Doomsday Wonderland

Though Veda were devoid of emotions like resentment or frustration, the more matter-of-fact Yu Yuan sounded, the more Lin Sanjiu felt her face flush with guilt.

It wasn't her fault that she'd been teleported away so suddenly, but if she hadn't pushed Yu Yuan and the grand prize off the spaceship back then, he wouldn't have had to go through so much trouble just to find her.

Still, guilt aside, she couldn't hold back her excitement. She leaped up in joy.

"No matter what, I'm really happy to see you." She grinned at Yu Yuan, feeling a warm swell in her chest. "Look inside yourself. Maybe you'll find a little happiness too?"

A distant memory surfaced. The moment she had first fallen into the Brain in a Vat, it had all started with meeting Yu Yuan. One by one, she had reunited with her companions. Now, she was nearly certain she had left the illusion behind, but facing him in person again, the joy was so overwhelming that she felt a fleeting moment of doubt.

1

"You've gotten a lot more glib," Yu Yuan said.

Lin Sanjiu laughed. "It's the truth! I mean, didn't you say you wanted to relearn emotions? I was just—ah, forget it. Never mind that. How long have you been here? How did you find me?"

"Flying around in a spaceship was actually a decent idea," Yu Yuan said, his voice too steady for her to tell if he was being sarcastic. "Once you docked Exodus here, I followed the traffic reports to locate you. But getting inside the city and finding you was the hard part. Even for a Veda, sneaking in wasn't easy."

Lin Sanjiu felt both exhilarated and uneasy. Carefully, she asked, "It was really easy for me to get in, though..."

"That's because they didn't even try to stop you." Yu Yuan's expression didn't change. "Do you even know what Chimeric City actually is right now?"

Rena hadn't explained much, but from the details she had pieced together, the Shark Nexus had opened some kind of container within Chimeric City—one that housed their labs and factories, occupying the city's empty interior.

"That's not entirely wrong," Yu Yuan said. "But this container could have been opened anywhere. They chose Chimeric City for a reason."

"What reason?"

"First, it's big; it has enough space. Second... its structure suits that woman perfectly."

Lin Sanjiu frowned. "Suits her?"

"Look." Yu Yuan gestured downward.

Lin Sanjiu followed his hand. At first, she didn't see anything unusual. But on a second glance, she realized his feet weren't actually touching the ground. There was the thinnest of gaps between his soles and the floor.

She recalled that Silvan could do something similar, but he only used it defensively during fights.

"I don't know if it's her ability or a tool she uses, but that woman—uh, Rena, was it? Whatever, I don't really care." Yu Yuan, as a Veda, regarded Lin Sanjiu's world much like an AI might regard an aquarium. "Anyway, the sprawling corridors of Chimeric City? They're her web. Any dust, any insect that lands on a thread, and she knows immediately. The only people who can move freely within her web are those she allows.

"Chimeric City's corridors overlap and wind together in endless tangles. I'd wager that if a bird landed on the farthest edge, she'd sense it on the other side. If I wanted to slip through the gaps in the web, I had to make sure I didn't touch anything but air."

So that was why Yu Yuan was floating?

Lin Sanjiu thought about Rena's current ability—or perhaps it was a combination of abilities—and found herself stunned for a few seconds.

After so many years, she shouldn't be surprised at how much Rena had grown.

"What about now? Are you going back to Exodus?" she asked, her heart tightening as she recalled her experience in the Brain in a Vat. If Yu Yuan followed her back to the ship, and then Cyrus or Eight-Heads De appeared next... She wasn't sure if she could endure the torment of waking up again and again only to find she was still trapped in a dream.

"I already told you, I'm returning to the Data Stream Library. I came to find you because I need to take back Ah Quan's pocket dimension. Don't tell me you've forgotten."

1

Her initial mix of excitement and fear slowly transformed into disappointment and relief.

She sighed, looking around, suddenly feeling lost. What was she supposed to do?

"Do you know what this place is?" she said after a moment of thought. "Rena... she's an old friend I lost contact with for years. She was also the original owner of Ah Quan's pocket dimension. And now, she's on the verge of accomplishing something huge."

Yu Yuan's expression didn't change; he looked at them as if they were nothing more than penguins in an aquarium. "I know."

"You know?"

"I've been wandering around this city for half a day searching for you," Yu Yuan said. "During that time, I gathered plenty of information on their plans and progress. And I also took the opportunity to prepare for this meeting. Otherwise, do you think she was randomly called away? The moment you two entered that room, I made my move. Once you came out, I activated a small device, triggering an emergency."

Lin Sanjiu froze. Her thoughts surged ahead at breakneck speed, crashing toward a terrifying realization.

"Wait... You went through all this trouble just to see me in secret. Does that mean their plan to stop teleportation is actually—"

After all, when standing at such a pivotal turning point in history, it was only human to feel some doubt, to question everything, even when the information came from an old friend.

Yu Yuan glanced at her. "No. Whether or not she's lying to you has nothing to do with me."

He looked human in every way except for his eyes. They were like smooth jade stones, black and white set against the inked patterns on his skin. Clear, polished, yet devoid of tears or reflection. Every time Lin Sanjiu met his gaze, she couldn't help but recall the first time they met in Peanut Town, when his eyes had once held the tempests of sky and storm.

If he had never met her, Yu Yuan might still have been just another posthuman.

"I don't want anyone to know we've met," he continued, "because I've wasted a great deal of energy tracking you down. And Rena and her associates are powerful. Even for me, they're troublesome. I don't want any unnecessary complications. I just want to take Ah Quan's pocket dimension and return to the Data Stream Library immediately."

He paused, as if he already knew the question forming in her mind. Then, in that same calm tone, he added, "But that doesn't mean their plan won't work. It's true that Veda aren't affected by teleportation. But Veda have an insatiable hunger for all knowledge and information in the universe. When I discovered that this group of posthumans was exploring something that could alter the course of humanity itself, of course, I couldn't ignore it. I haven't had time to fully analyze it, but based on my preliminary assessment, their teleportation vaccine is very likely to succeed."

Lin Sanjiu felt as if she were trembling, but her body and mind felt so distant from each other that she wasn't even sure if the shaking was real.

Yu Yuan, seemingly done talking, extended his hand. "I have to go. Rena won't be occupied for long... And besides, Ji Shanqing needs to go back, too."

Lin Sanjiu stared at him in shock. If she handed over Ah Quan's pocket dimension, Yu Yuan might change his mind and reclaim his humanity. Ah Quan might regain his life. Eight-Heads De wouldn't lose his memories.

That was three people saved.

But if she gave it to Rena—

The ones saved would be billions upon billions.

3

Among them were countless people like Polva and Ryuji, struggling through life with no end in sight. Hai Tianqing, lost and unaccounted for. Cyrus. Xie Feng. Silvan. Bohemia... Countless lost friends, and herself.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!