ICTEUWMN Chapter 148.2

It could only be said that after seeing the hot searches, a considerable number of netizens had indeed become deeply immersed in this eerie, sorrowful, and infinitely heart-wrenching strange dungeon world.

As the secrets of the dungeon were unearthed, the girls’ revenge finally began.

The plot became more and more exhilarating, leading to a surge in the number of viewers every time Yu Mian started a live reading.

One advantage of live broadcasting was that, not only could people find comfort in each other in the comment section when they were scared, but the author was also readily available to explain and discuss any difficult-to-understand parts to the fans.

During occasional breaks, Yu Mian would even show everyone historical materials about the ancient Blue Star that had been collected by the professors.

The reading experience was great. Not only did they get to enjoy the story, but they also learned a lot of new and amazing knowledge.

After the mysterious visitor appeared in the plot, Si Yao wasted no time. The day after Old Master Liu buried the stone in the backyard, he immediately swapped it out with a counterfeit.

In fact, the entire backyard had been filled with these soul-suppressing foundation stones, trapping the girls’ souls in torment.

Many, having lost all reason due to unbearable pain, had turned into vengeful ghosts.

With the help of 114 and the girl, Si Yao did his best to alleviate their suffering, causing the dungeon’s completion rate to rise rapidly.

This further confirmed to Si Yao that the task’s evaluation was not based on killing the girls’ souls but on truly freeing them and fulfilling their lingering regrets.

However, just as Si Yao was making preparations, he watched with a cold face as the matchmaker presented him with a jar of opium paste.

With a beaming smile, the matchmaker told Si Yao that it was an excellent thing, and seeing that he seemed to be in low spirits lately, using this incense would restore his energy and lift his mood.

She was trying to tempt Si Yao into smoking opium!

Countless interstellar readers were instantly enraged.

But while Si Yao feigned compliance and obedience, he secretly destroyed everything as soon as the matchmaker left.

If a player entered this dungeon without any knowledge of opium, no matter how strong their awakened ability was, even if they managed to survive until the later stages, the moment they were tempted and succumbed to addiction, their task would be doomed to complete failure.

Was this light brain really hoping for him to complete the task, or was it just trying to ensure his death in this dungeon?

[Heh, gains always come with losses. The stronger your awakened abilities, the more difficult the dungeon you match with will be. So? Are you regretting it now? If you had known this earlier, wouldn’t it have been better to stay in the last world, enjoying a life of wealth and glory? Who knows, you might even be on vacation right now.]

Facing Si Yao’s doubt, the light brain’s mocking words inadvertently confirmed, for the first time, just how rare Si Yao’s awakened ability was.

“I never regret my decisions.”

But Si Yao remained entirely unaffected by the light brain.

In fact, he felt that because he had drawn this dungeon, he now had the chance to personally put an end to all the evils within it.

To bring an end to the cycle in this world once and for all.

So, Si Yao took the opportunity to display the classic symptoms of an opium addict in front of the matchmaker and the others.

Being fed opium was both a danger and an opportunity.

Because as soon as Si Yao started showing signs of addiction, the wary eyes that had once been on him were now filled with undisguised disdain.

No one who got addicted to opium ever had a good ending, which was precisely why everyone in the mansion was strictly forbidden from touching it. Old Master Liu himself never went near the stuff.

Meanwhile, the rapid disappearance of girls in the area of the Liu Mansion had already drawn the attention of the imperial court. However, after several previous visits to investigate, no clues were found due to the tight-lipped attitude of the entire mansion.

But this time, during a routine tax collection visit, a Jinyi Wei in disguise sensed something off.

**Jinyi Wei means “Embroidered Uniform Guard” in English. It’s the name of the imperial secret police force that serves the emperor.

The newly-wed “bride” of the Liu family actually handed him a folded paper discreetly.

When the Jinyi Wei opened it, he was shocked to find a lump of opium paste…along with a human tooth!

Before leaving, Si Yao’s glance alone was enough to make the Jinyi Wei realize that there was a major case hidden here.

Old Master Liu, who gradually became aware of the court’s movements, naturally would not sit idly by and wait for death.

On one hand, he began purging the mansion’s internal affairs, while on the other, he attempted to bribe and tempt the investigating officials with money and opium paste.

But what Old Master Liu never expected was for the backyard to suddenly “catch fire”.

The vengeful ghosts that had once been suppressed reappeared in the mansion, tormenting those who had aided and abetted evil.

Old Master Liu himself woke up screaming in terror several nights in a row, grabbing a soul-protecting stone to strike at the female ghosts.

With the girls working together, the always-meticulous Old Master Liu finally slipped up, exposing the truth of his transactions due to his extreme exhaustion from days of sleeplessness.

Following this clue, the Jinyi Wei finally tracked down Si Yao’s biological parents who had sold their children.

It turned out that this couple had also started taking opium, and now had haggard faces and hideous expressions.

For this reason, they sold everything they had in a delirious state, just to exchange more opium paste from Old Master Liu’s men.

Faced with the increasingly conclusive evidence, Old Master Liu tried to resist the investigation on the one hand, and began to become anxious on the other.

His gaze swept over everyone in the mansion, furious as he tried to figure out who was secretly orchestrating everything.

Si Yao’s performance as an opium “addict” made Old Master Liu never suspect him at all.

What could a drug addict possibly accomplish?

Si Yao took advantage of Old Master Liu’s misguided suspicion and got 114 to assist in acting and directing his suspicion onto the key figure, the matchmaker.

The matchmaker’s identity was shrouded in mystery, and even Si Yao couldn’t grasp her true nature.

But Old Master Liu, who had many secrets of his own, naturally had ways to control and manipulate her.

Framed and betrayed, the matchmaker who was on the brink of death, finally realized that everything had been orchestrated by Si Yao, the “new bride”.

But when she shrieked and cursed at Si Yao, no one believed her words.

When the matchmaker’s soul was completely burned away by Old Master Liu, it unexpectedly transformed into a dead rat lying on the ground.

Seeing this, Si Yao frowned and developed more speculations about the identity of that mysterious visitor.

So, on the next full moon night when the visitor arrived, he was stunned to discover that not only had Old Master Liu become despondent, but even the assistants he had given him, especially the matchmaker, had been killed by Old Master Liu.

The visitor angrily questioned Old Master Liu about what this meant.

Old Master Liu weakly explained that they were all problematic! They had tried to devour his son’s soul and had even spread the mansion’s secrets!

Upon hearing all this, the visitor immediately threw Old Master Liu to the ground and paced back and forth, realizing that something was definitely wrong. He even suspected that being summoned here this time might have been a trap.

Old Master Liu was no longer a reliable agent.

The visitor attempted to go to the backyard to harvest the last batch of opium poppies, as he had invested almost all of his resources in Old Master Liu.

“Fire! It’s on fire!?”

But the moment he rushed into the backyard, his eyes widened in horror as he saw a raging fire engulfing the opium poppy fields, burning those extremely precious flowers to ashes.

The delirious Old Master Liu chased after the visitor and clung to his legs. He first cried and begged the other party not to abandon him, otherwise he would be finished if the court discovered his secret.

At the same time, he began to threaten the visitor, saying that if he died, the visitor wouldn’t fare any better. He had already laced the visitor’s blood with trace amounts of opium paste!

When the imperial officials led the soldiers into the scene, they were met with this crazy and extremely weird scene.

Old Master Liu was being strangled by the hooded visitor, yet he was laughing strangely, saying he had prepared for this all along.

Seizing the opportunity, Si Yao, with the help of the girls, yanked off the visitor’s hood and exposed him to the firelight.

A sharp, piercing scream erupted as the visitor’s true form was revealed…

It was a weasel!

When the Liu mansion and the entire village were fully investigated, the shocking case sent waves throughout the imperial court.

Si Yao took Old Master Liu’s account book from 114 and handed it over to the officials. The ledger contained information on every buyer of opium paste, along with related leads.

Soon, the families of all the kidnapped girls came forward or were found.

Some had their daughters forcibly taken or tricked and sold. Others, like the original owner and his sister, had parents who abandoned their children and willingly sold them off after getting addicted to opium.

Regardless of the circumstances, justice would eventually be served.

The tale of the “male bride” named Si Yao quickly became a widely discussed legend, leaving everyone in awe.

The imperial envoy admired Si Yao’s courage in infiltrating the mansion and battling the spirit beasts, and asked if he had aspirations to join the court as an official so he could personally recommend him.

Si Yao naturally declined.

All he wished was for the envoy to properly handle the remains of the girls in the backyard.

The envoy quickly agreed and gave all of them a proper burial with full honors.

That night, Si Yao unexpectedly dreamed of the girl again.

Her soul embraced Si Yao one last time and softly called out, “Big Brother.”

At the moment Si Yao was stunned, the girl suddenly smiled and whispered to Si Yao, saying that she actually knew he wasn’t her real brother, but she still wanted to call him that just once.

Because her real brother was nothing like Si Yao. He was actually short-tempered and a greedy gambler.

[Hmph.]

At that moment, the light brain let out a cold snort.

Si Yao reacted and realized that the second dungeon chosen for him by the light brain was a trap from beginning to end.

From the very beginning, he had been given only a vague guide with no information about the original owner or his sister. If he had encountered the real ghost of his sister, any inconsistency would have immediately exposed him.

Most players would have never gained her trust.

And yet, the sister’s lingering soul was the key to solving the dungeon. It was practically a dead-end scenario.

Only someone like Si Yao, who had read 114’s story before, was unafraid of her burned face and treated her like a little sister. That was why she ultimately accepted him.

“I know you’re not my real brother, but I still really like you. Will we ever meet again?”

After saying her final words while hugging Si Yao, the girl’s soul dissipated along with the countless others.

Si Yao lifted his gaze to the bright sun, and his eyes inexplicably seemed to sting. There was also an unfamiliar sensation of sourness.]]

When Yu Mian read out this part of the dungeon’s ending in one breath in the latest live broadcast, the entire live broadcast room was almost drowned out by the sound of wailing.

[Knife, this is a knife! Ahhhh! Teacher Fish Soup Noodles, why do you have to give out knives even at the very end?!]

[I can’t believe I actually fell in love with the sister. She was so cute… If I were her brother, I would definitely cherish and protect her forever!]

[Now I want a little sister too, wuuu… She seems so soft and fragrant, yet also brave and strong. I just want to protect her!]

After all, in the final crucial moments as Si Yao cleared this dungeon, the sister had sacrificed herself multiple times, using her lingering soul to help Si Yao obtain key props and avoid danger.

She played a crucial role in guiding internal conflicts within Old Master Liu’s ranks, leading them to turn against each other like a little guardian angel.

The assistance she provided was no less than what the restricted 114 could offer Si Yao.

Thus, the viewers’ emotions toward her character naturally shifted.

From initial fear and horror to deep sympathy and love.

The only unfortunate thing was…

Just when everyone had truly fallen in love with the sister’s character, the dungeon had already reached its conclusion!

This was simply too cruel!

Teacher Fish Soup Noodles!

“Uh, was it really that bad? In the end, she still called him ‘Big Brother,’ right? And besides, Si Yao had already come to see her as his real sister.”

Yu Mian suddenly realized that there was a big problem with reading stories aloud during live broadcasts. Whenever a heartbreaking moment came up, emotionally overwhelmed readers would immediately corner him with questions.

Just like now, it seemed like things were getting a little out of hand.

[Fish feeling guilty.jpg]