Doomsday Wonderland c1-855

by N. Heller

  Before Hai Tianqing could cast his eyes at the remaining person and rabbit, Lin Sanjiu and B.Rabbit already showed him their faces, as if resigned to their fate.

  Lin Sanjiu’s slightly upturned cat-like eyes were surrounded by a complicated flowery design. It was as if someone had added a flowery design to a panda’s signature black eyes. Even though it was weird, it actually looked alright after a while.

  But when Hai Tianqing saw B.Rabbit, he was dumbfounded.

  B.Rabbit wore a leather eye patch on one eye, while his other eye was covered with a smokey eye makeup. He also wore purple lipstick on his lips and a golden ring on its ear. His previous leather collar was missing; instead, he was wearing a spiked collar. His goth makeup made it even harder to ignore the little pink carrot symbols all over its body.

  "This is… novel," Hai Tianqing blurted out a comment, unconsciously.

  The expressions of both humans and one rabbit instantly fell to the bottom of the valley.

  "This is the side effect of consuming [Versu Poison]. A ‘decorative’ pattern will appear on your face or body," Lin Sanjiu sounded very bitter as she said this, "the designs are determined by the thoughts in your mind at that particular moment."

  Hu Changzai looked at both his arms, they were covered with designs like that of computer circuitry. "I heard it as face ‘and’ body… So I am totally covered with that black pattern."

  The goth rabbit did not say a word, but Lin Sanjiu did not spare him. "B.Rabbit’s current ‘style’ is created by a special item. The carrots are the patterns created by the poison… I have no idea why he would think of this pajamas pattern. But the good thing is that this [Versu Poison] is only temporary. It won’t last."

  Hai Tianqing heaved a sigh of relief after he heard this. He walked toward them, planning to sit down beside B.Rabbit, but before he could bend down, the three of them ran away from him. "Keep your distance away from me!" they all yelled as they scooted away from him at the same time.

  "What’s wrong with all of you?" Hai Tianqing asked glumly.

  Lin Sanjiu let out a long sigh and massaged her own temples.

  [Versu Poison]

  "Description: Versu Poison is a new, manufactured virus developed by Scicli Pharmaceutical Laboratories. The initial consumer will become a carrier of the virus, but their body will not be harmed by the virus. However, if a person comes in direct contact with a carrier’s skin, the virus will be transmitted to them, and they will contract an incurable blood disease. They will die within a short time with blood pouring out from their pores. If two carriers come in contact with each other, both carriers will die. Transmission is not possible without direct skin contact.

  "Active Duration: Versu Poison will lose its effects after the carrier has ‘poisoned’ six persons.

  "Side effects: Patterns will appear on a person’s face or body according to their thoughts at the time of consumption. This will last for six months."

  After Lin Sanjiu explained about the effects of the poison, Hai Tianqing took the initiative to sit further away from them. As he was twice as large as a normal person, he didn’t want to risk touching them accidentally.

  "If you think positively, this is quite a good defense. Now, nobody would dare to even touch you. But, what is with B.Rabbit’s current fashion and my ability?"

  After the fourth game ended, the three people sat at the dinner table, not knowing what to do. They watched as Mr. Dot stood up from his seat and announced the results of the Challenge. They could clearly see the fake Hai Tianqing’s mouth opening, but somehow, his voice sounded as if it came from a speaker, and it rang out throughout the entire arena.

  Unexpectedly, the four of them were not the only survivors. As Zhong Junkai had fainted earlier on, he managed to conserve his energy and was ironically able to survive. Meanwhile, the long-legged woman was not as lucky, but her will to survive was extremely strong. She squeezed out and drank the blood of her fellow team member and managed to survive till the end.

  The badly injured old woman, the loser, and the others had unfortunately passed away. However, unlike the previous time, they could not retrieve the ability from the deceased members because, according to Mr. Dot, they had exceeded their "expiration date".

  After he woke Zhong Junkai up and gave him some food, Mr. Dot listed all the abilities of the members of the White Team:

  "Hu Changzai had two Active abilities: [Lie Detection], [Truth Bomb].

  "Hai Tianqing had one Active ability: [The glory of a personal trainer], one ability received from B.Rabbit: [All the carrots are mine], and one ability received from Lara Lian: [I can’t help loving her at first sight].

  "Long-legged woman had one Active ability: [A Twinkle in the Sky]."

  They won a total of six abilities, and four of them belonged to their companions so it was really a close game.

  However, no matter what it was, the abilities were distributed to the Red Team based on their contributions and how they d.e.s.i.r.ed to share the prizes. [All the carrots are mine] and Hu Changzai’s abilities were given to B.Rabbit. Hai Tianqing’s and the Long-legged woman’s abilities were given to Lin Sanju. Even though Zhong Junkai was absent during the fourth game, he was Lara’s boyfriend, after all; thus Lin Sanjiu decided that Lara’s ability should belong to him.

  After Lin Sanjiu retrieved three glowing balls of light from the c.h.e.s.t and watched as they integrated into her skin, she asked, "Mr. Dot, didn’t you mention that we could also request for a special prize?" Lin Sanjiu did make an effort to remember his words.

  Mr. Dot retained Hai Tianqing’s form for some reason, not revealing his true appearance. "Sure. Let me know what you want."

  Zhong Junkai, who had been lying listlessly, suddenly lit up and forced himself up. Lin Sanjiu lifted up a corner of the c.h.e.s.t and removed a Diary Card she had placed there previously. She looked at the card and scanned its contents quickly, before sighing in relief. She smiled at Mr. Dot and requested, "B.Rabbit and I want this c.h.e.s.t."

  B.Rabbit was astonished when he realized that Lin Sanjiu took advantage of the situation to represent him, he quickly chipped in unhappily, "Hey, I haven't thought of the prize I want!"

  Lin Sanjiu didn't say anything. She showed her Diary Card to B.Rabbit. B.Rabbit pulled down the card with his paw and became speechless when he read its content.

  The diary card stated the following: Lin Sanjiu has converted that c.h.e.s.t into a card in the second game. As she was afraid that Mr. Dot would punish her, she reverted it back to its original form after only one second. But she had called out her Diary Card before she did that, so the information about the c.h.e.s.t was recorded. It also recorded the subsequent transactions; therefore, the function of the c.h.e.s.t was completed recorded down.

  The c.h.e.s.t had the mysterious ability to take a person’s ability and store it in a transferable form. With it, they would be able to return Hai Tianqing and Hu Changzai their respective abilities. Not only that, the wooden c.h.e.s.t could retrieve the abilities of people who had just died. That means having the wooden c.h.e.s.t would be equivalent to having an incredible cheating machine!

  "I can’t give you this wooden c.h.e.s.t." Mr. Dot laughed unexpectedly. "If I give this to you, I will lose it."

  Lin Sanjiu, who had been very confident about her plan, was stumped. She had forgotten to consider the possibility that Mr. Dot could reject them. Mr. Dot observed her reaction, unruffled. He seemed pleased to see her look of helplessness. After a while, he smiled and said, "But… I can give you each a replica."

  After Lin Sanjiu told Hai Tianqing everything till this point, she opened her palms and called out, "[Rob the Poor to feed the Rich box]." The dark red replica of the wooden c.h.e.s.t, which belonged to Mr. Dot, was very small. It was only the size of a lunch box. At most, it could only be called a "wooden box". She placed her hand into the box, looked at Hai Tianqing and said mildly, "This replica is very weak. Each box can only be used twice. Each time, it can only draw out one
ability, and it cannot be used on a deceased person. But no matter what, I can still return your ability to you…"

  In order to return both abilities to Hu Changzai, B.Rabbit had already used up the two-time usage for his box. Hai Tianqing looked at the box that Lin Sanjiu had passed to him. There was a glowing ball within the box. He reached out his hands, and the ball of light floated toward him as if knowing its way home. It touched his hands and integrated into his skin before it disappeared.

  Hai Tianqing exercised his shoulders a bit and confirmed that his ability was back. He nodded at Lin Sanjiu and passed the box back to her. At the same time, he asked a question which bothered him for some time: "Since you all got some special items and you found a way to return my ability to me… why were all of you sitting here motionlessly?"

  Without the warm rain pouring down on them, the moon and the stars shone down brightly from the sky. The white fog and strong gale were gone. The sand, which once danced with the wind unbridled, had now been turned to mud due to the rain which had stopped. This weather, without any visual obstructions, was perfect for them to continue on their journey.

  Hu Changzai sighed heavily. He spoke, almost as if lamenting, "Executive Hai, do you see our vehicles anywhere?"

  "Huh?" Hai Tianqing was stunned, he immediately scanned the surroundings.

  At that moment, there were only three humans, including himself, and a rabbit on this empty road. There were a few muddy, decrepit shells of abandoned cars on the sides of the road, a devastated wasteland laid out behind them, and in the far distance, there was a building on the verge of collapsing. Finally, Hai Tianqing was aware that their two vehicles, stocked with food and water, were nowhere to be seen.

  "We were in that Pocket Dimension for more than two months… Our vehicles have long been stolen…" Lin Sanjiu said disappointedly behind her covered mouth. "It’s all because I can’t store huge items into my cards… We had to park them on the side of the road."

  Chapter 90 - Back on the Road

  The countless vehicles on the highway formed a river of steel. The cars surged forward like turbulent currents under the blue road sign as if trying to create an escape path to survive. There was a cacophony of insane car horns, the sounds of crashing cars, the crying screeches and irate arguments, and the aftermath of various collided cars… This horror scene quickly spread and extended…

  Until everything suddenly stopped as if someone had pressed a "pause" button.

  Lin Sanjiu threaded through the rows of cars stuck in an eternal traffic jam. Apart from her own footsteps and the incessant sound of a car horn coming from a distance, there was silence. It was that same jutting honk which made the highway seemed even more lifeless.

  Suddenly, the sharp, annoying blare stopped. Hu Changzai was some distance away from her. He was in front of a car whose original color had already faded beyond recognition. He straightened his back as he complained, "Of all places, he had to die on his car horn."

  When Lin Sanjiu heard this, she remembered how Luther had stepped quickly and callously on the backs of multiples corpses — she had been so angry back then. But now, their impression of a dead body had turned from that of unimaginable fear to something that they were so used to seeing that they wouldn’t even raise a brow.

  The blue sky hung over her as she looked up to read the road sign above. The road sign had been exposed to the sandstorms and high heat for over six months, so it wasn’t a mystery that the words on the sign were barely readable. Lin Sanjiu squinted and stood on the spot with her tilted head for several minutes before she eventually made out the words with some guessing. She yelled out to her companions who were far away from her, "We are 60 kilometers away from Yanping Port!"

  "We are still that far?" B.Rabbit sighed as he stood on top of a flatten Volvo, still in his goth makeup. "Why didn’t we get a special item which can let us fly?"

  Due to their [Versu Poison], they spread themselves out and walked at their own pace. It had already been more than one month since they escaped that weird game-type Pocket Dimension. This one month had been unexpectedly peaceful, apart from the fact that they were often hungry and beleaguered by thirst. It had already been two days since they last ate.

  The high temperatures no longer posed a threat to their enhanced body, but it created another problematic situation. Without the water reserve in their vehicles, they naturally thought that they could find some food supplies from supermarkets, food factories or convenient stores… They initially thought that, within this large city, it would be easy to find a supermarket which hadn't been ransacked. However, they were proven wrong by reality.

  Vacuum-packed and dried food had all been taken from the shelves. Going to a supermarket was probably the first thing on everyone’s mind, so there wasn’t even a single bottle of water left in most supermarkets they went to. And those were the supermarkets which still remained intact after the apocalypse. Most of the supermarkets in the city were destroyed along with the entire building they were in. Under the hot weather, they were now merely heaps of rubble.

  Just as all of them were getting worried and closer to despair, Lin Sanjiu suddenly thought of a place. If things went well, the water and food supplies stored there would far exceed any supermarket. In addition to that, not many people would even think about that place: the customs warehouse at the port.

  As a flourishing port city, Shenghai City’s imports and exports figures were astronomical. Imported consumables were one of the special goods which had to be stored in a customs warehouse for a month for inspection before they got approvals.

  Imported consumables imported from overseas had to fill up at least one container. Furthermore, the conditions at sea meant that the food had to be properly sealed and preserved. Moreover, the port was located in a rather secluded area, so it was also safer.

  [Other than the customs warehouse at the port, could there be any better place to seek shelter?]

  Therefore, even though Yanping Port was very far, they all continued on this journey willingly. As they were impeded by the long rows of abandoned cars, they could not move any faster. However, without any map and no GPS, they could only forge ahead following the signs on the highway. After walking quietly in the same manner for some time, Lin Sanjiu stopped.

  A dark brown hand opened the car door beside the driver’s seat belonging to the car in front of Lin Sanjiu. The opened door directly blocked Lin Sanjiu’s way forward.

  Lin Sanjiu watched expressionlessly as a dried, shriveled duoluozhong came out of the car. She waved her hand, and a mouthpart appeared in her hand, one that was longer than the mouthpart of the duoluozhong in front of her. Even before the duoluozhong could react, its head along with its small mouthpart flew away from Lin Sanjiu.

  "I haven’t seen such a dry duoluozhong in a long time," she mumbled to herself. "Life must be hard," after she said that, she stepped over the dead body and kicked the door before continuing forward.

  Hu Changzai, who watched her from a distance, suddenly approached Hai Tianqing and asked, "Hey, Executive Hai…"

  Hai Tianqing consciously moved away from him. "What?"

  "Do you think that Xiao Jiu looks much cooler after she has cut her hair short?"

  "I have no idea. I am straight," Hai Tianqing replied as he eyed Hu Changzai.

  "Uh, that’s right…"Hu Changzai nodded in agreement but suddenly realized that there was something wrong with that logic. "Huh? But I am straight too. Executive Hai, you mean…"

  Lin Sanjiu, who was leading the group, acted like she didn’t hear their conversation at all. They continued for about another two hours until it was near afternoon. The sun gradually became harsher as the sunlight made it hard for them to keep their eyes open. Despite all of them having Heat Resistance Adaptation and Physical Enhancement, all of them could feel the scalding hot air surrounding them. The burning heat, along with the sand dust, irritated their lungs.

  After they passed a few intersections, there were fewer cars o
n the road. As the sun blazed over their heads, the temperature was no longer suitable for them to be walking outside. Just when they were tempted to look for a car to sleep, the road turned to one corner, revealing the entrance to a dark tunnel.

  "Let’s enter that tunnel to rest. It’s cooler there."

  They entered the tunnel in a single file. The tunnel was very long, so without the lights, it was as if they were entering the stomach of a mountain. The road ahead of them was dark, and they could only see the light at the end of the tunnel when they turned behind.

  Once they entered the tunnel, they realized that there were even fewer cars. The road they were on only led to the seaside, and when Hyperthermal Hell just descended, almost no one thought of going to the seaside for shelter.

  As B.Rabbit was the smallest among them, he needed twice the energy to cover the same distance. Thus, at that point, he was already very exhausted. Before they even walked a few steps, he jumped up on top of a car, like the king of the mountain, and declared, "I will sleep in this car!"

  Hai Tianqing chose the largest SUV he could find while Hu Changzai chose a jeep. Lin Sanjiu was the only one who continued walking around. Every now and then, she would bend down and wipe a car window before looking inside.

  Even though most of the cars were not locked, not all cars were suitable for sleeping. Most of the owners died in their cars, so the interiors of their cars were filled with the stench of rotten flesh and the smell of iron from their dried blood. The stench from opening one of those cars was sufficient to give a person a headache. Thus, only cars belonging to owners who had abandoned them to escape were a somewhat bearable choice to sleep in.

  The few cars which Lin Sanjiu checked were all not suitable. Just when she was feeling a little at a loss as to what she should do, she suddenly noticed a Toyota Land Cruiser with an opened door just some distance in front of her. She was delighted. If the door was open, it meant that the owner had already left. The car was big, so she thought about how she would be able to sleep comfortably inside. She walked a few steps toward the driver seat and opened the door wider. Then, she peeked inside the car.