Chapter 57: A Different Plot

Chapter 57: Chapter 57: A Different Plot

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

Stepping into the tailor shop, Yu Zhun habitually knocked on the door. He hadn’t expected a response, but to his surprise, a familiar, aged voice echoed from inside.

"Coming!"

An old woman with a worried expression hurried out and grabbed their hands. "It’s truly been a long time since we had any customers here. Please, come right in, you two."

Yu Zhun wondered why the old woman was here. Doubts welled up in his heart, but he kept a straight face and offered a faint smile. "Thank you, ma’am."

"You’re too polite," the old woman smiled. "You must be thirsty from your journey, right? I’ll go pour you some water."

"Wait!" Yu Zhun’s heart gave a jolt, and he quickly pulled her back. "There’s no need for water. We aren’t thirsty yet."

"Is that so..." The old woman nodded. "Alright then. There’s nowhere to rest in the shop itself, so why don’t you two follow me to the backyard? I can tidy up a place for you to rest."

Yu Zhun wondered why she was taking the initiative to direct them to the backyard. His eyes flickered slightly. It seemed the plot had changed because they hadn’t entered the tailor shop previously.

"Thank you, ma’am," Yu Zhun replied. He shot Ji Xiaoyu a meaningful look, and the two followed the old woman, making their way step by step to the backyard.

The backyard was just as desolate as the last time, and the dry well was still there.

As she passed the dry well, the old woman couldn’t help but sigh. "That poor child..."

"What child?" Yu Zhun decided to play along with the new plot.

"A little boy, four or five years old. Unable to survive, he was forced to throw himself into the well..." The old woman sighed again, gently wiping the moisture from the corners of her eyes. "Please wait here for a moment. I’ll go tidy up the room."

With that, she walked toward an old house adjacent to the backyard.

"Boss, what do we do now?" Ji Xiaoyu looked around curiously once the old woman had left.

"Wait here for a moment. I’ll be right back." Placing a hand on the rim of the well, Yu Zhun expertly vaulted over the edge and jumped straight down.

"...Huh?"

***

THUD.

Landing at the bottom of the well, Yu Zhun straightened up. By the bloody light illuminating the space, he could clearly see the coffin and the Blood Demon slouched against it. A smile appeared on his face. "Little Brother, I’m back!"

The Blood Demon slowly rose to his feet, glaring at Yu Zhun with eyes full of hatred.

"Why?

"You killed my mother, yet you still refuse to let me go!"

"Huh?" Yu Zhun froze for a second. "Little Brother, what are you talking about? I..."

The health bar and stat panel that suddenly popped up above the Blood Demon’s head made the rest of Yu Zhun’s words die in his throat. He wondered if he had already entered combat status.

Yu Zhun couldn’t help but frown. Allowing the Blood Demon to unleash attacks on him, he walked step by step until he was right in front of the boy. "Little Brother, it’s me, Yu Zhun. I’m not here to hurt you. I’ve already killed the people who harmed you. I came here to end your suffering..."

The only response he received was the Blood Demon’s mindless, feral roaring.

Shaking his head in helpless resignation, Yu Zhun raised his dagger.

[HP -108,000]

As his health bar was instantly emptied, the Blood Demon’s body stiffened violently. A brief moment of clarity returned to his eyes. He turned and walked step by step toward the coffin behind him, lifting a corner of the lid to reveal the skeleton of a corpse inside. Weeping tears of blood, he struggled to climb into it.

"Mom, we’ll never be separated again..."

THUD.

With a dull reverberation, the coffin sealed shut once more, like the final chord of a sorrowful melody.

[Congratulations on displaying incredible might in Bloody City and defeating the Boss, Blood Demon (Lv 25). EXP +15,000!]

[Congratulations, your level has increased to Lv 19!]

[The Dungeon Boss, Blood Demon, left you a surprise upon his death. Dropped Item: Blood Red Fury Sword (Master Level).]

[When the Dungeon Boss, Blood Demon, was killed...]

Yu Zhun stood frozen in place, a sense of emptiness washing over him. He wondered if that was really it. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he had overlooked or forgotten something.

After lingering at the bottom of the well for a short while, Yu Zhun climbed back out.

"Boss, you’re amazing!" Having already received the EXP rewards and corresponding system prompts, Ji Xiaoyu flashed Yu Zhun an excited thumbs-up.

Just one Dungeon had granted her over five thousand EXP. Originally quite a ways off from level 13, she had now smoothly broken through. This leveling speed was enough to bring tears of joy to anyone’s eyes.

Yu Zhun, however, was somewhat absent-minded. He merely gave a distracted nod in response to the rich girl’s lavish praise.

"It seems I was still a step too late..."

Inside the old house, the old woman stumbled out and hurried over, her expression filled with sorrow as she gazed at the dry well.

"But for that child, this is also a release...

"In a sense, the sorrow of this city started because of him, but it wasn’t his fault.

"It’s over... It’s all over..."

The old woman let out a long sigh of relief and stumbled away.

[Congratulations on achieving a perfect clear of the Bloody City Dungeon. Perfect Clear Rewards obtained: Lucky Talisman x1, Divine Protection Talisman x1, Level-retaining Talisman x1.]

"Let’s go. It’s time for us to leave."

Yu Zhun took out his badge, activated it, and left the Dungeon with Ji Xiaoyu.

After swapping to their secondary appearances, the two immediately exited the Dungeon Hall upon stepping out of the Teleportation Gate. Once outside, Ji Xiaoyu looked at Yu Zhun curiously.

"Boss, why do you seem so down?"

He had successfully cleared the Dungeon, so shouldn’t he be happy?

"Because... it feels like the Blood Demon I saw yesterday is truly gone," Yu Zhun sighed, voicing his thoughts.

Yesterday, when the Blood Demon had said, ’The one you meet next time won’t be me,’ Yu Zhun hadn’t quite understood what he meant. But after seeing him again today, he vaguely understood.

The boy had turned into a programmed entity just like the other plot characters, as if he had lost his soul, leaving behind nothing but an empty shell.

A look of realization dawned on Ji Xiaoyu’s face. "So that’s why. I’ve heard my grandpa mention this before.

"Dungeons are like corners of real, existing worlds. Those past events and storylines genuinely took place in another world.

"Clearing a Dungeon perfectly for the first time is equivalent to uncovering all the answers hidden behind it. The players receive extra rewards, but the Dungeon loses its unique spirituality, turning into a rigid program.

"But my grandpa also mentioned another possibility. Dungeons are cages that imprison spirituality. After the first perfect clear, the cage is broken, and that spirituality is finally and truly liberated."

"Spirituality... cages..." Yu Zhun’s sense of loss gradually faded into relief. He tilted his head back slightly, gazing at the sky above the hall. "Little Rich Girl, your grandpa must be a very formidable person, right?"

"Of course, my grandpa is super formidable!" Ji Xiaoyu puffed up with pride. "Also, there’s nothing ’little’ about me!"

Yu Zhun subconsciously swept a glance over the generous curves of the rich girl’s chest before quickly averting his eyes.

She certainly wasn’t little.

"Let’s go. We need to apply for tomorrow’s Dungeon."