TDU Chapter 477
Chapter 477 Unbreakable Spirit
When Zhang Chenze stepped out of {Passage to Heaven}, she felt her mind even more tangled than when she had entered.
Wen Qiaoyun, Chu Tianqiu, Xu Liunian.
The three people who had never once appeared in her memory now completely dominated her thoughts.
Before parting ways, Xu Liunian had meticulously described {Wen Qiaoyun}’s appearance to Zhang Chenze. At this moment, it wasn’t just Qi Xia, Zhang Chenze herself almost believed as if Wen Qiaoyun still moved about in {End Point}.
“I must be going insane…” Zhang Chenze muttered, staring blankly at the sky outside the empty {Passage to Heaven}. “This isn’t really a dream, is it?”
Ole Lu and Auntie Tong exchanged a glance beside her, noticing how the young woman seemed like a different person after stepping out, yet they had no idea what had transpired.
At that moment, a strange black suit jacket flitted through the air.
The lady’s suit jacket constantly flapped at the sleeves and hem, shivered once in front of the three, and then shot away into the distance.
Zhang Chenze let out a faint wry smile and turned back to the two middle-aged figures. “Da ge, da jie… do you think we’ve gone mad?”
“Mad about what?” Ole Lu scratched his head, pointing in the direction the suit had flown. “Silly girly, there’s all sorts of things here you won’t understand. Don’t let it get to you.”
“Indeed, child,” Auntie Tong nodded as well. “This place exists to drive us insane, but you must hold onto yourself. Allah, Holy Lord, Bodhisattva, and Buddha will all bless you. We’ll be fine. Amen.”
Zhang Chenze raised a hand to slowly press against her forehead. Even with their comforting words, she felt no relief. If anything, her exhaustion deepened. To live as a human… losing one’s sanity can happen in a mere moment.
“I understand. Thank you both.” She shook her head and began walking toward the distant street. Her immediate priority was to relay Xu Liunian’s ultimate plan to Yun Yao and the others. After all, her knowledge of {End Point} was far too limited; having a few minds contribute ideas would only help.
‘{Nüwa}…’ Zhang Chenze squinted, recalling Xu Liunian’s earlier words. It remained difficult to fully comprehend.
…
Chen Junnan, Song Seven, and the others stood in a room with doors on all four sides, awkwardly staring at the unusually buff rabbit before them.
At that moment, Terrestrial Rabbit scratched the top of his head, his embarrassment matching that of Chen Junnan and the others.
“This young master’s had it…” Chen Junnan sighed. “Aren’t you going to explain the game? What exactly are you doing?”
“I…” Terrestrial Rabbit hesitated. “I’m looking for the {Starting Point} of this game.”
“Then find it!” Chen Junnan immediately raised his voice. “Where’s the {Starting Point}? Tell me! We’ve been wandering through these rooms for ages!”
“Uh…” Terrestrial Rabbit scratched the back of his head awkwardly, trying to calm everyone down. “Everyone, please be patient. I took a few wrong turns…and now I’m a little lost.”
Behind Chen Junnan and Song Seven, a peculiarly dressed child of about twelve or thirteen was squatting with his knees hugged to his chest. He looked up at the noisy group.
The boy had a neat bowl-cut, with a short, thin braid tied at the back of his head. He wore an old-style dark blue changshan, oddly layered with a leather vest over it.
His eyes lacked all vitality, bearing a look as if life held nothing for him.
“Hooah…” The bowl-cut boy yawned. “I’m about to fall asleep.”
“Just a little longer, Ten,” Song Seven waved over his shoulder. “Looks like this rabbit is a rookie too, getting lost inside his own game venue.”
The boy called Ten pointed toward the door in front of him. “Seven ge, wasn’t it said that each row has four rooms and there are four columns total? That means if we open three doors straight in one direction, we should reach the edge. Am I wrong?”
Terrestrial Rabbit glanced at the boy, embarrassed. “I…I thought so too. But to make the venue seem more complicated, I locked most of the doors in advance. Now we can’t walk in a straight line.”
Ten stood up, walked a few steps, and knocked on a door. He gave Terrestrial Rabbit a resigned look. “Are you an idiot?”
Hearing the word {idiot}, Chen Junnan’s impression of the boy immediately improved. “This young master has been dying to lay in! You’re not bad, kid!”
“You’re pretty stupid too,” the bowl-cut boy shook his head. “What if something went wrong because you didn’t clarify the rules before bringing us in?”
“Alas,” Chen Junnan smiled and stepped over, putting an arm around the boy’s shoulder. “This young master has the five of you helping, how bad could it get? Besides, whenever this young master reaches a mountain, there’s always a bridge… and if there isn’t, I’ll just build one myself.”
“Alright, alright,” the bowl-cut boy replied with a disinterested nod. “You really are amazing.”
“Get excited, man!” Chen Junnan exclaimed. The boy looked so lethargic that staring at him for a moment made Chen Junnan feel sleepy too. “Come on, bro! Why do you look like you’re about to die?”
“Hooah… leave me alone…” the boy shook his head. “I’m just too sleepy…”
Observing the child’s constant lethargy, Chen Junnan sighed and walked over to poke Song Seven. “What’s going on, Xiao Song? Who is this kid?”
“{Unbreakable Spirit} Jiang Ten,” Song Seven replied. “Ten is the main force of {Cats} combat team. Back in the day, he was instrumental in repeatedly taking down {Portland Street, A'Jin}.”
“Huh?” Chen Junnan was momentarily stunned. “Wait, who? This kid could kill Ole Qiao?”
“It’s a long story,” Song Seven helplessly shook his head. “Through this game, you should see what each of us is capable of, and I trust it will make you see {Cats} in a whole new light.”
“I don’t think they’ll be a {new light} to shine or anything like that,” Chen Junnan remarked. “I trust the organization Xiao Qian Dou founded won’t be too bad, after all, I know him well.”
“Hooah…” Jiang Ten yawned, his tear-filled eyes glancing at Song Seven. “Seven ge… maybe you all go ahead… I’ll just sleep a bit first?”
“No, don’t!” A bearded man stepped forward from behind the group, speaking respectfully. “Ten ge, if you sleep now, we won’t be able to wake you up.”
“Exactly, Ten ge!” Another man, appearing in his forties or fifties, came up to support Jiang Ten’s arms. “You’ve got to pull yourself together! What if something really happens later and you’re asleep? What would we do then?”
“Hooah…” Jiang Ten wiped his eyes and could only nod perfunctorily.
Chen Junnan found the sight truly bizarre: a burly, bearded man and a middle-aged man were trailing a child, constantly calling him {ge}.
TL Note: Rant goes here ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)
