by N. Heller
The districts were actually ten irregular circles. Each district encased the one before. They came together to form a long oval shape. Based on what Irezumi said, the map showed a quarter of the world.
"Since four consular officers have already been found here, I think that is more or less it," Cyrus mulled, "If I were the killer, I would go to a different area to search for the next consular officer."
"But, we don't know where he was before this," Ji Shanqing asked. "What if we head in the direction where he came?"
"So, we will act separately," Cyrus answered. " We will split up and head in different directions. This killer has quite a powerful ability. He also took many Special Items from the consular officers he killed. None of us stand a chance against him if we take him one-on-one. Once you find a consular officer, you must contact us."
Since Lin Sanjiu did not need to conceal herself and they all had the same goal, it was much easier to discuss their plan. They discussed the details for some time before they quickly decided on a strategy. It was decided that Lin Sanjiu's group would search for a consular officer as they headed for District 10.
Even though Lin Sanjiu noticed that Irezumi wanted them to head out immediately, they were exhausted after everything that had happened that day. Once Irezumi left, the grand prize and Qing Jiuliu went to the ALADDIN master bedroom immediately. They unfurled the blanket aside and settled in the large bed. As they both preferred this bed, none of them wanted to sleep on the bed in the guest bedroom. In the end, they agreed to play rock-paper-scissors to decide who would stay behind after three rounds. Anyway, the bed was large so the person that stayed behind would be able to share the bed with Lin Sanjiu.
Lin Sanjiu didn't mind sharing the bed with any of them. To her, both of them were no different from B.Rabbit and Dr. Hu. Lin Sanjiu dried the water on Magus' body very carefully. Based on Magus' preferred style, she helped her change into dry clothes. After Lin Sanjiu placed Magus on the chaise lounge, she let out a long sigh. She sat by the window and took out the small balls that Magus had given to her.
"Sis, aren't you tired?" A face popped out from the soft, fluffy bed. It was her grand prize. "You… what are you doing now?"
"I'm trying to see if I can reactivate my [School of Higher Consciousness]," she answered. "I can only return to the Astral Plane after I reactivate my [School of Higher Consciousness]."
"What did you say?" Lin Sanjiu asked as she missed what he said. Meanwhile, she used her higher consciousness to make a small ball float.
Before Ji Shanqing could reply, someone rolled down the blanket slightly. Qing Jiuliu propped his head up and revealed his once-again drunk, lethargic face. His misty eyes seemed to be filled with starlight.
"He said," Qing Jiuliu opened his mouth and burped, "trouble is waiting for you if you go back."
Ji Shanqing sat up immediately and glared at Qing Jiuliu.
Lin Sanjiu raised an eyebrow and looked at her grand prize, "What do you mean?"
"He misheard me," Ji Shanqing came up with a rather bad excuse after thinking for a while.
Qing Jiuliu retorted immediately, "I didn't."
The grand prize kept his head straight withstanding Lin Sanjiu's gaze for some time. However, he finally yielded. "I-I mean, even if you returned to the Astral Plane, you wouldn't be able to look for Magus immediately."
"Why?" Lin Sanjiu narrowed her eyes.
"When you left, weren't you in the middle of a 'Three-Legged Prison Break' game?" the grand prize sighed. He knew that he had to come clean now. Initially, he didn't want to tell Lin Sanjiu about his conjecture because he was worried that Lin Sanjiu would feel pressurized. However, he didn't expect Qing Jiuliu to spill the beans.
After thinking for a while, he phrased his words carefully, "Based on your description of the game environment and the rules, I think that J7 AI won't be able to complete the two-player game alone. If you return, it should be fine if you end up outside the online gaming platform. I will be worried if you end up in Alcatraz Penitentiary when you return… If that's the case, you might need to cooperate with J7 before you can exit the game."
Lin Sanjiu stared at him slack-jawed. She was shocked and taken aback. However, she understood why her grand prize was unwilling to reveal that to her previously. She blinked profusely and finally spluttered, "In other words, it is possible that J7 is still currently in that Prison Break game? It is still waiting for me to return? It has been such a long time—"
"This is just my conjecture," her grand prize consoled hastily instead of giving her an explicit answer. "After all, I've never been to that place so I don't really understand how it works. I might be wrong."
Lin Sanjiu pursed her lips. She tossed a glance at Magus, who was lying on the chaise lounge, without saying a word. No one could tell what Lin Sanjiu was thinking.
After some time, she suddenly sighed and said quietly, "Both of you should sleep here tonight."
"Huh?" her grand prize took a while to react, "But… He reeks of alcohol…"
"I'll try to push my limit tonight," Lin Sanjiu replied as she looked at the small ball in her hand. Ji Shanqing couldn't see the expression on her face from the side.
For a moment, both of them remained quiet. An icy crescent moon hung in the night sky outside. The moonlight seeped through the windows. It lit one side of Lin Sanjiu's face, leaving the other in shadow.
"Sis…" her grand prize barely said a word when she interrupted.
"Ever since I was in Hyperthermal Hell, I've always lived from day to day," Lin Sanjiu murmured. She gave Ji Shanqing an almost assuring smile, "No matter what life threw at me, I rolled with the punches. Though not without struggles, I've drifted along with things and survived. But, this isn't enough."
As she spoke, the other small balls suddenly floated. They started spinning in mid-air.
"If I want to control this ship, if I want to control where it goes, I need the strength to steer it," Lin Sanjiu uttered quietly. Her voice was soft but her words were filled with determination. "I need to grow stronger fast. Living in these apocalyptic worlds, I want to decide how I live and where I'll go in the future."
Chapter 492 - Staying at a Campsite
After leaving the hotel, the group headed toward District 10. They had been walking for two weeks. During this time, they ate nothing and only slept outdoors. Ever since they left the hotel, they had never had a good rest. By the end of the two weeks, even Ji Shanqing was covered in dirt and mud from head to toe despite being a clean freak. Among them, Magus was probably the only one who was still considerably clean.
Disappointingly, they found no trace of any consular officer even after going to quite a few places. With no discernable endpoint, their growing hunger made their journey seem much longer.
"It's getting dark," Lin Sanjiu stopped and surveyed their surroundings. They were on a long, crumbling expressway. In a distance, the red setting sun was gradually sinking into the horizon.
"Haven't we been walking for more than ten hours straight?" A sluggish and fatigue voice answered her with a hint of hopefulness from behind. It obviously belonged to Qing Jiuliu, who already had enough of walking. "Yes, it's simply too much. Let's just rest for today, alright?"
Lin Sanjiu had heard Qing Jiuliu's request so many times that her ears might bleed. Though Qing Jiuliu was lazy by nature, the one thing that he did diligently was to request for breaks. Furthermore, he had all sorts of creative excuses and a variety of ways of wording his requests. "Anyway, I can't walk anymore," he added as he crooked his body. He acted as if his bones were going to give way and he would just fall apart.
Lin Sanjiu agreed with his suggestion after thinking for a moment. "According to the road signs, we just have to walk a little more and we'll reach a small national park? What is it called? Bear Ridge… Let's rest when we reach it. There should be camping grounds at the national park. We can also find drinking water there."
Although Lin Sanjiu still had drinking water stored in her ca
rd deck, Lin Sanjiu usually didn't use her stockpile if she could gather the resources from the environment.
Qing Jiuliu opened his mouth as if he wanted to say more. However, when he noticed that Lin Sanjiu was already pushing the wheelchair, he followed reluctantly.
Following the signs on the expressway, the party headed north for another hour. They found the mountain route to Bear Ridge National Park only when it became completely dark.
Lin Sanjiu took out her [Ability Polishing Agent] and placed it in Magus's hand as the woman sat unconscious in her wheelchair. The light from the bottle immediately lit the route ahead. The silvery light lit the signboard hanging at the entrance of the national park forest and dragged it from the shadows.
The city which was ravaged by the apocalypse was not completely silent. As they walked through the city, they would occasionally hear cries of distress and fear. Even if human civilization had been destroyed, humans continued their struggle for survival every day. Somewhere in the corner of the world, there were people living, fighting and dying. Though the sounds were sometimes terrifying, at least they never felt lonely.
Yet, after a day of walking, those sounds from the city were far behind them.
Walking at night in the vast forest, Lin Sanjiu finally experienced what it was to "feel like the only one alive in the world", just as in the books.
The noise that the wheelchair made as it traveled on the uneven ground seemed to be magnified by the darkness and the creepy aura of the forest. It echoed in the night. Every breath, every sentence and every word from them was quickly carried away by the chilly night wind. Their sounds and voices disappeared into the dark forest, like drops of water in the ocean.
They were approaching the camping ground. Through the interplay of light and shadows in the forest, they could see the faint outlines of a row of wooden cabins. Even Lin Sanjiu was somewhat comforted by the thought of having a roof over their heads and a resting place with a bed and water.
Before Lin Sanjiu could let out a sigh of relief, two strong beams of light suddenly broke the darkness. Shocked, the three of them were stopped in their tracks. Before they could force open their eyes, the deafening sound of a motor engine roared through the forest. Soon, the shadow which created that noise headed straight toward Lin Sanjiu's group. From its outline, it was a large heavy-duty truck.
The truck was moving at maximum speed and it was going to hit them soon. The grand prize and Qing Jiuliu let out a collective gasp. Just as they were about to dodge, Lin Sanjiu pushed aside the wheelchair in front of her. She raised her hand and her higher consciousness gushed directly toward the truck like a huge wave.
Just as the truck was about to hit Lin Sanjiu head-on, there was an ear-splitting thud. The truck was forcefully stopped by Lin Sanjiu's higher consciousness. The hood of the truck was immediately crushed by the invisible force. The truck's engine continued roaring as birds scattered into the night sky. Its wheels spun crazily in the same spot and soil was flying everywhere but the truck was stuck. It couldn't even move half an inch forward.
Just two weeks ago, Lin Sanjiu could only control a small ball with her higher consciousness.
The sound of the rumbling engine pervaded the night sky. The piercing white beams from the headlights made it difficult for all of them to see. Lin Sanjiu narrowed her eyes. She raised and snapped her fingers. The pair of headlights shattered immediately and the beams of light were extinguished. Darkness enveloped them once again and flowy silver light from the [Ability Polishing Agent] lit the hood of the truck, revealing its blurry outline.
"Come out," Lin Sanjiu demanded coldly.
Staring through the windshield, they could see that the black shadow in the driver's seat was not moving and the person was grabbing the steering wheel with his two hands. The sound of the engine quietened.
"I told you to come out," Lin Sanjiu repeated.
Ji Shanqing secured the wheelchair as he stood behind Lin Sanjiu. Meanwhile, Qing Jiuliu walked over cautiously with a cigarette in his mouth.
Perhaps the driver realized that he had been outnumbered, as he suddenly opened the truck door and squirreled out of the truck, heading in the opposite direction. He scrambled through the darkness agilely like a nocturnal animal. If he wasn't up against Lin Sanjiu, he would probably have a chance to escape.
Swoosh. With a sweeping wind, Lin Sanjiu swiftly jumped over the man's head. She landed right in front of the black shadow. Before he could react, Lin Sanjiu took a step forward and smashed her elbow into the man's face. The man fell to the ground before he could even make a sound.
Lin Sanjiu stepped on the black shadow and stared at the man. "Throw it over!" Lin Sanjiu shouted at her grand prize.
Lin Sanjiu was stunned when she saw the man's face. The man was in his thirties and his dirty hair was badly tangled. He was walleyed and his eyes were staring at different directions. He seemed to have a permanently unfocused look. The moment the light hit his face, the man immediately cringed. He started screaming toward the camping ground behind him, "They're coming! They're coming! Quick! Find their spaceship!"
He screamed as if he wanted to convey his message even if he tore his vocal cords. His high-pitched voice hurt Lin Sanjiu's ears. Following his screams, there was a slight commotion at the camping ground.
Lin Sanjiu frowned. Just as she was about to stop him from shouting, she heard the sound of footsteps approaching. The man continued to scream and struggle but Lin Sanjiu knocked him out with a single punch. They stared into the darkness with their guard up.
"Who's there?"
The footsteps stopped not far from them. The person seemed to have strayed from the footpath intentionally. He hid among the trees before he called out quietly to Lin Sanjiu and the others, "Who are you people?"
"Then, who are you?" Lin Sanjiu responded.
"We… we lost our homes. We've already lived here for a long time," a hoarse, elderly-sounding voice answered softly. "That's my son. He is a mental patient. He keeps saying crazy things like that aliens will find us and kill us… He's sick. Sorry, but please don't blame him. Could you let him go?"
Lin Sanjiu narrowed her eyes. Ji Shanqing and Qing Jiuliu also exchanged glances.
"I don't mind letting him go… But, why didn't you go insane like him?" she asked as she lifted the man who she was stepping on. The man hesitated for a moment as if he had been stumped by her question.
"Sigh, it's all fated," his voice was so weak that it seemed like it could be swallowed by the wind. He continued in a breathy voice, "After what happened to my wife and my son, I realized that I couldn't eat anything. I survived using intravenous infusions. After that, I stayed here with my son. I took care of him and some other mental patients… We don't dare to go to the city. It's too chaotic and people always die there."
The elderly man with a stooped back peeked cautiously from the forest as he spoke. Though the [Ability Polishing Agent] wasn't bright, his dry, wrinkled face and messy hair could clearly be seen under the silver light.
"What intravenous infusions?"
"I was originally a janitor working in a hospital," the old man sighed and said exhaustedly. "After the world became a mess, there was no one to manage the hospital. During the chaos, I took all the glucose and IV drips as well as the needles and syringes I could find. As long as I survived, I could take care of him for another day…"
Lin Sanjiu looked at the two people beside her. Then, she carried the unconscious man on her shoulders.
"How long have you been living here? How many of you are there in total?"
"We've been here for at least half a year. Other than us, father and son, there are four other mental patients… I can't take care of more people." The thin old man seemed to let out a sigh of relief when he saw Lin Sanjiu's action. He walked out from the forest, "Ah, Miss, you can just hand him to me…"
Lin Sanjiu just carried the old man's son over her shoulders. She certainly didn't find it appropriate to dump the son's heavy b
ody on the old man. Shaking her head, Lin Sanjiu gestured to Ji Shanqing to push the wheelchair while she turned to the old man, "I'll help you carry him there."
The old man probably had not received any help from any sane person for a long time now, so his lips quivered before he uttered a "thank you".
The row of wooden cabins in the camping ground seemed restless. The four other mental patients opened their windows. Four fair faces stared straight at the newcomers amidst the darkness. The doors of the cabins had been locked by the old man. Supposedly, it was to prevent the other mental patients from running into the forest whenever they were agitated. Food was the most unwanted resources in this world. Unsurprisingly, the old man had gathered quite a lot of food. There were boxes and boxes of food in the camping ground. As he was too weak, he fed the patients only once in two days so that they did not starve to death and were easy to clean up after.
The old man settled his son in his cabin. After that, he walked out of his cabin, groping. Using the light from the [Ability Polishing Agent], he pointed to the area behind Lin Sanjiu and the others, "It isn't easy to navigate around here past this point… Be careful when you leave… Don't take the forked road. Just follow the sign to the ranger station…"
"Actually," Lin Sanjiu exchanged glances with her companions before she interrupted him softly, "I saw a few empty cabins here. We're tired after a whole day of walking. We were planning to rest here for a night. Would that be too much of an inconvenience?"
The old man froze for a moment as if he didn't know how to react for a moment. Looking a little surprised, he coughed. After some time, he caught his breath and nodded. He pointed to the nearby wooden cabin and said, "If it's only for a night… of course, you can."
He seemed to agree to their request because he couldn't do anything with these young people. In any case, after fifteen minutes, the four people entered the largest cabin and rested there.