Doomsday Wonderland c1-855

by N. Heller

  She called out her [Ability Polishing Agent]. Through the silvery beam, she could see dust ramming up against her. She covered her mouth and nose while narrowing her eyes. She did not know which direction she should go. She turned around, and her artist nodded quickly.

  "What do you mean?" Lin Sanjiu asked as she avoided more falling rocks. "Where is the queen?"

  The road to her right was blocked by a pile of rocks and rubble, but that was nothing to her. She activated the [Mosaic Censorship] and blasted all of them away. A tunnel that was about the size of an average person appeared in front of them. After they squeezed themselves through the tunnel and stepped into an open space, both of them looked like dolls made of mud.

  "Silvan!" she shouted again. She could taste rocks in her mouth and smell soil in her nose. She spat on the ground several times and continued, "We have to go now! Otherwise, we will be buried alive here!"

  It was at this moment that the shaking suddenly stopped and her words spread clearly throughout the air. A familiar voice then rang out from the darkness ahead, "I am here!"

  Lin Sanjiu heaved out a long sigh and gestured to the artist. As she struggled to make her way to Silvan, she yelled, "Come out now! The cave is crumbling!"

  Silvan replied something, but it was drowned out by the rumbling noise.

  "Are you hurt?"

  She pushed a rock away and wedged herself through a heap of soil. When she raised her head, she froze.

  A large brain was sitting in front of her, covered in soil and mud. It was crimson in color and its surface was marred with sulci. The reason she did not see the queen earlier on was that it was not as large as it was before, as half of its brain had been pulverized by the series of explosions. The ground was besmeared with its brain matter and flesh.

  Silvan was standing in front of the queen. When he heard her footsteps, he turned his head around.

  He was covered in mud and soil as well. He bunched up all his golden hair and simply tied it behind his head. "Look," he said, his emerald green eyes twinkling. "This thing is still alive."

  Lin Sanjiu stopped her pace, scorched by the fire underneath the twinkle of his eyes.

  "It's sustained too much damage, so it can't do anything right now," Silvan said as he ran his fingers across the grooves on the queen's shell as if he was petting a child. "A thing that can grow into the brain of a planet… Fascinating, isn't it?"

  Looking at him, the scene of when she first met him surfaced in her mind.

  "What are you planning to do with it?"

  The rocks in the distance continued to crumble away. Wave after wave of rumbles was sent into their ears, and the quake intensified, throwing them slightly off balance.

  Silvan did not give any answer to her question. Just when Lin Sanjiu was about to ask again, he suddenly spun his head back.

  "Do you want it?"

  "What?" Lin Sanjiu was stunned.

  "The queen. Do you want it?" The man grinned, showing off his row of bright white teeth. "If you don't want it, I'm going to take it."

  Lin Sanjiu stood on the ground, bewilderment written all over her face. She searched through her brain, trying to say something, but no words came out of her mouth. It was only after a few seconds that she found her voice back. Disbelief accenting her tone, she said, "What do you want to do with it? Do you know that it needs human brains to grow?"

  "There are a lot of people dying every day in the doomsday, so it is not a problem to find a human brain." Silvan smiled. "As for its use, we will know about it in the future."

  "But how are you going to move such a big thing out? The cave is collapsing."

  Silvan nudged his chin. An affable smile broke across his face as he spoke in a gentle tone, "Yeah, you are right. So I am going to stay here with it for a while and wait for the rescue team from the Munitions Factory. Don't worry, I have already sent them my location. Although this isn't something I want, it's time for us to say goodbye."

  Chapter 794 - Avoid The Limelight

  The perpetual fog continued to blanket Shambhala in its greyish body, and Lin Sanjiu could see nothing more than a glimpse of the ground. There were cracks here and there on the land beneath them. The ground was crumbling and caving in on itself, accompanied by an unsettling crunch. It looked like a pool of bubbling lava.

  Lin Sanjiu retracted her gaze and looked back.

  The choppers and the skytrain had been fully occupied when they came to Shambhala. But now, it took only one chopper to fetch the remaining survivors.

  Only five members from the Munitions Factory survived the tragedy. Right now, four of them sat next to Lin Sanjiu, their faces each paler than the last. All of them had put their heads together and chatted quietly, their faces were clouded with confusion. Pricking her ears up, Lin Sanjiu tried to eavesdrop, but she couldn't understand a single word they said, as they spoke Italian.

  Yu Yuan and another member from the Munitions Factory were sitting in the c.o.c.kpit, trying to figure out the correct route to return to Heaven Underworld by using the faulty radar. This was also Lin Sanjiu's first time learning that Yu Yuan could pilot a chopper.

  When a middle-aged man with a goatee spoke, the chopper had already tumbled out of the fog and was heading straight towards the heaven zone.

  "Hey miss, this might not come at the right timing, but do you have a second?" said the man as he looked fixedly at Lin Sanjiu. He was trying to put a smile on his face, but it wouldn't come. His face was set in harsh lines as he continued in the language Lin Sanjiu understood, "So you see, all of us were oblivious to the whole incident, we've lost a huge deal of our comrades, and our captain is trapped under there. Hence, we have no other choices but to ask both you and your friend to return with us to the Munitions Factory and report to our superior."

  "Of course, the Munitions Factory will do everything to repay you, " another woman added. "After all, you saved our lives."

  'Yeah, you're only saying it like that because you still don't know who the real culprit behind the entire incident is,' Lin Sanjiu thought bitterly.

  It was she who brought out the parasite from the Reverie Libretto and set the whole incident in motion. It was she who spread the parasite. It was she who caused the tragedy, and it was she who killed most of their comrades. Lin Sanjiu surmised that things wouldn't be so positive if they found out she was the person responsible. Right now, the only person who could save her was trapped under the ground. Besides, it wasn't her choice whether she wanted to tell the truth or not.

  Even though there were a lot of things going on in Lin Sanjiu's mind, she didn't let any of them show on her face. With a neutral expression, she just nodded.

  None of them expected Lin Sanjiu to be so cooperative. The goatee opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but he said nothing in the end.

  Accompanied by the whirring noise of the propellers, they got closer and closer to the heaven zone. Different kinds of aircraft began to appear, and there was one magic carpet that flew so close, Lin Sanjiu thought it would crash into them. There was no aviation control in the doomsday, so even in the Twelve Worlds, one could only depend on luck to avoid accidents.

  "I've never landed in the heaven zone, nor am I familiar with their rules," said Yu Yuan to his co-pilot, "So I need you to take over the controls."

  Lin Sanjiu's heart leaped and an idea formed in her mind, but she held herself back from doing anything impulsive. A shadow that reached the sky was getting more prominent until it completely filled their vision. There were countless aircraft swirling around the metal arms and the exits, looking like a swarm of bees bustling in and out of their nest.

  "Now!" Yu Yuan shouted. The few members of the Munitions Factory raised their eyes for a second and then lowered them again. In the next second, something smashed into the door of the chopper with great force, and then, followed by a metallic squeal, the door scrunched up and fell from the sky.

  Before they could react, the chopper began to tilt towards one side. A s
trong gale filled the cabin and almost blew all of them away. Just as they were frantically looking for something to hold, Yu Yuan and Lin Sanjiu shared a glance and then leaped into the air through the crack.

  The second they jumped out of the chopper, a large parachute shot out from Yu Yuan's back and slowed down his falling speed. However, it was not the same case for Lin Sanjiu. She did not have the chance to look for a parachute, as she was being watched over by the members of the Munitions Factory. As she plummeted down, she tried to remember the shape of Yu Yuan's parachute by staring at it with squinted eyes. After that, she pulled out her [Battle Item].

  Moments later, another parachute opened up below Yu Yuan.

  The sense of weightlessness had been relieved by a little, but Lin Sanjiu's heart was still racing madly beneath her ribcage like a fluttering little bird. She heaved out a long sigh and gripped the ropes as hard as she could. The green-black color mush underneath grew from a dot to a square as she got nearer to the ground. Very soon, she could clearly see the shapes and colors of rooftops.

  "That was too risky!" Mrs. Manas shouted, startled by Lin Sanjiu's daring move. "What if the [Battle Item] could not imitate…"

  Lin Sanjiu kept silent.

  This was because, at this moment, a blaring siren stretched out and bled into the air. Even though she was in mid-air, she could feel the intensity of the siren piercing through her ears. Her heart dropped and her face turned grim.

  "Quick! Quick! Quick! They are coming!" Mrs. Manas yelled again.

  "I can't control the speed of a parachute!" Lin Sanjiu shouted back.

  Once the aircrafts hopped into the air, it was only a matter of time before they were caught. After a short bout of rumination, Lin Sanjiu reached out for the rope as she stared fixedly at their pursuers. As long as they took to flight, she would put the [Battle Item] away and drop to the ground. After all, the ground was near.

  The speed of the aircraft was immense. Lin Sanjiu couldn't even see when they glided off the taxiways before two of them had already arrived right above her, casting their streamlined shadows on her parachute.

  Lin Sanjiu had been keeping her head up, so the second she saw their figures, she put her parachute away. The [Battle Item] turned back into a card, its sharp edges grazing her palm as she gripped it tight. The sense of weightlessness once again returned and enveloped her whole, seizing her heart as it pulled her down with great force and speed.

  Her pursuers had fast reactions as well. As they dived down to go after her, they shot a white net at her. The net sprayed out and caught her in mid-air.

  The net felt cold, and it made her shudder even though she was already freezing in the air. She examined the net and realized it was made from some kind of malleable metal. It was elastic but strong.

  Lin Sanjiu looked through the holes in the net and saw that Yu Yuan had fallen victim to the net as well. His parachute had been sliced into half and was fluttering down the sky like a leaf.

  The aircraft then began to double back to the landing platform. Trapped in the nets, Lin Sanjiu and Yu Yuan swayed behind the aircraft, their distance merely ten meters away from each other.

  She stepped on the net and took a deep breath. After that, she crouched down and put all her weight on one foot. Sending a gush of Higher Consciousness forward, she swung herself back like a swing.

  The white net swung back and forth, and when it reached the highest point, it suddenly disappeared. After being released from her confinement, Lin Sanjiu pounced forward and grabbed Yu Yuan's net in the nick of time.

  Then, when the [Metal Net] became two in her hand, she wrapped her arms tightly around Yu Yuan, and both of them began falling down again.

  The silver lining was that they were pretty close to the ground right now, not to mention that there were many protruding platforms in the heaven zone that they could use to slow down their descent. After she grabbed the last metal frame, Lin Sanjiu loosened her grip and landed on the ground.

  "Let's go!" She pulled Yu Yuan, pushed a posthuman out of the way, and charged into the heaven zone.

  The Munitions Factory apparently did not have time to inform the heaven zone about their escape. After all, it had only been a few minutes since they jumped out of the chopper. Besides, the chopper might have only just landed. Seizing the chance before they reacted, Lin Sanjiu and Yu Yuan threw themselves into the crowd of people and left the heaven zone.

  They kept running and running until they were certain that nobody was coming after them. They stopped to catch their breaths. Their breathing was ragged and strained, and it was only now that her body began to react to the pain she received when dropping from the sky.

  "What should we do now?" Yu Yuan asked, frowning. His tattoos flickered as sweat glided through them. "Both of us pretty much stand out with our appearances, and it will be hard for us to hide from the Munitions Factory."

  "As long as Silvan returns to the factory, we will be saved," Lin Sanjiu replied hesitantly. "Besides, I doubt anybody would even bother to look for us at that time."

  "So, what about now?"

  Lin Sanjiu fell silent and looked at Yu Yuan. Even though both of them only knew each other for two days, they had gone through a lot together. After a short hesitation, Lin Sanjiu said, "I have a house in Heaven Underworld…"

  Then she raised her head and looked at Yu Yuan straight in the eyes, "It is pretty secluded. Let's go there."

  Chapter 795 - Lost And Found

  When the great swath of green appeared in Lin Sanjiu's vision, her feet gave way and she half fell onto the ground, next to a bush. She allowed her eyes to travel out far. The forest was vast and empty, and she could hear nothing but the rustling of leaves in the wind. After she ascertained that nobody was coming, her highly-strung nerves finally unraveled.

  Sitting next to her, Yu Yuan gasped out his concern. "Are you alright?"

  Lin Sanjiu nodded, her breathing shallow and rapid. Even though it had only been two days since she left for the Munitions Factory, she felt as if a year had passed after going through the chain of blood-curdling incidents.

  "I don't understand," Lin Sanjiu sighed, as she recalled the night where she was ambushed by the combat department from the Munitions Factory. "I went to the Reverie Libretto in search of a clue about the person who wanted me dead. But after getting through so many things, all I got in the end was a b*llshit parasite and nothing else."

  "Somebody is after your life?" Yu Yuan was stunned.

  Lin Sanjiu extended her arm out toward Yu Yuan. After he helped her up from the ground, she patted his shoulder and pointed to the front and said, "Let's talk while walking."

  When both of them walked into the forest, the bushes and the grass susurrated underfoot as if welcoming them back. Suddenly, Yu Yuan stopped. He scanned the surroundings and asked, "Is this the place where you were ambushed?"

  "Yeah, how did you know?"

  Perhaps he was tickled pink by Lin Sanjiu's reaction, for Yu Yuan chuckled. He picked up a branch from the ground and gestured around. "You said the fight occurred two days ago, right? Well, look over here. The leaves and branches in this area look broken and torn, and there are fresh traces here and there on the grass, which indicate that somebody had been here not long ago."

  'The traces could stay for that long?'

  Lin Sanjiu did not have much experience in outdoor activities. She stared at the grass with a frown and nodded.

  "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I lost a Special Item here," said Lin Sanjiu as she picked up a stick from the ground. Then, based on her memory of where she last saw the [Cornetto, Freeze The Fun Time], she poked around in the shrubs. After a few seconds, she turned to Yu Yuan and said, "Mind giving me a hand? I could use some of your help."

  "What kind of Special Item is it?" Yu Yuan asked, "How does it look like?"

  "A Special Item in the shape of a fallen leaf. Since the situation at the time did not grant me the freedom to retrieve it, I just left it in the forest," Lin Sanji
u said.

  She expected a response from Yu Yuan, but she received none. Feeling strange, she jerked her head back and saw the young man looking at her with a weird expression fixed on his tattoo-covered face. He looked as if he'd heard the most peculiar tale from Lin Sanjiu as he said, "So… you want me to help you look for a leaf? In the forest?"

  'That does sound really unrealistic…' Lin Sanjiu thought inwardly. She forced herself back to reality and said, "Don't worry. This forest is not real. It's just a holographic visual."

  After that, she pulled out the camouflage barrier controller. Even though she trusted Yu Yuan a lot, she did not retract the camouflage barrier entirely. She adjusted the range to about ten meters away from them and then turned the knob.

  The trees, the thick layer of leaves on the forest floor, the shrubs, and the bushes began losing their shapes and shrunk back into the ground. A patch of yellow ground then appeared amidst the green. It slowly stretched outward in an ever-widening circular motion like a baldpate of a middle-aged man before finally stopping at the edge of the range set by Lin Sanjiu.

  Without the forest getting in their way, it was easier for them to find the [Cornetto, Freeze The Fun Time]. After both of them ferreted around for a while, Yu Yuan suddenly called out to her, "Hey, is this what you're looking for?"

  Lin Sanjiu followed his voice and saw that he was pointing at a leaf-like brownish figure on the ground with a stick.

  Just as her eyes lit up and she was about to walk over there to have a closer look, a figure rushed out of the surrounding woods. A dash of red and white flashed across Lin Sanjiu's eyes, and she realized the person was going for the fallen leaf on the ground as well. Lin Sanjiu was stunned, but she soon regained her consciousness. She reacted swiftly by sending out a gush of Higher Consciousness at the person, knocking her away before she even got the chance to get close to the fallen leaf.