by N. Heller
Lin Sanjiu looked down at her boots. She had a slight impression that she had just jumped down from the third floor.
"Sis! Sis!"
Lin Sanjiu suddenly heard a rather familiar voice. The person must have been calling her for some time. Lin Sanjiu turned her head slowly.
"Sis, take this kitchen knife. Go to that car and cut a few safety belts down for me," Ji Shanqing panted as he smiled at her either because of his excitement or his exhaustion, "Do you understand what I say? I need to tie up my clothes now."
"Yes," Lin Sanjiu gave a one-word reply. She immediately took the kitchen knife. Her mouth moved rapidly. "You clothes must not be damaged. Your clothes must not be damaged…"
As he watched her walking toward the car, Ji Shanqing finally lowered his head. He couldn't help heaving a deep sigh. All the food which had been exposed in this environment develop psychosis. Once a posthuman lost his or her sanity, his or her abilities would be fundamentally nullified.
"Does this mean that there would be no chance of developing 'Anti-psychosis Adaptation'? Since all the posthumans who arrive in this world would lose their potential growth value, how could they evolve?"
However, Lin Sanjiu was a growth-type.
When Ji Shanqing saw his owner holding a few safety belts from the car, he fell to the ground and started laughing.
Every second they spent in "Meat Elysium" meant that Lin Sanjiu would gain a little potential growth value. Ji Shanqing wasn't sure how long this slight bit of potential growth value would last. Would they disappear as her psychosis progressed? In any case, as long as Lin Sanjiu had that bit of potential growth value, there was a chance of her developing an ability to counter those crypt particles.
If... they could survive. See chapter 166
Chapter 413 - The... Fat Oriole Behind
According to Ji Shanqing's conjecture, Lin Sanjiu had just gained some potential growth value. When she gained that bit of potential growth value, her condition improved. Her mind was still disorganized and muddled. She would also turn to talk to her hallucinations frequently. However, at least, she could understand Ji Shanqing. Using a machine as an analogy, Lin Sanjiu was like an old computer which could still work but would often freeze and crash.
"Press here. Yes. Don't pull your hand away…" Ji Shanqing did not dare to move his eyes away from Lin Sanjiu's hand. As he lifted his body slightly, he wrapped a car seat belt around his body twice. Then, he tied a dead knot. If a living person was wrapped so tightly, they would probably have difficulties breathing. In contrast, Ji Shanqing heaved a sigh of relief when he secured his torn trench coat around his body.
The effects of his damaged outer wrapping had temporarily vanished. He stood up again and exercised his arms and legs. When he saw the dangling fabric sticking out from the gaps between the safety belts, he couldn't deny that he was still worried.
"Maybe, I should find a coat…" Ji Shanqing contemplated. It should be safer for him if he had an additional wrapping, right? He was meant to be unwrapped so he did not have any information about his outer wrapping in his knowledge bank (which he was somehow born with). With regard to that, he could only make an intelligent guess.
"Sis, let's..." After he had made his decision, he turned to look at Lin Sanjiu. He was startled. "Sis?"
He had only been distracted by his thoughts for a short while but Lin Sanjiu had already strayed off quite a distance, mumbling to herself. Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Ji Shanqing quickly chased after her and took quite some effort to stop her.
However, stopping her wasn't enough. Pressured by Lin Sanjiu, he had to bow slightly to the empty space around him, apologizing, "I'm sorry. My sister can't go with you to see the fireworks. We need to go to the residential buildings to get some clothes now…"
After explaining himself to a bunch of Lin Sanjiu's hallucinations, he even felt like he was the one with a mental illness. He turned to his owner and sighed. Then, he asked, "Can we go now?"
Lin Sanjiu nodded and suddenly made a surprising suggestion, "Follow that woman's trail of blood."
Ji Shanqing stopped and looked down at the ground. Sure enough, he noticed the intermittent trail of blood left behind by that woman. Under the dim moonlight, it was almost hidden in shadows so they nearly missed those bloodstains.
"If we follow the trail of blood, we will find the short-haired woman and get rid of her to prevent any future problems. It is alright even if we lose sight of her because the blood leads to a residential building anyway."
"Sis, didn't you say that duoluozhongs all looked exceptionally disgusting?" Ji Shanqing pulled Lin Sanjiu as he walked. Not caring if Lin Sanjiu could respond, he continued grumbling, "That woman seems weird when she's crawling but, other than that, she looks human… It's too hard to differentiate a duoluozhong from a human…"
As expected, Lin Sanjiu made no attempts to converse. She simply followed him with a vacant look. To Ji Shanqing, her current condition wasn't much of a problem as long as she didn't run away or go crazy. His idea for her to stay in the residential building for a period of time still seemed feasible—as long as he could get rid of any possible future threats.
When Ji Shanqing thought of this, he suddenly felt someone patting his back from behind. When he turned back, he found himself looking straight at Lin Sanjiu who had thrust her face up-close. "Ren Nan said that there seems to be some commotion ahead."
Ji Shanqing immediately stopped as his heart skipped a beat. He looked around him and quickly dragged Lin Sanjiu to a spot between two building blocks. Then, they crouched behind a large dumpster that was there. After waiting for a while, noticing that there was nothing amiss, he whispered to Lin Sanjiu, "What else did Ren Nan say?"
When Lin Sanjiu fought with that short-haired woman, Ji Shanqing already noticed something. Lin Sanjiu's fighting knowledge, skills, instincts and perception did not completely disappear with her mental illness—somehow, they were presented in another form to Lin Sanjiu, at least they now existed as hallucinations that Lin Sanjiu could see. Besides, a lunatic might have keener senses than a normal person.
This was also the reason why Ji Shanqing heeded her advice and hid.
"I don't know," Lin Sanjiu shook her head and answered. "There is a knife in his mouth so it is really hard to hear what he's saying."
"A knife in his…" Ji Shanqing sighed. His owner was still showing signs of schizophrenia. She might still have her fighting instincts but it was probably still very difficult for her to differentiate between her hallucinations and reality.
Just when Ji Shanqing was about to stand up and leave, they suddenly heard the sound of shattered glass. Ji Shanqing was startled. Shortly after, they heard a loud thud as something hit the ground. It sounded as if someone had fallen from the building…
Wavering for half a second, Ji Shanqing quietly peeked out from behind a wall.
The short-haired woman gasped in agony as she lay on the ground. After lying on the ground for some time, she still could not move. She shifted her bloodshot eyes upward as she stared at one of the apartment units above. Just when Ji Shanqing was wondering what she was looking at, a black figure jumped out from the broken window and landed on the ground with a heavy thump.
The short-haired woman, who had been trying to sit up, visibly shrunk back for a second. Her action revealed the sunken side of her ribcage. Even though Ji Shanqing couldn't fight very well, he could easily tell that she had a new injury. While she gasped for air, the short-haired woman eyed the black figure and spoke softly, "Wait. Wait a moment. I was wrong. But, we were partners…"
"Get lost." When the black figure spoke to her, Ji Shanqing immediately recognized the bald man with his thick, fat-layered neck. Moments ago, the man was fighting alongside the woman and also tried to attack Ji Shanqing, but now his voice was just filled with an apathetic scorn. "Of course, you were wrong. You broke one of my rib bones. Because we were once partners, I'm not going to eat you. You should count yourself lucky."
Once he said that, he suddenly stood still as if his own words reminded him of something. He looked once at the short-haired woman's skinny body. After thinking for a moment, he scoffed at her with disinterest and walked away.
While he walked, the head, shoulders and arms of the corpse he was carrying over his shoulders, swayed. He gradually disappeared out of sight.
"Quick! Sis!" Ji Shanqing urged Lin Sanjiu with a quiet whisper while he looked away from the building, trying his best to use his eyes to hint at her to take action. "If you don't attack now, the bald man would be out of reach soon!"
Unfortunately, the little bit of potential growth value that Lin Sanjiu gained had disappeared once again. The slight sense of awareness she had when she helped Ji Shanqing cut down those seatbelts had completely vanished from her face. It was replaced with a vacant stare. After she stared at Ji Shanqing blankly for five minutes, the latter gave up on chasing the bald man.
"It's alright if you don't want to go chase the bald man," Ji Shanqing said a little reluctantly. "Isn't there another person on the ground? Could you go over and catch her?" he guided patiently.
At that moment, the short-haired woman still had no idea that she had been targeted once again. Even though the bald man already walked away, she did not stand up as her injuries were probably too serious.
Lin Sanjiu blinked at her grand prize and finally uttered, "Okay."
Before Ji Shanqing could celebrate, Lin Sanjiu bent over and grabbed a handful of dust. She stuck that handful of dust in his face and even commented to the empty space beside her, "Oh, I don't know why he wants that…"
Ji Shanqing was so riled up that he almost couldn't speak. He quickly wiped the dust away from his face. Just when Ji Shanqing was considering if he should go ahead and attack the woman himself, the short-haired woman suddenly let out a guttural groan. Her voice hinted at a mixture of resentment, disappointment but also a sort of relief. Propping herself with her unbroken arm, she suddenly sat up.
"Xuannie," the short-haired woman lifted her head and shouted toward the building. Even though she raised her voice, the tone of her voice suddenly became strangely gentle, "Xuannie, can you hear Mommy's voice? If you can hear me, come downstairs."
A strange noise suddenly rang out from one of the building floors above them. Listening carefully, Ji Shanqing raised a brow.
"Come down quickly! I know you can hear me!" After the short-haired woman waited for about a minute, she became impatient. Her voice grew colder, "Xuannie, I am hurt. You are the only one that can save Mommy…"
"Why is she trying so hard to get one of those lunatics to come downstairs?" Ji Shanqing wondered.
"I-I'm not going down!" a sobbing male voice suddenly rang out from above. He sounded as if he was at least forty. "Mommy is lying! What did I do wrong? Are you finally going to bite me?"
The short-haired woman's face instantly turned dark. "You'll be making a big mistake if you don't come down now!" the woman bellowed. Her voice even cracked.
She softened her tone the very next second, "Mommy's hurt. I can't move. I just need you to carry me for a little while." After she said that, she swallowed her saliva uncontrollably.
Perhaps, interchanging between a fierce and a gentle tone worked. The forty-year-old Xuannie suddenly became quiet. As if she already knew that she had succeeded, the short-haired woman stopped hurrying the man and lay down once again, panting.
After half a minute, the sound of slow, heavy footsteps rang out from the stairway. The smile on the short-haired woman's face grew wider and wider as the footsteps approached her. She wiped the blood from the side of her mouth. The short-haired woman and Ji Shanqing both eyed the building door simultaneously. Someone finally pulled open the rusty metal door.
The short-haired woman and Ji Shanqing, who was hiding in the shadows, were both stunned.
"You… you are not Xuannie." The short-haired woman looked shocked. She took only a few seconds and suddenly seemed to have made a decision. While she licked the corner of her mouth, she gestured to the person, grinning, "It will be alright as long as you're a human… Come here, I have something to tell you."
The person who squeezed out of the door with some difficulty was the same fat man that both Lin Sanjiu and Ji Shanqing saw when they first arrived in this world. The man seemed heavier than a 150kg. He stared at the woman blankly. Panting heavily, he moved his bulbous legs which were like those of the Michelin Man. Just as expected, he walked slowly toward the woman. Sweat poured from his forehead after taking only a few steps.
"Oh no, I think the woman will harm him," Ji Shanqing couldn't help exclaiming softly, "Strange. I don't think he was from this building. Forget it. Sis, can you understand what I'm saying now?"
Regrettably, Lin Sanjiu's condition had suddenly worsened. She was caught in a fit of soundless laughter. Her laughter made no sense and seemed to come from nowhere. It stole her full attention. Her shoulders started contracting violently and tears poured from her eyes. She didn't even look once at Ji Shanqing.
Knowing that he couldn't count on his owner to do anything now, Ji Shanqing bit his lip tightly. The thing that forced him to step forward was actually what the woman said, giggling, "Come. Yes. Nearer. Haha. Stupid fool. Don't you know I will recover faster once I eat some human flesh…"
If his owner was still sane, she definitely wouldn't give the duoluozhong the chance to do that...
"Wait!" As Ji Shanqing's bright voice rang out, he had already shown himself. Of course, Ji Shanqing wasn't stupid. Before he rushed out from his hiding place, he already weighed his risk. Ji Shanqing could defend himself against the woman for some time even when she was uninjured. Considering that it was difficult for her to even move right now, Ji Shanqing knew that he could probably get the upper hand if he needed to fight with her.
The short-haired woman seemed taken aback that someone was hiding nearby. To make things worse, that person was one of the people who caused her to end up in her current state. Her expression changed the moment she saw Ji Shanqing. When she looked around and did not spot Lin Sanjiu, her expression instantly turned sinister.
"Sure. Come here. I'll use your flesh to recover…"
She let out a sharp but weak laugh. Then, she suddenly froze, just like Ji Shanqing.
After a good few seconds, Ji Shanqing finally shifted his gaze to the person behind her. Momentarily, he couldn't process the scene in front of him.
The short-haired woman's neck was beautiful. It was long and slender as if a person could grab it with one hand. Or rather, with a single bite.
If Ji Shanqing did not see the fat man's mouth spreading wide and enveloping that short-haired woman's neck, he would not have thought of this.
The woman gave one final struggle, hoping to see what had happened behind her. Her eyes turned white. Soon, blood started dripping from her neck.
"Number seven," the fat man said with a muffled voice. The piece of flesh he had torn from the woman was now in his mouth. He guffawed.
Chapter 414 - 414 Hunter & Hunted
Human skin can be remarkably tough.
The man slurped the piece of red flesh with its skin on, closing his large fat lips together.
Chomp. Chomp.
Thick and juicy, blood oozed from the flesh each time he chewed on it. Blood trickled down his flabby chin disappearing into the folds of skin between his layers of fat. The chewing sounds resounded in the dark, quiet night.
Ji Shanqing wanted to look away, but his eyes were glued to the fat man's masticating mouth. He staggered backward subconsciously and accidentally knocked into the person behind him with a thud.
The sound immediately drew the fat man's attention. He looked up. His face was still buried in his victim's flesh and fat. He looked at Ji Shanqing with his crazed eyes, and Ji Shanqing snapped back to reality. Realizing that Lin Sanjiu was somehow standing behind him, he heaved a sigh of relief. However, due to that shock, he was already covered in a cold sweat.
"What is he doing?" Lin Sanjiu tilted her head and asked. Her voice was unnecessarily jarring due to the silence around them. Before Ji Shanqing could answer her, the fat man suddenly looked up. Even though he only moved a little, it seemed like laborious work for him. Considering that, it was difficult to imagine how he could bite through that woman's neck so nimbly.
"I'm eating candies," he said with his mouth full. With a mushy mess of flesh in his mouth, he suddenly spat out a piece of skin. There were goosebumps on the piece of skin beneath the saliva and blood. However, the goosebumps were already punctured with multiple bite-marks.
Just when Ji Shanqing felt a wave of disgust, Lin Sanjiu added, "What sort of candy?"
"I think I've seen you guys before," the fat man's voice suddenly changed. "You guys must be new here. You should come and greet your senior."
Ji Shanqing suddenly remembered how this man acted when they first saw him. At that time, that man muttered the same line continuously, "You guys are here again. Don't you have enough…" or something like that. From the looks of it, he must have mistaken them for one of his hallucinations.
"Mexico, Mexico," the fat man sounded more coherent than Lin Sanjiu. When he said that, he sounded sane, but the next moment, his words faltered again, "When it's your birthday, there's a little horse. When you break the little horse, candies will come out. These people are like those horse-shaped pinatas. Once you break them, you will get candies."
Ji Shanqing took a few seconds to understand what the man was saying. Watching the fat man tearing through the dead woman's body, Ji Shanqing figured that that man wouldn't attack him yet.
"You've already eaten seven candies? How do you eat them?" he asked cautiously.