Doomsday Wonderland

Chapter 1208: Smooth Sailing Lin Sanjiu

If you were to summarize Lin Sanjiu's life experience in the doomsday universe, it would be that nothing she wanted to do ever went smoothly. However, she didn't expect this ironclad rule to be broken in the next few hours.

At first, she and Bohemia attempted to think of the likeliest hiding spots a posthuman would go to avoid guards. They contemplated together, and then Bohemia slapped her on the back, exclaiming, "Wouldn't that be this utility room? Aren't we holed up in here for the same reason?"

"Let's think about other places too," Lin Sanjiu said. She coughed and glanced at the NPC. "Somewhere small and inconspicuous."

The NPC shook his head. "Don't count on me. Look at my size; you should know that I have no affinity with narrow spaces."

'Iswalking around, searching one place after another, our only option?'

Hei Zeji, in the corner, suddenly opened his eyes again. He was evidently good at taking restful naps. Every time he closed his eyes, he looked like he had died; thus, when he opened his mouth to speak, it startled everyone. "Don't talk for a moment."

"Why?" Bohemia retorted.

"I told you to shut up, so shut up."

Though they didn't know why, Lin Sanjiu held Bohemia's hand, signaling her to be quiet. The utility room fell into complete silence, even the sounds of their breathing suppressed, becoming faint and shallow. Lin Sanjiu and Hei Zeji's hypersensory state arose from the same origin. When she concentrated, she faintly sensed something. It was a difficult-to-describe sensation, but it was as if a pair of owl-like, bright green eyes suddenly lit up in complete darkness.

She entered her hypersensory state, and the presence of everyone in the utility room became distinct and clear as if it were imprinted on their neural network. However, apart from that, there was nothing else: no fifth person's breathing, heartbeat, or even the faintest sound of skin rubbing against fabric.

"Did you hear anything?" Hei Zeji asked softly.

Lin Sanjiu shook her head.

"Did you notice the ventilation fan?" He pointed to the corner of the ceiling.

The ventilation fan, which was only as big as a human head, was covered in thick gray dust and no different in color from the ceiling itself. A piece of cloth hung from it, frozen in mid-air.

"What about it?" Bohemia asked. She still hadn't received any enthusiastic gratitude, so her tone carried a trace of resentment.

"Why would there be a ventilation fan in a utility room?" Hei Zeji's eyes lit up like an eagle seeing its prey.

Rather than calling it a utility room, it was more like a storage cabinet, not intended for human use. After squeezing 3.5 people inside, mops and brooms had to be crammed into the NPC's arms. Lin Sanjiu jumped up and stared at the ventilation fan, saying, "It can't be. Besides us, there shouldn't be anyone else in here."

"I didn't hear anything either," Hei Zeji said, "but you can't use your ears to listen."

'Then how did you perceive it?'

"Close your eyes," he whispered. "Imagine you are in a completely dark room, unable to hear or see anything, and then activate your hypersensory state internally. If we were furniture in this room... where would the furniture be now? Can you feel it?"

Lin Sanjiu covered her ears and, after a while, hesitantly nodded. The feeling was subtle and intermittent as if she had conjured it up herself—of space occupied by objects. If the universe were a membrane, then this utility room was like a small universe; their presence and weight were compressed into this membrane, distorting the space.

"I... I think I sense it," she murmured, keeping her eyes closed and her hands over her ears. "Bohemia... that was you, right? You moved."

Bohemia muttered, "He told me to."

"And... " Lin Sanjiu opened her eyes, slowly lowered her hands, and stared at the ventilation fan. "There's another 'piece of furniture' up there."

Hei Zeji said nothing, but the corner of his mouth slightly curled up.

Right then, the ventilation fan seemed as if it were suddenly pushed into the water. Its color and shape rapidly expanded and melted into the ceiling, disappearing without a trace. From the now empty part of the ceiling, a figure fell and swung like a swing in mid-air, rushing towards the door to escape. However, the person probably didn't expect that, under Hei Zeji's instruction, Bohemia had blocked the door. When she saw the large black shadow flying towards her, she made a soft exclamation and threw a wooden bird into the air.

Lin Sanjiu quickly lay flat on the ground, barely dodging the wooden bird as it swelled in the air, though its wooden wings still hit her back.

She rolled over and stood up, almost stepping on the NPC's thigh. The wooden bird's body continued to swell until it could no longer due to space constraints. Its feet landed on the spot where Lin Sanjiu had been lying, its wings holding a man tightly. As it filled the entire utility room, everyone was pushed and pressed against the wall, plastic cleaning tools like buckets having already turned into pieces.

"Why'd you use such a large Special Item in this narrow space?" Lin Sanjiu reproached.

The wooden bird obstructed most of her view, so she couldn't see Bohemia. The only thing she could see was the large head, about the size of a small fridge, and the finely carved feather patterns on top. The bird had an affectionate expression as it leaned its head on the man's shoulder, its wings tightly hugging him to its chest.

"Didn't you want to catch him?" Bohemia said, gasping for air in the tight space. "So, did I not?"

"What the hell is this?" Lin Sanjiu asked.

"It's motherly love," Bohemia retorted. "You don't understand a thing."

When they finally managed to free Red Face from the motherly love, he looked like he had seen better days. His ability allowed him to merge into solid objects like walls, ceilings, and mattresses. Not only could he completely conceal his biological signals, but the traces of his body left on the surface would also form a reasonable illusion, such as the ceiling ventilation fan or a mattress stain. He had found a small, unremarkable utility room suitable for hiding but didn't feel at ease, so he climbed up to the ceiling, burying himself inside it, only leaving traces of a ventilation fan on top. He couldn't have predicted that just after he had hidden, Lin Sanjiu would come in carrying half of a fat man, followed by two other people, looking as if they knew their way around.

"Long time no see," Lin Sanjiu said, observing him. Red Face was recovering well and showed no signs of being a guard. "Remember me?"

"You took my stuff," Red Face said. He didn't look as impressive as before, as his combat items had all been damaged. After glancing at Hei Zeji a couple of times, he said more politely, "So, do you want me to write a gaming guide for you?"

Everyone was taken aback.

Lin Sanjiu became suspicious at how smoothly things were going.

"You heard us?" she said.

"Yes, this guy is an NPC, right?" Red Face nodded towards the fat man. "I don't know why he is helping you, but his statement is correct. As a gamer, I do know how to earn hidden points."

A smile had appeared on his face. The bright red paint on his wrinkled skin cracked and fell like powder; anyone who saw his expression would know he wouldn't say a word even if they pressed him for an answer.

Bohemia lifted her head and sniffed heavily, like a rabbit sniffing to see if it would rain.

"Smells like perfume," she muttered, following the scent, and gradually approaching Red Face. "You're so ugly and tasteless. Why are you bothering to wear perfume?"

Lin Sanjiu sniffed twice and suddenly understood. "You just met with Gardenia, didn't you?"

They must have not only met but also had close contact, which would explain the perfume scent on him.

Red Face's lips moved several times, then he reluctantly said, "I have a personal grudge with her. It has nothing to do with the current situation."

"Where is she?" Lin Sanjiu asked.

"The perfume seems to have been sprayed directly on him," Bohemia said, resembling a drug-sniffing dog. "Are you sure it's the woman who used it? Maybe this guy still feels like he needs to try."

"Is Gardenia with you?" Lin Sanjiu said, then realized a flaw in her thinking. She had taken all of Red Face's Special Items, so he couldn't possibly have something that could hide a living person. But then, what about that net used to capture people?

"When you entered the lab, you were holding a long pole, and it fell to the ground with you," she said, staring intensely at Red Face. "When I sucked you out, I didn't even spare a glance at it. So, you managed to get hold of it again after you came out? What's it used for?"

"I told you, this situation has nothing to do with her," Red Face said, then hesitated for two seconds. "I know you and that woman aren't friends—"

"Enough with the nonsense. Is she with you?" Lin Sanjiu snapped.

Pausing for a moment, Red Face slowly reached into his pocket—just as he moved, Hei Zeji, who had been minding his own business with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes and turned his head. Red Face's hand trembled, and the thing he had just taken out clattered to the ground, extending into a long pole.

"This is my Swiss Army pole," he said reluctantly. "It has multiple uses."

One use was to open up into a huge insect-catching net. As soon as the bulging net opened, Gardenia rolled out of it. Before even standing up and checking her surroundings, she raised her hand and said, "Don't believe him. I'm the gamer you're looking for."

'Another one?'

It was obvious that these two had overheard their conversation. But why were they both fighting over being the gamer?

"The population density in here is too high," Bohemia complained. Looking closely at Gardenia, she turned her head and said in a low voice, "Your standards for beauty are off."

"What?" Lin Sanjiu said.

"Why haven't you ever praised me for being good-looking? It must be that you find plain looks like this attractive."

'Plain looks?'

Lin Sanjiu couldn't help it—she knew the matter was irrelevant but still wrapped her gauntlet-encased hand around Gardenia, forcing her to look up. The moment their eyes met, Lin Sanjiu froze.

There was no change in Gardenia's facial features, face shape, hair color, body, or even the designs on her skin. Anyone who saw her would say, "This is Gardenia." However, her breathtaking, captivating beauty had vanished like a dimmed light.

"I really am the gamer," Gardenia said anxiously, seemingly unaware of the changes in her appearance. "Otherwise, how would I know you can team up with NPCs? Of course, I regret what happened between us... And I'm actually happy you didn't become a guard."

Lin Sanjiu didn't want to hear another word from her. As Red Face was about to speak, Lin Sanjiu waved her hand, and both obediently shut their mouths. The room fell into silence.

While she was lost in thought, someone soundlessly approached the other side of the utility room door and lightly knocked.

Lin Sanjiu was startled out of her thoughts. She quickly turned around and glanced at Hei Zeji.

Hei Zeji's face turned sour. "What are you looking at me for? Do you think I'm your watchdog?"

"Um... Can you let me in?" the person outside said softly. "I was hiding nearby... and overheard you. To tell you the truth, I'm the gamer."