Doomsday Wonderland

Maxin pounced forward like an arrow let loose from its string the second the figure dropped into the sea. He had to get to Lin Sanjiu before the highest god could lay his hand on her. He succeeded this time. As water sprouted high into the air, he grabbed Lin Sanjiu’s arm and pulled her out of the sea.

“Si—”

Ji Shanqing choked back his words when he raised his head. A bewildered expression crawled upon his face as he blinked his vacant eyes.

The highest god was stunned for a long while before he threw himself back into the ocean, thrashing around on the sea while holding his sides with laughter, causing water to splatter all over.

The young deity only rose to his feet and lifted his head when his boisterous laughter disappeared into the horizon.

He wiped the tears that dangled at the corner of his eyes, his face flushed red with excitement, and his gold-colored eyelashes fluttered above his eyes. He gazed out at them and said exultantly, “Congratulations! You have successfully saved your friend, and you even over-fulfilled the task!”

‘Over-fulfilled the task?’

Dumbfounded, Maxin lowered his head to look at the person in his arm. It did not take him too long before he pulled his gaze away from the woman and raised his head. He looked at the people before him, his eyes jumping from Ji Shanqing to Puppeteer to the highest god, and finally stopping at the deep blue sea.

The person he had scooped out from the ocean was Lin Sanjiu, no doubt. She had a pair of amber eyes, a strong jawline, and a body height that few females could achieve. Although he just acquainted himself with her not too long ago, the chances of him getting the wrong person were next to none. However…

Every single person that fell from the pocket folder looked the same, they even wore similar attire.

In other words, there was a lot of “Lin Sanjius” in the sea, bobbing up and down along with the waves. All of them wore the same perplexed expressions, as none of them could understand the situation.

“This… Who are you?” Maxin pushed the “Lin Sanjiu” in his arms away, asking exasperatedly, “What the hell is going on?”

The Lin Sanjiu turned around and stared at the crowd of Lin Sanjius behind her. She fell into a hushed state. The Lin Sanjius studied each other, and one of them’s faces took on a ghastly expression. Anger ran harsh lines down on either side of that Lin Sanjiu’s face as she yelled, “It’s me, grand prize! I’m the real Lin Sanjiu!” However, before she could say anything further, another Lin Sanjiu broke in, cutting her off. “Stop lying, you imposter! What are you trying to do by impersonating me?”

The highest god giggled.

“She… She called her grand prize,” said Maxin hesitantly. The message he wanted to convey was as clear as the sky—the one who called Ji Shanqing as grand prize might possibly be the real Lin Sanjiu. As if he sensed his movement, Ji Shanqing called out to Maxin before the latter swam towards that Lin Sanjiu, “Stop! Don’t move yet!”

“Can you tell which one is the real Lin Sanjiu?” asked Puppeteer lightly with a grim face.

“No, I can’t,” he replied falteringly. No matter how hard he tried, Ji Shanqing could not stop his lips from quivering. Rubbing his face with his palm, he murmured under his breath, “They all fell from the pocket folder, right? All of them have turned into sis, just like those posthumans that transformed into Zeus…”

“What are you trying to say?” Puppeteer interrupted.

“Try to think about it. The highest god can turn posthumans into Zeus, so it stands to reason that he could apply the same process to other people and transform them into my sister.”

With his face bunched into a tight frown, he looked at the highest god and sighed. “So while you were looking at those leechers page by page, you were turning them all into my sister. Am I right?”

The grand prize’s conjecture seemed to have pleased the young deity a lot. His face turned red, and his eyes teared up, yet he still giggled.

“You are all so dumb!” He laughed, hardly able to breathe anymore as he smacked his thigh. “You were hell-bent on getting back the roster, thinking that you would be able to save Lin Sanjiu once you got your hand on that rugged pocket folder? How preposterous! If I can transform her into Zeus, of course I can turn her back. I hold the key to saving her, but never once did any of you come to seek my help. What a shame.”

He pouted his mouth, looking somewhat disappointed.

As everybody stared on, the highest god walked behind a Lin Sanjiu. He bent down and patted her head. Every pat of her head made her face paler. She now looked like a dead man. This was indeed the reaction Lin Sanjiu would give. “…So, I specifically let you feel the power of god. How was it?”

The glitter around Puppeteer’s eyes gradually darkened. His face clouded over like a heavy dark cloud before the storm arrived.

“You can get all the Zeus to act on a certain principle. Are these the same?” asked Ji Shanqing. A helpless expression dawned upon his face as he scanned across the crowd of Lin Sanjiu, each of them looking even more realistic than the last. He could not make his decision.

“Yes. My order to the leechers is that they have to act according to Lin Sanjiu’s memories that I have instilled into them. They have to make sure that you guys cannot differentiate which one is the real deal,” explained the highest god patiently. “Giving people a hard question to solve is my favorite pastime. That’s why I set this world as The Olympics.”

Maxin, who had been trying to wake Soulsqn up by slapping her face, stopped when he heard what the highest god had said. “You… you can control her memories?”

“Why not? I can even remodel the brain, so how is it any harder for me to control one’s memories?” The highest god chuckled.

‘But—how?’ Maxin could not think it through no matter what.

“Quit hitting the bushes.”

A cold, deep voice erupted from the distance not far away, making Maxin jump. He jerked his head around to see Puppeteer walking down the corpses with feline grace. He soon arrived beside the grand prize. The moment he got close to Ji Shanqing, the latter’s face became stiff and pale. If they weren’t on the same side, Maxin was confident that Ji Shanqing would have already run away.

“I have a solution that can kill two birds with one stone.” He lowered his head, causing half of his face to immerse in darkness.

The grand prize blinked his eyes, then he froze.

Before Maxin could press on, Soulsqn moved slightly, prompting him to lower his head. It was at this moment that the situation changed again. Roars and shouts of anger erupted from afar. All of the Lin Sanjius were rushing towards them. Stunned, Maxin turned his head in the direction they were looking, and his countenance changed.

He just moved his gaze away from Ji Shanqing for a second, and the latter had lost all mobility in the blink of an eye. He laid limply in Puppeteer’s arms like a mannequin with its string cut. There was a knife handle in his chest, its silvery blade sunk deep into his clothes.

“After I unwrap you, the one who is the saddest and most desperate will be the real Lin Sanjiu,” said Puppeteer as he looked at the unconscious grand prize, his lips curving into a lopsided grin. “I said I will save your sister, but I never said I was going to let you go.”

“You!”

Puppeteer’s voice was as low and deep as always, but this time, there was a tinge of excitement there. He raised his head to meet Maxin’s gaze. Cocking his head, he said, “Did I not make myself clear? This is the best solution. Well, for me, that is.”

“Maxin, help me!”

“Please help me, Maxin!”

“Maxin!”

While Puppeteer was talking, a few Lin Sanjius yelled at Maxin at the same time from behind him. All of them were having a hard time fighting against the waves that kept pushing them away. It seemed like they would not be able to reach their side in one or two minutes.

Maxin darted a glance at Puppeteer, gritted his teeth, and dove into the sea. At the moment before he entered the sea, Puppeteer’s voice wafted into his ears, “…But I don’t care.”

The noise of Ji Shanqing’s clothes tearing was drowned out by the rogue waves. Mustering all his strength, Maxin conjured up a powerful tsunami. His plan was simple: pushed all the Lin Sanjius, be it real or fake, towards Puppeteer.

“Ah.” The highest god watched saucer-eyed. He craned his neck and said, “I did not expect this.”

Facing a team of six Lin Sanjius, even Puppeteer had to take a few steps back and assume a defensive position. Since he had to hold Ji Shanqing with one of his hands, he loosened the palm that was gripping the knife and pushed it towards one of the Lin Sanjiu’s face.

Even though saving Ji Shanqing did not benefit the leechers in any possible way, they could not ignore the highest god’s order. Every Lin Sanjiu pounced on Puppeteer with all their might. When Maxin got sight of several more Lin Sanjius in the distance, he did not hesitate and sent them all at Puppeteer with another tidal wave.

“Release him!”

“Or I will get you for that!”

From time to time, the Lin Sanjius’ screams rose and fell, filling the air with their voices. One Lin Sanjiu got close to the grand prize, but she was pushed away by Puppeteer before she could even make any moves. Nevertheless, whenever Puppeteer sent a Lin Sanjiu away, more and more would appear to take up the position of the fallen Lin Sanjiu. Eventually, a Lin Sanjiu managed to grab ahold of Ji Shanqing’s clothes, closing the gaping hole in his chest.

She did not pull Ji Shanqing away from Puppeteer but instead tightened her grip. Perhaps Puppeteer was too occupied with dealing with other Lin Sanjiu, for she did not get flung away. When the grand prize peeled his eyes open, she clutched harder and pulled him closer.

“You lied to me, didn’t you?” Lin Sanjiu’s voice came out in a low whisper.

Ji Shanqing’s expression turned ugly.

“I knew it when Zeus almost unwrapped you,” Lin Sanjiu said quickly, “The reward inside you is not an ability. No wonder Puppeteer is so determined to unwrap you.”

“Sis… is that you?” Tears began to fill Ji Shanqing’s eyes. Not only was his voice trembling, but also his eyes. He wanted to touch her hand, but the latter was not going to give him the chance.

She loosened her grip first, then moved both of her hands onto the gaping hole in Ji Shanqing’s chest. Without wasting any seconds, she tore his clothes apart.

The screams of the other Lin Sanjius, Puppeteer, Soulsqn, and Maxin were fading away. Even the sound of his clothes tearing sounded like an illusion.

With his foggy mind, Ji Shanqing realized that since all of the Lin Sanjius shared the same memories, perhaps this Lin Sanjiu was not his real sister, but a leecher that wanted to escape from the control of the highest god.

As the fabric fluttered into the sky above, his figure gradually disappeared and faded into thin air like how the mermaids in the fairy tales eventually disintegrated into bubbles.

The grand prize was unwrapped.