Chapter 185
Translator: Pluto Editor: WMX
"That's right . No matter how strange this world is, this is an apocalyptic world . Thus, it must come with two distinctive things: posthumans and duoluozhong . " Lin Sanjiu thought to herself as she looked at the thing in front of her, which was only half her height .
She saw no one on her way here, so she didn't expect to meet a duoluozhong when she walked on the second floor of this bed and breakfast hotel .
The duoluozhongs from every world had a different appearance due to the different apocalyptic events that triggered their mutation . Logically speaking, Lin Sanjiu did not know what caused the apocalypse in this world, so she didn't know what sort of duoluozhong to expect . However, the thing in front of her was clearly a duoluozhong . It couldn't be anything else . . .
Its body was like a twisted trunk of a tree . Its head was sharp and flat . Its sharp jagged teeth stuck out from its mouth . Lin Sanjiu could see its non-human skeletal frame jutting and bulging under its greenish skin . This was a creature which could be called a 'monster' no matter where .
Lin Sanjiu didn't know why but she let out a sigh of relief after she saw the duoluozhong . When she regained her nerves, she drew out her vibroblade, and her expression even relaxed a little .
"This is how things should be . . . " Lin Sanjiu held her knife and stepped forward . Seeing this familiar creature, it didn't matter whether it was friend or foe, Kisaragi Station World didn't feel as inexplicable and creepy as before . It was as if she finally gained some confidence .
To her surprise, the duoluozhong let out a sharp shriek when it saw her taking out her knife . It turned and ran toward a room on the corridor and started knocking on the door .
Huh?
Lin Sanjiu stopped and stared at it while she held her knife . The handle of the door moved and the duoluozhong instantly squeezed through the gap in the door . Next, a man's puzzled face peeked out from the door . "Greenie, what's outsid—?"
Before he could finish his sentence, he found himself staring back at Lin Sanjiu . At that moment, both people were shocked .
"Huh, huh?" Suddenly spotting another living person, Lin Sanjiu was overwhelmed with joy . Her eyes brightened as she asked, "Are you a posthuman?"
She could never imagine that seeing another human would make her so happy . The man seemed to feel the same way . He stuttered happily for some time before he finally completed his sentence, "I . . . I'm not imagining this, right? Are you alive? Oh gosh! I have been here for more than one month . . . "
While he spoke, he rubbed his short buzzcut and his round face turned red .
"I just arrived! This place gives me the creeps . . . " That person was just a stranger, but Lin Sanjiu couldn't resist telling him what was on her mind . Remembering something, she quickly asked, "That thing . . . is a duoluozhong?"
"Quick, come in . . . " the excited man urged . He wasn't that tall but he was well-built . Suddenly remembering that Lin Sanjiu was a female posthuman all by herself, he guessed that she might be cautious about entering his room, so he laughed hurriedly, "You mean Greenie? It is a duoluozhong . But it is just a . . . something in this world . I have some methods to tame any duoluozhong in any world so that I can use them . "
Even though both of them didn't know each other, they already expressed enough goodwill . Besides, the man even told her about his "method" . Lin Sanjiu guessed that he must have been very lonely after being alone for more than a month .
Lin Sanjiu nodded her head and told him her name . After the man recited her name a few times, he replied, "I am Douglas . Did you also board the train from Kisaragi Station?"
Lin Sanjiu had a lot to say on this topic . "Yes, this place is really weird . What sort of apocalyptic world is this? And, why isn't there any people around here?" She hesitated for a moment when she asked him these questions . In the end, she didn't mention the crazy-looking people at Mausoleum Elementary Station and the pair of old cloth shoes . She didn't feel much when she was alone, but now that she was in front of another posthuman she couldn't bring herself to admit that she had been scared by a pair of shoes .
Douglas touched his buzzcut that was so short that he almost looked bald . He threw a glance at her, and a slightly strange expression appeared on his face, "You've never heard of Kisaragi Station?
Lin Sanjiu felt like she heard that name before but she just couldn't recall it . She shook her head .
"I don't know what it is like in your original world . In my hometown, there is a country called Japan . Kisaragi Station is a famous online urban legend . The story goes like this . A young woman took a night train and realized that she boarded the wrong train . She didn't know where the train was heading . When she alighted at Kisaragi Station, she realized that she was in the middle of the wilderness . She had no choice but to walk along the tracks . . .
"She had been walking for a while when she suddenly saw an elderly man with only one leg . Then, she heard the drums sounds from a ceremony . . . All this time, she had been chatting with her online friends on the forum and had been reporting what was happening . Everyone told her to leave the place quickly . In the end, the young woman wrote: 'I met a good person, he will drive me to another station . '/ 'He is driving up the mountain, and he is not responding to my questions . I plan to run away . ' After this, she never replied again . "
Perhaps, Douglas noticed Lin Sanjiu's fearful expression, since he sighed and nodded . "You should have guessed it by now, right? This world is named after a horror story . . . I think this world is related to urban legends and that sort of thing . "
"Huh? But when I was on the train . . . " Lin Sanjiu didn't really understand, and told Douglas about the article she read, "Actually, I think this world has been invaded by something called 'dark matter' . "
Douglas opened his mouth and thought for a moment but gave up, "Cough! Who knows . . . Anyway, I just want to spend my 14 months here peacefully . I am contented as long as nothing bad happens . "
"You have a point . " Lin Sanjiu agreed silently .
After seeing another living person, Lin Sanjiu felt that she had recovered . Her usually cool-headedness and confidence had returned . After talking with Douglas for some time, she even entered the room and took a look at Greenie .
Douglas occupied a room with a large king-sized bed . There were clothes and empty noodle bowls around the bed, showing that man's typical untidiness . When Greenie saw Lin Sanjiu, it quickly hid behind a curtain, failing to notice that its feet could still be seen .
"After I 'capture' them, their intelligence falls significantly . . . " Douglas explained while he tidied the bed and cleared the items on it . "Its intelligence is only comparable to a five-year-old child now . "
With its lowered intelligence, Lin Sanjiu didn't feel as much hatred for the duoluozhong . Douglas led Lin Sanjiu to the reception downstairs to get a key . Then, they returned to the second floor and he opened the door to another room .
"You should rest . It must have been quite an experience out there, right?" Douglas looked gruff but was actually quite caring, "I will wake you up in the afternoon for lunch . " After he said that, he closed the door and left .
"How long has it been since I slept on a normal bed?"
Furthermore, this room had been tidied just before the arrival of the apocalyptic event . It was clean, the bed sheets were neat and the blanket was soft . . . Lin Sanjiu exhaled deeply and jumped into the bed, planting her head on the soft pillow .
Even though she was almost engulfed by her exhaustion, she got up with a hazy struggle and took out her [Teru Teru Bozu Defense System] . She stood on a chair and hung it on the ceiling . Seeing it quietly hanging from the ceiling, Lin Sanjiu finally felt safe . She took off the flowery jacket and kicked off her boots . When she crawled under the blanket, she felt as if all her bones were celebrating . She wrapped herself in that soft blanket and quickly drifted off to sleep .
The curtains were drawn, and she did not switch on the lights, so it was dim even though it was still daytime . But, even if Lin Sanjiu was awake, she wouldn't detect anything . The Teru Teru Bozu hanging from the ceiling slowly turned its body and its marker-drawn eyes suddenly opened . It stared Lin Sanjiu, who was fast asleep, with its void-like eyes .
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