by N. Heller
Lin Sanjiu wanted to do something, but she still couldn't see. She yelled again at Bohemia, "Are you dissolving it or not?"
"If you don't dissolve it now," Lin Sanjiu had run out of patience, "Then, I'll twist your hand off!"
There weren't any replies from the dark.
When Bohemia's voice rang out again, there was a little bit of hesitation in her sound, "... How are you going to do that when you can't see me?"
Just as a sardonic smile hopped onto Lin Sanjiu's lips, she realized something. Her hair bristled, and she quickly released the wrist in her hand. However, the hand in the dark grabbed her hand back.
Chapter 537 - The Person Who Grants Wishes
Startled, Lin Sanjiu fought back. She tried to wrest her arm from the grip. The katana she took from the samurai had vanished along with the disappearance of the movie. In desperation, she pulled with all her might to free herself from the deadly grip in the dark.
However, she was surprised to find the hand in the dark was light as if it did not possess any weight at all. She did not receive any resistance from the hand and almost fell to the ground, but the hand remained holding onto her firmly.
Lin Sanjiu had pins and needles all over her scalp. It was this moment she heard Bohemia suddenly said, "Who's there?" followed by her scream, "Stop scaring me, bastard Lin! And let go of my hand!"
"It wasn't me!" Understanding dawned upon Lin Sanjiu. She said hastily, "There are other people in the dark!"
After that, Lin Sanjiu grabbed a chair on the ground, hurling it towards whoever was hiding in the dark. The chair flew through the air, falling into the darkness and dropping on the ground with a loud thud.
The chair hit nothing, and the hand still holding tightly on her arm.
"It wasn't a human !"
As the thought surfaced in Lin Sanjiu's mind, she also realized what the old man meant by increasing his "infection." The hand was merely a form, and even if she managed to shrug it off, there would be other things coming for her to drain her Higher Consciousness dry.
Yes, in merely ten seconds, she already felt her Higher Consciousness form gradually being chipped away, like a sponge stained with strong acid.
Lin Sanjiu realized that both of them would become defenseless like a pig in a slaughtering house if she did not do something to stop the corrosion. When that happened, they wouldn't be able to do anything as the old man extracted all their Potential Growth Value dry.
As such, Lin Sanjiu decided to tell lies and had Bohemia cooperate with her. She gritted her teeth and yelled out, "Dispel the screening room. I will try to catch him using my corresponding condition. Then, it's up to you how you want to cleanse the infection!"
It was apparent that Bohemia had also realized something wasn't right with the "hand." As she was struggling to free herself, she had caused a huge commotion, releasing a burst of noise into the air. When she heard Lin Sanjiu's voice, she froze for a moment before asking hesitantly, "What is your corresponding condition?"
"Are you nuts? How can we expose our trump card in front of our enemy?" Lin Sanjiu snarled. She couldn't shake off the annoying hand, nor she could use her left hand to aid her in getting it off. Once she did, her left hand would be corroded as well, "... Don't worry. Since he has this thing on me, I will be able to catch him once you release all of us out from this screening room."
Bohemia knew for sure that things wouldn't end well if she did not do something about it. Although she was skeptical about Lin Sanjiu's words, she was desperate. After losing a quarter of Potential Growth Value, her Higher Consciousness had significantly weakened, and she couldn't hold on for much longer. If the old man succeeded in infecting both of them, Bohemia was sure that this time she would lose more than a quarter of Potential Growth Value. With that thought in mind, Bohemia made her decision.
She turned to Lin Sanjiu and shouted through gritted teeth, "You have to be careful! He needed an opening before he could evoke the Plague! And he can only use it on a corresponding condition! That's why he likes to sneak up on people!"
After that, Lin Sanjiu's vision blurred, the absolute darkness disappeared from her sight. Although the Astral Plane was fundamentally dark, there was still some light from the stars surrounding them. The hand which had been clinging tightly to her arm disappeared, and so did the corrosion. Lin Sanjiu turned around to see that she was back in the starry sky again. And not far away, a star, radiating in a soft cherry pink glow floated.
"Star?"
Before she could come back to her senses, Lin Sanjiu heard Bohemia yelling behind her, "What are you still waiting for? He's going to run away! Hurry up and use your corresponding condition to catch him!"
However, she had to do something to make up for her lie. Besides, she had to make the old man pay for everything he had done. With a wave of anger burning inside her heart, she threw everything away and charged at the cherry pink star.
As if he had anticipated Lin Sanjiu's movement, the cherry pink star turned to flee, drawing a long tail of pinkish glimmer behind him as he flew away. Lin Sanjiu looked ahead to see that the cherry pink star had become a small dot and joined the other stars in the cosmos far away. The old man was artful; when he failed in getting what he wanted, he just ran away.
The old man's Higher Consciousness was stronger, and his speed outshone Lin Sanjiu's own by a large gap. He disappeared almost in the blink of an eye. After they had chased for a while longer, there was nothing left in their eyes but a blank void.
Staring at the direction where the old man had disappeared into, Bohemia started to slow down. She turned back to human form.
Her light brown pupils were ablaze, looking like the flowing lava in a volcano. Slowly, she spun her head around and glared fixedly at Lin Sanjiu, "... Why didn't you use your corresponding condition? Didn't you say you could catch him once I put away my room?"
Lin Sanjiu did not know what to say. Finally, she understood the aphorism 'lie is like a snowball.' After she weighed the situation, she decided to tell the truth, "About that… I'm sorry, I cheated you. Actually, I still haven't gotten a corresponding condition yet."
Lin Sanjiu hardly had enough vocabulary to describe Bohemia's anger. She seemed to have forgotten that she was an a.d.u.l.t. She pounced at Lin Sanjiu, and since the latter was much taller than the former, she dangled off her body like a monkey hugging a tree. She punched and hit and bit and cursed and cried, releasing her anger like a child throwing a tantrum.
She was so enraged that she couldn't articulate her thoughts into words well, "I'm done for! Argh, my corresponding… you… Argh!"
Squinting her eyes, Lin Sanjiu did nothing to stop Bohemia's tantrum; it wasn't painful at all anyway. After Bohemia had used up all her strength, Lin Sanjiu then proceed to comfort her to make her feel better, "You see, if you didn't dispel your screening room, the situation wouldn't turn any better, and the consequences would only be more severe. We might have already—"
How was there any possibilities that Bohemia did not know that it was true? It was like selling off stocks at a lower price, even though she knew the situation would only get worse if she kept going, she still couldn't bear to have her corresponding condition infected by that old man. She had to beat Lin Sanjiu, the main culprit of all her miseries, to release her anguish, "Why haven't you developed a corresponding condition after you have gotten so much Potential Growth Value from me? Who do you think is the one that brought me to this state, huh? It was you! You're the one who caused me all these troubles!"
Bohemia's eyes turned red, sadness brimming over from her heart. She no longer knew how to face Lin Sanjiu. With her corresponding condition still infected, she couldn't use it anymore, or else she would be affected as well. The more she thought about it, the more she felt aggrieved. In the end, she crouched beside the highway and began to cry.
Seeing Bohemia crying really stressed Lin Sanjiu out. Bohemia looked miserable. Gone was her usual seductive mien. After giving it some thought, Lin Sa
njiu couldn't help but sighed and squatted beside her.
Throughout the years, Lin Sanjiu had met a lot of people who wanted to harm her, but she had never met someone like Bohemia before. She was one of a kind, and she had caused more damage to herself than to her.
Lin Sanjiu thought for a moment before comforting her, "Don't cry."
Bohemia cried even louder.
"Can you stop crying and listen to me?" Lin Sanjiu said resignedly, "I can not stay here for too long, I have to go out and find my friend. Do you want to go with me?"
"I thought that was what you wanted to say. So you want to leave me alone after putting me through all this!" Replied Bohemia, with a lumpy throat.
"You can tag along if you want," then, Lin Sanjiu fell silent. She hesitated for a moment before speaking again, "... But I have a job that needs your help. Perhaps, it can help to solve your problem as well."
"You said you hadn't seen Magus around for a while, but that's not possible," Lin Sanjiu said sternly, "You know that Magus is my friend, right? I'm certain that she must be in the Astral Plane now. It's just I don't know where to find her."
"So? Your point being?"
"I have something very important to do, so I can't go and look for her now. I want you to bring her some messages. When you see her, tell her the things I told you, and it will save her life," Lin Sanjiu knew that it sounded exaggerated, but for Magus, who was now loitering around in the Astral Plane and could not return to her body, even a small message might be useful to her, "Let me ask you between the Potential Growth Value that you lost, and Magus owing you a big favor, which one is more valuable? I guess you don't need me to tell you the answer, right?"
Bohemia had completely stopped crying. Little by little, her tear-laden eyes began to glow, but she held back some as she did not fully trust Lin Sanjiu just yet, "If it's really like you said, a big favor, then, of course, the latter is much more precious than the former. If Magus helps me, that "Plague" will never stand a chance and I can get all his Potential Growth Value. But what if this is another one of your lies… Besides, I haven't heard anything about her in the past six months, so how can you be so sure that she is in the Astral Plane now?"
Lin Sanjiu did not reply. She did not know she should or should not tell Bohemia the truth. However, her concern over Magus' well beings had put her hesitant in the shade. She felt it was crucial to tell Bohemia the truth, but she had to choose her words wisely, "... She's with my friend now, that's why I know her condition. Rest assured, as long as you find her and tell her everything I tell you, I'm sure she will repay you somehow."
Seeing that Bohemia was still hesitating, Lin Sanjiu pressed on to talk her down, "You and I are both now in the Salvation of God. As long as you agreed to help me, I swear it on my life, I'll do everything to keep your body safe."
"That's not necessary," although Bohemia still kept a straight face, her anger had already abated. She couldn't use her corresponding condition anymore, so there were only two routes for her: get over it or look for the old man. However, even if she was able to locate the old man, there was no way she could defeat him in her current condition. Perhaps, she might even become his meal of the day. Right now, there was a third way in front of her. Though the process was long, she felt it was worth a shot.
When she was powerful, taunting other people was her hobby and wrecking havoc was her way of life. Hence, when she was in trouble, she had no friends or companions that she could depend on. Bohemia turned and looked at Lin Sanjiu, and she said, "You seem to have a lot of friends."
Lin Sanjiu had no idea what made her say this. She scratched her head and replied, "Yeah, they all are pretty reliable."
Of course, Lin Sanjiu was more than willing to have Bohemia bring her out.
Then, two of them exited the Astral Plane. When they once again appeared in the Salvation of God, it was already daytime. The fog was still rolling above them, inhibiting them from seeing the true color of the sky and sun in this world. However, there were still several lances of sunlight pierced through the thick fog, baking the world below with intense temperature. The air was dry and they could taste some salt in the wind.
They were lucky, as there weren't any Gods around. Fearing that Bohemia couldn't memorize everything she told her, Lin Sanjiu jotted down the message she wanted her to bring to Magus on paper and passed it to her.
Bohemia took a glance at the paper, but she remained impassive, "... I will tell this you in advance. If my problem is solved, I'll immediately abort the mission and not go looking for Magus. That woman has a volatile temper, so I'll not risk myself."
Lin Sanjiu sighed, "I get it. It's better than nothing."
"You go first. I can't let you know where I hide."
"... Why? I won't harm you."
"Says the person who causes me most of my problems."
Lin Sanjiu had no other choice. She turned around and walked towards where she lost her grand prize. She walked for two steps, and Bohemia called her, "Eh, wait for a sec."
Bohemia looked fl.u.s.tered. She hummed and hawed for a few moments before speaking, "Since you have saved my life, I'll tell you another message. I believe I have told you I learned your location from a person called "Peppy Lil' Sesame." I have made a deal with her that I will inform her when I found you, as payback for giving me your location."
A bad hunch began to stir in Lin Sanjiu's heart.
"Didn't I find you in the online gaming platform after I put you in the Astral Plane?" Bohemia sounded embarrassed, "Before I went in, I told her that you're in the Salvation of God."
Then, Bohemia paused. She averted her gaze from Lin Sanjiu and said in a low voice, "Although she didn't mention it explicitly, I guess she will come straight to the Salvation of God when it's time for her to go to another world… Anyway, good luck to you and watch out for yourself."
Chapter 538 - Fog City: London
After walking in the desert for an entire day, Lin Sanjiu had to admit, begrudgingly, that she was lost.
That thought barely surfaced in her mind when she suddenly felt her whole body going weak. Without any strength to continue, her legs buckled. Thud. She fell on the ground and sat. She could feel the heat from the sun-baked sand through her pants and on her skin. At first, it was mildly warm and comfortable, but it gradually grew unpleasantly hot.
After catching her breath and gulping down a mouthful of mineral water, Lin Sanjiu surveyed her surroundings once again. She did that despite the futility of her action because she had surveyed her surroundings multiple times throughout the day.
Two days ago, she escaped from the mountains along with Bohemia. They reached this stretch of the desert not long after they escaped. Logically, the mountains shouldn't be too far away. At least, they should still be within sight. She should see the vague outlines of mountains at the edge of the flat desert. However, the topology in Salvation of God didn't make sense.
Based on her memory, she walked toward where she lost contact with her grand prize for half day. Unfortunately, all she could see was just a vast landscape of yellow sand. There wasn't even a mountain in sight. In fact, Lin Sanjiu wouldn't even be surprised if she stepped into a sea the next moment.
She couldn't find Ji Shanqing, but there was a silver lining: she didn't see Gods around either.
"There is only sand in the desert and nothing else. Since Inhumans can't be raised in this environment, there are naturally no Gods because there are no people to carve idols. Ji Shanqing is smart so he might have figured this out and hid in the desert as well, right?" Lin Sanjiu contemplated for a moment and felt that it was plausible. After resting for a while in the same spot, she felt that she had regained some strength. She stood up again and chose a random direction to forge ahead.
The sand in the air seemed to be able to suck all the moisture from a person's body. Even after Lin Sanjiu guzzled bottle after bottle of water, she could not get rid of the dry, parched itch in her throat. Her skin was buffeted by the sand, d
renched in sweat and felt several pounds heavier than it should. The longer she walked, the more she couldn't shrug off the feeling that she would feel so much better if she could crawl out from her skin.
After an afternoon of intermittent walking and resting, Lin Sanjiu was exhausted and weary when she trudged past a sand dune, half-heartedly. At that moment, the sun was setting in the west. The foggy sky was getting dark. Under the weak evening sunlight peeking through the dusky sky, Lin Sanjiu looked up and was slightly startled.
There was a white brick house at the bottom of the sand dune.
The surface of the house was flat and smooth. Its paint looked new and there wasn't any sign of it ever being damaged by a sandstorm. The house seemed to be a row of rooms joined together. It didn't seem like a residential house. In fact, the house had no particular architecture style. Even calling it a public toilet wouldn't be too far-fetched.
"Why is there a brick house in this desert?"
Without walking closer, or giving it a second look, Lin Sanjiu could guess the answer with one cursory glance. This must be a pocket dimension.
"I don't have time for a pocket dimension right now," Lin Sanjiu thought to herself, dusted the sand off her body and stood up. Currently, she was more than a few hundred meters away from the brick house. If she didn't want to enter, she could probably walk around it.
She stood up and before she even took her next step, she heard an unexpected voice calling her from behind, "Oh, are you a passer-by?"
"Damn it, I got 'caught' by this pocket dimension anyway." Lin Sanjiu cursed inward and turned around cautiously.
A gaunt old man wearing a grass hat stood at the entrance of the house. Somehow, he had gotten there without her even knowing. The old man was looking up at her. He was holding a palm-leaf fan in his skinny hand and was fanning himself.