Chapter 113
The rain stopped the next day, as promised.
After school, Xing Nuo eagerly ran into his brother’s arms and, as Shen Yan carried him, swung his little legs and asked, “Where we going?”
Shen Yan, effortlessly carrying the little one, who was now quite round and chubby, walked towards the car.
“You’ll see when we get there.”
Xing Nuo, sitting in the back seat, opened his backpack and took out a small, paper flower.
The flower, its petals a pale pink, its center colored red with crayon, he held it up and offered it to his brother.
“Yiyi gave me pink tissue…made flower…for Big Brother!”
Shen Yan smiled and took the flower, carefully putting it away.
The little one loved giving his family little gifts.
And Shen Yan always treasured them.
The car drove towards the outskirts of the city, its pace leisurely, and Xing Nuo almost fell asleep.
The car suddenly stopped, Xing Nuo’s head hitting the back of the car seat. His eyes snapped open.
The driver said, “Sorry, Mr. Shen, there are some rocks blocking the road.”
Shen Yan closed his magazine, rubbed Xing Nuo’s head, and looked out the window.
“It’s okay, we’re almost there.”
Xing Nuo yawned, rubbing his eyes, and looked out the window.
They were on a paved road, a forest stretching out beside them, some trees still green, others bare, their leaves fallen.
The car stopped in front of a small villa.
Shen Yan carried Xing Nuo out of the car and, standing at the gate, wiped his sleepy eyes with a tissue.
Xing Nuo looked at the yard, covered in a layer of red and yellow leaves.
“Wow! So many leaves!”
Shen Yan smiled and put him down.
“Don’t you like stepping on leaves? I bought this place recently and specifically told the housekeeper not to clean the yard.”
The yard, lined with trees, their leaves falling in autumn profusion, was covered in a thick layer of leaves.
Xing Nuo ran into the yard, his little feet crunching the dry leaves.
It had rained yesterday, but the wind had dried them.
The sound of crunching leaves filled the air, and Xing Nuo, giggling, ran over and hugged his brother’s leg, nuzzling him affectionately.
“Big Brother good.”
Shen Yan chuckled, taking his hand, and led him inside.
“So, letting you step on leaves makes me good?”
Xing Nuo giggled, skipping and jumping, feeling like he was the best leaf-cruncher in the world!
The villa was modern and minimalist, located in an upscale, luxurious community.
Xing Nuo, reaching the entrance, patted the leaves clinging to his clothes and pants.
Shen Yan crouched down and brushed them off, also removing a few leaves tangled in his curls.
The housekeeper, seeing Shen Yan with a child, smiled and brought him a pair of slippers.
“Is this your son, Mr. Shen? He’s so adorable.”
Xing Nuo, looking at the unfamiliar woman, corrected her softly.
“Little brother.”
Shen Yan nodded, leading Xing Nuo inside.
“This is my little brother.”
The housekeeper, realizing her mistake, apologized, saying she misspoke.
She looked at the brothers, their age gap significant, and chuckled, then brought them some tea.
Xing Nuo, holding the warm cup, felt the warmth spread through his body.
Imitating the old men he often saw in the park, he blew on the tea, as if removing non-existent foam, and took a sip.
Shen Yan, seeing his little adult act, patted his head.
“Don’t learn from Old Man Zhang. It’s not hygienic.”
Xing Nuo mumbled “Oh” and, his eyes wide and curious, obediently drank his tea.
“Mr. Shen, here’s the fruit platter. I cut them into small pieces.”
The housekeeper placed the platter on the table and returned to the kitchen.
Xing Nuo jumped down from the sofa and walked over to the coffee table.
He fed his brother a piece of apple with a small fork, then took a bite himself, his tongue sticking out.
“Sour apple.”
Shen Yan chuckled, gave him some water, and took out a few candies from the drawer.
“It’s okay. The shopper must have chosen the wrong apples.”
He picked up Xing Nuo and took him upstairs to change his clothes.
The autumn sun set quickly.
By the time Xing Nuo had changed into his dinosaur pajamas, the sky was already darkening.
He explored the villa, his eyes wide with wonder.
“So big!”
There were several entertainment rooms on the second floor: a small movie theater, a pool table, a gym. Xing Nuo peeked into each room, then ran to the railing and asked:
“Big Brother, these yours?”
Shen Yan, in the living room, dealing with some urgent messages, smiled, his expression gentle.
“Yes.”
But the villa was already in Xing Nuo’s name. The ownership would officially transfer to him when he turned eighteen.
Shen Yan didn’t have much to offer his little brother, only material things.
The three-story villa even had a small elevator.
Xing Nuo, having never seen an elevator in a house before, his curiosity piqued, pressed the button and stepped inside.
He realized the elevator was made of transparent glass!
He could see the garden below, the trees, the fallen leaves, and the housekeeper sweeping the yard.
He gasped and ran out of the elevator to share this amazing discovery with his brother.
But as he stepped out, a clear, mechanical voice sounded:
“Welcome aboard. Please take your seats.”
Xing Nuo looked up and saw that the hallway, which should have led to the other rooms, had become a train car.
Several other people, equally confused, were also there.
“Wait, where are we?”
“What train? I just went to the bathroom, and now I’m on a train?”
“What the hell? Is this a prank?”
They looked at each other, their faces filled with anger and confusion.
Xing Nuo, looking around the train car, took a couple of steps forward and called out:
“Big Brother? You here?”
A voice replied:
“I’m here.”
Shen Yan, still in his casual clothes, but his expression slightly harried, as if he had just arrived,
picked up Xing Nuo and ruffled his hair.
“It’s okay. There’s a small problem with the elevator. Big Brother will take you out.”
Xing Nuo nodded, his arms around his brother’s neck, and tilted his head.
“So strange…suddenly on twain…”
Shen Yan, sensing the anomaly, had immediately entered the dungeon.
Fortunately, the time flow in this dungeon was similar to the real world’s, and he had found Xing Nuo right away.
He carried Xing Nuo towards the back of the train car, intending to force his way out, when he saw his third-floor neighbor, Qi Yao.
Qi Yao, also looking shocked, seeing Shen Yan and the little one in his arms, cursed.
“Even a child got dragged in?!”
Shen Yan, seeing Qi Yao, could only stay put and nodded at him.
Xing Nuo waved, his face slightly confused, and greeted his neighbor.
“Uncle Qi, you on twain too? Why we here?”
Qi Yao, seeing Xing Nuo in his pajamas, clearly having been pulled in from home, slammed his fist against the seat in frustration.
He had discovered the peculiar nature of this train station dungeon after arriving.
Unlike his usual encounters with monsters, this was his first time experiencing what the monsters called a “dungeon”!
As they had suspected, the other world was filled with monsters in various scenarios, and they could only escape by finding clues, following the rules, or killing the core monster.
And only high-level monsters could own dungeons.
Lower-level monsters, like the ones he had encountered before, could only lurk in other monsters’ dungeons or sneak into the human world, hoping to devour humans for energy.
Qi Yao realized that he and his team had underestimated these monsters.
Some of these intelligent dungeon monsters were far more powerful than he could handle!
He pinched the bridge of his nose, exhausted from lack of sleep.
Several ordinary people, newly arrived, seeing Qi Yao in his camouflage uniform, started yelling at him.
“Are you from the military? What’s the meaning of this?! Why are we here?!”
“What’s going on?! Explain yourselves!”
Before Qi Yao could answer, surrounded by the angry crowd, his teammate yelled impatiently:
“Can’t you see?! We’re not in the real world anymore! Be quiet! Monsters could appear any second!”
His outburst only made the crowd more agitated, almost starting a fight.
In the back of the train, several players, wearing matching baseball caps, their arms crossed, chuckled.
“What’s this? Another dungeon merged with the real world?”
With more and more dungeons intersecting with the real world, many players had experienced this and weren’t surprised.
Their leader, his dark eyes filled with disdain, said coldly:
“Ignore them. They have no abilities. They’re just cannon fodder. Let’s find the right train car and clear this dungeon.”
The players nodded, and one of them, glancing towards the commotion, suddenly froze.
“Holy crap, isn’t that my boss?!”
