Doomsday Wonderland - Chapter 462

Chapter 462

After Lin Sanjiu cloaked herself in the black cloth once again and secured the cloth to her neck with a belt, she realized that her fingers were trembling . Even though she washed the space under her fingernails and the sides of her fingernails many times with water, she could still see the traces of dark-colored bloodstains .

The sensation she felt as she plunged her fingers into another person's disassembled limbs was one thing she felt she would never forget . She could still remember that sludgy, sticky sensation as though it had been etched in her heart through her fingers .

Meanwhile, Qing Jiuliu emptied the bucket in his hands . The smell of gasoline in the air instantly grew stronger and they could almost taste the acrid stench on the tip of their tongues . Drenched with gasoline, the expression on Sunny's dead face remained unchanged . Her widened eyes filled with incredulity were staring at the night sky . A split second before her death, that was her expression .  

In contrast to Sunny's petite size, Queenie's 1 . 6m corpse was more suitable as a "skeletal frame" . With that, they had an additional head and a few other body parts they didn't need . Qing Jiuliu looked down at his lighter . Using one hand to block the wind, he rolled its spark wheel . He exhaled a cloud of white smoke after the end of the cigarette glowed once more in the darkness .

"Are you ready?"

Lin Sanjiu exhaled sharply before she nodded her head .

A stick of cigarette flew through the air in an arc and landed on the palm of a right hand . Very quickly, a red-orange flame came to life . In the beginning, it flickered gingerly but it soon grew brighter, stronger and fiercer . Soon, the fire cast a red glow on the faces of the two people watching it .

"Let's go . "

Lin Sanjiu turned around and her gaze fell on the corpse nearby . It was Queenie's corpse, but the height of the corpse was about the same as Lin Sanjiu's . Her eyes were tightly shut and her tears were already dry, but her tear stains remained on her cheeks . If a person was to lift up that corpse's clothes, he would find the body covered with many large gruesome stitches . Though the stitches were shoddy and unprofessional, they did their job and held the body pieces together .

Sunny and Queenie had different skin tones . The sizes of their limbs were also different due to their different body frames . As a result, throughout this process, it took Lin Sanjiu and Qing Jiuliu a long time to decide which parts to keep . Following Queenie's request, they stitched both hers and Sunny's chest cavity together, even though they did not fit properly . Surprisingly, the corpse did not look even one bit unusual after they wore a piece of new clothing on it and covered all the stitches .

After wrapping a bandage around the corpse's neck, Lin Sanjiu looked once more at Queenie's face before she converted this melded corpse into a card .

Even though the process was gory, Lin Sanjiu had to admit that this seemed to be their only way out . After all, finding a 1 . 8m woman was hard enough, let alone get a corpse of a woman of that heigh .

The two headed west once again in silence .

After walking for less than half an hour, the calm and focused Qing Jiuliu faded away like an ice-cream on a sunny day . Once again, he showed his original sloth-like personality . "Is that consular officer expecting us to go on a Journey to the West expedition? How far must we walk… Why don't you carry me for a little while?"

Lin Sanjiu tossed a glance at him . There was no way in hell she would carry him .

"Once we find the consular officer, I will bring out the mattress for you," she assured Qing Jiuliu .

Mrs . Manas let out a chuckle in her mind . Lin Sanjiu didn't know why but she was suddenly overwhelmed by a strange, complex feeling that she couldn't understand . She shook her head and suppressed that emotion . Then, she remembered her [School of Higher Consciousness] . She had been distracted by that whole incident with Sunny that she nearly forgot that her [School of Higher Consciousness] was now at a secondary school level . After contemplating for a moment, she did not ask Mrs . Manas about it . She decided that she would examine her new ability in detail after she found Ji Shanqing .

Neither of them expected that they would walk until dawn .

As they continued their journey, they saw fewer and fewer of those ivy-covered, gray, damaged high-rise buildings around them . The buildings also got shorter and shorter, as if they were on a sloping graph . It was apparent that the two of them had long left the city center behind them . Based on the remaining weathered road signs, they would leave the city soon if they continued walking . However, they did not find any lake, despite looking around as they walked .

"Strange," Lin Sanjiu frowned . After walking around the area, she couldn't figure out what went wrong . "The sun is behind us, so this is definitely west . There is no reason for the consular officer to set up camp all the way in the wilderness and leave a message in the middle of the city…"

In any case, Lin Sanjiu knew she could not rely on Qing Jiuliu . After announcing that he had no affinity with walking, he would immediately slump on the ground holding a bottle of wine every single time Lin Sanjiu stopped for a moment . This time, he closed his eyes and sunk into a drunken stupor . He seemed completely uninterested in finding the consular officer .

If Sunny had not destroyed those two messages, Lin Sanjiu suspected that she could probably figure out what they did wrong—

When that thought surfaced in her mind, Lin Sanjiu was a little stunned .

"Wrong?"

"What's the matter?" Mrs . Manas asked mildly .

Lin Sanjiu did not reply immediately . She ran over to Qing Jiuliu and shook him awake so he would hear her out . "We had been walking for some time, but we didn't see any new messages . Don't you find this unusual?"

Qing Jiuliu's eyes looked like they were about to close again, he was obviously still very drunk .

"Logically speaking, if that consular officer wants everyone to look for him, he would leave more messages to direct others as they got closer," Lin Sanjiu paused and sighed . Smack . Lin Sanjiu smacked Qing Jiuliu's face to wake the latter again . "We didn't see a single message on our way here . This means that the consular officer isn't even here . We've gone the wrong way . "

"What about the 'west' in that message?" Qing Jiuliu asked while he burped .

"We always assumed that the consular officer was at a place near a lake in the west," Lin Sanjiu spoke faster, "But, if we think about it, the wall has been smashed and the words were jumbled . Maybe, we got the meaning wrong . If west and lake are beside each other, wouldn't that be the name of a place!"

Qing Jiuliu wiped the tired tears at the corner of his eyes and looked up, "Your analysis of the situation sounds logical . I'm also happy for you that you are all positive and energetic about it . But, you forgot something . "

"What?"

"I don't care," he replied honestly .

Mrs . Manas laughed out again .

Dumbfounded, Lin Sanjiu rolled her eyes at him and dragged him up . After that, she found a functioning van and stuffed him into the vehicle while he grumbled . Knowing that they wouldn't miss any clues on their way back, the best option was to drive a van and conserve their energy . Slam . Lin Sanjiu closed the van door and spoke to Qing Jiuliu through the window, "We're going back now . "

Lin Sanjiu honestly wasn't a good driver . She was a greenhorn and had not touched a steering wheel for years . Thankfully, they didn't have to abide by any road traffic rules now, so she drove haphazardly . She even took shortcuts driving up the pavements several times .

Qing Jiuliu's entire body felt very uncomfortable after experiencing Lin Sanjiu's terrible driving . He wanted to say something to her but was slightly startled when he looked up . "There's someone in front!" he shouted . Then, he grabbed the steering wheel and steered the van sharply to one side . The brake screeched as the van slid sideways . Just when they were about to hit the person, the van came to a halting stop .

The space between the stranger's shoulder and the van's windshield was just a fist-width apart .

Even though she knew that the person outside was also a posthuman that wouldn't die from a collision, Lin Sanjiu couldn't help heaving a sigh of relief . She opened the door of the van and got down .

Keeping in mind that she was still disguised as a man, she did not speak hastily . However, when she looked at the person, she couldn't help being a little stunned .

Qing Jiuliu peeked his head from the van and looked at that person . Quite uncharacteristically, he suddenly fell silent .

Lin Sanjiu had seen many different people in her life but she had never seen a woman like the one before her .

"Be careful when you drive," the woman curled her lips . There was something almost phantom-like about her beautiful bright-red lips . A lock of her golden hair slipped from her forehead as she looked at both Lin Sanjiu and Qing Jiuliu . The woman tilted her chin a little and spoke with a rasp yet gentle voice, "I'm not mad at you . However, you might meet others who will be offended . "

"Ah . I'm s-sorry," Lin Sanjiu stuttered a little . At that moment, she had completely forgotten that she was disguised as a man . Momentarily, she couldn't bring herself to look away from the woman .

"She has some years on her . " Lin Sanjiu thought .

When the woman turned her head, Lin Sanjiu spotted the wrinkles on the woman's slightly sagging chin . On closer inspection, Lin Sanjiu could also see the faint wrinkles on the woman's face . The woman was wearing a diamond ring . When she pointed at Qing Jiuliu with her ring finger, the hints of that woman's age suddenly disappeared from Lin Sanjiu's sight, "Come over, give me a stick of cigarette . "

Before Qing Jiuliu could ask that woman how she knew that he had cigarettes on him, he already walked up to her and handed her a stick of cigarette . He even lit the cigarette for her .

The woman raised her chin and blew a cloud of cigarette smoke into the air .

The woman did not say much to them . She didn't even do anything that unusual . However, Lin Sanjiu simply couldn't turn her eyes away from this woman . The only thing Lin Sanjiu could do was to stare at her, almost mesmerized . The woman seemed to have a halo-like aura . She had a mature charm about her . She was like a bottle of glistening red wine . Aged, but smooth and classy .

The woman tidied her short golden curls and suddenly laughed without any reason .

"You," she pointed to Lin Sanjiu while her cigarette was still between her fingers . "Could you stand further away from me? I am heading in the opposite direction from where you're facing . "

That sentence was undeniably rude . However, the woman said those words in such a calm and graceful manner that Lin Sanjiu couldn't get angry at her . Instead, Lin Sanjiu even felt a little impolite that she didn't move aside for the woman immediately .

When the woman saw Lin Sanjiu stepping aside, she smiled and took a step forward . Surprising, even the woman's slim and long calves could make a person stare . The woman's exquisite stilettos clicked against the ground . It was only then that Lin Sanjiu noticed the large gunny sack behind the woman's back .

"Don't take offense, dearie," the woman turned back . She flashed a dreamy smile, framed by her golden locks, at Lin Sanjiu . "I think you are a good kid but I hope you don't come too close to me . "

Lin Sanjiu could not understand what the woman meant . She hesitated and pointed at the gunny sack, "Do you need my help?"

"No," she turned her head . Her stilettos clicked as she walked further and further away from them . "How sweet . " Her voice drifted in the air like an elegant melody .

Lin Sanjiu watched as the woman disappeared into the corner of the street . Lin Sanjiu finally exhaled and withdrew her gaze .

She found Qing Jiuliu staring back at her . Both of them were still in a bit of a daze . After a few seconds, Qing Jiuliu commented, sighingly, "I've never seen such… such a charming woman . "

Lin Sanjiu nodded in agreement . Compared to that woman, Lin Sanjiu felt like a man .

Nevertheless, this incident was just a short interlude and the two of them quickly returned to the van . This time, however, Qing Jiuliu opted to drunk drive rather than let Lin Sanjiu touch the steering wheel .  

With that decided, he drove for a while and, as expected, they noticed more and more messages from the consular officer . Just as Lin Sanjiu had speculated, the consular officer was at a place called Westlake Restaurant . Following the other messages from the consular officer, the two of them found the restaurant . It was beside a small man-made lake .

"It should be here," Lin Sanjiu looked around and frowned, "But, why isn't there anyone around?"

In any world, there would always be many posthumans surrounding a consular officer . However, that was not what Qing Jiuliu was concerned about .

"This looks like a high-end restaurant . There should be quite a few bottles of good wine here . " Qing Jiuliu said as he got off the van . This was the first time he enthusiastically took lead to explore . Lifting the burlap curtain door at the entrance, which was covered in bloodstains, he entered the restaurant .  

Lin Sanjiu followed behind . Just when she was about to speak, she looked up and immediately held her tongue .

"You two idiots came here to search for the target too?"

Irezumi stood obnoxiously at the center of the restaurant . He didn't seem that surprised to see them .

"You?" Qing Jiuliu dragged his feet lazily as he approached Irezumi . "Why are you here?"

Irezumi sighed as he looked begrudgingly at them with his serpentine eyes .

"I don't get it," he said sounding depressed, "Why are all my candidates all so stupid?"

Lin Sanjiu felt her heart in her throat .

"He wasn't a consular officer but he pretended to be one… He said that he could lure the target," Irezumi continued worriedly . "Look at this mess he created . He didn't manage to lure the target . Furthermore, another posthuman who was tricked by his message threw him into a gunny sack and took him away . Damn . I don't even know if he is dead or alive . As an arbiter, what should I do…" 

Gunny sack . Lin Sanjiu suddenly felt dizzy .