Doomsday Wonderland c1-855

by N. Heller

  Poof. Two slightly weathered parachutes opened up in the azure blue sky.

  "Ji, that is also something from the pre-apocalyptic times. Our captain spent a long time getting them," that previous female airship crew peeped out from the airship exit and looked down below her. After she said that, she closed the door once again.

  But, of course, at that moment, Ji Shanqing didn't care where the parachutes came from. The old parachute ropes creaked constantly. His face was so pale that it was as if he had fainted while he was falling. When Ji Shanqing finally fell into the water below with a splash, he quickly took a deep breath and broke out from the surface of the water. He watched as the parachute fell behind him. The fabric then bobbed along with the waves.

  "I took a compass from the airship," Lin Sanjiu said as she wiped off the seawater on her face. She stopped beside Ji Shangqing, "If we swim straight in that direction, we would see the volcano island very quickly."

  Ji Shanqing stared at her without moving.

  "You're good at water treading," Lin Sanjiu praised him ignorantly. "I can't swim that well. You have to help me along… Hey? Why aren't you swimming?"

  "I don't know how to move in water!" Ji Shanqing couldn't stop himself from shouting.

  "But, why aren't you sinking?" Lin Sanjiu was quite stunned. Ji Shanqing's head and shoulders were above the water and seemed rather stable...

  "I'm a present! I am not a human!" Ji Shanqing did his best to shrug off the parachute around him and then he reached out for Lin Sanjiu's clothes. "I'm very light. You can swim in front of me. I'll just hold on and float behind you."

  This time, Lin Sanjiu really didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

  Even though posthumans had incredible athleticism and Lin Sanjiu no longer had to drag around a pair of heavy skeletal wings, her poor swimming techniques meant that she had to struggle to pull Ji Shanqing behind her. Eventually, they saw the small volcano island in the distance with the additional momentum from the waves. It was covered with dense forests and mountain ridges.

  Even though they already saw the island then, it was only in the next morning that they reached it and climbed up the rocky cliffs by the shore.

  Lin Sanjiu was exhausted after swimming for such a long time. Both of them sat on the ground, feeling very tired. Even though Ji Shanqing only had to hang onto Lin Sanjiu's clothes, that endeavor was also very taxing. The two of them sat on the ground panting and catching their breaths for quite some time. After she felt a little better, Lin Sanjiu moved her hands and the cards in her hand turned back to food. A pork floss bun and other food items fell to the ground. When Ji Shanqing reached out for one of them, Lin Sanjiu swatted his hands unceremoniously.

  "You don't need food so don't waste my resources," she argued as she started tearing her bread. "We are not on the airship now. Food is precious."

  As Lin Sanjiu's grand prize, Ji Shanqing ate only for taste so it was really a waste of food. He watched longingly as Lin Sanjiu finished all the food in a few minutes. Finally, he couldn't hold back the question he wanted to ask, "What should we do next? How are we going to find the Slaves Training Camp? I think we need to split up and infiltrate that place. We can't let them find out that there are intruders on their island…"

  With her stomach filled, Lin Sanjiu looked way more energetic. She dusted the bread crumbs on her hands and swallowed the last morsel of food in her throat. She mumbled something but when Ji Shanqing heard what she said, he thought he had misheard her.

  Before he could question her again, Lin Sanjiu was already on her feet.

  He watched as she took a deep breath. Next, she yelled out at the top of her lungs, in her brightest voice, facing the dense forest in front of them. "COME OUT! YOU SC.U.MS FROM THE SLAVES TRAINING CAMP!

  "IF YOU COME OUT IN FIVE MINUTES, I WILL LET YOU DIE WITH AN INTACT BODY!"

  Her crisp and loud voice resonated through the forest. The trees quivered and numerous birds suddenly flew out from the canopy and into the air. Ji Shanqing was still sitting in the same spot as he watched her in a daze.

  They could have chosen a thousand other method to find the Slaves Training Camp, but this was certainly the worst.

  Lin Sanjiu turned behind to look at Ji Shanqing before smiling as if to reassure him.

  "If I just sneaked in, I wouldn't be able to vent my anger," Lin Sanjiu explained adamantly as if that was proper justification for her choice. "I'm going to beat all of them up and I will vent my anger on them. Look…"

  Lin Sanjiu pointed to the forest. Ji Shanqing noticed some movements.

  "The sc.u.ms are here!"

  Chapter 399 - A Grand Prize’s Battle and Lin Sanjiu’s Psychological State

  Ji Shanqing had a feeling that his owner had gone mad. He noticed that Lin Sanjiu looked slightly berserk when she maliciously kicked the merman into the ocean. Ji Shanqing thought that she had her emotions under control after resting for some time in the airship...

  Yet, when people started emerging from the nearby forest, he found out how preposterously wrong he was to make that assumption.

  The sight of these people fuelled Lin Sanjiu's yet unextinguished anger. Before Ji Shanqing could react, the woman's seething anger exploded into full fury, and she charged toward them. He watched as she disappeared into the forest. A bloodied body flew out from the forest canopy literally the next second.

  The only thing scarier than a lunatic, was a lunatic who was methodical and systematic.

  Occasionally, there would be sharp shrieks followed by rapid movements through the trees which led deeper into the forest. Screams filled the air. Every now and then, there would be blood sprays in the air. Thick smoke started rising from the forest...

  Lin Sanjiu charged around the island like a crazy rhinoceros bringing blood and carnage everywhere.

  Ji Shanqing narrowed his eyes for some time. He sighed with disdain when he spotted his owner's location. He quickly headed in Lin Sanjiu's direction while traversing through the trees.

  It had only been half an hour since Lin Sanjiu first shouted. After a few of their scouts did not return, the people from the Slaves Training Camp finally sent out their real fighters. A slave tamer went out into the forest with a few slaves with him. Obviously, the operators of the Slaves Training Camp wanted to get rid of the intruder on the island far from their base camp. Ever since he entered the forest, Ji Shanqing had already seen quite a few people who looked like the organization's slaves while he hid out of sight. As he searched for the Slaves Training Camp's base, he continued toward where Lin Sanjiu was.

  The difference between the "tamers" and the slaves of Slaves Training Camp was clear as day. Every full-fledged slave was marked by black paint and had been deprived of one of their senses. Some of the slaves did not have noses so there were only two cavities in the middle of their faces. Some of them had one of their eyelids cut off so one of their eye sockets was exposed. Others had one side of their ears brutalized to the point that there were only layers of scars… If there was anything common between them, it was their savage yet vacant eyes which seemed as if they had abandoned their rationality and self-awareness.

  Ji Shanqing watched every single slave very carefully as each of them walked beneath him. He also tried to figure out the direction which they came from. Thankfully, in the group of slaves, he did not the teenage boy and girl that Lin Sanjiu described to him. If the children that his owner wanted to save became like these people… Ji Shanqing shuddered at that thought. He picked up his pace and leaped to another tree nearby.

  Thud. A thin branch he accidentally broke fell to the ground. Ji Shanqing hugged the tree he was on with both arms. His blood turned cold. The surrounding was quite noisy due to the fighting sounds coming from some distance away so, logically speaking, no one should be able to hear such a soft sound… Ji Shanqing held his breath and waited for a little while in the same tree. When he felt confident that there were no other suspicious movements around him, he assumed that the group o
f slaves had already left. He let out a sigh of relief and pulled aside the branches in front of him...

  Then, he saw a large pair of eyes staring at him unblinkingly. The eyes were so big that they were like glass orbs.

  Ji Shanqing froze.

  "Kekeke."

  The person narrowed his large bulging eyes slightly and raised his chin. In contrast to his large eyes, his face was disproportionately small. He looked like a lemur from every angle.

  "I climbed up this tree to skive but who knew I could find the intruder even without trying?"

  Ji Shanqing released his grip and immediately fell from the tree without saying a word.

  "Trying to escape, little lady?" A burst of ear-piercing laughter rang out from the tree. Shortly after, long black shadows swooped down from it and toward Ji Shanqing. As he was literally a grand prize, his weight was only a fifth of that of a normal human, so his fall was slightly slower. Even though he tried his best to dodge, one of the black shadows brushed his body.

  The second the black shadow touched his body, the lemur-like man immediately yelled:

  "[Headovertoes!]"

  Even though Ji Shanqing didn't see anything around him, he suddenly couldn't move. It was as if his hands and legs had been bound. He fell to the ground with a thud. The lemur-like man slid down from the tree. With eyes that almost took up half his face, he laughed with a sharp, horrible-sounding voice. "You look dainty and refined. I'm sure you'll become a very obedient slave after a few days with me... Ah, we've got quite the bumper harvest today."

  [Headovertoes]

  Even the wildest heart can be tamed. If there is one thing that no one can escape from, something that is always unexpected, it is love. Once a person is hit by this ability, he or she would fall hopelessly in love with the ability user. Be it male or female, beautiful or ugly, once a person falls into this web of love, they would think that the ability user is their ideal type and thus become crazily obsessed about him...

  Once a person is in love, they would be blinded by love.

  Note: love requires time. Before the target falls hopelessly in love with the ability user, they would be immobilized by a literal web of love. Once the ability user deactivated this ability, the target's affections would disappear over time.

  P.S.: Even though this is the godsent ability for PUA (pickup artists), somehow the laws of fate would prevent these people from ever developing this ability.

  Ji Shanqing made several attempts to free himself. He struggled so hard that even the veins on his foreheads were popping. However, no matter how hard he struggled, his limbs were still bound by an invisible binding that did not even loosen one bit.

  "Kekeke. It is useless," Lemur climbed down slowly from the tree. He seemed a little crippled as he limped over to Ji Shanqing's side. Lemur crouched down and smiled as he stroked Ji Shanqing's smooth skin, "Just wait and see, you'll fall head over heels in love with me and tell me all the information about your companions. Even though you look a little boyish, maybe I could fulfill your d.e.s.i.r.e to sleep with me…"

  When Lemur touched him the first time, Ji Shanqing couldn't help shuddering as goosebumps appeared on his skin. However, when Lemur touched him for the third time, Ji Shanqing's expression totally changed. Seemingly unable to hold himself back, he placed his face in Lemur's hands and closed his eyes for a while.

  Saliva sprayed from Lemur's mouth as he laughed. Once his ability hit its targets, it would never fail to work.

  "How is it? How many people are with you? Who's that woman who charged into the forest? Why is she looking for us?"

  Ji Shanqing lay on the ground without moving. He looked up at Lemur with longing eyes.

  "Which woman are you talking about?" he asked demurely as if he was afraid that the man in front of him would see an unsightly side of him.

  "Who else?!" Lemur rolled his glass-like yellowish eyes. "That woman over there. She managed to fight off a couple of our tamers and their slaves… She already killed about six slaves in that short time… Let's go back to the topic. First, tell me what is her background and what is her ability?"

  Ji Shanqing giggled coyly. He lowered his eyes and asked quietly, "If I answer you, what will you do with me?"

  Lemur was already familiar with his victims suddenly acting this way after they became infatuated with him. He chuckled and pinched Ji Shanqing's cheek, "I will give you whatever you want, so tell me."

  "Okay, I will tell you what I know," Ji Shanqing immediately caught Lemur's attention with his words. "That woman is called Lin Sanjiu. You might not have heard of her before… But, that isn't important. Just listen to me. The other tamers and slaves have been sent out from your base camp to fight with Lin Sanjiu. However, you're an exception. Although you are a tamer, you seem to have some problems walking. You don't have your slaves with you either and you were hiding in a tree. You mentioned that about six slaves had died. I'm sure you are not talking about people that are far away because you wouldn't be able to see them… Ah, let me guess. You've probably already seen Lin Sanjiu once."

  Lemur was stunned, evidently, he couldn't process the current situation.

  "You're quite lucky to escape being killed by her along with your slaves," Ji Shanqing flashed an understanding smile at Lemur. "You chose an interesting spot to hide. You didn't fight in the front line with your comrades, neither did you gather any slave around you... You seemed to be keeping watch… According to the direction that the other slaves came from and your current position, your base camp must be nearby. You were planning to get backup if things went awry, right? I now have a general idea of where you base camp is thanks to you."

  At that moment, Lemur's face was completely white. He stood up immediately, but his left leg faltered as if he had no control over it. His left leg was probably broken so he couldn't put any weight on it...

  "Your ability sounds pretty formidable," Ji Shanqing's smile seemed warmer and friendlier. "However, you overlooked something. Love is just a lubricant for people' reproduction instincts. I don't have any gender and I don't have reproduction instincts... To me, love is no different than a brick."

  Lemur was so shocked that he was speechless. He took a step back subconsciously but suddenly remembered that his opponent was still immobilized. He shouted out once again. With a single gesture, several black shadows shot out from behind him again. This time, the shadows struck more than ten times harder than when they fell from the trees. They moved so quickly that they created sparks in the air. The attack was so powerful that Lemur himself was even a little surprised.

  "Ah, so this is my ability." Ji Shanqing mumbled to himself and seemed oblivious to Lemur's actions. When the black shadows were about to touch his body, they suddenly stopped as if all the kinetic energy in them had abruptly disappeared. No matter how hard Lemur tried to attack Ji Shanqing, the flogging wh.i.p.s—which were now visible—lay limply on the ground.

  "This is my ability," Ji Shanqing exercised his neck and shoulders before standing up unexpectedly. "I don't mind telling you my ability, lest you try anything else and make things troublesome for both of us."

  [Economic Bubble]

  This is a new random ability that is generated from the combination of three abilities, [Metro], [Flourishing Business] and [Avarice]. This ability will not change until the grand prize kills another person.

  After spurring a series of rapid economic booms, this man-made economic bubble gradually exceeded the capability of the free market to regulate itself… When it finally burst, it created a new economic depression with panic-stricken investors everywhere.

  Using the same economic principles, the user can create an "economic bubble" with the target's attack. During a bull market, the target's attack would be magnified several times. However, once the bubble burst, the target's attack would become feeble and weak. Naturally, the economic bubble would always burst before the attack touches the user. This is inevitable.

  P.S.: an economic bubble doesn't always oc
cur. It isn't unusual for an economic bubble to set off a series of chain reactions in the market. However, a user cannot use this ability non-stop as that would not match normal economic principles. Dear user, please take note to moderate your usage of this ability.

  Just when Lemur's expression changed and he was about to reach for something near his c.h.e.s.t, Ji Shanqing had already lunged at him. Once he managed to grab Lemur's arm, Ji Shanqing, who was fully aware of his own capabilities, used all his strength to hold Lemur down, "Big Sis! Big Sis! Come quickly! I found the base camp!" Ji Shanqing shouted loudly.

  Even though Lemur was injured and all his ability and weapons had been "weakened" by Ji Shanqing's ability, his natural physical strength far exceeded Ji Shanqing's. He clenched his teeth and finally pushed Ji Shanqing aside using only one arm after struggling for a while. Then, he suddenly pulled out something like a shiv and raised his arm to stab his opponent.

  However, the moment Lemur raised his arm, someone grabbed his wrist.

  A pair of amber eyes peeked from behind him.

  "Good job. Let's go," Lin Sanjiu said with a hoarse voice. "Do you need this person to show us the way?"

  Ji Shanqing did not expect that Lin Sanjiu could rush over so quickly. Panting, the grand prize, who had just escaped death, slowly shifted his gaze.

  A raging fire consumed the distant forest, and the flames were l.i.c.k.i.n.g the sky. There was a trail of blood behind Lin Sanjiu. The thick fresh blood was almost black and there were bits of human remains on the trail which led deep into the forest. Ji Shanqing could smell the faint stench of burnt corpses as their body fats burnt in the fire. After that short tussle with Lemur, Ji Shanqing realized that he could no longer hear any sound coming from the other enemies. When he listened carefully, he could only hear the crackling sounds from the flames, the wind and the waves from the ocean. Somehow, it had suddenly become so quiet that it was even somewhat disturbing. He really had a feeling that his owner was already mad.