Doomsday Wonderland

Chapter 1243: Endless Mountains and Forests

Lin Sanjiu didn't expect that after her first sentence, she wouldn't have another chance to pass on Gardenia's message properly.

Bonnie Bunny, whose hard candy was suddenly snatched away from her mouth, reacted as soon as she was surprised. Her shadow leaped onto the roof of an abandoned building and pounced into the air. In just a few leaps, she landed not far away from the two on the slope. It wasn't until her feet touched the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust, that Yuan Xiangxi finally managed to open his mouth, uttering a confused "What?"

Having the same strength level as Puppeteer was no joke.

Seeing that she couldn't jump over the railing to reach the road, Bonnie Bunny chased after the two relentlessly along the outside of the fence, refusing to let go. Even though she was much faster than them, Yuan Xiangxi managed to create some distance between them earlier, probably from running away from her since far away. While Lin Sanjiu dragged Yuan Xiangxi along as they ran, she turned her head and almost gasped at the sight: Bonnie Bunny was incredibly nonchalant, and whenever she ran, she would disappear into the trees on the slope for a few seconds, only to reappear ahead of Lin Sanjiu when she returned to her field of view. She was already waiting for them.

There's no point in running!

The road didn't split, and they couldn't outrun Bonnie Bunny's speed. Lin Sanjiu decided to slow down and catch her breath while keeping an eye on Bonnie Bunny. Although Bonnie Bunny couldn't jump over the fence, her attacks could reach them. Instead of running mindlessly, Lin Sanjiu focused on defending against Bonnie Bunny's attacks.

"No, let's stop running away... Huff... Ah!"

As a dead person, Yuan Xiangxi seemed more alive now than before. He trotted behind her, taking several deep breaths and his voice being serious and loud – Lin Sanjiu couldn't hold it back anymore and raised a finger towards Bonnie Bunny in front of her, signaling her to wait, and then reached out to touch Yuan Xiangxi's nose.

"Why are you breathing so hard when you don't even need to breathe!"

Yuan Xiangxi blinked and replied with an oh, as if he just remembered what she told him that he was dead. The next second, a blank white mist appeared on his face again. "Why did Gardenia say I'm dead?" He touched his face, feeling his features like a blind man touching an elephant as he mumbled softly, "I don't feel dead..."

While dragging him along like flying a kite, Lin Sanjiu felt almost no weight. She no longer had any doubts about Gardenia's words. She glanced at Bonnie Bunny slowly approaching them outside the fence, raising her voice slightly, "You are indeed dead. That's why when I pulled you out just now, you came out of Lava."

Bonnie Bunny's shadow paused for a moment and then continued to approach them leisurely along the railing. She lightly tapped the railing with her hand, producing a lively rhythm.

"Even if you say he was swallowed by lava and is sent to the hospital, you won't be any closer to completing your mission. He is no longer a living person; even if he can be registered as a player, it's only because of his unique existence... How can you treat him as a patient when he's not even alive?" Lin Sanjiu said, turning to look at the approaching shadow of Bonnie Bunny. She raised her voice, "I am standing in a place without lava. At most, you can only kill me; you can't make me be swallowed by lava... In that case, why don't we each go our separate ways and save some time?"

When Bonnie Bunny smiled, a long and narrow dimple appeared on her face, clear as day.

"Aren't you the one who took one of my Special Items? It's impressive that you came up with such an excuse for him. Whether or not he counts as a mission target, I won't know until I try." Her voice was sweet and pleasant, making one want to listen to more if it weren't for the unsettling content. "As for you, you took my stuff, and you managed to get out so quickly; you really have some capability. Since you've already figured out my mission, I'll let you keep the item. However, in exchange, you'll have to pay the price by repeatedly going to the hospital, alright?"

Bonnie Bunny then suddenly slapped her forehead. "Oh, I forgot. Saying it won't change anything."

"You can't force me into the lava." Lin Sanjiu stood still, crossing her arms.

Bonnie Bunny tilted her head in thought. "Is that a challenge?"

Lin Sanjiu had always been compromising and tolerant, not because of Puppeteer, but because of the power Puppeteer represented. So, even though she was now facing Bonnie Bunny, she wasn't completely defenseless. If she didn't want to go down the road, she believed Bonnie Bunny wouldn't be able to force her down. Moreover, she had the geographical advantage, while Bonnie Bunny faced various constraints.

The only thing she had to watch out for was Yuan Xiangxi, who appeared ethereal and dazed.

"You've been sent to the hospital several times, haven't you?" Lin Sanjiu turned to look at Yuan Xiangxi. He seemed much calmer now compared to when he was being chased, as if he believed 1+1 was definitely greater than 1. Holding back the words in her heart, she said, "Tell her how you managed to leave the hospital."

"I told them I wanted to leave," he replied without hesitation.

Even though Lin Sanjiu had mentally prepared for it, she couldn't help but be stunned. "Then... the NPCs... just let you leave?"

"No, they would make me wait until someone else was discharged, letting us to leave together."

Even if the excuses she just gave Bonnie Bunny didn't make her believe, these few sentences of pure fiction would be even less convincing. Just as Lin Sanjiu glanced towards Bonnie Bunny's direction, she suddenly froze. Bonnie Bunny had disappeared from that spot without her noticing.

"Step back quickly!" Lin Sanjiu pulled Yuan Xiangxi, and they hurriedly retreated to the other side of the road, stopping just before crashing into the guardrail.

The mountain wind gushed down from the woods behind them, fluttering their clothes and making a rustling sound with the leaves. Other than that, there was no other sound in this quiet world, as if Bonnie Bunny had never existed.

Where did she go?

Although Lin Sanjiu knew he wouldn't have an answer, she still looked back at Yuan Xiangxi. Under the far-stretching deep blue mountains, his long hair danced in the wind, and the strands scattered and danced around his pale face, as if he would be blown away by the wind if she let go.

"You are a genuinely good person. You'll understand when you see him," Gardenia's voice suddenly echoed in her ear. Gardenia knew she was running out of time, and her words were hurried and fragmented, but most of them were about him. Lin Sanjiu felt that at most, she understood and remembered only half of what she said. Now that she had seen Yuan Xiangxi, many of Gardenia's words suddenly surfaced in her mind.

"Did she change her target after seeing someone else pass by?" Yuan Xiangxi whispered, not noticing Lin Sanjiu's distraction as he stretched his neck to look into the distance. "I hope they can escape."

Lin Sanjiu didn't think she had such good luck, especially since Bonnie Bunny had a bit of an old grudge against her. To be honest, Bonnie Bunny inadvertently bringing Yuan Xiangxi to her saved her a lot of trouble. She might have used up all her good luck for the next three months. She ordered Yuan Xiangxi to stay where he was and not move while she took a few steps towards the direction of the lava, her gaze scanning the slope below repeatedly.

"Do you know where this round of lava is hidden?" she shouted.

Yuan Xiangxi hesitated before replying, "It seems to be in a rectangular area, but I can't remember if it's this round or the previous ones... I stayed there for too long... Uh, where's Gardenia?"

Lin Sanjiu continued to look at the slope below without answering him.

Yuan Xiangxi, prone to drifting into his thoughts, said with a distant look in his eyes, "I haven't seen her for a long time. How is she?" She didn't answer, so he veered off-topic on his own. He added, "Speaking of which, I did receive a pocket dimension reward that allows me to continue existing after death... But she probably misunderstood. I haven't died at all."

When Lin Sanjiu finally saw the small figure below clearly, her gaze flickered, and she didn't have time to say anything. She turned and rushed towards Yuan Xiangxi's position, extending her arm to pick him up from the ground and running towards the distant road.

From the slope below, a twisted and almost uncontrollable figure rolled up at an astonishing speed. At times, its head touched the ground, at times its thigh did, as if an invisible giant hand was relentlessly pushing it up. It was almost impossible to tell it was a person at first glance.

In an instant, the person with no autonomous ability broke through the highway guardrail and rolled straight towards Lin Sanjiu and the others—at this point, continuing to flee along the road was meaningless.

There was only one way to make the lava surge out of the Lava world and onto the road, a method Lin Sanjiu had witnessed with her own eyes: If a player attempted to leave the world's boundaries, the lava would follow closely behind, surging out until it had completely swallowed that player.

Of course, Bonnie Bunny wouldn't take this risk herself, but if she wanted to throw someone out, who could stop her?

Lin Sanjiu had stood in the area belonging to Mushroom Society, watching a player die in the lava from afar, so she wasn't in danger. But what if—what if there were two unrelated posthumans in front of the lava, chasing the escaping player? Would they be pulled back into the Lava world again, or would they die just like the player trying to escape?

Regardless of the answer, Lin Sanjiu knew that she couldn't outrun the lava with her own speed. When facing the power of a doomsday, hardly anyone could escape on foot. The unlucky soul that Bonnie Bunny had caught to lure out the lava was practically as good as dead, and if she kept running along the road, she would soon join the ranks of the deceased.

The only hope lay in the endless mountains and forests on her right.