Doomsday Wonderland c1-855

by N. Heller

  "Are there really survivors here? " Lin Sanjiu thought to herself as she squeezed in from the window.

  Compared to the other places in this world, though there seemed to be less activity in this building, there were many things suspicious about it. Ignoring the rest of the weird occurrences, there was certainly something very wrong with the elevator. If there were any survivors living here in such a devil-may-care manner, they would immediately be targeted by those spirits, wouldn't they?

  The door of the bathroom was slightly ajar. Lin Sanjiu tilted her 'body' to a side and glided out from the bathroom, almost like a ballet dancer.

  As expected, the layout of this unit was exactly like the one below. After she came out from the bathroom, she found herself in a corridor which led to the living room. There were also two bedrooms to her left. As the lights were switched off, she could only see the shadows and the outlines of the furniture.

  Even though her higher consciousness acted as her eyes and ears, and it constantly scanned the surroundings around her, it was also affected by the the amount of light in the environment. The clarity of the image Lin Sanjiu could 'see' was only slightly better than her normal eyes.

  When she looked around, floating immediately outside the entrance of the bathroom, she could only see a vaguely familiar figure in the middle of the living room from the image in her mind.

  She saw a bed. There was a bed in the middle of the room, and the sofa and coffee table beside it had been pushed aside. Not only did it look exactly like the bed that the siblings pulled out. The person sleeping on it was the same. Lin Sanjiu recognized her at once.

  "Lin Sanjiu, where did you go again?"

  Rena, who had bundled herself in the bed, quickly jumped up when she saw the grayish brain floating outside the bathroom. The girl even sounded on the verge of tears. When the teenager rushed toward her, Lin Sanjiu realized that there were tears at the corner of Rena's eyes. "I thought something bad happened to you. My brother went out to look for you, but neither of you returned. I waited until now. Everywhere feels creepy, but I can't see them… Please say something. Did you see my brother?"

  Lin Sanjiu was shocked. " If Rena is in front of me, who is the person downstairs?"

  Chapter 205 - It Gets Confusing Here

  " No, this isn't right. " Lin Sanjiu floated backward, creating a distance between herself and the girl. She scrutinized the girl in front of her from head to bottom. " Is she a human? " Lin Sanjiu was uncertain.

  "What are you thinking? Have you seen my brother?" Rena stamped her feet anxiously, as her accessories jangled noisily. "He went out to look for you!"

  Lin Sanjiu paused for a moment; she wasn't in a hurry to reply. Instead, she first spelled four words: "Start from the beginning".

  " Based on Rena's temper, would she plainly accept my question dodging? " Lin Sanjiu wondered to herself, feeling a bit uncertain. She knew that predicting someone's reaction to a situation based on how they usually behave was not reliable at all as humans were too complex.

  Proving that point, the Rena standing in front of her suddenly sighed and recounted everything from the beginning.

  "You went out to investigate the noise in the corridor, right? That was hours ago! 20 minutes after you left, I sensed that something was wrong. It's just a corridor. You wouldn't need that much time… I wanted to go out to check on you, so I woke my brother up." Rena gulped, looking extremely worried. "I walked around the corridor and didn't find you. He insisted on searching for you… He hasn't returned since."

  Then, the girl sighed, "As he didn't return after more than 15 minutes, I went out to look for both of you a couple of times. But, I didn't meet any of you. I was worried that you guys might think I left… so I decided to wait here alone."

  Lin Sanjiu listened in a daze, and without thinking about critical details, she quickly spelled: "Did you go downstairs?"

  "I did. Not only did I go one floor down to the 14th floor, but I also went all the way to the lobby on the ground floor. I even went upstairs. I went to the roof and found nothing…" Rena appeared dispirited as she collapsed into the chair in the living room. It was then that Lin Sanjiu noticed a streak of dirt on Rena's white socks. By the looks of it, it probably got there when the girl was in the narrow stairways.

  If Rena entered the stairways 30 minutes after Lin Sanjiu left, it was possible that they might have missed each other. " No, no. One floor down isn't the 14th floor. Isn't this the 16th floor? "

  Lin Sanjiu got the answer to her question very quickly. When she left the apartment with 'this' Rena, she saw the number 15 on the corridor, the same faded 15.

  The gray brain floated in midair, a little at a loss as to what to do next.

  " Did the numbers change? But why is the unit above exactly the same as the one below? " Lin Sanjiu thought to herself, with her mind in a jumble. She clenched her teeth, not willing to think about it, and spelled out to Rena, "Follow me". She flew into the stairway, leading the way. It didn't matter who was real or fake, they had to meet each other before they could figure things out!

  Lin Sanjiu could hear the sounds of Rena's accessories as the girl followed closely. After they ran down a flight of stairs, they reached the floor below them.

  Sure enough, the floor below them was the 14th floor. Lin Sanjiu stared at the red "14" on the way for half a second. Then, she rushed to the apartment unit at the end of the corridor. However, she found a locked, unfamiliar door. There was dust all over it, as if no one had touched it for a long time.

  The gray brain remained in front of the door, unable to piece together what had actually happened. "Where is Reno?" Lin Sanjiu thought to herself.

  "What are you doing? I already searched the 14th floor, there's nothing here!" Rena said standing behind Lin Sanjiu. Rena sounded less anxious than before, probably because Lin Sanjiu was with her, "Maybe, my brother is playing a prank on us again! But, I really hate it when he disregards the situations we are in and jokes around like this. He doesn't take things seriously at all!"

  "Huh?" Even though Mrs. Manas was one step behind Lin Sanjiu, the teacher realized that the events were unfolding in a very strange manner. But before she could say anything else, Lin Sanjiu shouted angrily in her mind, "Don't make any sound!"

  Mrs. Manas immediately cooperated and kept quiet. Lin Sanjiu instantly looked at Rena, trying to observe the girl's expression. The girl was pacing fretfully and didn't show any suspicious expression, at least she didn't look like she heard Mrs. Manas.

  "But what can this prove? There are all sorts of duoluozhongs in this world. " Thinking, Lin Sanjiu spelled two words: "Pocket Dimension?"

  This was the only reason that Lin Sanjiu could think of.

  "No, it isn't." Rena gave a long sigh. "Pocket Dimension is something that 'develops' from the apocalyptic world they belong to. Have you seen conjoined tangerines, where there is a small tangerine stuck to a normal-sized tangerine? A pocket dimension and its world has a similar relationship. Essentially, they are the same thing… That is to say, it can be detected.

  "I've checked, this isn't a Pocket Dimension," the girl muttered, leaning her back against the wall, she crouched on the ground, "I'm sure my brother must be acting crazy again."

  To be honest, considering how the girl could explain the Pocket Dimensions so efficiently, Lin Sanjiu was a little convinced that the teenage girl by her side was the real Rena. However, Lin Sanjiu was clearer than anyone that Reno wasn't acting crazy. In fact, Reno might be in the greatest danger ever since he arrived at Kisaragi Station.

  "I've seen him," Lin Sanjiu rapidly spelled out. As she was more or less convinced that she was with the real Rena, she decided not to hide anything. "He was with you."

  Her last sentence was certainly confusing. Rena immediately gave Lin Sanjiu a puzzled look. Lin Sanjiu was just about to add 'another you' when they heard an angry voice coming from the far end of the corridor.

  "Rena! Damn you! Why are you two hanging out here!"
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br />   A head peeked from the bend of the corridor—under his fluffy and slightly messy hair, a teenage boy raged. "I looked for you both from the top floor to the lobby so many times! I'm freaking tired now! Are you two making a fool of me!" Reno scolded, panting as he walked to them. He did look like he had just walked out from the stairway.

  "Ah!" Rena remarked and quickly refuted. The siblings started bickering rapidly.

  "How dare you! You're the one who didn't return!"

  "What are you saying? When I went back, there was no one. That was why I came out to search for you guys!"

  "No way! You must have gone to the wrong place…"

  "Did you get stuck in the toilet!?"

  After the siblings quarreled for some time, they suddenly noticed that the gray brain which had remained silent all this time did not follow them. It was still in the same spot.

  "Lin Sanjiu, what's wrong?" Rena laughed, "Let's go!"

  Lin Sanjiu did not move, "Is he really Reno?"

  Chapter 206 - They are Indeed Themselves

  If Lin Sanjiu really wanted to verify the identity of this Reno, she knew what she had to do. She flew toward the siblings and put herself between Reno and Rena, pretending that it was unintentional. Rena was annoyed that she had to tilt her head to look past Lin Sanjiu just to see where she was going that she kept grumbling. However, Lin Sanjiu didn't care. She followed the siblings up to the 15th floor—which was where Lin Sanjiu found Rena just minutes ago, and what she assumed was the 16th floor.

  To be honest, she wasn't quite sure which floor was which now.

  When they opened the door to the apartment unit, Lin Sanjiu saw the familiar dimly lit living room with a little light pouring in through the windows.

  Reno reached for the light switch casually and asked, "Why didn't you switch on the lights?"

  "Yeah? Why did Rena sit alone in the darkness when she was waiting for us? If she was a little scared, wouldn't it be better to switch on the light?" Just as this thought surfaced, Lin Sanjiu heard Rena complaining, "And you said this was a good apartment, the lights are spoiled!"

  Click. Click. Click. Reno tried the switch a few times but the ceiling light remained dark.

  "Isn't this too much of a coincidence?" Lin Sanjiu suddenly grew suspicious.

  They weren't that concerned that the light bulb had fused as they had some level of enhanced night vision as posthumans. After a troubling night, the two humans and a brain no longer had the mood to sleep. They sat cross-legged in a circle on the bed and starting chatting.

  "I think there is something weird about this building," Reno stroked his nose, maintaining his non-serious attitude, "But, I don't understand we can't see them."

  "Weird is an understatement," Lin Sanjiu thought quietly to herself. "Right now, I can't even be sure if either one of you is something else entirely…"

  If Lin Sanjiu wanted to figure out if they were imposters, there was no way she could use the 'ask a question only the real person knows' method. After all, she got acquainted with the siblings not long ago, so there was no way she was going to know what questions to ask them. Furthermore, she didn't know who to trust and who to suspect. But, there was certainly one thing that could determine their identities and allow them to prove themselves.

  When the siblings were bickering and discussing, Rena noticed the gray brain by their side with her sharper intuition. After Lin Sanjiu had regained more higher consciousness over time, her brain form had become larger. At some portions, a skull seemed to be forming. With more 'materials', Lin Sanjiu could write longer sentences.

  At that moment, Lin Sanjiu spelled the words: "Can you two activate your abilities now?"

  "Why? Everything seems fine," Rena did not expect Lin Sanjiu to make such a request, and her brows slowly furrowed, "I can only activate my ability with a target, who should I use it on?"

  Lin Sanjiu already thought about this question. Reno's almanac ability would affect his target with a 'curse'. Even though it was dangerous, that would only work if there are enemies who would hurt her. With her current 'body', no duoluozhong would attack her, so it shouldn't be a problem if she received another 'curse'. Meanwhile, Rena's [No depiction of body parts below the neck] could be used on Reno. If she was the real thing, she wouldn't use her full strength. If she was a fake, she wouldn't be able to activate that ability.

  After thinking for a while, Lin Sanjiu figured there wasn't anything wrong with the plan. She immediately spelled out the plan tediously for the siblings. Even though the siblings were confused, they jumped off the bed and acquiesced. They didn't follow her instructions because they were sensible but rather because they found it entertaining. While Lin Sanjiu tried her best to ensure that nothing would go wrong, Rena had already thrown Reno to the ground many times, laughing out loud.

  Actually, the fact that Reno could be hit by Rena's [No depiction of body parts below the neck] already proved that he was a human being. Lin Sanjiu let out a sigh of relief. At the same time, countless questions surfaced in her head. If both of them were living human beings, the 'people' in the first 15th floor she went to were all not humans!

  Thinking about that sent shivers down her non-existent spine, but she was glad. If she wasn't in her current form, those two things would have targeted her there and then.

  "If that is the case, there is another issue. Why did those two things impersonate the siblings?" Lin Sanjiu thought to herself. She decided to think about that later.

  Seeing that the two kids had already caused enough trouble, she floated toward Reno to receive his attack. But just then, the teenage boy, who had been flung so many times he couldn't get up, shouted, "Rena! You better don't overdo it!" Lin Sanjiu suddenly felt that things were going to awry. Before she could fly over to stop him, she saw a yellow paper whirring in the air. It hit Rena and then disappeared with a swoosh.

  Rena froze on the spot for some time before she could react, "Hey, what did you do to me?"

  From Reno's expression, he apparently activated the ability by accident. He stared at his sister a little vacuously and took out the carbon copy of that almanac page. When he saw what was on it, he turned a little pale.

  Lin Sanjiu couldn't help feeling anxious and worried. She secretly prayed that the 'curse' wasn't too serious as there were two other 'things' in the same building.

  "Tell me!" Rena said anxiously as she also sensed that something was wrong.

  Reno looked at his sister and then at Lin Sanjiu before sighing, "I think you shouldn't move around in the next few hours. My almanac attacks are strong, but I had no idea you would get this…"

  With that, he showed his sister and Lin Sanjiu the paper in his hand.

  "Energies for the day make it unsuitable for going out, meeting friends, being in the dark, using electronics, exercising, wearing accessories, being with others. Suitable for funerals."

  It was only then that Lin Sanjiu realized how lucky she was when she was hit by the teenager's attack. After reading that, Rena's face turned white as a sheet. Since she grew up with her brother, she knew her brother's ability very well. She sat on the bed and started removing her accessories one by one, "How can I get the worst one with a single draw! What kind of grudge do you have against me, Reno! Look, I don't dare to do anything now!"

  This particular page was totally different from Lin Sanjiu's. If Lin Sanjiu's curse gave her bad luck, this was definitely a very lethal curse. Not only must the target avoid doing anything stated as "unsuitable", it also created the possibility of a "self-fulfilled prophecy".

  Right now, they had to act according to the almanac so that they could ensure Rena's safety. After Reno left his sister with a [Self-glowing wicker lantern], he opened the door and went into the corridor with Lin Sanjiu.

  Lin Sanjiu suggested they guarded the entrance for a night. Unfortunately, Reno started to display his 'spoilt brat' behavior.

  "Isn't there another apartment in front of us? If I sit on this ceramic floor all night, my bones
are going to hurt." After saying that, he smashed open the door of the apartment stubbornly and entered it.

  Lin Sanjiu didn't really mind as she didn't need to sleep. However, she couldn't help being worried for both of them in different apartment units. After flying a few times between the two apartment units and checking that everything was fine, she found a corner in the corridor and started training again.

  Her training was tedious so it required her full attention. Once she entered that state, she would lose track of time in the outside world. When Lin Sanjiu felt that she had fully regained her higher consciousness and that it even grew a little, Lin Sanjiu finally stopped. Right now, the structure of her brain was completed with all the parts fully developed. A skull had started forming, though the facial structure had not fully appeared. If her higher consciousness granted her a bit of color, she could seriously scare many girls if she floated around like that.

  However, Lin Sanjiu was unsatisfied. Considering this speed, she didn't know when she would have a mouth. She had to find another method to inform the siblings about what she experienced so they wouldn't fall into another trap. Just as she was considering what to do, she heard a click. Reno opened his door.

  Reno stood at the door and looked at Lin Sanjiu with a grim, serious expression. "I have a question. Why did you ask us to activate our abilities?" Reno whispered intentionally, as if afraid that the person in the other apartment unit would hear him. Before Lin Sanjiu could reply, he spoke again. Evidently, he had already guessed the answer, "Do you suspect that one of us is an imposter?"

  When Lin Sanjiu was still thinking about her answer, Reno stepped forward and said quietly, "I think that is not my sister."

  Chapter 207 - The Other Me In This World. Is This Phrase Still Romantic?

  "I can't really say what I find suspicious," the teenager said grimly, revealing a hint of helplessness about the situation. He bit his lip and continued at an almost inaudible level," Anyway, I feel that the person inside isn't my sister."