Doomsday Wonderland c1-855

by N. Heller

  Xiao Yu, who was in front of her, walked hurriedly without giving a reply, acting as if she didn’t hear Lin Sanjiu. Lin Sanjiu was a little pissed and decided not to speak. She thought about Hu Changzai’s unfinished sentence… [What did he have to say?]

  At the entrance of Bas.e.m.e.nt One, Xiao Yu, whose anger had not fully retreated, looked at her and forced a stiff smile, “Miss Lin, I sounded a little too harsh. Don’t take it to heart. Rules were made in Oasis to keep everyone safe. You shouldn’t leave the bas.e.m.e.nt after a certain time. I am an administrator for Building 42, if someone doesn’t follow the rules, I’ll be punished. Please understand.”

  Lin Sanjiu did not want to quarrel with anyone on the very first day, so she nodded showing that she understood. Xiao Yu immediately smiled as pleasantly as before and entered Bas.e.m.e.nt One with her. The bas.e.m.e.nt floor was very quiet. All Oasis members probably abode by those rules, and only a few people were in the corridor. Lin Sanjiu lifted the curtains to her cubicle number 1629. Unintentionally, her gaze landed and hovered over a figure some distance away. That person looked too familiar.

  Chapter 38 - An Unexpected Level-Up

  To be more accurate, the mattress was actually a thin black blanket. When she laid on it, she could smell a faint sour stench and even the bed board… Lin Sanjiu flipped to her side, and the bed made a sharp, unpleasant creak.

  Even though it was totally dark, Lin Sanjiu could still clearly see everything within her small cubicle. The air circulation in the bas.e.m.e.nt was poor, so there was a musty smell in the air. There were a few nails on the walls of the cubicle, which was probably used for hanging clothes. The condition of the space was considerably shabby — she could even hear the sound of her sleeping neighbor scratching herself despite the walls. As she laid in her bed unable to fall asleep, she wondered if it was because of the new environment.

  If the people here only developed their heat-resistance ability through medication just as Hu Changzai described, she did not see the point of staying. After all, her main purpose of joining Oasis as a member was to find a Consular Officer and not due to the availability of food and water here. [What was the possibility of a Consular Officer being here since this large group almost consist of only normal people?]

  However, it didn’t seem right to leave immediately after they had just arrived. Lin Sanjiu did not know why but she suddenly recalled that suspicious figure she happened to see. [It’s alright, we can stay a few days here and observe the situation…]

  Disjointed thoughts ran through her mind, and before she knew it, her eyelids gradually grew heavier, and she grew drowsy. Just as she was about to fall asleep, an intense current flowed through her entire body...

  Lin Sanjiu opened her eyes instantly as she suddenly shivered uncontrollably. The tremors from her body were so violent that her bed frame started producing “thud thud thud” sounds, which rang out distinctively through the quiet environment. She wanted to move her fingers, but she found that she had lost control over her body just as before… Even though the current running through her body did not feel the same, it was not entirely foreign to her. [Damn it! Why did my ability choose such a poor timing to evolve!]

  Gritting her teeth, she intended to fling herself onto the floor since the bed frame was too noisy and might attract attention. During this period, there was no way she could defend herself, it would be terrible if a stranger came in now… Even though Oasis seemed peaceful, she did not want to take such risks.

  However, she was not even able to move, so how could it be easy for her to flip herself over?

  Using the momentum of her body movements, she managed to push herself slightly away from the wall, and her long hair slid from the bed. [This isn’t enough…] Lin Sanjiu thought anxiously to herself. But she was too late. Her neighbor’s deep breathing sounds suddenly stopped, then she heard a creak from her neighbor’s bed. The person seemed to have gotten up. Thereafter, she heard footsteps heading for 1629’s entrance. The footsteps stopped at the curtains.

  “Hey… are you new here?” a woman lectured softly in a dissatisfied voice. “How could you do such a thing right now when everyone is sleeping? Don’t you two have any shame! Stop it now!”

  Even though she had lost control over her body, her mind was still clear. Lin Sanjiu was stunned for two seconds before she realized what her neighbor meant. She could feel herself almost vomiting blood — that woman has mistaken her for doing that! Though, she couldn’t deny that the bed was making a lot of noise.

  The woman waited for a while outside, but the noise continued in a rhythmic manner. She finally felt a little suspicious and lifted the curtain. She immediately cried out in shock when she saw Lin Sanjiu, “Hey, are you alright?”

  “Hey, can you speak?” The woman hit Lin Sanjiu’s face repeatedly, as the slapping sounds rang out. “Is this one of your epilepsy seizures?”

  Lin Sanjiu could no longer tell if she was trembling due to the evolution or due to her anger.

  Thankful, the process was rather short. After a brief period, she gradually calmed down and regained control over her body. Once she discovered that she could move on her own accord, Lin Sanjiu immediately leaped up from the woman’s t.h.i.g.h. She glared at the woman for a second; she wanted to say something but realized that the woman did nothing wrong, so she finally managed to force herself to say, “I’m okay. Thank you.”

  The woman gave her a blank look without leaving. Instead, the woman asked, “What sort of illness do you have? Does this happen frequently? Does this happen frequently when you sleep? Do I have to request Xiao Yu to change a room for you?”

  The woman was driving her mad, Lin Sanjiu gritted her teeth and snarled, “I am not sick! You don’t understand. This is just a normal reaction that happens when your ability evolves.”

  “Huh?” As expected, the woman was shocked and started observing her from top to bottom. “You evolved naturally? Me too!”

  Lin Sanjiu felt a sudden rush of disappointment as her vengeance failed her — Lin Sanjiu sighed, “So, why can’t you tell?”

  “I didn’t know this… I arrived here very early. My abilities did not evolve further even though I’ve been here for some time.”

  This was most likely because Oasis was too peaceful.

  The woman touched her hand very briefly, and Lin Sanjiu just took it for a handshake. Following which, the woman replied, “I am Fang Dan. Let’s try to keep our distance. After all, I don’t know how long you’ll survive.”

  After she said these mysterious words, Fang Dan stood up, turning to leave.

  [Does this mean that the posthumans living in Oasis are all weirdos without any social skills?] Lin Sanjiu had a strong urge to bury her face in her hands to lament.

  “Hey, what do you mean by that?”

  Fang Dan looked back at her innocently, “New members like you with strong abilities are usually assigned to difficult missions. So, the survival rate of your type is not high,” after she said that, the woman left without showing much concern.

  Lin Sanjiu watched as she left, not knowing what to say. The walls were simply not soundproof so she could clearly hear Fang Dan returning and lying back on her own bed. Within ten minutes, the soft snoring noise returned.

  [It’s psychologically suffocating to speak to that woman!] Lin Sanjiu ranted inwardly, not taking to heart about Fang Dan’s comments about the difficult missions. She had already gone through her fair share of strange and dangerous experiences, here in this Hyperthermal Hell. [Was it even possible for Oasis’s missions to be more lethal than that pocket dimension?]

  From the sounds she heard, Lin Sanjiu concluded that Fang Dan was fast asleep. After lying in the dark for a long time, Lin Sanjiu finally stretched her palms out cautiously.

  She decided to check the state of her ability — This time, when the evolution was complete, she had an intense impulse to summon out a card. It was quite clear to her that this advancement was related to her card ability. With a simp
le though, a card appeared in her hand. There was no sign of the usual white flash. Instead, the card appeared without any sign.

  Chapter 39 - Neither These Cards nor People Allay My Worries

  The card in her hand was entirely new to her since there wasn’t a failed crayon drawing. Instead, the card was totally black and extremely beautiful.

  When she flipped open the card, she discovered these silver words:

  【Congratulations on leveling up! 1】

  Introduction: This is a card that appears the first time your active ability increase by a level. This card will give a detailed explanation of Lin Sanjiu’s active ability. Thus, it is important for the named human to keep this card properly and not lose this card to prevent this critical information from leaking out.

  Active Skill: Planar World

  Level-up Count：1

  Forecast date of Next Level-up: Some unknown time far into the future

  Level-up benefits：Hey, after leveling up, you can convert up to eight items. By the way, the drawings are so much nicer. In addition to that, you finally gained increased control over your cards! Most importantly, you now possess the ability to summon a Diary Card! Woot!

  “What sort of f*ckery is this? How was the name Planar World conceived?” Lin Sanjiu could not help mumbling to herself. “What the hell is this Diary Card?”

  As if the black card could understand her, the words faded and were replaced with a different paragraph.

  【Diary Card】

  Even though this is called Diary card, that doesn’t mean you can summon this card every day, okay? As for the specific occasion you can summon it? Well, please try continuously! Experience is the true way of life!

  “If you don’t give me any proper information, I’m going to tear you up!”

  The words immediately changed.

  【Diary Card】

  Duration: 3 hours. The recording will stop after the 3 hours’ limit. The information on the card must be erased before the next recording.

  Recording Range: Anything within a five-meter radius or less, determined by the actual surface where the card is placed.

  Note: This card can be seen by anyone, cannot be controlled remotely and is prone to damage. Please hide it appropriately.

  “Huh? Even though this doesn’t have any combat value, it does seem useful.” This roused Lin Sanjiu’s interest, so she placed the explanation card aside and stretched open her left hand.

  She commanded softly, “Diary Card.” There was no response.

  “Diary Card.” Once again, there was no response.

  “Is it really so hard to summon this card…” Lin Sanjiu rambled to herself dejectedly. Just then, she eyes swept over the explanation card unintentionally. She realized that the words on the card had already changed at some unknown time. Right now, it wrote: “When summoning, please use a sincere tone to say the words: ‘I’m going to write in my diary now.’ Any card that appears whenever it’s called is a dog.”

  Lin Sanjiu could feel the veins in her forehead pulsating — she really could not get used to this, how could the cards she “created” had such terrible attitudes? She clenched her teeth and commanded softly, “I’m going to write in my diary now!”

  Just as she prepared herself to shout this repeatedly like an idiot, her palm budged slightly. Suddenly, a white card appeared.

  “Interesting!“ She smiled, surprised. With another flash of thought, she kept the card. She laid on her bed, feeling very satisfied as a wave of sleepiness washed over her. If she had gained her ability yesterday, she wouldn’t have to risk using the walkie-talkie… [If it works wherever I paste this card, wouldn’t it function like a surveillance camera!] Hazy thoughts drifted through her mind.

  After being tormented for the entire morning, she finally closed her eyes and fell asleep on the unfamiliar bed. She did not know how long she slept but through her drowsiness, she was awakened by the gradually increasing noises of conversations, people walking, and things being knocked. She opened her eyes and found that the bas.e.m.e.nt had been lit up.

  Even though only a few fluorescent lights were switched on, Lin Sanjiu was stunned when she woke up. After one month without seeing any artificial lighting, she could not help feeling emotional. It was as though human civilization was slowly recovering with those few dimly lit fluorescent light. Apparently, it was time for everyone to wake up. Most of the Oasis members in Bas.e.m.e.nt One had already woken up, so the confined space was abuzz with conversations and random noises. Hazily, she sat up in her bed, wondering if she should look for Luther and Marcie.

  “Yo! Are you awake?” Fang Dan lifted the curtain to Lin Sanjiu’s cubicle, revealing her usually stoic face. “You should pack your things. It’s dinnertime now.”

  Once she heard this, she realized that she was a little hungry. Lin Sanjiu thanked her and asked, “Typically after dinner, what does everyone do?”

  “Our duties, of course. We each have our own jobs. Take me for example, I belong to the water well maintenance group.”

  “There is a well here?” Lin Sanjiu finally got it — that was why they have cooked rice! It seemed that the high temperature only caused the evaporation of surface water, but water could still be obtained from underground sources. “But, why is it necessary to maintain a well?”

  “That’s quite obvious. After all, it’s not like in the past. If we leave it as it is, even the groundwater from the well will dry up quickly. Besides, after we get the water from the well, it has to be treated, the temperature has to be controlled, and we have to transport it to the canteen. This all fall within our job.” Fang Dan gave it some thought and said, “Tonight, after dinner, you may be assigned a job. Sigh. A neighbor is difficult to come by, and you’ll be gone just like that.”

  The way she spoke was as if Lin Sanjiu was already dead. Lin Sanjiu couldn’t help rolling her eyes and not giving a verbal response to that. She was just about to ask some questions regarding Professor Bai when a sharp whistle pierced through the air. Suddenly, everyone started moving. Within minutes, she heard countless footsteps hurrying past her cubicle. Without waiting for Lin Sanjiu questions, Fang Dan called out to her, “The canteen is opened now, let’s go!”

  Lin Sanjiu had just gotten out from her cubicle, she had not even finished her sentence, but the hungry crowd of people behind her had already pushed her forward. She walked together with the crowd involuntarily and spotted Fang Dan ahead of her, caught up in the crowd in a similar fashion. Fang Dan turned to her and shouted, but Lin Sanjiu could not hear what she was trying to say.

  Despite being stronger than most of the people in the crowd, it was impossible for her to push aside everyone in front of her… Lin Sanjiu could only grimace as she was pushed into the main hall of the building. Only after she was out on the empty space in front of the building, did she finally managed to catch her breath and pause for a moment. She looked around her and discovered that Oasis took on a very different atmosphere at night.

  There was a large searchlight on the roof of each of the buildings. These searchlights lit up the entire factory compound. She could hear the whirring sounds from a backup generator which she could not locate; the three-story canteen in the distant was brightly lit, and the sound of the noisy crowd filled in the air.

  Seeing the lights and crowd, smelling the off-and-on aroma from the food, Lin Sanjiu felt as if she was in a reverie. For a moment, she forgot that she was still in Hyperthermal Hell.

  “Xiao Jiu!” she heard a familiar voice from a distance, someone was trying their best to call out to her. Lin Sanjiu turned behind and spotted Marcie. Marcie looked anxious as she tried to push her way through the crowd toward Lin Sanjiu, frantically waving her arms.

  “Why are you alone?” she responded quickly, drawing the stares from the people around her. “Where is Luther?” she asked.

  Marcie sighed, replying, “When we were coming out from the building, Luther’s ability suddenly evolved! I don’t have enough strength
to carry him, but then I saw you. Help! Quick!”

  Chapter 40 - The Level-Up Resulted in Another…

  Luther collapsed at a location which couldn’t have been worst—he fell right at the entrance of the building. When Lin Sanjiu and Marcie rushed over, a large crowd had already gathered around him, creating a terrible obstruction at the main doorway. Within the crowd, there were people trying to exit—throwing expletives, shouting furiously for people to get out of the way; there were others who were just interested in the commotion; also, some who were beckoning for help… It was simply chaotic.

  At that point, Lin Sanjiu couldn’t care less. Grabbing people by their collars, she tossed aside anyone who dared to stand in her way. After a short time, ignoring the barrage of discontented complaints, she and Marcie finally reached the center of the crowd with her leading the way.

  They spotted Luther laying on the ground, his face was pale, and his eyes were shut tightly as his body was racked with mild jerks. His clothes were dirty, and there were even quite a few visible footprints on his pants, probably because he was stepped on when he fell suddenly. Chen Jinfeng arrived at the scene at some unknown time and was crouching beside Luther, “Please give us some space. Someone just fainted, so stop crowding around here!”

  Since he was an executive, his words carried weight; the people in the crowd who recognized him quickly help to disseminate his message, clearing away the crowd. Marcie was grateful and quickly thanked him with a smile, “Executive Chen, when did you arrive here? Thank you so much.”

  Lin Sanjiu also nodded gratefully at him and pulled Luther up, placing his left arm around her shoulders. Seeing that Lin Sanjiu had helped Luther up, Chen Jinfeng dusted the dirt off his pants and stood up. Facing both women, he said, “It should be alright now since the two of you are here. There is an infirmary in Building 38, you can bring him there. Don’t worry about dinner, I’ll get someone to send it over.”