Doomsday Wonderland Vol. 12: New Game Launch [Complete]

1399: Life Can Only Be Lived Through Deception

When the elevator 'dinged' and stopped on the ground floor, Lin Sanjiu and her companions exchanged glances—it seemed they had all misunderstood something.

She looked at the "G" on the elevator screen and asked the volunteer, "So, it isn't a level-by-level challenge? How did we end up back on the ground floor?"

"Oh, no," the volunteer said, smiling as he stepped out of the elevator. "You're directed to whichever game you've been assigned, regardless of which floor it's on."

Exiting the elevator, their surroundings differed from the small town where the Blue Wall Watchers appeared. Lin Sanjiu didn't know how far or in which direction she had traveled underground. Now, back on the surface, she saw a long range of mountains looming over the city not too far away.

It was said that the game's location was not far from the elevator. As they set off, the volunteer closely trailed behind them. Even if someone glanced in a different direction, he would quickly ask with a smiling face, "What's wrong?"—as if he was afraid someone might try to escape.

To put them at ease, the volunteer repeatedly assured, "If you lose the upcoming game, you won't die."

If that was true, it would be great. Hadn't some posthumans tried to escape in the past? What was the point of fleeing one game with the whole world transformed into a gaming arena?

Lost in thought, Lin Sanjiu followed the volunteer to the entrance of an old-fashioned residential house.

"We're here," the volunteer said, politely standing beside the door and gesturing to them like a waiter from a high-end restaurant. "As you can see, this is a two-story old apartment... And this is the lobby, and the mailboxes are over here."

Now, he didn't seem like a game volunteer but more like a real estate agent. "We'll wait in the lobby for a few minutes. Another group of posthumans will be arriving shortly... What? Oh, yes, the roles you're going to play are residents of this building."

Everyone was a bit surprised. People could live in the same building for years without speaking to their neighbors. Could it be a story that didn't involve everyone? Or perhaps individual stories for each person?

After waiting for a short while, another volunteer, acting like a tour guide, brought another group of about eight people who looked unfamiliar to each other. The first volunteer produced a bowl filled with slips of paper and beckoned, "Come, everyone, pick the role you'll be playing."

Thirteen arms reached out like branches swaying in the spring wind, stretching toward the bowl. Sometimes, Silvan's appearance was too distracting; Lin Sanjiu watched another girl shove others aside to place her hand next to his.

Lin Sanjiu grasped a slip of paper from among the many hands. She stepped back from the crowd and opened it up to read.

She stared, then reread it.

Nope, she had read it correctly.

Wanting to ask the grand prize what role he received, she looked up and saw his expression was even more peculiar. Their eyes met, and he gave a bitter smile. "Sis, I might be able to conserve my energy this time."

Lin Sanjiu was taken aback and was about to ask him about his role when the volunteer called out, "Let's walk towards your apartments and introduce the roles along the way. Please, follow me."

Apartment No.1 was just around the corner from the lobby. Ji Shanqing, clutching the corner of her clothes, sighed deeply with reluctance and walked up to the entrance of Apartment No.1.

"Apartment No.1 has two residents," the volunteer said, reading from a slip of paper, and gestured toward Ji Shanqing. "This is... uh, catmint."

'That's an interesting name.'