Doomsday Wonderland c1-855

by N. Heller

  "Can you please shut the hell up?!" Lin Sanjiu could not help shouting back at her. "I'll kick you into the water if you don't shut your mouth!"

  "Hmph! What a wuss!" Soulsqn harrumphed indignantly. She turned her body around and shifted her target. "Hey, what's your name?"

  With the back of the young man's head facing them, they could not see his face. All they could see was his well-toned and powerful back muscles, which contracted and relaxed with every stroke he made.

  Perhaps he was still a little bit angry about what they had put him through, so he did not reply promptly. His muffled response only came after a few minutes. "Didn't you say you're going to help? Well, I don't expect you to swim, but can you at least try to take some weight off me? I'm squashed!"

  The fatty and Soulsqn looked at Lin Sanjiu in unison since she was the heaviest among them.

  Lin Sanjiu had been running madly for a long time. Right now, she finally had a chance to take a breather. Her limbs were shaking spasmodically. With mixed feelings of guilt and shame for hitchhiking, she replied in a shaky voice, "I'm… not a swimmer. I can't use my rocket underwater either. Why don't you tell us what we can do to help you? "

  "Get down from my back."

  "I can't."

  Lin Sanjiu somehow heard the young man sighed, but she could not be sure because the splash of water drowned out every other sound. It appeared to Lin Sanjiu that the young man had some sort of device strapped to his legs. With a kick, he would bound a considerable distance forward. It seemed like all fun and games to him, and he did not look like he was drowning. After a few more strokes, the young man began to speak again, this time asking a question, "How strong are you?"

  "I can fare for myself pretty well," Lin Sanjiu answered. She took a glance at the fatty, who was standing on her shoulder. Sensing her gaze, the latter shook his head profusely, and his entire body quivered like white Jello. Then, she threw a furtive glance at Soulsqn and added, "This… girl and I are pretty strong."

  Although Soulsqn was eccentric and hard to control, Lin Sanjiu had to admit that her abilities were pretty tricky.

  "That's good then," the young man replied without turning his head, "Time will keep chasing you guys who participated in the foot race until you get ashore. I can carry you three for the time being, but we are closing in to the most difficult part of the swimming competition. Since you guys said you're pretty confident in your combat skills, I'll be counting on you."

  "Hold on a sec." Smelling something fishy, Soulsqn asked while exchanging glances with Lin Sanjiu, "The most difficult part? What are we up to?"

  Soulsqn had almost lost her skin in the footrace. Her skin was now on the verge of falling off her face, so she felt that she had to be more careful.

  The young man's breathing became heavier. He did not answer Soulsqn's question, but asked another question of his own instead, "Where is Time now?"

  Hearing this, the fatty turned to look over his shoulder. "You're leading now. There are a few more people in between us and Time."

  "The wave will be here soon," the young man said, huffing. It seemed that the burden of carrying three people on his back was beginning to take its toll on him. "The wave… It will be huge."

  The trio fell silent.

  "However, that isn't the most fearful aspect of the wave," the young man continued to say, "It's an artificial wave. Not only will it try to push us back towards Time, but it will push us towards any dangerous spots."

  "T-then, what do you want us to do?" Soulsqn stammered, "There's no way we can fight Time!"

  "We can't do anything to Time, so our only way out is to break through the wave," the young man said, his voice almost drowned by the beating of the water, "But we are now entering another zone."

  Lin Sanjiu sighed deeply.

  Water was splashing around on all sides. The wind, which had a very high moisture content, assaulted Lin Sanjiu, soaking her body from head to toe. Every gust of the wind would steal some of her body heat away, causing her skin to burst into gooseflesh from the chill. Coupled with the bone-deep fatigue that had built up within her ever since the footrace, Lin Sanjiu wished that everything would end soon.

  "What's the next zone?"

  As she asked her question, she gripped the young man's shoulder with her right hand tightly. She used her left hand to wipe her face. Before she could return her left hand to its original place, through her wet eyelashes, she saw something appear in front of the stream. Water gushed down from them, hammering the water below, and giving rise to a thin layer of humid mist. It took quite a while for the mist to dissipate. Then, they finally saw the real features of what had emerged from the water below.

  A dozen divers stood on top of the row of cement columns, preparing to plunge into the water below.

  Chapter 614 - Queen Kelpy

  Right after all the water rolled down the long chain of eminence, plunging into the mass of water beneath with fearsome force, the divers, who had been submerged underwater, were brought to light. They looked weary, and their complexions were pale.

  Apparently, they had begun their competition a long time ago.

  Unlike orthodox diving, there were no diving boards installed on the pillars. Each contender was standing on top of a platform with a surface area of less than one-meter square. Lin Sanjiu had no idea how long or what the divers had experienced inside the water, but some of the pillars were empty.

  Though the remaining divers had survived, their conditions were not any better either. They were shivering, their exposed skin was arctic white, and they appeared so fragile as if they would fall from the pillar at any moment. Even from afar, Lin Sanjiu could see their heaving c.h.e.s.ts and hear their labored breathing.

  "What's wrong with them?" Lin Sanjiu looked up and mumbled, "They seem so…"

  "They seem so dead," Soulsqn added, "Their countenances are even paler than yours."

  "Reverse diving," the young man said, answering their doubts. "The first stage of diving requires divers to keep jumping until they appear above water. The only chance you have to breathe in oxygen is at the moment you leap out of the water. If you cannot do it, you either die of suffocation or get killed by the things beneath."

  "How do you know so much?"

  "I once participated in the diving component. Anyway, the divers' target is us, and their goal is to topple us into the water below. When they reach their goal, their session will be over, and we will have to replace them as divers to continue the game."

  "So, we are going to fight them?" Soulsqn asked, giving the young man a hard smack on the back with merriment. "Awesome! I'll make sure they will regret making us their enemy!"

  The young man sighed. His skin twitched a little after receiving the smack from Soulsqn. "Well, I hope you will live up to your—" Before he could finish his sentence, the water level rose suddenly. As if hit by waves, his body tilted a little bit. "Brace yourself. The wave is coming!"

  However, it was too late for the team to do anything. They did not even have a chance to wipe the water droplets off their faces before they were thrown aside by the surge.

  The young swimmer told them everything about the game, but he had not warned them to hold on tight. Perhaps he wanted to seize the opportunity and have the tidal wave knock the three of them down from his back. Nonetheless, his wish was granted. The moment the tide came, all three burdens on his back were swept away.

  They had underestimated the strength of the waves.

  Imagine that a thundercloud had formed underneath the water. For a moment, Lin Sanjiu could not hear anything aside from the roar of water that sounded like thunderclaps. She did not even have a chance to react before she was thrashed here and there by the torrent.

  The thunderous surge of water engulfed her entire face, drowning out all sounds. The water stung her eyes, and her lungs burned ice-cold as she choked on the foamy liquid. A burning sensation spread quickly across her nostrils as more water flooded her nose. Worst of all, she cou
ld not kick herself out of the water no matter how hard she tried. Whenever she pushed herself close to the surface, more water would crash on her, inexorably pushing her deeper into the darkness below the river.

  Lin Sanjiu's brain was a muddled mess. There weren't any concrete, substantial thoughts in her mind, and all she could do was flail her arms and legs helplessly as she tried to propel herself towards the water surface. If it weren't for Mrs. Manas, who covered her nose and mouth with Higher Consciousness in the nick of time, she would have exhausted all her strength in brandishing her limbs due to being overwhelmed by the fear of drowning.

  The moment she snapped back to reality, she lost her way. Everywhere she looked, there was darkness. Soulsqn and the fatty were gone. Holding her breath, Lin Sanjiu swam upward with all her might, as she knew she did not have much time left.

  Even at the bottom of the river, she could very clearly see the gleam of the light ripple, penetrating all the way through the darkness. Time was getting closer.

  As the first wave quieted down, the undercurrent slowed down. Grasping the golden opportunity, Lin Sanjiu swam up as she rummaged through her arsenal of Special Items. However, before an idea could even take shape, a word appeared in her mind and her blood boiled.

  The Internationale!

  The trumpet sounds were muffled by the time they reached her ears. Nevertheless, the effect of [Heed to the call of socialism] was so powerful that even with the slightest sound, it could raise the hearer's morale. With the newfound power that surged within her body, Lin Sanjiu pinpointed a direction and made her way toward it.

  "Over here!"

  The river was still choppy, but the intensity of the waves right now paled in comparison to the initial surge. Huffing heavily like a cow, Lin Sanjiu looked ahead. She saw the fatty sitting on top of the young swimmer's head, waving his stubby arm as he yelled, "Quick! Come over here! Time is right behind you!"

  Saving the fatty was probably the best choice she ever made.

  When Lin Sanjiu finally reached the young man's side, he turned around to look at Lin Sanjiu and sighed.

  The young man had an aquiline nose, black hair, a pair of bushy eyebrows and long eyelashes. He did not hide his true feelings as he sighed, "You are back."

  Lin Sanjiu nodded.

  "Fine then, at least I don't have to carry three people now. Hold on tight," the young man ordered. Then, he kicked the water and sprang towards the pillars, seeming to have used a Special Item to thrust him forward. He slightly levitated above the water like a speed boat, and the momentum generated broke the water into two foamy walls that flanked his sides.

  Lin Sanjiu could not help shuddering at the cold breeze. Then, the fog in her brain cleared, and she realized what the young swimmer was talking about. She turned her head to the fatty and said, "Where is… Where is the girl that was with us just now?"

  "She fell into the water," the fatty explained. Then he frowned. "But she should be able to hear my trumpet too. I don't know why she hasn't returned yet, since she fell into the water a little bit later than you."

  'Soulsqn is not a human, so how is there any possibility that she would be summoned by [Heed to the Call of Socialism]?'

  Lin Sanjiu bit her lower lip and squinted her eyes to look back. After getting through so many ordeals together, their kinship had changed from that of mortal enemies to some sort of not-too-close-but-you-are-still-my-buddy type of relationship. When the fact that they were leaving the flesh worm behind came into her mind with splendid clarity, Lin Sanjiu had an impulse to rush back and save her.

  But Lin Sanjiu pressed down the urge, as she knew that it was impossible.

  She could barely see any contenders on the water surface, so how was she going to locate Soulsqn, who the waves had plunged into the bottom of the river? Putting everything else aside, with her swimming skills, going back into the river was no different from walking into the grave.

  "Don't blame yourself," the fatty comforted after seeing her expression, "The number of one's days is fixed…"

  Before he could finish his sentence, they had reached below the pillar. At this moment, a sharp whistle rang out through the air and caught their attention.

  "They are coming!"

  Both Lin Sanjiu and the fatty looked up, and they saw a few figures jumping into the air.

  Perhaps they saw that the young man had two people on his back, for most of the divers targeted him. If they could topple all three of them into the river, at least three divers would be freed from the game.

  Without wasting any seconds, Lin Sanjiu summoned her [Tornado Whip] and sent a tornado towards the few figures in the air.

  There was no Special Item more suitable than [Tornado Whip] in dealing with airborne enemies. The whirlwind that came caught some of the divers off guard and flung them away. The divers gasped in surprise, but they quickly recomposed themselves as they reeled back to their pillars.

  Lin Sanjiu let out a half sigh. However, before she could relax, her skin bristled and goosebumps ran up her spine. She looked skyward, and to her surprise, she saw one diver brave against the howling wind and charge straight at them.

  Chapter 615 - Guess Who He Was

  The young man said he was going to leave everything to them, and he meant it.

  Lin Sanjiu wondered why the young man could leave his back to somebody he barely knew without any hesitation. He seemed to be unperturbed by the whistling wind above as he merely darted a glance at it and looked away in the next second before continuing to swim forward at full speed.

  The water that splashed high into the air then crashed down and lashed the people below painfully like a gigantic whip. Lin Sanjiu was almost flung into the stream by the young man when he suddenly sped up. Everywhere was dripping with water, and it was so wet that she kept sliding down. In desperation, she coiled her arm around the young man's neck.

  "Hold on tight, fatty!" Turning her head to yell at the fatty, Lin Sanjiu gritted her teeth, twisted her body, and threw herself back onto the young man's back.

  Due to her impetuous action, the young man let out a violent fit of coughs as he choked on a mouthful of water. But she paid him no mind. The diver coming from the air was closing in fast.

  Lin Sanjiu tilted her head and looked skyward as she began to circulate her Higher Consciousness around her body. However, before she could do anything, the figure in the air yelled, "It's you!"

  "He knows me?"

  Stunned, just as Lin Sanjiu wanted to take a better look at the person, the young man picked up his speed once more. He skidded along the surface of the water, creating two liquid walls that flanked his sides as he slipped away from the diver by a whisker. Missing his mark, the diver plunged directly into the stream below.

  Nevertheless, the crisis had not lifted yet. The water behind them suddenly shot upward, and the diver emerged from the dense spray of water in the air. Riding on top of the waves, the diver went after them as he yelled furiously, "Give me back my Criminal Suit!"

  Lin Sanjiu was startled by the diver's words. She subconsciously tightened her grip on the young man's shoulders, earning herself a grunt.

  "What's wrong? Do you know him?" the young man asked exasperatedly.

  "No! I don't know him!" Lin Sanjiu replied with a shout. Some water found the chance to rush into her mouth. She had grabbed the Criminal Suspect Suit from the man who was hell-bent on coming to the Olympics, but according to the time rule, no posthuman could stay in an apocalyptic world for more than 14 months. The man should have been transferred away long ago, so why was he still here?

  Lin Sanjiu spun her body around. Just as she was about to stand up, the diver behind them hurled a light sphere into the air as he shouted, "Stop them!"

  The light ball scintillated as it whistled through the air and plopped into the water in front of them. The team was dumbfounded, and their hearts raced into their throats. Before they could regain their composure, the river before their eyes exploded, discharging a massive
amount of water into the air. The sudden tidal surge almost caught the young man, as he had been traveling at his top speed, but fortunately, his reaction was swift. The second he sensed something was wrong, he made a quick decision by kicking the water, turning his device to the highest speed, and retreating backward.

  Be that as it may, the wave continued to grow larger and larger like a humongous tsunami on its destructive voyage to ravage everything in its path. Behind them, the diver was charging straight towards them. Right now, they were like feathers floating on a choppy sea, thoroughly drenched and powerlessly weak. It would not even be too far-fetched to say that a single wave was all it would take to throw them all into the receptacle of the blackish water beneath them.

  When the wall of water reached as high as the pillars, gravity kicked in. The water that weighed millions of tons crashed onto the river, giving rise to yet another destructive tidal surge that swept and devoured all the contenders in the blink of an eye.

  Lin Sanjiu had once again unintentionally enc.u.mbered the other contenders.

  Not all the water returned to the river at the same time. Since there was so much water in the air, some of it needed more time before slamming into the river. The young man reached the pillar, and when he was about to charge forward again, he saw something and stopped.

  Piqued by her curiosity, Lin Sanjiu raised her head and looked ahead as well. Then, she froze.

  A row of froth was bobbing in front of them, forming into a barrier of sorts. It looked like humans that each had a head and four limbs. They did not fall into the water but instead stood on the surface of the river with their hands held together. It was as if they were attempting to barricade them in.

  "What the hell are those things?" Lin Sanjiu muttered.

  She immediately killed the thought, as she knew now was not the right time to wallow in something like that. She turned her head around, and her heart skipped a beat at what she saw. The diver was closing in fast, and he was now only a stone's throw away from her. It occurred to her that he did not fear the consequence of falling into the water, and she soon found out the reason. There was a cable strapped around the man's midriff which connected him to the pillar. Whenever he dropped into the water below, all he needed to do was reel in the cable.