TDU Chapter 479
Chapter 479 Team Impetuous
“Not quite.” Terrestrial Rabbit shook his head. “My mode of action is similar to yours. The only difference is that… my {unlocking} consumes two action slots, while {moving} consumes only one.”
“I see.” Song Seven nodded, then turned toward the only woman in their group. She had remained quiet since entering the room; her skin was so fair it seemed almost luminous. “Fourteen, what do you think?”
The young woman called Fourteen lowered her head in contemplation for a moment before looking up. “Essentially we can {unlock doors} and {move rooms} normally… Only when we {close a door} and then {lock a door} within the same turn does {moving} become impossible.”
“Exactly! That’s precisely what I meant.” Terrestrial Rabbit nodded. “As I said, aside from the first turn, you each have three action slots per turn. But both {locking doors} and {moving rooms} require two slots.”
“So what about the first turn?”
Terrestrial Rabbit answered, “In the first turn, you have four action slots. You may choose to move farther, or turn back to {lock the door}.”
Fourteen understood that the matter worth considering was not action slots, but another question tied directly to their safety. “Rabbit, if you enter the same room as us, will you kill us on the spot?”
“Yes.” Terrestrial Rabbit nodded. “Regardless of how many are inside, I will strike immediately.”
Fourteen let out a cold laugh. “Then may I ask, are we allowed to retaliate?"
“Retaliate?” Terrestrial Rabbit let out a cold laugh. “If you have the guts, you’re welcome to try.”
Jiang Ten slowly let out a yawn, then glanced toward Fourteen. “Xiao Fourteen… what are you…hooah… saying?”
“Ten ge, I asked on your behalf,” Fourteen replied respectfully. “Constantly {running away} is hardly befitting of a {Cat}.”
“No.” Song Seven shook his head. “I’m the highest‑ranking here, so you all listen to me. We must prioritize stability.”
“No.” Chen Junnan also shook his head. “It seems I’m the highest‑ranking here, so you all listen to me. For this task, we should take an aggressive approach.”
“Huh?” Song Seven’s eyes widened slowly. “Wait no, Chen Junnan, what are you saying? Do you understand how dangerous that is?”
“Mm?” Chen Junnan scratched his head carelessly. “To be honest, this young master has long wanted to stake my life against a Terrestrial‑grade {Earthly Branch}. Unfortunately, I’ve never had the chance—”
“You…” Song Seven felt something was off. “That doesn’t sound right. You’ve never staked your life against a Terrestrial‑grade before?”
“Nope.” Chen Junnan answered firmly. “Wouldn’t I know myself whether this young master has or hasn’t?”
Song Seven remained doubtful. “Surely that cannot stand? This game compels us into direct conflict with a Terrestrial‑grade. If you wish to {stake your life}, we would be required to kill him. Is that truly feasible…?”
“Tch… true enough.” Chen Junnan sighed. “Why don’t we discuss our tactics first.”
Everyone drew closer. Staking with their lives could wait; surviving this game was their priority.
Before anyone could speak, Chen Junnan turned to glance at Terrestrial Rabbit, then asked impatiently, “May I ask why you’re standing there with those two white upright ears?”
“Eh?” Terrestrial Rabbit’s ears twitched; he struggled to grasp Chen Junnan’s intent.
“We're about to discuss countermeasures. And you’re just going to stand there listening?”
“I…” Terrestrial Rabbit felt Chen Junnan was being unreasonable. “I also have to begin the game from this room, so I can only stand here.”
“But the game hasn’t started yet, no?” Chen Junnan pointed at the door beside him. “Why don’t you head next door for a moment? Otherwise, if we lose later, we might accuse you of foul play.”
“You!” Terrestrial Rabbit’s brows furrowed, and his pair of crimson eyes flickered. “Don’t push things too far. I can’t kill you now, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be safe once the game begins.”
“I know, I know.” Chen Junnan wore an expression practically begging for a beating. He bowed his head twice in exaggerated respect. “Please go next door now. If we die later, we won’t complain. You can’t get lost anyway, think of it as some physical exercise.”
Terrestrial Rabbit swept a cold glare over the collective, then marched toward Chen Junnan. Chen Junnan assumed he would spit some venomous threat, but instead, Terrestrial Rabbit simply shoved him hard and stalked out of the room.
“This plump rabbit is quite the obedient one…” Seeing him leave, Chen Junnan nodded and muttered quietly, “Alright, let’s start discussing possible tactics.”
He finished speaking and looked at the five people beside him only to be met with silence.
“Come on bro!” Chen Junnan blinked. “Weren’t we supposed to be discussing tactics? You all should be speaking up.”
“But you’re the captain…” Song Seven muttered quietly. “We’re supposed to wait for you to speak first.”
“I did speak! I said, {let’s start discussing possible tactics} but none of you responded.”
Song Seven let out a wry smile and shook his head. “All right, all right, esteemed captain, then we shall begin the discussion.”
“Good, good.” Chen Junnan nodded, then frowned slightly. “But shouldn’t you all introduce yourselves first? I don’t know any of your abilities.”
“Huh?” Song Seven’s expression froze. “Wait, didn’t Five ge give you a note before we left? It clearly explained our—”
“This young master gets lightheaded at the sight of words,” Chen Junnan waved his hand. “Just speak, plainly and concisely.”
The rest of the {Cats} couldn’t hold back laughter at Song Seven’s reaction; the usually imposing and aloof Song Seven now appeared thoroughly outmatched, his helplessness laid bare before Chen Junnan.
“All…right… then I’ll start.” Song Seven nodded. “I am {Detonating Spark} Song Seven. The objects I come into contact with have a chance to become explosive. I have already triggered my {Reverberation}.”
“Got it. Next.”
“This is {Unbreakable Spirit} Jiang Ten, but we like to call him Xiao Jiang Ten.” Song Seven gestured toward the boy with the bowl-cut. “His ability allows him to become undying and indestructible for a certain period of time.”
“Hm?” Chen Junnan blinked in mild surprise. “Xiao Undead*?”
(TLN: Jiang Ten’s (姜十) name in chinese is pronounced jiāng shí, while undead/zombie (僵尸) is pronounced jiāng shī.)
“What {undead}…” Jiang Ten’s tone made it clear he disliked the label. He had been about to scold Chen Junnan, but his imposing words were interrupted by a yawn. “If you dare say that again, I’ll…hooah… bite you.”
“Don’t…hooah…bite me.” Chen Junnan yawned in response, feeling utterly sleepy just looking at this boy.
Because he never feared death, Chen Junnan had long developed the habit of yawning frequently once a game began. Now, being teamed with Jiang Ten only seemed to double his drowsiness.
The two of them rubbed their eyes in perfect synchrony, leaving Song Seven feeling slightly awkward.
“Xiao Song, continue,” Chen Junnan said.
“Alright.” Song Seven nodded. “Aside from the two of us {Reverberatees}, this is {Roaming Items} Ma Twelve.”
The bearded man nodded toward Chen Junnan. “My ability allows me to {move objects}.”
“{Airborne State} Wu Thirteen.”
The middle aged man nodded and even gave a small, cheerful cup of his hands. “I can stay in the air for a while.”
“And {Swift Shuttle} Cui Fourteen.” Song Seven pointed to the unusually fair young woman standing behind the group.
Chen Junnan nodded in turn and asked, “Wait, what does {Swift Shuttle} mean?”
Cui Fourteen smiled faintly. “I haven’t developed a more powerful ability yet, but I can {pass through walls}.”
TL Note: TBH, I ended up heavily anglicizing the translation and used the term in its loosest sense. A jiāngshī (僵尸) is an undead creature in Chinese folklore, often referred to as a Chinese hopping vampire. In both traditional accounts and modern popular culture, its appearance ranges from a newly dead corpse in full rigor mortis to a grotesquely decayed body. What defines a jiangshi is its utter stiffness: unlike Western vampires, it possesses none of the fluidity or suppleness of the living. Fittingly, the character jiang (僵) in “jiangshi” literally means “rigid.”
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiangshi
PR Note: Speed here, Jiangshi are in fact usually just westernized as Chinese zombies. Qiqi from Genshin Impact is a jiangshi.
