Doomsday Wonderland c1-855

by N. Heller

  "H—H—How?" He wiped his nose and turned back to Yu Yuan. "How did she do that?"

  That was also the question in the man's head as well. Confusion ran amuck in his mind as his face contorted into a grimace of pain.

  Lin Sanjiu did not give any comment to Woyu's inquiry. She turned her head down and cast a downward gaze at the man.

  "How do you feel right now? Angry? Indignant? You thought that I was the only one in the aircraft, so you let down your guard; otherwise, you wouldn't have fallen for my trick," she said in an insouciant demeanor as she clutched at the man's hand that was on her shoulder. She pulled his glove off before continuing, "Do you want to know why I went through the trouble and set you up so that my comrade could pull a sneak attack on you?"

  The man stared fixedly at his glove. He opened his mouth several times, but no words came out. His body was so mangled that it deprived him of such an easy feat. Yu Yuan must have shattered his spine, and Lin Sanjiu must have crushed his organs.

  Judging from his condition, he wouldn't be able to see the sun tomorrow.

  As the man lingered on the borderline between life and death, Lin Sanjiu giggled. "Because you are not worthy enough for me to fight you with my full strength."

  Woyu let out a long sigh, and his eyes warmed up. As if he lost all his strength, he fell onto the floor like a marionette that had its string cut. He gazed up at the ceiling of the hangar bay. There was only a bracing frame left since the supporting vessel was gone. In the distance, Lin Sanjiu's voice was getting fainter as he slowly slid into oblivion. As his eyes blurred, he finally lost consciousness.

  By the time he woke up again, he was entirely wrapped in bandages. His arms and legs were put in casts, and all his wounds were neatly stitched. The pain in his c.h.e.s.t had lessened as well.

  Yu Yuan was sitting by his bed, reading the magazine in his hand. His eyebrows, behind his ears, between his fingers—all were peppered with blue paint. It seemed like the paint wouldn't come off entirely unless he washed it a few more times.

  "Hey there," Yu Yuan greeted, not peeling his eyes away from the magazine, "You look like you have something to say."

  Woyu nodded hurriedly. His head was completely wrapped by the bandages, so he couldn't speak now.

  "I'll do the talking. I probably know what you want to say." Yu Yuan picked up a glass of drink and took a sip. Tattoos covered his face, so Woyu couldn't read his expression. "Well, the thing is, the man died before he could say anything. When I reached the bridge, I realized the man had set Exodus to an emergency recovery state. I don't know why he didn't undo it before he left the bridge."

  'That's because he thought to return to the bridge after he got rid of me.'

  "So I helped Lin Sanjiu reset the passcode to get the system back online. I found the coordinates of the canyon in the system log, and we are now going back there," Yu Yuan said. His voice carried an apathetic tone as if the entire incident was very normal to him.

  "Silas told us everything," he said, pulling Woyu's attention back to him. "Lin Sanjiu and I both think that you did a great job. Oh yeah, she wanted to say thank you in person."

  Woyu was slightly shocked. A sudden wave of embarrassment and guilt swarmed over his heart. 'Luckily, Silas didn't know that I almost gave up.'

  "I should go and call Lin Sanjiu," Yu Yuan said as he exited the infirmary. Woyu stole a glance at the clock and found out that he had just been unconscious for a short period of time. This was because Lin Sanjiu boarded Exodus at midnight and it was just 9 am in the morning now.

  'It's 9 o'clock in the morning…' Woyu thought inwardly. Then, he raised his arm and pulled his bandage apart a little to reveal his mouth.

  A series of hurried footsteps could be heard from the corridor outside. As the door pushed open, Lin Sanjiu, who had changed into an oversized shirt unlike her usual tank top and long pants, appeared in front of Woyu. When she saw that Woyu was trying to get up from the bed, she walked forward and put a cushion behind his back. Then, she thanked him earnestly.

  Woyu couldn't talk a lot now, so most of the time, he just listened. After a short while, Lin Sanjiu finally went into the main topic.

  "I will not erase your authority as an administrator of Exodus. I know this may not mean much to you, but I hope that Exodus will become your home," Lin Sanjiu said as she held Woyu's hand tightly. There was a gentle smile on her face, which melted the harsh line on her face. Right now, she looked more like a woman than ever. "Welcome. Also, I think this belongs to you."

  As she said, she shoved the glove into his hand. The glove melted into the texture and color of the bandage. It was nearly impossible to differentiate between the glove and the bandage. Truth to be told, Woyu was actually very surprised that she would give him such a powerful Special Item without batting an eye.

  It took him quite some time before he finally came around to his senses. He looked at the glove and spoke in a croaky voice, "Thank you so much." Then, something popped up in his head, so he said, "About the communication device…"

  Lin Sanjiu's brows furrowed a little, but it was swift. Then, she sighed.

  "Did you…" Woyu had no idea why, but he felt as if she had a bone in her throat. However, after shilly-shallying for a moment, she still finished her sentence, "Did somebody pick up the call when you used the communication device to call me?"

  'How did she know?'

  "I guessed so." Lin Sanjiu lowered her head, her hand clutching tightly at the coverlet. "That communication device can't be used anymore… That person is too far away from here, and the device can only support a long-distance call once, then it will be out of use."

  It seemed to Woyu that she did not want to continue this topic, as she continued without waiting for him to say anything, "I will give you a new one. As long as you don't make a mistake while calling me, we can contact each other anytime through the device."

  "Are… Are you going out now?"

  "Yes, I have to check-in," Lin Sanjiu nodded. Then, she turned to Yu Yuan and said, "You ready?"

  Since there was still some time needed for Exodus to arrive at the canyon, Lin Sanjiu decided to have Yu Yuan bring her to the checkpoint to check-in. After she gave Woyu the new communication device and ordered Silas to take care of him, she went out along with Yu Yuan. The infirmary became silent. Woyu laid quietly on the bed. He thought for a moment, and then suddenly, he gritted his teeth and got up from his bed.

  "Silas, bring me a pod," he ordered, to which Silas replied, "All right."

  Very soon, a maglev pod arrived. Woyu slowly and arduously inched toward the pod and threw himself on the seat. After he took a short breather, he said, "Let's go to the prison area."

  When he arrived at the prison area, he trudged into the cell holding Lollipop.

  "Lin Sanjiu has asked me to tell you that she is busy today, so she is not going to come here and let you check-in," Woyu said as the door behind him closed silently, "But since you haven't checked-in for more than one day, if something bad happens, you just call Silas. She will…" Woyu paused and let out a spell of coughing. "She will inform me."

  It had been some time since Lollipop was confined in here. The girl had put on some weight, and she had become chubbier. She glanced at Woyu and then scoffed sarcastically, "You? Look at yourself, what can you possibly do if something really bad happens?"

  "I…" Woyu had to pause again to catch his breath before continuing, "I can come and help you."

  "Please don't make me laugh. You can't even walk properly right now." Lollipop got down from the bed and stretched her body. "Anyway, it doesn't really matter if I can't check-in right now. After all, I am trapped here, and look around yourself, there is nothing in here that can harm me anyway. By the way, this house can fly?" She pointed at the window. "I saw the clouds last night!"

  Woyu pulled himself over the window. He looked out of the window and replied hesitantly, "Don't tell anybody about this. You are not supposed to know that."

  "Tell
anyone? Me?" Lollipop paced back to her bed and said exasperatedly, "I am all alone here, do you think there is a second person for me to talk to? By the way, when are you going to let me out?"

  Woyu followed after her and stammered, "I don't know about that… You—You have to ask Lin Sanjiu. I—I only know…"

  "What do you know?"

  "I only know what calamity is about to befall you."

  When Lollipop jerked her head back, a hand wrapped in bandages fell on her shoulder.

  Chapter 809 - Farewell

  As she slumped down on the couch, a surge of exhaustion washed over her like a dark wave.

  Lin Sanjiu took the [Mask] off, and the appearance of the man sizzled away from her face. She took a long breath and set her foot on top of the table. The men's trousers she was wearing sagged loosely.

  She knew there was no point in getting angry at a system, but she couldn't help but feel slightly resistant when she greeted Silas. 'She welcomed me warmly every time, how could she delete my authority right away once I was gone?'

  "Hey, fetch me something to drink," she commanded indignantly while rubbing her neck.

  Yu Yuan nestled into the other side of the couch, glancing at her. After spending nearly ten hours in the narrow pilot's seat, he ended up walking like an old man suffering from sciatica when he stepped out of the aircraft.

  "Hey, did you hear me?" Lin Sanjiu threw her head back and shouted again.

  "Er, Erm… You have to say its name."

  Woyu, who was covered in bandages, edged his way from the doorway into the dining room. His chubby cheeks dangled limply on both sides of his pallid face. Seeing Lin Sanjiu and Yu Yuan both jerk up from the couch, he shook his head, signaling them that he could walk on his own. Slowly, he trudged into the dining room. He had no crutches, but there was a hollow iron pipe in his hand, which somehow looked familiar.

  Lin Sanjiu raised her head and called for Silas after she pulled a chair out for him. She then threw Woyu a question, "Why are you out of the bed? Do you need anything?"

  "I heard you were back, so I thought to stop by," Woyu said as he s.u.c.k.e.d in cold air through his teeth to ease the pain. He then continued his sentence, "It's kinda boring, you know, staying all alone at the infirmary by myself."

  Then, he looked at the table and mumbled, "It's only been one day. I was hiding for my life under this table yesterday, hardly daring to breathe, and right now, I'm sitting here, alive. It really felt like a dream."

  Yu Yuan pulled out the on-screen menu for him. "Can I get you anything?"

  "Ah, thank you. A glass of whiskey, then."

  Lin Sanjiu immediately raised her head and said, "You know, you shouldn't be having any strong drinks right now. Your body is still recovering."

  "I really could use a glass of whiskey now," Woyu said, trying his best to smile, but the corners of his lips moved a little upward before falling down again. "Don't worry, I know my body well. It heals better with some spirits."

  Lin Sanjiu watched him finish the glass of whiskey in one gulp. When he ordered a second glass, her iced coke was served as well. She couldn't recall when was the last time she had a coke. She played with the ice with her straw. She took a sip at a time, reveling in the prickling and cold sensation as the beverage washed across her tongue. Woyu suddenly spoke at this point.

  "What happened to the man's body afterward?"

  Lin Sanjiu still did not know the name of the man who sold her the house. However, it probably didn't matter anymore since he'd rolled and fallen down the blue sky. Lin Sanjiu frowned and took another sip of her drink before saying, "We threw it down from the sky."

  Woyu's lips trembled slightly. He still couldn't shake off the fear the man instilled in him.

  "I didn't really want to kill him actually," Lin Sanjiu chomped on the ice and swallowed it like candy, "But I didn't expect him to already be injured and unable to withstand our attacks."

  "I can't see any reason why you wouldn't want to kill him," Yu Yuan interjected indifferently. He picked up a piece of scrambled egg from the plate and continued, "That man was a threat. We didn't know when he would fight back, so he was just better off dead."

  "I'm certainly not sorry for him. He deserved it, but…" Lin Sanjiu felt like explaining something, but for a moment, she couldn't find the right words, so in the end, she kept her mouth shut. Woyu bottomed up the glass of golden liquid in mere seconds. There was a flush of redness on his chubby cheeks. Then, he asked Silas to bring him the whole bottle of whiskey and a bucket of ice. The wine in the storage was basically kept by Lin Sanjiu for Qing Jiuliu. It was the first time somebody took the wine since she parted ways with Qing Jiuliu and Magus.

  "Why didn't you want to kill him?" Woyu's voice rang out, forcing their attention on him.

  He lifted his thickly wrapped arm and filled the glass one-third full of whiskey. After that, he popped several ice cubes into the glass. He picked the glass up and took a sip. Then, he continued, "You… Usually, people go for the kill when their life is in jeopardy, but you're different. Even though those people from the Munitions Factory tried to kill you, all you did was just knock them out and send them away. While for me, my community and I came after you because of your red crystals, and you didn't kill me either. Why?"

  Lin Sanjiu was a little taken aback by the question. She had never thought about this before. She usually wouldn't go for the kill when facing an opponent, but it was far to say that she had a soft heart either. However, this did indeed set her apart from other posthumans.

  "I can kill if the situation calls for it," she mumbled after swallowing a piece of ice. "When the doomsday first befell on my world, my ability was very weak. However, just because you're new to the doomsday, doesn't mean that reality will stop throwing you curveballs and predicaments. To escape and also to survive, I killed… A lot."

  The other two listened quietly. The only sound in the dining room was the buzzing of the central air conditioner.

  "Everyone wants to be strong, but do you know what's really good about being strong?" Lin Sanjiu asked as she offered Woyu a grin. She could feel that her breath had become cold due to the ice she consumed. "Being strong makes me a good person."

  "Huh?" Woyu was stunned.

  "In this era where survival precedes morals, practicing good is far more difficult and often costs more than doing evil. A dead man will not stand up and harm you, but that is not the same case for a living person, especially those you have let off. You will never know when they will strike back." She looked up thoughtfully at the ceiling. Since Silas couldn't repair major damage like this, there was a hole that was smashed through by Woyu. "Compassion is a luxury, especially now. It is far more luxurious than any other time in human history. I'm lucky to be able to afford it."

  Sitting at the other side of the table, Yu Yuan looked silently at Lin Sanjiu. His face under the tattoos held no expression, and his eyes glistened with a strange light that nobody could read. A deadly silence roamed about in the dining room. No other sound could be heard apart from the clatter of ice cubes and the sloshing of water when Woyu gulped down the glass of whiskey. He put the glass down and wiped his lips. His face and neck were thoroughly red as he said, "But… that is not "why"…"

  "Hmm?"

  "That—That is not why you don't… don't kill," Woyu stammered. Instead of letting this embarrassment stop him from going on, he displayed an almost strange tenacity that seemed like he would not stop asking until he had an answer from her. "Being strong allows you to do so… But, but you still don't have to do this at all."

  "You are right." Lin Sanjiu frowned at the feeling of being questioned. It felt as if someone was trying to pry into her heart with a stick. Be that as it may, on second thought, it could have just been that she was not used to talking about her feelings, so she did not feel that offended. "Let me think about it…"

  The question had raised Yu Yuan's attention as well. He put the fork down slowly on the table.

  "I
f I must say why…" she began speaking softly after a while. Even with her voice low like a sigh, it still sounded clearly in the quiet dining room. "Firstly, I just simply don't think people should die this way, and secondly, I'm afraid of loneliness."

  "Loneliness?" Yu Yuan parroted, sounding a little surprised.

  "Yeah," Lin Sanjiu leaned on the couch and curled up her legs. "Somewhere in the universe, human civilizations are collapsing one after another because of various reasons. Meanwhile, those of us who are lucky enough to survive will be thrown into a different world in every fourteen months, and like a bird that can't find a tree to perch, we will drift on and on with no end in sight."

  She hadn't thought about it much before, but now the words came to her so smoothly, it was as if she had practiced saying them a thousand times. "There is no such thing as forever. Our family, our friends, none of them stay in the end. Even the Twelve Worlds are merely temporary landing spots for all of us. Nobody will know if we could get back here if we leave. I'm not afraid of death, I'm not afraid of duoluozhongs either, but I'm afraid of loneliness. When I am alone, it's like I am still alive, but dead on the inside."

  She sighed and looked at the card in her hand, wondering when it had appeared. She was stunned for a few seconds. When the line [Hello, sister?] fell into her eyes, she felt as if she heard Ji Shanqing's call. It was soft and soothing.

  "Whenever I let my opponent go, it's like I've become alive a little. A connection will be formed between us. After I help or save someone, even if he or she doesn't appreciate it, even if we will never become friends or see each other again, that's okay to me. At the very least, I know that there is someone out there in this boundless world who is connected to me, and that is all that matters. Eventually, a new bond is forged. In this way, perhaps one day, humanity will be able to survive in a whole different way."

  Lin Sanjiu shook her head and nipped off her sentence. She laughed, "I don't know what I'm talking about, please don't laugh at me."

  Woyu turned his head and asked in a muffled voice, "But you're not going to forgive everybody, are you?"