Doomsday Wonderland

The two stared at the wall across from them, suppressing their fear deep into the silence of their chests, not daring to make a sound.

The human ear clinging to the wall stared back at them, its central black hole resembling an eye. It was still the size of a normal human ear, as if confident it would remain unnoticed in the shadows.

For four or five seconds, everything was frozen in place. Ye De's mind felt foggy; he didn't know what to do.

Before the ear crept further into his peripheral vision, had it heard their conversation? And if so, how much?

Ye De gripped his pants tightly, locking his gaze on a brick beneath the ear, while Anton's earlier words replayed in his mind: "Very stable. I have incredible self-control."

As someone who made a living through speech, Ye De was highly attuned to subtle distinctions in language. Anton hadn't said "suppress" or "restrain" but specifically "self-control," as though he constantly needed to resist some sort of temptation or desire.

He recalled a patrol day, when the middle-aged woman suddenly mutated in the alleyways of the city. She turned her head to glance at her neck, stretched over ten meters in the air, and muttered indistinctly, "This feels... pretty good."

Could it be that the act of mutating felt pleasurable?

Anna was trembling violently but didn't dare make a sound. She hunched her shoulders and covered her mouth, yet the faint noise of her compressed ribcage creaking under the strain was audible to even Ye De. Ordinary people in Chimeric City had no room to grow fat; this young girl, at the same age as he was when he left the orphanage, was nothing but skin and bones.

"My strength and ability are already at their limit. Whatever doubts you have in your heart, I can't help you with them," he said, taking a silent gulp of coffee and deliberately keeping his voice steady and even. "But don't be afraid. I have a friend; you've met her, the woman who injured your brother. Do you remember?"

Thanks to his experience hosting radio programs, his voice betrayed no hint that he had noticed the ear clinging to the wall opposite them.

Anna remained silent. Judging by her expression, she might not be able to control herself if she spoke.

"She's the strongest posthuman I've ever encountered in Chimeric City. With her, everything will come to light." With every breath, Ye De carefully and quietly took another gulp of coffee. "We split up to investigate, but she was worried about me going alone, so we agreed to meet at Lane 50."

8

Anna seemed to believe him. Slowly, she lowered the hand covering her mouth, her eyes shimmering with tears. Ye De quickly shook his head, unsure if she understood his signal.

Lane 50 wasn't far. If they continued east along this alley, even at a slow pace, it wouldn't take more than ten minutes to reach it. But Lin Sanjiu wouldn't be waiting there. The last time he had checked on her whereabouts, she had just joined two ordinary people and found another four or five others. She was listening to them discuss recent events and was currently halfway across the city.

"The reason I chose to head this way is because she's waiting for me. In an emergency, I only need to call out, and she'll be here in no time." Ye De had already consumed half the coffee while speaking. This wasn't the time to conserve supplies. "Whatever worries you have, we'll keep going east, and everything will be fine."

If only that were true.

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Ye De tightened the lid on the coffee and stowed it away. Only three or four sips remained, a last resort for emergencies. He didn't know how much Anna understood, nor could he explain it to her directly. Using his ability, the Silver-Head, would allow him to send a message past Anton and directly into the Anna's ears. But he was sitting right here; if he opened his mouth to transmit the message, Anton would hear it immediately, rendering it meaningless.

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The real problem was that he was never a posthuman skilled in combat.

The two of them watched as the fleshy human ear slowly crawled back into the shadows. A few seconds later, faint footsteps echoed from the dark alley ahead. Anna shuddered violently, but Ye De couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief. The quick return meant that Anton hadn't gone far earlier.

For Anton to walk toward them now instead of mutating and attacking outright was evidence that he believed Ye De's story. After all, he had personally experienced Lin Sanjiu's speed and strength. Thinking she was nearby, he wouldn't dare to risk attacking Ye De.

If it were him in Anton's place, whatever he planned next, he would ensure his prey was far enough from any potential danger before making a move.

"I went all the way to Lane 52 and didn't see anything."

Anton's figure stood at the fork in the dimly lit alley, his face stretched unnaturally forward as if his neck were a block of softened butter, sliding effortlessly from his chest and about to fall off. The self-control he had prided himself on earlier now seemed to be slowly unraveling. "Let's keep moving and check that direction. I haven't looked to the west yet."

As he spoke, he rotated his neck, which returned to a more normal appearance, and gestured toward the branching path to the right.

Ye De feigned surprise, still sitting on the ground as he mumbled, "No one? You didn't see anything at all along the way? How is that possible?"

Anton was cleverer than Ye De had anticipated. He didn't force them to follow him west; instead, he used the fact that they shouldn't know he overheard their conversation to plant seeds of doubt in Ye De's mind. If Ye De began to believe that Lin Sanjiu might not actually be at Lane 50, he would naturally refrain from calling for help and risking alerting her. This allowed Anton to lead them away from the east without resistance.

Ye De was more than willing to play along, letting Anton think his plan was succeeding.

Even though much of his strength had returned, Ye De leaned heavily on Anna for support as he shakily got to his feet. The young girl must have been deeply confused and frightened, but she merely bit her lip and clung tightly to Ye De, as though he were her last hope for salvation.

He wished he could tell Anna that he only had one attack left up his sleeve.

1

As a popular radio host, Ye De may not have excelled in combat, but he had no shortage of permits and items. The Twelve Worlds Centrum visas were becoming increasingly accessible, and while his items weren't rare or powerful, they were enough to sustain his daily needs.

He was one of the rare lucky ones, living in a mostly benign environment and striving to remain there. Even in Chimeric City, he never imagined he'd face a day where he would have to fight.

Ye De mentally rehearsed his attack several times. He had plenty of ripple balls on him, but he could only think of one opportunity to strike. The explosion from a ripple ball was powerful. If used while being pursued by a mutant in the alley, it would cause a massive collapse in Chimeric City's structure. He needed to resolve the problem in one blow, ensuring Anton couldn't crawl back into the alleys afterward.

1

As for Anna... it was probably best if she didn't know his plan.

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Ye De knew Chimeric City too well. After spending twenty years as an ordinary person and fourteen as a posthuman, he always chose to stay there whenever possible. Like a dog abandoned by its owner, he lingered around the familiar ruins, even though his family and home were long gone.

3

He knew that heading west along the right-hand alley would soon lead them to a dead end. To escape, they would have to climb up a gap in the ceiling and jump to another alley.

This maneuver was risky: the next alley wasn't far, but the landing spot was narrow. A single misstep could send someone rolling down the alley wall and falling onto a vast, newly constructed but empty platform below.

As Dreadlocks had once explained to Lin Sanjiu, the platform's foundation was unstable. It had already collapsed once, dragging a half-built house down into the smoky abyss below. Since then, only a few children searching for wild grass had ventured there.

"This doesn't look good," Anton said from a ladder beneath the ceiling gap, his head disappearing into the opening as his voice echoed clearly. "Can you two jump to the next alley?"

"I can't jump anymore," Ye De said, suppressing his racing heartbeat and forcing a weak tone. "You might have to go first and pull me up."

Anton climbed the ladder with a rustling sound. A few seconds later, his head reappeared through the ceiling gap, staring down at them. "Hurry up and get up here."

When he and Anton were standing in the next alley, that would be the moment Ye De launched his attack.

His palms were sweaty with nerves, and he repeatedly lost his grip on the ladder, making himself appear genuinely weak. When he and Anna finally climbed through the ceiling gap, Ye De realized Anton's body was already in the next alley. Only his head remained, bobbing in midair on his elongated neck.

"Hmm... Anna, why don't you come over here first?" His head, slowly drawing closer to his body, revealed a smile beneath the bandages. "Let your brother hold onto you. It'll put my mind at ease."

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