“Dian Dian?” Su Ximu crouched down and reached out to pet the little dog that ran over.
The little dog, called by its name, continued to wag its tail rapidly and woofed once.
After that bark, it quickly turned around, fetched a red little leather ball from a nearby green belt not far from Su Ximu, ran back in front of him, and tilted its head to offer the little leather ball from its mouth.
Su Ximu got the idea. Dian Dian had probably sneaked out with the little leather ball to play while Ox Grandpa wasn’t watching.
He looked down at the little leather ball in his hand and, following the spotted little dog’s expectant gaze, threw it with just the right amount of force.
“Woof!” The spotted little dog barked happily and chased after the little leather ball on all fours.
As the little dog ran off, Su Ximu straightened up and introduced it to Second Brother beside him. “It’s called Dian Dian. It’s Ox Grandpa’s little dog. The last time I ran into Ox Grandpa, he was out walking Dian Dian.”
He felt a bit timid and apprehensive toward Ox Grandpa, like a child returning home after a long absence.
It wasn’t just Ox Grandpa. If not for Third Brother, he wouldn’t have accidentally fallen into Second Brother’s dungeon and relived the days growing up together with his brothers, making everything feel like it had happened just yesterday. Right now, he couldn’t quite find the familiar way to get along with them.
Ox Grandpa…
That was an even more distant memory.
When Ox Grandpa left, the crumbling Wasteland World was still barely holding together. After Ox Grandpa departed, he and his brothers enjoyed a relatively peaceful life for a long time.
Thinking of Ox Grandpa now, what stuck with him most clearly were those rough, large hands that could easily scoop him up and lift him high, and the encouraging, pleased smile as he watched him doodle on the wall.
As if he’d drawn impressive math problems instead of little dogs, little horses, and little ducks.
Lost in thought, Su Ximu reached up to touch his neck. Suddenly, he felt even more unsure about how to face Ox Grandpa.
Because the little plaque Grandpa had given him—the one he’d told him to always wear—had been lost.
After returning home to the Real World, he’d fallen ill and forgotten some memories, naturally including the little plaque.
It was only after fully sorting out his memories a couple of days ago that he realized his neck was bare.
He could only guess that, as a naughty kid, he’d accidentally snapped the plaque’s string, making the whole thing vanish.
The little dog, having successfully retrieved the ball, interrupted the teenager’s musing. It clamped the little leather ball in its mouth and circled his feet, urging him to keep playing.
Playing with the little dog was simple—just take the ball from its mouth and toss it out, and it would happily dash off again.
Prompted by the little dog, Su Ximu crouched down once more. He first petted its head in praise, then threw the little ball again.
Seeing Xiao Xi having such a good time with the little dog, Su Wuzi didn’t press him to stick to their original plan of going for a walk. Instead, he offered a hand to help him stand and asked with concern, “Xiao Xi, what were you thinking about just now? You didn’t look too happy.”
“It’s the little plaque Grandpa gave me. Seems I lost it a long time ago…”
Kids forget easily. Even right after getting the plaque, when Grandpa told him to wear it properly, the little guy had stuffed it inside his clothes and forgotten to even tell his brothers.
This was the first time Su Wuzi had heard about the plaque.
His Dungeon World hadn’t been fully formed at the start, containing only his own memories. It only completed after Big Brother, Jiang Lou, and Xiao Xi entered.
Many events in the dungeon played out from their individual perspectives.
After the dungeon ended, Su Wuzi had kept his focus on home and hadn’t yet resorted through it.
Hearing Xiao Xi mention the plaque now, his gaze flickered as he asked further, “What did it look like? Any idea when you might’ve lost it?”
Su Ximu gazed at the light shining from the villa window nearby, racked his brain, and finally shook his head. “It was a Safety Plaque, I think. Grandpa said wearing it kept you safe. He told me to keep it on and not take it off.”
He knew there were words on the plaque, but he couldn’t read them.
“When I lost it… not really sure.”
The last clear memory was feeling it still there when he closed his eyes for good.
As Xiao Xi spoke, Su Wuzi turned his gaze to that same window. At the same time, a nagging doubt in his heart finally clicked into place.
He realized that, even after becoming neighbors again, he, Big Brother, and Jiang Lou had treated this old man with too little respect.
Hostile neighbor relations were the norm in the Weird World, so their amicable coexistence with occasional interactions already made them model neighbors.
But it still wasn’t enough.
Not for someone who had saved Xiao Xi’s life.
Yes, his life.
On the day the Wasteland World met its end, the world barrier shattered, Weirds rampaged, and blood ran like rivers.
After emerging from the dungeon with Xiao Xi, he’d pondered what incredible luck had let Xiao Xi cross two world barriers unscathed amid that hell, return home, and set the stage for their reunion over a decade later.
“Xiao Xi, that plaque wasn’t lost.” Su Wuzi touched the teenager’s cheek, a trace of lingering fear in the gesture. “It fulfilled its true purpose, that’s why it vanished.”
As the brothers talked, a shadow faintly projected onto the wall behind the villa window glowing with warm light nearby.
Looking closer, it was the silhouette of a bearded old man holding a spatula.
“Fulfilled its true purpose?” Su Ximu repeated.
“Yeah.” Su Wuzi recounted something from many years ago in the Wasteland World. “In those final days, the Wasteland World’s higher-ups went berserk trying to clear a Weird dungeon called the Traveler. Rumor had it the reward was a Voyager Ship that could bring them hope.”
“But they hadn’t given up hunting other protective items either. One Weird named 【Puppet Person】 told the Wasteland World’s people that its clearance reward was a plaque—a Safety Plaque.”
“The higher-ups sent tons of people into its dungeon, but the Safety Plaque’s drop rate was abysmal. No one got it.”
“Eventually, the Puppet Person tired of the game and announced it would shut down its playground for good soon. The last person to enter still couldn’t bring out the Safety Plaque. Education Field 104’s management wrote him off as useless and tossed him into the next high-risk dungeon when it opened.”
Turned out, that last person wasn’t useless at all.
The Safety Plaque really did keep you safe.
Su Ximu touched his neck again. Listening to Second Brother, he vaguely recalled the white light that enveloped him completely after he and his brothers closed their eyes—like drifting in a dream.
He felt a bit numb and dazed, blinking slowly as a teardrop plopped to the ground.
He turned to look at the window again. Now, a clear human figure reflected there.
That afternoon, he’d learned why Ox Grandpa felt both familiar and strange: his body housed not just the grandpa he knew, but also a Weird known as the Beast Tamer.
A terrifying, loathsome Weird. If Grandpa hadn’t been so strong, it might’ve devoured him in the end.
So at dinner that evening, even though the cake wasn’t a birthday one, he’d made a wish to the Fairy Tale Candle: he hoped Grandpa would always overpower that Weird, staying unharmed. If Grandpa could be okay, the Weird dying wouldn’t matter.
Now, hearing from his brother that Grandpa had once possessed a powerful protective prop—and given it to him long ago.
But he…
Hadn’t done a thing to help Grandpa.
Was the world just that cruel, making even someone like him—who hadn’t done much good—seem so extraordinary?
Behind the villa window
The old man who’d just gotten home held a spatula, about to cook for himself.
But after becoming a Weird, without reining it in, he could easily hear every word the teenager outside uttered.
He heard him playing with his spotted little dog.
He heard him speak of losing the little plaque.
The old man at the stove listened and listened until the food in his pan charred completely—without noticing.
The window framed his motionless silhouette on both sides, along with the teenager approaching step by step from afar.
Only when the teenager’s shadow drew near did the old man set down the spatula and fling open the window in a hurry.
Inside the villa and out, their eyes met.
The window sat a bit high, so the teenager outside tilted his head up.
The old man stared at the doll-like, faintly red eyes before him. His rough hand reached out, pulled back, then wiped across his face. In a gruff voice softened instinctively, he invited, “Kiddo, little doll, wanna come to Grandpa’s for dinner?”
Su Ximu had already eaten. If Ox Grandpa had been home earlier, he would’ve invited him over to his place.
Feeling the lingering fullness in his belly, the teenager nodded without hesitation. “Sure. Cough cough, I’m coming over, Grandpa. Open the door for me.”
The old man wiped his hand on his apron, nodded, and turned to get the door.
With his tall frame no longer blocking the way, black smoke billowed eagerly from the kitchen.
“Grandpa, cough, doing barbecue? I can start a fire—let me help~” The teenager rolled up his sleeves.
The old man, already turning away, went rigid at the words.
