Doomsday Wonderland

Chapter 1306: It’s Like Doomsday for Me

The problem was also a matter of perspective. For example, Lin Sanjiu felt that her smile was a bit embarrassed after being discovered—but obviously, the agent didn’t see it that way.

The thin young man let out an animal-like cry, turning his head to run out the door. Before Lin Sanjiu could decide whether to close the door, he tripped over his feet and fell to the ground with a thud. His phone flew out, illuminating her from below.

The agent turned back, and when their eyes met, a look of determination suddenly appeared on his face. In a panic, he abandoned his phone and crawled out of the door, shouting in the hallway, “Help! Help!”

Lin Sanjiu jumped down and glanced out through the crack in the door. The agent shouted four or five times, and the hallway echoed his calls. The neighbors who had been talking suddenly fell silent, and each door was tightly closed. No one came out to help.

The agent forcefully pressed the elevator buttons a few times, then turned back and saw a heavily painted face floating through the half-open door, eyes fixed straight on him. The two stared at each other for half a second. Then, he screamed and stumbled into the stairwell, disappearing behind the door.

‘Can this house still be lived in?’

Lin Sanjiu felt somewhat regretful and puzzled. When she was wandering during the doomsday, finding a place to settle down meant it was hers; unless someone stronger came along, no one could drive her away. So why, in normal society, could she not even find a place to settle down and is even more unsettled than in the past?

Sighing, she picked up the phone from the ground. After so many years, the screen had become much larger, all the buttons were gone, and she didn’t know how to turn it on. After fiddling around for a bit, a small circle appeared on the screen, saying it wanted to authenticate her face—phones could do that, too?

Since the agent wouldn’t dare to come back for a while, even if he did, he couldn’t do anything to her. She found the new smartphone amusing and didn’t rush to leave, although she couldn’t open it and just randomly touched the screen; suddenly, the camera interface appeared on the screen, showing her own face— at first glance, Lin Sanjiu almost threw the phone away.

What kind of makeup did that beauty advisor give her?

1

Her lips were pale from the nude lipstick, her eyebrows sharp and dark, her eyes like two deep pits. Her eerie and sinister aura in the dimly lit room startled even her. The beauty advisor was so nervous that the black eyeliner was drawn all over, like a mentally ill patient who still cared about beauty.

Was this makeup only suitable if she had a dead child in her mouth?

Looking at the time on the screen, Lin Sanjiu put the phone back on the ground, swept away the wood chips at the door, removed the disguise, and reinserted the lock she had pulled out—the door was about to collapse. When she came, she noticed there were cameras in the corridor; she didn’t care when she came, but when she left, she couldn’t go out facing the cameras. Fortunately for her, six floors were just the height of jumping twice while holding onto the balcony railing. When she landed with a thud, it didn’t attract anyone’s attention.

By eleven o’clock, the flow of people in the nearby mall gradually decreased, the lights went out one by one, and security locked the glass doors. The employees who finished work wrapped themselves in coats, carried bags, and walked out in groups of two or three, blending into the city’s night sea, like drops of water. A few girls waited for the bus together at the bus stop. As the buses came and went, only one girl with a slightly pale complexion remained.

Before her last colleague left, she glanced at her. “Are you really okay?” the older woman asked. “Don’t think too much. You’re a bit sensitive. Go back early and rest tonight.”

The girl nodded, watching her colleague get on the bus. She stood alone in the cold night breeze for a while, shivering from time to time, even though the surrounding streetlights and shop lights were bright. When the bus finally arrived, she hurriedly boarded like she had finally seen a savior. She quickly found a seat in the almost empty bus, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

The night scenery outside the window swiftly passed by, following the route she was so familiar with, like a guarantee of everything being normal. The bus, always clanking with metal, suddenly made a muffled noise. The girl felt much better and remembered her usual habit. She lowered her head to take her earphones from her bag to listen to music. Just as she was about to look up, she seemed to see something flash outside the window in the night. She quickly turned to look, but outside was just the advertisement lightbox, dark residential buildings, and colorful restaurant signs.

There was nothing… right?

When she was about to get off at her stop, the girl stood up and was about to walk to the back door when she suddenly turned her head. She was overly sensitive, always feeling like a face was outside the window, flashing by from time to time in her peripheral vision. But this was a moving bus. Seeing the driver’s indifferent back, she felt a little relieved. No one else noticed anything unusual, so it was okay. She assured herself repeatedly.

After getting off the bus, she stepped into the darkness. The bus closed its doors and drove away behind her, its exhaust warming the air as usual. Her home was waiting, not far away, and the day was about to end.

“Your home is quite far away,” someone said from behind.

The girl shivered and turned her head. A tall figure had appeared behind her without her noticing. Those bright and dazzling eyes seemed to belong to a jaguar in the night jungle—covered by a dense black, floating on a face devoid of color. She felt her knees go weak and stumbled as she sat down on the bench at the bus stop.

“Don’t you recognize me? You’re the one who did my makeup.” The person raised their hand, causing her to tremble, and then pointed to their own face.

“I… I… Who are you?”

“I jumped off the bus with you. Let me ask you, what’s wrong with this makeup?”

She fell silent for a moment as if checking to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. “I… I’m sorry.”

“Forget it. I need your help with something.”

“I really… really don’t have any money.”

“I’m not asking you for money.” Though she really needed money.

Looking around, she saw no one at the bus stop at midnight. She couldn’t hold back and regretted her earlier words, “I have money! Please, just take my money!”

“I really can’t take your money; wouldn’t that be robbery?” Lin Sanjiu explained seriously, “I need a place to stay temporarily since I can’t stay where I was before. I want to stay with you for a night and get to know this world.”

The girl burst into tears.

“Oh no,” Lin Sanjiu realized that the last sentence would make people think she was crazy, “What I mean is, get to know… the life of ordinary people.”

The girl cried even louder, sobbing and choking, tears and snot flowing, but she didn’t dare to wipe them. Obviously, she wanted to call for help, but her fear of the woman in front of her made her unable to even move her eyes.

“Don’t cry.”

That had no effect.

“I won’t hurt you; I can help you and even give you something beautiful… like a ruby.” Lin Sanjiu took out two red crystals and said, like coaxing a child, “Or, do you have any enemies or rivals? I can take care of them for you.”

The excessive fear finally brewed the opposite emotion in the girl’s heart; she suddenly stood up, wiped her tears, and angrily shouted, “I’m just a saleswoman! Why would I have enemies?” Without waiting for Lin Sanjiu to speak again, she suddenly took off her high heels and smashed them towards Lin Sanjiu, then turned and ran away.

As she ran home, panting and breathless, fumbling for her keys, Lin Sanjiu quietly extended her head from the corner of the stairs.

“Your shoes.” She held a pair of shoes and silently walked up the stairs—she thought it was normal for her actions to be almost silent, but with each step she took, the girl’s face grew paler. “Your vigilance is lacking. If I really had ill intentions towards you, wouldn’t I know where your home is now?”

The short-lived courage evaporated, and the girl was frozen.

“Stop crying. I have no choice; I don’t know anyone else here.” Lin Sanjiu sighed, took her bag, took out the keys, and opened the door. The girl looked dead but didn’t dare move. “I promise you won’t regret it.”

1

Leaving that aside, the girl should be grateful that she encountered her. With her around, no matter what happens in six months, would this girl still be in danger?

Lin Sanjiu led the girl into the house as if she were the owner, opening the door proactively and gently guiding the frightened girl inside—she even handed her a pair of slippers. The house was old and small, with worn-out tables and chairs exposing cheap boards underneath. The tiles were stained black from years of scrubbing; a few pieces of clothing were piled in a basin, half of a cola bottle was cut off, and a few broken pieces of ivy were inserted.

With this girl’s potential, after becoming posthuman, she should be able to live better in Twelve Worlds than she is now.

Seeing the beauty advisor’s red eyes and lost expression, Lin Sanjiu sighed and ignored her, picking up the remote control to turn on the TV.

“Do you have any unusual occurrences lately?” she asked as she flipped through the channels, finding a comfortable position on the sofa. “Extreme weather? Friction between major powers? Any medical or biochemical breakthroughs? Oh, by the way, what’s your name?”

The girl sniffled and looked hopeless. “Are you a human trafficker? Are you going to sell me into the mountains?”

“Have you ever seen a human trafficker who goes with you?”

“Then… do you have a special interest in me?”

This remark would be more appropriate coming from Bliss. Lin Sanjiu scrutinized her from head to toe then turned her gaze back to the TV. “Answer the question,” she snapped her fingers. The girl shivered again, her eyes red as she replied, “I… I’m called Wu Lun.”

“What else?”

“The weather is normal, no conflicts, I don’t watch biochemical news.”

Lin Sanjiu thought for a moment. “For example, if the world is about to face doomsday, what do you think is the most likely scenario?”

Wu Lun frowned in distress. She was too scared, but she appeared calm and peaceful. Only her trembling voice and constant tears revealed a bit of the truth.

“I don’t know,” she finally said. “I feel like this world is the best and most stable time in history. Even someone like me, who isn’t good at studying and can’t speak well, has found a job.”

Lin Sanjiu glanced at her. This type was rare in the doomsday universe.

“Do you have a computer?” she asked, deciding to find the information herself. After all, she had more experience, and this girl seemed unreliable in her current state.

Wu Lun, looking as if she would eagerly take out her bank card if Lin Sanjiu asked, obediently went to get the computer. But when Lin Sanjiu said, “I’ll check the news on the internet,” Wu Lun’s movements suddenly stopped.

She turned her head, staring blankly at Lin Sanjiu.

“What?” the beauty advisor asked. “Do you mean, like… a fishing net?”