Doomsday Wonderland Vol. 10: Lava [Complete]

1147: Lin Sanjiu the Competent Corpse

Everything transpired too swiftly. Lin Sanjiu was about to shout for Hei Zeji when the abruptness of the scene nearly caught her off guard. Without delay, she expanded her hypersensory state to its fullest extent, enveloping every detail within a dozen meters—air currents, branch movements, dust settling on book covers—all vividly captured in her heightened sensory perception.

Yet, the corner where Ya Jiang vanished was eerily quiet. No signs of his breath, heartbeat, or body heat were detectable. Not even the sound of the mop handle hitting the floor when he disappeared reached her. It was as if a dark abyss lay behind the wall.

After a brief pause, Lin Sanjiu re-entered the bookstore, maintaining her hypersensory state.

Her body was on high alert, her blood pulsing rapidly, causing a prickling sensation on her scalp where her wound hadn't fully healed, akin to being poked by needles. Approaching the corner, she craned her neck to peek behind the wall and found another small hall lined with bookshelves, the front row marked with a "Psychology" sign.

The mop was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm a hundred percent sure," she muttered to Mrs. Manas out of habit, "there was no one in this bookstore when we entered... Damn, it's still empty!"

Mrs. Manas offered no response, but suddenly Lin Sanjiu's nerves tensed, and she abruptly turned towards the second floor. "There's a sound!"

Her reaction was faster than a bullet. Knowing exactly where the escalator was, she didn't hesitate. In an instant, she transformed into a blur, darting towards the escalator's heart. She whizzed past several bookshelves, halting in front of a display counter adorned with Star Wars models. There, precariously leaning against a counter corner, was Ya Jiang's mop, still sliding downwards.

Lin Sanjiu gripped the wooden mop handle, her fingertips sensing a faint residual warmth.

He was just here a moment ago, and he had just released this mop!

While she couldn't fathom Ya Jiang's attachment to the mop, the fact he had abandoned it suggested he was in trouble.

Swiftly transforming the mop into a card, Lin Sanjiu held onto it, straining her ears for any sound.

The same situation played out again: every bone in her body was screaming that there was no one else in the bookstore except her. This was the conclusion of her intuition and experience, honed from years of combat. She trusted it implicitly. But the question remained: where was Ya Jiang, and why did he leave the mop behind?

With her hypersensory state still active, she examined the card closely. Surprisingly, the mop had no link to any Special Items.

[Wooden Mop]

A simple, old-fashioned mop with a wooden handle and a bundle of cloth. The cloth was soiled, and without proper cleaning, it would only make floors dirtier.

The only notable detail was a small line of text beneath the description: "Imbued with the scent of its owner, Ya Jiang."

What advantage could there be in infusing a mop with one's scent?

As she stored the card in her card inventory, her ears picked up an extremely faint noise. It was so subtle that without the tremor from her hypersensory state, she might not have discerned its direction.

Rushing out the bookstore's back door, Lin Sanjiu surveyed the scene. She found herself on a narrow street, starkly less opulent than the previous shopping district. Light transport trucks lined the street, each marked with the name of a different store.

Whatever had made the noise had vanished.

Maybe she had taken too long descending from the bookstore's second floor. Those few seconds were enough to lose the sound's origin.