Doomsday Wonderland c1-855

by N. Heller

  “Yeah. It is weird that the tremors come one after another, inconsistently…” the man sitting opposite him grumbled. Changing the subject, he said, “It is too boring to just sit here and watch the door day after day. I wonder when we can go outside and patrol the perimeter.”

  One of the other men sitting at the door immediately laughed, “I bet you just want to go out to look for some cigarettes! I know you—“

  Before he finished his sentence, a man who appeared to be their leader interrupted, “There are people approaching. Stay alert!”

  The guards stood up noisily and cast their gaze outward. The lights at the entrance of Oasis radiated out like a fan shape, from bright to dark. Within the area where the darkness crept into the light like ink on paper, there were indeed a few silhouettes. The first person they saw was a long-haired woman. She was covered in blood and grime and looked rather unpresentable. She was also carrying a young girl on her back. It was Griselda. Xu Xiaoyang straightened her back and waved toward the people at the entrance.

  “They are from the previous small squad. Check the number of people first!” the leader yelled out.

  “We have already confirmed that. There are three people. That is the quota for this group!”

  Seeing that Griselda and Septimus were getting close, the leader gave a gesture and commanded, “Okay. Open the door!”

  The metal door slowly opened just when Griselda reached the door. As Xu Xiaoyang did not fight during the whole journey, she was still very clean. Right then, she called out to the guards at the door, “Quick! Inform the Executives to come over! A large group of duoluozhongs may be coming toward here from Long Hua Road!”

  The guards were startled when they heard this, and they quickly turned to their leader. Their leader hesitated for a few seconds, but before he could speak, a gush of sand hit his face, and he looked up promptly. At some unknown point in time, an imposing whirlwind of sand was formed, and it now headed toward the entrance of Oasis. Even though it was still some distance away, the combination of strong wind and sand hit them in just mere seconds. The sand lashed at them, scratching their skins, and making it difficult for them to even open their eyes.

  Within a blink of an eye, the whirlwind was right in front of them. Xu Xiaoyang and the others noticed this abnormality, so they rushed through the doors quickly. However, they were not fast enough. They had just stepped into the compound when the impact of the wind struck them, causing them to fall to the ground. While they tried to get up and were about to witness the whirlwind destroy their metal door, it stopped in front of the door as if it had a mind of its own.

  The howling wind grazed the metal door as the guards and the others stared bewilderedly at the whirlwind. Gradually, sand fell from mid-air as if the whirlwind had lost its core structure, revealing the two people right in the middle. When they saw the two people clearly, Xu Xiaoyang’s group of three gasped. She exclaimed, “They’re still alive?”

  The two people who walked out from the dust devil were indeed Lin Sanjiu and Hu Changzai. The corner of Septimus’s eyes twitched for a second. Among the three of them, he knew the most about Lin Sanjiu’s ability. Before this, he already looked down on her ability. He felt that Lin Sanjiu could survive till today only because of her Keen Senses and her athleticism. That was the reason why he was confident that she would not make it back when the two of them were surrounded by duoluozhongs. [Does she have the ability to control sandstorms now? Did she just develop a new ability?]

  “Ptui… Augh! Ptui! Ptui!”

  Just when everyone was still eyeing them in astonishment, Lin Sanjiu’s behavior stood out. Like a cat with an aversion to water, she started spitting profusely while dusting sand off her face, “Hu Changzai, what kind of rotten idea is this? There is sand in my eyes, mouth, and ears!”

  “In the movie, the energy repulsors don’t stir up this much sand…” Hu Changzai’s condition was not much better than Lin Sanjiu. The lens of his spectacles was covered entirely by sand.

  Even though Iron Man could fly, the Pygmalion Choker could only fulfill one ability. Consequently, in order to move quickly and eliminate as many duoluozhongs as they could, Lin Sanjiu tried to manipulate the air around them to create a forward thrusting air current. But they didn’t expect the horrible side effects...

  The ground of people at the entrance stared at them, dumbfounded. Xu Xiaoyang finally spoke, “What happened to you? How did you survive?”

  Lin Sanjiu, who was covered from top to bottom with sand, just like a terracotta soldier, chuckled at her words, “I think I may have overdone it a little. I destroyed a majority of the buildings from Oasis to Long Hua Road… You don’t have to worry about the duoluozhongs. Most of them are either dead or have fled. There are not many left.”

  Almost as if to prove her words, a tall building in the distance crumbled to the ground. The crowd was stunned. Septimus was the first one to react. He gave Lin Sanjiu an evil eye and said, “Please give us a warning before you do such a thing next time!” Then, he sighed as if he was relieved. This drew glares from Xu Xiaoyang and Griselda. Lin Sanjiu continued chuckling as she pulled Hu Changzai toward the door.

  “Sir, the number of survivors exceeded the quota… What should we do?” One of the guards whispered to their leader anxiously. “They are coming in soon. Should we stop them?”

  “What nonsense! Look behind!” their leader chided as if he was speaking to a group of idiots.

  The man turned to look and realized that the open space in the factory compound was now filled with a large group of people, pointing their fingers and stretching their necks, trying to find out what had just happened. Xu Xiaoyang’s warning had created quite a commotion. That was made worse when everyone saw that horrifying dust devil heading their way. Even though Lin Sanjiu already stopped its advancement, the building by the entrance was already dyed yellow by the sand.

  “Besides… Do you have the confidence to defeat that woman? Bring an Executive over right now!” the leader instructed quietly. “We are not going to take the blame for this.”

  Enlightened, the man replied, “Oh, I will go right now.”

  Their conversation was overheard by Xu Xiaoyang and the others. Xu Xiaoyang called out angrily, “Uncle Chen!” At the same time, the guards turned and found Chen Jinfeng standing behind them, with a grim expression.

  Chapter 51 - Do You Want to Work With Me?

  Starting from Lin Sanjiu, the members of Xu Xiaoyang’s squad were hailed as heroes. As they made their way to the building where Chen Jinfeng’s office was, the crowd cheered. In front of the public, Chen Jinfeng commended them, smiling splendidly. But the moment he turned his head to lead the way, the smile instantly slipped off his face, leaving a sullen expression. Ever since he became an Executive, this was the first time he felt so uncertain about the situation before him.

  It wasn’t a difficult thing to have them “killed in action” because even if they survived this mission, he still had other chances to do them in. His primary concern was that they might stir up trouble when they regrouped with Marcie. In the past, he would have full confidence in himself to resolve the issue and keep it under wraps. However, he did not anticipate Lin Sanjiu displaying such a powerful ability. That was the cause of his apprehension.

  He could only blame this on the inaccuracy of the information he was given! That person told him about the woman’s card ability, her companion’s Shapeshifting ability, and even some of their stats, but nothing pointed to them having any practical fighting abilities...

  “Executive Chen, do you know where is Marcie?” Just then, he heard Lin Sanjiu’s voice from behind him. Chen Jinfeng was startled for a moment, but after some quick thinking, he replied mildly, “I’m also looking for her. If you do see her, please tell her to look for me. I would like her to work at the infirmary.”

  “Oh,” Lin Sanjiu answered curtly, sounding somewhat doubtful, but she did not say anything else.

  As they walked along the dim
ly-lit corridor, a surreptitious smile suddenly crept across Septimus’s face. They soon reached Chen Jinfeng’s office.

  After Chen Jinfeng said a few poignant words in remembrance of Gao Fei, he ordered one of his men to bring in a few boxes full of supplies as a reward for the team. When Lin Sanjiu looked at the contents, she discovered that there was a good mix of useful items in the box: aside from the many packets of undamaged vacuum-packed food, there were also quite a few daily necessities and other paraphernalia like pens, torchlights, batteries, etc.

  As Lin Sanjiu lacked neither food nor daily necessities, she searched the boxes casually and was surprised when she found a tube of c.o.c.kroach gel bait at the bottom of one of the boxes. Along with humans, c.o.c.kroaches also managed to survive the high temperatures of Hyperthermal Hell. Albeit not because they evolved, but purely due to their natural body structure, but that was also the reason that their population fell sharply.

  Lin Sanjiu considered for a second, then she took the gel bait, smiling, “I just happen to need this in my room. You all can distribute the other items among yourselves. I will just take this.” She thought that she had already shown enough consideration for the others with her actions. However, she did not expect that Xu Xiaoyang would just sit there without even taking one look at the boxes. Following suit, Griselda also did nothing. Subsequently, Septimus took only two torchlights. Left with almost the whole lock, stock, and barrel, Hu Changzai found himself a little flummoxed.

  Perhaps she was lucky, so her Diary Card appeared “obediently” when it was summoned. Once she had the card in her palms, she held it tightly. She untwisted the cap off the tube of c.o.c.kroach gel bait and squeezed a little gel at the back of the Diary Card. A few words instantly appeared on the card: “12.58 am. Location: Chen Jinfeng’s office. Lin Sanjiu squeezed a splotch of disgusting c.o.c.kroach gel bait at the back of this card.”

  Lin Sanjiu paid no attention to the implicit protest. Her ‘’Planar World” ability sometimes displayed human-like characteristics, which she had never observed in others’ abilities, but she was already accustomed to it. When Chen Jinfeng paused to take a sip of water, she walked over to his desk in a nonchalant manner and smiled placidly, “Executive Chen, I just want to thank you for all the assistance you have given us recently…”

  While she said this, she stealthily pasted the card on the underside of the table. Chen Jinfeng laughed as he looked back at her unsuspectingly and said, “This is all within my duty.” Lin Sanjiu nodded before she turned and noticed Septimus’s gaze.

  “Did you see that?” she whispered as she walked past Septimus, “Luckily, it was only you and not the others. I want to see what this Chen Jinfeng is hiding.”

  Septimus nodded back at her. It was time for them to leave anyway, so he just said, “Let’s go.” The two of them walked toward the door, Lin Sanjiu took one final look at Chen Jinfeng’s table before she closed the door behind her. The small 10m2 office was finally quiet again. Chen Jinfeng mulled silently in his seat for some time, but he could not assuage his restlessness. Maybe it was because he was still angry, maybe it was because he was disturbed by Marcie’s disappearance, or maybe it was due to the failure of the squad’s mission… In any case, this was the first time he felt so uneasy.

  At that exact moment, there was a “thump” on the door as if something or someone had knocked on the door. With his enhanced hearing, Chen Jinfeng was certain that no one walked past his office door. After a few seconds, he stood up and opened the door. Just as he expected, there was no one at his door. There was only a rock. He looked around and found a familiar figure standing at the far end of the corridor.

  “Why are you here?” Chen Jinfeng asked as he walked toward that person. “Why are you looking for me?”

  [One meter, two meters, three meters… That should be fine.] That person smiled and said, “I want to ask you a question. What did you do to Marcie?”

  The room was 4m by 2.5m, that was 10m2. The Diary Card had an effective range within the radius of 5m, that would be approximately 25m2. If that was the case, their conversation would not be recorded. The person was clear about this because that was what Lin Sanjiu told him personally.

  “Don’t waste your breath,” Septimus interjected. “We never told you that Marcie studied medicine. After we left, you must have met her, right? Then, you did something to her, and she disappeared.” The man reacted with a pursed lip and an overcast expression. Once he saw that, Septimus smiled satisfactorily, knowing that he made a right guess. “Don’t worry. I am not here to confront or condemn you… I know the reason for Marcie’s disappearance. I am more than aware about that. I also know that you wished for Lin Sanjiu and me to die in today’s mission, right?” He continued smiling. “But you won’t be satisfied by just killing me now. Don’t you find that woman, Lin Sanjiu, a hindrance? I wish that she would disappear as soon as possible too. So, do you want to work with me?”

  Chen Jinfeng widened his eyes in shock. Seeing that, Septimus said softly, “Besides, let me give you the assurance that Marcie won’t appear during this time to interfere with your plans.”

  Chapter 52 - Hu Changzai Identifies a Problem With Her Companion

  Using the water that Fang Dan brought to her, Lin Sanjiu managed to wash off the sand on her body. There was so much sand that the pile on the ground now covered her feet entirely. When her skin was finally moist and clean again, Fang Dan, who had been helping her fetch water, exclaimed in surprise seeing the choker on Lin Sanjiu’s neck, “Oh, when did you wear that? It’s beautiful.”

  After she had washed the sand off her Pygmalion Choker, it looked even more resplendent than before. Now Lin Sanjiu knew why no one commented about her choker before this. Previously, she was covered in sweat, so her entire body was encased in sand. Almost no one could tell the color of her hair let alone the choker on her neck. After she bathed and wore a fresh set of clothes, Lin Sanjiu let down her hair and tried to use it to cover her choker awkwardly.

  Moments before, Fang Dan had mentioned to her that Hu Changzai was receiving treatment in the infirmary. From what Chen Jinfeng had said, it was possible that Marcie could be there as well… With that in mind, Lin Sanjiu pushed open the door to the infirmary. When she entered the room, a young man with a well-bandaged leg was lying in the small bed of the room. “Are you the only one here?”

  “Do you have to sound so disappointed?” Hu Changzai sat up and wore his spectacles, feeling a little peeved. “Are you looking for the nurse? She just went out.”

  “No, I’m looking for Marcie. It’s so weird, I just can’t find her anywhere,” Lin Sanjiu replied as she searched around the room. She quickly found a roll of bandages in a cabinet and asked, “How’s your wound?”

  “It doesn’t hurt so much now. Oasis is quite big so it isn’t unusual that you can’t find her.” Hu Changzai answered casually. “Oh, I want to tell you another thing…” He suddenly paused mid-way in his sentence when he looked up.

  Lin Sanjiu’s jet-black hair flowed over her shoulders like water, her pair of amber cat-like eyes shone brightly. She actually had a very feminine appearance—but when he saw the snow white bandage around her neck, it suddenly gave her a cool, intense vibe. Even though she did not possess a conventional beauty, she did have her own… charismatic allure.

  “Hey, if I do this, you can’t see my choker, right?” Lin Sanjiu patted the bandage on her neck. “Why are you looking at me like that? What do you want to say?”

  “Uh, uh, well!” Hu Changzai tried to calm down his thumping heart as he said slightly fl.u.s.tered, “Actually, my ‘Lie Detection’ ability went up one level…”

  Lin Sanjiu eyes glowed, and just as she was about to congratulate him, she suddenly heard a voice saying: “So you’re here! Xiao Jiu!” The door swung open revealing Septimus’s face. He was just about to say more when he realized that Hu Changzai was also in the room, so he immediately withdrew the words he wanted to say.

  Without suspectin
g anything, Lin Sanjiu smiled and asked, “What’s up?”

  Hu Changzai grabbed a glass of water and swallowed his medicine, indifferently.

  It was obvious that such mundane words will not raise any alarm.

  “Okay. Oh, do you know where Marcie is?”

  Septimus’s heart skipped a beat. He certainly knew where Marcie was. When he was running for his life, he strayed too far from Marcie… If Marcie disappeared because she was too far from Luther, then obviously, Luther had to activate his Persona Separation ability again before Marcie will reappear. Septimus was fully aware of this, but he wished that he could just forget that fact at that very moment.

  That was because excuses like: “I don’t know.”, “Maybe, someone called her away to do something.”, or even “Perhaps, she will just pop up later.” would definitely be judged as a lie. It meant that he had to either skip the question or just tell the truth! Hu Changzai finished the water in his glass with one gulp and also started to look at Septimus.

  Before he figured out the Lin Sanjiu’s new ability, he knew that he had to avoid Lin Sanjiu’s suspicion. Septimus quickly scanned Lin Sanjiu and immediately exclaimed in an anxious manner, “Was your neck injured?”

  “Ah, that, actually…”

  Septimus managed to successfully distract Lin Sanjiu. Before she could explain, Septimus sighed and interrupted her, “How could you be so careless? Alright, you should rest first. Don’t bother yourself with anything else. I will call you when it’s time for breakfast.” He did not want to waste time showing concern for that woman now, he knew it was critical for him to leave as soon as possible. “Anything else” would mean looking for Marcie to Lin Sanjiu. Whereas, it would not be considered a lie from Hu Changzai’s perspective. Septimus hid his relief and celebrated his quick thinking inwardly as he quickly left the infirmary.