Doomsday Wonderland

Just like the past ten days, the weather in the afternoon was refreshing. The sky above them was an azure blue and the light breeze kept their skin cool.

Lin Sanjiu stood alone on the soil bridge without any expression on her face. She ignored the slight commotion from the people below her as their voices disappeared into the sound of the fleeting breeze blowing past her ears.

“Number 43 didn’t even have a chance to finish his last sentence.”

Due to the limitations of the rules in this stage of the pocket dimension which nullified all their attacks, Lin Sanjiu had no choice but to stare at the green caterpillar that had grown fatter by a fair bit after its meal, climb down the soil bridge. It wriggled further and further away. Then, it buried under the soil and disappeared from her sight. Lin Sanjiu couldn’t help imagining how Number 43’s half-digested, contorted body would slowly move through the caterpillar’s body as it gut-slid along the ground with its undulating movements. She didn’t expect that her emotions would evoke such a strong reaction. Lin Sanjiu lowered her head and started retching by the edge of the soil bridge.

As she had not eaten for two months she had nothing in her stomach to repel. A bit of saliva mixed with her gastric acid dripped from the corner of her mouth. She took a deep breath and wiped her face casually. She tasted something salty in her mouth.

Maybe, Number 46 and the others now recognized the difference between Lin Sanjiu’s combat capabilities and their own. Perhaps, they finally realized how they were actually interdependent on each other. After Number 43 died, there was a long silence even on their side.

When the last day of their ten-day wait finally arrived, Harry announced that it was the end of the germination stage with his thunderous voice. Everyone was secretly relieved— at least that green caterpillar wouldn’t have the chance to kill another person.

“Huh? I looked away for a moment and another seedling disappeared…” Harry seemed to have just discovered this. He hesitated for a moment and let it slip without any concern. “With the exception of Number 49, all of you look wilted… The growth rate of this batch isn’t that ideal. All of you have to buck up.”

Lin Sanjiu lowered her eyes. Her face showed no emotions.

“In any case, in brief, all of you have successfully completed the germination stage. Congratulations.” Harry probably knew that none of them would really rejoice at this news so he quickly continued, “You will all go through a maturation stage which will last for ten days. This is not the site for your maturation stage. I will move all of you to the greenhouse soon.”

“So, the germination stage is outdoors, but the maturation stage will be in a greenhouse?”

Everyone looked at each other with puzzled faces.

“Once you’ve taken root in the greenhouse, there will be no more restrictions. You can absorb as many nutrients as you want and strength your body… This was what I promised you beforehand.”

Number 47, who was the weakest among them, did not show any sign of relief or contentment when he heard those words. All of them knew that Harry had not painted the full picture for them.

“When we reach the greenhouse, I will brief you on the rules and precautions during the maturation stage. Please follow me to the greenhouse now.”

Everyone was stumped. Number 46 immediately asked, “How do we go there?”

“Do you see the pair of giant shoes in the distance and the trouser hems above them? That’s not me— despite what you think— I’m not that fat. That is our destination. It is a large greenhouse shaped like two feet.”

Hearing this, Lin Sanjiu couldn’t help squinting her eyes, looking into the distance.

“I will countdown of ten seconds. This will give you some time to prepare. Everyone can leave the soil bridge after ten seconds. Please rush over to the greenhouse. I know that most of you are feeling quite weak now, and it might be difficult for you to move very fast even if you hurry. It is 4.23pm now. If you reach the entrance of the greenhouse before the sky turns dark, the transplantation will be a success. The seedlings that do not reach in time would slowly dry up on the ground. So, it isn’t that hard, right?”

If the sky would turn dark at 7 pm, they still had more than two hours. Considering the distance, Number 47 could reach the greenhouse even if he hobbled there.

“If you don’t have any questions, should I start now?” Harry’s question was pretty much meaningless. Before anyone of them could even respond, a loud “10” rang out in the sky above them.

Number 46 and the others in his group started moving. They had only managed to absorb nutrients from the infertile soil in their soil bridge for about three days. Even though they were stronger than when they were just bitten they were still weak and their faces were pale. During the ten seconds, all of them climbed up the low wall of their soil bridge. Once Harry gave them the signal, they would jump off this soil bridge that they couldn’t wait to get out of.

Lin Sanjiu moved slow to the low wall and placed her leg on it only when Harry yelled “2!

“0!”.

The moment Lin Sanjiu jumped off the edge, energy burst through her body, her forward thrust stirred up a gust of wind. Everyone almost thought that she could fly. Lin Sanjiu landed on the ground like a graceful cheetah, almost as if she was weightless. Then, she shot forward immediately. However, she had to force herself to stop when Harry suddenly spoke.

“But, you’re still in the open farm so there will be pests around.”

The expression of the others who stood near her immediately froze.

“What do you mean?” Number 48 asked urgently.

“The pests have their own territories. Since you were planted on the ridges in the open field, you’ve only met the pests in that area. Since you are out now, the other pests in the field may be attracted to your smell. “What are you waiting for? If you stand here any longer, another beetle might come,” Harry urged in a rather irresponsible manner.

“Fuck! I knew it wasn’t going to be this simple!” Someone swore. Following that, Number 45 was the first among them to start running. Over the past three days, she had been consuming human flesh and absorbing nutrients from the soil. She had the most vitality apart from Lin Sanjiu in the group. When a duoluozhong wanted to run at its maximum speed, it was not slow. Number 45 covered a long distance in just a few short seconds.

“Wait!” Number 46 yelled out after her but she ignored him.

“46,” Number 47 called out to him. Jumping off the soil bridge was just a simple action, but Number 47 was so weak that he fell to the ground. He looked up at Number 46, and he finally showed a hint of emotion on his stoic face, “Could you bring me with you to the greenhouse? No one knows what to expect during the maturation stage at the greenhouse. I could be useful to you in some way…”

The veins Number 46’s forehead throbbed. He pursed his lips and did not say anything. He shot a glance at Lin Sanjiu and suddenly shouted, “Hey, Number 49!”

Lin Sanjiu folded her arms and stood without moving. She looked up when she heard him.

“Just as what Number 47 had said, at the end of the day, we are from the same batch. Maybe, we could help each other out in the near future,” Number 46 seemed to have reorganized his mindset almost instantaneously. “I don’t have a personal grudge against you. We had to scheme with each other only because of the circumstances. Since our current goal is to survive, why don’t we cooperate for the time being? What do you think about that?”

“What do you want me to do?” Lin Sanjiu asked coldly.

“I hope that you will bring Number 47 along with you, nothing else.” Number 46 made this request much to her surprise. “Number 48 and I can support each other while we head to the greenhouse, but we really can’t bring Number 47 with us. He didn’t do anything to you during the germination stage. Could you take this into consideration and help him out?”

Lin Sanjiu shifted her gaze toward Number 47. He was lying listlessly on the ground. “You sure know how to win people over,” Lin Sanjiu laughed softly after a few seconds.

Number 46 hesitated for a second. Lin Sanjiu continued before he could say a word, “Thankfully, I don’t really care. I don’t know what you’re planning, but I don’t wish to see anyone die in front of me if I can help them without hurting myself. I particularly hate to see another person fall victim to the pests here.”

Whether she brought Number 47 along with her or otherwise, made no difference to her. However, her decision was a matter of life and death of Number 47. When 47 heard her words, his expression seemed to immediately lighten quite a bit. However, that deadpan face of his could display only a limited range of expressions.

“I’ll thank you on Number 47’s behalf,” Number 46 seemed relieved. He brushed his glossy hair aside and grinned at Lin Sanjiu. Then, he walked away with Number 48 by his side.

Lin Sanjiu watched their backs quietly as they walked further and further away but she did not move. After waiting for a while, Number 47 finally grew impatient. He forced himself up, quivering.

“Why aren’t we leaving?” After he ‘switched sides’, his voice revealed his awkwardness despite his expression, “If we don’t go now, the other pests will come out soon.”

“Wait. I need to ask Harry a few questions,” the tall woman answered as she lowered her eyes. Next, she raised her voice, “Harry, now that the germination stage is over, have the rules regarding the insect bites changed?”

“What do you mean?” Harry and Number 47 asked almost simultaneously.

“If a pest attempts to bite me, will they definitely be successful? Is it unavoidable?”

“Oh, it isn’t like that,” Harry suddenly realized that he had neglected to explain about that. “When all of you were seedlings, we were working on the assumption that all of you are planted on the ridges on the field so you can’t move. This is why you couldn’t evade the beetle’s bites. Now that the germination stage is over, all of you can move. This means that you can hide, run away or use any means to impede their movements when they attempt to bite you… Otherwise, no seedling would survive the journey to the greenhouse, but you need to take note of one thing, your attacks are useless against the pests.”

“Impede?”

“In other words, it is possible to come into contact with a pest?’

“Yes. If you can prevent yourself from being eaten first.”

“Understood,” Lin Sanjiu acknowledged and sent Harry away after she thought about his words for some time. Even as Number 47 looked hopefully at her, she did not show any intention to move even after a minute had passed.

“Wh-what’s wrong?” he asked, stammering. “Is there something else you need to do?”

“Yes, there is one more thing I have to do.” Lin Sanjiu replied casually. She scanned her surroundings a few times. “Once I finish that task, we can leave. Don’t worry. We can reach the greenhouse in less than ten minutes at my speed. If you’re nervous, you can go over there are hide.”

Beggars couldn’t be choosers. Despite having a load full of words he would like to bombard her with, he answered with a simple “okay”. Looking around, the spot under the soil bridge was the only place where he could fit. The moment he turned around, he suddenly fell, sitting with a plop. Lin Sanjiu immediately swung her body around.

A pair of lusterless plastic-like eyes on the top of a green caterpillar was fixated on both of them. They didn’t know when it appeared.

“Quick! Quick! Quick! Let’s go—” Number 47 implored with his weak voice. The scene of this green caterpillar gobbling Number 43 whole made a very strong impression on both of them.

Unfortunately, the only person that could bring him out of this place did not seem keen on leaving.

“You’re here,” a humorless smirk appeared on Lin Sanjiu’s face, “I waited quite a while.”

The long, green caterpillar wasn’t as talkative as the beetle. It wriggled and suddenly lunged at them. However, it did not target Lin Sanjiu who was visibly more energetic and active, but its shadow quickly loomed over Number 47.

“I already figured you out,” Lin Sanjiu shouted as she rushed over while Number 47 yelped. Even though Lin Sanjiu was still not in her top form, she landed on caterpillar’s prickly head with a single leap. It had only opened its mouth. “You seem to prefer weaker pray!”

The caterpillar halted for a second when it realized that someone was on its head. At the same time, Number 47 slipped out from its mouth. Lin Sanjiu tried her best to ignore the feeling of the prickly hair on the caterpillar’s body. Before she fell from its body, a long, black shadow shot from her hand. She quickly wrapped it around the caterpillar.

When Lin Sanjiu jumped on the caterpillar and used her [Female Slave Bondage Rope] to tie the green caterpillar, she intentionally reduced the force she used significantly because she didn’t want her actions to be nullified just because it was misjudged as an ‘attack’. While the green caterpillar struggled to escape from the ropes, Lin Sanjiu shouted at Number 47 who was lying on the ground. “Come here!”

She picked him up the next second and threw him over her shoulders. Holding the other end of the rope with one hand, Lin Sanjiu finally sprinted toward the greenhouse with her maximum speed.

As the soil in the farm was soft, the caterpillar wasn’t hurt despite being dragged along the ground as she ran.

However, Number 47 felt very uncomfortable being carried by Lin Sanjiu, on her shoulders. As he was too weak, he couldn’t move. He could only watch as the green caterpillar snapped its large mandibles just inches from him. His face turned white, “What the hell are you doing? Ahhhh!”

“You will find out very soon,” Lin Sanjiu was starting to feel a little exhausted pulling such a large caterpillar behind her. “Look!”

Number 47 looked up and his face turned even paler. He spotted two pairs of feelers in the distance. It was heading toward them very quickly. There was a beetle, which looked exactly like the one before, chasing them.

“It’s just as I expected. There had to be more than one beetle in this farm!” Lin Sanjiu chortled. When the beetle was just about to reach them, she stopped. Using her brute strength, she flung the green caterpillar out with her [Female Slave Bondage Rope]. While it flew up into the air, the ropes disappeared from its body and from Lin Sanjiu’s palm.

“Mr. Beetle, this is a treat from me!”