Doomsday Wonderland

Like what Geran said, Lin Sanjiu found an unconscious Hei Zeji in a B&B inn. When she walked into a small and narrow room with the innkeeper, she saw Hei Zeji was lying on a tiny bed as if he was in a deep sleep. His long legs were dangling from the side of the bed. His chest rose slightly. It seemed like he was having a long and peaceful dream.

Due to her injuries, Lin Sanjiu was hobbling. When she walked to his bed, her footsteps were quite audible but Hei Zeji seemed completely unaware. His acute senses and perception that he was once so proud of seemed to have disappeared together with his consciousness, sinking deep into the depths of his coma.

Lin Sanjiu observed him carefully for a while and realized that he was still very young. In the past, he always appeared vicious and violent when she was interacting with him. His eyebrows were forever knitted so always assumed that he was at least over 30 due to the lines around his brows. However, now that he lay in this peaceful coma, Lin Sanjiu suddenly realized from his youthful face that Hei Zeji was probably a few years younger than her.

Sighing, Lin Sanjiu took out the [Empty-handed Kleptomaniac]. She couldn’t help feeling a sense of relief when she realized that they had avoided a terrible situation. Fortunately, she had caught Geran.

[Empty-handed Kleptomaniac] really did not look like a Special Item from its appearance. It was a blue translucent plastic little a container that seemed to be made from cheap plastic. It was more like a random box to keep little bits and bobs. If she squished it a little, the plastic would even bend inward like it would break any moment. If Lin Sanjiu didn’t find the item from Geran’s body, she probably wouldn’t even give it a second glance even if someone gave it to her.

When she opened the box, she could see three different compartments for storing the stolen combat systems.

“This is your friend’s,” Geran quickly walked up to Lin Sanjiu’s side attentively and pointed to one of the compartment. “You have to put the opened box on his skin. Remember, it has to touch his skin and not his clothes.”

Lin Sanjiu gave Geran a cold stare. She pulled down Hei Zeji’s collar slightly and exposed a patch of his firm skin. Even though Geran had a general idea of the box’s function, this was the first time he actually tried to “return” the combat system to its original owner. Consequently, none of them knew what would happen after they placed the box on Hei Zeji with its contents exposed to his skin. Lin Sanjiu pressed the box carefully on Hei Zeji’s chest and waited. She did not even dare to move one bit.

“Tell me, how did you steal his internal combat system from him?” Lin Sanjiu turned to Geran. As she continuing pressing the box on Hei Zeji’s chest, she was suddenly curious. “You can’t even fight that well. Logically speaking, you wouldn’t even have the chance to get close to him.”

Geran blinked his eyes and gave her an earnest smile.

“Miss Lin, you still don’t understand. Be it the normal world we lived in before the apocalypse or the multiple worlds we have to travel through, the most powerful ability is the ability to manipulate,” he said this as if he was talking about a long past event. Then, he sighed. “The first requirement of manipulation is to understand human behavior. You need to know your target before you can get what you want.

“On my second day at Chocolate Fondue Route, your friend came. He did not even care to hide his strength. When he walked into the tavern I was in, some people were so scared that they quickly left. I was sitting at the corner of the tavern and observed him quietly for some time before I decided to target him to get his combat system.”

Geran scratched his face, feeling a little ashamed of himself when he said that.

“My plan was very easy. First, I just needed to act according to the level of my fighting ability. I arranged for a few of the members in Progressor Alliance to pretend to fight with me. Then, I got them to punch me until one of my teeth broke right in front of your friend.” As he said this, Geran even pulled open his scaly mouth to show Lin Sanjiu his broken tooth. “Of course, I knew that he definitely could tell that my fighting ability was just average even without that act. But, it just reinforced the impression that I did not pose a threat to him. I did this to lower his guard toward me.”

“The next day, I went to stay in the same inn as him, acting as if it was just a coincidence. I didn’t do much over the next few days. I did not approach him and I didn’t even talk to him. We both kept our distance. After meeting a few times outside the inn, I greeted him with just an acknowledging nod when we met. This was our only interaction.”

“Your friend probably never expected this. While others couldn’t wait to get away from him once they realized how powerful he was, I was the only one who was intentionally trying to get closer.” Geran glanced over at the comatose Hei Zeji. Then, he continued, “After that, for some reason, a few shops suddenly stopped selling some of their popular desserts. I immediately saw my chance. I got one of my subordinates to bring me a few desserts from other places and sold them to the shop owner cheaply after he agreed to our condition. When your friend asked for one of those desserts, the shop owner told him that the last piece had been reserved by me. Naturally, I let him have the cake without any hesitation and took 30 Stamina Points from him.

When she heard this, Lin Sanjiu understood what had happened. She let out a heavy sigh. Who would have known that her market manipulation would create such an opportunity for Geran?

“Geran certainly knows how to control the ‘distance’ he kept from Hei Zeji. First, he started acting like an acquaintance who would just nod to acknowledge Hei Zeji. This is exactly how an average posthuman without any ulterior motives would act. Then, he even let Hei Zeji pay him for the dessert so that Hei Zeji wouldn’t be indebted to him. And this was all to create a comfortable impression…”

“What happened next?” Lin Sanjiu couldn’t help asking.

“Then, things worked out fine.” Geran laughed bitterly. “This inn is three stories high. When he walked near the inn, I jumped off the ledge and acted like I was injured and someone had thrown me off the building. Based on my observations, I knew he wouldn’t just ignore me.”

When Hei Zeji reached out to save Geran, he probably didn’t expect that the struggling, screaming normal-looking posthuman was actually holding a Special Item. A Special Item that would send him into a near-death comatose state.

In any case, no matter how powerful or intelligent a person is, it is difficult to guard against another’s machination.

Lin Sanjiu turned to look at the small box in her hand without saying a word.

After some time, she suddenly spoke to Ji Shanqing, “Ji Shanqing, give him another bottle of water.”

While Geran recounted what had happened, Ji Shanqing had already prepared his mermaid cultivation drink. When he heard Lin Sanjiu’s command, he handed it over to Geran. Without suspecting anything, Geran took the bottle and gulped down half of it.

As she heard Geran drinking his mermaid cultivation drink, Lin Sanjiu observed Hei Zeji once again. She was getting a little worried. “It has been such a long time, his combat system had been returned… Why isn’t he waking up?”

“I think he needs some time to recover,” Ji Shanqing stepped closer to look at Hei Zeji with an inquisitive face. When they walked on Pumpkin Route, Ji Shanqing was interested in everything because it was all so new to him. He even found the unconscious man very fascinating and had been staring at him for a long time. “Didn’t that merman mentioned something about reusing that box over and over again on the same victim? Even though he doesn’t have the strength to carry this man around, many other posthumans are capable of that, right? Every item and ability has its limitations. If the original owner’s combat system can be reused over and over again, there wouldn’t be a three times restriction. I think the time taken for the original owner to get back his or her combat system is another limitation of this item.”

Despite being only five months old, he was very perceptive and had a quick mind. Lin Sanjiu had to admit that she wasn’t as clever as him. “That sounds plausible,” Lin Sanjiu nodded reluctantly. If that was really the case, it would be impossible to tell when Hei Zeji would wake up. But every second Lin Sanjiu spent here meant that Reno and Rena were suffering one second longer. Lin Sanjiu waited another five minutes despite her impatient nature, but Hei Zeji did not show any sign of waking up. She finally couldn’t wait any longer.

“His combat system had been returned to him, right?” Lin Sanjiu watched the box curiously and placed her finger in the left section of the box. Strangely, Lin Sanjiu could feel that it was empty.

“Considering the situation, we’ll have to get the innkeeper to continue taking care of him for a few days,” Lin Sanjiu sighed reluctantly. After giving it some thought, she took out a piece of paper and wrote a note for Hei Zeji. She stuffed the paper in his shirt sleeve before she left.

Considering her current circumstances, she really couldn’t bring Hei Zeji along with her. Her grand prize and Geran didn’t seem too reliable either. Before they left, Lin Sanjiu gave the innkeeper almost all her remaining Stamina Points so that he would take proper care of Hei Zeji. She only kept enough Stamina Point for a one time visit to go to the medicated spa. After Lin Sanjiu had recovered slightly, the three of them ran toward the exit. Soon, they were back on the rocky seashore outside the amusement park.

Wet sand filled the crevices between the rocks as patches of hardy wild grass dotted the landscape. It was just as she had remembered it. The breeze was filled with the smell of the salty sea. Lin Sanjiu took a deep breath and stared at the waves of the deep blue ocean in front of her. She couldn’t help feeling a little lost.

How was she going to go back now?

Seeing the ocean for the first time in his life, Ji Shanqing ran toward the beach. He explored the rocks and each time he accidentally dipped his feet into the water, he would laugh in astonishment and excitement. Even though Ji Shanqing was very intelligent, Lin Sanjiu knew that she couldn’t depend on him right now.

As for Geran…

Lin Sanjiu turned to look at him. The half merman was staring at the ocean as if he had forgotten everything else. He opened his mouth and his gills puffed open. The smile on his face was as if he had suddenly regained freedom.

“Miss Lin, I’m home. I’m home,” he exclaimed emotionally with a dream-like longing.

“You want to leave?” Lin Sanjiu couldn’t stop herself from showing him a cold smile.

“I know, Miss Lin. You are angry with me…” Geran finally looked away from the ocean and spoke to Lin Sanjiu thoughtfully. “Please believe me. I am very sorry for what I’ve done. I will do anything I can to make up for my mistakes. Look. We are in the middle of the ocean. You need some sort of transport to leave this island… Before we came, my organization had already pre-booked a few airships. I can send out a signal now. They will come to get you very quickly. I will also tell you how to get to the Slaves Training Camp… I only have a small request…”

Geran couldn’t see any response from the pair of amber eyes that were staring at him. At that moment, they were so emotionless that they almost seemed reptilian.

“Let me guess. You want to go back to the ocean?”

Geran shrunk back and trembled a little. He nodded and watched Lin Sanjiu with expecting eyes. If a person was truly remorseful and would not commit any crimes in the future, should they be forgiven? This was a debate that would never be resolved but Lin Sanjiu didn’t plan to wreck her brain over this problem. She grabbed the merman’s throat abruptly with lightning speed.

“Ji Shanqing, come over here.” Lin Sanjiu stared at Geran’s tearing eyes as she shouted for Ji Shanqing without turning around. When she heard Ji Shanqing’s pattering footsteps as he ran toward her, she smirked at Geran.

“What-what do you plan to do with me?” the merman said laboriously.

“You deliberately put me and my friend in danger. You even sent two kids to a slave camp…” Lin Sanjiu emphasized every single word. “You should be thankful that no one died because of you. Anyway, I thought of the best way to deal with someone like you.”

Geran blinked his eyes puzzledly. He watched as Lin Sanjiu got Ji Shanqing to get the remaining bottles of mermaid cultivation drink.

“Once you drink everything, you will become a true merman,” Lin Sanjiu slowly let go of Geran. “I want you to drink everything now.”

For the current Geran, this wasn’t really even a punishment. He let out a gurgling voice. He did not waste any time and quickly opened a new bottle of mineral water and started drinking. There were about 30 bottles of mermaid cultivation drink left. Lin Sanjiu kept only one bottle while Geran quickly finished all the other bottles of the drink.

Geran’s hair-raising transformation happened very rapidly. The fish-like features quickly hid his original form. Lin Sanjiu finally witnessed what a true merman was like. He looked different from any of the fairytales she knew. His body frame remained somewhat intact. She could still tell where his shoulders were. However, all his hair had fallen out. Thick fish scales now covered his entire skin. His legs had transformed into two thick tails. His arms were now flat and they looked like two fish fins. He could no longer stand so he flopped around on the ground. He looked horrifying and disgusting.

Lin Sanjiu stepped on one of his tail expressionlessly. A sudden buzz came from her hand as she took out the Vibroblade she had retrieved back from the mirror maze.

“I know you understand my words,” she said softly. “I will tell you your punishment now.”

The merman looked up with his thick neck. He no longer had any human expression.

“I will cut one of your tails and one of your fins off. I am also going to burst one of your swim bladders to prevent you from diving too deeply and from swimming too fast. Then, I will take this,” Lin Sanjiu shook the bottle of mineral water, “and I will place a message on Mokugyo Encyclopedic Forum. I will reveal to the world the effects of eating mermaid meat and also your location. The rest depends on you… Have you called the airship for me?”

The merman, who could no longer feel any negative emotion, nodded eagerly after he heard what she said.

“Alright, good luck then.”