by N. Heller
With one less human, Soulsqn spoke more freely. She settled in AYU's arms and shot glances at Lin Sanjiu every now and then. The red arteries in her eyes flashed every so often, "You mentioned that you had an enemy. Who's that? Are you planning to get me to deal with him?"
"Yeah. He seems rather influential in Twelve Worlds Centrum. I don't know if you can do anything to him." Lin Sanjiu replied and then mumbled to herself. Soulsqn's words had reminded Lin Sanjiu about something. The last time she saw Puppeteer, her face was covered by the decorative marks from that [Versu Poison]. She wasn't as tall and she certainly didn't have her wings. However, her facial features did not change so she didn't dare to take things lightly. After some consideration, she decided to cover her face somehow.
After she made that decision, she looked around and casually took AYU's scarf. That was the only handy thing she could use to block her face for the time being. The latter was shocked by her action and immediately said, "Hey!"
"You're lucky that I'm not fussy," even though Lin Sanjiu said that, she couldn't hide the bit of disdain on her face. After she sniffed the scarf, she hesitantly wrapped it around the lower half of her face. She could smell a faint stench of meat. She frowned as she drew out her [ANTI Posthumans Collection: Female Slave Bondage Rope].
"Why are you taking that out again," Soulsqn's eyes widened. "We are currently working together to get what we individually want…"
Before she could finish her sentence, Lin Sanjiu tied the rope around Soulsqn's neck speedily in a well-practiced manner. This time around, Lin Sanjiu was more familiar with the use of the rope. With the help of her threatening wings, Lin Sanjiu also tied Soulsqn's hands and AYU's hands together. She was going to tie them together so she could literally walk them on a leash.
"We can only work together if we are on equal footing." After Lin Sanjiu had tied them up properly, she tugged the leather rope and was only satisfied when it didn't budge even with her strength. Soulsqn was tied to AYU's body and now looked like an exceptionally huge baby. "But, I am so much stronger than you guys. I can bring a greater advantage than what you can give me. Your best bet of reproducing lies with my friend. But, I don't necessarily need any of you Souls to kill someone. If I were you, I would just cooperate obediently."
The two Souls suddenly became very dejected.
"You, you aren't lying to me, right? You really know someone who is proficient in genetic engineering?" Soulsqn finally questioned Lin Sanjiu uneasily after quite some time.
"I don't only know her. I know her very well," Lin Sanjiu replied calmly. "She's called Nüwa. If she knew of your existence, she would definitely jump at the opportunity to meet you."
The last point was certainly true.
The two Souls kept quiet for some time before they finally let Lin Sanjiu pull them along like dogs. They did not hold the same values as humans so that wasn't something humiliating to them. They found it inconvenient but were not angry that they were treated in this manner. And, just like that, Lin Sanjiu continued her journey with the Souls on her leash.
A 1.8m person with a pair of 2m wings had her face hidden. She walked around with her slave, which was bounded like a strange bundle. To anyone out hunting for victims, that was a flashing warning sign. The few days they took to walk to the Free District were extremely peaceful.
Free District had a totally different atmosphere from Cyber District. Strictly speaking, Free District didn't have a distinct style. It became more and more apparent as they saw more and more buildings.
Technology in the apocalyptic world was mostly developed through Special Items and posthuman abilities. As Free District did not have a single administration, the place was constantly in an exceptionally chaotic state. When Lin Sanjiu saw the full view of the main bustling area within the entire zone, she couldn't help stopping to look at everything before her.
Under the bright afternoon sun, they could feel a warm breeze from the ground. In this apocalyptic city, riddled with corrosion, people of all sorts filled the streets. They brought along a sort of odd energy that brought this shell of a city back to life.
There was the smell of blood, food, steel, spices, and wine. The combination of these smells created a jolting scent. The noise of human conversations and the sound of machinery and music came from all corners of the city. From afar, the interwoven sounds were like a song. Above all, a loud clear rapping sound rang every hour, echoing through the entire city.
Despite spending a long time in the ocean, Soulsqn knew much more than Lin Sanjiu.
"That is the sound of the clock from Mokugyo Encyclopedic Forum," Soulsqn pointed out. As Soulsqn was tied to AYU's c.h.e.s.t, they were easily mistaken as a person with two heads. Soulsqn seemed to be totally oblivious to the strange glances she was getting. As expected, she answered Lin Sanjiu's questions compliantly, "The mokugyo would sound during the Forum's opening hours. But, I am not sure what is it that they actually do."
" Forum?" Lin Sanjiu had not heard this word for quite a few years. She was extremely curious. If she wasn't as eager to meet her companions again, she would immediately check that place out.
When she looked at her map again, she was delighted. "Seagral Square and Mokugyo Encyclopedic Forum are adjacent to each other!" She remembered that Reno and Rena had told her to go to Seagral Square to retrieve the more information about their final meeting place. Likewise, while she was at Garden of Eden, B.Rabbit had also given her information about Sayo's base. Sayo's place was at least a one day's journey away from Seagral Square. After looking at their locations, Lin Sanjiu decided to look for the siblings first. However, she certainly didn't expect that when she came to Seagral Square, it was actually a tower.
Chapter 318 - Smooth Sailing
Seagral Square wasn't tall. It had only three floors. However, it was massive and its design was complex. Lin Sanjiu spent ten minutes walking in a roundabout way before she came to the opposite side of the tower. She actually wanted to find for the main entrance but strangely Seagral Square wasn't designed with a main entrance. Its structure was a multistorey polyhedron made of multiple rhombus shapes. Lin Sanjiu could not figure out where the door was. From afar, the tower looked like three huge beehives stacked on each other.
She stood staring blankly at the building for almost half a minute before one of the rhombus shapes moved. Lin Sanjiu gasped, "Oh, so it works like this."
When one of the silver rhombi swung open, light reflected off its metallic surface. A man who wore his cap low peeked out and looked around, then leaped into the air from the top floor of the tower. He floated down to the ground like a feather. He shot a glance at Lin Sanjiu who was standing not far from him. Then, he quickly turned his head and disappeared into one of the alleys in the Free District.
As if something had been triggered, the other rhombus shapes coincidentally opened up one after the other. The metallic shapes shone under the sun like shimmering water. Several people of all shape and sizes popped out from the hive-like structure and all headed in different directions.
"Now I know why those two kids say Seagral Square is a good place to meet. It is difficult for someone to be tracked…" Lin Sanjiu sounded impressed. She walked up to the structure and choose a random rhombus. She pushed the metallic surface and the rhombus shifted inward revealing a gap wide enough for one person.
Somehow, the design of the building was really well-suited for people to meet inconspicuously.
Each floor of the tower was a polyhedron made of many rhombi. The top view of the structure seemed randomly designed, almost like a splashed water droplet. It was quite impossible to tell which rhombi a person entered the structure from and which they came out from. It was even difficult to tell the exact time they left the structure.
After the two Souls climbed inside after Lin Sanjiu with much difficulty, Lin Sanjiu pulled back her hand and the rhombus shape returned back to its original position.
The two Souls and Lin Sanjiu stood in the same spot for some time as they were ama
zed by what they saw.
The sound of a generator rumbled as an elevator headed upward creaking. There were numerous snake-like pipes above them. The huge pipes were connected haphazardly between floors. When they looked up, they could only see a small segment of the ceiling. The remaining portions of the ceiling were blocked by stairs, metal poles, corridors, platforms… It was like an extremely complicated maze lit by dim blue lights. Lin Sanjiu felt as though she had entered the interior of a gigantic precision machine.
"If a target you are chasing entered Seagral Square, your best option is to go back home and take a nap."
A voice suddenly rang out above Lin Sanjiu's head.
She was startled and quickly looked up. She found herself staring at a face covered with stubble. A man with messy hair was looking down at her from above.
The pipes had serial numbers and ventilation windows were spaced between segments. The person was peering from one of this ventilation windows, "This is a common saying here in Free District. From the looks of your face, this must be the first time being here, eh? Haha! Have fun in Seagral Square!"
"The humans here are rather fascinating. I've never been to a place like this," AYU remarked uncharacteristically to Soulsqn. She had not spoken since she had been captured by Lin Sanjiu.
Soulsqn acknowledged her with an "oh". Then, Soulqn turned to Lin Sanjiu, "Hey, let me change into another body. I want to explore this place properly."
"I didn't use Nüwa to bait this Souls Queen just for her to have a fun sightseeing vacation," Lin Sanjiu ignored Soulsqn. She simply tugged on the black rope and made the Souls walk forward a few steps. She looked in front of her again and made the Souls follow her into the entrance of the nearest pipe.
When she was in Kisaragi Station, Rena said something to her, "Here. Remember this serial number 'JUNGLE-FL2-S147'. After you enter Seagral Square, look for this serial number. That is the meeting point Progressor Alliance uses. It is absolutely safe."
According to the signs in the pipe, Lin Sanjiu was currently in pipe "DIAMOND-FL1-P289". She walked and pondered over it. After asking a few passersby, she finally found out that "JUNGLE" referred to a particular sector. It was west of the DIAMOND sector. "FL2" meant that it was on the second floor. It was still some distance from where she was.
After making sense of her direction, Lin Sanjiu felt grounded even though she had turned back a couple of times because she was unfamiliar with the place. As she tried to make her way to the meeting point, she took the opportunity to observe the queerness of Seagral Square.
Unlike a maze, there wasn't any dead end. Every pipe and staircase, every fireman's pole and every elevator would lead a person to a new spot. On one occasion, after she had climbed out of another pipe and stepped on a conveyor belt following the marked signs, she met another Free District resident. The person looked at her wide-eyed and stuttered, "Ah? There is another path there?"
He told her that though he had been making a living within Seagral Square for many years, he was only familiar with a particular sector.
The words "making a living" made an impression in Lin Sanjiu's mind.
Seagral Square's actual purpose wasn't just a confusing maze to lose one's pursuers. As Lin Sanjiu made her way to the meeting point, she had walked past almost a hundred rooms with various functions. There were shops with beckoning shop owners. There were also secret rooms which were guarded by professionals that blocked anyone attempting to enter. There were suspicious pink rooms which were scented with music playing in the background. There were also rooms filled with rows and rows of mailboxes.
When she finally reached Progressor Alliance's meeting point, four hours had passed.
She reached a platform with a small reception area. It was at the end of a pipe and wasn't that big. There were four rooms connected to this reception area and the rooms were each some distance away from each other. Lin Sanjiu entered the reception area and that quickly drew a few glances. However, after those people looked at her for a while, they averted their gaze.
"S147, I finally found you."
After wiping her perspiration, Lin Sanjiu took a deep breath before she strutted to the small closed door at the far end of the reception area. Without Rena and Reno's directions, Lin Sanjiu would never have imagined that the normal-looking little room belonged to the Progressor Alliance. After all, there wasn't even a sign. Lin Sanjiu did not know what lay beyond the door so she hesitated and did not pull down her scarf.
However, before she could get closer, the door of S147 opened on its own without any warning. Lin Sanjiu instinctively stopped. The person who stepped out wasn't any of the siblings. It was a skinny young man in a checkered shirt. He appeared to be in his twenties but he wasn't much taller than Reno.
"That person is so small. You wouldn't mind me wearing him, right?" Soulsqn stuck her head out and asked Lin Sanjiu from behind.
"Shut up." Lin Sanjiu chided.
The man in a checkered shirt was holding a handful of red crystals. He seemed to be on his way out. When he looked up, he also spotted the strange-looking people not far from him.
When he saw Lin Sanjiu looking like she was uncertain whether to stay or leave, he suddenly called out hesitantly, "Are you 'Brain'?"
The person was probably a Growth Type too. Lin Sanjiu relaxed and pulled down her scarf revealing a smile, "Did Reno and Rena asked you to wait for me here?"
"Yes. Why did you take such a long time? According to Reno, you were supposed to reach this place two weeks ago… Where were you when you first arrived here?" Checkered Shirt was quickly convinced of her identity, "You looked somewhat different from Reno's description."
"I came over from Cyber District. I am still not quite sure of many things…" Lin Sanjiu said as she approached Checkered Shirt. Before she finished her sentence, Soulsqn was persistent and interrupted, "Do you want me to be like this for all this time…"
Lin Sanjiu stopped and turned behind and threw a threatening glare at Soulsqn.
Soulsqn looked around and finally kept quiet.
Checkered Shirt did not hear what Soulsqn said clearly. After he observed the two Souls for a bit and noticed that Lin Sanjiu wasn't willing to divulge anything, he did not ask her anything about them. "But that is to be expected… Reno and Rena would be excited to see you. After all, they have waited for you for a long time. I will bring you to the Progressor Alliance, I will explain things to you properly when we reach it.
"I haven't gotten your name," Lin Sanjiu nodded and said with a grin. She did not tell the man her own name just to be on the safe side. Secondly, she guessed that the man would have already known her name.
"I'm Muntjac Bai." Checkered Shirt replied before leading the way. There was a fireman's pole at the other end of the reception area. He clung on to the pole and slid down to one of the mezzanines below.
"By the way, did Reno and Rena find the cat doctor?"
"Cat doctor?" Muntjac Bai was the first to reach the ground. He looked up and saw Lin Sanjiu sliding down with the two Souls. His face was filled with confusion, "What cat doctor… No, I don't know about that matter."
From his reaction, Lin Sanjiu could tell that Meowie Hu was still wondering the streets.
When she landed, Lin Sanjiu couldn't help feeling a little worried. Since the siblings did not tell Muntjac about the cat doctor, she didn't continue with that line of conversation. She just picked up her walking pace and followed behind Muntjac. The skinny boy scuttled around like a rat familiar with his directions. It was very obvious that he knew where he should go. After going through various tunnels and pipes, they climbed up a flight of stairs and found themselves standing in front of a rhombus shape.
There was a small standing platform at the end of the stairs which had only space for one person. As Muntjac was leading the way, he naturally was the first person to stand there. Lin Sanjiu waited at the steps of the stairs with her Souls.
He turned behind and looked at both Lin Sanjiu and the Souls. He
hesitated for a few seconds and finally laughed, "I am exiting first. You have to follow very closely behind me."
After he said that, he pushed open the rhombus 'door' before he stepped out, he looked a little worried. Lin Sanjiu sprinted up the steps as the rhombus "door" shut again.
"I'm giving you a serious warning. You better not try anything funny when we reach the Progressor Alliance base," she glared at Soulsqn and said. "You better stop thinking about getting a new body to wear! If you dare to touch any of my friends, you can forget everything about your reproduction plan."
Soulsqn looked at Lin Sanjiu. She curled her lips and flashed a smile at Lin Sanjiu.
"Let's go," she looked at the rhombus "door". "That person would be anxious."
Chapter 319 - Returning to Seagral Square
The sky had already turned dark. The last rays of the setting sun disappeared into the dark blue skies. Once the sun had gone down, a few hundred lights lit up within Free District. Different Posthumans have different abilities and items so they each used their own means to illuminate the place. Some of the lights were like a resplendent, shimmering river. Others were like dancing flames. When she looked across the dilapidated city, it was like a dreamscape.
When Lin Sanjiu found herself standing in front of a nondescript residential building, she turned behind her and shot a glance at Soulsqn who had been quiet.
Even though Soulsqn was still wearing the same old skin, as time passed, she began to look different from the blonde-haired Walter. Soulsqn had a peculiar aura which made people uncomfortable. She seemed to be able to express this aura despite the skin she was wearing. It gradually changed the body to a point that it was a little difficult for Lin Sanjiu to remember Walter's original face.
If Lin Sanjiu was honest, she was actually quite grateful.
"If you want to change your human skin," she whispered and tried her best so that Muntjac wouldn't hear her, "I have a few empty skins with me. You can wear them. When we enter the Progressor Alliance's base, you must not lay your hands on anyone."