Doomsday Wonderland

The rendezvous point that Ji Shanqing told her about was a commercial building not far away from Harry’s Farm. It would not take more than 10 minutes on foot, yet, after Lin Sanjiu had roamed around the wilderness under the night sky for almost two hours, passing the entrance of Harry’s farm for a dozen of times, she found herself unable to locate the high-rise that both of them had taken cover in before she entered the pocket dimension.

“Is it possible that I misremembered the location?” She mumbled to herself.

The building was probably a newly built establishment before the apocalypse. Although it looked grimy and ruined, its overall condition was not half bad. Besides, she had stayed in the building for a week, and she was sure that the edifice was here, yet on the spot where the building should have been was now a shop governed by dirt and darkness, full of broken windows, and a door. Behind the shop was a large parking lot caked with layers of grimes and black gooey substances which could have been motor oil. No matter how she looked, she couldn’t find any evidence regarding the existence of the building.

If the symptoms of schizophrenia had not almost disappeared, Lin Sanjiu might think the scene in front of her was yet another illusion created by her brain.

“I can’t be wrong.”

She weighed the consequences of the thing she was going to do next and clenched her teeth tightly. She was going to take the risk anyway.

“Ji Shanqing——!” She raised her voice, and yelled at the top of her lungs, “Answer me, Ji Shanqing!”

The orotund female voice bounced in between the walls of high-rises and ruined shop lots, creating echoes of “Ji Shanqing” that reverberated further into the dust bowl. Even though Lin Sanjiu kept her ears opened and waited until her voice had utterly dissipated, she received no reply from the dark.

Ji Shanqing had gone missing.

Though “parting” with her friends was her everyday thing, losing Ji Shanqing was the last thing she’d welcome. After all, he was her grand prize.

Besides, Ji Shanqing was as sly and as cautious as a fox, if the situation didn’t call for it, he would never take the risk and leave the building while waiting for Lin Sanjiu.

“In every sense of the word, he’s fundamentally an item,” Lin Sanjiu tried to organize her thought, “What might happen to him?”

More importantly, the thing that worried her the most was the question of if she couldn’t locate Ji Shanqing, would he be still able to follow her when it was the time for her to go to the next world?

Ji Shanqing was a rare and weird specimen himself, and Lin Sanjiu doubted she could use common sense to define him. All in all, if he had the same attribution as the other items, she would’ve turned him into a card already… The overwhelming fear had struck her good, sending her into another frenzy search through the badland again.

Amongst the rubbles and dirt, she saw no fresh bloodstains or pieces of clothing around. Were these findings considered good news? She didn’t know. Besides, she didn’t receive any “compensation” either.

But of course, she didn’t receive any rewards might be because she had lost her grand prize; the possibilities were there.

“F*ck.”

Lin Sanjiu cursed herself for her bad luck as she had unknowingly returned to the shop she had come across earlier.

There was a deep crack in the wall of the shop which caused the shop sign to fall from the wall onto the ground, split in half, and block the main entrance. Standing in front of the shop, Lin Sanjiu was greeted with greyish grime and dirt, layers upon layers, as far as her vision could stretch. Gone was the lively notes of what it could have been.

After having a tug-of-war with her inner self, she walked a few steps forward and pushed the broken signboard away. The signboard fell to the ground with a loud slam, sending the dust into the air. She cupped her nose with one hand and walked into the shop.

The scenario inside the shop was even worse than its facade—half of the ceiling had collapsed, lay haphazardly in front of the only window. Since the collapsed roof had obstructed moonlight from entering, it was all dark inside, and she couldn’t even see herself. Emboldening herself against the onslaught of the familiar assaulting smell, Lin Sanjiu called upon her [Ability Polishing Agent]. A beam of silvery light instantly filled every inch of the confined space, and she sighed disappointedly at what she saw.

Not even she could say what was she expecting; however, it was clear that the shelves of liquor, tobacco, and tea leaves carried no meaning to her.

After she resisted and pushed down the consternation that suddenly surged in her heart, she turned around and prepared to leave. Before she could leave the shop, however, she suddenly stopped because the shop stank to high heaven.

She spun around, pacing slowly toward the counter in front of her.

Unopened, brand-new alcohol and tobacco would not release such severe stench. There had to be a better explanation behind the malodor. If Lin Sanjiu had to describe the smell, it smelled like a human, a drunkard to be precise, who had soaked himself completely in booze and tobacco for a night.

Lin Sanjiu propped herself up from the counter and looked down as she raised her [Ability Polishing Agent] high in the air.

Perhaps it was due to the strong beam of light that shone directly on his eyelids, that the dirt-laden, disheveled hair and dirty-faced vagabond who looked nothing close to a breathing human humphed. He drew his eyebrows together and without ungluing his eyelids, he flipped over.

Obviously, the main culprit of the foul smell was this man. He looked and smelled as if he hadn’t had a proper bath or cleaned his body for a good long time. There were various empty bottles and cigar-boxes sprawled chaotically around him on the ground. Judging from the few empty shelves, it had to be the merchandises from the shop.

Lin Sanjiu was filled with delight. She put the light source nearer and called out to him, “Hey! Wake up!”

The vagabond once again grumbled begrudgingly as Lin Sanjiu had disturbed his sleep. He stretched his hand to scratch his buttock and flipped over again.

Slowly that green-eyed monster, jealousy, began to creep in. Looking at how the man was living perfectly fine in the apocalyptic world given his unconcerned and thoughtless demeanor, Lin Sanjiu felt her way of life was stupid.

“Why I have to fight and stay vigilant at all costs to keep myself alive while this person could live so well in the days of apocalypse without doing anything?!”

She raised her voice and shouted at the man, “Wake up! Your beer is here!”

“Huh? What? What beer?” The drunkard immediately shot up. His eyelids were half-closed, his head swung from left to right. The world was spinning in his vision, “Give me the beer! I want more!”

It was hard for Lin Sanjiu to believe that the man was adamant enough to allow himself to get drunk to this extent in a perilous place like the one they were in right now. She chided him under her breath as she coated her hand with [Defense Forcefield]. Bending over, she grabbed the man by his collar and dragged him out from the counter.

“W-What the hell were you doing?!” The man did a double take before he realized he should be angry. Brandishing his arm, he attempted to wiggle himself free from Lin Sanjiu’s clutches, “Let go of me!”

His attempt did little good to free him from Lin Sanjiu’s grasp and his strength was not even stronger than the landing of a fly on Lin Sanjiu’s hand.

When she raised her brows and scoffed at his futile retaliation, Lin Sanjiu suddenly saw the [Defense Forcefield] around her hand flicker like a flashlight running out of battery. Then, no sooner had the [Defense Forcefield] completely vanished did she feel a strong, cold feeling, as if her right hand had lost too much blood.

On instinct, Lin Sanjiu pushed the drunkard away and loosened her grip. With fury-filled eyes, she scrutinized her hand, and to her dismay, she realized that her right hand was few tones paler that the other parts of her body. The veins on the back of her hand bulged as if they were screaming for more blood supply.

“W—W—Why?” The drunkard struggled a few times before the proper words escaped from his lips, “Why is it so little? Ah, let, let it be.”

He gestured with his hand and threw himself to the ground with a loud thud. Lin Sanjiu couldn’t hear very clearly what he wanted to say, “… my power, so don’t bother me. Your right hand would be filled with blood again in a jiff.”

He was telling the truth as Lin Sanjiu could feel her blood rushing toward her right hand, and color began to return.

“His ability…”

Lin Sanjiu didn’t dare to do anything else reckless as she studied the man that lay like a worm on the ground. Then, she looked around.

Because she was too overwhelmed by the delight of seeing a living human, she had overlooked that none of the empty bottles on the ground were actually open. Besides, she knew her action just now was sort of brusque.

Lin Sanjiu recoiled two steps back before crouching down. Then, she slackened her tone and spoke to the drunkard, “… I don’t want to hurt you; I just want to ask something of you.”

The man raised his head to her voice, exposing his two unfocused and misted eyes. Eyes and his nose were the only things Lin Sanjiu could distinguish from his face as the other part of his features were either hidden by his tangled and messy hair or his thick and grubby beard.

“How long have you been here? Do you remember when you came in?” Lin Sanjiu was speaking very fast and she wondered if the man caught what she was saying, “… While you were here, did you saw a large blueish building around? Please tell me where it is if you did, it’s essential to me.”

The drunkard gave a loud burp as he rummaged through the pockets on his body. Bathing under Lin Sanjiu’s intense gaze, he took out a crumpled cigarette, stuck it into his thick beard, and lit it.

“Okay,” He took a long pull at his cigarette, closed his jaw, and exhaled a smoke ring at Lin Sanjiu. Then, he talked as if he had a twist in his tongue, “… You, err, I should just call you a miss. Before answering your questions, I would rather like to accomplish my life goal first. After all, it seems more likely to happen.”

“Wh-What?” Lin Sanjiu was stunned.

“… I have nothing but one wish: to die of alcohol poisoning.”

After he had finished speaking, the drunkard leaned backward, allowing himself to fall onto the ground. As if he didn’t feel the pain, he continued to puff out more smoke rings.

Lin Sanjiu rose to her feet. Fury had turned her eyes red and caused her heart to race.

With the cigarette dangling at the corner of his lips, the drunkard raised his arm into the air and bid her goodbye, all the while lying prone on the ground, “… Oh, are you leaving? See you no more, then.”

Nobody would want to deal with this kind of person.

As expected, the tall woman remained frozen for a brief moment before pacing footsteps drifted into his ears—evidence of her going away. As the steps grew fainter and further away, the drunkard took another puff from the fag in his lips. However, before he could expel the smoke, his knotted his eyebrows together.

“The footsteps… Something is wrong with the footsteps. Why did the woman not leave at once but seems to stop from time to time… Wait, there are other sounds besides her footsteps. Ahh, why is she so difficult!”

The drunkard pouted and loathingly lifted his heavy and swimming head. Then, he was petrified.

“What-What are you doing?”

Peering through his blurry vision from the excessive intake of alcohol, he saw Lin Sanjiu was grinning like a Cheshire cat at him.

“What do you mean?” Lin Sanjiu crooked her head as if she didn’t understand the man’s question. However, her movements remained as fluid and as fast as she used to be. Walking two steps forward, she hovered her hand over a shelf, and as if she was performing magic, the large cabinet full of all kinds of liquors suddenly vanished into the ether.

The cigarette slipped out of the man’s lips. He hurriedly darted forward and he gawked at Lin Sanjiu in utter disbelief. His eyes went bloodshot as he stammered, “Ah… You, you…”

“An enthusiastic man,” Lin Sanjiu said through her gritted teeth, and her smile reminded the drunkard of the lunatic. She placed her hand on another cabinet, “And forthcoming gentleman of your ilk, I can’t answer to my conscience if I allow you to die of alcohol poisoning, so I’ll help you by putting these away.”

“No! No!” The drunkard screamed as he lurched forward. He didn’t go after Lin Sanjiu but the shelf, “At least leave my Bourbon alone!”

“What is Bourbon?”

Lin Sanjiu crooked her head and the cabinet disappeared with one swipe of her palm. The drunkard couldn’t stop himself and banged into the wall. Without waiting for the man to recompose himself, Lin Sanjiu made a quick work of the shop. In the blink of an eye, Lin Sanjiu had stored everything in the shop. Then, she retreated to the entrance and waited for the man.

“Ah?” The drunkard swept a glance around. Even though his eyes were the only thing visible on his face, Lin Sanjiu could see the grief from the eyes, “Tea leaves? You only left the tea leaves for me?”

“Oh, it seems so.”

“You… You don’t look like a drinker nor do you look like a smoker!”

“Yes,” Lin Sanjiu shrugged, “I plan to use the bottle to keep my things. As for the cigarettes, I’m going to throw them into a river somewhere.”

Her words seemed to cause the drunkard more pain than flagellation. Crestfallen, the drunkard bent over and gasped for air before waving his hand in the air and admitting his defeat, “Okay, fine, fine. What do you want to know?”

“That’s the right attitude,” Lin Sanjiu nodded in contentment and walked out the door, “Come, let’s talk outside.”

As if he loathed the fresh air, the moment the drunkard walked out from the shop and the moonlight hit his shoulder, he cursed begrudgingly. Then in the next second, he was stunned.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Sanjiu had been observing him. Seeing his reaction, her heart picked up its pace again.

The drunkard didn’t reply; instead, he looked around.

“Where am I?” He stroked his beard hard and he sighed discontentedly, “… How come I have no memories about here? Could it be I really have drunk too much alcohol?”

“The green over there is a pocket dimension—Harry’s Farm. Does that ring any bells?” Lin Sanjiu’s heart was pumping faster and faster.

“No, it’s impossible,” The drunkard shook his head, “I, Qing Jiuliu, swear on my own name when I entered this liquor & tobacco shop, there was absolutely no pocket dimension in the vicinity.”

Lin Sanjiu’s heart skipped a beat.

Does that mean that somebody swapped the location of the building with this liquor & tobacco shop?