Chapter 14 : Chapter 14
Chapter 14: Finally Back
Chenxi leaned against the stone pillar with his eyes closed, resting, but his mind was rapidly calculating.
He knew the condition of his body right now. Even walking was difficult, let alone fighting.
Hongxu’s stamina was not abundant either. After continuous high-intensity combat and the earlier paralytic poison, her condition was extremely unstable.
Returning directly would be too risky. If they encountered monsters or adventurers harboring ill intent, Hongxu alone would not be able to handle everything.
The first rule of dungeon exploration: the only person you can truly trust is yourself.
Well, he could see favorability, so there was no need to be overly suspicious.
“Hey, human, what are you thinking about?”
Hongxu’s voice broke the silence.
She sat beside Chenxi, casually playing with a small stone in her hand.
Chenxi opened his eyes and glanced at her.
“I’m thinking about how to get back more safely.”
“Safely?”
Hongxu frowned.
“Why not just fight our way back? Those monsters are already scared of us. They definitely would not dare block our path.”
She did not think that deeply. They would simply kill their way back the same way they had killed their way here.
If they could fight their way in, why could they not fight their way out?
There was no reason for that!
Of course, she completely ignored both her condition and Chenxi’s condition.
Chenxi shook his head.
“You are not in good condition right now. The paralytic poison has not fully faded, so your movements will be slower.
And I cannot even stand steadily right now. If we encounter monsters, I will only slow you down.”
Hongxu curled her lips.
“I am not afraid. Even carrying you, I could still cut through everything!”
After saying that, she glanced at Chenxi, who practically had the word “weakness” written all over his face.
“So what do we do? Just sit here and wait?”
“Wait until I recover some strength. At the very least, I need to be able to protect myself.”
Chenxi continued,
“Then we will leave together. That will significantly increase our safety.”
This time, they had been terribly unlucky.
Hongxu thought about it for a moment and felt Chenxi’s words made sense.
“Alright then. I will listen to you.
But recover quickly. I do not want to stay here for too long.”
Chenxi took a deep breath, unsure how to respond to that remark.
Hey!
Look at me.
If I could recover quickly, do you think I would enjoy staying here?!
Answer me. Look into my eyes!
No matter how lively his inner thoughts were, his expression remained unchanged.
Chenxi closed his eyes and continued resting.
Hongxu, however, could not sit still. She began looking around while muttering continuously.
“This place is so boring. There is not even anyone to talk to.
Chenxi, what should we eat after we go back?
I want the roasted meat you made, and egg drop soup, and…”
Chenxi felt somewhat helpless from her chatter, but he did not interrupt her. He simply listened quietly.
Alright, alright.
At least she was willing to tell him what she wanted now. Her favorability had increased further.
Chenxi glanced at Hongxu’s favorability toward him.
【Favorability: 20】
It had become positive.
They had already reached the stage where being together felt comfortable.
Yes.
She truly was a fool.
In just two days, her favorability had increased by nearly one hundred points.
Even if favorability increased faster when it started from a very low level, this was still absurdly fast.
After a while, Hongxu’s voice gradually softened.
Leaning beside Chenxi, she also closed her eyes to rest.
Chenxi could feel her breathing becoming steady.
She had probably fallen asleep.
He let out a helpless sigh.
Well, whatever.
If she had fallen asleep, then she had fallen asleep. If he was the one keeping watch, that was still manageable.
Chenxi closed his eyes again.
In this state, he could recover his energy faster and hear the surrounding sounds more clearly.
His mind had already begun planning what to do after returning.
The mission was complete.
He had already decided on the purple equipment reward.
Hongxu’s current role was to serve as the front line. A breastplate would provide better protection and reduce the risk of her being injured.
As for himself…
He would choose a weapon to increase his attack power so that he could cooperate better with Hongxu in battle.
Although perhaps he should switch to a ranged profession instead?
Amid this tangled flow of thoughts, his strength slowly recovered.
Finally—
Chenxi opened his eyes.
Turning his head, he saw that Hongxu was still asleep.
The way she slept could only be described as… bold.
Yes.
That description was probably accurate.
Her mouth hung open, and drool had begun to drip down.
Being able to sleep so soundly in such a foul-smelling dungeon was quite a skill.
Chenxi gently nudged her.
“Hongxu, wake up. We should leave.”
Hongxu groggily opened her eyes and rubbed them.
“Recovered already? I have not slept enough yet.”
Chenxi said helplessly,
“If we do not leave soon, it will be nightfall. It will be even more dangerous then. You can sleep when we get back.”
Hongxu stretched lazily and stood up.
“Alright, alright. Let us go. But stay close to me and do not fall behind.”
She reached out and fastened her helmet onto her head.
The moment she stood up, the aura around Hongxu changed dramatically.
“Time to kill! Time to kill!”
After all, the Oni were extremely fond of battle.
…
The journey back was far smoother than their arrival.
Most monsters on the Third and Second Floors had not yet respawned. Occasionally a low-level Goblin or a weakened Gale Wolf would appear, but Hongxu dealt with them easily.
She seemed to vent all the frustration from earlier onto these unfortunate creatures, swinging her axe with fierce momentum.
“See that? That is what real strength looks like!”
Hongxu kicked aside a Goblin’s corpse and turned back proudly.
“Those bugs earlier only had the advantage of numbers!”
“Mm. Impressive.”
Chenxi replied perfunctorily while focusing on regulating his breathing to conserve energy.
Hongxu was very dissatisfied with his perfunctory response.
“Hey! There is no sincerity in that at all!”
When they finally stepped onto the stone stairs leading to the surface of Zero Town, the dim gray daylight filtered down.
It was already morning.
Adventurers preparing to enter the dungeon stared in astonishment at Chenxi and Hongxu.
Were they really that miserable?
…
After locking the gate of his courtyard, Chenxi finally let out a sigh of relief.
They had finally returned.
Hongxu stood at the doorway, her tall body looking somewhat awkward.
She clumsily removed the damaged pieces of her plate armor.
She still seemed uneasy.
Even though their relationship had improved significantly, the sense of awkwardness around her had not faded at all.
“Why are you just standing there?”
Chenxi looked at Hongxu, who was standing like a door guardian.
“Take off your armor and fetch some water from the well to wash up. You go first.
There is no need to feel embarrassed.
Like I said, I never treated you as a slave. Just treat this place as your own home.”
“Who… who is embarrassed?!”
Hongxu instinctively retorted, but her hands did not stop as she continued unfastening the remaining armor buckles.
Then—
DUANG!
Chenxi tilted his head upward and closed his eyes.
One should not look at what should not be looked at.
One should not look at what should not be looked at.
His consciousness sank back into the system.
Choosing equipment was more important.
It would be perfect timing to finish before she completed her bath.
No need to waste time.