Doomsday Wonderland

The sea surface broke open, sending a spray of water skyward. As it crashed down in a mighty splash, at the same time, a faint wheeze that sounded like a broken blower erupted.

Maxin’s head appeared amidst the foam. Supporting himself by the side of the carpet, Maxin realized that the noise was coming from his chest.

‘Where is that Zeus?’

As the thought came into his mind, he quickly pulled himself up onto the carpet. Then, he heaved a sigh of relief when he turned his head around.

Not only had he successfully hit Zeus with the [Addition and Subtraction of Swimming Skill], but it also worked like a charm. Like any other non-swimmers when they fell into the ocean, Zeus was now thrashing and flailing wildly in the water, brandishing his arms and kicking his legs desperately to keep himself afloat. His head bobbed up and down along the currents, and his nose and mouth clogged with foamy water. Everything that tumbled out of his mouth carried no meaning at all.

Gasping, Maxin revelled in the feeling of being awash by a surge of relief. He could not believe he had pulled this one off in the end. He thought he was doomed when he was losing his consciousness. Lowering his head, he looked at the mermaid tail and the bikini in his hand.

With help from the sunlight, he saw a patch of dried blood in the center of the bikini.

There was only one explanation as to why a female posthuman would wear a two-piece swimsuit to take part in a game that happened in the ocean—she believed that the bikini could protect her.

Judging from the connection between “swimsuit” and “ocean,” perhaps the female posthuman put on the bikini only after she arrived here, just like Maxin’s water-based Special Items.

However, Maxin felt really lucky for being able to snatch the bikini from Zeus on the brink of death…

[Addition And Subtraction Of Swimming Skill]

This is Special Item #23 from the series “Knowledge Is No Burden.” The originality of this item can be determined by its thoroughly white and tooth-like appearance. Besides, there is an anti-counterfeit code number “23” printed inside the groove of the tooth. Rumor has it that The M*nition Factory has mastered the technology of making counterfeit copies of this Special Item, thus users are advised to check their Special Item thoroughly before using it.

Preparation Steps: First, use pliers, a wrench, or a wire to extract one of your teeth. After rinsing the blood off, place Specimen #23 at the site of the extraction. Once this Special Item touches the gum, it plants itself firmly in the socket. Since this Special Item looks exactly like a real tooth and can work as one, and is practically indestructible, it is said that some posthumans actively seek it to use as a denture. 

Next, please use this tooth to collect water current. 

Way to collect: After diving into the water, get closer and take a bite of the water around your target. Please take note that the water must pass through Specimen #23, though it will be hard for the water inside your mouth cavity to miss a tooth. After that, the “swimming skill” of your target will be converted into a numerical value known as swimming value, and be stored in Specimen #23. For example, the swimming value you will get from the legendary Zhang Shun is +10, while the swimming value of a bad swimmer is -10. It is rumored that after biting the water around a submarine, you will get +65 swimming skill. Be that as it may, the likelihood of coming across a submarine is near impossible, whether it is during the modern days or in the post-apocalyptic worlds, so this statement has yet to be confirmed.

For instance, the first swimming value stored in Specimen #23 is +10, and the second swimming value is -10. To gain the +10 swimming value from Zhang Shun, crunch Specimen #23 with your teeth once then spit the stored water onto yourself. Similarly, crunch Specimen #23 twice and spit the stored water to give the -10 swimming value to your opponent. 

You can also change the sequence on the day you decide to end your life. All you need to do is memorize the order of the value stored, and you can achieve several feats such as weakening your opponent, making yourself stronger, or committing suicide.

According to his past experience, it was always difficult to spit water on his opponent, let alone when he was pretty much unable to move even a finger at that time. However—Maxin had lost count of how many times he had cheated death today—when Zeus wanted to kill him, he grabbed him by his face.

Maxin could still remember the expression Zeus made when the jet of tepid water splashed onto his palm. His eyes grew large in surprise, but it was already too late for him to back out of harm’s way. Maxin collected the swimming value from a drowned corpse, and it utterly destroyed Zeus’ swimming skills in the blink of an eye. Seizing the momentarily endowed freedom, Maxin fought back the enervation that was plaguing his body and snatched the bikini from Zeus.

He was right. The second he seized the bikini in his hand, the fog in his brain cleared, and blood began to fill his body like a beast running amok in the mountains, pulling him back from the verge of death.

‘I’m really lucky…”

“You are such a bad boy.”

Maxin’s blood turned cold as a gush of warm air tickled his earlap. “Why do you love to take off our clothes so much?”

He did not turn his head back but stared fixedly at the struggling Zeus in the water. All he had to do was give one more push, and he could take this Zeus out, but the problem was whether he could stay alive until then.

Maxin had lowered his guard. Zeus’s hot breath that splashed on his neck raised a layer of goosebumps. He was too close; no matter what Maxin did, there was no way he could be faster than the Zeus behind him.

“Alright, you are handsome, and I like handsome guys,” Zeus pitched his voice low and giggled, “Let’s be gods together.”

Maxin closed his eyes. At the moment before his death, his mind was blank, and he could hear nothing.

Just as he had resigned to his fate, something happened. A sharp shrill tore through the sea breeze and wafted into his ears.

A moment later, Maxin fell heavily on the carpet like a log.

Pain instantly blossomed across his face, prompting him to open his eyes. Only then did he realize that he wasn’t dead yet. In that life and death moment, something had come in between him and the Zeus, knocking him down and stopping the Zeus’s attack. Maxin glanced around and found that the Zeus was now standing two steps away with his arm outstretched towards him. His hair bristled. Without wasting a second, Maxin rolled around the carpet and plopped into the sea.

He let out a sigh when he entered the water. He turned around and looked.

To his surprise, the person who saved him was somebody he had only met once.

“How dare you!” The old man with the heavy makeup strode out from behind the panda girl. His face was livid with rage as he pointed an accusing finger at Zeus. “Why don’t you take a look at yourself first? How dare you, an ugly b*tch, try to snatch my man away from me!”

Maxin stared at Old Hag blankly. His brain had disconnected.

“Hey, young man, pull yourself together,” comforted the old man with the name Old Hag. He craned his neck forward and said in a concerned tone, “The game is over, so we are no longer enemies. It would be a waste if you died here.”

Maxin had never encountered so many life-and-death situations in a single day ever since he was brought into this world. One second earlier, he was about to die, but seconds later, he was saved from the clutches of death. The same cycle repeated so many times that, although Maxin felt good to be alive, he still sighed inwardly , ‘This is so tiring. When will it end?’ 

He felt that his arms and legs were as heavy as lead as a strong swelling of lassitude coursed through every nerve end in his body. Just as he raised his head, he saw something, and he yelled, “Dodge!”

The Zeus wearing an abaya had regained his footing and gone near Old Hag.

Just as Old Hag jerked his head around, and before Maxin could launch his attack, a tall figure flew across the sky and dropped on the abaya-cladded Zeus, knocking him away. Maxin looked at the figure intently. His expression changed.

It was Zeus Lin.

Even though Zeus Lin did not make any noise, several posthumans, including Hegel, who was wrestling with a Zeus, all looked towards them. Keeping his face expressionless, Puppeteer strode across the carpet. His jacket dripped with water, and the wetted plumule lowered its head in defeat as it stuck closely to his skin, giving way to water droplets to roll off his pallid skin. He held Ji Shanqing with his left hand while his right hand remained free. It seemed like he was the one who threw Zeus Lin here.

“Here you are.”

The glitter around his eyes shone a cruel red. He threw a glance at the panda girl and Old Hag, causing the duo to shudder. Both of them simultaneously lowered their heads. Perhaps Old Hag knew Puppeteer did not like him much, as he took half a step back. Rize walked forward and greeted him, “Lord.”

‘They know each other?’

“I will leave that Zeus to you,” ordered Puppeteer to Rize as he nodded his chin at the Zeus dressed in an abaya. When he saw Zeus Lin getting up, he hurled Ji Shanqing at Old Hag and barked out his second order, “You stay here and look after him.”

Perhaps even Puppeteer himself did not realize that there was a cruel smile dancing around his lips. Old Hag gave a small, swift start and tightly gripped Ji Shanqing’s shoulders. Ji Shanqing did not even try to resist. Locking his eyes on Zeus Lin, he murmured, “Please, please don’t hurt my sister. Try to save her…”

However, Puppeteer paid him no mind. He walked closer to Lin Sanjiu.

“I did not know that you could run so fast.”

Pulling himself up from the ground, Zeus Lin attempted to smile, but it seemed like he had forgotten how to control the muscles on his face. The two abnormally large eyeballs rolled to the back of their sockets, and his black pupils disappeared. “Hey, who turned off the lights? Oh, I should turn my head around.”

The two black pupils reappeared in the white of his eyes. Zeus Lin twisted his neck and began taking in his surroundings. He looked a little bit nervous, but he hid it with a calm facade. Right now, he seemed like a robot with its processor broken by Puppeteer.

‘Can we really save Lin Sanjiu?’ 

The thought flitted across Maxin’s brain. He turned to look at the drowning Zeus and Ji Shanqing.

The Zeus had gotten up from the water and onto the carpet. He was now pacing towards Old Hag.

In the distance, Zeus Lin giggled once more.