Doomsday Wonderland c1-855

by N. Heller

  The man looked at the red crystals, then at her. He did not even say "yes" before he hastily went forward to reach for the bag of red crystals.

  Perhaps [No Coincidence, No Story] had already begun to do its wonders, for the second the man was gone, the tour guide arrived in front of Lin Sanjiu. The tour guide was slightly stunned when she lifted up her head and saw Lin Sanjiu's face; her hand stopped rummaging in her sachet.

  "Did you sign up for the expedition? Because I don't really remember seeing you in my team…" the tour guide asked with a frown as she measured Lin Sanjiu's face.

  "Yes, I did."

  "Really?"

  "Well, people tend to treat me as if I'm invisible, so…" Lin Sanjiu shrugged.

  The tour guide was stunned and looked utterly confused. She continued to size Lin Sanjiu up, unconvinced. "Wait a sec, I have all the details of the people who joined this expedition…" As she spoke, she turned her head around to make the headcount. "There are 14 people in total…"

  Seizing the chance as the tour guide was counting the noses, Lin Sanjiu jerked her head and looked at the skinny man. He did not notice the episode that was happening in the team. Right now, he crouched in front of the bag of red crystals while holding a heap with his hand. The red glow from the crystals illuminated his face.

  "Oh, all 14 people are present," the tour guide said. She smacked her head as she pinned the visitor pass on Lin Sanjiu's shoulder. "I hope you don't mind. My memory is bad."

  Of course, Lin Sanjiu wouldn't mind.

  Since she was certain that the skinny man might come back at any time, to prevent him from bursting her guise, she quickly followed after another visitor and walked towards the war hammer once she had gotten the visitor pass.

  'Could this be the "guard"? But this veil of light didn't appear when those staff members were coming out of it.'

  Staring blankly at the translucent blanket of light, Lin Sanjiu raised her head and only then realized it was projected down by the wings of the eagle. The light curtain flowed like a wall of water with a silver l.u.s.ter. The wavy pattern soon smoothed out and formed into a giant mirror in the blink of an eye, her middle-aged man's face appearing on it.

  "Shopping expedition to the Munitions Factory No. 6," a small line manifested in the mirror. "No. of people who pass through: 2. Checking result: permission approved."

  Lin Sanjiu sighed inwardly, as she never thought it would be that easy.

  As the mirror faded away, she looked at her own reflection for the last time. The mask was almost gone, but the silver lining was that as soon as she went through the mirror, she could ditch the expedition and infiltrate the Munitions Factory.

  'Well, at least for now, I still have the look of an unwholesome, stoic middle-aged man.'

  As the thought flitted across her mind, Lin Sanjiu turned her eyes a little and saw a person through the mirror.

  The tall man hurried to the entrance of the Munitions Factory. He seemed to be searching for something or somebody, as he kept looking around. His head of shoulder-length hair fluttered in the wind. Even though she only had a glimpse, Lin Sanjiu instantly recognized him as the Munitions Factory worker who passed by her earlier.

  'Is he looking for someone?'

  'He was looking for me!' Startled, Lin Sanjiu quickly peeled her eyes away.

  "Hold her!" the man shouted, and it was at this moment that the mirror finally disappeared. Lin Sanjiu hurriedly took a step and threw herself into the city of steel behind her.

  Chapter 746 - Meowie Hu’s Voice

  "Hold that guy!"

  As an angry shout erupted behind her, Lin Sanjiu darted into an alley. This was the only pathway where she did not see any signs of people wearing blue-colored combat suits.

  A series of messy pitter-patters echoed across the street in the Munition Factory after the man shouted. Lin Sanjiu pulled the mask off her face and turned it into a card. She looked to the left and right, frantically looking for a way out. Then, her eyes glowed when she saw a ladder hanging to one side of the wall. She took a few quick steps toward it and hopped onto it, causing the rust-laden ladder to let out a harsh metallic scream.

  Raising her head, she attempted to look through the white mist but to no avail. Everywhere she looked, there was white mist. She did not know where the ladder would lead her to, but she had no other options left. As the footsteps were getting closer and closer to the entrance of the alley, Lin Sanjiu reckoned it was not the right moment to be indecisive.

  Her movements were quick. Moving up the ladder, she put up a considerable large distance from the ground in the blink of an eye. Be that as it may, the ladder seemed endless, and no matter how fast she went, she was unable to reach the end.

  Soon enough, several posthumans dressed in blue combat suits dashed out of the entrance of the alley, and Lin Sanjiu could see their shadows swaying on the ground.

  She immediately stopped climbing upward and pressed the ladder as close to the wall as she could to stop it from rattling and giving her location away. Puffs of thick white smoke fluttered like silk in the wind from nowhere and painted her entire vision white. Lin Sanjiu had no idea why, but she felt warm when engulfed in the smoke.

  Silently and cautiously, she tugged her leg in as she hid inside the mist.

  Staring at the empty alley, the staff members of the Munitions Factory slowed to a stop.

  "Where is he?" a youthful voice grunted. "There are so many forks here, it will take forever to find him."

  Lin Sanjiu tightened her body as she listened closely.

  "Captain Levin," as another series of chaotic footfalls came into the alley, a woman's voice wafted out, "Who is that guy?"

  There was no reply from the man named Levin. Lin Sanjiu continued to wait in silence for a few seconds before the man began to speak.

  "He is an impersonator attempting to infiltrate into the Munitions Factory," said Levin. He had a deep, mellow voice that sounded as if there were strings vibrating inside of his throat. "Though his objective remains unknown."

  "Captain." The woman walked a few steps into the alley and went closer to the ladder. "With all due respect, the road condition here is exceedingly complex, and it will be difficult to look for him with just us. Besides, all of us have our own missions, so why don't we refer this case to the security department and have them…"

  "That is not necessary."

  Levin interrupted, and the woman turned silent with shock. Perhaps he realized his attitude was a little inappropriate, for he cleared his throat and began speaking again. "What I mean is, you guys go on your mission. I will handle this."

  It seemed that none of them realized their target was just above them.

  The last thing Lin Sanjiu would want right now was for the mist to be lifted by the wind. As Lin Sanjiu prayed in her heart for the wind to not appear at this moment, she heard the woman reply hesitantly with a yes. Following this, a clacketing noise ensued. Lin Sanjiu was a little relief when she saw them was finally leaving, but there was one shadow that remained unmoving.

  "You got something to tell me, hmm?"

  "Erm…" A cracking voice that Lin Sanjiu believed belonged to a teenage boy said falteringly, "Is captain going to notify the security department?"

  'Is this very important?'

  Lin Sanjiu lowered her head, squinting her eyes. Vaguely, she saw a man with shoulder-length hair. And then she saw him turn his body halfway, staring straight at the last staff member who refused to leave.

  "That is none of your business. Captain knows what he is doing." A silhouette rushed back and tugged at the teenage boy, trying to pull him away. The female voice then jumped in. "Let's go. We still have a mission to complete."

  Under Levin's gaze, the teenage boy lowered his head like a deflated balloon. He said something again, but nobody could hear him well.

  "Of course, I will inform the security department," the tall man suddenly said, shocking the duo. He then let out a sigh, sounding like the wind that
gazed through the strings of a piano. "I understand there is a ridiculous rumor going around in the factory and that's made you guys a little uneasy. However, rules are rules, so there is nothing you guys should worry about. I will inform the security department right away. By the way, what is the mission you have this time?"

  "We received intel that a new pocket dimension has appeared in the southwest direction, so we are heading there to check it out," the woman answered. Lin Sanjiu had no idea why, but she had a hunch that the woman was kind of scared of the man.

  "Oh, I see," Levin chuckled. "Then, good luck in hunting."

  After that, the duo gave obeisance to Levin then went away clumsily.

  Levin sighed deeply once he saw both of them leave. He flipped his collar and waited. Then, when a buzzing noise came to life after a few seconds, he spoke in a low voice and sounded weary. "Close off the outer area, and then send a few more teams to me. Yeah, I'm looking for somebody. Tell them to be careful. I don't want to alarm the people over there. Okay, I will send you my location right now. Alright, thank you."

  After he hung up the call, he did not go away but remained standing quietly in his spot. After a while, he put his hands in his pockets and strode into the alley.

  He stopped next to the ladder and angled his head up.

  In that instant, even though she knew her [No Coincidence, No Story] was still in effect, Lin Sanjiu's muscles were pulled taut. However, just as she readied herself to jump down and engage Levin in a fight, the building above her spewed out more smoke and the fog thickened. Levin looked around and then walked away when he found nothing.

  Lin Sanjiu let out a long sigh of relief inwardly. She remained silent as she listened to the fading footsteps.

  She was very certain that she had never come across this man before, so she did not know why he was so hell-bent on looking for her. Could it be that he was just doing his job and trying to chase her out of the Munitions Factory?

  "Lin Sanjiu," a crispy voice suddenly called out to her. "We are here, where are you now?"

  It was the cat doctor!

  "Come out now!" Puppeteer harrumphed impatiently. "Don't make me wait for too long."

  'They're also in Heaven Underworld?'

  Lin Sanjiu felt the blood rush to her head as she was overwhelmed by waves of exhilaration and joy. All thought and reason was flushed to the back of her mind like a burst of noise.

  "Hey, are you there? Why don't you say something?" the cat doctor asked grumpily.

  "I'm right here!" Lin Sanjiu's heart leaped as she replied excitedly, "Meowie Hu? When did you guys get here?"

  The second she finished speaking, a flurry of footsteps rang out in the distance. The footsteps were quick like a gust of wind, and the person arrived below the ladder in the blink of an eye.

  Lin Sanjiu's heart stopped beating for a moment and her blood ran cold. It was only at this moment that she heard Mrs. Manas' voice, "It is the effect of a Special Item. You have been tricked! Run!"

  Nevertheless, Mrs. Manas was too late. Lin Sanjiu lowered her head and Levin's face appeared clearly in her vision. His hair fluttered in the air, and his pitch-black irises held nothing but coldness.

  Lin Sanjiu did not run, as she knew that was never an option. If she leaped down, she would send herself straight into Levin's clutches. On the contrary, if she went up, she would expose her back to Levin.

  Right now, there was only one way left.

  Gritting her teeth, Lin Sanjiu brandished her whip and sent a barrage of tornados at Levin. After that, she took out a metal case from her card and smashed it forcefully on the ladder, releasing a string of sparks into the air.

  The case contained some resources the grand prize had prepared for her, and it was quite heavy. Gripping it tightly, she slammed the case several times onto the ladder, sending a loud jarring noise across the alley. Very soon, the ladder was broken into half and the lower part of it fell to the ground.

  Before Lin Sanjiu climbed up the stairs to run away, she yelled at Levin, "Have you heard of route 300?"

  As expected, Levin was stunned by her action. Seizing her chance, she activated the [Defense Forcefield] and went up the ladder at her top speed. Levin did not seem like someone she could mess with, and since he had called for foreign aid, Lin Sanjiu figured it was best not to engage him in a melee.

  Her decision was proven to be right very soon. By the time Lin Sanjiu arrived at the end of the ladder and jumped onto the top of the building, she heard footsteps, probably of more than ten people, arriving below.

  "Good timing! She is up there! Keep this perimeter clear and go up to search for her!" Levin barked out his order. He did not even need to give them a description of Lin Sanjiu—all they needed to do was search for someone who wasn't wearing a Munitions Factory uniform. "Also, this is the refining workshop, right? Get them out of there. Now!"

  Chapter 747 - A Damsel Saving A Hero In Distress

  There was a thick mist that hovered above the roof. It filled Lin Sanjiu's eyes to the seam and felt warm on her skin. She hunkered down, feeling as if she had fallen into a large chimney. Aside from the mist that fluttered across her eyes, she could not see anything else.

  The clamor of people and footsteps were bubbling over like a cauldron of boiling water under the ladder. Very soon, the ladder began to rattle. Gritting her teeth, Lin Sanjiu grabbed the handle tightly and snapped the welding seam apart. She then rose to her feet, stomped on the ladder heavily several times until it broke off and fell to the ground from the roof.

  The people below screamed in shock and horror. Lin Sanjiu took a deep breath as she wiped off the layer of sweat oozing on her forehead.

  "Where are the other three groups of people? Are they in yet?" somebody shouted. "Tell them to put their skates on and move faster! We gotta surround the refining workshop before she escapes!"

  The one who gave the order was not Levin; the voice was alien to her. However, she had no idea why, but she found a sense of familiarity in that sentence.

  She was certain that breaking off the ladder would not hold her pursuers for long. Covering her nose and mouth with her hand, Lin Sanjiu fumbled across the rooftop. After going around for several minutes, she finally found a door at the corner.

  Similar to most of the buildings in the Munitions Factory, the door was greenish-grey and weighed a ton. There was a dial-like lock with two hands fastened on the handle of the door. She pulled on the lock with great force, and the door slid open with a rumbling noise. Beams of brassy yellow light spilled out from behind the door, and she could hear the muffled noises of movement from inside.

  It now occurred to her that the "refining workshop" had never been infiltrated before.

  After Lin Sanjiu scanned the area, she dashed into it. The second she was inside the room, she was taken aback by what she saw. Unexpectedly, what was in front of her was not a floor or levelled ground, but a spiral staircase.

  She squinted as her eyes adjusted to the light. She turned around, scanning her surroundings. Nevertheless, before she could get a good look at what was under the staircase, a dark figure rose up and filled her vision.

  A swing stage stopped and clicked into the top of the spiral staircase. The person riding on the swing stage then pushed the door open and stepped onto the staircase.

  'Did he come to lock the door?'

  As the thought flitted across her mind, the man lifted his head. He became dumbfounded at the sight of Lin Sanjiu, the key in his hand dropping to the ground.

  Realizing the consequence of the man calling out to his comrades, Lin Sanjiu pounced forward, her movements swift and agile like an apparition in the dark. She punched the man's neck, and as he staggered back, she grabbed his collar and dragged him towards her.

  Throwing him on the ground, Lin Sanjiu immediately followed up with a hit to the back of his neck and knocked him out cold. Huffing, Lin Sanjiu picked up the key and looked downward. Then, she froze. The building was exceedingly spacious; a spi
ral staircase fixed to the wall ran from top to bottom of the building, connecting each floor. Speaking of the floor, it looked like a ring with a hollow center. Dust and air particles bobbed up and down, tainted by the yellow light and appearing like golden sand in the air.

  "All workers, evacuate the building immediately!"

  A large group of Munitions Factory combat personnel rammed into the building with weapons in their hands. The clamor they caused rang throughout the entire building, and there was clacketing noise here and there in the air. Countless figures dressed in deep-blue coats rushed down the spiral staircases like the ants in a disturbed ant nest. One after another, swing stages zoomed up and down as they sent all the workers to the ground floor.

  Lin Sanjiu hastily crouched down and hid behind the swing stage. She only popped her head out after several seconds.

  When she looked down toward the first floor, she became stunned.

  The one that led the team of combat personnel in blue combat suits was somebody she was very familiar with. The girl was wearing an umbrella skirt with a red and white striped pattern. With every step she took, the skirt spun rapidly into a blur of red and white in the brassy yellow light.

  "Lollipop? She returned?"

  She mumbled under her breath. However, when her eyes caught sight of another two figures, the shock instantly robbed her of speech.

  There were another two Lollipops on the other side of the hall. Both of them lead their own team and wore matching outfits—umbrella skirts with red and white stripes; they also had similar hairstyles. Even though Lin Sanjiu could not see very clearly due to the distance, she was certain that both of them had pointy chins as well.

  'They... Aren't they human?'

  Levin.

  Levin continued to walk forward and stopped at the center of the open space. He glanced around at the workers and then his voice announced, "This is an emergency. Please cooperate with the inspection and clear the building as soon as possible."