Doomsday Wonderland c1-855

by N. Heller

"You call this fair?" she laughed dryly.

  "Well, judging the whole situation, it is definitely fair but you probably haven't noticed," Harry even sounded aggrieved, "Why do all of you assume that I'm so evil. In every phase, there is always a choice to prevent everyone from dying… but you people refuse to take that path."

  Lin Sanjiu's face immediately turned red. Just when she was about to say something, the leaf shook a little. Soon, she felt footsteps approaching her.

  Lin Sanjiu and Number 46 looked over at the same time. They noticed Number 45 and a panting Number 47 climbing up the leaf. They seemed to have met each other near the meeting point. They greeted each other with a nod and Number 45 asked, "What happened? I heard some of your conversations on my way here. What did you ask Harry? Why do all of you look so glum?"

  Lin Sanjiu looked at their backs and saw that they weren't carrying any flowers. She couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. Baldhead's words seemed to be true.

  "Oh! You found an indigo flower!" Number 45 exclaimed when she saw the flower on Lin Sanjiu's back. She took a few steps towards Lin Sanjiu when Number 46 held her back. Number 45 shot a sidelong glance at Number 46 before stopping with a disgruntled look on her face.

  "Number 49 got news that all the four respawn point of the indigo flower had been controlled," Number 46 looked at both Number 45 and Number 47 grimly and asked, "What did both of you discover during your search?"

  "Re-respawn point?" Number 47 asked urgently just as Number 45 shook her head, "Judging from what you said… I-I get it now!"

  This immediately caught both Lin Sanjiu's and Number 46's attention.

  Number 47 coughed, probably because he was still feeling weak, before he looked back at their anxious faces, "I am too weak now. Even though I rested a while, I couldn't really move much even when I went out to search for the indigo flower. I limped and struggled for a while but I was just too exhausted. In the end, I had to sit on a leaf to rest. Just to be safe, I climbed to the topmost leaf on a plant."

  "After resting for some time, I doze off unintentionally. When I woke up, I realized that I couldn't get down from the leaf. There was a person standing below. I didn't know when he or she got there. The person was sitting with his or her back facing me. I can't tell if that person was male or female as the person was wearing a baggy hoodie.

  "I didn't have any strength and I didn't have an indigo flower. I would be courting death if I went down, so no matter how anxious I was, I decided to wait for the person to leave. However, the person didn't even move an inch all the way until dawn. I came back late because I had to wait until about an hour ago. I didn't know what to do. Just when I decided that I would take a risk, the person stood up suddenly and bent over."

  Lin Sanjiu was puzzled why Number 47 would even include such a small detail but she gasped when she realized the implication of his statement.

  Eyeing her, Number 47 nodded, "You got it, right? The person pulled an indigo flower from the ground."

  "When I first reached, there was nothing on the ground. It was obvious that the person knew when the indigo flower would respawn so that person went there early to wait for it!" Number 47's face flushed, "At first, I just thought that it was strange. After what you'd said, I understand it now. That must be a respawn point. I still remember the way. We can head there anytime!"

  "We found one of the respawn points!" Lin Sanjiu's heart skipped a beat. She suddenly felt a little more positive. "In spite of everything, at least our circ.u.mstances have improved a little, " she thought to herself. However, when she intuitively turned to Number 46, his face was ashen with dismay. He looked even worse than when Lin Sanjiu told him about their dire situation. Lin Sanjiu was stunned by his reaction. Subsequently, Number 45 and Number 47 also noticed the suffocating atmosphere. They turned to Number 46 with puzzled faces.

  "What's wrong? Isn't this good news?"

  Number 46 opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something. His lips trembled a little but he said nothing. It took a while before he wiped his face and suddenly asked a question which seemed to come out of nowhere.

  "Harry, what time is it now?"

  "It is 10am." Harry immediately replied.

  "That is to say, the indigo flower respawns at around 9am. Our cl.u.s.ter probably came into the greenhouse at about 5 to 6pm. Based on this, the members from the first cl.u.s.ter would have arrived around 9am or even before that…" Number 46 mumbled softly to himself. His voice was so soft that Lin Sanjiu could barely hear what he was saying.

  "What's wrong?" Lin Sanjiu asked, puzzled.

  Number 46 did not respond to her question, it was as if he didn't hear what she said. He took several deep breaths before he spoke in a way which almost seemed as if he wanted some assurance, "Even if the indigo flowers respawn at a fixed timing, it shouldn't take long for another one to appear right? I mean, this is a pocket dimension. It will definitely leave us with a way to survive, right?"

  After he said that, his expression was so grim that the rest couldn't help feeling worried.

  "Well," Harry spoke briskly, "An indigo flower will respawn every 24 hours at the respawn point. You will have to find these respawn locations yourselves. I can't reveal the exact locations to you."

  Thud.

  Number 46 sat heavily on the midrib of the leaf they were on. He stared at his feet in a daze.

  "We're done. My guess was right…" He turned to Lin Sanjiu, "You know what that implies, right?"

  "Even if we wait at that one respawn point, only nine indigo flowers will appear before the last day. In the best scenario, we can only kill nine people. As the flowers would respawn at the same time, we can't get the indigo flowers at the same time even if we find all the spots because we don't have enough people to directly fend off people from the other cl.u.s.ters. That means the option to kill everyone else is no longer valid," Number 46 muttered with a bitter smile.

  "But… why do we have to kill everyone else?" Number 47 couldn't help asking. Both Number 45 and he were unsure of the full situation as they were late. The two people in front of them looked distraught as if a calamity was about to befall on them. Naturally, no one could answer him immediately.

  "Why don't you say something—" Number 45 urged, but before she could finish her sentence, a shadow loomed over her. Before she could look up, the shadow lunged toward her and Number 47.

  Number 45 let out a yelp. She wanted to dodge but she felt a gust of wind from behind. Due to the chaos, she couldn't see what was happening around her. She felt herself kicking something away—

  She rolled and scrambled to the other end of the leaf. When she turned around, she was taken aback.

  "Hey little fella, your ability is pretty good."

  All of them recognized that voice. The man who was now standing at the edge of their leaf was wearing a military singlet. He was the same person who killed Number 48 the moment they arrived at the greenhouse. There were four other strangers standing behind him. Each of them had a rope around their waist that extended above and disappeared into the leaves above them.

  That was probably the reason why these people could ambush cl.u.s.ter 5 without anyone noticing. However, for some reasons, the other four people in cl.u.s.ter 4 did not have any indigo flowers with them. A smile appeared on the squarish face of the man leading them.

  "That's right. There is no way you can turn your situation around given the circ.u.mstances. We're here only for an additional assurance. With this, we will make sure that you people from cl.u.s.ter 5 stay at the bottom of the rank."

  After he said that, he shook Number 47's collar. At some point during the chaos, he caught Number 47.

  "It would be troublesome for us if all of you committed suicide or got killed by members from the other cl.u.s.ters."

  Chapter 444 - Who Says The Maturation Stage Is A Battle Of Wits?

  As the man behind him gripped his shirt collar very tightly, Number 47 felt strangled. Every breath took a great effort. Even though
his face was turning red and his muscles were bulging from the strain, the person did not relax his well-controlled grip. Somehow, it never got to the point that the perpetrator's action was judged as a violent force.

  Number 47 struggled a few times. Sweat appeared on the weakened man's forehead. A bead of sweat rolled along his eyebrow and then into the corner of his eyes. His vision blurred from the stinging pain. Through his blurry vision, he noticed a tall figure standing from the other end of the leaf.

  "Let him go."

  Number 49's icy voice rang out. She was suppressing her anger, yet her anger was like molten lava under a thick ice sheet. Her fury was apparent to all despite the coldness of her voice.

  The man in the military singlet sized her up. He suddenly rubbed his nose with his empty left hand and clicked his tongue as if he found it a shame that he couldn't have a proper fight with her.

  "It's such a pity we can't attack each other here. Missy, you seem like you can fight. You would be a worthy opponent. When we go out we can— But," the man suddenly smiled, "I forgot, you won't get out of here."

  Lin Sanjiu ignored what he said. She shifted to one side stoically and revealed the indigo flower lying behind her. She kicked the flower upward. Snatching it from midair, she stuffed the flower behind her in an instant.

  When the man saw the indigo flower, his expression changed immediately.

  "You guys didn't bring any flowers this time. You were probably afraid that you might actually lose a flower to us if something unexpected happened?" Lin Sanjiu stared at the four other people before her, "But, you didn't anticipate that we would have a flower with us. You better let Number 47 go or one person from your side will die."

  "What can you do? You can't—"

  Before the man could finish his sentence, he felt the leaf under his feet shake a little. When he looked up again, the tall woman had already leaped up.

  "Retract your ropes!" The moment he yelled, Lin Sanjiu had already reached them.

  The people behind him reacted quite quickly. The moment Lin Sanjiu's feet left the leaf, they pressed the harness around their waist. Their equipment made whirring sounds as they shot upward.

  Lin Sanjiu's silhouette swept past them the very next seconds. Screams suddenly rang out in the air one after the other. The only person that managed to successfully escape was the man standing far behind his companions. He disappeared as the ropes pulled him up. All the other people fell back to the leaf, including Number 47 who was still captured. The impact caused the leaf to shake violently for a while.

  One of the women in the team didn't immediately grasp the situation. She froze for a moment before she felt for the harness around her waist. Lin Sanjiu smiled and held up a few cards.

  "Are you looking for this?" she asked, "I have a total of four [Retractive mobility gears]. I'll gladly accept them."

  The expression of the leader from the other cl.u.s.ter turned cold. He pushed Number 47 forward very decisively after judging that the situation was too dangerous for him to hold on to his hostage. He had been grabbing Number 47's collar with his right hand despite being left-handed. Number 47 stumbled forward and nearly hit Lin Sanjiu. The latter reached for him and quickly pulled him behind her.

  "Th-thank you." Number 47's words inexplicably faltered the moment he caught Lin Sanjiu's eyes. The woman looked at him with her pair of amber eyes. He didn't see much emotion in her eyes, but her eyes were turning bloodshot.

  Before Number 47 could react, Lin Sanjiu averted her gaze.

  "Fine. I'll let it be. We failed to get an additional assurance." The man exercised his neck and his shoulders. His muscles bulged under his military singlet. "I was right. You're quite nimble. I might even have befriended you if we met under a different circ.u.mstance, but we are leaving now and there is nothing you can do to us."

  "Really?" Lin Sanjiu flashed a pearly white grin, but her eyes were red with fury.

  The man felt his eyelid twitch. His expression turned somber. His biceps grew visibly larger at an alarming speed. Even though he knew that they couldn't fight here, something about that woman triggered his fighting instincts.

  "Number 46, I just thought of something," Lin Sanjiu crooked her head and watched the four people standing at the edge of the leaf. Without turning her head, she continued with a smile on her face, "We might not have enough flowers but that doesn't mean we can't kill anyone."

  Everyone, including the four people from the other cl.u.s.ter, was stunned.

  There was simply too little time for everyone to react...

  The moment Lin Sanjiu took action, the leader shouted, "Grab something!" The leaf shook violently before anyone could make sense of what was happening. The tall woman moved her hands across the leaf in a single, fleeting movement. A silver light flashed across the section of the leaf separating cl.u.s.ter 4 from cl.u.s.ter 5.

  No matter how thick the gigantic leaf was, Lin Sanjiu's [Vibroblade] cut through it like butter. The instant Lin Sanjiu slice through the leaf, the half supporting the four members from cl.u.s.ter 4 fell toward the dark abyss below.

  "If they die from falling down, Harry can't possibly judge that as an attack," Lin Sanjiu sneered savagely. As the people behind her gasped, Lin Sanjiu jumped down after the people who fell as their screams filled the air.

  As the plants in the greenhouse were very close to each other, and the leaf designated as cl.u.s.ter 5's meeting point did not protrude too far, there were still many leaves under them which could break their fall. This was also the reason why the leader shouted for the other members in his team to grab onto something.

  Unfortunately, he didn't expect Lin Sanjiu to jump down with all of them. Although he was confident in his reflexes, there wasn't really much he could do once he started free-falling. Using both his arms and his legs, he grabbed around him blindly. With some effort, he caught the edge of a long, thin blade of a leaf and barely managed to slow down his fall when the leaf in his hand trembled.

  The man in the military singlet looked up and saw a shadow just before he fell once again. That was Lin Sanjiu. She had landed on the same leaf and was holding up her knife once again.

  "Aghh!"

  He had a mouthful of expletives he wanted to shout, but he could only let out a shocked cry. He caught three to four other leaves after that, but Lin Sanjiu severed each of them every single time. The leader was now so pale that he didn't even look human. Harry had never revealed what laid in the dark abyss below them but he was afraid that he would find that out for himself very soon.

  After the umpteenth time he screamed, the leader finally fell heavily on top of a soft leaf. That particular leaf was protruding far from the stem of the plant, so he did not even need to grab it. Following the veins of the leaf and its angle, he rolled toward the petiole and escaped the risk of falling again.

  The leader exhaled the last bit of air in his lungs before he climbed up with his limbs quivering. The second he got his footing, the leaf started shaking again. Lin Sanjiu was following him very closely. She leaped down nimbly like a monkey with the indigo flower still firm behind her back.

  "Bitch," The man swore at her. Malice flashed in his eyes. "You're really pushing it just because I was being a little nicer. Do you think I really didn't bring any flower along!"

  After he said that, he tugged the label on the back of his singlet and pulled out a gold necklace he had hidden. The second his hand left necklace, a large indigo flower appeared in his hand.

  Lin Sanjiu raised one of her eyebrows.

  "Based on what Harry said, the indigo flowers have spawned twice. Since cl.u.s.ter 4 had already used up a flower, this must be the only one in their possession—" Lin Sanjiu thought to herself.

  "Let me warn you," Military singlet scoffed as if he had read her thoughts. "We snatched a flower from another cl.u.s.ter, so—"

  Before he finished his sentence, he rubbed the necklace hanging from his neck once more. Unsurprisingly, another large indigo flower appeared in his
hand. He took both flowers and stuck them behind his back. He narrowed his eyes. "Even with that one flower on your back, you'll still die."

  Lin Sanjiu stared at him expressionlessly, acting almost as though she didn't understand his words. Then, she laughed quietly, "I don't hear your members anywhere. Are they dead or hanging somewhere? I think they must be alive otherwise Harry would make an announcement, don't you think s—"

  An angry wolf-like howl pierced the air interrupting Lin Sanjiu.

  Military singlet charged toward her abruptly. He reached for Lin Sanjiu's arm with his talon-like hands. As both of them were about 180cm, it was actually easier for him to catch Lin Sanjiu as opposed to some small, petite women.

  Lin Sanjiu was unfazed. She propelled herself forward and took him head-on. Considering her speed, her actions would definitely be considered as an attack. Just as Military singlet gloated inwardly, Lin Sanjiu swerved slightly to one side and reached toward his back with her left hand. She was targeting his two indigo flowers!

  Startled, Military singlet instantly recalled how Lin Sanjiu stole all their ropes. He forced himself to stop and he turned his back in the same direction that Lin Sanjiu was heading. The indigo flowers nearly touched the tip of Lin Sanjiu's fingers and she found herself empty-handed. However, he did not stop there. He twisted his left arm and grabbed Lin Sanjiu's left arm.

  He caught her!

  His face lit up. He could not hide his mirth as he held his opponent's soft fingers tightly. He was afraid that Lin Sanjiu would get away before the two indigo flowers did their work. However, a creeping suspicion suddenly flashed in his mind.

  "This woman is covered with lean muscles from head to toe, why is her left hand plump and fair?

  "F.u.c.k! Why do you carry a dead person's hand with you!"

  Lin Sanjiu had to admit that the man was quick-witted. At least, he was way better than Baldhead. After he yelled furiously, he immediately released Fatty's severed hand. Before his opponent could touch him, Military singlet grabbed his two flowers and twisted his body to one side. He quickly placed the flowers back into the necklace hanging from his neck.