by N. Heller
Somehow, even though he knew that humans couldn't resist his charm, he was somehow hesitant to approach that person. He looked around and lowered his tail. Treading soundlessly, he hid behind a corner and peeked with only his eyes and ears showing.
The person was at the far corner and was standing extremely close to one of the large body bins. The person's body was leaning forward as if he or she needed the support of the bin to even stand properly. Even though Meowie's eyes were fully dilated, he still could not see that person's face.
The person slowly lifted one of his arms with much effort and reached over to open the cover of the adjacent bin. His movements were… quite strange.
The bins behind him have all been opened. Meowie did not know if that man was the culprit. "Could this person be also searching for cadavers? " Meowie thought to himself.
Meowie Hu certainly didn't want the best cadavers to be taken away. Just as he was considering if he should approach that man, he saw a glove suddenly reaching out from the bin which the man was opening.
Perhaps, "reaching" wasn't the right word. It sort of wobbled out of the bin. The soft, skin-colored glove wobbled out of the bin and slowly grew longer. It was then that Meowie Hu realized that that was not a glove because it was followed by the saggy skin of a forearm.
In a short span of time, the skin suit slipped to the group. It sort of flopped into a pile on the ground. The man with the weird body movements carried a dead body out from the bin with his stiff movements strenuously. It was a proper dead body. He threw that body at the sack of skin. The skin seemed to come alive and swallowed the body in a split second. Once again, there were those squelching sounds.
Meowie's fur stood on end. As he was close to the origin of the sound, he finally knew what that sound resembled. It sounded like the sound of leather being stretched...
The pile of human suit disappeared in less than two minutes. After it "consumed" that body, the human suit slowly stood up, unsteadily.
The dead body belonged to a large bloke. After it had been swallowed by that human suit, all that remained was the stuff of nightmare fuel. The dead body was wearing another human face. Under the deformed eyeholes of that foreign human face, one could see the smashed in and destroyed features of the original dead body. As the foreign human face was not large enough, there were tears all over that piece of skin. Meanwhile, the substance within that dead body seemed to slowly disintegrate as if consumed from inside. From that opening, Meowie could see the contents of the dead body slowly melting away and filling up all the tears within the human suit and merging together with it.
The man seemed unfazed. When that man walked to another bin, the cat doctor saw that he was the same thing. However, that particular human suit was too large, so his skin gathered around all his joints. Thus, his movements were sluggish and his skin looked as if it would fall any second.
"Duoluozhong!" When those words surfaced in the cat doctor's mind, the second human suit which had just been filled suddenly made a cold, buzzing sound. The cat felt his heart palpitating. He quickly stood up but it was late.
"There's someone," the second person suddenly said with a dry, cracked voice. The cat doctor felt a black shadow looming overhead, it was heading directly toward its face. He quickly covered his face...
As he let out a terrified meow, Meowie Hu scrambled to press the straps of his backpack. The backpack which had been slightly corroded swung to the front of the cat's c.h.e.s.t.
Everything was black. The cat had already been wrapped by the human skin. The human skin slowly tightened around him. The cat doctor didn't know what he managed to grab in this frantic situation. After some clattering sounds, his paw touched an item with a hard surface.
[Tomb Raider 2]
Run, Lara!
This is a Special Item with a description that seems off. The selling point of this game series is its female protagonist who explore various tombs. It had once been very popular. When it became a Special Item, it retained some features of the game.
Feature 1: No matter what kind of explosion or destruction erupts behind the user, no matter how bad the path is in front of the user, the user will always be able to escape.
Feature 2: Even if the user is buried under tiles and concrete or swallowed by a sandstorm, the user will always be able to climb out of it.
Feature 3: When the user is running, no bullet will hit the user.
Note: There is another series from the movie franchise which can ensure that the protagonist won't die. However, as it is too valuable, people usually just die from fighting over it.
Meowie Hu took a large breath of air. After struggling and regaining his freedom, Meowie Hu didn't care how many red crystals he dropped while he ran away at full speed with his four legs.
To Meowie's knowledge, though it was difficult to escape from duoluozhongs, his pursuers seemed slow. Perhaps, they still need some time to get used to their bodies. The two wobblings human suits chased after the cat doctor but soon fell further and further away from him.
Meowie threw a quick glance behind him and did not even dare to slow down for a second. He sprinted into an elevator and smashed the elevator's button rapidly. The door closed and the elevator slowly rose. Through the glass walls of the elevator, the cat watched as the two duoluozhongs wobbled and stopped some distance away. It was only then that he finally lay flat on the ground.
"What's with that?" After some time, the cat doctor noticed and rearranged his untidy bow. "The invaders in Red Nautilus had died out long ago. Why would there suddenly be duoluozhongs?"
However, there was no one in the elevator and, naturally, he couldn't get an answer. The cat rummaged through his backpack and took note of his losses. Suddenly, the elevator stopped and made a "ding" sound.
When the door open, a group of normal-looking posthumans walked into the elevator. There were around ten people in the group and they seemed to know each other. When they entered the elevator, they were talking to each other and did not seem to notice the cat in the corner of the elevator.
The cat doctor let out a sigh of relief. He was certainly scared by them but how could they be like those previous duoluozhongs.
But, his ears perked up when he heard their conversation.
"So, our queen want us to rush to the port?" a woman donning a scarf said softly.
Chapter 330 - Welcome to the Amus.e.m.e.nt Park
"Ho Ho. In summary, you guys only have seven days. That is to say, if you don't look for me by the 26th, you won't get your prize… Do you understand what I have just said?"
Amidst the howling wind, Lin Sanjiu listened very carefully and gave Santa Claus her full attention without even a second of distraction. It was difficult to filter Santa Claus' voice from the loud waves, so she wasn't very sure if she had heard him properly.
She could not understand how the man could speak at such a time. The wind blowing against their faces was extremely strong and violent. It was as if they were assaulted by countless hammers. It was almost impossible to speak. Lin Sanjiu's exposed skin was sore because of the wind. The back of her hand, which she was using to protect her nose and mouth, was already red. She gripped the edge of the seat in front of her tightly. Her fingers had already been in that position for such a long time in the cold that she couldn't even stretch them now. However, she did not dare to let go. Even though her eyes were closed, tears involuntarily streamed from under the assault of the strong winds.
Each time a cold blast of air hit her body, it would steal some of her body heat. Lin Sanjiu had been shivering so much that her muscles ached badly. Despite that, her condition wasn't the worst. She did manage to catch a glimpse of another posthuman vomiting. The wind blew his own vomit all over his body. At that moment, the person, who was so sick that his face was green, was so anxious that he immediately took off his shirt and threw it away.
They were riding on Santa Claus' sleigh. No one knew what the consequences were if they dirtied it. Lin Sanjiu underst
ood the man's action, but when she saw the half-n.a.k.e.d man braving the -10ºC temperatures, she couldn't help cursing silently.
The beautiful golden sleigh they were on was at least three times larger than a normal sleigh. Santa Claus sat in his own special seat in front. There were a few long benches placed in the space behind him. Lin Sanjiu, Soulsqn, and the posthumans were sat on the benches in two rows. The benches had no back support and there were no handrails. The sleigh was not pulled by reindeers but instead propelled by an engine at the back. It did not have an awning nor a proper frame like an airship. As a result, it was very light and could travel at a speed of up to more than 200km/h.
In other words, it was almost as if Lin Sanjiu was sitting in a fighter jet without a c.o.c.kpit cover flying at full speed. Even if she was a posthuman, it took quite a toll on her.
However, Santa Claus seemed unaffected. If it weren't for his beard flailing crazily in the wind, Lin Sanjiu might even suspect that his seat actually had anti-wind protection.
As the crazy, piercing wind blew at them, Lin Sanjiu didn't dare to say a single word. It was as if the wind had blown even her thoughts away. After enduring this torture for some unknown length of time, the direction of the wind changed and sped up again. The sleigh descended suddenly from 4500 meters off the ground. There wasn't anything under them except the deep, crystal blue ocean. If they fell from this height, the surface tension of the water was enough to kill them. Screams erupted beside her as Lin Sanjiu felt her heart almost leaping out from her throat.
However, the sleight was falling so quickly that before Lin Sanjiu could do anything to save herself, the edge of the golden sleigh had already touched the surface of the water. The downward thrust created an outward wave. The ocean churned with white foams as if eagerly waiting to consume these people and bury them at the bottom of the ocean.
"Huh… Huh?"
It took some time before the passengers started to calm themselves and regain their composure from their near-death experience. "Where are we?" their voices were filled with confusion and lingering fear.
Lin Sanjiu's heart was still racing. Her heart was beating so loudly that she couldn't hear anything else. She slowly looked up and surveyed her surroundings. The soothing gentle breeze that washed over them seemed like a completely different creature compared to the previous insane gale. The waves lapped the rocky shores. The sound of the waves had a calming, meditative rhythm. Lin Sanjiu supported herself with the sides of the sleight and climbed out. Her legs felt weak and everything seemed unreal… but the gravels on the ground under her feet were as real as can be.
Santa Claus had already gotten off the sleigh before them. From the back, Lin Sanjiu could see that his head was tilted slightly upward as if he was looking somewhere afar. He didn't move.
Following his gaze, Lin Sanjiu froze on the spot. For a second, she couldn't process what she saw.
She saw a 3D castle-shaped entrance arch with a bright orange-yellow and dark blue theme. Rows of star-shaped lights hung from the top of the "castle", mixing with the Ivies on the castle wall. Their warm light was still somewhat visible in broad daylight. There were balloons of every color; a crisp tinkling sound of bells; the sweet smell of popcorn permeated the air. This was all packed under a label—a colorful name of the location written with neon alphabets:
"Starry Carnival Amus.e.m.e.nt Park? What is that?"
An androgynous voice sounded beside her. Lin Sanjiu turned and looked at the source, seeing Soulsqn staring curiously ahead while restoring the skin on her face which had been distorted by the wind.
"I didn't expect that there would be a pocket dimension here…" Lin Sanjiu mumbled softly and looked straight ahead once more. The three other posthumans stepped forward and also stood not far from her.
Just as the group of people stared at the "Starry Carnival Amus.e.m.e.nt Park" with puzzled looks, Santa Claus suddenly turned around. His actions shocked the posthumans back to reality. When the tall, old man stood in front of them, he was just like a small mountain. His huge shadow loomed over them.
"I have already told you what you need to take note of during our little journey here. I trust that you good kids will have no problems, right?"
Someone gulped loudly.
Santa Claus' gaze swept across the four posthumans and he narrowed his eyes. Each time he narrowed his eyes, they would form two perfect arches and it was extremely creepy-looking.
"Okay, I want all of you to enter from that entrance now," his thick, rich voice drifted into each of their ears softly in the strangest way. "Once you enter the amus.e.m.e.nt, regardless of the situation inside, I want you to go as far as you can and come back to me with information. Hohoho."
"If you want to know, why don't you enter the amus.e.m.e.nt park yourself?" Just as this thought surfaced in Lin Sanjiu's mind, Santa Claus spoke again.
"Listen up. What I will say next is the most important point," as Santa Claus lifted his beard, Lin Sanjiu felt her abdomen tightening and she couldn't help but give him her full attention.
"No matter who you meet inside," Santa Claus pointed at the three posthumans except Lin Sanjiu, "you have to declare that you are a Growth-type and that you belong to Progressor Alliance."
Even though the three posthumans had their qualms, they immediately nodded furiously.
"Next, you need to tell them that the Growth-type posthuman that Puppeteer is chasing after is called Lin Sanjiu and that she is in the amus.e.m.e.nt park. Then, you will give them the coordinates of her location to that person."
Before Lin Sanjiu could even show a shocked expression, Santa Claus turned to her and tossed a stack of paper cranes at her. "As for you, you must inform the others of your location each time you go to a new place."
Though his sentence was short, it held a huge amount of information. Lin Sanjiu took at least two seconds to react to and understand what he had just said.
"The members of the Progressor Alliance are here? Are they related to Puppeteer?" Even though Lin Sanjiu clearly knew that the man in front of her wasn't a good person to get answers to these questions, she just blurted out questions after question. "Do you want me to get caught by Puppeteer?"
She said those words hurriedly and urgently and sounded very impolite. By then, the other posthumans were looking at her as if she was already dead.
Lin Sanjiu felt a chill down her spine when she noticed the way Santa Claus was staring at her. Thankfully, that man did not take action despite her transgressions.
"Next time, I will find a different kid to help Santa Claus out," he said with a friendly, gentle voice. "Take this. When Puppeteer catches you, your mission would be over. Naturally, I will give you your present then."
Lin Sanjiu felt a drop of cold sweat rolling down her back. She reached out for the item and looked down at it. It was a small magnet in the shape of a green santa hat. It was like those common refrigerator magnets.
After a few minutes, the group of Growth-type posthumans and Soulsqn found themselves standing right in front of the entrance of Starry Carnival Amus.e.m.e.nt Park.
A strange and sinister Santa Claus, a man they could not rebel against, stood behind them. An unknown pocket dimension, that Santa Claus wasn't even willing to enter himself, was right in front of them.
Soulsqn quickly followed behind her with quick steps. Looking around and seeing that the others were not following, she quickly whispered to Lin Sanjiu, "There is a little hiccup with your plan."
"Why?"
"AYU had already gathered more Souls. With her included, there are sixteen Souls. When they reached the port, we were on the sleigh so I told them to look for an airship and come over… However, they seemed stuck at the port. I have commanded them quite a few times, but they just aren't moving. I think they can't find any transportation that would bring them here."
Lin Sanjiu frowned. She wanted to say something but she suddenly stopped. The entrance arch wasn't that thick, so she had already walked into the am
us.e.m.e.nt park.
"Welcome to Starry Carnival Amus.e.m.e.nt Park! This is just a friendly reminder, but please take note of your own safety when you are on our rides!"
Chapter 331 - Look Out! A Full Of Background Information
The amus.e.m.e.nt park was filled with a happy upbeat tune which was unfamiliar to Lin Sanjiu. Every now and then, there was the sound of chiming bells. The sweet scent of fried ice-cream and cotton candy filled the air. Under the bright sun, the whole place had a lively, cheerful atmosphere like a carnival. Balloons of different colors bobbed in mid-air. They didn't fly away but hovered around the height of people's shoulder level. Occasionally, some of them would get caught in a tree and a few gray pigeons would burst them with noisy popping sounds.
If it weren't for the unsettling lack of human voices, this would seem like a good amus.e.m.e.nt park.
Well, it wasn't exactly as though there were no humans voices around at all. When the three other posthumans followed behind her, Lin Sanjiu heard the welcome message at the entrance coming from the speakers, "Welcome to Starry Carnival Amus.e.m.e.nt Park…"
The sound wasn't loud but it seemed to come from every direction. Lin Sanjiu looked up and noticed two announcement speakers attached to the cartoon light fixture at both sides of the entrance.
The half-n.a.k.e.d man in their group had downward sloping eyebrows which made him look worried all the time. After looking around, the half-n.a.k.e.d man ran up to a large puppet—taller than the size of a human—which provided directions within the amus.e.m.e.nt park. He took off the black bear's vest it was wearing and quickly wore it.
The brunette, who was new to the Twelve Worlds Centrum, frowned and ignored the other posthumans. Without saying a word, she chose the "Psyduck Route" without asking anyone and continued down that path.