TDU Chapter 494
Chapter 494 Reattach Your Head
“Huh?”
“Don’t worry.” Chen Junnan noticed the lingering concern in their eyes and offered a reassuring smile. “Even though I’ve locked the door this round, that cotton-tailed rascal won’t be able to reach me immediately. After all, he will be immobilized after executing {unlock} and {open the door} within a single turn..”
“But you are isolated in your struggle. The Rabbit will still be able to make his way to you if he were to take a detour.” Cui Fourteen said.
“Ever played {Go}? A single black stone can’t surround a single white stone. Relax.” Chen Junnan turned to them. “Time’s of the essence. Move out, and remember…”
Chen Junnan gave a meaningful glance, then produced a small metal hairpin-like crutch from his pocket. The tip was caked with dark mud, which he waved before them.
The others examined the iron stick cautiously and nodded in understanding.
Their objective was clear: reach Room {Fourteen} quickly to retrieve that divine artifact.
Cui Fourteen glanced back at Ma Twelve and Wu Thirteen, exchanging a quick signal. The three of them entered the distant Room {Fourteen} one after another, then closed the door behind them, though this time, they did not lock it.
Chen Junnan slowly narrowed his eyes, attempting to reconstruct the others’ positions in his mind. Jiang Ten was still in the room directly in front of him, while Twelve, Thirteen, and Fourteen had already set off as an independent unit.
Then…what about Song Seven?
Now that Terrestrial Rabbit had been released from the {starting point}, Song Seven also clearly knew that Terrestrial Rabbit had chosen Jiang Ten. How, then, would he proceed?
Chen Junnan approached the door to the room Song Seven had occupied and peered inside, only to find it empty. It seemed Song Seven had already begun to act as well.
But where had he gone?
‘Xiao Song… you’re probably unable to get my strategy, right? Where did you go?’
At that moment, the broadcast sounded again, marking the end of the {participants’} turn; Terrestrial Rabbit could now make his move.
The door between them remained locked. This meant that the rabbit had begun to detour.
He had left Jiang Ten’s room, yet he had not directly opened Chen Junnan’s door…
On second thought, this was perfectly reasonable.
This door was being blocked by Chen Junnan himself. If Terrestrial Rabbit wished to avoid a stalemate, he had no choice but to alter his course; if not, he would be ensnared in the monotonous back-and-forth of {unlock} and {lock}, no different from his impasse with the {Door-Closing Disciples}.
‘So that means you’ve either moved from Room {Five} to Room {Nine}, or back to {One}…or maybe even farther?’ Chen Junnan scratched his head, feeling as though his remaining brain cells were dwindling fast. ‘Planning to come at me from the side, huh?’
When the {Earthly Branch’s} turn ended, he stepped forward and locked the southern door as well.
In Chen Junnan’s room, four doors stood, two of them now locked, presumably the paths Terrestrial Rabbit would attack from.
But, was avoidance truly necessary?
‘Participants expend two action slots for both {locking} and {moving}…’ Chen Junnan mused, a sly idea forming.
By conventional logic, fleeing would be the safest course, it would deprive Terrestrial Rabbit of a fixed point of attack. Yet doing so would put all members of {Cats} in jeopardy.
He had already expended one {lock} this turn, leaving only a single action slot left.
‘Then let’s throw you for a loop. Since you are chasing after me, I’ll come after you.’ Stepping forward, Chen Junnan pressed the latch. With a soft {click}, the door he had personally locked from the previous turn swung open.
“Damn rabbit…” Chen Junnan laughed, amusement flickering in his eyes. “The door’s now open…are you coming in or not? Oh oops, you’ve already left this room…can you even make it back?”
A tense silence followed. No reply came from the surrounding rooms, only the hoarse crackle of the broadcast slowly resuming.
“All {participants} have completed their actions. {Earthly Branch}, please proceed.”
Chen Junnan felt his heartbeat spike. Unlocking this door was a pure gamble.
If Terrestrial Rabbit had advanced just one room last turn, he could now {move}, {open}, and {move} again, arriving straight before Chen Junnan. After all, hunters spent only one action point per {movement}, while {unlocking} took two.
In that case, Terrestrial Rabbit would confront him directly, stepping into the room he occupied.
But… would events truly unfold as such?
Chen Junnan curled his lips into a crooked grin. “You’re an impatient one, aren’t you? You’re itching to kill me. There’s no way you only moved one room last round.”
After several minutes passed, the broadcast sounded again, the {Earthly Branch’s} turn had come to an end.
Chen Junnan carefully pushed the door open. On the floor, Jiang Ten was stirring, slowly coming to, while Terrestrial Rabbit was nowhere in sight.
That told him everything. Terrestrial Rabbit had realized he could not enter Chen Junnan’s room through Jiang Ten’s, so he had chosen to detour. What he had not expected was for Chen Junnan to boldly pursue him instead. Now, whether Terrestrial Rabbit doubled back or continued the long way around, he would waste an extra round either way.
‘Are you getting close to room {Fourteen}?’ Chen Junnan mused with a faint smile. ‘But you wouldn’t go straight there to kill my teammates, would you? As long as that whistle is still hanging around your neck, there’s no need to intercept us early. You only have to wait for us to come to you.’
With that thought, Chen Junnan stepped directly into room {Five}. Inside was Xiao Jiang Ten, grimacing in pain.
“Idiot Captain…” Xiao Jiang Ten’s eyes wobbled atop his severed head. “Why did you come? That rabbit hasn’t gone far; it’s too dangerous for you to stay here…”
“Danger’s exactly the point,” Chen Junnan replied with a laugh. ““I’ve always been the most at-risk player in this game, so it’s nothing to me.”
He helped Xiao Jiang Ten’s body upright and gave it a quick examination. The only obvious injury was a fractured right leg. The rest were likely internal wounds, impossible to judge from a surface inspection.
“You can still stand, right?” Chen Junnan asked.
The next second brought a sense of dissonance; Jiang Ten’s body stayed mute, but a head from afar said, “My leg hurts.”
“Good grief…” Chen Junnan muttered, startled. He leaned the body against the wall, then walked over and picked up Jiang Ten’s head.
It was Chen Junnan’s first time holding a whole severed head in his hands. It was heavier than he had imagined.
The sight was unsettling. Nearly the entire left side of the face had caved in, yet no blood flowed. The torn edges were pitch-black instead.
“Kid…hang on, I’ll take your head with me as I run,” Chen Junnan said.
“Run my foot,” Jiang Ten sighed in resignation. “This is why I call you Idiot Captain. What are you supposed to do now? You’ve already {moved}. You can’t {lock the door} anymore. If that rabbit comes back, I might survive, but you’ll definitely die here.”
“Which one of us is the idiot?” Chen Junnan stared at the head in confusion. “So what if I don’t {lock the door}? You think that rabbit can just waltz in?”
“Of course he—”
“And aren’t you a {participant} too?” Chen Junnan furrowed his brows and retorted. “What, now that your head’s off, you can’t {lock the door} anymore?”
“Ah, right…I can…” Jiang Ten laughed awkwardly. “I’ve overused my {Reverberation}, My head’s a little foggy.”
“Foggy’s fine,” Chen Junnan slowly brought Jiang Ten’s head toward the body. “This game is already won. This young master already has a perfect plan. Step one: we’re going to reattach your head.”
TL Note: Rant goes here ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)
