Doomsday Wonderland c1-855

by N. Heller

  Apparently, Hei Zeji had explored quite a bit of the amus.e.m.e.nt park. Lin Sanjiu remembered the man in the bear's vest. The name of that Growth-type posthuman seemed to be Yidong. Lin Sanjiu didn't know how he had offended Hei Zeji such that he had to eventually lose his life.

  After the two of them walked side by side for a while, they saw the next station up ahead.

  Unlike the plain-looking Bumper Karts arena, the exterior of this particular attraction was exceptionally beautiful and elegant. Even though the sun was shining brightly, high above the sky, the brightly colored fluorescent lights that decorated the attraction were so eye-catching that they could be seen from afar. The rainbow-colored lights were extremely striking. The building looked as if it was built of various prism-like blocks and that created a dreamy, princess-like scene.

  "What is this?" Hei Zeji's expression turned glum. "I don't want to enter."

  Lin Sanjiu had more or less accustomed herself to his wilful personality. She had even developed a way to deal with him. After she persuaded Hei Zeji for quite a while, she managed to coax him to the entrance of the new arena. When they looked up, they could see the words, "Time Travel".

  "After selecting the story you want, you can personally experience the past… The interactions that the players will have within this attraction are extremely interesting. This attraction is not suitable for people with heart problems and high blood pressure…"

  After Lin Sanjiu read the notice at that entrance, she turned to look at Hei Zeji, "Can this help with my combat training?"

  "Let's go," the latter replied impatiently as he gestured to go and walked through the door first.

  Chapter 340 - Separated in Story of Château de Fontainebleau

  Once Lin Sanjiu walked through the main door, she found herself in a short corridor that was so dark that she couldn't even see her fingers. The only light came from the eerie green glow of the exit sign.

  After taking two blind steps forward, a shadow appeared from a dark corner of the corridor. The asymmetrically lit shadow transformed into a human figure. A woman with a wide smile suddenly revealed herself and spoke gently to the two people with her raspy voice, "The entrance fee is 6 Stamina points, thank you."

  Beep. Lin Sanjiu waved her wrist in front of a device similar to the one she had seen at the Bumper Karts station. The woman with the raspy voice smiled, and the corner of the corridor gradually brightened. The outline of two slightly strange-looking movable metal platforms appeared.

  That platform was basically a metal board made of wood sandwiched between two metal sheets. It was 3 feet wide and 5 feet long. The wheels of the platform fitted perfectly to the rails on the ground and, clearly, they were meant for the two people.

  "The difficulty will be set based on this gentleman," the fair woman said gently. "When we start, the platform will move normally along the tracks. However, please note that if the player's feet leave the platform for more than one minute, it will be treated as a forfeit. Players who forfeit will have to join one of Starry Carnival Amus.e.m.e.nt Park station and will never be able to leave the amus.e.m.e.nt park."

  Lin Sanjiu was startled. She turned to look at Hei Zeji.

  "I don't know. Don't look at me," the latter lowered his eyes and stepped on one of the platforms, looking rather unhappy. After being silent for a moment, he couldn't resist commenting, "Maybe, the player will become a Jibakurei 1 ".

  "Your time travel experience will last for thirty minutes. Please enjoy." The woman smiled as she watched the two players.

  After the players stood on their own respective platforms, the track buzzed, the ride started, and the platforms started to move slowly.

  Unexpectedly, the platforms moved at a moderate speed. Lin Sanjiu looked up wanting to say something but the platform had already brought them to a turn.

  The howling blizzard winds hit her face. For a moment, she couldn't hear a thing and she couldn't open her eyes. As she was wearing a tank top, goosebumps immediately appeared on her exposed skin. When the flakes of snow hit her body, they immediately melted to form cold wet patches on her clothes and skin. Lin Sanjiu shivered as she felt a layer of ice slowly forming on the platform she was standing on.

  It wasn't easy keeping her balance on a platform that was becoming slippery due to the layer of ice on the platform. To maintain her balance, she crouched down and held the edge of the platform. That had the added benefit of keeping her warm.

  "It was a cold winter day," a voice suddenly rang out without warning, as the blizzard raged, the voice continued as if narrating a story, "it was on this cold, windy day that our story unfolded."

  "Get on with it!"

  Hei Zeji's irritated voice rang out not far from Lin Sanjiu.

  "Alright, can all players please choose a character from the name list present," the voice announced unaffected by Hei Zeji's comment, "After you complete your selection, you will not be able to change your character until the end of the round. Please survive till the end of the round in character.

  "Male roles: Francis, Duke of Vendome, Nameless husband.

  "Female roles: Gabrielle, Queen Margaret, Vera."

  "Who... who are these people?" Lin Sanjiu was stunned. She waited for two seconds but the narrator did not introduce the characters. Noticing that it wasn't going to do so, she hesitatingly picked a name that made the strongest impression, "I choose Gabrielle."

  She did not know which character Hei Zeji chose as her platform swung around violently after she said that name. The movement was very sudden. Luckily, Lin Sanjiu's body was no longer as before, otherwise, she would have been flung out of the platform. After she steadied herself, the metal board shot forward like an arrow. In the blink of an eye, Hei Zeji's shadow disappeared from behind her without a trace.

  Lin Sanjiu was flabbergasted.

  They entered the arena with the main intention that Hei Zeji could correct her combat techniques. Now that her "coach" was missing, how was she going to learn from him?

  She could not leave as she did not have 60 Stamina points. Lin Sanjiu gritted her teeth and calmed herself. She looked forward far into the cold, wintery night.

  "Whatever happens, I need to just endure this first round."

  As Lin Sanjiu shivered crazily, she sighed inwardly. Even though she had already gone through quite a few pocket dimensions, she could not understand the current circ.u.mstances. She knew she had entered a building. Yet, her current surroundings were just so realistic. It felt as if she was really outdoors. The air current, the sound of the wind, and the scent of the woods were all very real to her.

  After the metal board sped along the tracks for some time, the blizzard finally abated.

  Lin Sanjiu's skin was already numb from the cold. Even as she entered her hypersensory state, Lin Sanjiu only felt numbness and nothing else. The tracks were covered with a layer of snow. As Lin Sanjiu looked out into the night, she saw only a blanket of bluish white snow. Stars slowly appeared in the night sky and a lit chateau appeared at the end of the snowfield.

  The metal board moved directly toward the chateau.

  Light from the flames of a fireplace flooded out and Lin Sanjiu squinted her eyes.

  Even though the main hall was segregated by the many tracks on the floor, Lin Sanjiu could tell that the owners of the chateau were wealthy and influential people. The fireplace was decorated with carvings of flowers. There was a strong fire which kept the place warm. The floor was covered by a thick red carpet. There was a table in the hall and there was a set of sparkling ceramic tableware was overturned. A maid, sitting at the corner of the room, was sewing something. She looked up at Lin Sanjiu and stood up before greeting her, "Madam, you back."

  From the looks of it, the owner of the chateau was Gabrielle, the character she was playing.

  While platform slowly decelerated, Lin Sanjiu was a little confused as to what she should do.

  "Oh, you are busy?" she said as she raised her hand. Feeling awkward, she realized that
the words she said did not seem to fit the image of a "madam".

  As expected, the maid looked at her with a perplexed face before she continued with her sewing. The piece of cloth she was holding seemed small and it was taking on the shape of a sleeve.

  "Sister!"

  A lively female voice called out from behind her all of a sudden. Just like the blizzard, it simply appeared without any warning. Lin Sanjiu did not even notice when the young fair lady with black hair suddenly appeared at the stairs.

  "There is a terrible blizzard out there. You shouldn't have gone out," the young lady reproached. "You need to take care of yourself now."

  Lin Sanjiu stood in a daze when she heard the narrator speaking again, "Hearing the words of concern from her sister Vera, Gabrielle thanked the girl gratefully."

  Thankfully, she didn't have to act out or say any dialogue. Lin Sanjiu let out a sigh of relief. Vera seemed to be one of the characters she did not choose.

  "Go call some people to bring the bathtub in," Vera ordered the maid sitting in a corner. "It's warm here so I want to take a bath with my sister."

  The maid immediately stood up and got a few people to carry a four-legged bathtub into the hall. They placed it in front of the fireplace and filled it with hot water. Vera took off her clothes quickly and jumped in. With her head above the water, she smiled at Lin Sanjiu, "Sister, join me."

  As a player, Lin Sanjiu naturally didn't have to enter the bathtub. Lin Sanjiu swept the ice off the platform and sat down. The narrator went on, "Gabriel stepped in the bathtub. She had always taken her baths with her sister and had kept that practice even till today."

  There was a bathtub in the middle of the main hall. A fair young lady with black hair sat in the bathtub, immersed. The maid behind her was looking down at her sewing…

  Lin Sanjiu frowned. She had a vague feeling that she had seen this scene before yet she couldn't remember where.

  "As she bathed, Gabriel took off her expensive and intricately-designed ring and started toying with it." The narrator's voice spoke with the same constant speed.

  "Soon," Vera said in a consoling manner as if she had seen a glimpse of that ring, "Once the news of your pregnancy had been confirmed, I am sure the king will…"

  "What's the point? Gabriel sighed. Margaret is still around," the narrator continued, "Margaret was the queen. Getting rid of her wasn't going to be easy."

  "From the narration, the story seems to be about some royal harem drama... This Gabriel must be the king's lover and she is plotting to get rid of Margaret so that she can become the new queen." Lin Sanjiu felt that the names sounded very familiar. However, as these were all foreign names, she wasn't surprised if she had remembered them wrong…

  "Next, Vera told Gabriel about the story between herself and a man called Francis."

  Lin Sanjiu didn't know if it was because of the steam or young lady's embarrassment, but Vera's skin started turning red. There was a sweet expression on her face as she said to Lin Sanjiu, "Oh, I really like him very much. When I have the chance to see the king, I will bring Francis along with me."

  Lin Sanjiu listened expressionlessly. She found these sort of young lady's love story extremely boring. The thing which concerned her the most right now was what this 'Time Travel' station expected from her.

  Unlike the perilous Bumper Karts, Lin Sanjiu had to just wait with boredom until bedtime.

  The "bedtime" was just a symbolic thing. Lin Sanjiu could not get down from the platform. After she was brought into a bedroom, Lin Sanjiu found herself sitting in the darkness all alone. She waited, somewhat cluelessly, for the next part of the story.

  Without Hei Zeji by her side, what sort of combat technique could she learn? an earthbound spirit/ghost that is stuck in one place because of their grudge or hatred

  Chapter 341 - A Drawing in a Drawing

  The darkness only lasted for a short time to symbolize the night. Sunlight filtered through the windows to show that it was another new day. The narrator was the first person to wake the people in the chateau. The maid hurried in and out of the room as she helped "Gabrielle" with her morning routine.

  "After Gabrielle dolled herself up properly, she sat on a carriage and headed to the palace to visit Henry IV. Recently, Henry IV had been increasingly attracted to her talents and wit…"

  When Lin Sanjiu heard the name "Henry IV" and considered her current situation, she placed the clues together and made a good guess that she was in the Middle Ages in France. Even if her history knowledge was limited, she could guess that she was in the early Bourbons. As she listened to the narrator, she was sat on her metal board unenthusiastically and let it bring her out into the cold winter morning.

  Just as she was brought out of the chateau, Lin Sanjiu pulled down a red velvet curtain and wrapped it around herself. Her red silhouette stood out amidst the white snowfield as the platform moved forward steadily.

  Time flowed at a different pace within "Time Travel". It had actually been more than 30 minutes since she had entered this place, yet the story was just beginning.

  Her meeting with King Henry only lasted for a few symbolic minutes. Lin Sanjiu observed the historically famous Good King Henry with interest. Other than that, she didn't do anything else. After receiving the invitation to attend a ball in the palace, the metal board brought her out of it.

  "However, once she left the palace, Gabrielle's carriage was stopped."

  As the voice of the narrator rang out, Lin Sanjiu narrowed her eyes and stood up from her platform. A man with a medium but sturdy build was in front of her. If that black-haired man wasn't on a horse, he would probably be shorter than her by a bit. Judging from his attire, he was probably an aristocrat. The people behind him were obviously the servants he brought along for hunting. He looked at Lin Sanjiu with a mixture of tolerance, maliciousness, hatred and other emotions… It all summed up to a twisted expression which made her feel uncomfortable just looking at his face.

  "My dear Gabrielle," he said sweetly. The tone of his voice reminded Lin Sanjiu of a serpent. "I wish I could say it was a coincidence to meet you here."

  Even after waiting for a few seconds, the narrator did not speak.

  "Since we are both heading home, why don't we travel together. Oh, that's unless you have somewhere else you want to go?" the man laughed mockingly. Then, he tugged at his horse and pulled his horse up to Lin Sanjiu's platform. He rode beside her, keeping up with her pace.

  "What does he want?" Just as Lin Sanjiu was wondering about the man's background, he bent over from his horse. He flashed a wide grin and showed an overly kind expression. With a whispery voice, he slowly spoke to Lin Sanjiu, "As your husband, there is something I want to remind you. Ever since you've gotten close to the king, someone has been harboring a grudge against you. I hope you haven't forgotten a rumor we have around here. Queen Margaret is from the House of Valois and they have passed down their secret dark arts over generations."

  "Gabrielle shuddered. When she looked up once again, she realized that her husband had already made a turn and ridden away. After her affair with the king had been exposed, her husband rarely returned to their chateau…"

  Lin Sanjiu couldn't help scratching her hair in frustration.

  " What sort of complicated relationship is this!"

  The queen wanted to kill her, and her husband seemed to be the first person to cheer for the queen if she succeeded.

  Now that she knew that there were characters in the story that were against her, Lin Sanjiu felt a little relieved. Considering her circ.u.mstance, if she defended herself against any attacks from Queen Margaret, she could probably survive and complete this first round.

  "What are those so-called secret dark arts?" Lin Sanjiu thought to herself as she returned to the chateau. Gabrielle called Vera over and both of them started busily preparing for the ball that night. In reality, Vera was the only one that was busy. Lin Sanjiu sat crosslegged on her platform. Her wings were slightly arched, she was
already in her hypersensory state and was prepared for any attacks around her.

  Hei Zeji had given her some tips about why her combat capabilities were lacking and how she should fight with her hypersensory state. Even though he was very vague about it, that little bit of information was the only thing Lin Sanjiu could rely on to hone her techniques.

  Other than criticizing Lin Sanjiu for relying only on her evolved abilities and physical strength to fight, Hei Zeji also mentioned that her movements were not fluid at all, saying that she moved with an abysmal level of animatronic stiffness and that she was deaf and blind. When Lin Sanjiu asked Hei Zeji for a more concrete explanation, he was immediately irritated by her and did not elaborate more. "When you're fighting, you'll understand." That was his only answer.

  How was she going to understand it now?

  "Abysmal level of animatronic stiffness?" Lin Sanjiu stood up on her platform. Feeling somewhat curious, she threw a punch outward.

  At that moment, she was in the middle of a large lively ball. There were many exquisitely dressed men and women. They were raising their wine goblets. Flowers have been woven into their hairs as they conversed loudly and cheerfully. A few artists who were clearly from the School of Fontainebleau sat at the corner creating their oil paintings.

  That person was a beautiful woman with long blonde hair which grew way past her neck. She had a graceful yet alluring aura. Her bright and gorgeous long gown flowed down from her chair. She was so eye-catching that it was difficult to ignore her presence. However, the woman looked somewhat unhappy. She sat in her seat staring coldly and did not even cast a single glance at Henry IV. That woman was indeed Queen Margaret.

  "That is the woman that wants to get rid of me?" Lin Sanjiu muttered quietly to herself as she threw another punch aimlessly. She accidentally hit the wine goblet of a gentleman who was holding it in his hand. The latter let out a sound of surprise. Obviously, under the control of the "Time Travel" experience, he laughed and apologized, "I'm sorry. I nearly dirtied the duchess' dress." After that, he walked away unhurriedly.