You're Dead

But Father seemed to really like his eyes; no matter how many sparkling jewels he wore, Father's first glance was always at his eyes.

Thinking this, he called to the Butler again, "Don't accept it yet, make it into a brooch, or an earring will do. I don't know if Father will like red."

"Okay, little Master."

By the time they emerged from the Ancient Castle, it was completely dark outside.

"Let's rest for the night and set off during the day tomorrow," Wang Ding said.

"Good."

The group set up tents near the Ancient Castle. Perhaps because Cheng Shanshi was there, or perhaps because of the Ancient Castle's imposing presence, the night was extremely safe.

The next morning, the group set off again, but even with Cheng Shanshi's good fortune, they still frequently encountered strange occurrences and Instance while traversing the Weird Zone.

Lin Nieran felt like he had lost half his life following them.

Emerging from another Weird Instance, Lin Nieran was exhausted and could only manage to straighten up with An Ying. With a pained expression, he asked, "If I quit now, will you still pay me?"

Tao Yuan, her face contorted with pain, treated her injured leg while stuffing money into the Bubble Machine, saying, "I'm willing to give, but if you leave now, can you even get out by yourself?"

"..." Lin Nieran quite speechless.

He had been to Minchuan before, though the road was difficult to traverse, and he stumbled along alone. But the Minchuan he remembered was nothing like this eeriness.

Now look what's happened! Even with Cheng Shanshi's good fortune, following them has been incredibly difficult!

How many strange creatures did they kill on this short journey?

During a break, Wang Ding glanced at the distance on the map. "Looks like we're unlikely to reach Minchuan District today."

Navigating the high-level Weird Zone proved more difficult than they had anticipated.

Mi Chuchu opened her visor to breathe in the fresh air. "It's a pity I was chased by the strange creature and went the wrong way, taking a long detour, otherwise I could have gotten there."

Tao Yuan rummaged through her backpack and found a Weird Object that passively navigated. When she took the object out, she accidentally brought out the Sunny Doll -Weird Object) that she had placed to the side with her.

As soon as the Sunny Doll appeared, it actively absorbed Tao Yuan's energy and floated in the air, its smiling head facing south.

"Sheng Qingqiao?" Tao Yuan stared in astonishment at the Sunny Doll), instinctively reaching out to grab it, but the Sunny Doll gently dodged her and continued looking south.

Lin Nieran also looked at it in surprise; it was the first time he had ever seen such a spiritual and Weird Object.

After their initial excitement, the members of the Calamity Crossing Squad checked the map in the direction the Sunny Doll was pointing. "The Sheng Qingqiao pointed to is indeed one of our planned routes. Let's go that way!"

"Good!"

Cheng Shanshi curiously leaned closer to look. "Is this your previous teammate? He looks quite cute."

The Sunny Doll) seemed to hear him and spun around in the air in dissatisfaction.

Lin Nieran also leaned closer for a look and deliberately said, "It really is a very special Weird Object. I wonder if it can be made into Weird Artifact."

The expression on the Sunny Doll's face turned into three big:!!

"Alright, stop scaring him, let's hurry up and go." Tao Yuan chuckled, taking the Sunny Doll) and slinging it over her shoulder. "It seems he still remembers us; even in this state, he still wants to help us."

With Sheng Qingqiao pointing the way, the group's pace quickened considerably.

After walking for a long time, as dusk approached, Cheng Shanshi suddenly slammed on the brakes and said to the group, "My luck energy is about to run out; I need to replenish it."

Wang Ding glanced at the remaining distance, discussed it with Tao Yuan, and said, "Then let's rest at that candy shop up ahead. It's a D-Rank Instance, so we can handle anything that happens."

"Good."

The group arrived at a candy shop by the roadside, where a strange creature dressed in colorful clothes, just like candy, lived. The group tied it to the door with some kind of Weird Object, planning to kill it after spending the night there.

The environment inside the candy store is much better than outside; it provides shelter from the wind and rain, and the space is more spacious.

After Cheng Shanshi came in, he started to make a makeshift bed on the floor. Everyone thought he was tired and wanted to rest, so they didn't think much of it and helped him make the bed.

Lin Nieran dutifully expressed his doubts and curiosity as he approached Wang Ding and asked, "What are the abilities of your new team member? From what I've heard along the way, it seems his abilities are related to luck."

Wang Ding nodded. "It's related to luck. With him around, our journey has been much smoother than before."

"You guys had extra luck and you're still so unlucky?" Lin Nieran said. "No wonder you're stronger than other teams, it's all from training?"

Wang Ding has become immune to this problem. "It's a bit troublesome, but it's okay, I can adapt to it now."

Lin Nieran stretched and lay down on the spot Cheng Shanshi had laid out, then asked, "So, after his good luck ran out, did your luck return to normal?"

"When his good luck runs out, he brings bad luck instead, which triggers unexpectedly, and we've all gotten used to it," Wang Ding said.

After spending so many days together, they had a general idea of Cheng Shanshi's abilities.

Good luck and bad luck alternate. Sometimes bad luck occurs in a pattern: when good luck runs out, bad luck will inevitably appear, and when bad luck ends, good luck will surely follow.

However, their luck hadn't run out; it was just that when things were at their lowest, bad luck would occasionally appear. Wang Ding didn't dare to imagine that if he added to their bad luck here, they might just encounter an SS-Rank anomaly that would send them all away.

That's why he urgently called a halt when Cheng Shanshi said his luck was about to run out.

Lin Nieran nodded. "It sounds like your new team member is very capable. Congratulations!"

"It sounds a bit strange to say it like that, but we were really lucky to meet him."

After exchanging only a few words, Lin Nieran unceremoniously chose a makeshift bed at the very edge of the room, quickly wiped himself down, and closed his eyes to sleep.

An Ying and the others were exhausted after a long day. Except for the person on night watch who was still holding the door, everyone fell asleep within minutes.

Lin Nieran intended to feign sleep and then go to explore the Boundless Land once everyone was asleep, but unexpectedly, he actually fell asleep.

I even had a dream that I hadn't had in a long time.

In his dream, he said to a red-eyed child, "You're going to die soon. If you die, I'll die too."

"If I live, you can live too."

The child asked him curiously, "Why would I die? I'm still alive."

"Are you stupid? You're practically turning into a man-eating monster, just like the other kids!" He held out his hand to the child. "I can help you. Give it back to me."

Upon hearing this, the child hesitated, then burst open his chest and presented him with a beating heart.

"Thump, thump, thump!"

My heart was pounding strongly, and my blood was burning hot.