Doomsday Wonderland Vol. 10: Lava [Complete]

1272: A Brief Shared Time

As the night began to fall, Yuan Xiangxi had not returned yet. With each passing second, Lin Sanjiu felt like a swarm of mice was gnawing at her chest, making her restless. She kept looking down the hillside, but the dark grass and trees remained calm and serene, oblivious to her anxiety.

She believed her speculations were correct: the grand prize created a duplicate of J7, allowing it to enter the playhouse pocket dimension, and then told Yuan Xiangxi about Magus, misleading him into thinking he had to stay. But was this just a tactic to get rid of Yuan Xiangxi? He hadn't come out for so long. Could he really be trapped in the playhouse pocket dimension?

When she withdrew her gaze from the trees again, Ji Shanqing asked softly, "Sis, do you want to find someone?"

Lin Sanjiu was taken aback.

After hesitating, she finally said, "No, I don't want to find someone... I just want to check on the safety of a friend. Let's go together? After I confirm that he's fine, the two of us can come back. I can have him go... go find J7."

With a soft nasal sound, Ji Shanqing placed his cold hand in Lin Sanjiu's palm.

They climbed over the fence and walked into the dark woods, one step after another, carefully feeling their way forward. Lin Sanjiu was left without any light source, and she could only move forward blindly. She let go of the grand prize's hand because she feared he might trip and fall, allowing him to lead while she followed from the front.

It was hard to imagine that they used to chat endlessly.

She remembered many nights when they were lucky enough to find a safe resting place. After eating and drinking, they would lie down on their beds and chat softly. Even though they spent every day together, they were reluctant to sleep. Several times, it was almost dawn when she finally pushed the grand prize's head into the pillow, telling him to sleep.

Now, they had been walking in the dark for almost ten minutes and only exchanged a few phrases like "be careful" or "there's a rock."

While feeling her way through the darkness, Lin Sanjiu occasionally thought of Ji Shanqing's metaphor. Sometimes, she felt as if there really was an enormous shadow of a behemoth silently following her. Starting from behind, every strand of her hair, every inch of her skin, and every bit of her mind seemed drawn into the abyss behind her until she disappeared completely.

Why did this change happen?

In the distance, she saw a vague field of wheat and a pitch-black pond. After passing the pond, they would reach the house in the playhouse pocket dimension. Lin Sanjiu turned back and said to the grand prize, "We're almost there." She quickened her pace.

She thought that after their conversation in the Astral Plane last time, Ji Shanqing would be reassured... Was her message not clear enough? He didn't need to worry about her leaving or forgetting about him. What was his would always be his, unconditionally.

"Do you remember what I told you last time?" Lin Sanjiu hesitated for a moment, then suddenly spoke.

Again, Ji Shanqing replied with a soft "Yes," sounding a little aggrieved.

"How could I forget?" After a while, he whispered, "And I know everything you said back then was true. I'm really happy..."

The tightly wound tension in Lin Sanjiu's chest softened as she listened to his voice. Until Ji Shanqing suddenly murmured, "Sis, you've removed the thing that has been pressing on me all this time."

As if a bucket of cold water was poured over her, her heart still hadn't fully comprehended the situation, but her body instinctively trembled. For a moment, she didn't know what she was trembling for and could only continue moving forward step by step, pretending as if those words meant nothing.