Doomsday Wonderland

A gentle breeze caressed Lin Sanjiu’s face, rustling the grass. She collected her hair behind her ear. With every draft of the wind, it would carry some of her heat away. She noticed a rumbling in the distance.

‘Some gods must be on the move again,’ she thought. However, the rumbling was swift. They disappeared as soon as they appeared, making her wonder if it was just an illusion in her mind.

She knew she could not stay silent any longer, but she had no idea what to say or what to do.

Then, a not-so-bright idea came into her mind.

She let out a long sigh as a strong sense of lassitude welled in her heart. She sat on the ground and covered her face with her hands. She remained in that position for a long while before raising her head to face Puppeteer again. “Don’t you feel tired standing? Come and sit here. Let’s talk.”

Lin Sanjiu did not know what was happening in the pale man’s brain, but the corner of his lips suddenly curled up into a smirk. It was a swift one, just like the flitting shadow of a cloud that reflected on the water surface. Looking at his smile, all her hair stood up on their ends. Her heartbeat raced as she became more vigilant.

She straightened her back as Puppeteer paced closer to her. He did not sit down. Instead, he stopped a few steps away from her.

“Is there anything you want to say?”

“Let’s see.” Lin Sanjiu plucked up her courage and said, “Didn’t we settle our old scores when we’re in the Red Nautilus? So, what’s up now?”

Puppeteer lowered his head. There was no expression on his face. The muscle below his eyes quivered, and the silver glitter around his eyes flickered.

“Don’t get me wrong. Even if I don’t kill you, it doesn’t mean that I like you,” he said softly, “If you want to chum up with me, I suggest you don’t. The consequences will be so unbearable that you will wish you’re dead.”

‘Tsk, what a mean person.’ Lin Sanjiu sighed. It seemed that Puppeteer had become even stronger. He could also control a Titan such as Sanduria. Being such an influential person like him, why was he so keen on getting the grand prize?

‘Could he know about the contents of the grand prize?’

With that thought in mind, Lin Sanjiu said tentatively, “Did you say I haven’t opened the grand prize yet? Where did you hear it from? I opened it the moment I won the game.”

A mocking smile appeared on Puppeteer’s lips. “Oh? So, what did you wish for?”

‘Does he still think the rumor spread by Geran is true?’ Lin Sanjiu’s heart jumped even faster as she put on a shocked expression on her face. However, deep inside, she cursed herself for not taking up Qing Jiuliu’s acting class. She hoped that her acting was unimpeachable. “What are you talking about? Do you still not know that?”

Puppeteer raised one of his brows in suspicion.

“There is only an ability within the grand prize. The grand prize cannot make your wish come true.” Lin Sanjiu waved her hand. “Don’t you think it’s too absurd for such an omnipotent object like that to exist? If it does, whoever gets the grand prize should make a wish to end this doomsday and free us all from this hell.”

“Of course, some wishes can come true while others can’t.”

“Anyway, I didn’t make any wishes. There is only an ability called Scrooge McDuck’s power in it. I can show you if you don’t believe it.”

“Are you trying to tell me that,” said Puppeteer said as he lowered down his body and looked into Lin Sanjiu eyes, “When you see a living person against whom you have no grudges, you still choose to kill him for your own benefit even though he begs for your mercy?”

Lin Sanjiu’s mouth was wide agape. She had no idea how much Puppeteer knew. Therefore, she was not sure if she should refute the statement or not. She made up her mind at last and decided to go along with it. “What did you say? Kill people? All I did was just open a grand prize.”

The moment she finished speaking, the hair on her back bristled as she sensed something coming at her. She hurriedly released a vortex to intercept the attack but to no avail. Her vortex did nothing to the attack, and she was flung away.

Lin Sanjiu landed on the ground with a loud thud. She immediately got up and was stunned when she raised her head.

Puppeteer was standing right in front of her with his arms crossed in front of his chest. His hair cascaded in waves over his collarbone.

“One thing you’d better remember is that I’m a man who can’t stand nonsense,” he spoke in the same soft and polite fashion, but there was a twist of sadistic and cold intent in his voice. “After being sent into another Starry Carnival Amusement Park, I came across the grand prize, so I’m very sure that in every Amusement Park, the grand prize is a humanoid present that looks no different from a living human.”

‘So, he doesn’t know what happens when a grand prize is opened?’

Lin Sanjiu became curious. She wanted to ask Puppeteer what happened in the other Starry Carnival Amusement Park, but she feared that would trigger him. Right now, she had no other choice but to continue with her lies. “No matter what, I have opened the grand prize. There’s only an ability inside of it. Take it if you can.”

Puppeteer straightened his back. The final bit of expression was gone from his face. Lin Sanjiu could not tell if he really believed in her. If she was a sadist who had no qualms in taking other people’s lives, then perhaps it would add more credit to her words. However, Puppeteer knew she was not that cruel.

‘I hope he would at least believe half of it.’

Bracing herself against his cold stare, Lin Sanjiu waited for him to say something, but he said nothing in the end. She could not stand the anxiety that kept scratching her heart, so she asked, “Everything I said is the truth. Believe it or not. You may think I am a liar, but the cat doctor saved your life. Don’t you think you’re going too rough on him? Where is he now? Can you release the cat doctor—”

“Are you telling the truth?” Puppeteer intercepted her, giving her a smileless grin. “If you really do care about that cat, you should’ve thought twice before opening your mouth. Do you honestly think I don’t have a way to deal with your bullshit?”

Lin Sanjiu’s heart skipped a beat, and she stopped talking.

“After realizing it was you who got the grand prize, I began a search on you. I’ve deployed many stool pigeons across the Twelve World Centrum. I’ve gone for the Consular Officer and released a warrant. eBay is just one of my ways of tracking you. Initially, I didn’t place much hope in it, but I never thought that, in the end, it’d be the one that would lead me to you.”

Lin Sanjiu did not know why he suddenly brought this topic up. She swallowed hard, getting more nervous with every ticking second. However, the wan-looking man clad in black leather was calm and patient. He took his time to finish talking.

“It’s funny that you’re not the reason I got this Special Item.” Staring fixedly at her, Puppeteer turned his body halfway and snapped his fingers before turning back to Lin Sanjiu with a grin. “I purposely made a detour to the Endless Tunnel because I had to retrieve a product I purchased from eBay. The product is now with me.”

Having no idea what he was talking about, Lin Sanjiu looked past Puppeteer on the grassy plain behind.

There was nothing in the grassy plain beside the tall and yellowing weeds that occasionally swayed along with the wind. Lin Sanjiu continued to look, and then it was at this moment that she realized the air was warping. A few figures were materializing in the air.

“With this product, I’ll know which words you said is the truth and which ones are lies, and to what extent you’ve lied.”

Puppeteer waited for a moment until the few figures walked closer to them. The puppets’ movements were rigid, but their speed was breakneck. They reached their location in the blink of an eye.

Similar to the tanned skin man, these puppets had hollow eyes and their necks were separated into half by a strong and sturdy thread. When Lin Sanjiu ran her gaze across them, she jumped.

Amongst the trio, one of them was not a puppet.

Standing in a daze, Lin Sanjiu looked straight at the familiar face. She even began to suspect that Puppeteer had put an illusion in her mind.

Hu Changzai opened his mouth, and the word “Xiao Jiu” lingered on the tip of his tongue. When he realized the consequences of doing so, he snapped his lips closed and stared vacantly at her.

Two puppets were now holding him. His countenance was pale while his hair had become longer. He looked a little bit jittery but otherwise healthy. He seemed to have put on some weight as he was a lot skinnier in Lin Sanjiu’s memories.

Realizing that Puppeteer was staring at her, Lin Sanjiu hastily summoned the Tornado Whip, pretending to be startled by the appearance of the puppets. After a short while, she felt the steely stare disappear.

“Did you hear everything?” Puppeteer turned to Hu Changzai. The glitter around his eyes changing from silvery gray to crimson red. “What were lies?”

Lin Sanjiu’s heart was beating fast.