TDU Chapter 503
TL Note: The word ‘the’ before Penalty Proxy is intentionally capitalized and italicized in this chapter to indicate it should be pronounced with the /ði/ instead of the usual /ðə/. Simply put, it’s pronounced like ‘thee’. This is a stylistic choice I made because I believe it’s very much how our young master would respond. That is all, enjoy!
Proofread SpeedDemon (ko-fi)
Chapter 503 This Young Master is THE Penalty Proxy
“Huh?!” Terrestrial Rabbit froze, then revealed an utterly incredulous expression. “What?! Why isn’t a single thing right?! Wasn’t that your strategy?”
“Not at all,” the others said, shaking their heads in unison.
“Still, that plan you came up with does sound incredibly slick… totally Ole Qi’s style…” Chen Junnan nodded. “Honestly, that would have been the proper way to scheme it out. Winning like that would’ve left you fully convinced.”
“W–Wait a second…” Terrestrial Rabbit felt his worldview collapsing. “If you didn’t use that strategy… then what strategy did you use?”
“Let me put it this way, cotton-tailed rascal da ge.” Chen Junnan stepped forward and very flippantly patted Terrestrial Rabbit’s chest, which was matted with blood-soaked fur. “Oh wow—doesn’t that hurt at all?”
Terrestrial Rabbit’s face was full of anger, but he merely stared at Chen Junnan without saying a word.
Chen Junnan wiped the blood from his hand onto the wall, then turned back and said, “Cotton-tailed rascal da ge, you believed we went to a room we weren’t supposed to enter and even left a message inside, but is that realistic? Count our action points. Do we even have enough to get there?”
“You…” Terrestrial Rabbit felt as though he was beginning to understand, yet the scenario forming in his mind was so absurd it bordered on fantasy.
At his contemplative look, Chen Junnan couldn’t help but laugh. “Cotton-tailed rascal da ge, which room did you actually run into Song Seven in? Think back carefully about your route. Which room did you come out of? Are you sure we never mentioned that room at all?”
Terrestrial Rabbit retraced his path toward Room {Thirteen} in his mind, his eyes slowly widening.
Something about it felt deeply wrong. He realized that, extrapolating backward from his own route, the room he’d exited had never been Room {Six} to begin with; his judgment had been mistaken from the very start.
“I was in… Room {Seven}? I was fighting in Room {Seven} the whole time with Song Seven?!”
“So you finally figured it out.” Chen Junnan laughed. “Throughout this entire game, this young master told only one lie, and that was claiming I was directionally challenged. My sense of direction is exceptionally good; this young master grew up in winding hutongs. Even if you spun me around on the spot a hundred times in this place, I still wouldn’t lose my way.”
“Wha—” Terrestrial Rabbit realised he had been deceived by this man from the very beginning. “So you knew from the start that I was leading you around in circles?”
“That’s right, cotton-tailed rascal da ge. The quieter we spoke, the more eagerly you dragged us onto detours.” Chen Junnan hooked a finger into his ear, his expression exceedingly punchable. “That’s when I noticed you weren’t just deliberately taking the long way, you also had remarkably sharp hearing. Every word we said reached your ears. I just wasn’t sure how many people had realized it. So on our return to the final room, I used that black hairpin to write {All personnel remain silent} on the walls we passed. From then on, aside from me, everyone had to be extremely careful when speaking.”
“Wait… wait a moment…” Terrestrial Rabbit quickly caught the inconsistency. “The room where I beat that kid was clearly Room {Five}. How could I possibly have moved to Room {Seven}?”
The instant the words left his mouth, Terrestrial Rabbit realized the problem himself. Back then, murderous intent had clouded his mind. By the time he came back to his senses, he was already standing inside a room. He believed he had reached Room {Six}, never imagining he had shifted one more space and ended up in Room {Seven}.
“If you’d really been in Room {Six},” Chen Junnan said with a laugh, “how could Song Seven have ended up in your room? He’d already moved from his initial room turns back.”
Terrestrial Rabbit’s expression sank to rock bottom. He had contemplated countless countermeasures, yet never imagined he would lose for such a simple reason.
“Are you this generation’s {Soul Seizing Intent}?” Terrestrial Rabbit asked. “You have brought the use of your ability to the point of perfection. I stand humbled, and I accept this loss completely.”
“What the heck?” Chen Junnan immediately furrowed his brow. “Who’s f*cking {Soul Seizing Intent}? This young master doesn’t change his name on the road or his surname under the blade. I am who I am; my {Reverberation} is fucking {Wall Phasing}!”
Cui Fourteen slowly shook her head. “Um captain… {Wall Phasing} is my—”
“Oh right, my bad.” Chen Junnan turned back with an embarrassed smile. “I’m too used to bragging and forgot the rightful owner was standing right here. Let me say it again.”
He turned back, his expression growing solemn, and spoke to Terrestrial Rabbit. “Listen carefully. This young master is THE {Penalty Proxy}.”
The moment the words left his mouth, everyone around him froze.
“Captain, you’re the {Penalty Proxy} that’s been hanging on the big screen outside all this time…?” Cui Fourteen questioned softly.
“That would be yours truly.” Chen Junnan nodded, a hint of pride in his tone.
“You’re {Penalty Proxy}… yet you can control my actions…?” Terrestrial Rabbit felt the man before him was still lying. “Punk, you think I’ve never seen {Penalty Proxy} before?! How could your ability possibly be this powerful?!”
“I never controlled your actions.” Chen Junnan laughed. “It’s just that whenever I activate my ability, no matter who you want to kill, you’ll cross mountains and seas to come kill me instead. That’s all. This young master’s head’s been blown apart more than a few times, don’t tell me you still don’t understand something this simple?”
“You–” Terrestrial Rabbit ground his teeth, a thin line of blood slowly seeping from the corner of his mouth.
“Cotton-tailed rascal da ge, your mouth’s already been blasted to pieces, stop clenching your teeth,” Chen Junnan said. “You’ve got no one to blame but yourself. Your killing intent was too strong, and this venue restricts movement. With timing, terrain, and people all lining up just right, this younger master’s ability finally had room to shine.”
Terrestrial Rabbit opened his mouth as if to say something more, but after a moment, all sense of resistance faded from him.
In this world, only stories of victory and defeat ever spread; why one prevailed or fell is of no concern, for the ending answers everything.
“I’m curious,” Terrestrial Rabbit began, sounding a little dejected. “So in each and every game… you’re patiently waiting for the perfect moment to unleash that dubious {Reverberation} of yours?”
At that moment, a tremendous peal of bells thundered in from the distance, so loud that it caught everyone in the room off guard—everyone except Chen Junnan, whose expression did not change in the slightest.
From his memory, there were very few kinds of {Reverberation} capable of producing such an enormous bell toll. It seemed Ole Qiao was giving it everything he had.
“Dubious {Reverberation}? Isn’t that a bit rude?” Chen Junnan shook his head, then stretched lazily. “Cotton-tailed rascal da ge, tell me, in this godforsaken place, is there really such a thing as a {dubious Reverberation}’?”
Terrestrial Rabbit froze, struck dumb by the question.
In this godforsaken place, is there really such a thing as a {dubious Reverberation}’?”
The {Detonating Spark} he had crossed paths with was stronger than that of the previous master, and now the {Penalty Proxy} he encountered surpassed its predecessor as well.
The same ability, in the hands of different people, could erupt into infinitely many possibilities. These two had both proven that truth to him.
Terrestrial Rabbit let out a sigh and said, “You said that if you won, I’d have to agree to one request of yours. What is it?”
Chen Junnan’s brow lifted with delight, ready to answer, but Terrestrial Rabbit raised a hand to interrupt him. “If you're going to mention anything related to a {rebellion}, then I suggest you leave right now.”
TL Note: For those still confused about how Terrestrial Rabbit (TR) ended up in Room 13, here are comparison maps for reference.
The fight took place in Room 7, not Room 6. After moving on to Room 11, TR mistakenly assumed he was in Room 7. Based on that assumption, he believed that continuing straight ahead would lead him to a wall flanked by two doors on either side. That is exactly what happened: moving from Room 11 to Room 15 also leads to a wall with two doors, reinforcing the illusion. After that, he turned right and moved forward twice, which is how he ultimately ended up in Room 13.
True Route:
Bogus Map:
