Doomsday Wonderland Vol. 10: Lava [Complete]

1208: Smooth Sailing Lin Sanjiu

If you were to summarize Lin Sanjiu's life experience in the doomsday universe, it would be that nothing she wanted to do ever went smoothly. However, she didn't expect this ironclad rule to be broken in the next few hours.

At first, she and Bohemia attempted to think of the likeliest hiding spots a posthuman would go to avoid guards. They contemplated together, and then Bohemia slapped her on the back, exclaiming, "Wouldn't that be this utility room? Aren't we holed up in here for the same reason?"

"Let's think about other places too," Lin Sanjiu said. She coughed and glanced at the NPC. "Somewhere small and inconspicuous."

The NPC shook his head. "Don't count on me. Look at my size; you should know that I have no affinity with narrow spaces."

'Is walking around, searching one place after another, our only option?'

Hei Zeji, in the corner, suddenly opened his eyes again. He was evidently good at taking restful naps. Every time he closed his eyes, he looked like he had died; thus, when he opened his mouth to speak, it startled everyone. "Don't talk for a moment."

"Why?" Bohemia retorted.

"I told you to shut up, so shut up."

Though they didn't know why, Lin Sanjiu held Bohemia's hand, signaling her to be quiet. The utility room fell into complete silence, even the sounds of their breathing suppressed, becoming faint and shallow. Lin Sanjiu and Hei Zeji's hypersensory state arose from the same origin. When she concentrated, she faintly sensed something. It was a difficult-to-describe sensation, but it was as if a pair of owl-like, bright green eyes suddenly lit up in complete darkness.

She entered her hypersensory state, and the presence of everyone in the utility room became distinct and clear as if it were imprinted on their neural network. However, apart from that, there was nothing else: no fifth person's breathing, heartbeat, or even the faintest sound of skin rubbing against fabric.

"Did you hear anything?" Hei Zeji asked softly.

Lin Sanjiu shook her head.

"Did you notice the ventilation fan?" He pointed to the corner of the ceiling.

The ventilation fan, which was only as big as a human head, was covered in thick gray dust and no different in color from the ceiling itself. A piece of cloth hung from it, frozen in mid-air.

"What about it?" Bohemia asked. She still hadn't received any enthusiastic gratitude, so her tone carried a trace of resentment.

"Why would there be a ventilation fan in a utility room?" Hei Zeji's eyes lit up like an eagle seeing its prey.

Rather than calling it a utility room, it was more like a storage cabinet, not intended for human use. After squeezing 3.5 people inside, mops and brooms had to be crammed into the NPC's arms. Lin Sanjiu jumped up and stared at the ventilation fan, saying, "It can't be. Besides us, there shouldn't be anyone else in here."

"I didn't hear anything either," Hei Zeji said, "but you can't use your ears to listen."

'Then how did you perceive it?'

"Close your eyes," he whispered. "Imagine you are in a completely dark room, unable to hear or see anything, and then activate your hypersensory state internally. If we were furniture in this room... where would the furniture be now? Can you feel it?"

Lin Sanjiu covered her ears and, after a while, hesitantly nodded. The feeling was subtle and intermittent as if she had conjured it up herself—of space occupied by objects. If the universe were a membrane, then this utility room was like a small universe; their presence and weight were compressed into this membrane, distorting the space.