Doomsday Wonderland c1-855

by N. Heller

  They overlooked this indeed. A whole street packed full with cars, and there was at least a single living person in most of the cars. To Kong Yun, this must be no different from an all-you-can-eat buffet! Luther shuddered for a moment. Even if he had seen a countless number of dead bodies, he could not help feeling creeped out by it.

  “Let’s go out later to see if there are any other survivors. We can decide what we should do then… Otherwise, if we just leave them outside, I am worried that Kong Yun might come here again tonight,” Lin Sanjiu said vexingly. After responding with a sigh, Luther frowned and took his glance away from the scene. He tried not to think about how Kong Yun tricked each of the drivers or passengers in the car one by one to open their doors and forced himself to focus on the strange phenomenon in front of him.

  “That’s weird. If it wasn’t the work of Kong Yun, where did the dead bodies go?”

  “I don’t know too.” Lin Sanjiu had an unpleasant look on her face. She paced around the area but couldn’t find anything.

  “Who will waste their time and energy to move those corpse away for nothing?” Luther followed her and paced around. Just as he was about to ask Marcie to come upstairs to take a look, he heard a squeak under his feet. He suddenly lost his balance. In his panic, he tried to maintain his balance in a fl.u.s.ter, but his feet was too slippery. With a “Pak!” sound, his whole body fell on the puddle of foul blood. He immediately g.r.o.a.n.e.d in disgust.

  The “culprit” which caused his fall slid away into the distance — Lin Sanjiu gave it a sweeping glance and felt her gastric acid churning inside her — was a human eyeball which had been half-smashed by Luther. Luther saw that as well. He quickly stood up from that rancid smelling puddle of blood and started coughing, shaking his arms and stomping his feet. From the way he reacted, he must have been totally grossed out.

  “Come on, come on! Stop it. Let’s go downstairs and see if we can find some wet wipes so that you clean up yourself…” Lin Sanjiu said as she avoided Luther while walking.

  When she walked to the escalator, she turned back to look at Luther who was shaking his head like a dog with wet fur. She could not help scolding in a teasing manner: ”What the use of shaking like that? Let’s just go back… huh?”

  The latter half of her sentence stopped as if she stepped on the brakes of a car, she stood motionless, seemingly startled. Luther, who was almost soaked in corpses’ fluid, couldn’t help taking notice of her sudden peculiar behavior, ”What’s wrong? What are you doing?”

  Lin Sanjiu did not say a word. She lifted her finger pointing to a distance, upward. Perplexed, Luther followed the trajectory of her finger, still unable to figure out what was wrong.

  If it wasn’t for the murderous temperature, the scenery was considerable fascinating—yet what was wrong with it?

  After looking at it once more, he suddenly exclaimed, ”Ah!” He only realized it now, his face was suddenly filled with awe, ”Why is it totally unharmed?”

  The ”it” refers to the five stories high tropical forest featured in the center of the shopping mall. Even if those were tropical plants, there wasn’t a single plant in the world that could tolerate such high temperatures which could even melt plastic. Despite that, the small swathe of tropical forest in front of them was still dense, green and full of vitality as if the Hyperthermal Hell was just an illusion. It formed a juxtaposition to the trees on the walkway, separated by the glass walls.

  Each of the tree trunks of the ornamental trees outside was like charcoal, black and dry. All their leaves had fallen to the ground, they gathered in a black patch, and it was almost impossible to tell their original form. Some of the trees on the walkway even broke into two because their thin trucks became too dry and brittle to support their weight.

  Contrasting the two, Lin Sanjiu even thought that the tropical plants in the shopping mall looked even healthier than before.

  Encountering these two weird phenomena one after the other, they really could not come out with any explanation in such a situation. Lin Sanjiu thought for awhile and said to Luther, “These plants are really quite a mystery… That’s right, why don’t we call Marcie up to look at this? Three heads are better than two!”

  “Fine! Sigh, I don’t find it that strange.” Luther did not care much for the few green plants in front of him. “Maybe, the glass is special, so it blocks whatever UVA or something like that.”

  “Even so, we shouldn’t take it lightly.”

  “Sure, sure. But can I change out of my clothes first? It is so uncomfortable.” Obviously, Luther’s focus was still on the smelly fluid that was on him. It was simply too easy for him to change his clothes since the shopping mall lacked no branded stores. Luther looked around for a while, and smiled at Lin Sanjiu asking, “Do you think I should go for Armani or DG?”

  “Fine, I know…” Luther gave a look of resignation, saying that as he climbed up the staircase. Lin Sanjiu did not want to stay in the area where the corpses mysteriously disappeared, so she followed quickly, “Wait for me!”

  Luther stopped in the middle of the staircase turning to laugh, “Why? Do you want to look for a few outfits as well? I wanted to say this a long time ago, why is a beautiful lady like you wearing clothes like you are going to practice T‘ai-chi?”

  “Why does it have to be T’ai-ch—”

  Before she could finish her question, a strong gust of wind followed a long, dark shadow as it attacked the two of them on the staircase at lightning speed.

  Chapter 20 - Lin Sanjiu’s Roundabout Tactics

  No one could anticipate this attack. Since that gust of wind was about to reach the top of Luther’s head, and he did not have the time to defend himself, he could only roll to the ground. Somehow, he managed to dodge the attack but could not avoid tumbling down the staircase.

  Luckily, Lin Sanjiu reacted quickly, she stooped down and grabbed his sleeve stopping Luther’s momentum down the stairs. The attack, which had missed Luther, slammed into the top of the staircase and actually destroyed a segment of the stairs, stirring up a cloud of dust and broken concrete which sent Lin Sanjiu and Luther into a fit of coughing. Witnessing that, they were a little traumatized—if the attack landed on a person, it would have shaved off half his life!

  Missing its attack, the black shadow lingered in the air, swaying lightly up and down as if undecided on which prey, underneath, it should attack. Taking advantage of that short frame of time, the two of them finally saw the perpetrator clearly, ultimately solving the riddle about the whereabouts of the mountain of corpses.

  It was a long, green vine which extended from the tropical forest.

  No, instead of calling that green, it was closer to a sepia brown. The green vines which spanned over half the shopping mall’s central hall were covered with so much blood stains that it was basically impossible to tell their original color. There were even a few pieces of orange fabrics dangling on the thorns of the vines, and with one sweeping look, Lin Sanjiu was certain that the fabric matched that of the staff uniform for the supermarket downstairs.

  “What the f*ck! How can those things extend so far?” Luther touched the abrasion on his face, cursing angrily. Lin Sanjiu locked her eyes on the green vines, not daring to make any rash movements, “It probably grew after it mutated… what should we do now?”

  “What else? Let’s run back! I don’t believe that it can follow us all the way back to the supermarket!”

  The green vine seemed like it had understood what was said, “Hu!” and generated another strong gust of wind. Following which, the few broken slabs of concrete which was stirred into the wind flew toward the two of them. They twist to their side, dodging them. Lin Sanjiu stared back at the green vine, biting her lips tightly. Her heart was thumping loudly. “That won’t work, we have to split up! I will go upstairs, you downstairs!”

  “Are you crazy?” Luther was astounded and turned, only to find that he was already staring at the back of her head.

  “The c
orpses were piled just beside the escalator, and the green vines could reach them. That clearly means that we will be attacked throughout the way back!” While Lin Sanjiu explained, she had already picked up a broken concrete slab beside her, aimed and threw it at the green vine in lightning speed.

  It was as if the vine in mid-air grew eyes; it suddenly shifted upwards avoiding the slab. Before Luther could react, Lin Sanjiu shot up the stairs like an arrow while she yelled, “I will attract its attention here. Quick! Tell Marcie to bring some liquor over to rescue me! Get those with a high alcohol content!”

  Within the time it took for her to say that, the vine had already aimed a few consecutive attacks at her—Lin Sanjiu managed to dodge the first few attack, but just as she was about to finish climbing the final few steps, she was cut by the last slash of wind. It tore a hole in her pants, and a little blood seeped from her wound. Not caring the least bit about that, Lin Sanjiu jumped and leaped forward, reaching the second floor at last. She immediately hid behind one of the doors belonging to a store.

  Luther, who has been staring at her, only felt his heart settling down at this point. He knew what Lin Sanjiu was planning. He felt anxious for her but also admired her quick-thinking, “You are crazy! Take care, Marcie and I will come back as soon as possible!”

  “Leave! It’s going for you now!” Lin Sanjiu yelled as she gave the store’s door a kick.

  The green vine lingered for a moment mid-air. In that half-second, Luther used the full potential of his enhanced body and sprinted toward the escalator like the wind. Seeing that the green vine was almost bent on following him, Lin Sanjiu rushed out of the store without delay and threw a promotional board at it.

  Luther simply did not have the time to turn to look, he could only trust that Lin Sanjiu was providing him cover as he ran like mad for the escalator. He rushed down the escalator in a split-second and, sure enough, the green vine did not chase after him.

  “I have no time to explain; we have to get some liquor! Grab the wines and spirits with high alcohol content!” Ignoring the fact that Marcie was still confused, Luther rushed into the supermarket, grabbing some shopping bags on his way and headed for the alcoholic beverage section.

  Marcie did not know what had happened, but she moved quickly. Before even a full ten minutes, the two of them were both carrying a few bags of wine.

  “Do you have a lighter on you?”

  “Yes! What are we going to burn?” Seeing the association between the wine and the lighter, Marcie caught the drift.

  Luther gave a wry smile, “We have to go destroy the greenery!” He nodded saying this and ran toward the escalator first. The two of them climbed the escalator alongside each other. Just as they were about to reach the top, Luther suddenly stopped. After he had paused to think for a moment, he decided to peek out cautiously first. It was quiet on the first floor; nothing seemed out of place.

  The terrifyingly crafty length of vine had already disappeared from the mid-air. The tropical forest in the middle of the mall was just plainly there, as still as before. He could not spot Lin Sanjiu as well. He looked upward, but there was no movement on the second floor. If it hadn’t been for that damaged segment of stairs, he would have thought that it was just a dream.

  Marcie stepped closer to him and whispered, ”What exactly happened? Where is Xiao Jiu?”

  Luther could feel a bitter taste in his mouth as he muttered, ”I don’t know…”

  After briefing Marcie about the whole incident, Luther felt his heart grew tenser and tenser. If Lin Sanjiu messed up, and the green vine successfully attack her, what should they do if she ended up like that mountain of corpses?

  Luther was shocked; he quickly looked toward the tropical forest and noticed that the leaves of the tallest few coconut trees in the center started to move—it was practically like how a person turned his head when he heard a sound. Mostly likely because the two of them were still hidden at the escalator, which was the tropical forest’s blind spot, Marcie’s shouting voice did not attract any attacks.

  Knowing this, he was relieved. Therefore he joined Marcie and started to shout with Marcie.

  Both their voices were amplified by the surrounding to such an extent that their voices were almost deafeningly loud. However, Lin Sanjiu still did not show her face. The longer they yelled, the more worried they felt.

  Suddenly, after there was a sound of an opening door, they heard Lin Sanjiu’s voice coming from an unknown location, “Have you gotten the liquor? I’m alright, don’t worry!”

  “Where are you?” Marcie searched hastily for the source of her voice. Probably because of the echoes, Lin Sanjiu’s voice seemed to come from all directions. “You won’t be able to see me. I’m on the fourth story.”

  “Why did you go up there?” Luther asked, puzzled. She should have faced more attacks climbing up, but the staircase up from the second floor was totally intact.

  “I had no choice! Whichever store I hid in, the bloody vine would destroy the entire thing. If I didn’t think to hide in the stairways used by the staff, I wouldn’t be able to survive till now.”

  Luther only noticed then that the fancy and exquisite storefronts of the branded stores on the second floor have all been destroyed. In any case, he felt relieved after hearing that Lin Sanjiu was safe. He really didn’t think of that before. Normally, many customers were moving around the shopping mall, and they used the easily visible staircases and escalators. But if the staff had to transport some rubbish or move their cleaning equipment or something, they would not squeeze with the customers, so there was definitely a backup hidden passageway. Lin Sanjiu was just lucky to spot that staff passageway.

  “Then, how will you come back to the supermarket?” Marcie asked still feeling deeply worried.

  Luther and Marcie exchanged looks. They worriedly implored her to be careful before they went back to the supermarket. They put them the full bags of wines and walked around the supermarket uneasily. Other than the back door that was dead bolted, there was no other entrance.

  “It seems that the staff passageway is behind that door…” Marcie shook the brass lock on the door. “We need to open this door; otherwise, how would she come in later?” Luther’s head ached when he observed that the back door was also made of durable materials. Even the keys that they got from the dead manager was with Lin Sanjiu, yet the door was locked from inside. There wasn’t even a gap at the bottom of the door. Luther walked another around, not wanting to give up. This time he found a suitable weapon. At a nondescript corner, there was a red fire hydrant box. He broke the outer glass with his elbow and found a small hammer.

  “Quick! We can use this to smash open the door!” He hurried to the back door, presenting it to Marcie like a treasure. Marcie’s knitted brows relaxed a little when she saw the hammer. Luther was stronger than her, so she scowled, signaling for Luther to start hammering.

  After a few hits, sparks appeared as the hammer hit the lock. Unfortunately, the door did not show even a hint that it was opening. The knocking sounds were amplified multiple times in the cavernous supermarket. Wang Sisi, who seemed to be startled, gave a few sudden shrieks. Just when the two of them were just going to ignore her and continue hammering, they heard a familiar voice: “My god! I entered the staff room!”

  Chapter 21 - Welcome Back

  The third passive skill that she had developed last night couldn’t have been timelier.

  In the dark, Lin Sanjiu managed to avoid the kitchen knife thrown at her from the staff room with a quick dodge. She silently thanked the heavens. Without her Overall Physical Enhancement ability, she would not have been able to dodge the smelly kitchen knife that Wang Sisi suddenly threw at her, much less the attacks of that crafty and speedy green vine.

  The kitchen knife fell not far from her and made a clanging sound. In the time that Wang Sisi’s attack missed, Lin Sanjiu had already nimbly jumped backward and conveniently closed the door with a bang, blocking other incoming attacks. It wa
s only then that she heard a series of dragging sounds from the other side. After that, she heard the muffled voices of both Luther and Marcie.

  Through the two doors, Marcie’s voice had an unmasked anxiousness: “Xiao Jiu, are you alright? Try to leave quickly, we do not have the keys to enter!”

  “I am alright! I already came out of the room!” Lin Sanjiu replied loudly. “The little desiccated corpse pulled off the knife in its mouthpart and threw that at me just now. But I am unharmed!”

  Wang Sisi hissed angrily as Lin Sanjiu suddenly felt the vibration of the door she was leaning against. It was as if it had been struck violently by something—probably Wang Sisi’s mouthpart. Lin Sanjiu took a few steps away from the door hurriedly and quickly relocked the door with her key. After hearing Wang Sisi’s frustrated screech, Lin Sanjiu took out the lighter in her pocket and lit it.

  Ever since her body had been enhanced, her night vision had improved significantly: even without light, she could see with about 60% to 70% clarity in the dark, so she did not need to look blindly for a light source like a moth. However, that was also the reason why she did not carefully check her surroundings carefully. She was totally focused on returning to the supermarket and ran straight in when she saw a door, and that was how she came face to face with Wang Sisi’s deformed face for a brief moment just now.

  Since she could not return immediately right now, she decided to use the light from her lighter to explore the area. When her eyes swept across the area, Lin Sanjiu promptly held her breath uncontrollably. Just ten steps away from her, she saw rows of goods shelves which were at least the height of two persons. At one glance, the shelves were different from those in the supermarket. They were almost touching the ceiling, and each level on the shelves was filled with properly packaged boxes. She could tell that the majority of the boxes were food and drinks.