Chapter 98: The Beginning of Another Cycle
Another cycle had begun.
"Hey! Hey!"
The familiar voices echoed through the courtyard once more.
Shen Yu slowly opened his eyes.
He was standing at the entrance of the Wang family’s courtyard again.
The same cracked walls.
The same muddy ground.
The same oppressive silence.
Everything had returned to the beginning.
Yet...
For some reason, every time he looked at this courtyard, an inexplicable sadness welled up inside his chest.
It felt as though he had forgotten something incredibly important.
Something he should never have forgotten.
"What the hell?"
Mo Han stared around blankly.
"Didn’t we just get off the bus?"
"How did we suddenly end up here?"
His expression was full of confusion.
Just as Shen Yu had predicted...
Everyone’s memories had reset once again.
The only thing Mo Han remembered was arriving at Hezang Village after getting off the bus.
Logically...
The Future Echo should have warned him about the gatekeeper test before entering the village.
So why...
Was he already standing inside the courtyard?
Luxian frowned.
Instinctively, she closed her eyes and attempted to activate her talent.
A second later—
Her face changed dramatically.
"No..."
"No!"
"My talent..."
"It’s gone!"
"What?!"
Mo Han hurriedly checked his own ability.
"...Mine too."
His expression stiffened.
"This dungeon..."
"It can actually seal our talents?"
Even Tai Shan’s usually expressionless face darkened.
No one had expected a dungeon capable of stripping players of their supernatural abilities.
Panic quietly spread among the group.
At that moment—
A sharp pain shot through Shen Yu’s left arm.
"Hiss..."
He instinctively looked down.
The moment he saw his arm...
His pupils shrank.
Dense blood-red handwriting covered almost every inch of his forearm.
The handwriting...
Was unmistakably his own.
You are trapped inside a time loop.
Every reset erases your memories.
The girl named Yun Han is the key.
You have already met her many times.
Mo Han’s ability is extremely important.
The main mission of this dungeon is...
The sentence ended abruptly.
As if whoever had written it had run out of time.
Shen Yu frowned.
He recognized every stroke.
There was no doubt—
He had written these words himself.
But...
Another possibility still existed.
What if...
This was another trap created by the dungeon?
Just as uncertainty filled his mind—
"Run faster!"
"Move!"
A shrill child’s voice echoed from the courtyard.
Inside the Wang residence...
A vicious-looking little boy sat atop a tiny girl wearing a dirty white dress.
In his hand was a willow switch.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
He whipped her mercilessly.
"Crawl!"
"Crawl faster!"
"You’re my horse!"
The little girl crawled on all fours across the muddy ground.
Tears streamed down her face.
"It hurts..."
"It hurts..."
"I don’t want to..."
Her cries reached Shen Yu’s ears.
At that exact moment—
A familiar notification appeared.
[Target Character: Yun Han]
[Current Favorability: 50]
Shen Yu’s eyes narrowed.
The system...
Would never lie.
Favorability could not possibly begin at fifty.
That meant only one thing.
The notes...
Were real.
The time loop...
Was real.
Everything written on his arm had been left behind by his previous self.
"Hurry up!"
"If you don’t finish, you won’t get dinner tonight!"
The little boy laughed cruelly as he struck Yun Han again.
A surge of anger rose inside Shen Yu.
His body instinctively stepped forward.
Then—
He stopped.
If this truly was another cycle...
Then he had almost certainly done this before.
Repeating the exact same actions would only produce the same outcome.
Instead...
He glanced down at the blood-written clues on his arm.
His expression became calm once more.
Behind him—
Luxian had already taken several steps forward.
Her expression was icy.
"That’s enough."
"I’m stopping him."
Just as she was about to move—
A hand grabbed her shoulder.
She turned around in disbelief.
"Shen Yu?"
"You’re stopping me?"
"You care about girls more than anyone."
"Why are you just standing there?"
Shen Yu smiled faintly.
"I know what I’m doing."
"This is their village."
"The moment we hurt that boy..."
"We’ll become enemies of the entire village."
"That won’t save Yun Han."
"It’ll only kill us faster."
Luxian bit her lip.
She wanted to argue.
Yet...
Something in Shen Yu’s eyes stopped her.
He wasn’t indifferent.
He was thinking.
Thinking far ahead.
Shen Yu slowly walked toward the little tyrant.
His smile was gentle.
"Kid."
"You’re Old Wang’s son, aren’t you?"
The boy looked at him suspiciously.
"Who are you?"
"Do you know my dad?"
Shen Yu nodded naturally.
"I’m here to do business with him."
The boy blinked.
"What business?"
Shen Yu leaned closer and lowered his voice.
"I’m here to deliver goods."
The boy’s eyes instantly widened.
"Goods?"
"What goods?"
Shen Yu grinned.
"You want another wife?"
Silence.
Then—
The boy’s face lit up.
"Oh!"
"So you’re the one delivering wives!"
"Quick!"
"Come!"
"I want two!"
"One to wash my feet!"
"And another to be my servant!"
"Dad said outsiders are cheap anyway!"
Without another thought, the excited boy sprinted toward the main house.
"Dad!"
"Dad!"
"The delivery guy is here!"
"I want two wives!"
Luxian stared at Shen Yu as though seeing him for the first time.
Her mouth hung open.
"...What?"
"...What exactly did I just hear?"
"You..."
"When did you become a human trafficker?"
Shen Yu ignored the question.
Instead...
He slowly crouched before Yun Han.
The tiny girl instinctively shrank backward.
Her entire body trembled.
She looked at him with frightened eyes.
"You..."
"You’re with them..."
"Bad man..."
"I want Daddy..."
"I want Mommy..."
Tears rolled continuously down her cheeks.
"I want to go home..."
Shen Yu quietly sighed.
He had considered countless possibilities.
Could they rescue Yun Han immediately?
Could they secretly take her out of the village?
Could they change history?
The answer...
Was no.
Everything here had already happened.
No matter how much the process changed...
The ending remained the same.
The storm.
The coffin.
The failed escape.
The little girl...
Would never leave Hezang Village in this timeline.
History had already been written.
Without saying another word...
Shen Yu slowly took the rattle from his pocket.
He gently placed it into Yun Han’s trembling hands.
The little girl looked at it blankly.
"If..."
"You ever feel scared..."
"If you’re lonely..."
"If you miss your parents..."
He smiled softly.
"Shake this."
"For as long as you keep shaking it..."
"You’ll never be alone."
Yun Han clutched the tiny rattle tightly against her chest.
Her tear-filled eyes stared quietly at Shen Yu.
For reasons she couldn’t understand...
This stranger...
Made her feel strangely safe.