142

After confirming that Qin Yue was fine, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing a teammate turn into a monster was probably harder to bear than turning into one themselves.

But Qin Yue seemed to be doing better than before.

Hiding in Gu Zhan’s star chart space, he could even avoid going into dungeons.

The only regret, as Qin Yue himself had said, was: "I won’t be able to go into dungeons with you guys anymore."

Yu Yezhou waved his hands repeatedly. Qin Yue was a newcomer and didn’t add much to the team. It was already great that he could protect himself. Not being able to enter dungeons together was hardly a regret!

Besides...

"Your brother Gu Zhan never planned on going into dungeons with others," Yu Yezhou couldn’t help but complain.

Everyone knew that Gu Zhan was planning to go solo again.

Qin Yue curiously looked at Gu Zhan. "Boss, where are you planning to go this time? Can you take me with you?"

Gu Zhan replied, "This is something I must do..."

He then turned to Yu Yezhou. "Besides, you guys don’t have time for dungeons right now, do you?"

He was referring to the Hai Chao situation.

Yu Yezhou nodded.

They had to deal with the Hai Chao issue. Hai Chao had also discovered that players could be transformed into monsters without pain.

Because of this, their actions had escalated. They had gathered many new players, using the excuse of "taking them into dungeons" to trick them into becoming sacrificial offerings.

They looked at each other, both knowing that they each had their own things to do.

After a while, Yu Yezhou suddenly smiled. "Alright, do whatever you want. I hope everyone succeeds."

In this uncertain dungeon, once there was a clear goal, the path ahead became clearer.

Yu Yezhou patted Gu Zhan’s shoulder, as a kind of farewell.

---

【Hehe, welcome to my dungeon... Huh, why aren't you awake yet?】

The familiar voice, filled with teasing, echoed. Gu Zhan slowly opened his eyes and looked around.

This was a bright bedroom, and the furniture inside was quite large.

Maybe it wasn’t the furniture that was large.

He looked down at himself. His body seemed to be about five or six years old.

He had shrunk.

Gu Zhan was still covered by a blanket. He climbed out of bed and noticed a small mirror on the nearby table.

He picked up the mirror and checked himself. His body still seemed like his own, but his age had been reduced.

Gu Zhan put the mirror back and sat on the bed, staring into space.

The familiar voice sounded again.

【Huh, you’re not going to explore the room? Are you always this passive when you play dungeons?】

This voice should have been from the system, explaining the basic details of the dungeon and issuing the main quest.

But now, it was nothing but endless teasing.

Gu Zhan frowned. "Why is it you?"

Mo Tuo chuckled. "Isn't this my dungeon? It’s perfectly normal for me."

Gu Zhan understood that in Mo Tuo’s dungeon, Mo Tuo should be the BOSS.

But why had he become the system?

Or, more accurately, the content of the dungeon was probably controlled by the dungeon master.

Whatever the master wanted, the dungeon could become.

Wasn’t this dungeon very similar to his own star chart watch?

Gu Zhan touched his right wrist and found that the watch was gone.

But the black cloud pattern on his left wrist was still clear.

It seemed like Mo Tuo had marked him.

Gu Zhan lifted his shirt to check his stomach, and sure enough, the cloud pattern was still there.

He couldn’t help but complain, "Are you a dog?"

【What?】

"Marking your territory everywhere."

【...】

Gu Zhan slowly got out of bed and wandered around the room, casually flipping through things.

"So, you dungeon monsters can actually control the state of the dungeon, even control where you appear?"

【The dungeon master can, but those just participating in the dungeon, or the dungeon’s derivative monsters, cannot.】

【...What are you looking at?】

After getting out of bed, Gu Zhan stood in front of the bookshelf, casually pulling out a book, flipping through a couple of pages, and then putting it back.

It didn’t seem like he was looking for clues.

Gu Zhan said, "Isn’t this my room?"

【Oh, you remember it after all.】

Of course he remembered. Gu Zhan had spent the first twelve years of his life in this room.

After he turned twelve, he moved to a school dormitory.

This room was exactly the same as he remembered. The comic books on the bookshelf had been a gift from the neighbor’s older sister when she left the orphanage. The small toy in the corner was something he had found in a trash can. There were also various bones and wooden sticks...

The details were so accurate, there was no way it could have been created out of thin air by the dungeon.

Gu Zhan asked, "Did you steal my memories?"

Mo Tuo laughed.

【How could you call it stealing? I did it to understand you better.】

"Will this dungeon content be streamed?"

【Of course not. How could I let others delve into your inner world?】

Only then did Gu Zhan leave the bookshelf and calmly say, "Why choose me at this age? You should have chosen me when I was a little older, maybe my high school memories would provide more material."

He didn’t pause and didn’t give Mo Tuo a chance to respond. He continued, "Is it because you can’t? When people are older, memory management is stricter. Only these things that I can’t even fully remember, could you steal and use to build the dungeon?"

After he finished speaking, he sensed a slight wave of anger from Mo Tuo.

Realizing he had struck a nerve, Gu Zhan stopped worrying and began to move around the room.

At the moment he accepted the dungeon, footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.

Then, there was a loud knocking sound. "It’s already 8 o'clock! What are you still doing in there?"

Gu Zhan suddenly remembered that the orphanage he had stayed at used to be quite inhuman.

Breakfast had to be eaten by 7:30, or there would be no food. If you didn’t leave your room by 8:00, there would be punishment.

Gu Zhan went straight to the door and opened it.

A tall female caretaker stood outside, not lowering her head, but glancing at Gu Zhan with a sharp look.

"Why aren't you getting up?"

As an adult, Gu Zhan was no longer the naïve kid he once was. He remembered his previous response was that he had overslept.

Now, he looked pitifully at the female caregiver and said, "Auntie, I don’t feel well, I’m dizzy and my vision is blurry."

The female caregiver glared at him. "Lying. No lunch for you."

Gu Zhan said, "I already skipped breakfast. If I don't eat lunch, I’ll starve to death."

Her expression grew colder. "If you talk back again, there will be no dinner either."

Gu Zhan had no choice but to stay silent.

After the female caregiver left, Mo Tuo couldn’t help but mock him:

[See? I told you, you're not suited to be human. Why don’t you become a monster instead? You could eliminate everyone you dislike.]

Eliminate everyone you dislike.

What a classic villain line.

Gu Zhan spoke in a cold tone, "I’ve grown up. If you hadn’t dragged me back to this scenario, I wouldn’t have faced all of this."

[That’s not necessarily true. These things are what you went through when you were a child. I didn’t exaggerate anything.]

[If you had met me back then, you wouldn’t have had to suffer through all that torment.]

Gu Zhan replied, "If I had met you back then, I might have faced other kinds of torment."

Mo Tuo went silent for two seconds before responding, his tone tinged with helplessness.

[Do you have to speak to me like this?]

Gu Zhan answered, "I like it."

He pushed the door open and walked out. Since this was the place he had lived in as a child, Gu Zhan was very familiar with the layout of the floors.

He walked towards the dining hall, encountering many other children around his age along the way.

They were all indifferent. Even when they passed each other in the hallway, there was no intention to greet each other.

As he turned a corner, Gu Zhan saw a mirror on the wall nearby.

He couldn’t quite remember what he looked like as a child, so he stopped to take a look.

Hmm, was he really this cute when he was younger?

He wore clothes that didn’t fit properly, with pants too long, his face pale and malnourished but still tender, and his large eyes, dark and shiny.

The main thing was his blank expression—he looked like a doll.

Gu Zhan felt a bit dissatisfied and furrowed his brows, trying to make a frown.

However, it seemed his childhood face was really stiff. No matter how hard he tried, he could only move his brows slightly.

[Hahahaha…]

Mo Tuo’s laughter echoed in the air.

Gu Zhan’s brows furrowed further, his reflection looking quite displeased. "Why are you still here?"

[Why wouldn’t I be?]

Normally, when navigating through scenarios, the system would be invisible during non-critical moments. But now that Mo Tuo had taken the system’s place, he seemed to be watching Gu Zhan the whole time.

Gu Zhan said, "Next time, you should send more invitations to others."

[Why?]

"That way, you won’t have the time to focus only on me."

[...No way. I’m only sending one to you.]

Is it really so great to be favored by the boss?

Gu Zhan raised an eyebrow, a subtle smile curling the corner of his lips.

He turned around and went downstairs, heading to the dining hall.

Upon arriving, he saw that breakfast had already ended, and the aunties were cleaning up the plates.

Perhaps because he was in the scenario, Gu Zhan didn’t feel hungry.

His small figure stood quietly at the entrance, watching the people come and go. He said, "If I were you, I’d increase the hunger level."

[Are you teaching me how to deal with you?]

Gu Zhan replied indifferently, "Forget I said anything."

He turned and walked in the other direction.

If he remembered correctly, there were classes at the orphanage.

They were still too young for primary school, and since the orphanage hadn’t sent them to kindergarten, they had hired teachers to teach them inside the orphanage.

Gu Zhan was heading toward the classroom.

At the classroom door, many children were playing. When they saw Gu Zhan coming, they stopped playing with their toys and gathered around.

[What are they doing?]

Gu Zhan didn’t say anything as the group of children came up to him and pushed him hard.

This body was still too small. Despite Gu Zhan trying to stay on his feet, he was pushed to the ground.

The children laughed out loud. "Hahaha, look at him, like a fool!"

"Waaah, why isn’t the fool crying? Come on, cry, cry!"

The malice of children is often the purest. They surrounded Gu Zhan, their laughter echoing around him, almost bringing him back to those painful years.

Gu Zhan remained sitting on the ground, silent, biting his lip, and softly said, "Mo Tuo, you really should die."

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