Didn’t that mean all test takers might die once, or even several times?
And after each death, the news of their death would have to be delivered to the family corresponding to that role identity?
‘What if… this letter in front of me is the death notice of one of my past identities?’
‘Would I then have to personally go and inform the family of that identity?’
‘Everyone could potentially have to deliver such a letter, as long as the cycles are enough.’
With that thought, Su Fu closed the box.
Now, most test takers thought this was just an advanced dungeon anyway—they could revive infinitely, so what did death matter?
They might even willingly experience death, or deliberately “get killed” to test the dungeon mechanics.
But what if, after their next revival, they had to personally inform the family of that character’s death?
To see the other party in agony and grief.
Su Fu suddenly understood the horror of looping dungeons.
They would repeat over and over, again and again to immerse and detach, hope and despair, until they completely shattered a person’s will.
Finally, they would sink completely into an endless cycle.
This was the true trial.
Just then, Su Fu looked up and asked, “General, the journey is long, and there are many fallen soldiers.”
“May I ask a few others to accompany me?”
Huo Qubing stared at her for a moment.
“Of course.”
“You may choose whomever you wish.”
“Thank you, General!”
On her way back, Su Fu opened the [Great Wall Vigil] multiplayer channel.
She checked the time—it wasn’t yet the twenty-four-hour cooldown for Lin Zhao’s revival.
The group chat was still lively:
[I really don’t want to build the wall anymore! My hands are covered in blisters!]
[The main issue is that repairing it is useless! The anomalies just came and the wall we worked on for so long collapsed instantly!]
[I originally thought this Great Wall might have some special defense mechanism, but… (bitter laugh)]
[How about… forget about this crummy wall! Let’s team up and storm the anomalies’ lair!]
[We can revive infinitely, so what’s there to fear? Let’s go big!]
[I’m in! Any brothers want to join? Count me in!]
[Speaking of which, isn’t anyone interested in challenging General Huo Qubing?]
[I saw his skills—definitely a top-tier expert! A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!]
[What’s the fear, bro? Reviving only takes twenty-four hours, just go for it!]
[Wait… you guys up there, isn’t anyone worried about how to actually clear this dungeon?]
[What’s the rush? We finally got into the Torch Dungeon, and it’s the infinite revive type—of course we should experience all kinds of deaths… er, fighting styles!]
[If it didn’t hurt so much, I’d want to try the revive process like Lin Zhao!]
[Lin Zhao: faints.jpg]
[…]
Su Fu read these varied comments and thought, ‘They sure are relaxed.’
‘As expected of the chosen ones—if nothing else, their mentality is quite confident and… unconstrained.’
‘Well, they are the best among countless competitors after all.’
‘They’ve experienced countless dangerous and bizarre dungeons and developed their own unique styles.’
Some were like Fengzi Luke, who believed in freedom and went their own way as lone wolves.
Others were like Lady Baiya and Dr. Zero, who were academic, keen on research and analysis, trying to crack dungeons with theory.
Or leaders like Lady Rose and General Heiren, who were clear in their goals and strong-willed.
A myriad of personalities.
Compared to others, they often focused more on the process than the result. One night passed, and early the next morning, Su Fu had a simple breakfast of the coarse food provided by the military camp.
Chesia looked puzzled. “Weren’t you going to find someone to do the quest with? Why haven’t I seen you go looking for anyone?”
Su Fu wiped her mouth. “Aren’t I waiting for the cooldown?”
“Cooldown?” Chesia was startled, then seemed to realize something. “Ah?! Wait! Could it be that you’re looking for Lin Zhao?”
“Oh my god! You want him to personally deliver the news of his own death to his character’s family?!”
She suddenly got excited. “That’s great! I support it!”
Su Fu opened the multiplayer channel. The 24‑hour resurrection cooldown had just passed.
She asked Chesia for help. “Aren’t you sensitive to souls? Look around the camp and see what his new identity is.”
Chesia vowed with confidence. “Leave it to me! I guarantee I’ll find him for you!”
At this moment, many people in the group were also paying attention to Lin Zhao’s situation.
[Lin Zhao! Tell us, what was the resurrection experience like?]
[Hilarious! Defeated in one blow by a mortal military officer, isn’t that embarrassing?]
[…That was just a moment of carelessness! If I try again, I definitely won’t lose!]
[What’s there to experience? It’s just seeing darkness. If you’re really curious, find an opportunity to die once and you’ll know.]
[But I did find one benefit. Shen Yan changed me to a new character identity, directly becoming a squad leader!]
[Much better than that previous recruit who could only carry bricks!]
[What?! After death and resurrection, you can also get promoted?]
[There’s such a good thing?! This character of mine is too bad, I’ll go and try restarting immediately!]
Just then, Chesia exclaimed in surprise. “Found him!”
A few days later, at the camp entrance.
Su Fu was waiting at the meeting point for the others. Today the mission would be carried out.
They would head to several villages under Yanmen Commandery, to deliver the death notices and compensation to the families of the fallen soldiers.
Just then, she spotted Lin Zhao’s figure.
He still didn’t know what he was about to face, but being able to leave the camp gave him some excitement and a sense of relief.
In his view, his new identity was a squad leader, so that previous unlucky job of carrying bricks and repairing walls should have nothing to do with him, right?
Besides, this mission was very mysterious; maybe it was some kind of high‑level operation.
Behind him followed another person, the Chief Scholar of the Ministry of Education, Lady Baiya.
Su Fu didn’t expect Baiya to have chosen this dungeon, and moreover, she had found her before and expressed a desire to cooperate to clear the dungeon.
With someone to cooperate, Su Fu naturally didn’t refuse.
The group assembled smoothly. Although Lin Zhao could tell that the other two were also test takers, due to the identity settings, he didn’t know their real names.
He only knew that Su Fu was Su Changying and Baiya was Bai Mangqing.
And Su Changying was the team leader for this mission.
His mood was clearly good at the moment. He said lightly, “Finally! I can leave this damned place!”
“Staring at those crap stones and building walls every day, my hands are almost calloused!”
Su Fu gave a half‑smile and said leisurely, “Oh? Then why didn’t you choose to kill General Huo? That way you wouldn’t have to build walls.”
Lin Zhao’s expression stiffened. To be honest, Huo Qubing’s clean, one‑strike kill terror had really left him traumatized.
Moreover, killing him was useless; he couldn’t become a general. The entire camp only recognized Huo Qubing!
“Ahem…” Lin Zhao coughed twice and quickly changed the subject. “That… well, aren’t we supposed to be doing the mission? Let’s set off quickly!”
Lady Baiya smiled slightly and said nothing.
Shuofang Commandery. Located south of Yanmen Pass, it was a relatively barren commandery in the frontier region.
The wind and sand were strong, the land barren. As far as the eye could see, there were mostly low adobe houses and bare sand dunes.
On the list, there were ten fallen soldiers here.
At first, Lin Zhao was still quite excited because he could escape the hard labor of building walls, chattering nonstop along the way.
Until they entered the first household. The woman took the letter with trembling hands and instantly collapsed in grief.
“My son! How could you be gone like this! How am I supposed to live on as your mother!”
That old lady fainted from crying on the spot, heartbroken.
Lin Zhao stood frozen, his face pale.
The second household was a middle‑aged man. He silently took the letter, stared at it for a long time, and finally only said hoarsely, “…Alright, I understand.”
He looked calm, if not for the constant trembling of his hands.
The third household was a young wife, holding a baby in her arms. After hearing the news, she looked as if her soul had been drained, standing there blankly.
It wasn’t until the child cried that she woke up as if from a dream, tears silently streaming down.
Lin Zhao’s face grew uglier and uglier, until he almost fled in disgrace.
“This dungeon is too realistic…”
“Why include this kind of scene?!”
The sun set in the west; the dying sun was like blood, dyeing the entire wasteland red.
Lin Zhao suddenly thought, if… if he really couldn’t be resurrected in this dungeon due to some accident and died completely… then his parents, when they received news of his death…
He didn’t dare think further.
‘Pull yourself together. Find a way, then leave this place.’
Lady Baiya comforted, “What we can do is to complete the mission as soon as possible and find the method to clear this dungeon.”
These words made Lin Zhao cheer up a little. ‘Right, after all, this is just a dungeon. As long as we can clear it, everything will end.’
“Then where is the next place?” Lin Zhao asked, barely pulling himself together.
Su Fu took out the next notice, glanced at the address, and read, “Shuofang Commandery, Huaishu Village.”
“Huaishu Village?” Lin Zhao was taken aback. “Why do I feel… this name seems a bit familiar?”
Su Fu raised her eyes and looked at him. “Is it your hometown?”
“Ah?” He quickly glanced at his current character card, then breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, no.”
But no sooner had he said that than he froze completely.
He stuttered to confirm, “By the way… we test takers, the characters we’re assigned… shouldn’t have any family, right?”
As he spoke, even he felt guilty. Because he suddenly remembered that on the initial character card, it clearly stated the background information “has an aged mother, sickly and frail.”
Lin Zhao felt his head buzz.
He snatched the notice, read the name, native place, and detailed family relations…
Exactly the same, all matched.
“This is… my… death notice?”
“It seems so.” Su Fu handed him the corresponding compensation money pouch as well. “In that case, go by yourself.”
Lin Zhao: “I…”
How was he supposed to face this? How could he tell that sickly old mother in the character background that her son was dead?
Seeing Su Fu already walking ahead, he braced himself and followed. After hesitating for a long time, he finally forced out, “How about… you deliver it?”
Su Fu glanced at him sideways.
Lin Zhao, unnerved by her look, said in desperation, “Don’t… don’t look at me like that! I admit I was a bit impulsive at the time, but I also saw that those soldiers were just ordinary people, building those crappy walls with all their effort, completely useless! …I thought, why not let me be the general, leading everyone to fight with more advanced methods! Who… who could have guessed, that Huo Qubing… was that powerful! One blow and I was…”
Lady Baiya chuckled softly, her voice gentle but each word stabbing like a needle. “Are you afraid to face it?”
Lin Zhao finally understood; these two just wanted him to go.
“Fine, I’ll go!” Lin Zhao gritted his teeth. “It’s just delivering a letter, right? Anyway… anyway, it’s just an NPC, it’s not like I’m really dead!”
The closer they got to Huaishu Village, the more desolate and dilapidated the scene became.
Low thatched cottages, crooked fences, sparse green vegetation.
Finally, they arrived at their destination. It was a thatched cottage, half of its courtyard wall collapsed.
In the yard, an old woman with graying hair and hunched back was tremblingly gathering dried wild vegetables.
Hearing footsteps, the old woman slowly straightened up and squinted, trying to make them out.
Then she exclaimed joyfully, “Zhao’er?! Is that Zhao’er back?!”
Everyone then noticed that the old woman’s eyes were clouded; clearly, her eyesight was very poor.
She staggered closer, grabbing Lin Zhao’s sleeve with her rough, withered hand, her voice trembling with excitement. “Zhao’er! Mother knew you would come back…”
Lin Zhao was completely stiff. He instinctively stepped back half a step. “No, I’m not…”
The old woman was startled, then leaned in to look closely and finally realized something was wrong.
She let go in disappointment, lowered her head to wipe the corners of her eyes, and forced a smile. “Please forgive me, sir. This old woman’s eyesight is bad… My son is serving at the Great Wall and hasn’t been back for a long time…”
Lin Zhao’s throat tightened. His voice was hoarse. “We… we’re here to deliver a letter to you.”
“A letter?” The old woman suddenly lit up with joy. “Is it a letter from Zhao’er? This child, he hasn’t sent a letter home in a long time! Well, after his father passed away, I don’t know a single character, so sending a letter was useless…”
She nervously wiped her hands on her coarse cloth apron and asked tentatively, “Sir… my Zhao’er, is he… has he performed a great merit in the army? Like you, sir?”
Before they could answer, she began to ramble on. “Ah, his father also guarded the Great Wall in his day, spent his whole life around the foot of the Wall. Unfortunately, his luck was bad. Once, while defending a beacon tower, he was badly injured and didn’t last a few days before passing away… Left behind just the two of us, mother and child.
Fortunately, Zhao’er was sensible from a young age, very well‑behaved.
But who would have thought that when he grew up, he insisted on joining the army, saying that only by guarding this Great Wall could I live well in the future.”
“Guarding the Great Wall is good. Guard it well… Must guard it well…”
As the old woman spoke, she looked at Lin Zhao and broke into a joyful smile again. “Ah, look at this old woman, getting old and starting to ramble. Sir, you are really tall, just like my Zhao’er… This old woman doesn’t ask for anything else, just hopes that my Zhao’er stays safe in the army. That’s more important than anything…”
“Oh, right,” the old woman seemed to remember something. She took the letter, carefully caressed it, and then, a bit embarrassed, held it back out and asked expectantly, “This old woman can’t read. This letter… sir, could you read it out loud for me?”