Doomsday Wonderland

The process of replacing her external microbiome was as crude and brutal as the disinfection procedure: jets of high-pressure water sprayed from all directions, leaving Lin Sanjiu staggering under the force, her skin stinging. Forget about opening her eyes; she couldn't even take a breath without inhaling water. It was as if she were a storm-tossed seabird, battered senseless until even the question of "Why replace the microbiome?" was knocked out of her mind.

After enduring ten grueling minutes, she was ushered into a circular ring. It reminded her of those factory assembly lines she'd seen on TV, where machines pressed plastic wrappers neatly onto beverage bottles. Now, she was the bottle.

As the circular mechanism retracted upward, she found herself wearing a gray robe.

Calling it a robe was generous; it was just two pieces of coarse fabric stitched together, with holes cut for her head and arms. At least it was loose and oversized, allowing for easy movement.

"Well, congratulations, you're a civilized person again," Mrs. Manas quipped. "Why don't you try pulling some clothes out of your card inventory? This place seems fully automated, with no one around."

"Better not," Lin Sanjiu replied after some thought. "I need to stay inconspicuous, just in case."

This factory seemed tied to several mysteries: the disappearance of ordinary people in Chimeric City, the purpose of the Shadow Hall, its connection to the old lady, and possibly even a path to Magus. Whatever truth awaited her, enduring some hardship was a small price to pay.

Still, she needed to do something about the [Pygmalion Choker] around her neck.

As she was placed on another conveyor belt, Lin Sanjiu tore a strip from the bottom of her gray robe and wrapped it around her neck, pretending it was an injury from the disinfection and replacement procedures. It wasn't perfect, but it would have to suffice.

"Replacing the microbiome with a posthuman version... what's the point?" She finally had a moment to reflect. "Posthumans aren't defined by their microbiomes. I've got double the microbes now, but my abilities haven't doubled. If the goal is to create posthumans, wouldn't it be easier to just release a doomsday element?"

"And they didn't touch the internal microbiome," Mrs. Manas added, equally puzzled. "I really don't get it."

Maybe the answer lay deeper within the factory.

Weary from everything, Lin Sanjiu took the opportunity to rest, sitting down on the moving conveyor belt. The hum of its motion gradually dispelled the surrounding darkness. She rubbed her sore eyes, and when she lowered her hands, she froze in place.

"What... is this?"

In the distance, colors began to ripple faintly in the darkness, like weightless waves gently washing ashore. Ahead of her, the conveyor belt led to a vast expanse of walls.

Rows upon rows of semi-transparent compartments glowed with various hues, embedded in the walls with no visible edges. The sight resembled an infinitely magnified beehive floating in space.

Most of the compartments glimmered with soft moon-white, amber, or pale red hues, resembling jewels scattered across a velvet-black canvas. Their light spilled into the darkness, intermingling and expanding. If not for the black silhouettes of human figures standing motionless inside each compartment, the scene might have been beautiful.

"We're almost at the door," Mrs. Manas murmured.

The conveyor belt carrying Lin Sanjiu headed toward a large metallic door at the center of the glowing wall. Similar metallic doors were visible in the distance, each connected to its own conveyor belt, floating like threads in the dark abyss. Lin Sanjiu squinted, noticing that other belts were also transporting what seemed to be ordinary people toward the glowing walls.

The vastness and eerie stillness of the scene sent a shiver down her spine.

Every time the metal doors opened and closed, the compartments shifted positions, with glowing orbs flickering in and out of the darkness. Lin Sanjiu observed for a moment and understood: once someone was sent through the door, they were placed into an empty compartment. The compartment, now occupied, would then move away, replaced by another empty one.

"Ever since I fell in, I've been suspecting this," she muttered, scanning her surroundings. "And now I'm almost certain. This factory... it's been modified and pieced together using multiple pocket dimensions or Special Items." ＲÄ𐌽ŏ₿ÊS̩

Could this be the final destination?

As she stepped into a dimly lit compartment, Lin Sanjiu's entire body tensed. From her earlier observations, the occasional movements of shadows within the compartments had reassured her that the people inside were alive. But if this truly was the final stop, it might mean she'd have to remove her [Facial Hair].

While she examined the small compartment, now illuminated with a faint yellow glow, the wall opposite her suddenly split open.

Screens, tubes, mechanical arms, syringes, masks, and countless other devices she couldn't identify surged forward like a tidal wave, as if Medusa's head had emerged. Amidst the writhing chaos of these "snakes," a tiny nozzle suddenly hissed, spraying a mist directly at her face.

Even with her faster reflexes, Lin Sanjiu couldn't avoid inhaling a trace of it. Instantly, a wave of warmth and relaxation washed over her, leaving her muscles limp and her limbs heavy. She slumped back against the wall, feeling oddly at ease.

"This place is... such a pain," Mrs. Manas murmured, her tone as lethargic as Lin Sanjiu felt. "In hindsight... maybe we should have stuffed the [Facial Hair] up your nose... as nose hair."

1

That would've been hideous.

Although Lin Sanjiu's consciousness remained intact and she felt no discomfort, the sensation resembled the drowsy relaxation that comes from soaking too long in a hot bath. Perhaps because her Keen Senses had been reduced to just six percent, she couldn't detect any imminent danger. She watched as several small probes attached themselves to her head, temples, and chest, their cold touch failing to rouse her resistance.

One by one, devices adhered to her or enveloped her entirely. Even her face was covered by a mask. A device clinked against the [Pygmalion Choker] on her neck several times before deciding to settle somewhere else. A screen lit up, displaying an array of numbers, images, and pulsating graphs. Lin Sanjiu stared at it for a moment, her voice dreamy as she remarked, "Are they... giving me a medical check-up?"

"That's a nice perk."

1

"Look at that double-helix structure... isn't that DNA?"

Her conversation with Mrs. Manas was so slow and muddled it felt almost like an outtake from a movie scene where characters were hilariously stoned. The only thing missing was laughter.

Fortunately, the effects of the mist dissipated quickly due to the small amount she had inhaled. Lin Sanjiu felt herself descending back into clarity, her mind regaining its usual tension and sharpness after a few seconds.

The compartment, however, seemed unaware of her recovery and was gearing up for its next act. A syringe filled with blue liquid descended directly toward her arm.

"Stay away from me," Lin Sanjiu hissed, twisting away, sweat breaking out across her back. The syringe missed its target but remained relentless, pivoting in midair before coming for her arm again. In the cramped space of the compartment, she twisted and dodged, cursing herself for not summoning a shoe earlier. With tubes and wires still trailing from her body, her movements were limited, and it seemed inevitable that she'd be injected with the unknown substance.

Then, a sudden idea struck her. Instead of dodging, she reached out and caught the needle between her fingers.

The needle pierced between her two fingers, encountering just enough resistance to mimic the sensation of breaking through skin and muscle. A fine stream of blue liquid spurted out, dripping harmlessly onto the floor.

Thankfully, her remaining posthuman reflexes and precision had saved her. If it had been an ordinary person, they would have undoubtedly received a full injection of the mysterious fluid by now.

"Detection process initiated," the same electronic voice announced.

'It really is a check-up,' Lin Sanjiu thought. She stared at the screen through the mask's eye slot, her thoughts spinning.

Most of the symbols, text, and images on the screen were completely incomprehensible to her, like deciphering an alien language. She barely recognized a carbon dioxide level readout and a few molecular diagrams, and her understanding went no further than that.

After waiting nervously for a while, Lin Sanjiu realized that aside from the continuous flow of biological data on the screen, nothing else was happening inside the compartment.

'Analyzing someone's entire biological information must be a long process,' she mused. Being posthuman likely made her data far more complex than that of an ordinary human. As time dragged on, a sense of boredom began to creep in.

'I wonder if I can see into other compartments through these frosted glass walls?'

Stretching her neck, Lin Sanjiu tried to peer outside but could only make out faint, blurry lights and shadows. She couldn't see or hear any of the other people. Although they had all been brought in together in large numbers, the factory had deliberately isolated them. It must have been a strategy to prevent them from gathering and causing trouble.

Should she summon something to defend herself while she still had time?

With [Planar World] weakened, summoning even a single item could take nearly a hundred attempts. She could probably only manage to summon one card. But not knowing what lay ahead made it hard to decide what item would be most useful.

Perhaps Lin Sanjiu had become too engrossed in weighing her options. Perhaps the mask covering part of her field of vision had obscured her surroundings. Whatever the reason, by the time she realized there was someone else in the compartment, it was already too late.

The dense cluster of devices, instruments, and cables embedded in the wall suddenly shifted. Then, from the dim depths of the machinery, a head of white and gray hair emerged—an old lady was slowly making her way out.

Stepping into the compartment on soft-soled black shoes, she stood still with her hands folded behind her back.

It was the same old lady Lin Sanjiu had encountered in the city. She wore an impassive expression, her face slack and her eyes fixed unblinkingly on Lin Sanjiu from beneath drooping, wrinkled eyelids.

Around her, the air shimmered faintly, and almost translucent letters floated: [Concept Mismash].

Lin Sanjiu clenched her jaw tightly, her heart pounding like a drum. She had seen this scene before, far too vividly.

"When you follow instructions," the old lady said, her tone indifferent, her lips moving like a carp chewing on nothing, "you will temporarily gain an evolved ability."

What?

Lin Sanjiu stood frozen, her mind reeling in disbelief. Had she heard correctly? Before she could react, the old lady had already stepped back into the shadows of the wall, vanishing into the dense tangle of machinery and pipes.

Then, the electronic voice spoke again.

"Analysis complete. Please select your desired evolved ability from the screen."

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