Doomsday Wonderland

No one had time to ask Eight-Heads De, "Is this your doing?" because the moment his words fell, a screeching, grating sound scraped through their nerves from behind.

It was like fingernails on a chalkboard, twisting and clawing at their minds. Lin Sanjiu glanced back and saw that the coiled, mutated shell was moving.

The hard, white, blade-like "shell flower" was silently growing forward in concentric spirals, creeping closer as if trying to sneak up unnoticed. The screeching sound came from where it had encountered a chair, now shredded and mangled by the shell's blades. Splintered pieces of the chair were caught in the curling shell, its broken legs spiraling forward as though the chair itself were alive.

"Run!" one of the posthumans shouted. "It's coming!"

Eight-Heads De didn't hesitate. He took one look at the corridor and bolted; standing at the back of the group initially, he was now the first to flee.

The curling blades of the shell weren't fast, but they were relentless. Moving at a steady pace of five or six meters per second, they relentlessly coiled through every turn, staying close on their heels. The speed wasn't extraordinary, but it was just enough to force average posthumans to keep running with no time to think. Forget about bringing Eight-Heads De to the XC district; at this point, no one even knew which direction they were heading.

"Let's split up!" Nika called urgently. "We'll meet at the west gate!"

She glanced at Eight-Heads De, then leapt up to a gap in the ceiling. Her slightly plump figure moved with surprising agility as she slipped through the opening, narrowly avoiding the shell blades that curled up beneath her.

Nika wasn't the only one to escape in time. As Lin Sanjiu sped up to catch Eight-Heads De, she saw that only four posthumans remained running together in the corridor: Eight-Heads De, herself, Zhong Qing, and Dreadlocks.

Dreadlocks wasn't unwilling to flee; he was just unlucky. Twice he had tried to escape through a side path, only to be cut off by the advancing shell or trip on broken bricks. Out of breath, he glanced back and realized only Eight-Heads De and his two hired posthumans remained. His face went pale with despair. Even Lin Sanjiu felt a pang of sympathy for him.

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"Hey." Zhong Qing's unexpected decision to stay surprised Lin Sanjiu. He was shouting at Eight-Heads De, "Where are you going?"

Eight-Heads De's combat skills were average, but maintaining this pace wasn't difficult for him. He let out a dry laugh and replied, "Why didn't you slip away? Don't you suspect me?"

Lin Sanjiu was so startled she almost stopped to check her Higher Consciousness. She had used it to form a soundproof barrier when speaking with Zhong Qing. This trick had always worked perfectly before. How had it failed now?

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"You heard us?" Zhong Qing was also surprised, then quickly explained, "I told you, I'm just here for the money. Of course, your goals and true intentions are things I'd wonder about out of curiosity. But it doesn't matter to me. I just do the job and get paid."

'Is he really that desperate for money?' Lin Sanjiu glanced at Zhong Qing and recalled their conversation. Then she relaxed. She hadn't explicitly accused Eight-Heads De of anything, so she still had a chance to stay by his side.

Eight-Heads De might be suspicious, but confronting or opposing him wasn't an option. Lin Sanjiu didn't even dare to leave. If she left, how would she find the grand prize and Yu Yuan? Fly in circles around Cloudwalk Heights in the aircraft?

Eight-Heads De gave Zhong Qing a sidelong glance, then turned to the panting Dreadlocks. "And you?" he asked.

3

Dreadlocks looked at the three of them. When his gaze fell on Lin Sanjiu, despair filled his expression.

Lin Sanjiu, with her top-tier combat skills, remained silent and seemingly loyal. She looked like she'd follow Eight-Heads De anywhere. One against three in numbers, but one against three hundred in power. What other choice did he have?

"I-I... I don't believe the Noble Accord's nonsense at all!" Dreadlocks stared straight ahead at the corridor, avoiding everyone's gaze as he panted and lied through his teeth. "I know you, I know how much effort you've put into Chimeric City. I never miss your broadcasts. No one can drive a wedge between us..."

1

They were too busy fleeing for anyone to scrutinize his words closely. Eight-Heads De gave a noncommittal hum and said, "At least someone still believes me."

"Of-of course..."

"If that's the case, follow me," Eight-Heads De called out. "I know a place where we can shake this thing off!"

Lin Sanjiu had long since given up trying to navigate Chimeric City, but after following Eight-Heads De for a while, she realized the area was becoming increasingly familiar. When the corridor suddenly ended ahead, she finally remembered. This was where a suspension bridge used to be. She had waited here once, listening to an old man telling a love story by the roadside.

Today, of course, no one was going to lower the bridge for them. In the chaos of the residents' escape, the bridge had already been destroyed by some unknown force, reduced to splintered planks scattered in the empty residential area below.

"Jump down from here!" Eight-Heads De shouted. "It looks like those nails can only extend forward!"

Before he finished speaking, everyone had leapt off the broken path, landing in the empty residential area ten meters below. Above them, the twisted, coiling shell blades spiraled through the air and continued piercing forward into the corridor ahead.

At last, they didn't have to keep running. They paused to catch their breath, some standing, some sitting, amidst the wreckage of the residential area. Lin Sanjiu was the only one barely sweating. She glanced around; since entering Chimeric City, she hadn't seen such an unobstructed expanse of sky. The weather was beautiful, the sunlight streaming through the clear blue sky, casting a stark contrast to the disaster below.

In the corner of her vision, something in the sky flitted back behind a section of wall, as if afraid of being seen. A faint flash of silver lingered in her sight.

"What was that?" Mrs. Manas said immediately. "It was floating above the wall in the sky, right? It looked familiar, like we've seen it before."

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"Did you notice the shape?" Lin Sanjiu asked.

"I need to think—"

Mrs. Manas had barely started when Eight-Heads De called to the group.

"I'm grateful that, for whatever reason, you're still here with me. To be honest, I'm at a point where I desperately need help." His gaze swept over everyone, and he gave a bitter smile. "Because while we were busy running for our lives, someone else has already informed the Noble Accord about the situation. I don't care who it was. The problem is, the Noble Accord has now unilaterally decided that I'm involved."

Despite fleeing alongside Lin Sanjiu and the others, he seemed to have an uncanny grasp of the city's updates.

"Are you involved in this?" Zhong Qing suddenly asked.

"Of course not." Eight-Heads De shook his head calmly, not showing any anger. "Leaving aside the fact that I don't have the means to cause these mutations, even if I did, I would never harm the city's residents. Let's keep moving. Having that... nail hanging over our heads is unnerving."

Once again, Lin Sanjiu felt that jarring sense of contradiction. The more sincere and heartfelt his words were, the less his actions made sense. If he were truly innocent, why not go to the west gate and explain himself? And when he refused to go, a mutant conveniently blocked the path, scattering the other posthumans. Wasn't that just too coincidental?

"The Noble Accord just issued a warrant for my capture to the posthumans of Chimeric City," Eight-Heads De said as he led the group forward, trudging step by step. "Honestly, I'm not too worried about myself. Worst case, I'll fight a guerrilla war. Who knows Chimeric City better than I do? What worries me more is their other order. All flights to and from Chimeric City have been canceled, and they've commanded posthumans to round up all the ordinary people and concentrate them on the northwest platform."

Dreadlocks let out a surprised "Ah."

When he noticed Lin Sanjiu looking at him, he hurried to explain, "That's an elevated platform they built a while back, intending to expand the city from there. But the platform was unstable, and the new city walls collapsed part of it, so they abandoned the idea. Now it's just an overgrown cliff that no one uses."

"How many ordinary people are in Chimeric City? If they're all gathered there, what if the weight collapses it again?" Lin Sanjiu asked.

"If it doesn't collapse, good; if it does, then while it'll be inconvenient later, it solves a problem for now." Eight-Heads De's voice was cold. "Ordinary people may lack abilities, but they're not brainless. They know they can't trust the Noble Accord anymore. After all, the Noble Accord is a posthuman organization. I'm not surprised they've reacted this way."

"What reaction?" Zhong Qing asked. "You've been with us the whole time. How do you know this?"

Eight-Heads De didn't elaborate, simply saying, "A lot of ordinary people have found ways to sneak back into the city."

"Huh?" Dreadlocks was stunned. He glanced back at the giant, twisted fingernail blocking the corridor behind them. "Ordinary people sneaking back... How can they avoid the mutants? If they really have no connection to the mutants, they should be asking the posthumans for help, even if there's a misunderstanding—"

"There's someone ahead," Lin Sanjiu murmured, bringing them all to a halt. They were descending from the open residential area toward a lower section. A city wall blocked their path, its surface dotted with dark windows that resembled scattered eyes. Lin Sanjiu was the only one who noticed movement within the wall.

"Is it a mutant?" Dreadlocks asked anxiously.

"If it's posthumans, they might attack me," Eight-Heads De whispered to Lin Sanjiu. "I'll need your help..."

Lin Sanjiu bit the inside of her cheek and didn't respond.

A shadow flickered behind one of the dark windows. A moment later, a face emerged, one they recognized; it belonged to the bearded man they'd encountered before.

"It's you?" Eight-Heads De paused, taking a few steps forward. "You've come back to the city too?"

Even after recognizing Eight-Heads De, the man's wary expression didn't relax in the slightest.

"Eight-Heads De, I've always trusted you, thought you were different from other posthumans," Hagrid said heavily. "Out of respect for the past, I'm giving you posthumans a chance. Leave now. Otherwise, we ordinary people, united together, will take you down."

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Lin Sanjiu almost thought she'd misheard. Dreadlocks couldn't help but let out a short, incredulous laugh.

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