by N. Heller
A lock of blond hair fell from Bohemia's face as her brows creased in a confused frown. She walked forward to the pillar while carefully avoiding the shell-like vine. After she found there weren't any people behind the pillar, she returned to the man, her brows still creasing in the middle of her forehead, "That's weird. I'm pretty sure I heard a sound coming from over here."
"What kind of sound was it?" The stocky man chimed in with a question, "Could it be the sounds from the prisoners? I saw that there are a lot of prison cells up there."
"You might be right."
As they talked, they moved to the other side of the hall. After going around the tables and chairs that were scattered all around the room, they took the search a few floors upward. Perhaps it was too troublesome to search through every level, they soon returned to the gate to wait for the announcement of the next breach.
After they had dispelled their corresponding condition, Bohemia yanked the metal gate open. The chunk of heavy metal grated across the ground, sending a jarring note through the concourse.
As the discomforting noise spread across the concourse, Lin Sanjiu heaved a sigh and jabbed at J7.
J7 now was all but an automaton. Its body had opened up, shaping into a few long lines of mechanic components with claws that hooked them firmly on the ceiling. The only thing that remained was its stapler-like head.
J7 still clung tightly to Lin Sanjiu's waist using its arm. Using the mechanical arm as her only support, Lin Sanjiu spread opened her four—no, three limbs and positioned herself in the narrow space between the pillar and the ceiling. She remained so completely still as she feared that the gravity might pull her down.
When Bohemia was searching for them below, she only needed to lift her head to look at the ceiling, and she would have found both of them.
J7 began to reconstruct its body again after receiving the nudge from Lin Sanjiu. Although it was now the size of a domestic feline, it was still strong enough to retract each of its mechanical parts back to their original spots, all the while sustaining the weight of an a.d.u.l.t female with its arm. After that, they skidded down the pillar and landed quietly on the ground.
"Once again, you saved the day," Lin Sanjiu complimented J7.
It was no doubt that J7 was more useful than a human as it could adapt its body according to the surroundings. If it wasn't because of the game rules which required both of them to maintain physical contact, she believed that J7 could quickly clear the game and escaped the prison single-handedly.
"Yeah, thanks to me," J7 assented.
"So, now what?" Lin Sanjiu had gotten used to the way it talked. She asked, "Should we go around and see if there any other exit besides from the metal gate?"
"I don't see any windows here."
"What about the ventilation pipes?"
"You don't need to breathe when you're in your Higher Consciousness form. The huff and puff you're feeling right now is merely your subconscious habit."
Lin Sanjiu began to feel worried again. The building was completely sealed up like a huge metal bucket, and they couldn't force their way out through the main entrance.
When she was going to consult J7 for some advice, she saw its "stapler," which was a lot smaller than the original size, turn 180 degrees around, pointing straight behind her.
A heavy thump burst out from the metal gate. The ringing clash reverberated clearly in the concourse. Lin Sanjiu's heart skipped a beat. Then, Bohemia's muffled curse, full of rage and resentment, wafted from the metal gate behind, "Bula, you son of a bitch! I swear to God I'm gonna kick your ass! Just you wait!"
He shrugged off Bohemia's expletive with a sarcastic smile. He said, "The news of you losing half of your Potential Growth Value was an after-dinner conversation for the people in Astral Plane. Do you think you're still the same as before? Don't be so absurd!"
Lin Sanjiu recoiled two steps back as understanding dawned upon her. The hearsay of Bohemia losing her Potential Growth Value must have gone so wrong that her comrade believed she was fragile now, so he turned his coat.
"Why didn't you come in with her?" Lin Sanjiu had no idea whether or not she should feel relieved at the sudden turn of the events. She stared Bula vigilantly and asked, "Isn't it safer to work together with her to catch us?"
"Well, I don't know the rules for you prisoners," Bula offered Lin Sanjiu a grin, "For us warden, whoever succeeded in catching the two prisoners first gets all the rewards. Otherwise, why do you think I would go so far as to trick her back into the metal gate?"
"So he knew we were there all along—"
"Rewards? What kind of rewards?" Lin Sanjiu tried to stall him as long as possible until she had an idea how to drive the attacker away, "And how did you find out—"
But Bula wasn't going to give her the chance. His glance fell onto Lin Sanjiu's vanished hand as he giggled, sending his baritone voice which didn't go very well with his tall and portly figure into Lin Sanjiu's ears, "I wonder how much Higher Consciousness you have lost to this game. I hope it wasn't too less; otherwise, all my efforts would be in vain."
Before allowing the words to sink in, Bula had charged in. Lin Sanjiu tried to avoid the attack, but she stopped when her second-sight kicked in and turned to the side, throwing herself on the ground. She looked up from the ground to see that there was a weird plant—the one similar to the plants that blocked the door earlier on—growing out from the ground behind the spot she previously stood. The shell-like part was wide open lunging headlong at her.
She rolled along the ground, running over J7 in her wake and earning herself a grunt from the automaton. But the guttural voice was instantly blotted out by Bohemia's curse as she beat desperately at the door.
"Don't turn the tag game into a battle," Bula's countenance sank after missed Lin Sanjiu by a hair width a couple of times, "Stay where you are and let me catch you. You won't get hurt. The worst-case scenario is you will be sent back to your cell."
"I think he has a point," J7 commented after it had once again been thrown onto the ground.
Lin Sanjiu put her hand over the automaton's arm as she feared J7 would suddenly release its grip. Countless weird plants were slithering around her legs as if she was in a serpent's lair. Their shell-parts were opened wide, trying to strike Lin Sanjiu. As she zigzagged around to dodge their ambush, she explained to J7, "No, we cannot afford to be sent back to the prison cell. If this guy fails to catch us, he will be kicked out of the game. Bohemia doesn't know I'm here, so I'm certain she will go after him. In that way, I'll be safe!"
"I don't understand. And who is Bohemia?" J7 quickly replied.
Only then Lin Sanjiu realized that she hadn't told J7 about those feuds she had with Bohemia. Since they were in a pinch and it wasn't a good time to tell the automaton the story, Lin Sanjiu just briefly said, "It's a long story. Anyway, we cannot go back to the cell!"
Right after that, she rolled over the ground and escaped an attack. The moment she stopped spinning, the ground beneath her suddenly broke open, and a wisp of green appeared from the crack.
Even if it just grazed her skin, she wouldn't be able to do anything aside from getting thrown back to the prison cell, but she was already too late. In a blink of an eye, the plant had emerged entirely from the ground and had her inside its jaws.
Bula let out a satisfied laugh. He walked forward, and his smile froze on his face.
The plant indeed had Lin Sanjiu inside its jaw, but the woman wasn't sent back to her cell, and there was no announcement from the prison saying that the escapee had been contained. Bula's countenance changed. He darted forward, but it was already too late.
Ashen-faced, Lin Sanjiu twisted her body around and the front part of her body fell from the jaws of the plant. The bottom portion of her was still trapped inside the plant's pocket. It looked as if she had been severed from the top of her head. This was the way J7 showed her earlier on.
Had she wasn't in her Higher Consciousness form now, it would be a gruesome s
cene too bloody to be seen.
Even J7 was so shocked by the scene that it reaped the automaton away of its ability to talk. Lin Sanjiu held it in her hand, and after she had been severed in half, the robot almost fell into the lobes. When it realized that it was still on the first floor, the bulb on top of the automaton's stapler-like head blinked several times in quick succession as if it finally understood what "mixed feelings" meant.
Right now, she only had half of her body left, and it was a new experience even for a veteran such as Lin Sanjiu. She couldn't get accustomed to the new sensation of her limbs, which were now only half of their original size, and fell to the ground. If she were a second later and did not split her body before the plant caught her, she would have been back in the prison cell already.
Bula's chubby face was scarlet with anger. Seeing that Lin Sanjiu couldn't stand up, he sauntered his way to her.
"I don't understand why you had to complicate things. Just give up already. You're wasting my time." As he said, he subconsciously looked at the metal door.
Although Bohemia had ceased to scold or curse Bula, she never stopped banging on the metal gate. The constant thumping sound irritated Bula so much that the vein on his forehead bulged. He looked at Lin Sanjiu and sneered, "All that hard work, yet you still got caught by me in the end. After I sent you back to your cell, I'll go look for another prisoner—"
He did not finish his sentence and threw a punch at Lin Sanjiu.
"The other prisoner?"
All of a sudden, there was a light in Lin Sanjiu's mind. She yelled at J7, "Shoot his head!" as Bula's shadow loomed over her.
Before he could retaliate, J7 had its gun pointed at his face. The next thing he knew was a barrage of bullets that showered directly into his face. After two rounds of firing, J7's size became only as large as a peanut.
Bula tried to protect his face with his hand, but the bullet was able to penetrate his hand. The parts of Higher Consciousness form that had been blasted away were floating in the air, while the major portion was gradually vanishing.
Bula had never expected that the second prisoner was this robotic doll right before his eyes. He let down his guard when he saw that Lin Sanjiu was immobilized. He could have never imagined that the moment he went closer to them, he would be rewarded with a barrage of bullets at point-blank range. And even though his Higher Consciousness form was far sturdier than J7's, he still lost his chance.
"Warden One has failed in capturing the escapees. Transmitting Warden One out from the game."
The announcement came so sudden that it startled both Lin Sanjiu and J7. Her heart pumped wild like a caged lion. There wasn't any announcement the last time they killed a prisoner. It appeared to them that the prison would only broadcast whenever a player was defeated.
"I suppose these are our prizes?" Perhaps J7 was too eager to return to its usual form, its synthetic sound was full of hopes, "Hurry up. Let's get up and try if we can absorb—"
Before it could finish its sentence, the door was kicked open.
Next, Bohemia's whoops drifted into Lin Sanjiu's ears, sounding like a nightmare to her.
"Hah, serve you right! This is what you get for being greedy and tried to get the prizes on your own!" She wiped her face as a cold smile appeared on her face. She walked a few steps forward into the concourse and looked around. Very soon, she found the place where the battle ensued. Since it was pretty far from the metal gate, she jumped a few times before landing in front of Lin Sanjiu and J7.
"Oh, this is great! It's all mine now!" As she giggled, she extended her hand to grab Lin Sanjiu. Then, her gaze fell on Lin Sanjiu's face.
For a moment, despair overtook Lin Sanjiu's mind.
Bohemia's grin froze on her face.
In the next second, Bohemia retracted her hand, much to Lin Sanjiu surprise. The former covered her face and squatted down. Gone was the usual bewitching and charming mien. Drowned in a storm of anger, helplessness, and aggrieved, Bohemia let out a throaty groan.
"What the hell is going on?" She yelled out loud as if she was letting off steam, "Prisoners are players too? And of all people, why do I have to go up against her?"
Stunned, Lin Sanjiu looked at Bohemia. The scales fell from her eyes. She suddenly realized that she might have judged the situation wrong.
Chapter 533 - The Wrong Has Been Righted And A M.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t
The concourse returned to how it used to be once the grapple ended. The ground which had been punctured by the plants became flat and smooth again. Right now, Bohemia paced back and forth barefoot on it. The turquoise anklet jingled, releasing a soothing chime into the air.
Lin Sanjiu had no idea how to stand up. She looked miserable, like a gutted swine. Although she did not feel any pain at all since it was she who separated her Higher Consciousness form herself, she could not balance herself with her attenuated feet. All she could do now was lie on the ground and stare vacantly at Bohemia.
The blonde's face was livid. Gone was the charming, seductive mien. She continued to walk back and forth with her arms folded across her c.h.e.s.t and took quite some time to contain her anger. She stomped towards Lin Sanjiu and squatted down in front of her. Her satiny and large blouse dangled loosely on the ground, looking like a tent.
"In any case," Bohemia said through gritted teeth as if she was expressing her sovereignty over the situation, "... I'm getting back my Potential Growth Value now!"
Staring at her, Lin Sanjiu was unfl.u.s.tered.
This was because she had a hunch that Bohemia did not know how to take back her Potential Growth Value. If she knew the way, she would have done it already. Lin Sanjiu thought for a moment, then she flashed Bohemia a grin, "Take it, then. It's all yours."
Bohemia gasped at Lin Sanjiu's provocation.
"I warn you—" Bohemia hissed as she smacked the ground hard. Her eyes burned red with anger, and her tongue was swollen with fury. It looked as though she was holding herself back from punching Lin Sanjiu in her face, "You, you, how dare you—"
Pouting, Lin Sanjiu laid her head on the ground. With the back of her head gone, she could maneuver her neck more nimbly. After going through a brutal fight with Bula, Lin Sanjiu felt exhausted, and lassitude began to set in. She replied to Bohemia with a listless demeanor, "So you brought me into the Astral Plane to get back your Potential Growth Value?"
"You bet!"
"I've been here in the gaming platform since the moment I entered the Astral Plane, so mind telling me why are you here as well? I don't think this is a coincidence—"
"Of course, this isn't a coincidence!" Bohemia was so full of rage that she did not know where to start telling her side of the story. It was only when Lin Sanjiu fired the two questions at her that she knew what to say and where to start from, "I used one of my Special Items to drag you inside. By right, you should have stayed with me. But when I opened my eyes, you were gone, and I'm was in the online gaming platform. Even a dimwit would see the light that you must also be inside a game. Let me ask you: Did you f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y quit halfway through the game? How did you do that?"
"Ohh, I see," Lin Sanjiu answered, but she wasn't going to give any further explanation.
Her nonchalant attitude towards the questions further fueled Bohemia's anger. She hissed, "Don't give me that kind of attitude, you moron! To get your location, I had to shell out a few extra Potential Growth Values! That bunch of bloodsuckers really know how to run business. They just put this large-sized corresponding condition here, and they can make pots of Potential Growth Value every day."
Bohemia's road to retrieve her lost Potential Growth Value was rough. She had yet to get back even a single unit of her Potential Growth Value, and she had already spent a lot. Putting everything aside, the straw rope she used to pull Lin Sanjiu into the Astral Plane was the best testament of her splurging. She had to use a ton of Special Items to get her hand on that straw rope.
"I'm utterly defenseless now, so why don't you can come and get
it?" Lin Sanjiu asked curiously.
"Because the game prohibits me from doing so," Bohemia said petulantly. Then she sat on the ground, her legs crossed in front of her, "This is a training ground where everybody can hone their battle skills and upgrade their ability. If the players couldn't secure their Potential Growth Value once they were defeated, nobody would come here."
After she thought for a moment, the situation of both sides became more evident in her mind.
Bohemia was caught in between the devil and the deep blue sea. If the wardens' side won, the administrative system would send her out from the game. With the knowledge that she would be waiting outside, Lin Sanjiu would never take the risk and face her head-on. After 30 days, Bohemia had to bail out from the Astral Plane. Even if she re-entered the Astral Plane literally the next second, nothing would change and the seesaw battle would continue into eternity.
It seemed that the only way out was to let the prisoner win the game—
"What's the rules about your side as wardens? If the prisoner succeeded in escaping the prison, will you be forced to stay in the game for the next round until you win, or will you get kicked out of the game with us?"
Lin Sanjiu asked the question though she somehow already knew the answer. After all, if the game would transfer all of them together at once, Lin Sanjiu believed that Bohemia would not think twice and let her win the game.
Her anger had subsided, but the feeling of aggravation still lingering around on her face. With a sulking look, Bohemia answered reluctantly, "... If the prisoner defeats me, the game will kick me out. If the prisoner escapes, I'd be subjected to an hour's sentence."
" That's why… Bohemia worried that I would run away while she was being contained in prison for an hour. "
The Salvation of God and the online gaming platform were the only two places Bohemia could intercept Lin Sanjiu, but much to her chagrin, neither of the locations provided her the freedom to regain her Potential Growth Value. The more Bohemia thought about it, the angrier she felt. Her delicate face was once again all written with fury.