Doomsday Wonderland

There was more than one dining block in Exodus, and Woyu had no time to think about which one the man was going to. His forehead beaded with sweat, he tried to figure out a plan, but his brain was such a mess that nothing came out. Right now, he couldn’t do anything besides picking up his pace and running as fast as he could.

Woyu had never hated the corridor more. It was way too long, and he could not see the end of it. To make his situation even worse, there weren’t any pots or vases along the way for him to hide behind either.

“Oh sh*t, oh sh*t, oh sh*t…” Woyu rattled as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. His fat little cheeks bobbed up and down as he stormed down the corridor. His chest was burning and his legs were aching, but he could not stop right now. Suddenly, a certain sentence he read from somewhere popped up in his mind. ‘He who touches pitch shall be defiled.’ Woyu couldn’t remember where he read this sentence, but he found that it fitted his situation right now.

Considering the fact that the man wouldn’t let go of a prisoner, Woyu knew full well of his own fate once the man found out about his presence as well.

As a former robber, he smelt a fatalistic sense of familiarity from this incident. Unlike him and his comrades, the man on his heel was extremely successful as a burglar. He was far more experienced and far better than them from various angles. Be that as it may, now was not the right time to admire his skill. Woyu shook his head to chase the thought away. He knew that to commit such a big scam over and over again, there was one crucial action that had to be achieved—eliminate every witness, for nothing kept a secret better than a dead man.

“What should I do, what should I do, what should I do…”

Just as Woyu was in a quandary about what he should do right now, a figure appeared at the brim of his vision. It glided across the floor and soon arrived in front of him.

It was a maglev pod.

Woyu’s eyes shone as an idea popped up in his brain. Before the pod could glide past him, he stretched his arm to reach out for the pod.

The pod stopped.

As a man born with clumsy hands and feet, Woyu had never before felt so agile. In just a few seconds, he kicked the floor and hopped into the maglev pod even though the pod did not lower its height and open the hatch for him. The second he threw himself onto the seat, the pod began to glide forward towards its destination again. Desperation crawled up his throat; however, he did not allow it to sink in and instead swallowed it back to the pit of his stomach. He rummaged through his memory as he tried to recall how Lin Sanjiu maneuvered the pod. Then, with a quick swipe on the steering wheel, he turned the pod around.

Woyu’s heart jumped so fast, it almost leaped out of his throat. Right now, it was a race against time. He had to run as fast as he could before Silas reclaimed control over the pod. With that in mind, he stomped on the accelerator hard, and the pod flew out far into the corridor. Soon enough, he arrived at the end of the corridor that forked into several passages. His eyes gleamed, and just as he was about to speed up again, the pod began to slow down.

Then, Silas’s voice, which sounded plaintive and cold right now, rang out, “Restoring system control.”

At the same time, Woyu caught a faint murmur of voices rippling behind him. Before Woyu could make out the sound, the pod began to move backward. Startled, he quickly jumped out of the pod and landed on the floor with a dull thump. Without wasting a second, he dashed into one of the passages ahead. He could hear the pitter-patter of his feet with every step he took, but he did not have the time to care about that right now.

He was very familiar with the route, as he walked to the dining block numerous times a day. Even though he knew there was no way he could outrun a pod, he did not give up and stormed down the passage at his top speed. Perhaps God finally realized that he needed some respite from all the crap, for his effort was eventually rewarded. He pushed the doors open and stepped into the dining block before the man arrived.

The air conditioning was always stronger here. It always made him shiver whenever he stepped into the dining block, and this time was no different. It was just that he couldn’t be sure he was shivering because of the cold, or something else. He quickly scanned the dining block around. Then, he saw the Special Item Lin Sanjiu left for him on the table.

Woyu hastily went forward and scooped it up from the table. His tautly pulled nerves unwound a little, and it was only then that he felt the belated pain in his chest that was caused by all the sprinting earlier on. The dining block was quiet, and nothing could be heard aside from his own breathing, which came out ragged and loud.

‘Maybe he went to one of the other dining blocks…’

Before the thought could take shape in his mind, the table slid open and a holographic screen appeared. It took him several seconds before he made out the word “menu” from the inverted screen. He inwardly chided his luck and dove below the table at the same time that the door opened from outside.

The majority of the space beneath the table was occupied by several metal cases, so he had no choice but to lay himself flat on top of them. After he settled himself in between the table and the metal cases, a slight machinery whirring sound greeted his ears.

Then, a tuneless humming along with a series of heavy footsteps came in.

There were a lot of tables in the dining block, but Lin Sanjiu chose this table because the leather sofa looked a lot more comfortable than the other chairs. Apparently, the man thought the same way as well. Woyu watched the pair of black boots stride towards the table he was currently hiding under as the man threw himself on the couch.

Woyu stared at his own knees and covered his mouth with his hand.

“Smoke bacon, ham, beef, bread, eggs, and vegetables? Where the hell did she get all this food from?” the man asked as he flipped through the menu.

Silas remained silent. He didn’t expect Silas to give any answer anyway. He smacked his lips and gave out his order. After he ordered his meal from the screen, he laughed. “The food in the freezer isn’t worth much money even if we sell it all. Although she didn’t pay the highest price, the process of getting back Exodus was quite smooth this time. We can sell it again after a couple of months… Oh, Silas, could you fetch me another glass of rum?”

Silas responded, and then the metal cases behind Woyu began to buzz. She should be in the process of preparing the man’s dinner. Shortly after, the aroma of the food spread out and filled his nostrils as the clattering of the cutlery wafted into his ears. The man was seemingly in a good mood as he feasted on the food while talking to Silas, “Although you have been through this several times, it’s such a shame that you are not a real human being, so you cannot understand the complexities and intricacies behind this grand heist. They never know what happened to their house and couldn’t ask for anybody’s help.”

“Alright,” Silas responded gently.

“I remember there was this one ridiculous brat who posted a message in Mokugyo Forum to summon a group of posthumans to help him look for his house. Well, he did successfully recruit a team of posthumans in the end, but the money he paid them was equivalent to the value of a house. Kinda stupid, don’t you think so? He could have just used the money to buy another house. For days, they excavated nearly a hundred meters wide and dug three feet deep into the ground. Guess what they found?” He paused for a moment and then cut the steak into a bite-size, grinning broadly. “Nothing! They found nothing! Hah!”

He then tossed his head back and let out a fit of boisterous laughter. It took him a while to calm himself down and continue his story as he wiped the tears from his eyes. “I wonder what kind of reaction they would have given if they ever found out that, the whole time they were working hard on the ground, I was hiding outside the atmosphere along with Exodus. It would be pretty spectacular.” He sighed. “Unfortunately, you cannot understand my feelings and the humor in it.”

“Yes,” Silas replied.

“Oh yeah, before I forget, remove the authority of the administrator and guests from the system.”

“Alright, please re-confirm the passcode,” Silas answered softly.

“MOTHERSHIP COMMANDER,1082-XR-2901-A46.”

Woyu was wide-eyed and stunned when he heard the passcode. He couldn’t recover his senses for a long while. By the time he snapped himself back to reality, he realized he was repeating the passcode over and over again. He feared that he might fail to remember it, since it was too long.

Desperately, he repeated the letters and numbers silently as he fumbled through his body, searching for a paper and pen. Unfortunately, since Lin Sanjiu had taken all his stuff away and had given him new clothes, he couldn’t find any of it. If Lin Sanjiu knew his situation right now, she would certainly regret taking all his belongings away.

“1082, wait for him to finish, XR, I will be safe by then, 2901…” Woyu mumbled as he flattened himself real close against the metal cases.

‘As long as she doesn’t call me at this time, then…’

Suddenly, Woyu felt a vibration in his chest. His heart went pit-a-pat as the hair on the nape of his neck stood on its ends. He glanced down quickly and realized the situation right away. Fortunately, the communication device would vibrate several times before it rang out. He hastily lifted up the device and pressed all the buttons. At last, the vibration deadened and the device did not ring up.

His palpitating chest slowly calmed down as the wheels in his brain started turning. He held the communication device tightly to his chest and murmured again, “A46. 1082, Lin Sankiu will certainly call again, XR. No, that’s not going to work, 2901. I should call her first, A46. If I want to call her, I have to cover the speaker.”

Considering his condition, this was the best idea Woyu could think of at the moment.

He pressed the buttons on the communication device randomly, as he couldn’t see clearly under the table. As he’d only ever received calls and never sent out any of his own before, and plus he was unfamiliar with the communication device, he didn’t even know if he was using it right or not. The only thing he was very sure of was that he had lowered the volume. His effort paid off, nonetheless, as a low whisper came from the other side of the line.

“…Sis?” It was an unfamiliar voice. It was soothing to the ear, but there was a hint of a tremble in it.

‘Did I dial it wrong?’

Woyu thought for a second and hesitated on whether to hang up or not. His goal was to prevent Lin Sanjiu from calling him, so it didn’t really matter who was on the other end of the line. He had no idea why, but the person was breathing very lightly and spoke in a very low voice. It was as if he was afraid of startling somebody.

Woyu moved the speaker away and lowered the volume even further. Then, he gently laid the communication device on the floor.

“Silas, your menu is getting richer,” the man exclaimed. A slight clinking came from the table, and it seemed to Woyu that the man had finally finished his meal. He leaned back against the sofa and stretched his legs forward, which gave Woyu a fright when he almost hit him. After that, the man spoke again, “Let’s go and have a look at the prisoner.”

‘1082, finally, XR, he is leaving, 2901!’

The man retracted his legs, stood up from the table and, with his pair of black boots, walked towards the entrance of the dining block. Woyu prayed hard deep down while staring at the entrance until he saw the boots disappear from the opened door. He waited quietly for a few seconds before letting out a long sigh of relief once he was assured that the man was far away.

“A46,” he whispered before hanging up the communication device

As he crawled his way out from under the table, Silas’s voice rang out. Perhaps the man hadn’t gone far yet, for the response from the system could still be heard in the dining block.

“Yes, commander,” Silas said softly.

‘What is he up to now?’ Woyu wondered.

“No, commander. It isn’t a dog.”

Woyu froze.

“No, it isn’t a lizard either. The pet is a human male.”

There was more than one dining block in Exodus, and Woyu had no time to think about which one the man was going to. His forehead beaded with sweat, he tried to figure out a plan, but his brain was such a mess that nothing came out. Right now, he couldn’t do anything besides picking up his pace and running as fast as he could.

Woyu had never hated the corridor more. It was way too long, and he could not see the end of it. To make his situation even worse, there weren’t any pots or vases along the way for him to hide behind either.

“Oh sh*t, oh sh*t, oh sh*t…” Woyu rattled as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. His fat little cheeks bobbed up and down as he stormed down the corridor. His chest was burning and his legs were aching, but he could not stop right now. Suddenly, a certain sentence he read from somewhere popped up in his mind. ‘He who touches pitch shall be defiled.’ Woyu couldn’t remember where he read this sentence, but he found that it fitted his situation right now.

Considering the fact that the man wouldn’t let go of a prisoner, Woyu knew full well of his own fate once the man found out about his presence as well.

As a former robber, he smelt a fatalistic sense of familiarity from this incident. Unlike him and his comrades, the man on his heel was extremely successful as a burglar. He was far more experienced and far better than them from various angles. Be that as it may, now was not the right time to admire his skill. Woyu shook his head to chase the thought away. He knew that to commit such a big scam over and over again, there was one crucial action that had to be achieved—eliminate every witness, for nothing kept a secret better than a dead man.

“What should I do, what should I do, what should I do…”

Just as Woyu was in a quandary about what he should do right now, a figure appeared at the brim of his vision. It glided across the floor and soon arrived in front of him.

It was a maglev pod.

Woyu’s eyes shone as an idea popped up in his brain. Before the pod could glide past him, he stretched his arm to reach out for the pod.

The pod stopped.

As a man born with clumsy hands and feet, Woyu had never before felt so agile. In just a few seconds, he kicked the floor and hopped into the maglev pod even though the pod did not lower its height and open the hatch for him. The second he threw himself onto the seat, the pod began to glide forward towards its destination again. Desperation crawled up his throat; however, he did not allow it to sink in and instead swallowed it back to the pit of his stomach. He rummaged through his memory as he tried to recall how Lin Sanjiu maneuvered the pod. Then, with a quick swipe on the steering wheel, he turned the pod around.

Woyu’s heart jumped so fast, it almost leaped out of his throat. Right now, it was a race against time. He had to run as fast as he could before Silas reclaimed control over the pod. With that in mind, he stomped on the accelerator hard, and the pod flew out far into the corridor. Soon enough, he arrived at the end of the corridor that forked into several passages. His eyes gleamed, and just as he was about to speed up again, the pod began to slow down.

Then, Silas’s voice, which sounded plaintive and cold right now, rang out, “Restoring system control.”

At the same time, Woyu caught a faint murmur of voices rippling behind him. Before Woyu could make out the sound, the pod began to move backward. Startled, he quickly jumped out of the pod and landed on the floor with a dull thump. Without wasting a second, he dashed into one of the passages ahead. He could hear the pitter-patter of his feet with every step he took, but he did not have the time to care about that right now.

He was very familiar with the route, as he walked to the dining block numerous times a day. Even though he knew there was no way he could outrun a pod, he did not give up and stormed down the passage at his top speed. Perhaps God finally realized that he needed some respite from all the crap, for his effort was eventually rewarded. He pushed the doors open and stepped into the dining block before the man arrived.

The air conditioning was always stronger here. It always made him shiver whenever he stepped into the dining block, and this time was no different. It was just that he couldn’t be sure he was shivering because of the cold, or something else. He quickly scanned the dining block around. Then, he saw the Special Item Lin Sanjiu left for him on the table.

Woyu hastily went forward and scooped it up from the table. His tautly pulled nerves unwound a little, and it was only then that he felt the belated pain in his chest that was caused by all the sprinting earlier on. The dining block was quiet, and nothing could be heard aside from his own breathing, which came out ragged and loud.

‘Maybe he went to one of the other dining blocks…’

Before the thought could take shape in his mind, the table slid open and a holographic screen appeared. It took him several seconds before he made out the word “menu” from the inverted screen. He inwardly chided his luck and dove below the table at the same time that the door opened from outside.

The majority of the space beneath the table was occupied by several metal cases, so he had no choice but to lay himself flat on top of them. After he settled himself in between the table and the metal cases, a slight machinery whirring sound greeted his ears.

Then, a tuneless humming along with a series of heavy footsteps came in.

There were a lot of tables in the dining block, but Lin Sanjiu chose this table because the leather sofa looked a lot more comfortable than the other chairs. Apparently, the man thought the same way as well. Woyu watched the pair of black boots stride towards the table he was currently hiding under as the man threw himself on the couch.

Woyu stared at his own knees and covered his mouth with his hand.

“Smoke bacon, ham, beef, bread, eggs, and vegetables? Where the hell did she get all this food from?” the man asked as he flipped through the menu.

Silas remained silent. He didn’t expect Silas to give any answer anyway. He smacked his lips and gave out his order. After he ordered his meal from the screen, he laughed. “The food in the freezer isn’t worth much money even if we sell it all. Although she didn’t pay the highest price, the process of getting back Exodus was quite smooth this time. We can sell it again after a couple of months… Oh, Silas, could you fetch me another glass of rum?”

Silas responded, and then the metal cases behind Woyu began to buzz. She should be in the process of preparing the man’s dinner. Shortly after, the aroma of the food spread out and filled his nostrils as the clattering of the cutlery wafted into his ears. The man was seemingly in a good mood as he feasted on the food while talking to Silas, “Although you have been through this several times, it’s such a shame that you are not a real human being, so you cannot understand the complexities and intricacies behind this grand heist. They never know what happened to their house and couldn’t ask for anybody’s help.”

“Alright,” Silas responded gently.

“I remember there was this one ridiculous brat who posted a message in Mokugyo Forum to summon a group of posthumans to help him look for his house. Well, he did successfully recruit a team of posthumans in the end, but the money he paid them was equivalent to the value of a house. Kinda stupid, don’t you think so? He could have just used the money to buy another house. For days, they excavated nearly a hundred meters wide and dug three feet deep into the ground. Guess what they found?” He paused for a moment and then cut the steak into a bite-size, grinning broadly. “Nothing! They found nothing! Hah!”

He then tossed his head back and let out a fit of boisterous laughter. It took him a while to calm himself down and continue his story as he wiped the tears from his eyes. “I wonder what kind of reaction they would have given if they ever found out that, the whole time they were working hard on the ground, I was hiding outside the atmosphere along with Exodus. It would be pretty spectacular.” He sighed. “Unfortunately, you cannot understand my feelings and the humor in it.”

“Yes,” Silas replied.

“Oh yeah, before I forget, remove the authority of the administrator and guests from the system.”

“Alright, please re-confirm the passcode,” Silas answered softly.

“MOTHERSHIP COMMANDER,1082-XR-2901-A46.”

Woyu was wide-eyed and stunned when he heard the passcode. He couldn’t recover his senses for a long while. By the time he snapped himself back to reality, he realized he was repeating the passcode over and over again. He feared that he might fail to remember it, since it was too long.

Desperately, he repeated the letters and numbers silently as he fumbled through his body, searching for a paper and pen. Unfortunately, since Lin Sanjiu had taken all his stuff away and had given him new clothes, he couldn’t find any of it. If Lin Sanjiu knew his situation right now, she would certainly regret taking all his belongings away.

“1082, wait for him to finish, XR, I will be safe by then, 2901…” Woyu mumbled as he flattened himself real close against the metal cases.

‘As long as she doesn’t call me at this time, then…’

Suddenly, Woyu felt a vibration in his chest. His heart went pit-a-pat as the hair on the nape of his neck stood on its ends. He glanced down quickly and realized the situation right away. Fortunately, the communication device would vibrate several times before it rang out. He hastily lifted up the device and pressed all the buttons. At last, the vibration deadened and the device did not ring up.

His palpitating chest slowly calmed down as the wheels in his brain started turning. He held the communication device tightly to his chest and murmured again, “A46. 1082, Lin Sankiu will certainly call again, XR. No, that’s not going to work, 2901. I should call her first, A46. If I want to call her, I have to cover the speaker.”

Considering his condition, this was the best idea Woyu could think of at the moment.

He pressed the buttons on the communication device randomly, as he couldn’t see clearly under the table. As he’d only ever received calls and never sent out any of his own before, and plus he was unfamiliar with the communication device, he didn’t even know if he was using it right or not. The only thing he was very sure of was that he had lowered the volume. His effort paid off, nonetheless, as a low whisper came from the other side of the line.

“…Sis?” It was an unfamiliar voice. It was soothing to the ear, but there was a hint of a tremble in it.

‘Did I dial it wrong?’

Woyu thought for a second and hesitated on whether to hang up or not. His goal was to prevent Lin Sanjiu from calling him, so it didn’t really matter who was on the other end of the line. He had no idea why, but the person was breathing very lightly and spoke in a very low voice. It was as if he was afraid of startling somebody.

Woyu moved the speaker away and lowered the volume even further. Then, he gently laid the communication device on the floor.

“Silas, your menu is getting richer,” the man exclaimed. A slight clinking came from the table, and it seemed to Woyu that the man had finally finished his meal. He leaned back against the sofa and stretched his legs forward, which gave Woyu a fright when he almost hit him. After that, the man spoke again, “Let’s go and have a look at the prisoner.”

‘1082, finally, XR, he is leaving, 2901!’

The man retracted his legs, stood up from the table and, with his pair of black boots, walked towards the entrance of the dining block. Woyu prayed hard deep down while staring at the entrance until he saw the boots disappear from the opened door. He waited quietly for a few seconds before letting out a long sigh of relief once he was assured that the man was far away.

“A46,” he whispered before hanging up the communication device

As he crawled his way out from under the table, Silas’s voice rang out. Perhaps the man hadn’t gone far yet, for the response from the system could still be heard in the dining block.

“Yes, commander,” Silas said softly.

‘What is he up to now?’ Woyu wondered.

“No, commander. It isn’t a dog.”

Woyu froze.

“No, it isn’t a lizard either. The pet is a human male.”