Doomsday Wonderland

Bohemia’s question left Lin Sanjiu momentarily stunned. Then, she saw the light.

She was attempting to purchase the [Uterus Project] from Peppy Lil’ Sesame through [eBay], but the next world they were going was poles apart. Since she had to wait for another 14 months to strike the deal, she’d left a message to Peppy about her situation and expressed her wish to reserve the [Uterus Project].

However…

“How did she know who am I?” Lin Sanjiu locked her brows in confusion. Every [eBay] user had their own pseudonym, and hers was “Meatball Peach.” The nickname was auto-generated by [eBay], so they couldn’t change it once it had been generated. By all accounts, it was impossible that Peppy Lil’ Sesame knew her true identity.

“Nope, she didn’t know who you were,” Bohemia’s answer stunned her again, “She just came to me and asked if I had a feud with a person named Lin Sanjiu. She told me that you were probably in the Salvation of God—”

“Then you came.” Lin Sanjiu said with a long face.

“Why wouldn’t I? I bet you would have done the same thing if you were me,” Bohemia snarled, rising from the ground, “I have lost a quarter of Higher Consciousness. I can’t afford to lose so much even though I am a growth type myself. Besides, after you went off the grid, Nüwa and Magus never showed up in Astral Plane again. This is the first clue I’ve had after so long.”

“Magus has not shown up in Astral Plane yet?”

Lin Sanjiu’s expression changed. When she was going to press forward, she saw Bohemia waved her hand. An ear-numbing buzz burst forth from the space as if the air particles had been torn apart. Then, the air began to swirl, picking up the yellow sand and forming a powerful wind barrier around them.

The wind cut sharply through the night sky above the wind barrier. Its howl reminded Lin Sanjiu of the hum of an opera singer.

Shrouding herself in the [Defense Forcefield], Lin Sanjiu decided to leave the talking to later. Holding the [Mosaic Censorship] and a [White Towel]—the last divine power level 6 she had—in her hands, she lunged at Bohemia as the wind barrier appeared.

Bohemia was unfazed by her sudden hostility, standing staunchly in the heart of the storm and allowing the moonlight and the sand to blur her figure. The wind was strong, but it could only stop Lin Sanjiu for a few moments. After she had regained her momentum and darted in at full speed, Bohemia suddenly opened her mouth.

There was no sound coming out from her mouth, yet the strong gale that surrounded them began to answer to her call, dancing along in an undulating tone and melodies that slowly turned into human language. The gentle but sharp wind and the human words resounded through the night sky, “… All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream!”

Lin Sanjiu’s vision blurred for a second. And when her eyesight returned, she found Bohemia was still standing not far away from her, in a similar position. Her second sight kicked in. She did not charge in; instead, she threw the towel ahead, acting as a probing attack.

Thoroughly soaked in the divine power and Lin Sanjiu’s strength, the towel flew towards its target with great speed. However, before it could reach the figure, it suddenly lost all of its momenta and fluttered to the ground.

The storm stopped the moment the towel touched the ground. The dust floated in the air, and the night was quiet, but the figure of Bohemia was nowhere in sight in the vast desert.

Lin Sanjiu looked around, stupefied, too overwhelmed to be able to react to the change. She tried to move forward and did with some difficulty. One of her steps felt so heavy that it was as if she was pulling herself through a swamp while another felt so light as if she was hopping on top of the cloud. She called out the [Battle Item] into her hand, but she did not have the slightest clue of what item she should imitate.

Although there was nothing in this empty desert that could disrupt her vision, she couldn’t find Bohemia anywhere. Suddenly, her concentration slipped, and she stumbled, falling face first into the sand.

However, she felt no pain. And when she rose from the ground, she froze.

The moonlight cast a silver outline on the few broken houses outside. She was laying on a mattress with Ji Shanqing sleeping next to her. In the distance was Deun, his figure as large as a hill rising and falling with every breath he took. Her grand prize was sleeping soundly, muttering something in his slumber as he wrapped his arms tightly around a soft pillow.

“So it was all just a dream,” the scales immediately fell from her eyes. She grabbed a pillow and fell with a plop.

[Wandering Minstrel]

The world has gradually forgotten the power of the words, rhyme, and rhythm of a poem. With that reason, those who possess this ability have since carried on this arduous mission: to use their strength and make the world rediscover the beauty of poetry.

All the verses and content of the poem will become a scene, a story, and the hostile target will be pulled into the phantasm created. If the target had been previously a literature enthusiast or had been locked in an illusion before, then the effect would be doubled. The scenes realized will be lifelike and difficult to discern. However, it’s important to note that not every verse in a poem will do the job. Once you have found a verse that works, be sure to recite it well.

Condition to note: Poetic translation is one of the most challenging problems that has ever existed. Hence, no matter what kind of verse is recited, only the recitation of the original will work.

From Lin Sanjiu’s perspective, she was now lying on a mattress, but that wasn’t the case in Bohemia’s eyes.

The storm had indeed subsided. As the dust settled down on the sand below, Bohemia revealed herself. It seemed that she hadn’t moved an inch at all the entire time, standing in the same pose from the start until the end. She lifted her hand and gathered a lock of hair behind her ear. The chain of bracelets that dangled from her arm released a soothing jingle into the air.

She looked ahead to see Lin Sanjiu. The latter’s eyelids were half closed; her eyes looked as if they would close and that she would fall asleep anytime. She was empty-handed, her toes slogged along the sand as she trudged towards Bohemia.

“That’s right,” Bohemia chuckled. She undid a straw-braided bracelet and laid it in her hand. She waited until Lin Sanjiu was close enough and tied the bracelet gently around the latter’s neck. Just like putting a collar on a dog, she tied the knot very tightly but not tight enough to harm her neck.

After Bohemia had finished everything, only then did she heave a sigh of relief. She wiped the sweat that oozed from her forehead and measured Lin Sanjiu from her head to her toe. Then, she turned around to check her surroundings.

“Luckily, we have come to a desert,” she muttered.

There were hardly any resources in the desert. Hence, it wasn’t an ideal place for those Inhuman to survive. Since there weren’t any Inhuman here, it went without saying that the gods would not favor over this place. Even so, Bohemia’s fluttering heart still couldn’t find any peace. Her face was full of fear and anxiety.

“It’s too dangerous, it’s too dangerous,” she muttered again and again, but rather than saying that she was comforting herself, it was more likely that she was cheering herself up. Bohemia then took the straw cage that dangled on her waist out and pulled an earthworm out from it. Darting her eyes in between the worm and Lin Sanjiu, she finally decided as she said through gritted teeth, “Damn it! Let’s do it! It’s now or never!”

It was apparent that what she wanted to do was very dangerous. She sat on the sand in a lotus position and dragged Lin Sanjiu to sit down beside her. Then, she looked around before placing the earthworm on the sand. The earthworm’s body color was very close to the color of the sand. It instantly blended with the sand. The only thing that left on the ground was the thickening sandhill that soon to engulfed them.

[A Benevolent Earthworm]

As the doomsday had arrived, how many people had had this thought when they were struggling for life?

“How nice it would be if I could hide underneath the ground, away from troubles, away from danger, away from everything, and fall into a deep sleep. I will wait in my slumber until the doomsday is over, only then I will come out from the ground.”

This seemingly fanciful dream had finally been realized by this small, kind, and helpful earthworm.

After you have sat on the ground, put the earthworm on the ground. Then, the worm will immediately draw a circle around you. After it finishes its given job, the people inside the loop will sink hundreds of meters underground and fall into a deep slumber. It’s the best way to escape from the chaos world and pursuit, don’t you think so?

I beg your pardon, what was that? Pressure, oxygen, and water?

Stop being such a killjoy. In short, I promise you will come out alive in 30 days. But if you wait more than 30 days, you will have to be responsible for your own life.

Sitting inside the mound created by the earthworm, Bohemia and Lin Sanjiu sunk, and the sand quickly flooded until it was at their knees and thighs. She grabbed the straw rope tightly, whispering into Lin Sanjiu’s ears, ashen-faced, “Let’s go to Astral Plane.”

When the sand had ceased moving, there was nothing on the desert anymore. The thing left that signified that there were two people sunk into the sand below was the rippling sand.