Jiang Che led the two of them back the way they came, watching as the sticky, bloody ground beneath their feet grew thinner, and the scenery ahead gradually began to change.
When the ground turned to scorched earth, Zhao Qi and the others finally let out a small sigh of relief.
Only after the sticky sensation underfoot disappeared did they again feel like they were standing firmly on solid ground.
"Didn't expect he actually knew which way to go." Zhao Qi muttered under his breath, glancing around at the bleak ruins in all directions.
"This area should be safe now, huh? This kid doesn't look scared at all." Nurse Ya followed behind Jiang Che, cautiously looking around.
"Where are your parents?" Zhao Qi touched the pistol he'd hidden away. Now that they were about to meet up with another team, he figured he could take the upper hand.
Because only someone with parental status would be able to control Jiang Che. It had to be a doctor or another staff member at the hospital; only people like that would know the weaknesses of these mentally ill patients, and could use the identity of his parents to control him.
Zhao Qi didn't really care about Jiang Che now. What he cared about was being in a dominant position when he joined forces with more people.
"Probably at home." Jiang Che walked toward the building in the very center.
The closer he got to home, the happier he felt. Soon he could tell his parents he was going to find a wife.
His parents should be happy about that too.
Zhao Qi and Nurse Ya followed behind Jiang Che, scanning their surroundings. Even though they weren't familiar with this area, they could see that since they entered this place, they had just been walking in a straight line.
Before, in the territory of the Spider Evil Spirit, they wouldn't have dared to walk in a straight line like this—they would only have skirted the edges, circling bit by bit.
Yet even so, the Spider Evil Spirit still found them. Unless…
Zhao Qi and Ya exchanged a glance. "None of the previous Survivors ever figured out the rules of Dungeon 9… Now it looks like those rules from other dungeons—sneaking around, hiding from the Evil Spirits—just don't work here."
The more Zhao Qi thought about it, the more convinced he was that he was right. Just following Jiang Che for less than half a day and he felt like he'd realized so much!
"This place is only suited for going straight at things. Like, if you meet an Evil Spirit, don't run; when you enter a new area, don't circle around the edges. Just head straight in—that's the rule of this dungeon!"
"And these rules, it's all thanks to Jiang Che just stumbling into them by pure dumb luck." Zhao Qi looked at the figure up ahead and couldn't help mocking himself. Who would've thought: all the Survivors tiptoeing around, and this mental patient just barges about without a second thought—and does better.
"So we've come this far, and still no sign of any Evil Spirits." Zhao Qi followed behind Jiang Che. "Guess this kid's luck really is something else."
"When we run into other people later, whether we ally or not, we've got to keep Jiang Che with us."
He'd never believed in luck, but now he was starting to think there really was something supernatural about Jiang Che.
"I think we should keep him too. Later, we'll use this wife thing to make him stay with us." Zhao Qi whispered to Ya.
"Yeah, I get it. When the time comes, I'll just lie and say there's a wife and a daughter, and lure him to stay with us." Ya was starting to sense Jiang Che's importance too. This guy really was a lucky bastard.
"We're almost there. That's my house up ahead." Jiang Che pointed to a small building in the distance, now a burnt-out ruin, like a lord's castle on this wasteland.
This place wasn't like the Spider Evil Spirit's territory—before, besides all the bloodied ground, there were countless small buildings and streets.
But here, aside from a few abandoned houses, traces of a raging fire were everywhere you looked.
Only,
Zhao Qi looked at the building up ahead; it was only when he walked right up to it that he realized where they were.
He stopped in his tracks, his voice low. "I know this place. Some Survivors used to land here when they entered the dungeon. They'd land with a key—but not one person was ever able to open that door."
"Is it dangerous?" Nurse Ya couldn't help grabbing Zhao Qi's sleeve. For once, Zhao Qi didn't brush her hand away.
"It shouldn't be. This kid's got insane luck. Everyone else was too scared to open that door—he's the only one who dares!"
"This just proves my theory about the rules here. This dungeon is all about going straight for it!"
"Everyone else thinks this place is dangerous, but actually—it's safe in here!" The more Zhao Qi spoke, the brighter his eyes became.
Watching Zhao Qi analyze things step by step, the bullet comments fell silent.
[I swear, this guy's too smart for his own good. If the one up ahead was a normal person, all your theories about Dungeon 9's rules would be perfect!]
[Dude, this is a dungeon, and the guy up front is literally a mental patient…]
[Zhao Qi: Damn, I'm so fucking clever!]
[This stream is solid educational material now: Before you try to analyze someone's behavior, check if they're actually insane.]
[Who would've thought—tiny little Dungeon 9's gone and gathered all the hidden dragons and crouching tigers.]
…
Jiang Che led the two of them to the single house, then reached out and knocked on the door. "Mom, Dad, I'm home!"
His eyes were bright with excitement—just having to say hello before he could go look for his wife was making him thrilled.
The dull knocking rang out—dong, dong, dong. No one answered from inside, but the sound of dragging footsteps could be heard.
Zhao Qi's hand was already reaching behind him for his gun. He stood behind Jiang Che, raising his pistol to aim at the door.
No matter who opened the door, he'd start with a show of force!
Only by showing force could you control the situation.
The door ahead slowly opened; a shadowy figure appeared in the crack.
A filthy slaughterman outfit, still crusted with blood. A grim, white skull-stitched mask appeared, the dark pits of the eyeholes staring out blood-red.
In that instant, Zhao Qi felt sweat break out all over his body. A chill raced up from his feet straight to his head.
His hand gripping the pistol was trembling uncontrollably.
The stream viewers also suddenly felt suffocated,
[Even knowing what happens, seeing this scene is still suffocating.]
[If I were Zhao Qi, my soul would've flown clean out of my body.]
[Zhao Qi: This is the "mom and dad" you told me about?]
[Blood Slaughter: Well, well—so you really did bring fresh prey home.]
[I finally get why Blood Slaughter doesn't kill this psycho—he's clearly being used as bait.]
…
Before the discussion could start, a gunshot rang out in the stream.
Bang—
The bullet flew straight at Blood Slaughter's forehead, snapping his head back as black smoke spurted from between his brows.
Zhao Qi clenched his jaw, his gun hand shaking uncontrollably. He couldn't even begin to describe what he'd felt the moment the door opened,
He only knew, if the Evil Spirit didn't die—then he would!
Fucking idiot psycho!