Doomsday Wonderland c1-855

by N. Heller

  Even though they had confirmed the situation with the cat doctor over and over again, on the 108th day, the siblings woke up early in the morning and checked each other's back every few minutes for quite some time. They were eager for the numbers on their back to disappear and the moment it occurred, the two children couldn't help cheering non-stop.

  "Since the numbers are gone, you better leave as soon as possible," the cat doctor peered down at them. Perhaps, all cats had this bad habit. The thing Meowie Hu liked most when speaking was to climb up to a high spot and look down on the humans below. "I think you should take the train and leave this area as quickly as possible."

  "Sir, are you afraid that people might think that we still have numbers on our back and ambush us," Reno asked reverently.

  "No," the cat looked at the three humans below him as he sat atop a clothes closet, "I vaguely remembered something. If you stay for an hour within the active boundaries of this pocket dimension even after the numbers disappear from your body, the pocket dimension would automatically assume that you wish to continue for another 108 days…"

  Before he could finish his sentence, the siblings leaped up immediately.

  "What are you waiting for? Let's get out of here! Quick!" Rena was so scared that they would be dragged into another round in this pocket dimension that she was already standing at the doorway, beckoning, "Hurry up! Let's go!"

  Lin Sanjiu stood up sluggishly. Recently, whenever she was not fighting, she would move very slowly like a sloth. According to Mrs. Manas, this was because her body had not regained its full vitality, so it had not fully recovered from its hibernation state. When she walked to the door, she suddenly realized that something was amiss. She turned behind herself and saw that the bicolor cat was still sitting on top of the closet.

  "Let's go. Why aren't you moving?" she asked, puzzled.

  "You guys can go. Why do you want to bring me along?" Meowie Hu said in a matter-of-fact manner and crooked his head, "I am a cat from this world."

  The three humans froze. The room became silent for a few seconds. During this time, they had spent so much time with the cat doctor that they had already treated his presence as something that was very natural to them. None of them expected that the cat doctor would suddenly refuse to travel with them.

  "But... but," Rena repeated "but" many times, yet, she still couldn't find the appropriate words. "Don't you want to leave Kisaragi Station…"

  The cat doctor licked his paws elegantly.

  "I wonder if that visa you talked about would work on a cat. Besides, I have a pretty decent life in Kisaragi Station." He nodded his head in a dignified manner, "Though, I am very happy to have had friends with me over this period of time."

  "We can try!" Rena felt a little desperate, "We usually bring two extra nameless visas. We'll give Jiu one and we can give you the other… Red Nautilus World is way better than this place. Honestly!"

  "Really…" the cat doctor watched while she took out a visa, but his expression did not change much, "But, I am a cat. I have strong attachments to my home."

  The teenage girl immediately showed a very bitter expression and pouted. Even though Lin Sanjiu also felt reluctant to part with the cat, she let out a faint sigh and patted the children' shoulders, "If Dr. Hu wishes to stay, let's not make things difficult for him. Let's go. If we don't go now, we might run out of time."

  The cat watched them silently without moving or speaking.

  "Take care of yourself," Lin Sanjiu was very upset when she looked at this beautiful companion who had helped her a lot during this period of time. "I know you can charm people, but don't be too reckless just because of that. Maybe, someday, you might meet someone with higher consciousness just like me… After we leave, you should find and stay in a place with fewer posthumans…" she advised softly.

  The cat's pair of emerald eyes flashed in the dim light, making it difficult to read his thoughts.

  Lin Sanjiu sighed again. She was much taller now, so she could touch the top of the closet when she raised her arm. Lin Sanjiu reached out for the cat slowly; she wanted to stroke Meowie's fur.

  The cat rubbed his forehead against her hand on his own initiative. He made a soft mewing sound. The feeling of his fluffy fur made her hand a little itchy.

  "I will visit you again in the future when I have the chance," Lin Sanjiu said slowly.

  Even though she said that, she knew it in her heart that in these unpredictable apocalyptic worlds it was difficult to see someone again after parting.

  When the three humans walked out from the building, they turned back to look at the small figure of the cat standing at the window. They couldn't help feeling somewhat gloomy.

  Heeding the cat doctor's suggestions, they sprinted and quickly found a station called "Old Vine Station". Just as before, after waiting for a short while, a train chugged into the train station and stopped. Then, the chugging train took them away from the active area of the pocket dimension speedily. Away from the provincial hospital and away from Meowie Hu.

  Even after the cat's charm wore off, the two children still felt very dejected. Reno had even forgotten about his fear of cats as he sat in the train with a very despondent face.

  Counting the days which had passed, they didn't have much time left in Kisaragi Station. Reno and Rena had arrived in this world one week earlier than Lin Sanjiu so they would naturally be sent away a week earlier.

  Ever since the apocalypse descended upon her world, this was the first time that Lin Sanjiu had a clear idea of the world she was heading next. Holding the nameless visa in her hand, she felt a rare sense of apprehension.

  The train slowly stopped. Apparently, it had reached another station. The humans on the train were unconcerned. They were discussing their plans for Red Nautilus. After deciding on a meeting point, the siblings informed Lin Sanjiu about various things she had to be aware of. Lin Sanjiu was taken aback a few times as she listened to them.

  Naturally, no one boarded the train at this station.

  When the doors made the beeping sounds before closing, they suddenly heard a faint sound from outside the train.

  "Meeeeoooowwww—"

  It was a long mew.

  Before they could react, a black shadow hit the closed train doors with a thud. Lin Sanjiu responded the quickest, she immediately broke a window with a punch. As the train started moving, she scooped up the small, black figure who was outside the train—

  "I changed my mind!" the cat said bashfully. He lost a bit of fur when Lin Sanjiu clutched him. "It is difficult to find people who understand you, so let's go—"

  Lin Sanjiu looked up and caught a glimpse of a few people who had rushed into the station that their train just pulled out from. Those were probably the cat doctor's pursuers. She eyed the cat on the floor of the train.

  Chapter 287 - The Famous Red Nautilus

  Dark gray clouds hung low over Kisaragi Station World. There wasn't a single ray of sunlight anywhere. The world was just murky, foggy and gray. The was no sign of the sun even after a very long time. The infrastructures left behind by humanity lay silent in the vast, dead silence. Only the occasional sound of explosions reminded the survivors that this wasn't a ghost town.

  Various buildings, streets, and districts slid past the windows of a whistling train. The chugging sound of the train continued echoing in the empty surroundings long after the train had disappeared into the scenery.

  A single glimpse of the yellow, dismal looking train was sufficient to make a lasting impression. However, the train that just left Fuxi Station was a little different than usual. There were actually two posthumans waiting for the train in Fuxi Station. However, when the train stopped as they watched expectantly, a face peeked out from the first carriage. An unruly teenage boy stuck his chin at them and shouted, "Sorry, wait for the next train."

  He spoke in an audacious manner; it was as if he owned the train.

  Even though he seemed very unreasonable, his particular behav
ior and remark made it obvious that trying to board the train would spell unnecessary conflict. In the end, the two posthumans took a step back without saying a word. They watched as the train doors closed once again, then, the train pulled away from the station and out of their sight.

  "I didn't expect that humans are so vengeful," the cat laughed wrily, feeling aggrieved. "How would I know that there was a penalty for demolishing that building and that their lives would immediately fall to one? Besides, even though their lives fell to one, they didn't die. Wasn't that their main goal originally? They have zero manners and don't know how to be grateful at all! Don't you guys think I'm right?" the cat said with an indignant voice.

  Naturally, the siblings nodded their heads profusely but Lin Sanjiu found it quite funny.

  "You're conceited," she chided as she laughed. "You even went back to see the condition of the hospital… But, things turned out well. Since that is the case, you just have to accept your fate and come with us."

  Meowie Hu immediately lay on his tummy and placed his head on his front paw. He blinked his emerald eyes showing disinterest in what Lin Sanjiu had said.

  "Didn't you say that my body would continue changing?" while she said this, Lin Sanjiu looked down at her long legs unconsciously. "If the cells are not only going to make me tall, I sure there are many changes in my body that you could examine and research."

  Meowie Hu yawned. "You aren't really that fun. I have to be too careful when dealing with living humans…" he said lazily through his row of sharp, pointy teeth.

  Lin Sanjiu felt that she was wasting too much effort to keep this little fellow around. She thought for a bit and continued, "I heard that there are lots of delicious cuisines in Red Nautilus. In addition, the next time we kill someone, we will definitely give you that corpse."

  Meowie Hu looked up. After some time, he finally spoke to the siblings reluctantly, "How do you use that thing? Give it to me."

  Rena passed their last nameless visa to the cat hurriedly, "You can just write your own name on the visa and you will be sent to that destination. It's very easy! But, how long have you been in Kisaragi Station?"

  The cat doctor's existence was very unique. They really couldn't tell if he could travel through the different worlds.

  "I am two years old this year," the cat said with an inexplicable pride, "But, it has only been slightly more than a year since I became a doctor."

  The three humans immediately stared at him.

  "One year and…?" Rena was writing the cat's name on his behalf and paused midway. He had only written: "Meowie H—".

  "And one or two months, I suppose," the cat said with a crooked head after some contemplation. "Cough, it has been such a long time. Who would remember…"

  Reno leaped up at once. "Write it quickly! Write quickly!" he urged his sister. Lin Sanjiu and Rena were instantly aware of the situation as well. The cat doctor had been in Kisaragi Staton for almost 14 months. If his existence allowed him to be transferred to another world, he might be leaving soon. To ensure that he would be sent to the right place, they knew that they would have to complete his visa quickly and secure it on his body.

  After completing his visa, they found a thin string and secured the visa around Meowie Hu's neck. Though the cat did not really like the arrangement, finally he did bear with it.

  "From the looks of things, Dr. Hu would be the first to leave. I will repeat what I had told Jiu once more—" Rena looked at the cat with a serious expression and turned to Lin Sanjiu as if to signal her to listen up. "Every single world in the Twelve Worlds Centrum, including Red Nautilus, is divided and controlled by various big and small factions. The distribution of the territories is very complicated. Unfortunately, when you are sent to a particular world, you would spawn in a random location. We have no way of predicting where you would appear so don't bring up our names recklessly. Secondly, we need to find a good meetup spot."

  Meetup spots are locations in worlds that are classified as no man's land. Due to the disputes between the various factions and organizations, over time, these territories became good places to remain hidden and also for people to meet up.

  Although this information sounded pretty normal, Lin Sanjiu was simply speechless when she heard what Rena said next.

  "Once you arrive at Red Nautilus, the residents would recognize at first sight that you guys aren't the native inhabitants of the Twelve Worlds Centrum, so…" Rena stressed each of her words, "if you meet anyone who strikes up a conversation with you, don't even care about them. They would offer you a place to stay, exchange money or even offer to give you a tour of the place. Just ignore them but don't offend them. Just act like you don't see them and just walk away."

  Rena's advice sounded rather familiar to Lin Sanjiu. In the past, she had read something like that in various travel guides…

  The cat doctor didn't seem to find that weird, he just nodded solemnly.

  "Oh! But if you see a stall selling maps, you can have a look," Reno added. As he said that, he took something out, "You won't have money when you first arrive. Take these. You can buy two maps with this. If you are hungry, you can even get a bun with the remaining money—"

  Lin Sanjiu stared wide-eyed at the thing that was placed in her hand. There were three long deep red crystals in the palm of her hand. The crystals had been neatly carved and were well-polished.

  "But, aren't the worlds that form the Twelve Worlds Centrum also apocalyptic worlds?

  Before Reno finished his sentence, he stood stunned in the same spot.

  The spot where the cat doctor was previously still felt a little warm.

  Chapter 288 - The Day Before Leaving For A New World

  Unexpectedly, the following weeks were very peaceful.

  After the cat doctor left, duoluozhongs rarely appeared in front of the siblings, perhaps because they had a human weapon beside them. The siblings felt restless every day as if they had nowhere to vent their endless energy. It seemed as though they had forgotten all their previous near-death experiences and started complaining about their boredom. Towards the last few months, the children started roaming the street every day searching for pocket dimensions while dragging Lin Sanjiu around. Quoting themselves directly, they said, "Anyway, we came to Kisaragi Station to train!"

  Through their admirable perseverance, they finally entered a multi-stage pocket dimension.

  Even though the pocket dimension wasn't dangerous, it did make them impatient and anxious. They weren't even in the pocket dimension for two days when Lin Sanjiu was so vexed that she beat up the siblings. In the end, they managed to escape the pocket dimension with a whole lot of strategizing, pure effort, as well as quite a bit of luck. After the siblings had been pummeled, the children, covered with bruises, finally behaved themselves and developed a less dangerous hobby.

  "Why don't we try this today?" Rena buried her head in a recipe book as she spoke unhurriedly, "We don't have any fresh abalone but we can use the frozen prawns in the kitchen as a substitute…"

  This was the first time Lin Sanjiu, who was sitting cross-legged on a large comfortable bed, could enjoy the comforts brought by an apocalypse. Thanks to the children's rich kids syndrome, they were now staying at a beautiful five-star hotel.

  The last two worlds Lin Sanjiu had been through probably shaped her habits so she had never considered the fact that she didn't have to just settle for camping at some random place. Kisaragi Station's erratic electrical and water supply brought them the greatest benefit here. Lin Sanjiu finally fulfilled her bath cravings. Every day, she would spend at least half an hour in a jacuzzi bathtub. After they discovered that the hotel kitchen was stocked with food supplies, Rena would examine the hotel menu to decide what to cook every day. Meanwhile, Reno loved the rooftop swimming pool so much that he was could almost be called a pool maintenance staff.

  They didn't spend that many comfortable and carefree days in the hotel, but the experience helped alleviate a lot of the anxiety Lin San
jiu had regarding the next world.

  The five-star hotel they were in was 20-stories high. Standing by the window of this presidential suite, they could see almost half the city. The residential area where they met that building spirit was now like the mouth of a toothless kid. There were only a few sparse buildings as if someone had removed many of the previously existing ones. The original building spirit which had given them a lot of trouble had also disappeared from its original spot. There was just an empty lot there—probably because it had been captured by Silvan.

  When they first moved into the hotel, many other posthumans from the Twelve Worlds Centrum also had their eyes on the property. However, Lin Sanjiu, who had regained her cards with her Special Items, was even stronger than before. Her infamy had spread and the people around knew that there was a tall woman with a bandage around her neck living in the hotel. Knowing that she was a very difficult character to deal with, nobody wanted to venture to the hotel anymore.

  As the peaceful days passed, it was soon time for the siblings to be transported.

  "Since Dr. Hu didn't manage to get his share, we will give this to you, Jiu." Reno placed a few dark-red crystals in Lin Sanjiu's hand with a very pained expression, "See these bigger crystals? You can get 10 smaller ones for these… These crystals only come in three sizes. We use a decimal currency..."

  "A meal cost about 45 of the smallest crystals. When you reach Red Nautilus, don't get cheated stupidly," Rena looked very astute with money when she said this.

  "Among the worlds which belong to the Twelve Worlds Centrum, Red Nautilus is the smallest. It shouldn't be hard to find our meeting point," Reno added and Lin Sanjiu nodded.

  "On top of that, I still need to explain a few common emblems to you… Just in case you get too hot-tempered and pick a fight with someone you shouldn't," Rena said as she took out a pen and a piece of paper from the bedside drawer. Using her simply lamentable drawing skills, she explained, "You already know this emblem with eagle wings and a warhammer. This represents the Munition Factory. These people get lots of requests, so they are very proud. They are quite neutral as long as you mind your own business and don't get involved with them. They have many members. How should I put this… They are pretty corny."