‘Read the letter?’
Lin Zhao looked down at the letter that had been shoved back into his hand. It was written on the roughest hemp paper.
Rather than a letter, it was a death notice.
A thin sheet of paper, stamped with a military seal, contained only one core piece of information:
“Lin Zhao, for disobeying military orders, is to be executed by military law.”
He had played this role, but he didn’t die on the battlefield, nor because of meritorious service.
Rather, because of his own arrogance and contempt, with a mindset as flippant as a player’s, he was beheaded on the spot by Huo Qubing.
To him, this was just a dungeon where he could revive infinitely.
“Lin Zhao” was just a character, an NPC. If he died, he could just revive. Maybe he could even get an unexpected windfall of promotion and wealth like this time.
But now, he had to personally read this death notice to the mother who had spared no effort to raise her son.
‘How could he read it? How could he possibly utter it?’
Raising a life to adulthood takes twenty years, but death only takes an instant. 1
And when announcing death, this mother receives only a thin piece of official paper and a few words.
He almost wanted to flee in panic.
He didn’t even dare to look up at the old woman’s eyes full of expectation; he only felt his chest tighten.
He couldn’t say a single word.
The old woman sensed something wrong and stared at him blankly with her clouded eyes.
Why is the military officer in front of me not speaking?
Why is his hand holding the letter trembling slightly?
Why… why is he reluctant to read the content of the letter?
The old woman’s smile gradually froze. “Officer?”
She finally realized something.
They looked at each other in silence, only tears streaming down in torrents.
“LABA…”
“My son…”
The old woman’s cries were heart-wrenching.
She stretched out her withered hand and, again and again, heavily pounded her own chest.
“Zhao’er! You promised your mother you would come back!”
In the end, it was Su Fu who stepped forward and took the letter.
Lin Zhao staggered back and fled in panic.
It was as if as long as he couldn’t see or hear the old woman’s grief, his guilt would lessen.
‘It shouldn’t be like this.’
This was just a dungeon, just NPCs copied by the Anomaly.
But the life he had casually squandered was the son that this old woman had exhausted half her life’s efforts and hopes for.
From a distance, Su Fu’s voice came:
“Elder, please restrain your grief.”
“Your son Lin Zhao, in yesterday’s battle, to shield his comrades, led the charge and unfortunately… died a heroic death for his country.”
“He is posthumously awarded the rank of Loyal and Brave Commandant.”
“He is a hero, died defending the country…” 1
Su Fu concealed the truth of Lin Zhao’s execution and exaggerated his merits to console the family.
At least in this old woman’s eyes, her son’s death was glorious.
The old woman suddenly collapsed onto the ground, took the letter, and desperately stared at it.
“Good… good…” she murmured, “As a soldier… die on the battlefield…”
…..
Her voice trembled, but she still straightened her back with effort, as if to uphold her son’s final dignity.
“Mother is proud of you…”
“But my… my son…”
She couldn’t speak anymore. She hugged the letter tightly, her stooped body curling into a ball.
In the distance, Lin Zhao closed his eyes, not daring to look anymore.
But from behind came the old woman’s suppressed sobs and the low calls.
Until Su Fu and the other person walked over, Lin Zhao finally couldn’t help turning his head.
He wanted to ask something, but the words died in his throat.
Forget it, he didn’t dare to listen.
The setting sun was big and round, hanging at the edge of the sky, like a burning red coal, slowly sinking toward the distant horizon.
It was so much like those lost, young, and vibrant lives.
The moon of Qin and the pass of Han, on the long march of ten thousand li, no one has returned. 1
Lin Zhao, in a daze, followed Su Fu and the others to deliver the remaining death notices.
He knew clearly that this was just a dungeon, but his heart was still heavy, so empathetic.
Until night enveloped the land, he looked at the outline of the Great Wall in the distance, winding like a giant dragon in the darkness, and suddenly asked:
“Those people… built the Great Wall for the people behind them, didn’t they?” 1
Su Fu glanced at him and didn’t speak.
He murmured, “As long as that wall is built, as long as it stands there, blocking, then behind it is always safe.
It’s like a line, a bottom line drawn with blood and lives, never to retreat half a step.”
Lin Zhao suddenly raised his hand, his expression complex. “The Great Wall is really fragile.”
He remembered how he had casually pushed down a section of that wall with a bang, and how he had mocked its fragility.
So easily, so insignificant.
At that time, the wall was just a pile of broken stones in his eyes.
Su Fu knew what he wanted to say and spoke calmly:
“But building it requires countless people.” 1
Lin Zhao was silent for a moment, then finally said in a low voice, “Yes.
Brick by brick, tile by tile, earth by earth, stone by stone.
That is the great power of humanity, the majestic force gathered from countless tiny individuals, enough to change the world.
As long as it remains… behind it is always safe.”
It is hope, faith, and spiritual sustenance.
Those soldiers who built the wall had countless people like this old woman behind them. As long as they knew the Great Wall still stood, they knew where their sons and husbands were, and knew why they fought.
The Great Wall blocks in front, only then can those behind be safe.
He remembered those faces that were silent or collapsed after receiving the death notice, remembered those who were stooped but still straightened their spines and said they were proud…
The Great Wall.
The Great Wall.
He suddenly became curious. How splendid must the culture that the Anomaly copied be?
Lin Zhao clearly couldn’t see the past, but it seemed he could.
In the long river of history, in those countless years of beacon fires, smoke, and clashing arms.
Generation after generation of soldiers, how they used their flesh and blood, their muscles and bones, to guard this Great Wall and resist the invasion of foreign enemies. 1
He really wanted to know what kind of splendid and magnificent, yet resilient and unyielding culture could give birth to such a Great Wall of ten thousand li?
And give birth to a young War God like Huo Qubing who faced death as if returning home and charged forward without hesitation?
And make countless ordinary garrison soldiers, knowing they faced nine deaths and one chance of survival, still unhesitatingly defend their homeland with their lives?
What the Anomaly clumsily imitated should be less than one percent.
But this one percent was already astonishing. 2
Lady Bai Ya looked at Lin Zhao’s clearly changed expression and turned her gaze to Su Fu.
She asked with a complex expression:
“You… have you already found a way to break this cycle?” 2
Su Fu lowered her eyes. Yes, she had found it.
Why did China build the Great Wall?
Not because of bellicosity, but because they had experienced too many wars.
Because the Xiongnu, Tujue, Khitan, Jurchen… time and again raided south, causing rivers of blood among the Central Plains people.
It was because of the desire ‘to build a high wall with flesh and blood, in exchange for generations of descendants never hearing the sound of war.’
The ancestors, after witnessing the cruelty of war and tasting the pain of displacement, hoped to forge an impenetrable barrier.
Able to protect the thousands of miles of rivers and mountains behind, to exchange for eternal peace for future generations.
Five thousand years of China—this is not just a number.
It is a heavy history woven from endless blood and fire, countless wars and conflicts, countless rises and falls and changes.
Precisely because they have experienced so much suffering, they desire peace more than any other civilization.
The Great Wall of ten thousand li represents protection.
Eternal protection of the homeland, never falling.
Then, how to ignite the torch?
Talking alone definitely won’t work.
Of course, it is to make the test takers truly realize from the depths of their hearts the meaning carried by this Great Wall.
Truly worry about the fate of this civilization, and grieve for those lost lives.
She countered Bai Ya, “Have you noticed that there are no gods here?” 1
Lady Bai Ya was stunned and nodded subconsciously. “Indeed.
So far, there hasn’t been any sign of a deity descending.
This… is indeed quite strange.”
“Lady Bai Ya,” Su Fu suddenly asked, “It is said that you are a walking library. How much do you know about this type of historical civilization projection dungeon?”
Lady Baiya pondered for a moment, then replied, “Regarding the formation mechanism of this type of dungeon, the currently mainstream accepted theory is the timeline theory.”
“Simply put, the long river of human history rolls forward, time is linear and cannot be turned back.”
“But Anomalies are different.” She raised her eyes. “They can arbitrarily intercept timelines, using them as blueprints to generate projected dungeons.”
“Uh, for example, just like the dungeon we are in now.”
“The Anomaly might have captured concepts and figures like the Qin Dynasty, Huo Qubing, and the Great Wall from the vast ocean of human historical records.”
“It might also have observed certain scenes in history where humans stubbornly resisted Anomaly invasions.”
“But the Anomaly itself probably doesn’t know that these events might be separated by centuries or even millennia of time.”
“They just randomly piece together these seemingly related elements like a child playing with blocks.”
“Thus creating a dungeon where the Great Wall is invaded by Anomalies.”
“In the Anomaly’s perception, they might think they have restored real history.”
“They also imitate certain figures from historical records because human history contains them.”
“But in reality, all of this is just a false projection, a one-sided understanding and distorted imitation by the Anomaly.”
“The key to cracking this type of dungeon is: what constitutes the core of the dungeon?”
‘Just like the Primordial Fengshen Dungeon, all the plots revolve around the Investiture of the Gods. Once the Fengshen Bang is destroyed, the dungeon collapses.’ Su Fu thought.
“But the key is…” Lady Baiya murmured to herself, “So far, no gods have appeared in this dungeon.”
“Then what could its core be?”
“Why did the Anomaly generate a dungeon without gods? That’s very puzzling.”
“Without gods, what exactly are they here for?”
Su Fu could answer that. “The Great Wall.”
Lady Baiya was stunned again. “The Great Wall?”
“But… it doesn’t have anything special about it.”
“The previous battles have already proven that this wall made of stone alone cannot resist the Anomaly.”
“It’s just rocks.”
Su Fu smiled upon hearing this. She turned to Lady Baiya and asked in return, “Then how do you think human faith comes about? And how are those gods born?”
“Yu the Great controlled the floods, the Foolish Old Man moved mountains, Jingwei filled the sea.”
“The gods of China are originally the sublimation of human will.”
“There are no innate gods, only human faith.”
“People need the guidance and protection of gods.”
“And gods become powerful, or even come into being, because of people’s faith and praise.”
“Since this world has no gods…” Su Fu smiled, “Then let’s create one.”
Lady Baiya: “???”
She was deeply shocked. “You mean… humans can create gods?”
This idea was too bold, even arrogant.
She was exceptionally intelligent and understood almost instantly. “You mean… this physical Great Wall in front of us might not possess the core power we expect.”
“But once it is imbued with enough faith, just like how gods were born in the past…”
Su Fu nodded.
Lady Baiya gasped. This idea was simply too crazy.
So this is what the Torch Dungeon meant.
They really had to condense a flame?
“But…” Lady Baiya said with difficulty, “This is too hard.”
“It’s almost an impossible task.”
“The test takers treat this as a high-level dungeon, one where they can respawn infinitely.”
“They might work hard for the clearance rewards, but it’s hard for them to immerse themselves, let alone develop faith.”
Su Fu looked at Lin Zhao, the answer obvious.
Lady Baiya followed her gaze and understood instantly. “Wait!”
“You’re not thinking…”
“To make every test taker, like Lin Zhao, personally deliver their own death notice?”
“To face the families devastated by their own death?!”
Even with her broad experience, her face turned pale.
“Oh my god, you’re going to kill them!”
Su Fu did not deny it.
Only by making the test takers personally experience the pain of this era would they wake up from their player mindset.
“Pulling at clothes, stamping feet, blocking the road and crying, the sound of weeping rises straight to the clouds…”
“Mountains are snowy, rivers icy, the wilderness bleak; green are beacon fires, white are human bones…”
Only by truly seeing themselves as part of this precarious era, grieving for those lost lives, could they use the human spirit and will to build an impregnable Great Wall of Ten Thousand Li, capable of withstanding all dark invasions.
Not like now, watching from the other side of the river, detached as cold-eyed spectators, indifferent to all that happens and is destroyed, the endless deaths and resurrections.
Lady Baiya opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately swallowed it back.
Because she found that she… couldn’t refute.
This might be the way to crack the dungeon.
No destruction, no construction.
If it hurts, let it hurt.
How can you clear it without being ruthless?