Doomsday Wonderland

Whatever happened next was like flashes of fragmented images to Lin Sanjiu.

She had a vague impression of someone shrieking and laughing loudly. Someone expressed something in astonishment. Another person was mumbling non-stop as if he or she was chanting, speaking or singing… Lights. There were all sorts of lights. They flashed in the darkness as these images appeared before Lin Sanjiu like a strange, haphazard montage…

When Lin Sanjiu finally snapped back to reality, the scarce moonlight was shining on her shoulders. Unbeknownst to her, she had somehow gotten out of the residential building.

“Quick, sis.” Ji Shanqing pulled Lin Sanjiu’s arm while he ran. He was running so fast that Lin Sanjiu felt that she would trip anytime. “We don’t have much time!”

Her lungs were on fire. Lin Sanjiu clenched her teeth just to keep up with Ji Shanqing. After Ji Shanqing looked behind them a few times, he eventually brought her to another residential building. When they finally slowed down, Lin Sanjiu took to opportunity to catch her breath. Then, she looked at the girl who had been following behind them.

“Wh-what’s the matter?”

“Didn’t you see what happened?” Ji Shanqing whispered the moment they entered the stairway. He panted as he spoke, as if he had just spent quite a large amount of energy. However, he seemed like he did not understand Lin Sanjiu’s question. “That woman suddenly attacked us. I activated my [Economic Bubble] and caused her attack to hit the other bald bloke, but his injuries aren’t severe. I think they will chase up to us soon.”

With the light in his hand, Lin Sanjiu narrowed her eyes. Despite her blurry vision, Lin Sanjiu noticed that Ji Shanqing’s back and shoulders had been hit by a couple of attacks. His outer trench coat had been torn by something. It revealed more tattered cloth material beneath it but she couldn’t see his skin.

“It’s okay. I am a grand prize,” Ji Shanqing felt Lin Sanjiu’s gaze even without turning to look at her. “My outer wrapping is a little damaged. It doesn’t really affect me.”

Lin Sanjiu nodded a little vacantly.

“It’s all thanks to you two,” the girl who Lin Sanjiu did not know squeezed past her shoulders and into the stairway. “If he didn’t hold back those two demons, I wouldn’t be able to escape. I might had even ended up like Madam Cui.”

Ji Shanqing put the [Ability Polishing Agent] into his chest pocket. A soft silvery light flickered every now and then. Despite the dimly-lit surroundings, Lin Sanjiu could see the girl’s face very clearly. Under that long, glossy black hair, was a fair and very gentle face. Her facial features were only average but she had a fresh and pleasing countenance. She had a sort of sweet and genial aura which easily held a person’s gaze.

Lin Sanjiu quickly looked away out of courtesy, “Do you know who that man and woman are?”

Before the girl could answer, Ji Shanqing immediately replied, “I don’t know but I have a conjecture…”

“What?” the girl looked to him and asked.

Ji Shanqing did not answer and remained quiet for some time. He led the way and quietly checked the door of every unit. Lin Sanjiu did not know what he was looking for. After some time, Lin Sanjiu couldn’t hold herself back and was just about to question him when he suddenly let out a sigh, “Forget it. There are still many logical loopholes in my conjecture. I’ll tell you when I figured things out.”

“Oh,” the girl commented. She leaned close to Lin Sanjiu and added, “I don’t know why your friend brought us back to these residential buildings. I really don’t wish to be here.”

After she said that, Ji Shanqing suddenly stopped in front of a gated door. He turned and looked back at the two of them. Without giving them any explanations, he bent over a little and directed the [Ability Polishing Agent] toward the door lock.

Even though this was the first time Lin Sanjiu had seen this girl, she felt a vague sense of kinship as if she had known the girl for a long time. She nodded at the girl, trying to assure her, before she turned to Ji Shanqing and asked, “What are you doing?”

Click. The gate which was unlocked by Ji Shanqing already answered her question.

“I’ll look inside first,” he opened the gate and stepped in cautiously. “The best place to hide a drop of water is in the ocean. We can’t call this an ocean, but if we hide here those two people probably wouldn’t find us that easily.”

“The door wasn’t locked?” Lin Sanjiu held the girl’s hand and followed Ji Shanqing into the apartment unit rather nervously.

“The owners didn’t lock the door properly. The person must have left in a hurry.” Ji Shanqing replied as he held up the [Ability Polishing Agent] in his hand. Once the bottle of silvery light was out of his pockets, it lit up the place in front of them.

Logically speaking, they should be in the living room. However, everything in the room was covered by cloth so they couldn’t tell what it looked like originally. The people who were living in this apartment unit must have spent a significant amount of effort covering everything—the floor, the walls and the furniture—with cloths. Their blankets and pillows were on the floor and the whole room seemed awash in a sea of cloth. If the place wasn’t so old and dirty, the living room would actually seem rather cozy.

“Stay here, I’ll go see inside to see if there are other people,” Ji Shanqing told Lin Sanjiu and the girl. After that, he walked deeper into the apartment unit.

“I told him the same thing not long ago.” Lin Sanjiu thought absentmindedly to herself. She didn’t know why her legs were aching. It was as though she had sprinted for a long time. Before she knew it, she was squatting on the floor.

“Are you alright with him going in there alone?” the girl squatted by her side.

Lin Sanjiu shook her head in a daze. She didn’t understand what the girl was saying. The girl gave her a sidelong glance and stopped asking.

Ji Shanqing was away for a long time. The two of them waited quietly for some time before Lin Sanjiu suddenly turned to the girl and asked, “What is your name?”

“Are names even necessary now?” the girl sighed and smiled. “You can call me whatever you want.”

“What should I call her?” Lin Sanjiu frowned. Amidst the dust-filled room, Lin Sanjiu’s thought process seemed as slow as it could be. Finally, Ji Shanqing returned. His sudden footsteps startled her and interrupted her thoughts. Lin Sanjiu stood up suddenly as if she heard a clap of thunder rumbling right beside her.

“I’ve already surveyed this unit. There isn’t anybody inside,” Ji Shanqing looked slightly exhausted when he walked into the living room once again. “We can hide here temporarily. Sis, take a seat. I will go and lock the door.”

After he took a few steps, he turned to both of them with a serious expression on his face, “No matter what happens outside, you must not make a single sound, alright?”

The girl beside her nodded. Once Ji Shanqing turned around, the girl immediately whispered to Lin Sanjiu, “Are the rooms really empty?”

Lin Sanjiu froze.

“What are you implying?”

Ji Shanqing looked up and said something as he was locking the door. However, Lin Sanjiu did not catch what he said because the girl was still whispering to her, “I think I saw someone walking over there.”

Shocked, Lin Sanjiu heart pounded rapidly. She threw a suspicious glance at Ji Shanqing’s back. Just when she was about to call him, she immediately kept quiet.

“No, no. Something is wrong. He only needed to walk through the apartment once, but it took him such a long time… Something is amiss. Why did he leave us out here. What was he doing in the room? I think he is keeping something from you,” the girl spoke even softer. “I guess— Oh no! Look!”

Lin Sanjiu looked where she was pointing and caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure with the corner of her eyes. The black figure disappeared near the master bedroom. The shadow beneath the door gap was long and deformed but it definitely belonged to a person.

“There is really someone in the room.” Just as this thought surfaced in Lin Sanjiu’s mind, she scrambled up abruptly. Her actions immediately drew Ji Shanqing’s attention, and the latter stood at the entrance and stared at her with a puzzled look, “Sis, what’s wrong?”

Lin Sanjiu’s eyes widened. She looked at him and then at the room. She was momentarily dumbfounded.

“He didn’t lock the door,” the girl walked toward Lin Sanjiu and whispered. “If he doesn’t lock the door, what will we do if those two people come?”

“You’re right…” Lin Sanjiu noticed the door behind Ji Shanqing with that little reminder from the girl. The girl was right. Ji Shanqing did not lock the door, he did not even secure the door chain. It was still dangling. “Why didn’t you lock the door?”

“I haven’t had the time,” Ji Shanqing lowered his eyes without warning as if he was too guilty to look at her. “Why don’t you sit down and rest first… You look unwell.”

“That’s right! There is something wrong with him. He’s too young. He doesn’t know how to hide his act…” Lin Sanjiu remained tensed as she sat down slowly.

WIth a sound from the gate, the gate suddenly swung open the very next second. Even though Lin Sanjiu thought she was prepared, Ji Shanqing stepped out of the gate before she and the girl could react. Slam! He closed the gate. When Lin Sanjiu rushed for it, she already heard the sound of the key turning in the lock.

She had been locked inside the apartment unit!

“Ji Shanqing, what are you doing…” Lin Sanjiu held the grills of the gate. Lin Sanjiu yelled at Ji Shanqing while the girl behind her suddenly cried out, “There’s someone!” Lin Sanjiu turned around.

The door of the master bedroom was now opened and it revealed the person—no, people, in the room. There were a few groups of people in the room and they were hiding in the shadows. None of them spoke as they stared at her.

The person standing closest to the bedroom door took a step forward. Suddenly, all the people behind him moved. It was as if everyone in the room had received a command. They walked out slowly from the bedroom.

“What should we do?” the girl was so horrified by the situation that tears welled up in her eyes. She tugged at Lin Sanjiu’s sleeves. “Who are those people?”

“Who are those people?” Lin Sanjiu immediately turned back to Ji Shanqing. Panic-stricken and anxious, Lin Sanjiu roared furiously at Ji Shanqing, “Why did you lock the two of us here?”

Ji Shanqing did not say a word.

Through the gate, Ji Shanqing raised the [Ability Polishing Agent] in his hand. There was a hint of bitterness in his face when he looked at Lin Sanjiu. After a few seconds, he spoke gently in a quiet voice, “Sis, you said ‘two of us’, but where is the other person?”

Lin Sanjiu looked at Ji Shanqing blankly. She didn’t understand what he was saying.

“From the beginning, there was only you and me…” Ji Shanqing spoke softly as if he was afraid that he might agitate her if he spoke too loudly. “When I went into the rooms to look for the key, I already confirmed my suspicion. You were just talking to the air as if there was a third person with us. However, there is no one in the unit except yourself.”

Lin Sanjiu twisted her head to look behind her instantly. The girl was still standing there. Every hair on her head and line on her skin seemed real. The people who were walking out of the bedroom, one after the other, slowly filled the apartment. They were getting close to her.

“It’s not possible. Don’t lie to me…”

“Sis, I know it is hard for you to understand. But I will tell you what I need to say before I leave,” Ji Shanqing lowered her head and heaved a deep sigh. He rubbed his face exhaustedly. “The things that you can see right now… don’t exist. You can only see them because you’re mentally unstable. The people who are living in this residential estate are the same as you… I’m going out now. I will attract the attention of those posthumans. Even though they did not use their abilities, I guess they are posthumans. They won’t search each and every unit for the meantime… In other words, you will be safe for a short period. You can’t unlock the door now, so why don’t you just stay inside and wait for me to return.”

Ji Shanqing took a deep breath, then bit his lip. He looked at Lin Sanjiu’s confused and frightened face once again. “I don’t know why they keep these mentally ill people with no abilities in these residential buildings… This time, I hope to find an answer. However, if I don’t come back and you hear anyone trying to open the door or call for you, you must escape. Just jump out from the bedroom window.”

It was obvious that Ji Shanqing was also scared. He stuck out his cold trembling fingers and held on to Lin Sanjiu’s outstretched hand. After a while, he spoke to her softly, “Sis, I’m leaving now.”