“So you mean you were thrown into that abandoned dungeon for ten days?” Zuo Lin'an asked.
Xu Youyou nodded. “Right, and not just ten days. I stayed in there for a full twelve days. With the time acceleration, I went straight from a one-year-old to a thirteen-year-old!”
Zuo Lin'an suddenly realized something. He did some quick math in his head. On paper, both of them were currently eighteen years old, but the guy in front of him...
Subtracting twelve years... six years old?
This guy was only six!
He was actually bros with a six-year-old kid!
Xu Youyou could tell what he was thinking just by looking at his expression.
“Hey!”
“Don't get any weird ideas! To the outside world, only twelve days had passed, but in that dungeon, I really lived through twelve whole years!”
“I'm not some little kid!”
Hearing this, Zuo Lin'an finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Oh, is that so?
Thank goodness.
Xu Youyou really was eighteen now; it was just that he had spent twelve of those years entirely alone in an abandoned dungeon with no one to talk to.
That was probably why he seemed so childish, annoying, and loved to chatter endlessly.
He must have been starved for conversation in that abandoned dungeon.
“Did they catch the person who did it?”
Xu Youyou nodded. “Of course. My aunt got some friends to help. They ground his bones to dust and scattered his ashes. They even captured and sealed the specter bound to him.”
Zuo Lin'an nodded to himself. “So? What does that have to do with Aunt Mei letting you go to Sin Hunter City?”
Xu Youyou explained, “Didn't I tell you? If you stay in that abandoned dungeon for more than ten days, even after you leave, your body's aging process will be accelerated.”
“Look at me. I'm clearly in the same grade as you, but I look like a twenty-year-old adult.”
Zuo Lin'an finally realized. It wasn't that this guy was just aging fast naturally; his personal time was literally accelerated.
“Is it because...”
Xu Youyou said excitedly, “Exactly!”
“As long as I successfully become a dungeon boss, my body will be frozen in time at the moment I become one. From then on, I won't have to worry about accelerated aging ever again!”
“I won't have to worry about rapidly growing old and kicking the bucket anytime soon!”
Hearing this, Zuo Lin'an suddenly felt a bit puzzled.
“If that's the case, why did Aunt Mei stop you before and keep you from knowing anything about Sin Hunter City?”
Xu Youyou stroked his chin. “Probably because my aunt originally just wanted me to live a peaceful life, but now she's changed her mind and wants me to give it a shot.”
Zuo Lin'an figured Aunt Mei must have been very conflicted.
On one hand, she wanted Xu Youyou to live a peaceful life, which was why she kept him from knowing too much about Sin Hunter City.
But on the other hand, she didn't want him to die so early. That was likely why she had trained him so intensely in secret, giving him enough strength to protect himself—and even crush others.
Those special training sessions were probably all preparation for Xu Youyou's entry into Sin Hunter City.
Just then, Xu Youyou finished packing his things.
“All done! Let's get some sleep. We're leaving school tomorrow.”
Zuo Lin'an climbed back into bed. “Yeah.”
Early the next morning, the two of them dragged their luggage to the school gate and waited.
Their homeroom teacher stood beside them, giving them some final advice.
“Once you two get to the training base, you must study hard. Most importantly, follow the rules. It's not like our school over there.”
“The instructors training you are all elites of the industry. Some even have eccentric temperaments. If you make them unhappy, they won't be held responsible even if they kill you outright.”
Zuo Lin'an's eyes widened slightly.
What?
They wouldn't be held responsible even if they killed a student?
Liu Gaomei looked at Xu Youyou. “Especially you!”
Xu Youyou's eyes went wide. “Me?”
Liu Gaomei wanted to say more, but she saw a large bus driving toward them, clearly coming to pick them up.
Having no time for further words, she could only pat Zuo Lin'an on the shoulder.
“You have a steady personality. Once you get to the training base, remember to keep an eye on him.”
Zuo Lin'an nodded. “Don't worry, Teacher. I understand.”
The vehicle pulled up near them, and the doors opened.
The driver turned to look at them. “The two from Lingyang First High School, get on.”
Liu Gaomei reluctantly watched her two students board. She stood quietly by the roadside, watching the vehicle grow distant until it vanished from sight before slowly turning back to the school.
Rate on N.U.
