TDU Chapter 423
TL Note: Thank you soo much, UniCat1231, for taking the time to leave a review on NU! It’s very much appreciated. This chapter is released in advance just for you ( ๑ ˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و ♡
P.S. the accents are pretty ok to translate as long as I remember which one I assigned them lel, but the delicate choice of words are really a headache xD but for the sake of this novel, I’ll continue to do my best o7
Proofread SpeedDemon (ko-fi)
Chapter 423 Bizarre Powers
Once the four teams had been allocated, Qian Five approached Qi Xia once more.
“What is it?” Qi Xia asked.
“This…” Qian Five drew another slip of paper from his breast pocket. It was none other than Celestial Snake’s {guide}. “Do you not wish to take a look?”
Qi Xia eyed the size of the note and said, “At most, it will hold a single line. I doubt its authenticity.”
“At least glance at it,” Qian Five urged, handing the paper to him. “After all, it was won by your own merit.”
“Then we shall look at it together,” Qi Xia replied.
“Together…?”
“Qian Five, you have shown me sincerity. It is only right that I respond in kind,” Qi Xia said. “Whether what is written is true or false, I will share it with you.”
At that, Qian Five paused for a heartbeat before nodding. “Very well.”
Qi Xia unfolded the slip before him, and to no surprise, it bore but a single, terse line—
{Let him devour the eye of a Reverberatee.}
After reading it several times over, both Qian Five and Qi Xia furrowed their brows.
A few silent seconds later, Qian Five asked in a low voice, “Do you think…it’s genuine?”
“This…” Qi Xia scratched his head. “While the sentence is explicit, it goes beyond my knowledge. I can’t give a confident answer.”
“If time permits, we can test out this theory," Qian Five remarked. “By the end of today…we will gain multiple {Reverberatees}, and perhaps a corpse of one. Either way, it should not be difficult to verify.”
“Alright.” Qi Xia nodded, then after a short pause, added, “Though I would much prefer there be no corpses.”
Thereafter, the four squads set out with only a scant supply of provisions, each heading in a different direction.
Qi Xia led the four {problematic members} trailing behind him along a wide, derelict roadway, absentmindedly drawing out the slip that listed each of their {Reverberation triggers} and glancing through them.
Zhou Six - {Reverberation trigger}: {Estrangement}.
Wang Eight - {Reverberation trigger}: {Humiliation}.
Luo Eleven - {Reverberation trigger}: {Frustration}.
Qiu Sixteen - {Reverberation trigger}: {Violent Rage}.
‘Wang Eight… Qiu Sixteen…’ Qi Xia shook his head helplessly. ‘Qian Five, you really outdid yourself.’
(TLN: More homophones. Wang Eight is 王八, which is an insulting term that means ‘a cuckold man’. Qiu Sixteen (邱十六) sounds like 秋石榴, which means ‘autumn’s pomegranate’.)
He slipped the slip of paper back into his pocket, then paused to reflect.
This seemed to be the first time he was earnestly probing into the {triggers} of {Reverberation}. Though each person’s {trigger} was rendered in no more than two simple words, if the reality were truly that easy, there would be no need for anyone to risk their lives venturing into the trials of the {Terrestrial-grade} games.
“What are your abilities…?” Qi Xia turned to ask.
“Tsk, you should already know my ability,” Zhou Six replied. “As for them… Wang Eight has {Giant Morphing}, Luo Eleven wields {Affliction Dismissal}, and Qiu Sixteen is {Scarlet Flame}.”
Qi Xia stroked his chin thoughtfully. He had a fair grasp of what {Affliction Dismissal} entailed, and the other two {Reverberations} seemed straightforward enough to infer from their names.
Still, to be certain, he inquired, “{Giant Morphing} and {Scarlet Flame}…what exactly are they?”
The short, rotund man called Wang Eight slowly raised his head, a woeful expression on his face. “I can make things…bigger.”
“I can be set ablaze,” Qiu Sixteen said simply.
‘As I thought…’ Qi Xia nodded, turning to Wang Eight. “Then how potent is your {Giant Morphing}? Can you become a {giant}? Does your strength grow proportionally as well?”
“I…” The short, rotund man suddenly shed his pitiful look and let out a sly chuckle. “Heh, I can’t {enlarge} my whole body, but specific parts, I—”
Zhou Six let out a loud {tsk}, spat onto the ground before him, and snarled, “Motherf*cking sleazebag…I’ll have you killed one day.”
“Heh! Six jie, Six jie!” The short, rotund man grinned, then immediately put back on his pitiful expression. “Don’t be angry… I meant {enlarging} my fists, so I can help you all fight!”
“Tsk, you’d better.” Zhou Six rolled her eyes so hard they nearly flipped all the way around.
“And you…” Qi Xia now turned to Qiu Sixteen. “What’s the extent of your abilities? Can you set things ablaze, or breathe out fire?”
Qiu Sixteen sighed heavily. “And you’re supposed to be my squad captain? When did I ever say I could {set things ablaze}?”
“Isn’t that it?”
“I’ll say it again—I can {be set ablaze}.” Qiu Sixteen’s voice grew solemn. “When I invoke my {Reverberation}, my entire body erupts in flame.”
“Hm…?” Qi Xia frowned slightly, unable to fully comprehend. “So your flames… ignite from your own body?”
“That’s right.” Qiu Sixteen nodded.
“Then are you resistant to high heat?” Qi Xia pressed.
“No.”
That single, curt word left Qi Xia at a loss for how to respond.
“Are you insane?!” Qiu Sixteen snapped, anger flashing in her eyes. “I’m only {human}. As a human, what resistance to heat could I possibly have? If you were set ablaze, could you endure it?”
Qi Xia frowned at her. “So, to put it plainly—”
“Every time I invoke my {Reverberation}, I burn to death,” Qiu Sixteen remarked with utter nonchalance. “But that’s hardly an issue. All these years, every time I’ve died in flames—so I’ve more or less grown used to it.”
Qi Xia could only nod, somewhat dazed.
A {Reverberation} that could only set one’s own body wholly aflame… And yet {Cats} had chosen to recruit such a person into their ranks?
Once she triggered her {Reverberation}, death was inevitable—and it would come by the most excruciating method imaginable in this world.
This {Reverberation}’s fatality rate eclipsed even that of {Beckoned Calamity}; it was most likely the most perilous {Reverberation} currently known.
“Forgive my bluntness…” Qi Xia said quietly. “Is it truly necessary for you to obtain your {Reverberation} at all?”
“What do you mean?” Qiu Sixteen asked, brow furrowing.
“The purpose this time is to temper the team,” Qi Xia explained. “But if you {invoke} your {Reverberation} only to die, then there is no reason for you to participate in this game.”
“Are you stupid?” Qiu Sixteen shot him another doubtful look. “Why would I die just because I invoked my {Reverberation}?”
Qi Xia still felt as though he hadn’t understood. “Didn’t you just say so yourself…?”
“Pay attention…” Qiu Sixteen lifted a finger, clarifying. “What I said was: once I {invoke my Reverberation}, I die. But I can also choose not to {invoke} it.”
Only now did Qi Xia finally grasp the significance of her implication.
Qiu Sixteen could simply hear the {bell toll} of her Reverberation, without allowing the flames to ignite upon her body.
“Five ge should have told you already—my {Reverberation’s trigger} is {Violent Rage}…” Qiu Sixteen sighed as she spoke. “But I lose my temper far too easily… so your challenge isn’t how to trigger my {Reverberation}, but how to make me calm down immediately after I hear the {bell toll}.”
TL Note: Rant goes here ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)
