Doomsday Wonderland

The sight of a water pillar in the distance shooting from the sea into the sky made Lin Sanjiu shudder as if the cold water a dozen meters away had splashed onto her face. Her brows knitted into a tight knot. She looked at the grand prize’s profile. It was wet, fair, and clean. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but nothing came out in the end.

She finally saw the light.

Maxin did not say anything. He floated on the seawater, but he did not turn his head to face them. His shoulders were stiff, his spine straight as a ramrod. The mermaid tail that he took out a few minutes ago was no longer in his palm.

The only person amongst them that didn’t read the atmosphere was Soulsqn.

The entire conversation happened in merely one or two minutes. In fact, even if Ji Shanqing did not try to stall him, there was no way Maxin could get out of the competition area in time. However, the fact did not lighten either Lin Sanjiu or Maxin by even the slightest bit. The former’s stomach was twisted with guilt while the latter was scarlet with rage.

“Sis,” the grand prize mouthed. He stretched his hand and tightly grabbed ahold of her wrist.

Lin Sanjiu did not turn around, pretending to concentrate on the announcement. She felt sick, and her neck seemed to be stiff.

“We need him, sis, if we want to get out of here. I didn’t have any other choice,” Ji Shanqing went closer and whispered into Lin Sanjiu’s ear. “I don’t want him to get hurt either, so I will try my best to protect him at all costs throughout the game. Then, after the game has ended, I will make it up to him…”

He did not finish his sentence. But after spending so much time with the grand prize, Lin Sanjiu knew what he was trying to say. They had to return to the Data Streams Library no matter what. Compared to their goal, Maxin’s will was insignificant. Since he had to participate in a game after getting back on land anyway, what was the difference if they just kept him here to join this god’s ordeal? Wasn’t it the same?

But no. Lin Sanjiu knew it was wrong to think that way.

Ji Shanqing was getting more restless as Lin Sanjiu continued to ignore him. Just when he was about to say something, the clarion voice came again, “Let me walk you all through the rules of the game first. Have any of you played checkers before? For those who do not know what checkers is, shame on you. In short, the rules are similar to Chinese checkers…”

Then the voice paused. After ten or so seconds, it rang out again, “Alas, this is so troublesome. I’m tired. Let’s skip the explanation and get rolling right away.”

“What?”

The storm was subsiding. In the distance, a blast of complaints and murmurs seemed to be swirling through the sea, carried by the ocean breeze into Lin Sanjiu’s ears. But the noise was too widespread and too faint to be discernible. Lin Sanjiu had no idea where the other contenders were.

“What the hell?” Soulsqn hissed. “Is there something wrong with that guy’s brain?”

However, before they could do anything, the sea began heaving heavily once more, creating massive crests topped with white froth that ran hither and thither about the large receptacle of water. The waves transitioned from deep blue to light green as they spew higher into the sky. And when they fell due to the pull of gravity, they crashed and exploded into a haze of white mist on a black platform that rose slowly from the bottom of the sea.

It was not the only platform that emerged on the sea surface.

In just a few minutes, countless platforms had appeared on top of the sea. From an aerial view, each piece was roughly the same size, spreading evenly over the sea like a column of black dots.

“This is the black camp,” the voice said hastily.

All of them turned around to look behind them when they heard the words. Similar to the black platforms in their area, several white platforms emerged on the other side of the sea.

‘Then, that must be the white camp,’ Lin Sanjiu thought inside her heart.

“Like checkers, you can run into your opponent’s campsite. When the game is over, whichever side preserved the most strength will win.” This time, Lin Sanjiu, at long last, knew it was Zeus who had been speaking all along. After giving a vague instruction, he continued, “Okay, count to ten yourself, and the match begins. I have to go to the toilet now. Nature calls!”

“That’s all?” Soulsqn shouted disbelievingly. “What the hell does it mean by whichever side preserves the most strength will win the game? How can he be so irresponsible? Also, where is his toilet?”

Not only did they not know when to start the countdown, but they also had to worry about where Zeus’s excretion would flow to.

Lin Sanjiu surveyed her surroundings. Though she was as equally confused as the other contenders, she began to count down in her heart as Zeus instructed. Her mind was all at sea, and then, Maxin jerked his head to face her.

A grin appeared on his face, but the smile did not reach his eyes. He stared fixedly at the grand prize and said in a calm tone, “Well, kid, it seems like you have bothered your head for nothing.”

Stunned, it took Lin Sanjiu a few minutes before the words finally sank in.

If this game was similar to checkers, then the contenders would be the pieces while the platforms served as the checkerboard. Two teams were competing against each other: the black camp and the white camp. While it was unclear what the rule “who preserved the most strength at the end of the game wins” signified, one thing was exceptionally clear in their mind: they no longer needed to stay in the water. In other words, Maxin did not have to be their surfboard anymore.

Ji Shanqing lowered his head clumsily as he quickly apologized, “I’m sorry, Brother Maxin, I can understand why you are angry. Please forgive me.”

“Is that all? Is that how you express your apology after putting me through all this?”

Frowning, Ji Shanqing continued to say, “Of course not. I’ll try my best to make it up to you, but first, we have to work together to survive in this competition.”

Maxin raised his brows theatrically as he scoffed. He turned around, and just as Lin Sanjiu thought he wanted to say something and release her grip on his shoulder, a powerful wave suddenly appeared and pushed all three of them away.

Kicking the water to give himself a boost, Maxin moved as fast as lightning and leaped onto a black platform nearby in the blink of an eye. Although the platform wasn’t the closest to them, by the time Lin Sanjiu emerged from the sea, Maxin was already standing on top of the platform, watching them with a gleeful expression on his face.

Nobody knew when the countdown had started. As Maxin continued to stare at the trio, he opened his mouth and spoke in an indifferent tone, “If I were you, I would get out of the sea right now.”

“Why you—”

“The ten seconds countdown should be up by now. Look,” Maxin interrupted, pointing at the seawater.

Lin Sanjiu immediately craned her neck and looked in the direction Maxin pointed, but she could not see anything. Suddenly, she realized something. She ducked into the water and opened her eyes.

Several strips of yellow-colored streams were traveling inside the water, moving fast towards them. They looked like a swarm of sea serpents. Judging by their speed, Lin Sanjiu was confident that it would not take long before they reached them.

Although Lin Sanjiu had no idea about what those things were, she did not plan to find it out. Lin Sanjiu hastily grabbed her grand prize and Soulsqn and charged towards the nearest platform. Looking at Lin Sanjiu’s clumsy swimming style, Maxin crossed his arms in front of his chest. He kept a neutral expression fixed on his face as he drew out his vowels, “Let me teach you guys something. To survive the unsurvivable, first, you have to let people know that you are not easy meat.”