Doomsday Wonderland c1-855

by N. Heller

  Before this, she had never placed such emphasis on those last two words.

  She still had 1 minute, 56 seconds before the cooldown period of her Pygmalion Choker. Marcie did not move. Instead, she stopped Hu Changzai and passed him the bus key.

  “Marcie, what are you doing?” Lin Sanjiu turned to her side and asked, feeling very uneasy.

  After she said that, they heard a “Zzzt!” Marcie’s body suddenly began to fade like the image on an old television when the signal was bad.

  Chapter 69 - Destroying Oasis in 30 Seconds

  “Before the climate changed, before the temperature was high enough to kill, I was just an average man with a normal family. I lived an ordinary life with my wife of almost six years and my pair of three years old twin girls. We were happy. Even after the apocalypse, I still felt that I was extremely lucky. My wife and both daughters managed to develop the Heat Resistance Adaptation ability.

  “I was the only one who gained an active skill. Even though it was nothing incredible, I tried my best to protect my family. I managed to get food, water, and a shelter. I always had a muscular built so none of the duoluozhongs could get close enough to harm my precious daughters. But the gods suddenly withdrew their blessings one particular night.

  “That day, we drove for a long time, so the engine overheated. We needed time for it to cool down and also we were running out of gas. I knew that there was a gas station just a couple of streets away, and there was even a small shop selling car accessories. Of course, I would never leave my wife and children in an unfamiliar place just like that. Before I parked the car at the gas station, I surveyed the place three times and checked very carefully. That place was safe, there were no duoluozhongs, there weren’t even any other humans.

  “I found a number of useful items we could use and even saw a few duck plushies at the entrance of the shop. I was happy and quickly picked out two clean plushies. My daughters used to insist on having their rubber ducks in the bathtub before they bathe. At that time, I thought it would be a great idea to give them these two duck plushies since they could no longer bathe in a bathtub.

  “While I carried cans of coolant and gas, reflective sheets, and two large duck plushies, I had to crook my head to look at the road ahead. When I walked out of the gas station, I realized that there were two brown figures with carapace-like skin, standing on both sides of my car. I took at least a minute to recognize what they were. Perhaps, I had unintentionally made a sound, so the two figures straightened their backs and turned to look at me. I finally saw their human-like faces and their long mouthparts.

  “My wife’s blood was still dripping from the mouthpart of the duoluozhong nearer to me.

  “I can still clearly remember the duoluozhong standing beside my wife’s gray, lifeless face...”

  “Hey, are you full? Let’s go. That person looks pretty strong,” it said to the other duoluozhong.

  “But I haven’t finished drinking the blood of this young one. It’s so fresh…”

  “My memory became a little hazy here. I vaguely remembered throwing down everything in my hands. I flew over, determined to save my daughter who might still be alive…”

  “Ah! I know! Let’s do this...” the duoluozhong replied quickly and swiftly stuck its mouthpart through the car’s window and pulled it out again.

  “Two little corpses dangled from its long mouthpart, and they looked like my daughters. The duoluozhong had used its mouthpart to pierce through both their heads, just like a kebab, and pulled their bodies out of the car. While I let out a heartbroken howl, they stretched out their wings. This made me realize how they could suddenly appear…

  “After that, I never saw another winged duoluozhong again. Who would’ve known that they were just around us,” Hai Tianqing concluded as his eyes were plastered on the large number of duoluozhongs flying in the air and on the roofs of the buildings. He slowly stood up and said, “This is now my heaven. I will not leave unless I kill every one of them.”

  Lin Sanjiu stood in front of her truck, listening quietly to his story.

  Professor Bai sighed softly, “It’s all my fault. I led them here, so I inadvertently caused the death of your wife and children too.”

  “In my whole life, this is the first time I realized how cowardly I am.” Professor Bai said mildly, “If I were killed by them, at least I wouldn’t need to face my guilt for the rest of my life. But the only thing I am worried about is you…”

  The tip of Xu Xiaoyang’s nose had turned red, she pursed her lip, unable to say a word.

  Hu Changzai glanced at them for a moment before he looked at Lin Sanjiu and asked, “How are things? Can you still see her?”

  “I can still spot her from this distance,” Lin Sanjiu replied while she tried to calm herself. “Once she started running toward that direction, Marcie’s body had already stabilized. At least she no longer looks blurry.”

  Hu Changzai heaved a sigh of relief. Now that Marcie was not in any danger of disappearing, they should leave but...

  “What should we do now?” Hu Changzai watched Lin Sanjiu as he waited for a reply. He continued, “Are we really just going to leave them here?”

  There was only 1 minute and 2 seconds left till the cooldown period of her Pygmalion Choker.

  Lin Sanjiu laughed icily as she looked up at the sky.

  After she slaughtered a large group of duoluozhongs, the duoluozhongs stopped chasing after them in one huge pack. Instead, most of them stayed on the roofs or hid themselves, as if waiting quietly for the right time to strike. The duoluozhongs without wings had already made their way to the bas.e.m.e.nts and were now in the middle of their massacre.

  “Miss Lin, shouldn’t you be thinking of escaping now?” a man’s calm voice rang out from the speakers. “Unfortunately, after we came to this bloody place, we became duoluozhongs because we didn’t have the heat resistance adaptation. But you shouldn’t look down on us since we were once posthumans. I know that the more powerful an ability is, the greater the restrictions are. With that ability, you’re probably running out of time, right?”

  “Isn’t it better for you to think about how you should escape? Rather than think about others?” He laughed.

  There were only 42 seconds left till the cooldown period of her Pygmalion Choker.

  With an ice cold expression, Lin Sanjiu turned to look at Hai Tianqing and Xu Xiaoyang. Then, she said, “If you really intend to stay behind, you have 5 seconds each to say what your abilities are.”

  They both exchanged a glance and came to a decision immediately.

  “Griselda is my ability,” Xu Xiaoyang explained first.

  Xu Xiaoyang’s ability: 【War/Doll】

  Description: The user has the ability to summon a humanoid combat doll. The user decides Griselda’s features, gender, build, etc. Griselda’s combat strength is determined by how satisfied it is with its own appearance. Without knowing the doll’s preference, the user only has one chance to change the doll’s appearance at each stage. Even though otakus covet this ability, only normal people can gain this ability.

  [How unlucky…] Lin Sanjiu thought to herself as she briefly looked at Griselda’s wavy hair and her devilishly beautiful looks before looking at Hai Tianqing.

  “Gyming can also create obstacles for one’s enemy.”

  Hai Tianqing’s ability: 【The glory of a personal trainer】

  Description: The effect of the ability lasts for three minutes. Hai Tianqing will become a superstar athlete with superior physique. The item that he chooses in his mind will possess the characteristics of a particular gym equipment. This can be used for obstructing the enemy and to help himself.

  The current usable gym equipment: Dumbbells, treadmill, yoga mat.

  34 seconds left till cooldown.

  “Starting from now, both of you must listen to my instructions without questions. Understand?” Lin Sanjiu shouted again, “Hu Changzai, drive that bus out of here and keep Professor Bai and the rabbit
hidden!”

  Hu Changzai quickly left and went to start the engines.

  “What are you planning?” Xu Xiaoyang asked her, a little puzzled.

  Lin Sanjiu did not answer her. The items in mid-air wobbled a little. As if they had all suddenly lost their life force, they fell to the ground one after the other and reverted back to their normal state without that silver sheen.

  When the silver net fell, the duoluozhongs began to stir. A few impatient ones started flying toward them as if to test the water.

  “Get Griselda to protect me!” Lin Sanjiu shouted as she set her eyes on the 7th floor of the Executives’ Building which was where the broadcasting room was located. “I'm going to disintegrate that! Get ready, Hai Tianqing!” Even though she was more powerful than Chen Jinfeng due to her Potential Growth Value, breaking down the entire floor of a building was still very taxing, even if she had already given up maintaining the protective silver net. She predicted that the duoluozhongs would take the opportunity and attack them like ravenous beasts once the process started… and she was right.

  When the corner of the Executives’ Building melted off like an ice-cream cake, the duoluozhongs who figured out her plan went ballistic. The duoluozhongs gathered in the sky, covering it entirely, looming over them like dark gray clouds. Lin Sanjiu did not even bat an eye as she stood at the top of her truck, focusing on the Executives’ Building. Sweat began to appear on her forehead.

  19 seconds until cooldown.

  Even though Griselda was very unsatisfied with her own appearance, her attacks were still very potent. At that moment, her entire body swelled up with muscles and sinews. A blow from her arms could smash a duoluozhong to bits. However, as she could not fly, it was increasingly difficult for her to fight against those winged duoluozhongs who dodged her attacks nimbly in mid-air.

  Similarly, Hai Tianqing was doing his best to protect Lin Sanjiu. “90kg dumbbells!” he shouted as he kicked up a massive amount of sand. The flying duoluozhongs flapped their wings desperately as the 90kg grains of sands crushed them to the ground. With the two people protecting her, Lin Sanjiu was surrounded by lumps of splattered flesh like pot-stickers fillings.

  15 seconds until cooldown.

  Lin Sanjiu managed to disintegrate the 7th floor. All the broken down building materials and furniture floated upward and spun toward the center of the floor like a blender. However, they did not see a single drop of blood— there was no one on the 7th floor.

  9 seconds until cooldown.

  “But, if you can still survive till then, why don’t you search every building to look for me?”

  “How long more can you keep them back?” Lin Sanjiu asked loudly, ignoring the duoluozhong’s taunt.

  “As long as you need!” Hai Tianqing replied with a grin, he inhaled deeply as a duoluozhong pierced its mouthpart through his previous wound. After he said that, the weaponized fragments made from the entire 7th floor fell to the ground and reverted to their normal forms.

  “I want to take a gamble. I need both of you to hang in there!” after she said that, Lin Sanjiu’s body started to tremble slightly — this was the side-effect of her pushing herself to her limits. Sweat gushed from her pores, flowing past her eyebrows and down her nose. Her tank top was gradually soaked with sweat.

  5 seconds until cooldown.

  The attacks from the duoluozhongs were getting more and more intense. Even with Hai Tianqing’s sand dumbbells, Griselda’s body was covered with multiple wounds. At that moment, multiple buildings in Oasis seemed to have lost their roofs, like a clean shaven head. The broken weaponized fragments floated in the air, but the overall structure of the buildings remained stubbornly unchanged.

  4 seconds until cooldown.

  “Move, dammit!” Lin Sanjiu gritted her teeth, her head was hurting as if multiple steel needles had pierced through her brain.

  “How much longer will it take? Griselda can’t last much longer!” Xu Xiaoyang, who stood behind them, couldn’t help yelling out as she dodged the various duoluozhongs’ attacks agilely.

  The nearby buildings shook for a fraction of a second and were broken down in succession. Three buildings were dissolved around the same time. The sharp weaponized building materials danced in mid-air, instantly killing off countless duoluozhongs. Unfortunately, they could still hear the loathsome laughter over the speaker, “Good effort!”

  2 seconds until cooldown.

  [I can’t do this, I think I need to give up here…] This flashed through Lin Sanjiu’s groggy mind. [If I knew this would happen, I wouldn’t have acted so impulsively just because I was angry. I should have run away… Now, I can’t leave even if I wanted and I even implicate the others.]

  “My student, Lin Sanjiu. Special Items are powered by your metabolic energy, but you’ve already used up all your energy.” Amidst her dizziness, she vaguely heard Mrs. Manas’s voice, “Do you want to use… your... cons—?

  As Lin Sanjiu was on the verge of total exhaustion, she could not clearly hear what Mrs. Manas said, she only answered instinctively, “Yes…”

  The 5 minutes were up, and Lin Sanjiu’s Pygmalion Choker entered its cooldown state.

  As if they’ve suddenly sensed it, the two people who were currently fighting paused for a moment and looking into the distance. Half of the buildings in the factory compound were still intact. They stood firmly under the night sky, with no indication that anything had affected them.

  The speaker buzzed again, and the man’s maniacal laughter filled Oasis, “Hahaha! I think that’s the end of your—“

  Before he even finished his sentence, there was a large boom! The buildings which appeared intact just moments dissolved into fine dust in an instant. Before the duoluozhongs’ expressions could even change, they were ground into meat paste by the weaponized bits of dust. As if multiple TNT bombs had exploded in the large factory compound, Oasis disintegrated into a large pile of fine dust, along with all the duoluozhongs.

  The duoluozhong who had mocked them the entire time was finally now only a part of that pile.

  As the others watched silently in utter disbelief, Lin Sanjiu lose her consciousness and fell head first off the top of her truck. Hai Tianqing rushed over and caught her.

  Oasis has been totally destroyed in 30 seconds.

  Chapter 70 - What Did You Say?

  While she was still in a half-conscious state, Lin Sanjiu could hear a constant soft “pitter-patter” sound which disturbed her utterly exhausted mind. From the jerky movements she felt, she could tell that she was in a vehicle...

  A packet of butter cookies, on top of a large carton, shifted about with the jerky movement of the bus, just like Lin Sanjiu. A furry paw appeared behind the carton as if it was trying to sneakily snatch the packet of cookies. However, the bus suddenly jerked, so the paw accidentally pushed the packet of cookies off the carton. “Agh!” The packet of cookies hit someone.

  The culprit stuck his head out and stuck his head out and incidentally locked eyes with Lin Sanjiu.

  “You… You’re awake? Haha…” B.Rabbit[1] laughed dryly.

  Lin Sanjiu removed the packet of cookies from her face. She still felt giddy, but she slowly sat up and looked around. She was lying in the aisle of the bus; apparently, someone thoughtful had spread out a towel before she laid down. She could see tall stacks of cartons beside her, and she figured that the others probably had to make space for her to lie down. At that moment, B.Rabbit climbed up to one of the top cartons.

  “Xiao Jiu? You’re awake?”

  Hu Changzai’s voice rang out from the driver’s seat as he took a second to look behind. When he saw that Lin Sanjiu could already sit up, his face immediately lit up. “That’s great! I have been worried about you!”

  After hearing that, her memories slowly came back to her, filling her groggy head.

  [Fang Dan had been killed by 12.]

  The first thought that emerged strangled her heart tightly. [Who would have known that she was a Consu
lar Officer?] Thus, Lin Sanjiu came to accept that she didn’t just lose the chance to get a visa but more importantly, she has lost a friend.

  Subsequently, she began to summarize the events in her head. When the five Executives were defeated, 12 took the opportunity and escaped while Oasis was empty. Marcie left ahead of them as she had to maintain the distance between herself and 12 to keep her corporeal form. Right now, Lin Sanjiu did not know where they were. [How’s Marcie? Has Luther woken up?]

  “How long have I been sleeping?” Lin Sanjiu was only conscious about how dry her throat was when she started speaking.

  Hu Changzai eyed Lin Sanjiu through the rearview mirror before he replied, sounded a little worried, “It has been a week. Luckily, you had a normal pulse and breathing rate, I nearly thought that you were dead...”

  [A week!?] Lin Sanjiu was shocked, and she immediately stood up. Her legs wobbled a little, and she nearly lost her balance. “It has been that long? Then, Marcie...”

  Hu Changzai already expected Lin Sanjiu’s question, he couldn’t help sighing as he replied, “After you fainted, we discussed and decided to head in the same direction as Marcie. However, even after traveling for quite some distance, we didn’t see Marcie. I guessed we might have taken a wrong turn, or perhaps they changed direction midway…”

  [That is to say, we lost contact with Marcie.]

  Lin Sanjiu’s head started to hurt. She found herself at a loss as her head pulsated with pain while her intense waves of emotions — anxiousness, worry, and remorse — seemed to ebbed a little. Instead, a rather comforting thought became clearer and clearer to her: No news might be the best news...

  Ultimately, B.Rabbit took another packet of cookies. He tore open the packet with his teeth, and a small round puff appeared on one side of his cheek as he munched on the cookies noisily.

  Lin Sanjiu stared at the rabbit and frowned as her mind churned, “Where is Professor Bai, Xu Xiaoyang, and Hai Tianqing? Why is this rabbit here instead?”