Mutual Redemption with the Villainous Boss [Infinite] - Chapter 29

It turned out that the one who had been tolling the bell all along was this NPC named Shrike.

Even though it wasn’t yet six o’clock, the bell was rung.

The Chief Priest nodded to her and lifted the black veil in front of her face, revealing an aged but gentle countenance.

“Burial.”

No one moved.

They seemed to be waiting quietly.

Jiang He hesitated: “What are they waiting for?”

“There can’t still be some step we haven’t finished, right?” Chen Jian rubbed his hair in frustration.

Zhu Ci looked toward the coffin. Several RMs stood still, like pre-set programs; if there was no further inspiration for the next step, they would never take the initiative.

However, Linnet (the Linnet/Warbler) exchanged a glance with her.

In that gaze, no emotion could be discerned—it was as calm as still water, yet not hollow.

She looked at her; a few strands of golden hair escaped from where they were tucked by her temples, blowing gently in the wind.

A familiar feeling washed over her.

For no reason at all, Zhu Ci felt that Linnet was that person.

But if it was that person, why wouldn’t she acknowledge her?

As they continued to lock eyes, Linnet narrowed her eyes slightly and mouthed a word.

“Nursery rhyme.”

Linnet did it twice before Zhu Ci finally read it.

A sudden flash of inspiration struck Zhu Ci.

Before the burial, what needed to be done? A hole had to be dug to place the coffin in.

“It is I, said the Owl, with my trowel and shovel, I’ll dig the grave.”

Zhu Ci said: “It’s time for you to take the stage, Yu Jiayi.”

Yu Jiayi: “Huh?”

Yu Jiayi and Jiang He supported each other as they walked toward the coffin. Jiang He had a broken leg, and she was unable to walk entirely on her own.

“It’s come to this, and they’re actually making the two of us with the heaviest injuries dig the hole,” Jiang He muttered, leaning on her as they moved slowly.

“It seems this segment is very important; otherwise, they wouldn’t have singled us out to be locked up.”

Skylark and Wren each handed out a shovel to the two of them.

Yu Jiayi sat directly on the ground, and Jiang He leaned against the side of the coffin, digging with all his might.

He Fanghui was still heckling from the sidelines: “Go Yu Jiayi! Speed up and beat their team!”

Ye Qingqing was worried: “That’s such a big coffin, and they’re both injured. How long will it take to dig the pit?”

Chen Jian asked: “If we go to help, will it be disallowed?”

At their current speed, they wouldn’t finish digging in a day.

“But the rest of us don’t have shovels. Are we supposed to claw at it with our hands?” one of their teammates said.

This was indeed a difficult matter.

After about half an hour, Chen Jian saw that Yu Jiayi and Jiang He were covered in sweat and their hands were caked with mud; he couldn’t sit still any longer.

“We should still go. How much have they even dug?” He looked at Zhu Ci. “Buying a shovel from the mall would be the same thing.”

“No,” Zhu Ci did not agree.

“We’ve reached the very end. If there’s a mistake, we might not be able to leave the dungeon.”

Chen Jian was also worried about that possibility and didn’t mention it again.

Another hour passed. The pit wasn’t even one-third deep, and Yu Jiayi could barely hold the handle of the shovel.

Jiang He was the same, wiping sweat from his face and putting his whole weight onto the shovel.

He set his resolve and swung, digging out another shovelful.

He unearthed half of a shiny card.

A property card? He bent down to pick it up.

The letter ‘R’ glowed brightly. Although it was R-grade, it was an enchanted card found within a dungeon, which meant its value was not low.

He originally wanted to keep it, but he paused for a moment before absorbing it into his sleeve-brace.

Then, he handed it to Yu Jiayi.

“This dungeon was our mistake. We didn’t expect that while there were no roaming RMs, there were Rules in place. If it weren’t for your team and your captain, we might have already died here. Please accept this as a small token of my gratitude.”

Yu Jiayi refused: “No, keep it for yourself. With a property card, the subsequent path will be easier to walk. Even if you trade or sell it, you can get a lot of points.”

But he still forced it into Yu Jiayi’s hand: “Although I haven’t seen a human turn into an RM with my own eyes, as long as that possibility exists, the future… the future is bleak. But I hope you all can survive.”

Jiang He’s gaze was firm. As a surgical doctor, his hands were now trembling.

“Live on, and save the humans of the entire world.”

Yu Jiayi didn’t decline further. She said, “Thank you, but I will pass it to Zhu Ci. Like you, I hope humanity endures, and I believe she can definitely do it.”

At this moment, two people from once-glorious professions—a police officer and a doctor—held the same faith and hoped for the same future.

“What are they chatting about?” Ye Qingqing asked.

“Not sure. They couldn’t be arguing, could they? Like, ‘you’re digging too slowly’ or something,” He Fanghui concluded after observing. “It’s very possible. Yu Jiayi has a bad personality and doesn’t get along with anyone. I once saw her eating alone in the cafeteria; no colleagues wanted to sit with her.”

“Coming from you, the claim that her personality is bad isn’t convincing at all,” Zhu Ci retorted.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the conversation between Jiang He and Yu Jiayi ended, Linnet immediately raised her voice: “The burial can proceed.”

The Chief Priest uttered a confused “Hmm?”, and Skylark and Wren even turned toward her, their facial muscles twitching.

“What is it?” Linnet asked directly.

Shrike only smiled, while the other three remained silent.

“Since there is no problem, continue.”

The group hurried forward to carry Yu Jiayi and Jiang He back, moving away from the center where they had just been.

Skylark and Wren lifted the front and back of the coffin, walked to the edge of the pit, and shoved it in.

The pit wasn’t deep to begin with, and it certainly wasn’t five meters long. When it was placed down, the coffin tilted into the pit in an awkward fashion.

Linnet’s expression remained unchanged as she glanced at the Chief Priest.

The Chief Priest began reciting the eulogy, and Linnet covered her face with the black veil again.

Skylark and Wren also stood solemnly on either side.

The Chief Priest said: “Linnet, the funeral dirge.”

She tilted her head back, and a beautiful song resonated in front of the church.

“I have come to find you as agreed, Yet you do not recognize my ever-changing face, We meet in a hidden, unvisited world, We know each other in a divergent, pathless plight. The world shifts in majestic cycles, Only you are eternal.”

The expressions of everyone present changed.

Even He Fanghui sensed something was wrong. She asked: “Is this a funeral song? Why does it sound like a love song to me?”

Chen Jian said: “You think this RM might also be a human who changed?”

Zhu Ci watched Linnet quietly.

She was the only one present who understood the meaning of the song.

So Linnet was indeed that person, she was Tana. She had changed her appearance again and had not forgotten their agreement to meet again.

However, since things were already like this, what would have been the harm in acknowledging her earlier? Could it be that she had some unspeakable difficulty?

True, there were many RMs in this dungeon. She might be under someone’s constraint, such as that Chief Priest.

Thinking of this, Zhu Ci felt she could understand.

Wren, however, did not understand at all.

Starting from yesterday, after Cuckoo died and Linnet appeared, the entire dungeon had become very strange.

She didn’t even dare to look at that human, didn’t dare to have any eye contact with her.

Although RMs did not truly disappear even if they died in a dungeon—they would reappear in the next dungeon.

In short, they would “refresh.”

But Cuckoo was a relatively powerful RM, and he had died like that even under the protection of the Rules.

Wren felt terror.

NPCs all believed they were true members of the dungeon, unlike RMs who were selected and could influence the dungeon.

They were under the control of the Master God.

If they did something poorly, they would be punished by the Master God.

Yet Linnet had repeatedly broken the mechanisms.

She tilted her head slightly and squinted at Skylark. Skylark was currently staring at Linnet, his fists clenched tight. What was he thinking?

In Skylark’s mind were the “Player Notes” left by Xiao Chuang (Little Creation), tucked away in the furthest corner of the program—notes that very few RMs would ever read seriously.

He had finished reading them. He remembered that woman.

The woman who had received help from an RM in the novice dungeon.

The murderer who killed Cuckoo.

How could such a human receive help from an RM?

The Chief Priest seemed to want to intervene. She said, “Calam…”

Realizing she had misspoke, she immediately shut her mouth.

Linnet, however, stopped singing and turned to look over.

Those emotionless eyes made the Chief Priest’s entire body go cold with dread.

Even the players could feel the tension between them.

Ye Qingqing said: “Is this… internal strife?”

“Observe first, don’t make a sound for now, or we might bring disaster upon ourselves,” Jiang He whispered, covering her mouth.

“Hahaha, Linnet’s singing is as beautiful as ever.”

This voice broke the deadlock. Shrike, stroking the bell, said: “Cock Robin was our friend. Why use such a painful song to send her off? A cheerful one is much better, don’t you all agree?”

Linnet blinked slightly and looked away: “It’s time for you to toll the bell.”

Shrike laughed loudly in response and picked up the mallet. The other RMs all secretly breathed a sigh of relief; the Chief Priest, in particular, gasped heavily for air.

Dong—

The funeral bell tolled once, bidding farewell to Cock Robin.

The Chief Priest spoke: “All the birds of the air sighed and sobbed when they heard the bell toll for poor Cock Robin. Cock Robin, a beautiful and kind woman, we shall remember you forever.”

Skylark and Wren bowed. Linnet lifted her skirt and gave a shallow curtsy: “Thank you for coming, guests. The birds’ nest always welcomes you. See the guests out.”

With those words, the RMs did not linger and entered the church directly.

“Is it over? I’m exhausted.” Chen Jian wiped his sweat. Although he hadn’t helped much, he was still worn out.

This time, what came from the sky was not the familiar mechanical female voice, but a light, cute, young girl’s voice:

“Congratulations to Team Qi Ming and Team Destiny for solving 100% of the puzzles in the Medium-difficulty five-person team dungeon Death of the Cock Robin. Each person receives 8,000 points. Player Zhu Ci retains the SR Thought Card: Absolute Submission obtained in the dungeon. Player Yu Jiayi retains the R Enchanted Card: Malicious Peek obtained in the dungeon. Player He Fanghui’s Limited SR Card: Flipping Fairy Tale is retracted. All other property cards purchased from the mall are retained.”

Why did the mechanical female voice change?

“Hey, I barely even used it.” The limited card in He Fanghui’s sleeve-brace disappeared, and she complained, “Teleportation is such a good thing; they should’ve just let me keep it.”

“If it were left to you, the whole world would be in trouble,” Yu Jiayi said. She then gave her R card to Zhu Ci.

Zhu Ci refused, and Yu Jiayi explained: “Jiang He gave it. He said it was to repay your kindness.”

“I don’t want it. You keep it. If it’s to repay us, it’s for our team, and you put in a lot of effort yourself,” Zhu Ci said to her, stuffing the card back.

She still insisted. He Fanghui leaned over: “What is it, what is it? If neither of you want it, I just lost a card, so give it to me.”

Yu Jiayi immediately absorbed it into her sleeve-brace: “Fine, I’ll keep it myself.”

He Fanghui curled her lip and shouted that she was stingy. Yu Jiayi’s sleeve-brace screen flashed: “Malicious Peek: Sense the intensity of malice within ten meters of yourself. Use interval: one hour. Usage limit: 10 times.”

“Looks pretty good. Didn’t expect an R card to have good stuff,” Chen Jian also came over to join the excitement.

They were all preparing to exit the dungeon. At this moment, Xiao Chuang could finally be summoned. She shook her head and slowly flapped her wings: “Players, hi.”

“Where did you run off to before?”

Everyone was questioning this.

“Oh, it’s an unspeakable difficulty, an unspeakable difficulty,” Xiao Chuang flew around a bit, trying to skip the topic. “Are we leaving the dungeon, players? Let’s go, let’s go.”

Zhu Ci stopped asking, wanting to return to Peleconc and ask the Master God her questions directly.

Linnet stood atop the cross of the church, looking down at Zhu Ci with a hint of warmth in her eyes.

The rest of the RMs stood behind her in a single row.

“There will not be a next time.”

After Linnet spoke, the Chief Priest quickly said, “Yes, it will never happen again.”

“Everyone misspeaks sometimes, don’t take it to heart, Calamity.” Shrike put his hand on her shoulder and was shrugged off, yet he maintained that smile.

“Plague, I can choose not to tell the Master God. You owe me one,” Calamity’s tone was cold.

Shrike—that is, Plague—persistently patted her again: “Fine, I’ve remembered that human. If we meet again, I’ll let her off once.”

Only then did Calamity’s expression soften.

And of all this, Zhu Ci was completely unaware.

Epilogue:

Who’ll dig his grave? It is I, said the Owl, with my trowel and shovel, I’ll dig his grave.

Who’ll be the parson? It is I, said the Crow, with my little book, I’ll be the parson.

Who’ll be the clerk? It is I, said the Skylark, if it’s not in the dark, I’ll be the clerk.

Who’ll carry the link? (torch) It is I, said the Cuckoo, I’ll use it to lead the way, I’ll carry the link.

Who’ll be chief mourner? It is I, said the Dove, I mourn for my love, I’ll be chief mourner.

Who’ll bear the pall? (coffin) It is I, said the Kite, if it’s not in the night, I’ll bear the pall.

Who’ll carry the coffin? It is I, said the Wren, with the Cock and the Hen, we’ll carry the coffin.

Who’ll sing a psalm? It is I, said the Linnet, as she sat on a bush, I’ll sing a psalm.

Who’ll toll the bell? It is I, said the Shrike, because I am strong.

And so, farewell, Cock Robin.

All the birds of the air, Fell a-sighing and a-sobbing, When they heard the bell toll, For poor Cock Robin.

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