Chapter 108: A Stunning Result
Another hour later, as the sports car crossed into Statepool City, Shen Yu’s phone finally regained signal.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Notification after notification flooded his screen.
He casually unlocked the phone.
The top trending headline immediately caught his eye.
Statepool City Daily News — Trending #1
Good News! Good News!
The S-Rank Instance, Joint Burial Village, which had terrorized Hishir District for years, began dissipating one hour ago. Authorities suspect that the participants have successfully conquered the instance.
According to reports, the participants included Shen Yu of Statepool City, Luxian, Emo Han from Feya City, and Taishan...
Within minutes, the article had exploded across every platform.
Hundreds of thousands of comments poured in.
Shen Yu scrolled lazily through them.
Seaside Resident Who Loves the Waves
"Who actually cleared the dungeon? Hurry up and tell us!"
Wild Boar Peppa
"Do I even need to ask? It had to be Shen Yu. As long as there’s a female ghost around, that guy somehow finds a solution."
Staple’s Ludwa
"I think Luxian and Emo Han probably contributed the most. Those two were the veterans."
Ordinary Citizen
"No matter who did it, Statepool City is finally safe."
"How many cities are even left standing in Anoui Province?"
Statepool City Defense Department
"Please continue believing in humanity’s strength."
"This victory proves that higher-level dungeons can also be conquered."
"As long as we remain united..."
"Humanity will ultimately prevail."
Shen Yu skimmed through the comments with little interest.
His attention shifted outside the window.
The sports car was already approaching the Statepool City Defense Base.
Colorful banners hung everywhere.
Huge congratulatory streamers stretched across the entrance.
The previously solemn military compound now looked almost festive.
A massive crowd had gathered outside.
At the very front stood a middle-aged man in an expensive suit.
His polished leather shoes gleamed beneath the sunlight.
His smile was dazzling.
The moment he spotted the approaching sports car, he immediately raised both hands.
"Our heroes are back!"
"Everyone!"
"Give our heroes the loudest applause!"
The crowd erupted.
"EMO HAN!"
"EMO HAN!"
"EMO HAN!"
Several officials enthusiastically joined the chanting.
Only Ho Yong and the members of Statepool City’s task force wore bitter expressions.
None of them cheered.
Everyone knew one thing.
Emo Han had been the official leader.
His Talent—
Future Echo
—allowed him to glimpse fragments of the future.
With such an ability, nearly everyone assumed he would return alive.
As for Shen Yu...
Most people didn’t even remember he had entered the dungeon.
The sports car slowly came to a stop.
Before anyone else reacted—
Ho Yong suddenly froze.
His eyes widened.
Inside the vehicle...
There were only two people.
Luxian.
And Shen Yu.
Nothing more.
"Shen Yu!"
"Luxian!"
"You... you both came back!"
His gloomy expression instantly brightened.
He threw away the sign in his hands and sprinted toward the car.
"That’s wonderful!"
"You’re both alright!"
Shen Yu climbed out of the passenger seat and stretched lazily.
Then he spoke flatly.
"Stop shouting."
"Emo Han is dead."
"What are all these welcome banners for?"
Silence.
Absolute silence.
"What... did you just say?"
The suited official’s smile vanished instantly.
His face darkened.
"Emo Han..."
"...is dead?"
"Impossible."
"How could he die?"
He rushed to the vehicle and looked inside repeatedly.
The rear seat was completely empty.
Not even a trace remained.
Luxian got out of the driver’s seat.
She dusted off her sleeves.
"He was trapped by his own Talent."
"He misjudged the future."
"And he died."
She glanced indifferently at the colorful ribbons surrounding the entrance.
"You can take those decorations down now."
The official’s expression stiffened.
Luxian couldn’t even be bothered looking at him.
She didn’t exactly hate Emo Han.
But she certainly didn’t like him.
As the team’s leader, he should have shared information.
Protected his teammates.
Faced the dungeon together.
Instead...
He trusted Future Echo absolutely.
He treated everyone else as disposable variables.
Even after seeing countless possible futures...
He never warned anyone.
Never cooperated.
Never trusted anyone.
In the end...
His greatest strength became the chain that dragged him to his death.
If he refused to save others...
No one was obligated to save him either.
Inside the dungeon...
Everyone had paid the price for their own choices.
Without another word, Shen Yu walked calmly toward the entrance of the defense base.
The suited official’s face turned livid.
"Stop!"
"How dare you speak to me like that?"
"You’d better explain yourself!"
"What exactly happened inside that dungeon?"
"If Emo Han is dead..."
"What did the two of you do?"
His voice grew increasingly furious.
"Someone!"
"Stop him!"
"Detain him immediately!"
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Several men in black suits instantly stepped forward, surrounding Shen Yu.
Shen Yu slowly stopped walking.
His brows furrowed slightly.
He had spent days fighting ghosts, monsters, and cursed horrors.
The last thing he expected...
...was to return to reality only to find people causing him even more trouble.
Mirror Flower, Water Moon.
Buzz—
The space behind Shen Yu suddenly twisted.
A massive illusion of the Mental Hospital materialized behind him.
The cooldown of Mirror Flower, Water Moon had finally ended.
"He... he..."
Within moments, reality itself became unstable.
The originally peaceful entrance of the defense base distorted into the gloomy courtyard of the Wang family’s residence.
Cold moonlight descended.
Standing beneath it were two familiar figures.
Mo Han.
Tai Shan.
Or rather—
What remained of them.
Their bodies had already become gravestones.
Their bluish-black skin cracked apart as gray dust poured endlessly from the fissures.
Their stiff necks slowly twisted toward the men in suits.
"Leader..."
"Leader..."
"You... came to find me..."
The eerie whispers echoed through the illusion.
"No..."
"No!"
"Don’t come over!"
The several officials instantly collapsed onto the ground in terror.
Their faces turned deathly pale.
Some crawled backward.
Others couldn’t even stand.
Their legs shook violently.
One after another...
Their pants became soaked.
Ho Yong stared blankly.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
"So..."
"So this..."
"This is the skill only obtainable from an S-Rank perfect clear..."
"No wonder..."
"No wonder Shen Yu could walk unharmed through that village."
His breathing quickened.
At that moment, he finally understood.
Shen Yu’s contribution had been far greater than Mo Han’s.
Perhaps...
Far greater than anyone had imagined.