Doomsday Wonderland

Chapter 1302: Unnamed

With a hiss, the water cabin door opened, and the pressure was released. The therapist's soft whispers were gone. When the splashing water sound accompanied a foot hitting the ground, Ji Shanqing still didn't dare to turn around.

"Grand prize?" For some reason, this word sounded almost as if she was about to cry.

Ji Shanqing was startled and quickly turned around, seeing Lin Sanjiu, drenched from head to toe. Her clothes and pants were soaked, strands of hair sticking to her cheeks, and her skin turned pale from the water. Her amber eyes seemed clouded, unable to focus. He wanted to smile or say something, but he could feel his face stiffening for a few seconds. Finally, he could only lower his head slightly and call out, "Sis."

Unexpectedly, Lin Sanjiu suddenly let out a heavy sigh of relief. She hurriedly walked over and buried her head in his neck—not the usual way she hugged him, but regardless of their height difference, she stooped and embraced Ji Shanqing. Water soaked through his clothes, and the damp, cool breath filled his nostrils, making him stiff and unable to move.

Lin Sanjiu's voice sounded close to his ear, with a hint of lingering fear, "You're here... Luckily, you're here. I thought... I thought I was alone."

What happened?

Ji Shanqing felt a little uneasy because Lin Sanjiu seemed fine. In fact, she looked even more translucent, clear, and refined than usual, as if she had undergone an artistic purification. Her body's lines and bone structure seemed to have been significantly optimized, giving her a sense of being naturally perfect.

It was indeed worthy of a project that he endured for nearly two hours—the resort had various consumption options. If he wanted to see his sister all the time, he had dozens of choices, and he didn't have to suffer from the agony of being separated by the water cabin.

But there was no reason for his sister to feel uncomfortable, right?

Lin Sanjiu took a deep breath, and the bewildered expression gradually faded. She lifted her head from the grand prize's shoulder. "I'm fine," she said, wiping her face. "I just regained consciousness... How should I put it? Have you ever experienced waking up alone in the afternoon?"

He hadn't, but Ji Shanqing just listened quietly.

"When you wake up from a nap, it's almost dark, and the room inside and outside the window is dim. There's only you in the empty room. It feels extremely empty and lost... Without a sense of direction in life, not knowing where you are..." Lin Sanjiu rarely revealed such weakness, even though it only lasted for a short minute or two. "When I was in the water cabin, all self-awareness dissipated. When I first opened my eyes, it felt like I had just woken up from a dream where I had been abandoned by the world for countless years. But when I woke up, I found that the dream was real... The feeling was much worse than waking up from a nap. It's almost unbearable, making me want to cry. Fortunately, you're here. Fortunately, I saw you, and my reason gradually returned."

Ji Shanqing was shocked by this description from his sister's mouth. His body and fingers trembled uncontrollably, and his gaze passed over her, looking at the water cabin and the therapist. Even the Veda didn't expect Lin Sanjiu to fall into such a psychological state after waking up. After all, although it was common among humans, he was not exactly a human himself.

Perhaps the gods had a little pity for him.

"But don't worry, I'm fine now," Lin Sanjiu said, steading herself and realizing that the surroundings were no longer the villa. She was taken aback. "Where are we?"

Ji Shanqing opened his mouth, but no words came out.

He stood there blankly for a while, not knowing what to do. Various mixed emotions and thoughts surged in his mind. Then, Lin Sanjiu noticed the note in his hand. "Is this for me?" She saw the word 'Sis' on top, took it from him, and the grand prize was startled back to reality.

"Do you want to go somewhere?" Lin Sanjiu quickly scanned the note, put it back into the card inventory, and stared at him. "Where do you want to go? It's still two months away."

"S... Silvan came to find you," he said in a low voice.

He didn't lift his eyes to see his sister's expression, but he mechanically and systematically recounted everything that had happened—from beginning to end. Being one of the Veda, multitasking was not difficult for him; it was even a good way to distract himself a bit and catch his breath. While he spoke, he kept thinking about a seemingly distant question: Why did the Veda remove all human emotions? Pondering this question seemed to help him detach from the present moment, as if he could float up from his body and look down from a distance at this small space in the cabin, as if he had little to do with what was happening.

He had been puzzled before because, given the Veda's intelligence, it was impossible for them not to understand the immense power contained in human emotions. Even if emotions and impulses obscured much of their reason and intellect, the Veda should have recognized their preciousness. It was a stupid and lazy way to remove all emotions without giving it a second thought.

The only answer was that, for the Veda, human emotions posed too great a danger.

This was somewhat strange. The Veda, as an entity, had incorporated many features of various life forms to gain the strengths of multiple species. However, the Veda dared not even touch human emotions.

"Grand prize?" His sister keenly noticed his distraction and called out to him gently. Ji Shanqing shivered, and goosebumps appeared all over his body, as if he were a death row prisoner who had just woken up from a daydream and found himself standing on the gallows. The words he needed to say had already been said, so he clenched his fist, tucking it into his sleeve, and resisted the urge to curl up.

Lin Sanjiu looked at the water stains on the cabin floor and remained silent.

"Although we agreed to become allies against the Great Deluge, I never asked him to find a solution for my predicament... To be honest, when he suddenly said that, I was a bit... Well, it doesn't matter anymore." Lin Sanjiu waved her hand, still not raising her gaze. She said it nonchalantly, as if chatting casually, but Ji Shanqing knew her well enough to know that she must have put in a lot of effort to appear so nonchalant.

"Is he injured?" Even a blind person could see that his sister was suppressing some very intense emotional impact. The more she tried to conceal it, the more he wanted to cry. "If it's not a fatal injury, it's okay. He's strong, and I'll figure out a way to deal with his scars in the future. Worst-case scenario, I can make him soak in the water cabin. Look, my scars are gone."

Ji Shanqing forced himself to make a sound of agreement.

He knew very well that everything Lin Sanjiu was saying at the moment was her subconscious first reaction. She instinctively wanted to minimize the major conflicts between him and the others. Maybe she didn't even realize it herself, but when the impact of the news subsided, her true reaction would surface—and then she would realize how terrifying she could be.

How could he have known back then that the Veda's place of existence was a series of empty rooms at dusk?

By keeping human emotions, it was like waking up alone at dusk again and again, with negative emotions infinitely amplified. The echoes collided with the walls and bounced back, gradually becoming stronger until it became deafening.

No wonder they performed emotion removal surgery on every new immigrant. He was too arrogant, thinking every step he took was right.

"Well." Lin Sanjiu glanced at the therapist, saying, "Let's go back to the beach first. It's time to let her go back."

Ji Shanqing silently activated the stealth vessel and turned it back toward the beach.

To his surprise, Silvan was not waiting on the beach. He must have seen the aircraft crash and knew they would eventually return to the beach, but for some reason, he had not appeared. After releasing the paper crane and after the therapist left, Lin Sanjiu and Ji Shanqing stood silently on the beach for a while. Suddenly, she spoke.

"You absolutely cannot lay a hand on my friends again."

Here it was, the real reaction.

"They are not the reason you were trapped in the Data Stream Library; you were trapped there because of yourself."

Ji Shanqing lowered his head, looking at the white sand beneath his feet. The echoes grew stronger, buzzing in his brain, and his vision started to blur.

"But that's not your fault," Lin Sanjiu said.

Ji Shanqing blinked.

"Whether it's Puppeteer, Bohemia, or Silvan... if they leave me, they can all survive, maybe even live better lives." Lin Sanjiu lowered her voice and said slowly, "But you, only you, cannot survive if you leave me."

Huh?

"Of course, I hope that one day you can become like them. But until then, you should stay by my side, even if you are the only one by my side."

Ji Shanqing raised his head, feeling his whole body trembling, almost unable to stand steady.

"I don't know how you'll eventually leave the Data Stream Library, but when you can come find me, whether it's in two months or two years..." Lin Sanjiu lowered her eyelids and hesitated for a moment. Then, she suddenly reached out her hand and said, "Have you arranged everything for the others? You have the teleportation ability, right? Give it to me."

Ji Shanqing's hands and feet trembled as he integrated the teleportation into his sister's body. Due to his intense trembling, it took much longer than usual. His sister still wore a somewhat stern expression but gently wiped his face, scolding him, "What are you crying for? You were the one who hurt him so badly."

After receiving a thick stack of visas, of which Ji Shanqing had written countless, she tightly grasped the grand prize's wrist and said, "After the teleportation is done, tell me everything about the Data Stream Library. Even if I don't understand, you must tell me. I can't let you continue to be trapped alone."

That was almost an impossible task, but Ji Shanqing was already content—even if he dissipates after returning, it's enough. He nodded vigorously, looking at his sister's body becoming increasingly blurry, not knowing if it was because of the teleportation or his own tears.

"Alright." Lin Sanjiu finally smiled at him, saying, "We're about to leave, hold on tight."

Ji Shanqing hurriedly reached out to grab her wet clothes.

Just as she was almost completely gone, Ji Shanqing was suddenly yanked into the sea by a powerful force that broke through the water.