Doomsday Wonderland

As Lin Sanjiu freed her hand to brush aside the drenched curtain-like long eyebrows obscuring her face and introduced herself, Ya Rong had a moment where she seemed ready to faint from embarrassment.

Her eyes darted across Lin Sanjiu's face, then she visibly forced herself not to stare at the mass of hair, swallowing her thoughts about it. She quickly stammered, "I'm so sorry! It's just... you're so strong, and you looked really tough, so I assumed..."

1

She sure knew how to talk her way out of things

"We can't just cling to the railing forever," Lin Sanjiu said, offering Ya Rong a way out of her awkwardness; otherwise, with her thin-skinned demeanor, she'd likely apologize herself hoarse. "The factory won't let anyone stay outside the assembly line process."

Barely half a minute had passed since the railing opened, yet Lin Sanjiu could already feel the river's flow accelerating, the current growing more turbulent and aggressive, as if determined to scour away stubborn residue.

"Right... so, what do we do now?" Ya Rong asked, glancing around nervously. Her eyes fell on the forested riverbanks. "If only we had a paddle... we could at least steer the boat where we wanted."

Lin Sanjiu had entertained similar thoughts earlier. Unfortunately, the trees on the riverbanks were both too far and too spindly, their branches too short to serve as oars. Even if she used her Higher Consciousness to yank a few down, they'd be useless for steering.

Technically, if all the other ordinary people had entered pocket dimensions, she should follow suit. But Lin Sanjiu had far too little information to risk it. What if the factory's main focus wasn't on the ordinary people at all? What if this was all just a test or a training exercise for the pocket dimensions? And what if those pocket dimensions were dead ends?

Rather than gamble on an unknown pocket dimension, Lin Sanjiu preferred to push further into the factory, locate the river's endpoint, and uncover the person behind this operation.

With this in mind, Lin Sanjiu turned to observe the scene. The frothy river, flanked by eager pocket dimensions, and the bobbing red boats created a fragmented, cinematic view as they drifted in and out of her swaying line of sight.

The furthest red boats had shrunk to the size of a pinky nail, barely visible. How had those people managed to evade all the pocket dimensions along the way? Lin Sanjiu scanned the riverbanks again, a new question forming in her mind.

Why deploy so many pocket dimensions for a group of fewer than a hundred people?

The nearest set of giant white gloves were now clasped together over the river, their once-glistening surface completely still, the thin reflective sheen gone. Lin Sanjiu stared at them for a few seconds before a realization struck her, taking her breath away.

"I get it," she blurted out. "The pocket dimensions are full!"

Ya Rong blinked in confusion, either not hearing her clearly or not processing it. "Huh?"

Lin Sanjiu silently chastised herself for being slow to figure it out. The reason for so many pocket dimensions, and for releasing the ordinary people in batches, was obvious: most pocket dimensions had a capacity limit.

The two massive white gloves had swept up boat after boat in their initial frenzy, capturing almost everyone in the first wave. But now, the boats coming after had managed to pass by and continue downstream—evidence that the first few pocket dimensions had likely reached their capacity.

"But," Ya Rong said hesitantly, reluctant to challenge Lin Sanjiu's theory but unable to hold back her doubts. "The number of us... shouldn't it match the pocket dimensions? Won't there always be one waiting for us?"

"That's true," Lin Sanjiu said. "As we get closer to the last few pocket dimensions, we're much more likely to be caught."

"Then what do we do?" Ya Rong said anxiously, her hands trembling as she gripped the railing. "I'm barely holding on... my hands hurt so much." After a pause, she added hurriedly, "Not that I'm trying to pressure you..."

'There's no need to be this considerate when asking for help,' Lin Sanjiu thought, both amused and exasperated. Still, she extended a hand to the girl, asking, "If I stretch my arm out, do you think you can let go of the railing and grab onto me?"

1

Ya Rong eyed Lin Sanjiu's outstretched arm.

Despite her cautious and polite demeanor, when it came time to act, Ya Rong didn't hesitate. She released the railing without a word, startling Lin Sanjiu with her sudden decisiveness. Amid the crashing waves and frothing water, their hands reached out to each other but slipped apart. Lin Sanjiu quickly used her Higher Consciousness to secure the girl and pull her closer.

"This... this isn't your hand..." Ya Rong, eyes barely open against the spray, realized something was off and fumbled with the tendril of Higher Consciousness. "What is this? A rope?"

"It's my ability," Lin Sanjiu replied, choosing not to explain further.

"Oh, I picked an evolved ability too," Ya Rong said, wiping her face with one hand. "But I don't think it's going to help much. What do we do now?"

"Hold on tight," Lin Sanjiu said as she clenched her fist. Without waiting for a reply, she slammed it down against the base of the wooden railing.

Under normal circumstances, breaking an ordinary wooden plank would have been effortless for her, something she could do without a second thought. But now, with her strength reduced to a mere six percent, the icy cold water had left her hand aching to the bone. The impact split her skin, and blood welled up around her knuckles. Still, she gritted her teeth and adjusted her angle, summoning all the strength she had left. She pounded the railing again and again until, with a sharp cracking sound, it finally split.

The rushing river water, which had been relentlessly battering the weakened structure and bearing the weight of two people, seized its opportunity. As the wood gave way, the current yanked the two inflatable boats forward. Ya Rong let out a startled scream as their vessels spun and surged into the river.

Lin Sanjiu, however, held fast to the topmost piece of the wooden railing, now detached from the rest, as if her life depended on it.

"Oh, I see what you're doing!" Ya Rong, tethered by a thin tendril of Lin Sanjiu's Higher Consciousness, stumbled through the turbulent waters but still found the presence of mind to exclaim, "You've got yourself a paddle—"

"Duck!" Lin Sanjiu interrupted sharply. She bent low in her circular boat, and Ya Rong hastily followed suit, collapsing into her own. The two enormous white gloves, though now motionless, hovered low over the river. Their quick reflexes saved them from colliding head-on with the surreal hands.

As Lin Sanjiu had suspected, the first three or four pocket dimensions ahead had already reached capacity. Even as the boats drifted close to them, these dimensions remained utterly still, appearing no more threatening than oversized toys.

Despite the chaotic rush of the river, the wooden plank proved invaluable. Lin Sanjiu used it to row against the current, slowing their progress. She maneuvered their boats to avoid the pocket dimensions along the banks, at times carving a zigzag path through the water. The effort was exhausting, but it allowed them to evade the majority of the dangers. Gradually, the number of pocket dimensions along the riverbanks thinned. Before long, all that lay ahead was open water flanked by verdant greenery.

Just as Lin Sanjiu allowed herself a glimmer of hope, her heart caught in her throat.

The other ordinary people released into the river were nowhere to be seen. Scanning the waters, she realized it was now just the two of them, their small red boats floating in isolation. If the number of pocket dimensions truly corresponded to the number of people released...

That thought was interrupted as a figure emerged from the woods lining the riverbank.

Lin Sanjiu's breath hitched as she recognized the form of Ji Shanqing. For a moment, she forgot she was sitting in a boat; the sudden lurch of her body nearly toppled her into the water. The grand prize seemed to notice the commotion on the river and turned to look in her direction. His clear, luminous eyes, now clouded with a hint of mist, etched themselves into her vision.

1

"Sis?" he called softly, his voice tinged with a childlike confusion and the faintest trace of hurt.

No, this had to be the manifestation of a pocket dimension.

Even as the thought raced through her mind, Lin Sanjiu could feel her lips parting. She was about to call out, "Grand prize?"

"Ahhhhhh!" A piercing, high-pitched voice from behind startled her out of her trance. Lin Sanjiu turned to see Ya Rong, pale as a sheet, her face contorted in panic. Words seemed to elude her entirely; all she could manage was a series of shrill, incoherent exclamations. "Ahhh! Wah wah wah, Lin Sanjiu!"

The brief distraction allowed the current to sweep their boats forward with alarming speed. Ji Shanqing's figure vanished in the blink of an eye, left far behind in the rushing waters. When Lin Sanjiu looked back again, her heart sank.

In his place stood a tall, slender figure, its pale, fish-like body molded into the crude shape of a human. Its pointed, Ku Klux Klan-like hooded head seemed to fix its gaze on her, unblinking. The eerie figure shrank rapidly into the distance as they were carried downstream.

1

"Oh my god," Ya Rong said with a gasp, visibly shaken. "Did you see something different from what I saw? You looked at that thing like it meant something to you..."

It must have been because the humanoid pocket dimension had room for only one more person, targeting her since she was leading.

Lin Sanjiu was at a loss for words. She felt an inexplicable heaviness in her chest, as though glancing back again might bring tears to her eyes. She muttered a quick thanks to Ya Rong before refocusing on the task at hand, rowing the boat forward. Glancing ahead, she noted that the riverbanks were now devoid of pocket dimensions. Only trees and open water lay before them.

"Could we have reached the end?" Ya Rong asked hesitantly. "But even if that humanoid took one more person, there should still be one of us left..."

Lin Sanjiu turned her gaze to Ya Rong, her cheeks inexplicably lifting into a faint smile.

She didn't know why she was smiling, nor why she found herself saying, "I've finally brought you here. Not a single one of this batch was left behind."

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