Doomsday Wonderland

Chapter 1331: June 9th

On the evening of June 9th, at 6:18 p.m., Wu Lun hurriedly closed her eyes. The wind stirred up by Lin Sanjiu blew her hair all over her face. When she brushed aside her hair and squinted to look into the distance, she couldn’t see Lin Sanjiu’s shadow. The street seemed like a small bomb had exploded, startling pedestrians who began to exclaim like waves stirred by an engine.

‘What is she up to again? She disappeared in the blink of an eye. Thank goodness Lin Sanjiu doesn’t have any malice towards this world. Otherwise, she alone could… she could… hey, could she destroy a city?’

Wu Lun couldn’t help but wonder as she opened the taxi door. After all, Lin Sanjiu was not a nuclear bomb; she was just a normal-sized person. Compared to the size of the whole city, even if there was a threat, wouldn’t it just affect the area around her? But that didn’t matter; Wu Lun felt that Lin Sanjiu wouldn’t take action against the world she lived in.

She gave the driver her home address and looked out the window. Although she used to be reluctant to take taxis, this was the first time she felt so relaxed in one that she didn’t even glance at the meter.

When Wu Lun thought about it, she glanced at the meter, and the amount displayed was zero.

“Mister, you forgot to start the meter,” she reminded him.

The driver remained silent and reached out to start the meter.

Wu Lun sat back and continued to look out the window. The missing person flyers that she and Lin Sanjiu were passing by one by one; she looked at them for a while, then suddenly sat up straight and asked, “Mister, why are we going in this direction?”

The driver still didn’t say a word, just stared ahead.

This wasn’t an uncommon occurrence. Service personnel with bad attitudes who ignored or were indifferent to customers were standard. Even her colleagues sometimes decided whether to serve a customer based on their appearance, let alone when questioned.

Wu Lun was always a bit of a pushover and didn’t like to confront others. She comforted herself, thinking, ‘Oh well, even if he’s taking a longer route, what’s the harm? Maybe it’ll cost an extra hundred yuan? I have several hundred yuan in my pocket, all copied by Lin Sanjiu. Even if I spend it, it’s no big deal.’

She sat back and endured it silently, and the scenery outside the window became increasingly unfamiliar. Eventually, the taxi drove into a construction site. The road left for the car during construction was very narrow. Looking out, she could only see the orange-red construction fence.

“This doesn’t seem right. This isn’t where I live, right?”

Wu Lun finally couldn’t help but speak up and recheck the driver’s information. Regular taxi drivers’ licenses were usually displayed on the front, but this one slightly reassured her; it was the driver’s real license.

“We’re here.” The driver stepped on the brake and stopped in front of an inconspicuous white building surrounded by old houses with no one around.

“You’re mistaken.” Even Wu Lun couldn’t help but get angry, saying, “I don’t live—”

Before she finished speaking, two people approached, and a man knocked heavily on the car window. She was startled, and when she saw that the driver had already rolled down the glass, the man bent down and said to her, “Are you Wu Lun? Get out of the car.”

“W-who are you?” She suddenly panicked and refused to get out of the car.

The car door had already been unlocked by the driver long ago, and the man reached in and grabbed her arm. Wu Lun felt her heart pounding wildly, and for a moment, she didn’t realize she was screaming desperately, trying to shrink back into the car. The man became impatient and pulled out a leather holster, flashing it at her, “See this? Recognize it? Get out of the car!”

In a flash, she recognized that inherent sense of authority. Wu Lun blinked hard, her heart pounding violently, her nerves still unsettled; her legs were weak when she exited the car, and the driver urged her to hurry up.

It wasn’t until a thermos cup emitting hot steam was placed on the table opposite her that Wu Lun suddenly realized that she was in an unfamiliar place, being stared at by several unfamiliar men and that no one knew she was there. Her throat was sore as if it was about to split.

The scent of wolfberries slowly spread. A man with a short stature, small eyes, and a big nose sat down in front of her, first slurping a mouthful of hot water.

“Oh dear, the flavor hasn’t been infused yet,” he muttered as he put down the thermos cup. Behind him was a window framed with black glass, and Wu Lun could clearly see her reflection: She hunched her shoulders, her hair was disheveled, her face was pale, and her eyes were wider than deer’s.

“Look here,” he said, picking up a device about the size of a POS machine on the table. He aimed it at Wu Lun’s face, then put it down and read from the screen, “Wu Lun, ID number 3304221994091034A, registered in Haiyuan City, oh, there’s only one member left in your family… You’re not filial to your mother at home. What are you doing here?”

Even though she was frightened and confused, Wu Lun knew from her long education that she had to answer questions now. “I-I work here.”

“Work?” The man chuckled. “Does the job at the cosmetics counter also involve posting small advertisements?”

Could she have been caught posting small ads indiscriminately? Wu Lun hurriedly exhaled, explaining, “No, it’s not like that. I was helping a friend post missing person flyers; I didn’t know it was not allowed.”

The man shook his head and sighed. “A good girl who doesn’t learn and even lies.”

“I didn’t—”

“Enough, spare me your nonsense.” He waved his hand, silencing Wu Lun, and said, “We know exactly what that woman is about. How can you be so confused in the face of such important issues? ”

Wu Lun was truly confused now. “What—But—I—”

“Don’t tell me you don’t know who that woman is!” He suddenly raised his voice and threw a paper on the table. The missing person flyer. “Tell me, why did you help someone like her find accomplices?”

Wu Lun’s mouth trembled. She just wanted to cry but couldn’t find words. Lin Sanjiu was a posthuman from another world. Who would believe such a thing except her? Even she couldn’t fully believe it.

“These people have always been a thorn in our side.” The man seemed to soften his tone as he saw how terrified she was, leaning back in his chair and slowly saying, “Do you know the seriousness of the problem? They have loose thoughts, don’t follow rules, and have the ability to break the law… If we don’t protect the people, would they be able to live and work in peace? Wouldn’t everywhere be a battlefield? And yet, you’re helping the enemy find accomplices! Do you know that you could be sentenced for this?”

Tears finally fell, and Wu Lun shook her head vigorously.

She had wanted to say that Lin Sanjiu wasn’t like that, that she didn’t mean harm, but then she remembered the stolen museum exhibits. Strange, why hadn’t she taken that crime to heart before? Although Lin Sanjiu said she wouldn’t harm this world, she did commit a crime.

So, instead of saying what she meant, she said, “I…I didn’t mean to…I just felt sorry for her.”

“You feel sorry for her, but have you thought about the victims? We work overtime every day to maintain safety, so don’t we deserve sympathy?” The man snorted, then softened his tone again, saying, “But you young people, inexperienced, encountering such people for the first time, and no one has ever warned you before, it’s easy to get confused in your thoughts.”