Doomsday Wonderland

Lin Sanjiu had never been so hell-bent on wanting to seek revenge on Puppeteer before.

Struck by the lead ball, she flew across the sky, pulled herself up from the ground, rushed back to the running track, only to be hit by another lead ball again. It seemed like she only needed to pull through this cycle for a minute, and she would be free from this hellhole. However, somehow, she greatly underestimated the intensity of the lead ball at the last minute.

Puppeteer’s order had the same power as the rules of the game. The moment he barked his request, the remaining contenders and puppets pulled out all the stops. Hail after hail of lead balls was flung into the sky, looking like a tsunami determined to gobble everything in its path down.

When Lin Sanjiu was once again sent skyward by a lead ball, a large “4” digit appeared on the ground.

This was the second time she was consecutively knocked away by a lead ball. The first time, she did not even have the chance to step into the running track, and another lead ball had rammed into her, throwing her off track and sending her flying even further away. Panting heavily, Lin Sanjiu glanced ahead, and her heart seized in her chest.

The running track behind her was filled with many perfect arc-shaped trajectories that scintillated under the sun. For every line that disappeared, more took its place.

The web that was made of trajectory lines began to fill the sky, getting closer, and soon Lin Sanjiu would not have any room to hide. Lead balls were everywhere her vision could cover. Some were still traveling fast in the air while the others had landed on the ground. “Damn it!” Cursing under her breath, Lin Sanjiu changed her rocket to top speed as she tried to make a detour back to the running track before the lead ball could reach her.

Nevertheless, it was by no means an easy feat since the shot putters in the distance had further enchanted the lead balls. Their speed was mind-blowingly fast and their accuracy was deadly. Lin Sanjiu had just taken two steps forward before she was hit in the midriff. She was thrown off balance and sent flying farther away from her destination. At the same time, the number on the ground changed to “3”.

“Can you stop getting hit?” Soulsqn yelled exasperatedly as she slapped Lin Sanjiu’s back. “Go around it! Keep running!”

“Easier said than done. Damn it!” Lin Sanjiu grumbled. She could only swear like a trooper inwardly as the situation did not give her the luxury to even speak now. Her chest felt like a furnace was burning inside. Every breath she inhaled was scalding hot. Her lungs stung, and she was running out of breath.

She was very confident that one more hit, and it would be game over for her. Neither did she want to know the punishment, nor did she have any interest in it. She pushed the top speed button for one second.

“That’s impossible…” The fatty did not have a chance to finish his sentence before his mouth was filled with a gust of wind that suddenly got stronger. His head was almost blown off by the gale. When the world finally returned to its original position in his sight, the first thing he saw was Lin Sanjiu’s relaxed expression. They had reached the edge of the running track at the last second.

“Watch out!” the fatty suddenly shouted, startling Lin Sanjiu. No sooner had she crouched down than a lead ball swooped past her head, drawing a flashing trajectory in the air.

“Don’t move!” Soulsqn yelled as well. Lin Sanjiu activated her Hypersensory. She clenched her muscles and held herself back from stepping ahead. At this very second, another lead ball came, leaving behind a similar trajectory in front of her.

In the blink of an eye, there were two trajectories: one overhead and another in front of her. They trapped and froze her in a confined space.

She had no idea what these trajectories were, but she soon knew the answer in the next second.

Apparently, she was not the only one who imitated contender no. 17’s method. While Lin Sanjiu was crouching on the ground, she captured a faint figure that was materializing on the running track in front of her. There was only one person she knew who ran the footrace this way.

As the bearded man appeared from thin air and stepped on the running track, the number on his back reached “8”. Then, he twisted his body around and touched the glowing line in front of her.

It happened extremely quickly. It was already too late when Lin Sanjiu wanted to warn him.

The trajectory suddenly gave off an intense light as if it brimmed with excitement having finally caught a prey. Within a twinkle of an eye, the bearded man was sucked into the middle of the line, and the next thing Lin Sanjiu knew, he had already disappeared from the running track along with the glowing arc as if he had never existed before.

“Wha-What…?!” Stunned by what she just saw, Lin Sanjiu was lost for words.

“Don’t just keep looking? Run!”

It was only when Soulsqn shouted that she snapped out from her startled state. Lin Sanjiu quickly leaped forward when she spun her head around to see that Time had already closed in. However, the running track was covered with a dense layer of trajectory lines. Some of them were fading away while others had just begun to take shape. These trajectories formed into a net that shrouded even the sky.

Lin Sanjiu cursed inwardly as she turned around and darted out from the running track with celerity.

Due to Puppeteer’s order, the shot putter had to finish all the lead balls on the ground within a certain period of time. There were 300 or so players, but the number of lead balls on the ground was simply too numerous to count. It was like a sea of lead balls. If Puppeteer did not order the players to clear all the lead balls in a minute, there should be some space for Lin Sanjiu to dodge.

Now, the mantle of trajectories had forced Lin Sanjiu out of the running track. She did not know how far she had to run. All of the contenders seemed to have miraculously disappeared, and she could not see anybody around.

The glimmer of hope in the grand prize faded like the sun on a cloudy day. His face paled and his body quivered vigorously as if he had just come out of a pool of freezing water.

“Why?” He turned around, and a swell of rage filled his heart as he yelled at Puppeteer, “What has my sister done to you? Why must you kill her?”

The man that was dressed in a black jacket did not spare him a glance. He just stared ahead at the shot putter in the distance through his squinted eyes. It was chaos. Some of them were yelling, “I’ve run out of lead balls!” while others were shouting, “Where are they? I can’t see them anymore!” Be that as it may, regardless of how desperate they were and how hard they tried, all the shot putters who were not puppets were disappearing one after another. Right after they threw the last lead ball in their hands, and if the ball did not hit any target, the shot putter would be pulled forward by something unseen and vanish into thin air.

Puppeteer continued to stare for some time. Bored, he swatted at the invisible dust on the hem of his shirt before turning his head to the grand prize. Then, he asked as if he had just heard his accusation, “What did you say?”

The courage the grand prize had mustered due to his rage skedaddled back to the depths of his heart. With a pair of red-rimmed eyes, he muttered, “My sis…”

“Your sister,” Puppeteer cut in without waiting for the grand prize to finish his sentence. A satirical grin danced around his lips as he sneered. “There is nothing great about your sister except for one thing — she’s always able to turn everything around.”

The grand prize opened his mouth. He wanted to say something, but something inside him held him back. Seeing the grand prize open and close his mouth like a stupid goldfish blowing bubbles, Puppeteer averted his gaze and spoke in his usual soft and gloomy tone, “Turn around and see for yourself if you don’t believe me.”

For a second, the grand prize thought Puppeteer would seize the chance and attack him when he turned around. However, another thought pushed the previous idea away. There was no reason for Puppeteer to go to such great lengths to take his life. With his strength, he could have killed him straight away. With that in mind, the grand prize turned his head to face the running track.

“Hmm?” He looked around the field, and his eyes shone brightly.

Puppeteer sounded upset, bordering on disappointment. “She escaped again.”