Doomsday Wonderland c1-855

by N. Heller

  Chapter 570 - It's Time To Pick Some Ch.i.p.s

  At this moment, Lin Sanjiu was confident that Veda had done something to the Pocket Dimension.

  The remaining snacks had died down after the first canned potato chip finished speaking. The mustached male figure, the ever-smiling spokesperson, the leopard that was eating corn puff… Numerous faces sat neatly on the shelves, staring at her quietly in the dim light.

  "What the hell does it mean by picking the correct packet of ch.i.p.s?"

  In merely a few seconds, Lin Sanjiu had lost sight of the canned potato chip. She paranoidly scanned the shelves over and over again from top to bottom.

  "Tell me! What am I supposed to do?" Her voice dropped to a low growl.

  The shelves remained silent; there was no response from the snacks.

  Apparently, the Veda had deleted the 'rules explanation', but the Pocket Dimension was still running on the same rules. It seemed like she was taking an exam in which she wasn't given the question, and she had to write out the correct answer.

  After a short moment of contemplation, Lin Sanjiu lifted her shopping basket and touched a bag of corn puffs using its corner.

  She chose the corn puffs and not the ch.i.p.s, as she wanted to see the consequence of getting the wrong answer. The corn puff wiggled slightly before deflating, but it soon returned to normal. There was a few seconds of silence, and nothing happened.

  "So, as long as I don't put it into my shopping basket, it's okay if I pick the wrong packet of ch.i.p.s?"

  Lin Sanjiu thought for a while and squatted down. She stretched her arm and poked a bag of cereal with a rooster printed on its packaging.

  The bag of cereal rustled, prompting Lin Sanjiu to retract her hand. She quickly looked around at the shelves, but the shelves soon became silent once more.

  It seemed like she was right in her guess.

  "The correct packet of ch.i.p.s… Could it be the one that hasn't expired?"

  She looked at the shelves with a quizzical look on her face.

  "In that case, I'll have to figure out today's date and then the manufacturing date printed on the bag so that I can make the comparison… but isn't that too simple?"

  Since she could only make her next moves based on guesses, Lin Sanjiu began to get paranoid again.

  But she still decided to try it out nonetheless. "I should probably check out the magazine at the cashier. The magazine should be of the latest issue…" However, the moment she got up, she froze.

  Then, she lowered her head slowly.

  Similar to any other convenience store, it was impossible to have only one unit per product on the shelf. Typically, a shop owner would arrange a few more packets of similar products neatly together in a line and occupy a small section of the tray. The shelf that Lin Sanjiu used to do her experiment was no different as well. One by one, the black and red packaging lined up on the shelf below. There was a massive rooster printed on each bag, and all of them were showing her their smiling profiles.

  However, there was this one giant rooster that faced Lin Sanjiu directly. Its enlarged beak was pointed towards the top of the package. It looked as if it were trying to come out of the drawing.

  And what surprised Lin Sanjiu the most was that that package was the one Lin Sanjiu poked just before.

  Her heart skipped a beat, and she hastily looked at the other corn puff, the one she touched using the corner of her shopping basket. However, there weren't any changes to the cartoonized leopard. Similar to its other comrades on the shelf, the leopard puffed one side of its cheek.

  "What would happen if I touched it again?"

  Although the idea appeared in her mind, Lin Sanjiu did not touch the corn puff again. The hint given by the canned potato ch.i.p.s was apparent: pick the right ch.i.p.s. Thus, after much thought and consideration, Lin Sanjiu stretched her arm towards a package of potato ch.i.p.s that had no drawing.

  She touched the package and quickly retracted her fingers. Her heart pumped fast like a fluttering bird as she stared unblinkingly at the potato ch.i.p.s.

  Nothing happened.

  Lin Sanjiu then extended her hand once more, but this time, she lingered a little bit longer. Aside from getting some more dust on her fingers, the result was the same.

  Her courage grew deeper and her mind firmer after each attempt when nothing happened. Finally, at her last attempt, she gripped the packet tightly with her fingers and slowly took it off the shelf.

  A deep hole immediately appeared amidst the fully filled shelf, looking like a tunnel that could go on forever. Lin Sanjiu could feel cold air blowing out. Looking at the "hole", Lin Sanjiu did not put the packet of ch.i.p.s in the shopping basket. She instead flipped it over and over again, looking for the manufacturing date.

  She soon found a line of words in a tiny font that was fading on top of the seal: "1986.10.21."

  "It has been so long?"

  Lin Sanjiu was taken aback, as she did not expect a packet of ch.i.p.s to be even older than her. She continued to study the packet of ch.i.p.s, but she couldn't find the expiry date.

  'Well, I should just put it back,' Lin Sanjiu thought inwardly. Since she couldn't leave the lane, she could just summon Puppeteer here. Even though that guy did not seem to be a bright person, two brains were still better than one.

  As she thought, she raised her eyes.

  A blurry face had appeared in the hole, staring squarely at her.

  Lin Sanjiu's heart raced. With a quick motion, an arm shot out from the shelf and gripped onto her wrist. The arm was pale and skinny, but Lin Sanjiu couldn't shake it off no matter how hard she tried. The arm then pulled her towards the shelf. The hair on her back bristled, and just when she wanted to summon the [Tornado Whip], everything went dark.

  The face and the pale arm that hid behind the shelf had all disappeared like magic.

  Very soon, her vision returned.

  The lane, the shelves, the dim light, and the dust in the air… everything remained the same.

  The only difference was that her viewing angle had changed. Right now, she was looking at the place where she had been standing a few seconds ago.

  She tried to turn her head, but somehow, she felt that her body had become very stiff.

  She mustered up all her strength and looked to the left. Nevertheless, she could only see with the corner of her eyes. All kinds of snacks were sitting firmly and obediently next to her.

  Not only her left and right side, but even the level below her was neatly arranged with snack packages and canned potato ch.i.p.s

  She had turned into a packet of ch.i.p.s on the shelf.

  Chapter 571 - It's Time For Some Ch.i.p.s

  It did not take long before Lin Sanjiu had digested the fact that she had turned into a packet of ch.i.p.s.

  It was an odd feeling hard to describe. Even though her mind was telling her that she had turned into a packet of ch.i.p.s sitting on top of a shelf, whenever she tried to move, she did not feel any ch.i.p.s inside her. Her body just became stiff, and she could hardly feel her arms and legs.

  Be that as it may, she had to think of a way to get her out of this situation.

  Lin Sanjiu had a hunch that she was not the first person to get turned into a packet of ch.i.p.s. Since she was limbless now, so she could not use her Evolving Ability. If every packet of ch.i.p.s on the shelves were once human, would she be able to turn back if she pushed herself off the shelf?

  'Maybe it's all because of this shelf.'

  Although her body was stiff, and she did not have her arms and legs, she could still move forward a little.

  After making her mind up, Lin Sanjiu gritted her teeth—if she even still had teeth—and swayed her body forward with all her might. It looked like a simple action, yet she exhausted nearly all her strength. Lo and behold, she did not move much from her position.

  She took a short break to regain her strength. Then, with her newly-regained strength, she pushed herself forward again. This time, she
finally made a little progress. She tilted a tad more forward than all her previous attempts. To her utter dismay, her delight was cut short when she felt a tug at her side. In the next second, through the corner of her eye, she saw a shadow swaying down.

  Thud.

  A packet of ch.i.p.s fell on the floor.

  Lin Sanjiu stared fixedly at the packet of ch.i.p.s on the floor. Her heart raced, and she dared not blink her eyes. She could see the manufacturing date on the package: 1993.12.2.

  The packet of ch.i.p.s deflated a little when it fell on the floor, but it was puffing up again.

  To her dismay, it did not show any sign of turning back into a human.

  Just when Lin Sanjiu was starting to push herself once more, she heard footfalls pace in from the other side of the rack. The person walked rather slowly, and there was also a weird swoosh accompanying every step he took. The moment Lin Sanjiu heard the noise, she heaved out a long sigh of relief.

  "Puppeteer is coming!"

  Perhaps it was because he had heard her call, or he was getting uneasy not seeing her show up after so long. It did not matter to Lin Sanjiu whether it was the former or the latter though. As long as he was willing to come, everything would be fine.

  The footsteps were closing in as the man moved towards the snack corner. Soon, a shadow appeared at the end of the shelf.

  Lin Sanjiu was stunned at first when she had a clear view of the person. Then, she stiffened her body, trying to play dead.

  The person was not Puppeteer.

  It did look like a human at least. It had a head, four limbs, and a body clad in a bright red plastic paper which was the same material used as the packaging of the ch.i.p.s. However, its exposed skin was yellow. It looked dry and was full of bubbles and tiny pores.

  Lin Sanjiu needed some imagination to make out some faint facial features on the craggy face. The longer she stared at the flat figure, the more she felt she had seen the face somewhere before.

  'Hey, isn't this…?'

  Before she could finish her thought, the figure's eyes, which were actually two unsymmetrical bubbles on its face, glanced over at her. Her heart skipped a beat, but it occurred to her that she was not the figure's target. It lowered its head and looked at the packet of ch.i.p.s on the floor.

  "It's dropped," it muttered with a sharp voice, "Dropped on the floor. Ugh, dusty. It can't be sold anymore."

  As it said this, it held out a hand, which was equally yellow and full of bumps, and picked up the packet of ch.i.p.s from the floor.

  "Cannot sell. Mine, then," the flat yellow figure squealed happily. It pinched the jagged edge of the packet and, like everybody else did when they wanted some ch.i.p.s, it pulled the bag open. The package screamed as if its flesh had been split from its skin.

  She shifted her gaze to the packet, and she was surprised to find that it seemed to be thicker and fleshier than she expected. Looking at the torn side, not only was there a thick, flesh-like, layer in red that was interlaced with some white and yellow, but there were also some strands of fascia that connected to the main part of the package.

  The flat yellow figure peered into the packet before delving into the receptacle. When it took out its hand, there was a bloody red piece that seemed like an air-dried version of visceral meat lying on its palm. It picked up the red piece with several large blood vessels attached to it and crammed it into the hole on its face.

  "Oh, that's spicy!" The flat, yellow figure did not chew much. Its face quickly reddened. "I like this spicy Mexican flavor."

  Seeing this, Lin Sanjiu gathered up all her strength again, but this time, she was trying desperately to lean backward. The consequence of getting devoured by that two-dimensional figure after she fell to the floor was not something she welcomed.

  Soon, it finished eating the packet of ch.i.p.s manufactured in the year 1993.

  The yellow figure threw the empty packet aside but did not go away. As if one packet of ch.i.p.s was not enough to satire its appetite, it swept across the shelf with its two unsymmetrical eyes as it mumbled, "Cuc.u.mber, mustard, tomato… Hey?"

  It stopped in front of Lin Sanjiu. "Chicken onion flavor? This sounds delicious."

  In that few seconds, a multitude of thoughts flashed across Lin Sanjiu's mind. She could not use any of her Evolving Abilities, and all of her Special Items were stored inside her card. Right now, the only thing she could bet on was her Higher Consciousness.

  As a crisp rustling rang out in the air, the yellowish two-dimensional figure lifted its hand.

  Chapter 572 - Misfortune Test The Sincerity Of Friend

  The symphony of dark and light spiraled together, moving faster and faster until a clear scene appeared before Lin Sanjiu's eyes. It was the same dank and old lane.

  Lin Sanjiu could see the shopping basket she clumsily threw on the floor. Puppeteer was holding her in his hand.

  His pallid face magnified several folds before her eyes. Puppeteer looked at the packet of ch.i.p.s in his hand. His brows were creased in a perplexed frown, and he had a dark, gloomy expression like dense clouds that blotted the sun in the winter. He seemed to be locked in his thoughts.

  'He's finally here!'

  Before Lin Sanjiu could get over the initial shock of almost getting eaten, she was overwhelmed by the mixed feelings of ecstasy and fear. If she still had a heartbeat, it must be jumping as fast as a galloping horse. But unfortunately, she only had a bag of air-dried internal organs.

  'How did Puppeteer know this bag of ch.i.p.s is me? He would not happen to grab me by luck, would he? Though I do look the freshest amongst the other ch.i.p.s on the shelves. Could he distinguished me from the others in a mere glance based on this?' There were a ton of questions in her mind that Lin Sanjiu wanted to ask, but she could not emit even a syllable now. All she could do now was study Puppeteer's face, which had grown much bigger due to their close distance, and pray hard that she could find some clues from it.

  No matter how intense her emotions were, she was now a bag of ch.i.p.s that could not speak. Aside from the susurration as Puppeteer pinched her, the lane was utterly silent.

  Standing firmly, Puppeteer looked at her with a frowning stare in silence. It seemed to Lin Sanjiu that he did not know the identity of the packet of ch.i.p.s in his hand. Suddenly, something clicked in Lin Sanjiu's mind as she thought of an idea to notify Puppeteer that the package of ch.i.p.s in his hand was her. She split a small portion of her Higher Consciousness and moved to pat his arm. However, before the Higher Consciousness could touch him, Puppeteer snapped, "Don't touch me with that!"

  'Huh?'

  "I know who you are. Otherwise, of all the ch.i.p.s, why would I pick you up?" Puppeteer sneered as if he knew the question in her mind. "I wonder if your brain is really that bad, or if you are a simpleton. Have you forgotten that I've planted a tracking device on you?"

  'Oh yeah! The tracking device!' Lin Sanjiu was filled with jubilation as she immediately pulled her Higher Consciousness back. As she was thinking about how to communicate with Puppeteer, he suddenly raised his head and growled menacingly, "Who's there?"

  Then, he took a step forward and threw something at her back.

  Startled by his sudden display of hostility, Lin Sanjiu turned around, and it was at this moment that something with splendid clarity appeared in her mind.

  However, even if she could talk, it was already too late, not to mention she was now stripped of the ability to speak.

  The moment Puppeteer took her off the shelf, he left a gap on the shelf. A face flitted from the depths of the rack, and it seemed unaffected by Puppeteer's attack. Furrowing his brows, just when Puppeteer going to attack again, a floppy arm popped out from the hole and grabbed his wrist.

  Not only Lin Sanjiu, perhaps even Puppeteer did not expect that. With his fighting power, he did not even have a chance to fight back.

  Both of their eyes blurred, then dulled as they were dragged onto the shelf. The difference was that this time, there was a roar
around her. Puppeteer's cry sounded like the echo in a long tunnel, everlasting and loud, and it filled Lin Sanjiu's ears to the brim until it was snuffed out all of a sudden.

  She had returned to the shelf, facing the lane and the yellowish two-dimensional figure.

  It was only at this moment she realized why she thought the flat figure looked so familiar to her. This was because his uncanny face was the face she saw in the depths of the shelf. However, it seemed that he was not the one who turned her into a packet of ch.i.p.s.

  The flat yellow figure emitted a long chain of freakish noises. There was now a tinge of green on his half-reddened face. Judging from the new bag of ch.i.p.s under his feet, he must have opened up a packet of wasabi-flavored ch.i.p.s when Puppeteer picked her up from the shelf.

  "I must not eat anymore. They are all for sale," he said to himself and turned to leave as if he did not realize the commotion that occurred on the shelf. His crunchy feet stepped on the wasabi-flavored ch.i.p.s, and a bit of yellowish fat squeezed out from the opening.

  The lane quieted down.

  Without looking aside, Lin Sanjiu knew the spot of the Mexican chili-flavored ch.i.p.s was replaced by Puppeteer.

  Well, truth to be told, she felt a little glad that both of them had turned into a bag of ch.i.p.s. Even at this point, when the surroundings were quiet, Lin Sanjiu could feel Puppeteer's intense glare as if he was attempting to set her ablaze with his eyes. Also, she seemed to be able to hear his curses that were laced with venom and anger.

  'Hold on a sec. This is not an illusion.'

  "Why did I not kill you when I had the chance? Why did I let you live until now?" Puppeteer said word by word through gritted teeth. It was as if he wished nothing more than to skewer Lin Sanjiu with those syllables. "A person as doltish as you would be better off dead."

  Lin Sanjiu felt a little insulted. 'How could he blame me for this? The Veda deleted the session with the explanation of the rules, so I'm as clueless as him!'