by N. Heller
The situation outside was getting more and more complicated. The crying and screaming crowd ran around like headless chickens. Due to the panic, they were like trapped preys for the duoluozhongs; every now and then, blood spurted out from a victim in the crowd, and this drove the crowd into a wilder frenzy. The fear in the atmosphere was so thick it was almost tangible. Rather than being killed by a duoluozhong, it was unfortunate that much more people died from the stampede.
Amidst this purgatory-like scene, a sudden long whistle suddenly rang out. Almost as if it was a command, the duoluozhongs in the main hall stopped their attack, the two in the bas.e.m.e.nt also returned to the first floor. The duoluozhongs heard what Lin Sanjiu said just now. One of them peered at her with its narrowed eyes but did not say a word. Subsequently, the four duoluozhongs turned and flew out of the main hall.
As Lin Sanjiu looked out of the main entrance, the duoluozhongs which covered the skies like dark clouds flew into the distance, even the duoluozhongs wandering on the roofs somehow disappeared. Their retreat was quick and coordinated.
Marcie, somewhat unable to believe her eyes, was now dumbfounded. For a few seconds, Oasis fell into a sort of deadly silence. Everyone watched in a daze, unable to say a word, as the duoluozhongs flew away.
“Sob…”
Lin Sanjiu heard a soft cry. It was Xiao Yu. From the start, Xiao Yu had been scared out of her wits, so she laid in one corner. Somehow, it was also the reason she survived. Lin Sanjiu shuddered when she heard Xiao Yu. As if she suddenly realized something, Lin Sanjiu pulled Marcie and ran outside.
“This is our best chance! While Oasis is in a mess, let’s drive the vehicles...” as she said this, she looked around and ran toward their line of vehicles. Unfortunately, her plan was disrupted by a voice over the loudspeakers: “Attention! This is an announcement from Professor Bai’s office!”
An imposing male voice rang out over the loudspeakers, the atmosphere froze, and the deadly silence fell over the entire compound once again. “Firstly, dear members do not worry, the duoluozhongs which invaded us have left. We are out of danger! Our five Executives are now at the scene of the incident, investigating the issue and helping deal with the aftermath. Please return to your own rooms after this broadcast; otherwise, you will be captured and banished from Oasis. I will repeat this again. Please return to your own rooms after this broadcast…”
If they went back now, they would never escape. If they were captured by Chen Jinfeng, they would never have the good fortune to get banished from this place. Lin Sanjiu and Marcie exchanged a look, and Lin Sanjiu pointed upward. After that, the women scaled the walls of the building nimbly each climbed onto an air-conditioning unit. As factories require a lot more air-conditioning units than households, it was a reasonable hiding place. The air-conditioning units could support their weight, and when they curled up, the space was just enough.
After the broadcast, the crowd moved like fearful herds of sheep back into their dormitory. The five Executives stomped around the compound, shouting commands. The sounds of corpses being dragged, interrogations, and feverish searching filled Oasis. The two women hid above the people below them and did not move for at least two hours. Finally, Oasis gradually regained its order.
As they had not been under the afternoon sun for a long time, the longer the two women hid on the air-conditioning units, the more unbearable it became.
“Bzzt!” Suddenly, the loudspeakers were filled with the sound of someone hitting a microphone.
It was the same man who spoke previously. “Attention everyone! This is an announcement from Professor Bai’s office! According to a reliable eyewitness, the tragic incident today occurred because two Oasis members colluded with the duoluozhongs and led them here. As the last hope for humanity, we will not tolerate such behavior… We will now announce the names of these two traitors.
“Lin Sanjiu. Marcie. The traitors are two women in their twenties or thirties. They might have multiple accomplices. The main culprit, Lin Sanjiu, wears a bandage around her neck while Marcie is a red-haired Caucasian...
“All Oasis members have the responsibility to look for these two traitors and report their locations to the authority… At the same time, all guards must now be on duty. The main entrance must be heavily guarded to prevent the traitors from escaping. I’ll repeat this again…”
Chapter 61 - I still can’t bear to leave
Nightfall came.
Under the flood of white light from the searchlight, Oasis was vastly different from the past nights. Tension hung in the air. Other than the few important teams who had to fulfill their usual duties, most of the other members grouped themselves in twos and threes, sharing a single flashlight. They were all searching for traces of the two traitors.
It has already been seven hours since the duoluozhongs appeared, but they still didn’t find Lin Sanjiu and Marcie. Whether it was the canteen, the main hall, or the water treatment room… wherever there was a loudspeaker, people could hear the ongoing broadcast.
At that moment, a trembling female voice could be heard over the loudspeakers: “As an operational administrator, I quickly followed them when I sensed that something was amiss… But, I never guess that they could be so crazy! They actually colluded with the duoluozhongs and brought them here to kill us…”
It was Xiao Yu’s voice.
After she finished what she had to say as an eyewitness, the imposing but emotionless male voice rang out again: “If Xiao Yu did not notify us in time today, the number of casualties would have definitely been more than 210. We sheltered them out of kindness, yet they betrayed us. They must be punished for their foolish act!”
Despite knowing that the loudspeakers could not pick up their response, many people raised their arms and shouted heatedly.
“Sentence them to death!”
“We have to avenge the deaths of those people!”
A loud, recognizable voice joined the outcry of the people in the electrical maintenance team, and his voice merged with the crowd until it was indiscernible. After Hu Changzai shouted similar chants together with his colleagues, he put down his arm and looked around guiltily. He sighed relieved that no one had noticed him.
His ability did not work on audio and tv broadcasts so he could not tell if Xiao Yu was lying. However, perhaps due to his biased toward her because she had saved his life, he couldn’t convince himself that Lin Sanjiu would collude with duoluozhongs to harm the people in Oasis. Unfortunately, it was obvious that he had to keep this opinion to himself especially in front of the irate crowd.
“Our work for today is almost done!” the team leader of the electrical maintenance team shouted suddenly, raising his arm, “Next, we must search every inch of Oasis and find those two traitors!”
His team members roared in agreement; they were so loud that the roof vibrated a little. The team leader brought out a box which was filled with flashlights and batteries. His team members queued up to collect their flashlights, but the team leader closed the box when it came to Hu Changzai’s turn.
“I remember… You know that woman with the bandages!” The man gave Hu Changzai a sidelong glance. Hu Changzai felt that the multiple penetrating glares from behind him could almost pierce through his shirt.
“I, I didn’t know that she was this sort of person...“ He never told a lie in his life, his face turned red, “If I had known... “
The team leader eyed Hu Changzai but refrained from saying another word because Hu Changzai was usually very compliant. He pushed the box away and looked at the people standing behind Hu Changzai. His eyes swept through the group, and he spotted a man with middle-parted hair stepping forward, “Team Leader, I will go with him.”
It was the suitor who gave Fang Dan that card.
Hu Changzai turned to look at that man. Even if Hu Changzai was just an honest man, he knew that the fact that he was the only one in the team who needed a partner meant something. He forced himself to smile at his colleague and said softly, “Oka
y, okay. Let’s go.”
All the possible exits in Oasis were guarded by the five Executives and their people, so everyone in Oasis believed that those women will not be able to escape even if they wore mecha suits. This was supported by the fact that the Executives, including Chen Jinfeng, all possessed powerful combative skills.
Hu Changzai felt very conflicted, he did not bother talking to Li Shi. He did not believe that Lin Sanjiu brought those duoluozhongs, so he hoped that she would not be found. On the other hand, he wished he could see her immediately so he could ask her what had happened exactly. Both men walked silently for a few minutes. Unexpectedly, Li Shi suddenly laughed.
“Actually, you’re not the only one who knows them both. I know them too.”
Hu Changzai gave him a wary look, but he did not know what Li Shi was trying to imply.
“Don’t you know about Fang Dan and me?” Li Shi turned to Hu Changzai and gave him an assuring smile, “That woman with bandages is Fang Dan’s friend, so I met her once.” Hu Changzai stared at the man’s eyes and instantly gave a sigh of relief. [That’s right. This man is telling the truth.] Hu Changzai did not expect to meet someone in almost the same situation. He asked quickly, “So, you must know that Xiao Jiu will never do something like that. What should we do now?”
“Listen, I have an idea,” Li Shi said without a hint of nervousness. “Isn’t Fang Dan with the well management team? You might think that there are many groups of people searching for the two women but not many people actually went to look around the area near the well management team.”
Hu Changzai hesitated for a moment, thinking carefully. He quickly understood Li Shi’s words. As the well management team is one of the teams that affects the everyday operations of Oasis, the team members were on duty even that day — just like Li Shi and himself just now. Ironically, this was the precise reason why the members of the search team paid less attention to places bustling with activity. Similarly, none of the search groups went to disturb the backup generator team when they were working for a few hours. Furthermore, the well management team worked around the clock...
With a high-strung heart, Hu Changzai followed Li Shi to visit the well management team’s work area with fear and expectation. When they reach the courtyard where the well was, it was surprisingly quiet. There wasn’t even a single person.
The searchlight that was above the well had been switched off and turned aside. The place was only illuminated by the few small light bulbs on the wall. Their tools were neatly placed aside in a pile. The well that was dug was rather unsophisticated and laid under layers and layers of thermal insulation material. Using their single flashlight, the two men search the area without speaking. They looked in every possible hiding spot, but they found nothing.
[From what it seems, Xiao Jiu isn’t here.] Hu Changzai could not hide his disappointment, he sighed inwardly. Li Shi was also visibly discouraged by their futile search. He shot Hu Changzai a glance. As he walked away from the work area with Hu Changzai, he sighed, “What thoughts do you have about where they might possibly choose to hide? As friends, we must find them first. We can’t let them get captured by other people in Oasis.”
Light reflected off Hu Changzai’s spectacles. He was a little startled. He was just about to speak when he heard a soft “creak” behind him. Due to the silence, both men heard that sound clearly. They wouldn’t have heard it if the broadcast was still ongoing, but it already stopped some time ago. Li Shi immediately turned to look behind, he pointed the flashlight at the ground not far from them.
The dim yellow spot of light circled the courtyard urgently...
The well’s heavy cover suddenly moved, it was pushed upward a few times before it finally slid to the ground. A pale white hand came out from the side of the well, then another hand appeared, and a figure gradually rose from the well…
Long black hair hung over the woman’s head, totally covering her face. Her white clothes were totally drenched. She left a trail of water behind her as she crawled outward. Li Shi could feel himself trembling, his face turned sheet-white when he saw that Sadako[1]-like figure. Oddly, his eyes lit up at the same time. His guess was right, that person was really hiding here! His voice was in his throat when he was suddenly struck violently from behind. Li Shi fell to the ground instantly.
Hu Changzai held a metal bucket in his hand while he panted heavily. He used too much strength. Blood slowly seeped out from the back of Li Shi’s head. Hu Changzai used his finger and anxiously checked for Li Shi’s breathing. Finding that it was still stable, Hu Changzai’s body slackened.
The “Sadako” hesitated for a moment, she pulled her hair to the back of her head, revealing Fang Dan’s face. “So, you’re not alone? Why did you come here with him?”
Hu Changzai looked at Fan Dang, smiling drily, “Let’s drop that subject. If this guy didn’t utter a sentence which I could recognize as a lie, all of you would have been captured. Anyway, how did things end up like this? Where is Xiao Jiu and Marcie? The entire Oasis is searching for all of you!”
“I know, that’s why we went to hide. If we didn’t hear your voice, we wouldn’t know when we could come out.” Fang Dan wiped away the water from her face and shouted toward the well, “Come up! It’s really him.”
The two other women glared at her. Finally, Marcie couldn’t hold back herself, “Technically, the incident today was caused by you…” Fang Dan was unaffected by her words, her expression did not change even a bit.
Lin Sanjiu felt a slight headache, and she quickly changed the subject, “We heard the broadcast from inside the well. When we were hiding, we already discussed about the matter. We are sure that the duoluozhongs are reared in Oasis! To hide this fact, they prevent anyone from going out in the morning! We found out this secret, thus Oasis is hell-bent on killing us.”
Hu Changzai was shocked — he definitely could tell that it was true — he whispered in alarm, “What? Why would they? We have to make this public!”
“How are we supposed to do that? If we show ourselves, we will be caught immediately. On top of that, we don’t know the reason behind this. Who would even believe us?” Fang Dan said expressionlessly as she chewed on a piece of gum she pulled out from nowhere.
Lin Sanjiu paused stood still for a moment, before she suddenly said softly, “It is not impossible. We can make an announcement if we go to Professor Bai’s office. If we want to find out why they are rearing duoluozhongs here, is there any better method than asking the top person in this place?”
Everyone fell silent.
“That’s courting death,” Fang Dan murmured after some time. “We can just leave.”
Lin Sanjiu looked at her own hands. She clenched her own fists so tightly that her knuckles were turning white.
“Frankly speaking, I’m unwilling to just leave like that,” Lin Sanjiu said coldly, “Even though I don’t know why they would rear those duoluozhongs, they are definitely up to no good. The over 1000 Oasis members are all innocent lives. Yet, they are all so infuriating. Why should I just leave? I want to smash the truth in their faces and make my point.”
“I don’t really have a strong opinion on this. But it sounds fun. I’ll join,” Fang Dan added.
Hu Changzai did not waver, he said softly, “I will help all of you. Professor Bai lives in that building. There is an Executive nearby. He is called Hai Tianqing. Listen up…”
They all knew that they had no time to lose, while they discussed their plan they left the well management team’s work area cautiously. A few minutes after their figures disappeared into the darkness, a person rose from a patch of grass. It is not an easy thing to knock a person out — Li Shi held his wound and half ran, half stumbled out of the courtyard. When he came out, he nearly collided with another member of the search team. As the person looked at him in surprise, he shouted hoarsely, “Quickly inform the Executives! I found the traitors! They are heading toward Professor Bai’s office!”
TN: [1] Sadak
o from the horror movie, The Ring.
Chapter 62 - Lin Sanjiu Might Have Poor Numeracy Skills
From a bird’s eye view of Oasis, four figures approached the Executives’ Building with an alarming speed, churning up four streaks of dust. When the streaks of dust merged together, the entire Executives’ Building was swallowed by dust and sand, such that they could only see a vague outline of each other.
The person guarding the building was Hai Tianqing, the largest person among all the Executives. He was tall and had an extremely muscular built, each inch of his body was covered with bulging muscles, making him look as intimidating and sturdy as a mountain. He coughed twice, choked by the dust in the air. As if using a palm-leaf fan, he swiped his huge hands about him trying to clear the dust around him. “Shouldn’t all of you be more discreet!”
The dust settled a little gradually, and a person emerged from his left. It was a tall, slender man. Despite living in an extreme environment like Hyperthermal Hell, it was very obvious that the man valued his own appearance greatly. He wore a white collared shirt with a suit vest and cropped trousers which showed his ankles. His polished leather shoes were as shiny as his hair. The yuppie-styled man brushed off the sand on his shoulders and smiled, “Since we are here, did you get those hindrances to leave?”
“Wasn’t the broadcast loud enough? Didn’t you hear it?” an acid woman’s voice drifted from the other side of the dust right the man finished his question.
The voice belonged to an OL [1], in office wear, wearing a pair of black framed glasses. Even though her tight office top and pencil skirt accentuated her full bosom and good figure, her hair worn in a tight bun and her stoic, uptight expression only gave her the image of a strict primary school educational director.
At that exact moment, there was a hurried voice over the loudspeakers: “Dear Oasis members, please return to your own dormitories and gather there…”