Chapter 100: Why Are You Always One Step Ahead?
Emo Han stared at Shen Yu in shock.
Before he could say another word—
BANG!
A villager beside him slammed the table violently.
"Where’s the pig heart?"
"I want the pig heart!"
"Junior! Did you bring it?"
"What the hell—"
Prepared this time, Emo Han immediately rushed toward Taishan.
Without hesitation, Taishan gritted his teeth and sliced another bloody chunk of flesh from his arm.
The moment the meat hit the table—
The villagers’ expressions twisted with excitement.
Like starving beasts, they threw themselves toward the bloody flesh.
Crunch.
Rip.
Gnaw.
The nauseating sounds filled the banquet.
A little child sitting beside Taishan looked up with innocent eyes.
"Big brother..."
"Where’s mine?"
Taishan’s face darkened.
Grinding his teeth, he hacked off another piece of flesh and tossed it toward the child.
The little monster happily caught it.
"Mmm!"
"Big brother, you’re so nice!"
Taishan nearly vomited.
Emo Han slowly turned his head toward Shen Yu.
His expression became darker and darker.
"Weren’t we supposed to be teammates?"
"I clearly heard the future."
"So why..."
"Why is it always you taking the initiative?"
"And why am I always the unlucky one?"
His eyes narrowed.
"Did I hear the future..."
"...or did you?"
This bastard...
Something is seriously wrong with him.
Before anyone could continue—
A rough voice echoed from the main house.
"The auspicious hour has arrived!"
The middle-aged couple stepped forward.
Behind them, the gravedigger raised his shovel.
Then—
He began shoveling earth back into the coffin pit.
"Good!"
"Good!"
"Good!"
The villagers erupted into cheers.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
Suddenly—
The backs of Shen Yu, Luxian, Emo Han, and Taishan bulged grotesquely.
Something beneath their skin began crawling upward.
Their spines split open.
Stone burst through flesh.
Within seconds—
Four gray tombstones had grown directly from their backs.
"What the hell?!"
Emo Han reached behind himself instinctively.
The instant his hand touched the cold stone—
Two icy arms wrapped around his neck.
His entire body froze.
He slowly turned around.
His pupils shrank violently.
Half of a corpse had already crawled out of the tombstone.
Its pale upper body leaned over his shoulder.
Its rotten face rested beside his ear.
Its lips slowly curled into a smile.
"..."
"..."
"F*ck!"
"F*ck!"
"F*ck!"
The Future Echo activated.
A familiar voice sounded inside Emo Han’s ears.
It was Shen Yu.
"The moment the joint burial begins, the tombstones appear."
The light around Emo Han’s ears dimmed.
His face changed dramatically.
"The joint burial!"
"As soon as it starts, the tombstones appear!"
"We have to stop them!"
"Don’t let them bury the coffin!"
He grabbed Taishan and charged toward the burial pit.
But someone was faster.
"Luxian."
"Come with me."
Without the slightest hesitation—
Shen Yu grabbed Luxian’s wrist and sprinted toward the small room on the right.
"Damn it!"
"Shen Yu!"
"You bastard!"
"You won’t even listen to me anymore?!"
Emo Han roared.
Yet Shen Yu didn’t even glance back.
He could already feel it.
THUD!
A tombstone crashed onto the ground behind him.
Cold fingers brushed against the back of his neck.
The creature...
Had come out even faster than before.
Shen Yu’s eyes narrowed.
Just as I thought.
Each reset doesn’t simply restart everything.
The dungeon is evolving.
Last cycle, preventing the coffin from being sealed accelerated the tombstone ghosts.
This cycle...
They appeared ahead of schedule.
A failed loop strengthens the dungeon.
If this continues...
Eventually, the instant night falls...
The tombstone ghosts will replace us before we can act.
We don’t have many cycles left.
The dungeon must be cleared...
Within this loop.
Or the next.
BANG!
Shen Yu kicked open the wooden door.
He rushed inside.
His eyes immediately landed on the windowsill.
The rattle.
It was still there.
The instant his fingers wrapped around it—
A strange warmth spread through his palm.
Almost...
As though fate itself had completed a circle.
Shen Yu’s breathing slowed.
So...
I was the one who gave Little Han this rattle.
Because I gave it to her in the future...
It existed in the past.
Then...
Where did the very first rattle come from?
A causal loop?
Or...
Did Little Han imagine it into existence?
Outside—
Everything collapsed.
Because Shen Yu had changed his actions.
Emo Han and Taishan reached the burial pit.
BOOM!
Two tombstones smashed into the ground.
The monsters completely emerged.
Their freezing hands instantly wrapped around the two men.
"Huff..."
"Huff..."
"You..."
"...will all..."
"...die here..."
The whisper echoed beside Emo Han’s ear.
Before he could react—
The monster’s fingers pierced through his neck.
Blood exploded.
"Ghk—"
His body stiffened.
He collapsed.
Even while dying—
His eyes never left the little room.
He still couldn’t understand.
Why...
Why was I always the one hearing the future...
Yet Shen Yu always understood everything first...?
What...
What exactly are you...?
Blood bubbled from his mouth.
He never received an answer.
Taishan fared little better.
His regeneration desperately repaired his injuries.
But the moment the tombstone ghost completely crawled out—
Crack...
His feet turned to stone.
Then his calves.
His waist.
His chest.
His neck.
His head.
Within seconds—
A giant gravestone over two meters tall stood silently in the center of the courtyard.
Taishan...
Had become another tombstone.
The two ghosts immediately turned.
Their dead eyes locked onto the small room.
Locked...
Onto Shen Yu.
And Luxian.
Luxian’s face turned deathly pale.
"This..."
"This is insane..."
"So this..."
"This is the Joint Burial Village..."
"No wonder..."
"No wonder every team dies here..."
The two strongest members...
Had been eliminated almost instantly.
Then—
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Blood seeped through the walls.
Long crimson cracks spread across the room.
A little girl’s crying echoed from every direction.
"It hurts..."
"It hurts..."
"It hurts so much..."
"Brother Shen Yu..."
Luxian instinctively looked toward Shen Yu.
His expression was indescribably sorrowful.
He gently shook the rattle.
Dong.
Dong.
Dong.
"It doesn’t hurt anymore..."
"Little Han..."
"It doesn’t hurt anymore."
"Mom and Dad..."
"They’ll come pick you up soon."
Buzz—
The room trembled violently.
Reality twisted.
The wooden walls dissolved.
The tiny shack transformed into a modern apartment living room.
Luxian froze.
"W-What..."
"What is this?"
Her mind went blank.
What exactly is Shen Yu doing?
How does he know all of this?
He never got close to Yun Han this cycle.
Nobody could have told him any of this.
Unless...
Her pupils suddenly contracted.
A terrifying thought surfaced.
Shen Yu...
Have we already cleared this dungeon countless times?
Are we trapped inside a reincarnating time loop?
Shen Yu smiled faintly.
"So..."
"You finally figured it out."
The rattle continued ringing.
Dong.
Dong.
Dong.
He walked toward the second bedroom.
Last loop—
Emo Han had tried opening this door.
That action accelerated time.
This time—
Before Shen Yu even touched the doorknob—
A woman’s voice came from inside.
"Who is it...?"
Buzz—
The entire apartment shook.
The television disappeared.
The furniture faded.
The walls shrank.
Countless missing-person posters spread across every surface.
Luxian covered her mouth.
"This..."
"This is..."
"Yun Han’s home..."
"The little girl..."
"The one we met this morning..."
"So..."
"So her parents..."
"They sold everything..."
"Just to keep searching for her..."
Her voice trembled.
Then—
Her appearance suddenly changed.
Wrinkles spread across her face.
Her back bent.
Long white hair grew from her scalp.
Tears of blood streamed down her cheeks.
She cried uncontrollably.
"Little Han..."
"My Little Han..."
"Where are you..."
"Has someone bullied you...?"
"Mom misses you..."
"So much..."
Meanwhile—
Shen Yu’s own body slowly changed.
His face grew thinner.
His clothes became worn.
Countless unfamiliar memories flooded into his mind.
Inside a secondhand shop—
"Are you sure you want to sell this medal?"
"It’s the city’s Gold Poetry Award."
A gentle female voice replied softly.
"As long as it helps me find Little Han..."
"I’ll sell anything."
Another memory.
A park bench.
People whispered as they passed.
"Look..."
"That’s Teacher Yun."
"Why is she sleeping outside?"
"How did she become so poor?"
The woman hugged herself tightly.
"As long as..."
"I can find Little Han..."
Another memory.
Beside a pile of garbage.
An old man was kicked awake.
"Get out!"
"Who told you to sleep here?"
"I’m sorry..."
"I’m sorry..."
Someone asked gently,
"Doesn’t your child take care of you?"
The old man smiled bitterly.
"My child..."
"If..."
"If I could hear her voice one more time..."
"Just once..."
"I could die without regrets..."