Doomsday Wonderland Vol. 10: Lava [Complete]

1217: But the Gamer Is Already Dead

Although Lin Sanjiu didn't understand how Magus managed it, she could see that when she moved Puppeteer's body, it was as awkward and difficult as Ya Jiang lifting his own thighs. Puppeteer's movements toward the side were akin to a reanimated corpse, marked by stiff joints and sluggish steps. At one point, Magus even seemed to stumble, almost taking two consecutive steps with the right leg.

But why was Magus—or rather, Puppeteer—under Bohemia's robe? Where had Bohemia vanished to? Had they been in contact? And how did Puppeteer's body end up here in the first place?

Naturally, Magus was unable to speak.

"Can you write?" Lin Sanjiu offered the notepad she had obtained from Ya Jiang. "Can you jot down what happened?"

The head beneath the cloth swiveled towards her abruptly. Its shape, clearly a product of Magus's Higher Consciousness, wasn't constrained by normal physical limits, rotating 180 degrees instantly in a manner reminiscent of a horror film scene, which took Lin Sanjiu aback. Despite the surprise, she handed over the pen and paper, saying, "Try it. And please, write in large letters."

The writing tools clattered to the ground as Puppeteer's hand, only halfway open, failed to grasp them. With some effort, Magus managed to seat Puppeteer's body and awkwardly held the pen as one might grip a knife. Lin Sanjiu was about to lean in to check for any writing when she sensed a sudden tension in the air behind her. Realizing something was amiss but managing to keep her composure, she felt the air whirl into a vortex, lifting her and Puppeteer's body and causing them to hit against the door, making it sway.

Gasping for breath on the floor, Lin Sanjiu looked up to see a long, thick branch snaking out from the darkness, its motion gentle as if waving, reaching into the room. Under the fluorescent lights, the branch's brown bark and quivering green leaves stood out starkly. She hadn't noticed its touch against her back—if Hei Zeji hadn't intervened with an air vortex in time, it would have made contact with her shoulder.

"You should be more careful in the light," Hei Zeji said, his expression as stern as if it were fixed in place. "These things are strange—"

He suddenly fell silent. Lin Sanjiu caught the tail end of his deep, steadying breath, even as he tried to conceal it.

The strain of the pocket dimension was clearly taxing on Hei Zeji, draining his energy as he tried to prevent its expansion.

"Can you free yourself?" she asked in a low voice, knowing that the other party probably wouldn't answer properly. She turned to the NPC. "Can he free himself? Why are there other pocket dimensions here?"

"Wanting to swallow this hospital is not unique to me," the NPC said matter-of-factly. "Didn't I tell you? The Great Deluge is not a force that came from somewhere, it is a process-less power."

"What do you mean?"

"It spreads constantly in all directions, consuming every form of rule and order, hence devoid of any itself."

If Bohemia were here, perhaps she could understand this cryptic explanation. Lin Sanjiu didn't have the patience to delve into the nature of the Great Deluge at the moment. She just wanted to get everyone out of here as quickly as possible—even if it meant returning to the lava world.

"So what?"

"I don't know the origin of these pocket dimensions," the NPC continued, "but they've all encroached upon this hospital for various reasons, driven by an instinctual desire to expand their territories, consume, and overshadow others."

He glanced around the room, a chuckle escaping him. "Much like you humans, in the absence of restraining rules, you view every new human encounter as a conquest opportunity."