spring} when they knew {Summer} was plagued by {Locust Plagues}?
Su Shan’s mind was a complete mess; she felt this game was utterly unwinnable.
‘I was so naive…’
Her gaze gradually grew desolate. She hadn’t expected that despite leading everyone resolutely into a {Terrestrial-grade} game, they would end up wounded and broken, one after another…
Could they really escape this cursed place?
What method, what means would it take to get out?
A buzzing sound suddenly filled her ears. She waved her hand, mistakenly thinking a locust had come near.
‘What’s going on...?’ She remembered this feeling—from when she faced Qi Xia and was driven to the brink, she had heard this same strange noise by her ear.
If her guess was correct, this was the prelude to triggering one’s {Reverberation}.
But this time, she clearly hadn’t reached the same desperate brink as before. She hadn’t been injured nor struck by any {Calamitity}, so why was she still hearing that sound?
“My {Reverberation} seems to come more easily now...” Su Shan slowly closed her eyes, relinquishing control of her thoughts entirely, letting that wave of despair and fear fully consume her mind and heart. “Qi Xia once said he wanted me to fall into {despair}... Could it be that only through {despair} can I obtain my {Reverberation}?”
Is the current situation not filled with enough despair?
It was more than enough despair. Even without Terrestrial Dog’s game, just {End Point} alone was enough to drive anyone into despair.
Having served five years in the Technical Department, she had never encountered as many gruesome cases in a single day as she did at {End Point}. Without legal restraint, humans turned violent over trivial matters.
And the overseers here were unlike those in the real world; they maintained not order, but a more equitable slaughter.
Here, endless deaths and rebirths occurred; {forgetting} offered new hope, yet those who {kept their memories} endured a tormenting reincarnation.
This place was utterly unfit for the living or for normal humans.
This was true hell.
{Dong}!!
From afar came a melodious toll, causing Lin Qin and Qin Dingdong to furrow their brows simultaneously. They watched as Su Shan slowly opened her eyes, and upon closer look, a subtle change became apparent: Su Shan’s eyes, once sparkling brightly, now shone like flawless diamonds, crystalline and dazzling.
Su Shan slowly scanned her surroundings, feeling as if the entire world had shifted. Could this be {Reverberation}?
Is this truly the world seen through the eyes of a {Reverberatee}?
Eerie light-blue glimmers roamed the room, drifting like living entities. Their movements were simultaneously patterned and strange, resembling both waves and turbulence.
At a glance, the entire venue resembled a dark wall reflecting the shimmering light of a pool at night, suddenly becoming sparkling and filled with serene tranquility.
These glimmers gathered and dispersed in midair; some collided, bursting into eerie patterns that resembled writing—yet impossible to decipher.
“Strange...” Su Shan recalled that during her last {Reverberation}, the scene was nothing like this. What has changed?
Why had there been almost no glimmers when facing Qi Xia, but such a spectacle now before these teammates?
Could it be that the {scenery} differs depending on the {person}?
Su Shan recalled Lin Qin once mentioning that every {Reverberation} must come with a unique ability—so what was her own?
“Being able to see these glimmers... is that my ability?”
She had imagined gaining some transcendent power, one that could move mountains or pierce the heavens, yet all she had was the sight of these eerie glimmers.
At that moment, several glimmers lingered near Zhang Chenze’s chamber, seemingly desperate to converge but scattering abruptly each time they neared unity.
“What exactly are these things...?”
Su Shan turned her head toward Qin Dingdong. Around her, the scene differed—only a few steady clusters of glimmers floated calmly, neither gathering nor dispersing, but remaining firmly beside her.
Then Su Shan glanced at Lin Qin across from her, where the strange glimmers gathered most densely. Turbulence surged back and forth, converging and dispersing repeatedly, colliding again and again.
Each time the turbulence collided, two almost imperceptible words flickered into existence.
Su Shan narrowed her eyes, studying the two small words intently. Due to the distance, it took several seconds before she recognized the tiny words shimmering between the turbulence.
Her lips moved slightly as she whispered, “I see the… turbulence of {Boosting Touch}.”
TL Note: Now are her words familiar or what…. If not, I suggest reading the end of chapter 219 as a refresher.
