*** Murong's point of view. ***
It was already midnight, but I still could not sleep. The conversation with my family was still resonated in my mind. Suddenly, there was a knock at my door while I was still resting with my hands under my head.
"Bro...have you slept yet?" The low sound had emerged during the quiet night. It was my brother, Huilong.
"Not yet. Come in," I got up, sitting on my bed, and shouted to him.
Huilong, who was in his white and light blue pajamas, opened the door and ran to hug me.
"Bro, I could not sleep..." Huilong sullenly said while he was embracing my chest.
"Why?" I asked while I patted the boy's back in a comforting manner.
"I am afraid..." Huilong said solemnly.
"Don't be afraid. Our family is well-prepared this time... I am also here with you. Just remember. I will always there for you. I will forever protect you," I comforted him softly while stroking his soft hair.
"I know...but I also fear that we will lose someone in our family. What happens if the zombies and mutant animals are too strong?"
"Even though they are strong, we will be stronger. We have an advantage. Our family will start training early. Those things can simply be killed one after another. There is nothing to be afraid of. As long as all of them are dead, one day, our world will regain its vitality, and everything will return to normal or perhaps... even better."
When Huilong listened to my words, his anxiety and uneasiness had become lessened. Soon, he felt warmer in his heart, and, shortly after, a small and pleasant smile appeared on his face.
I was smiling back at him. Then, I gently put the boy on my bed and continued to stroke the boy's delicate hair. After that, I pulled the soft and fluffy quilt to cover the boy.
"It's late. You can sleep on my bed. I will sleep on the sofa beside you," I said while turning off the light. I then stood up and walked toward the sofa. Shortly, I also fell asleep and waited for the new day to come...
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The moon was gone, and the sun was now up. It was a good refresh morning for Murong. He had woken up before Huilong. He saw that the boy was still sleeping quietly on his bed. He took a shower, got dressed in silence, and went downstairs to have breakfast in the dining room.
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In there, the maid was stirring the contents of a large soup pot on the stove, while Chen Jinnan and Chen Yawen were sitting at the table, having breakfast together. They looked up as Murong was entering the room.
"Good morning, grandpa. Good morning, grandma," Murong greeted both of them while he was sitting down on the chair.
"Good morning, Murong," both of them replied with a smile.
When the maids saw Murong had been seated, they hurriedly served him the breakfast. Today's breakfast was western style, with slices of bacon, eggs, sausages, pieces of bread, and a bowl of pork bone soup. While Murong was eating, Chen Jinnan casually asked.
"Are we going to the dungeon at the Borderlands province right away?"
"Not yet, grandpa. I would like to take our family members to Mount Taiyuan dungeon to awake our spiritual senses first. It is a safer dungeon. Also, I am not sure of the exact location of the Borderlands province dungeon," Murong answered thoughtfully.
"I see," Chen Jinnan replied nonchalantly.
Then, they continued to have breakfast together. Shortly after, other family members joined the table. After they finished their breakfast, in the late morning, Murong took his family to Mount Taiyuan in order to enter the same dungeon.
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Before Gondola period
Blue planet's calendar – 17th January 2024
Xia kingdom – Mount Taiyuan
...
The whole Chen family took the same route that Murong used last time. By the time they arrived around the dungeon entrance, it was already at noon. Murong had long ago made a plan said.
"After we finish having lunch, we will enter the dungeon."
"Yeah! I am so hungry after a long walk. Are we going to hunt and cook something up?" Huilong exclaimed.
"Maybe for dinner," Murong replied with a wink.
"For lunch, I have packed some food already," Murong said and brought nine boxes of lunch out of his space ring. He distributed lunch boxes and a bottle of water to everyone.
During lunch, Chen Fang casually asked.
"Are we all going into the dungeon at the same time?"
"No. We can't. Only 5 people can enter the dungeon at the same time," Murong answered.
"Are all the dungeons like that?" Chen Fang continuously asked.
"No. No. It depends on the dungeon. I have just known the condition of this one because I had just entered it last Saturday. I think it is safe to assume that the dungeon has not yet evolved."
"Can dungeon evolve?" Chen Dong followed up on Murong's explanation.
"Definitely. However, there are some conditions that it has to meet first."
"What are the conditions?" Chen Dong curiously asked.
"Ummm. It depends on how much spiritual energy it could accumulate and how many times it has been cleared."
"I see. So, who will enter the dungeon on the first group?"
"I think it should be me, Dawei, uncle, dad, and grandpa. The reason is simple. We have more fighting experience than the rest, especially Dawei and uncle."
"Ummm. It makes sense," Chen Fang casually agreed.
After lunch, they divided the tasks. Apart from five of them that would go into the dungeon, the rest of the people would set up a camp.
Shortly, five people assembled together in front of the dungeon entrance. In the first few years of the apocalypse, there was still no team function yet. Not to mention, this was before the apocalypse period. Therefore, the people who entered the dungeon would automatically set to be in the same team as first come, first serve. If there were more people than the dungeon limit, it would deny access to extra people.
Immediately five people stood in a circle while Murong explained and demonstrated how to activate a dungeon. Soon, they all vanished and appeared in a completely different environment.