Acting So Deep That One Forgets Heaven and Earth

This was going to be difficult.

If, as Li Laidi had said, this thing was merely a tattoo on Li Daochang’s back, how could he safely obtain that patch of skin?

He certainly couldn’t do it under the identity of “Jin Rongxu.”

Zhu Yan silently thought of Li Panlong.

Looking at the crazed Li Laidi before him, he fell into contemplation.

“Zhang Xiaohong spared only you and your younger brother. Why do you think that was?”

Li Laidi stared at him blankly.

Her dark eyes remained vacant, but at least some semblance of normal thought had returned.

“She definitely couldn’t bear to let her son die. Before she died… all she talked about was helping her son get back on his feet.”

After struggling to think for a while, Li Laidi slowly gave her answer.

“She thought I was useless. She thought I was sick and couldn’t find anyone to marry.”

Oh. If it was because she was ill, then it made sense that she hadn’t married before her younger brother.

Zhu Yan silently considered the matter.

“Maybe she wanted to see me live long enough to get married. I don’t know.”

“Maybe there was still a little humanity left in my mother…”

Could a terrifying creature possess any humanity beyond its obsessions?

Zhu Yan didn’t know.

As for what Li Laidi had said, he instinctively remained cautious.

This “Mother” was far too sinister.

What if she had spared her daughter’s life for some other purpose?

…

In front of Li Daochang.

Zhu Zeyu suddenly stopped, then let out a shriek as if a pig had spotted the butcher’s knife.

“Wait, isn’t this a little unfair?”

He had to find some way to stall for more time.

Since he had already thought of a possible way to obtain the [Nightmare Book], he might as well try to pry some information about Li Panlong’s whereabouts from him.

Li Laidi might not know, of course, but what if she did?

What if he could find some clue?

In fact, things were still looking fairly good. This dungeon offered considerable room for survival.

That “Mother” did seem to have a few bugs as well.

For example, although “Mother” had already been reduced to ashes, when Zhu Yan approached the urn, whatever was inside, though cold and eerie, was nothing like the [Mist]. It had no apparent consciousness, and seemed not even to possess the ability to see.

When Zhu Yan examined the ashes in his [Mist] form, neither Li Changdong nor the [Walking Corpse] showed any unusual reaction.

No wonder this was only a minor dungeon.

Zhu Zeyu squeezed several tears from his eyes with great effort, imitating Pot Lid’s behavior. He trembled, shrinking into a helpless, terrified ball.

“Why do I have to sign first? Captain, why don’t Ma Dong and the army medic have to sign?”

Jin Rongxu’s expression instantly turned cold.

The army medic looked at Zhu Zeyu with utter contempt. Even Ma Dong, who usually appeared rather simple and good-natured, began sneering at him.

What a pathetic piece of trash. He was so cowardly that he was practically no better than Pot Lid.

If the prophet had never been wrong, they would have seriously questioned whether the scene in the prophecy was genuine.

How had a person like this managed to reach first place in the player rankings at [Xishan University]?

“I’ve heard Guan En mention Yang Zhanbai, too.” Ma Dong leaned over and whispered to the army medic. “I’m telling you, just from the sound of it, he seems worlds better than this guy.”

“You really couldn’t tell before entering the dungeon… Do you think he got lucky and rode Yang Zhanbai’s coattails to first place? Yang Zhanbai’s ranked second, after all.”

After emerging from the [Metabolism Module], Zhu Zeyu had already reached Level 8.

He hadn’t had time to check his attribute panel yet, but his hearing and eyesight had definitely improved.

He could hear most of Ma Dong’s whispered conversation.

Good heavens.

What did they mean, saying he had ridden Yang Zhanbai’s coattails to become number one?

Zhu Zeyu let out an especially loud sob.

“Captain, we’re a team. We live together, and we die together!”

To buy more time.

And to take out Jin Rongxu’s right-hand men while he was at it.

He was going all in!

Jin Rongxu was extremely displeased.

Zhu Zeyu was utterly undisciplined and had no sense of teamwork.

If Jin Rongxu hadn’t planned to take the abilities from his body and use them later, Zhu Zeyu would already have been kicked to the ground and forced to sign.

But he couldn’t do that.

Before slaughtering a valuable animal for meat, one had to keep it safe and raise it properly.

With no other choice, Jin Rongxu looked at the army medic, then turned to Ma Dong.

“We are indeed a team,” he said indifferently. “You two go over there as well and sign the contract with Zhu Zeyu.”

…

Elsewhere.

Zhu Yan looked at Li Laidi and silently waited for her answer.

Just now, he had asked three questions: “How is Li Panlong?” “Are you still in contact with him?” and “Where is he?”

Li Laidi remained silent for a long time, frowning as if she didn’t know what to do.

Zhu Yan activated [Bringing Glory to the Ancestors] and added, “Dad.”

Li Laidi’s mind immediately grew hazy.

Several seconds later, she finally answered.

“Li Panlong is alive. I know he’s probably doing all right. After all, if even I’m still alive, how could he possibly have died?”

“He just doesn’t want to have anything to do with the outside world. I don’t know. I only know that he’s still alive. Mother is protecting him, and it’s too easy for him to contact anyone he wants.”

Quite suddenly, Li Laidi covered her face and began sobbing.

“His phone is turned off, so no one can reach him. He’s always kept all the benefits for himself!”

Compared with her earlier speech, these few sentences from Li Laidi were far clearer.

“Mother took him away. She might as well kill me. Why does she have to make me suffer like this?”

It was truly pitiful. Li Laidi gave Zhu Yan the impression that her life might end at any moment.

Unfortunately, with the dungeon’s completion in mind, Zhu Yan couldn’t save her now.

That would be too reckless. With the situation still shrouded in uncertainty, he had no idea what kind of trouble it might bring him.

Instead, Zhu Yan asked, “Do you know how I can see him?”

Li Laidi sobbed to herself for a while.

…

During that time, on Zhu Zeyu’s side, Ma Dong and the army medic had already pressed their bloody handprints onto the contract.

While Jin Rongxu wasn’t paying attention, Zhu Zeyu secretly swapped out the Level 5 table knife for a Level 8 small knife he had looted from the dragonfly, then slashed the puppet’s hand.

Thanks to [Realistic], his puppet really could bleed.

Several pairs of eyes, each carrying different emotions, stared coldly at Zhu Zeyu.

Trembling, Zhu Zeyu moved his finger toward the yellow paper. At that same moment, Zhu Yan finally received the answer he wanted.

“Actually, it wouldn’t be difficult for you to see him.”

Li Laidi’s voice still carried a faint sob.

“You just have to marry me. They’ll probably set out a wedding banquet and hold some kind of ceremony.”

“Mother likes the whole family to be together. Li Panlong will definitely come.”

“When my younger brother got married, he didn’t return to our hometown for the ceremony. She went on and on, cursing him for a very, very long time…”