Doomsday Wonderland c1-855

by N. Heller

  "If we think about it carefully, it is quite odd," Mrs. Manas said suddenly. "If that person killed this appraiser, he could only cheat that one book from you. Isn't this operation a little too costly? If he wanted to do this again, how could he be sure that the victim, you, wouldn't be waiting here for him?"

  "Who knows? Maybe, his method of operation is to strike once and change locations?" Lin Sanjiu replied moodily.

  "If that is the case, do you think that the shop assistant is an accomplice?" Mrs. Manas asked. Lin Sanjiu thought about it but she couldn't be sure. She was just trying her luck when she went back to that bas.e.m.e.nt. Quite predictably, after waiting in the same spot for some time, the skinny chap didn't reappear.

  "Alright, I blame this on my bad luck," she grimaced again. "How should I earn some money right now?"

  She was actually talking to Mrs. Manas but, perhaps due to her bad mood, she didn't notice that she had blurted it out. As her voice faded, a person who had just walked past her suddenly stopped. His hooves stopped as he looked at Lin Sanjiu from head to toe. For some reasons, this man had goat legs instead of normal human legs.

  Lin Sanjiu noticed his gaze and sized him up quickly. Unfortunately, the person's upper body was covered by a hooded cape. She could only tell that the person was a male.

  "Do you need money?" the faun asked with a deep voice. It was as if his vocal cords had been flattened by a train before.

  "I have a job. Are you interested?"

  Chapter 296 - Time For Another Battle

  After traversing across various slopes of differing heights lined with tall buildings, Lin Sanjiu walked into a narrow, meandering alley. Suddenly, the pedestrians on the road, along with the shops along the streets, disappeared with a blink of an eye like melting snowflakes.

  The bustling scene of seasonless city life filled with a seemingly endless amount of curiosities and human activities gradually faded to the background. With fewer people around, the surrounding noise died down and it became quiet. At the cusp of dawn, Lin Sanjiu could only hear the crisp "clip-clop" sounds as the faun trotted through the misty morn.

  "How much further is it?"

  Lin Sanjiu couldn't help asking after they had walked for some time. At the same time, her eyes drifted and paused for a moment on the faun's back. There was a cloth-printed picture of a smiling mermaid with open arms on the faun's hooded cape.

  "Just another five minutes," the faun replied. His reply was somewhat muffled because of his cape. "You are nearing the border of our base."

  That was actually the longest consecutive line of words Lin Sanjiu heard the faun say. "Our" naturally referred to the "Smiling Mermaid", which was the most influential faction in the Cyber District.

  Previously, when she asked the map store owner about the most influential faction in the district, he reacted as if he was guarding a grave secret. Remembering this, Lin Sanjiu couldn't help feeling a little worried.

  However, Lin Sanjiu kept quiet and followed the faun without voicing her opinions, as if a chosen freelancer who didn't have the right to question the head contractor. As they walked, Lin Sanjiu started thinking about the possible risks involved with this "job".

  ---

  When she first asked the faun about what the job entailed, she did not expect that he would answer her directly. "We are entering a pocket dimension, are you up for it?"

  "Entering a pocket dimension? But why?"

  This immediately stirred her curiosity. Unfortunately, even after following the faun for some time, Lin Sanjiu could not get the answer to her question. The faun seemed to be a man of few words. Throughout the journey, the faun replied to her with the same few words no matter how hard she tried to question him. If he had not revealed earlier, while they were in the bas.e.m.e.nt, that the reward for the job was 80 big crystals, Lin Sanjiu probably wouldn't even follow him.

  Considering her current capabilities, she didn't have much to fear. Tempted by the reward of that many crystals, she immediately agreed to follow the faun.

  —

  As the two people walked farther, the symbol of the smiling mermaid became more and more common. It was on the walls of buildings, on street corners and on various signs—signaling to Lin Sanjiu that she was reaching the depths of the faction's territory.

  When Lin Sanjiu noticed a guard tower from a distance and the black walls surrounding the tower, the faun turned around sharply and brought Lin Sanjiu in the opposite direction.

  "Where are we going now?"

  "Old Goat, here!"

  Before Lin Sanjiu could ask the faun her question, a voice suddenly rang out from the murky silence. Shocked, Lin Sanjiu looked up and noticed a head peeking from the left corner of the street. "Yo, you found a person this time?"

  Lin Sanjiu was surprised to see someone whose appearance was even weirder than the faun's.

  The faun gestured for her to continue following him and replied the other person with a casual "yeah", without expressing any surprise.

  "Say, that personality of yours… One is better than none. That's an improvement," the other person sighed and immediately turned to Lin Sanjiu. He observed her and nodded, "Considering her height and that aggressive look, she should be alright. But that pair of wings is really strange!"

  "..."

  Even though having two skeletal wings on her back wasn't anything normal, Lin Sanjiu couldn't really accept being criticised in such a manner by the person before her.

  The outfit of that person could be considered normal but he or she was wearing a blue and white porcelain vase on the face. As half of the person's face was covered by the round base of the vase, Lin Sanjiu could only see the person's eyes under the messy black hair. On top of that, the person's voice had a strange frequency and buzzed within the interior of the vase. As a result, Lin Sanjiu could not figure out the gender of that person even after staring for a long time.

  From her observation, the porcelain vase did not even interfere with the person's movement one bit. He turned around and brought Lin Sanjiu and the faun into a small path. After following the winding path, somehow, they reached a piece of vast vacant land.

  There were already five people waiting there. They all looked different and were wearing different outfits. Markedly, none of them had a Smiling Mermaid symbol on and none of them had the strange fashion sense that inflicted the residents of the Twelve Worlds Centrum. They were probably selected freelancers just like Lin Sanjiu.

  "Oh, just one question," Lin Sanjiu chased up with Porcelain Vase and asked, "Why are we entering a pocket dimension?"

  Porcelain Vase's black eyes widened as his eyes swept across both the faun and Lin Sanjiu, "You don't know anything? You don't know anything and you just followed him? Hey, Old Goat, didn't you tell her anything?"

  "Nevermind… Come with me. You will know in a minute," Porcelain Vase let out a long sigh and brought Lin Sanjiu to the open space before them.

  After waiting for some time, a few Smiling Mermaid members appeared bringing other people with them. Lin Sanjiu quietly counted the number of people standing with her in this open space and found out that there were already close to forty people. Seeing that they had a sizable number of people, Porcelain Vase walked in front of everyone and shouted out to the various small cl.u.s.ters of posthumans, "Welcome everybody!"

  Everyone turned their attention to him immediately.

  "I think everyone is clear why we gathered you here today," as he said this, Porcelain Vase threw a glance at Lin Sanjiu and continued, "There are three different types of pocket dimension with different rules within the Smiling Mermaid territory. One of them is very unstable and is currently still in an evolutionary state. Its size and scope have been constantly changing and our goal today is to enter that particular pocket dimension."

  "Our aim, this time, isn't only to survey the boundaries of the pocket dimension and how it affects people. We need to record the rules and the events within the pocket dimension. As it is currently in a rap
id evolutionary state, we need to gather the detailed information about it to prevent unnecessary accidents."

  "I think some of you already know the rules, but let me go over it once more. There are 36 people here on our grounds. After a one-on-one knockout battle, we will filter out half the number. The remaining 18 people will have to face five consecutive fights with members of our organization. Anyone who can last for five rounds can then rest and enter the pocket dimension.

  "You can keep any rewards you receive in the pocket dimension. After you provide us with information about the pocket dimension, our organization will reward you with another 80 big crystals."

  "If anyone wishes to back out now, please inform us—no one? Alright, please make your preparations and the elimination round will begin in a bit!"

  Chapter 297 - Oh, The Smell Of Your Body…

  "Boom!" with a deep muffled rumble, the ground shook violently for a short second. A Smiling Mermaid member fell heavily to the ground after a black shadow flung him into the air. The man who had landed on the ground was large and stout. It took him a long time to catch his breath due to his own weight. He gestured away a person who had stepped forward to help him and climbed up from the ground himself with some effort.

  When he stood up, it was as if a small hill had emerged from the horizon. The stout man eyed the silhouette of his opponent who stood not far from him. He suddenly wiped his face and laughed at himself self-deprecatingly, "You can't judge a book by its cover. Who would've guessed this little lady is this strong. Alright, you have passed this round."

  After she withdrew her fists, the coldness on Lin Sanjiu's face faded as she flashed him a calm smile.

  Compared to the man who had a figure of a small hill, Lin Sanjiu's 1.87m frame was like a short bamboo pole with stick-like limbs. However, her svelte frame generated an incredible amount of strength in a split second and she instantly became the first posthuman to pass the third round.

  Lin Sanjiu didn't even break a sweat. During that burst of attack which lasted less than a minute, she engaged her enemy, change her tactics and fought single-handedly. She didn't even need to use 30% of her strength, so the fight was almost effortless for her. She didn't even open up the wings on her back. Seeing the fat man readily accepting his defeat with ease, she smiled and replied modestly, "Well, because you went easy on me."

  Knowing that she was being polite, the stout man nodded and stood to one side.

  Predictably, Lin Sanjiu won the first one-on-one knockout battle. She had also promptly defeated three Smiling Mermaid members. Aside from the second fight, where she decided to try and familiarize herself with the use of her wings in battle, the other fights all lasted less than a minute.

  Before she could utter "who's next", Porcelain Vase ran toward her.

  "A few more people have arrived wanting to join in the pocket dimension mission so we are understaffed right now," Porcelain Vase's complained with a buzzing voice. "I think your combat skills are good enough, we don't need to test you further—"

  When Lin Sanjiu heard this, she thought that she could just rest and wait to enter the pocket dimension. Unexpectedly, Porcelain Vase had not finished his sentence, "so why don't you represent us and fight two rounds with them? Don't worry. Even if you lose, you will still retain your right to enter the pocket dimension, considering your capabilities."

  Apparently, exploration of the said pocket dimension wasn't something that was particularly important to Smiling Mermaid since the people in charge of the mission could just change the rules on a whim. Even though that request wasn't raised by her prospective "employer", Lin Sanjiu was usually easy-going regarding such matters. Besides, the person who made that request was Porcelain Vase, so she agreed on the spot.

  "That's fantastic. Do you see that girl over there?"

  Red Nautilus had a rather pleasant climate which wasn't too warm or too cold. As the temperature was constantly around 20-over degrees, people used to wear all sorts of outfits. The girl was a classic example. She wore a short tight, neon-yellow, cropped short-sleeved top and a pair of sports shorts. She left most of her legs and upper c.h.e.s.t exposed yet she wore a huge, thick, plaid-patterned woolen scarf.

  Even though the color of the girl's full outfit was poorly coordinated, it was far from strange considering the fashion sense in the Twelve Worlds Centrum.

  After a short introduction by Porcelain Vase, Plaid Scarf Girl seemed rather high spirited. "Big Sister, please go easy on me!" she said while she eyed Lin Sanjiu with her eyes that seemed excessively black. "I saw your previous fight. You're very powerful!"

  Lin Sanjiu acknowledged her and was about to ask Porcelain Vase when they could start and found that he was missing when she turned around.

  "Is this your fifth round?" Lin Sanjiu asked out of courtesy and tried not to look into the girl's eyes, "Then, we should start as soon as possible."

  Somehow, the girl's pupils were significantly larger than those of any normal person. It was like a large black patch within her pitiful lacking sclera and it seemed like it could disperse any second. It was a little uncomfortable looking at that pair of eyes.

  "Okay," she crooked her head as a weird smile appeared on her face. Her light green dyed hair fell to one side of her face making the color-coordination of her whole appearance even more confusing, "Call me Sajee. Your guidance is appreciated."

  Being polite, Lin Sanjiu wanted to introduce herself as Jiu but before she could even pronounce "J-", the person in front of her blurred and lunged directly at her. As they were talking to each before, they were standing very close to each other. Lin Sanjiu did not have enough time to dodge the attack. Sajee's bent elbow was already in front of her abdomen and it was about to make contact—

  Lin Sanjiu had used this attack on an opponent just five minutes ago. She had less than half a second to react, she had no choice but to tank the attack directly. With a single thought, she activated her [Defence Forcefield]. A faint white light flashed and her opponent's fist landed on her lower abdomen.

  After recovering her physical body, Lin Sanjiu's body naturally wasn't as hard as diamond, unlike her higher consciousness form. However, with her current physical resilience and her [Defence Forcefield], Sajee's fist only hurt a little. Lin Sanjiu did not even move half a step.

  "Big Sister, you are so powerful." Sajee immediately smiled showing her set of white teeth. "This is certainly your move, and it doesn't work on you!"

  The friendly expression on Lin Sanjiu's face just moments ago had long faded.

  "Well, then use your true strength," she said indifferently. Every fiber of muscle in her body seemed charged by that punch. It was as if she was given a jolt. She quickly felt a thirst for battle coursing through her blood.

  Beyond anything Lin Sanjiu could anticipate, Sajee suddenly bounced once on the spot as if she was overjoyed. The skin on the girl's upper c.h.e.s.t quivered as she said, "No! I know I can't win against Big Sister… I admit defeat!"

  Lin Sanjiu was stunned. There was a sort of disappointment like she was punching air. In an instant, she found no way of venting that fighting spirit which had just been evoked. Since her opponent had already conceded defeat, she couldn't say anything more. It took a while for her to react as she watched as the girl strode off toward Porcelain Vase.

  "Hey," Mrs. Manas suddenly spoke after the girl walked some distance away. Oddly, Mrs. Manas was whispering. "Do you think that girl is a little perverted?"

  "Huh?" Lin Sanjiu was a little dumbfounded.

  "You were concentrating on defending yourself so you didn't notice," Mrs. Manas sounded a little weird, "but I did. Wasn't her face near your shoulders just now? When she punched you, she took a deep whiff of your body, around your shoulder area."

  Lin Sanjiu's scalp felt a little numb. Just when she was about to ask Mrs. Manas if she had made a mistake, she heard Sajee's calling her joyfully, "Big Sister!"

  She turned around and saw a pair of tar-black eyes staring back at her.
The girl shouted delightedly, "They say I'm strong enough, so I can enter the pocket dimension with you!"

  Chapter 298 - Entering the Pocket Dimension

  Within the Smiling Mermaid's territory, there was a piece of land which stretched over several square kilometers. There were no residents living there and there weren't even any buildings. When the wind bellowed, the wild grasses would sway, revealing the broken stones and ruins they hid.

  "After discovering an unstable pocket dimension here, we demolished all the buildings around it when the boundary of the pocket dimension receded," Porcelain Vase's voice buzzed within his accessory. After their elimination process, he had brought the final five posthumans to this piece of land. "If we didn't demolish them and the pocket dimension continued expanding, who knows how those building would integrate with the pocket dimension and the additional complexity they would bring?"

  Despite his words, leaving the land empty certainly couldn't guarantee anyone's safety.

  "Can you see that yellow warning sign in the distance?" Porcelain Vase pointed to a spot not far from them. Lin Sanjiu narrowed her eyes and spotted a faint yellow sign several kilometers away. As there was nothing blocking her view, it was quite visible.

  "That marks the boundary of the pocket dimension after the last mission," Porcelain Vase cast a sweeping glance at the six people before him. "One of your tasks is to find the new boundary of the pocket dimension and move the sign there."

  The five posthumans looked at the warning sign simultaneously. No one responded for a while. Porcelain Vase suddenly laughed and pushed the faun forward. "Old Goat will be in charge of bringing you guys into the pocket dimension. He will brief you on all the other tasks. But, let me be very frank, if you do not complete all the tasks assigned, we will deduct the reward at the end."

  Lin Sanjiu did wonder how the Smiling Mermaid members would even know if they completed the mission shoddily. Now, she got her answer. Even though the faun did not fight just now, by the looks of things, his combat abilities must be of a certain level.