Doomsday Wonderland c1-855

by N. Heller

  The dead man's feather duster was lying some distance away from him. Reno's eyes teared as he waited for his sneeze to go away. After that, he curled his body slightly and called softly, "Siri!"

  The typing sound from Siri's keyboard stopped suddenly. "Yes?" she answered.

  Siri did not make any attempts to hide her actions. Reno's heart suddenly tightened. Luckily, everything around him was too chaotic. Her voice was quickly drowned by all sorts of fighting noises around them. Reno steadied himself as Lin Sanjiu's instructions surfaced in his mind.

  "Could you answer me more quietly," he whispered, "I... I have many questions for you."

  "What are your questions?" As expected, Siri acquiesced to his request and answered quietly. Reno instantly let out a sigh of relief. He went through the questions in his mind once, and picked one of them, "Do you know the location of the target books that are already found?"

  Before Siri could reply, Reno quickly pulled the communicator from his ears and placed it near her.

  —

  Half an hour before, Lin Sanjiu didn't anticipate that the opportunity to execute their recently created plan would present itself so quickly. The fluorescent lights had been destroyed with a series of explosion. The moment the library suddenly fell into darkness, Lin Sanjiu immediately snapped out of her shock. She repressed her excitement and nudged the siblings without any warning, urging them softly, "Now!"

  The siblings panicked a little, "Huh? Now?"

  Lin Sanjiu listened carefully to the voice from the west wing, "Hey, youngster from the east wing!" She quickly turned to the kids and whispered urgently, "Yes. Quick, wear your communicators. We will act according to plan!"

  Once they carried out their plans, there was no turning back. However, the teenagers' naive courage overcame any doubts they had about the plan. After the siblings wore their communicators excitedly, Rena suddenly realized something.

  "You... don't have a communicator. How are you going to communicate with us?" Rena asked, feeling a little at wit's end.

  As the siblings usually kept to themselves, they only brought equipment and items sufficient for two people from Red Nautilus. Lin Sanjiu touched her ears subconsciously and comforted them, "Don't worry. This time, we each have our own tasks… It isn't like we won't be seeing each other again. Since we have a meeting spot, let's meet there later."

  The siblings nodded and they split up in the dark. While the other teams argued in the darkness, Reno ran toward Siri's work desk in the center of the hall keeping very close to the walls. Meanwhile, Rena turned around and ran toward the entrance to the north wing in the central hall, which was the staircase to the second floor of the north wing.

  Due to some strange consideration, it was impossible to enter the first floor of each library wing from the central hall. The four wings of the library were connected to the central hall only by the staircases leading to their second floors.

  Rena wasn't sure if the people from the west wing, opposite to them, could see her. In addition, she didn't know where the members of the north wing team were now. Rena hesitated at the bottom of the staircase and decided to observe the situation first.

  Rena, who was not even 160 cm, squeezed herself into a corner, almost touching the ground, and hid behind the handrails of the staircase. It was difficult to spot her… but that was only to the n.a.k.e.d eyes.

  If someone had some sort of surveillance or heat scanning device, they would find her hiding behind the handrails very easily. They would spot her even if she was hiding underground. Unfortunately, one of the person from the north wing who planned to ambush them had such a book.

  When the few people leaped down from the second floor with a "thud" right in front of Rena, she felt as if her heart had almost flown from her c.h.e.s.t. She felt her blood freeze and couldn't move.

  "Hurry! Don't miss any spot!" As the man with the top hat dished out an order not far from her, the man standing in front of her took a step forward. Then, he actually ran off toward the book section, following another of this teammate who had jumped off from the second floor with him.

  "It isn't possible that he let me off on purpose, " she thought blankly to herself.

  Rena finally realized what had happened only after the black figures disappeared behind the bookshelves. She didn't dare to waste another second staying in the same spot. She couldn't care less whether the people from the west wing could see her, so she turned and ran up the stairs as fast as she could.

  When a person used a wide-area surveillance device, they would naturally only look at the surroundings around them. However, Rena was in very close proximity to the man just now. If she peeked out from her hiding space, her nose would have touched his trousers. That is to say, she had been standing within the radius he recognized as his "personal" space!

  Once they left, the chance of her being spotted would increase exponentially. If someone were to cast a sweeping glance at the staircase, she would have no chance of survival. She finally rushed to the second floor of the north wing. When she saw the tall bookshelves, Rena immediately let out a sigh of relief and rushed over.

  All the people from the north wing had left, so the north wing should be safe. From the looks of things, her mission seemed to be the easiest—

  Before that thought faded from her mind, Rena suddenly sensed something amiss. She looked up and saw a palm-sized face which looked as if it belonged to a human and also a snake. That thing had its eyes fixated on her.

  Chapter 262 - Why Wouldn’t You Let me Wear My Shoes?

  Siri's voice came fuzzily through the communicator but, right now, Rena did not have the focus to listen to what she had to say. If you find yourself staring back at a long, wet, sticky tongue flickering at you, trying to pick up your scent, you probably wouldn't have the mood to listen to a person speaking beside you.

  Rena felt a natural aversion and fear of the creature in front of her, but she suppressed the emotions that made her legs tremble. She tried her best to speak coolly, "Duoluozhong?"

  She was unaware that she had unconsciously imitated Lin Sanjiu's cool-headed way of speaking. Siri's voice continued fuzzily over the communicator. Evidently, Reno did not catch what his sister said. Even though Siri did not mention anything about duoluozhongs, Kisaragi Library was still a part of an apocalyptic world. It wasn't totally unimaginable that a duoluozhong would appear there.

  Rena stared blankly as the densely-packed pores on both sides of the tongue suddenly contracted. Without warning, saliva dripped from the tongue and fell to the ground with a loud pitter-patter. A drop landed on Rena's shoe. Perhaps the word 'tongue' wasn't the best term to describe this thing, it was more like the strange creature's combination of a weapon and a breathing apparatus. With the creature's weapon pointing directly at her, Rena's mind spun wildly as she decided on what she would do next.

  She only had a 3 on her back now. Even though Reno begged her to attack him so that he could transfer a few lives over to her, due to the fact a person would lose their ability to fight for some time after receiving a lethal blow, they shelved the idea.

  "Then, how should I fight?"

  The flat, long face slowly lifted its head from the top of the bookshelf before it slid down from the top of the bookshelf, giving its observer's a head-numbing sensation. As it moved, it gradually revealed its body to Rena.

  Its cylindrical body was like that of an earthworm, and even its color was the same as an earthworm. It was so large that Rena would not be able to hold the girth of its body even if she used both her arms. When it finally slid down from the bookshelf and raised its body, Rena finally saw its full size. Its upper body was already two meters tall, casting a long black shadow.

  Rena shot a glance at the other half of the creature's body which was still in the dark. She gulped.

  "Do the people from the north wing know of its existence? It's huge. How can they not know? What is this anyway? But, if it is related to the north wing team, why didn't they bring it
along…"

  While Rena's mind was occupied with numerous thoughts, she felt a sudden quick gust. Rena was shocked when she found out that the tongue had disappeared. As there was really very little light around, the "earthworm" took advantage of the low visibility and hid its face in the shadows after it towered over Rena. Subsequently, its tongue, which was almost as thick as a human torso, came out of nowhere and attacked Rena.

  The teenage girl rolled away in an unglamorous manner before she hid quickly behind a bookshelf. She felt a sudden burning pain on her back and her arm. Rena instinctively touched both spots with her b.a.r.e hands. She instantly found that her hand was covered in sticky goo. She didn't know if it was blood or saliva on the ground.

  Her skin felt as though it was going to split open. Enduring the pain, she hissed as she looked down at her shoe. The saliva which had touched her show had already burned a hole through its surface. There was a small black hole in her shoe and there was even smoke sprouting from it.

  "Bastard," Rena cursed as she steadied her racing heart. She stretched out her arm and raked a couple of books into her arms. "Why won't the duoluozhongs here just let me wear my shoes properly?"

  After she said that, she heard a rustling sound. Rena turned behind and found a long tongue blocking the path behind her. The pores on the sides of the tongue contracted and more saliva dripped down from it. Oddly, the floor tile did not corrode from the saliva. There were only many 'corrosive puddles' on the floor—

  Rena felt another gust of wind. This time around, it was clear that the black shadow that came from her side was trying to force her into one of the 'corrosive puddles'. As the creature could only discharge the saliva from the sides of its tongue, it probably couldn't control the direction of this discharge. Consequently, the "earthworm" chose such a method to fight. Rena didn't dare to take on a direct attack from that saliva-covered tongue. She fell to the ground and rolled away. However, before she could steady herself, the tongue swerved in a different direction and came for her again. As it moved its tongue, it flung saliva through the air, which fell to the ground successively.

  However, when Rena tried to read the words, her heart froze instantly.

  It was too dark so she almost couldn't see a single word. However, she wasn't willing to throw down the books and just run away. Trying her luck, she planted her face right up to the page. However, she could only make out a few blurry words from using the dim intermittent lights from the explosions from another wing of the library. However, the few words she could read could not even form a proper sentence. Naturally, she couldn't activate any sort of good effect from the books.

  She didn't know when the attack behind her suddenly stopped.

  She only spent three to four seconds reading the book, but it was too long. Rena felt the floor vibrating slightly. The page she was looking at suddenly turned black. The few words she could read previously were suddenly blocked by a huge shadow. She shut the book and turned around.

  She didn't know when that flat, noseless face had already edged close to her shoulder. Its chin hung over her left shoulder. It opened its huge mouth, which stretched open like a zipper from one side of its face to another.

  "What are you looking at, little girl?"

  Rena froze.

  The "earthworm" squeezed out a voice, which did not match its appearance at all. With an ostentatious tone, it drew its long body closer and blocked Rena's path, trapping Rena in front of the banisters.

  "Why are you reading in the dark? What's in the book?" Excitement poured from its greasy voice, as it switched its pitch suddenly, "Tell me now!"

  When it spoke, Rena could still see the outline of its tongue rolling in its mouth. She felt cold sweat all over her body, and her palm was so wet that she couldn't hold on to the books in her hands properly.

  Suddenly, she had an idea.

  "Don't… don't hurt me," she controlled her breath and purposely trembling voice, "I will tell you. Just wait. Let me find some light…"

  Chapter 263 - The Mary Sue Chapter

  Lin Sanjiu had never seen a team of posthumans whose appearance were so uniformly the same. She stretched her body into a thin long cord, trying to have a better look at them. She crept up the bookshelf like a crawling vine and slowly got closer to the west wing team that Silvan was confronting.

  Even though Lin Sanjiu had almost regained her full human appearance, she still retained the special characteristics of her higher consciousness form. With a single thought, she could still float, fly and change her shape. In fact, this was how she boldly climbed up to the east wing. Many people had spotted her while she was heading upstairs, yet no one would even expect that the thing which resembled an electrical cord would actually be a person.

  Not long after the "electrical cord" stealthily slithered up to the second floor of the east wing, the attacks from the west wing team stopped. The person who stopped the attacks was their leader, who had that terrible, grating voice. The leader, also the speaker, was a very short man with a very large head. No matter what angle Lin Sanjiu took, that man looked like a mushroom to her. This was even more comical because the four men, also wearing cloaks, looked almost the same as him. At first glance, they looked like a few large mushrooms which were about the same height.

  However, despite how comical they looked, the viciousness from the leader's voice wasn't even a tad bit funny. He glared at the man who was sitting on top of a bookshelf and laughed quietly. Lin Sanjiu felt as if her ears hurt like she had been badly scr.a.p.ed by a piece of sandpaper when she heard his voice at such a close range.

  "Youngster, are you planning to surrender?"

  Silvan was still wearing his blue Munitions Factory uniform. He sat leisurely on top of a bookshelf with his long legs dangling. When he heard what the man said, he swayed his legs a little childishly. He flashed a grin at the people from the west wing, and his set of straight white teeth seemed to beam even in the dark. "So, it's you guys! They were right, you guys are very recognizable."

  "Are they acquaintances?" Lin Sanjiu wondered.

  However, she heard Silvan continuing idly, "I heard that you farmers from 'Heaven Underworld' had your territories occupied by other people, so why do you still have the mood to visit other worlds? Oh, is it to train new members? Or to collect stuff?"

  Even though Silvan used a very amiable and friendly tone, he apparently managed to prod that leader's sore spot.

  The leader's entire demeanor changed, with his fury spewing. After a few seconds, he suddenly let out a malicious laugh, "You must have quite a bit of experience if you know who we are. As expected of a member of the Munitions Factory. Sadly, I don't think you can go back to Munitions Factory.

  Lin Sanjiu tried her best to pretend that she was an electric cord. While she listened to their conversation, she was also searching and scanning for any traces or hints of that woman, Peach, through her higher consciousness. Her goal was indeed to get the first target book. Under normal circ.u.mstances, the book should be with Silvan at all times. However, considering that he was fighting the team from the west wing alone, he might have given the book to Peach, who would then hide.

  However, Lin Sanjiu could not find any trace of that woman even after scanning the entire second floor. She considered her options and decided to take a wait-and-see approach. She wanted to see if she could perhaps find an upper hand while the two sides fought. Lin Sanjiu knew very well that Silvan would be a very troublesome opponent, so observing his battle with the west wing team would be a good opportunity to gather more information about him.

  After she made her decision, she took a glance at the spot where they were fighting. Suddenly, she was stunned.

  "Why did they stop fighting?"

  They weren't fighting. They weren't even talking to each other. It was as if someone had pressed a "freeze frame" button. Both Silvan and the team leader were not moving. There was absolute silence. The leader's mouth was even half-opened, as if he froze just as he was ab
out to speak.

  Lin Sanjiu looked at the outside world through her eyes, feeling confused, and back at the scanned image in her mind. When she looked at the two people once again, they had disappeared. Everything around her started spinning, like milk stirred into coffee. Lin Sanjiu felt dizzy. Suddenly, her vision was filled with bright, psychedelic colors. Where did that light come from anyway? The bookshelves became very looooooong. The ceiling became a piece of cloth and suddenly spiky things poked out from the people standing in it.

  After staring at it for a few seconds, she fainted. She knew that something had gone wrong but she couldn't think no matter how hard she tried. It was as if her brain had been placed in a freezer and just wouldn't work.

  "What's wrong? Why did you revert back to your original form?"

  Lin Sanjiu could hear Mrs. Mana's voice, but she sounded very far away. Lin Sanjiu heard her, but she couldn't make sense of what she was saying. She just started giggling without any rhyme or reason.

  Lin Sanjiu had unconsciously reverted to "human form". She slid down a bookshelf and floated slightly above the ground, feeling weak and powerless. Just then, Silvan's mellow voice drifted into her ears.

  "Your 'magic mushrooms' only work only on people the first time, right? That explains..."

  "That explains what?" Lin Sanjiu couldn't hear him anymore. It was as if someone had covered her ears with a thick wet cloth. She clenched her teeth, gathered a bit of strength and tried her best to hide behind a bookshelf. She drew out a book without thinking and held it in her hands as a preventive measure. She wanted to activate her [Defence Forcefield] but that thought came and went. After trying about two to three times, her body finally glowed slightly.