Chapter 236: This Lord Is Not Normal!
Jiang Che returned to his own territory, and the vast mental hospital had already gathered a large number of people.
Among them were Long Yun’s men, as well as building specialists transported by Leng Feng.
In addition to that, specialized survival supplies had also been shipped over together.
Behind the dark-wood bus trailed a large truck after another; the trucks had no drivers, connected by hooked chains, dragged forward by the dark-wood bus.
The dark-wood bus wasn’t powered by electricity or petroleum, but by the energy within each Survivor; as long as one channeled their own energy, they could temporarily awaken the dormant life in the dark wood, just like a beheaded snake that can still twitch for a while.
Fueled by energy, the cargo capacity of the dark-wood bus was unmatched by ordinary trucks—even loaded full, it could easily tow these trucks along.
Leng Feng had coveted this thing for a long time when he saw it.
He wanted to ask Jiang Che for a vehicle so he could transport goods—because with this bus, he could tow freight across the Dark Forest.
These days, their transport of goods between cities still relied on trains. Luckily, the old railways had been well built, with no residents in the surroundings and hardly any other creatures. If a dark-wood tree sprouted now and then, it could be quickly removed.
Between the surviving cities, the transport of goods relied entirely on driverless trains.
Every time he saw those trains running through multiple cities, Leng Feng quietly thanked his luck—that the original construction had been good. It was only thanks to that, even when the Dark Forest went wild across the world, that the circulation of supplies could be maintained, saving countless lives.
Trains could be set to run automatically along the rails, and as long as they weren’t interfered with, they’d deliver goods safely to their destination.
There was no life in the trains, so the Dark Forest didn’t attack them.
Before, he used to think those evil spirits could never have imagined that humans would still travel through the Dark Forest. But only after seeing Jiang Che’s energy-powered bus did he realize—it wasn’t that the evil spirits hadn’t thought of it; they just didn’t care.
Jiang Che didn’t give him a vehicle, but he did promise that in the future he’d ensure transportation of people between all the cities.
Now, as Jiang Che returned to his own dungeon, the mental hospital was already crowded with people.
They only dared to move about within the original Red Pearl Mental Hospital, not stepping a foot further in.
The corridors here twisted and crisscrossed, and they were all afraid a wrong step would get them killed.
Feihu had told them they could move about freely, just not to touch those red crystals, but still not a single person dared to act on their own.
When Jiang Che came back, he saw countless people standing nervously in the corners, squeezing together, terrified of stepping out.
When the crowd saw Jiang Che coming over, those huddled in the corners snapped to order like schoolchildren lining up, automatically straightening themselves.
"Didn’t you tell them the resting area is over there?" Jiang Che was referring to a place not far behind the Red Pearl Mental Hospital. Although you had to cross a narrow passage to get there, it was spacious and safe.
"They don’t dare to go. They’re afraid they’ll touch something by accident..." Feihu was a bit exasperated. The corridors in the mental hospital were narrow enough, and the red crystals big, but not so much that anyone would touch them by mistake.
Jiang Che paused, looking at the crowd’s fearful eyes. He took the lead, walking deeper into the dungeon, "You have to go through here to get to the living area."
As he walked, he spoke to those behind him.
"Don’t touch those blood-colored crystals, everyone. If you do, you’ll get dragged into the dungeon, and then you’ll be forced to clear the level. If you succeed, you get out. If you fail, not even god can save you." Jiang Che’s voice was loud; Survivors had sharp senses.
Even from far away, his words carried easily to everyone present.
Hearing Jiang Che speak, Feihu was stunned—she remembered that even after touching the crystals, you had to confirm in your mind whether to open the dungeon.
It’s not like entering would be triggered just by a touch, right?
She had told everyone this too, but they still didn’t dare to act.
They didn’t even dare to try.
After all, there weren’t many who had tried Jiang Che’s dungeon—but those few who did, died inside.
She was about to ask Jiang Che why, only to see the trace of a faint, almost invisible smile on his expressionless face.
She suddenly realized something. So Jiang Che could play tricks on people, too.
Looking back at the crowd behind her, one by one, they pressed their backs against the walls, moving sideways past any red crystal they encountered. They moved very slowly.
The crowd was so packed, the sound of so many people breathing was quieter than her own.
Each person passing the blood-colored crystals held their breath, terrified that a puffed chest would brush the crystal and send them into a trial.
The safe area wasn’t far—just the winding corridors made the trip annoying. With everyone moving so cautiously, a ten-minute walk took over half an hour.
Jiang Che wasn’t in a hurry. He snapped his fingers, his Spiritual Power actively recording the scene, so when he got to Ding Ning, he could play it for her.
"Wife, look, I’m leading people to the safe area."
"All I’m missing is a little red flag in my hand—raise it up and I’d look just like a field trip chaperone." Jiang Che focused the Spiritual Power recording on himself, sometimes flashing it back at the procession behind.
Those in the back, hearing voices from up ahead, curiously craned their necks, wanting to see who Jiang Che was talking to.
One glance and they saw Jiang Che seemingly talking to himself up front; the Spiritual Power recording had no visible projection, but it automatically documented everything inside its range.
"Wait—who’s he talking to? Is his mental state really not right? I thought he was supposed to be pretty normal?!"
"Does he have a wife already?"
"No idea, I’ve never heard about that..."
"Whoever’s that lucky, all jokes aside about his mind, just look at this dungeon—it’s the perfect survival spot! He even purposely marked out a living area for us, not cramped at all."
"Yeah, and who knows why he brought in all these builders? So many construction workers."
"For sure it’s for building housing. I’ve looked into his dungeon: aside from these mental-hospital-style corridors, there’s only open wilds. Bringing in builders must mean he wants us to build a residential area."
’No telling how many people can live here at most, but I doubt it’ll be too many.’
"Maybe he wants a palace—lives at the top while we’re his servants??"
"Ha, if that’s the case, so be it. Even as servants here, we’ve got it way better than in other territories—breathing was a challenge in those places."
...
The people in the back whispered among themselves. For now, they didn’t know what Jiang Che was planning, or what he wanted built.
Seeing Jiang Che act this weird, they were a little creeped out.
Other dungeons might be off, but here it’s the Lord who’s not right!