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

1421: Visitors to the Mall

After leaving the apartment, the prompt to find the new game launch had yet to appear. Perhaps this game world was being considerate since they had just suffered terribly and wanted to give them a moment to catch their breath. Since they didn't know when their next game would start, it didn't matter where they went.

Lin Sanjiu thought so, her gaze traversing the parking lot to land on the building.

Silvan was right; this place looked like a game site.

The building was only two stories tall but covered a large area. The few cars in the parking lot were covered in a thick layer of dust, their tires deflated, and they were crookedly and limply parked.

The setting sun was almost behind the distant mountains, casting the sky in a pale purple hue with a thin orange streak. This reflected on the mall's walls, highlighting patches of darkened blood, which shimmered with a faint reddish tint.

"I suggest we go in," Silvan said, his hands in his pockets.

"Why?" Lin Sanjiu asked. It was unnecessary to pick such a place, even if they needed shelter.

"That volunteer only told you to return to the apartment to find Ji Shanqing," he whispered, "but he didn't guarantee that your next game would be nearby. If we're placed somewhere far, not only would you be worried, but there's a more crucial issue: we don't know where we are, and we might not be able to find our way back."

Lin Sanjiu paused, realizing she had been preoccupied with the grand prize and had forgotten they had been randomly placed somewhere by the game world. Even if there were place names nearby, they would be meaningless to her.

"So, you're suggesting..."

"Since this place looks like a game site, why not wait inside?" Silvan said with a shrug, seeming to find his proposal a bit whimsical. He broke into a grin, revealing a set of white teeth. "Other posthumans will surely be led here to start a game. If we join in, it might be a way to stay nearby... And if not, it'll still be interesting to try."

By the end, his eyes sparkled with mischief.

It would indeed be interesting. In this game world, posthumans were manipulated at will, having to rush to whatever game was set up for them, not even knowing if they were heading towards their demise. They intended to play by their own rules for once and see how the world would react. Thinking of Ji Shanqing, who was taken away, Lin Sanjiu wished she could shatter this doomsday's rules, system, and facade, even if it was just to carve a small escape route for them.

"Let's go," she said, striding towards the mall. "I hope it won't make us wait too long."

The night fell, and the lights inside the building were brightly lit. As they approached, the automatic doors smoothly opened, suggesting that everything was still functioning well. The two stood under the lights and listened for a while, but they both shook their heads at each other.

It seemed that there was no one in the mall.

Surprisingly, not only was the mall's interior relatively tidy and organized, but most of the items on the shelves were also intact. Lin Sanjiu picked up a packet of Butter Rum-Flavored Coffee from a promotional display at the entrance, checked the production date, and, remembering she didn't know the current date and year in this place, put it back.

"This world seems to have deteriorated gradually, bit by bit," Silvan commented, looking at a notice board near the entrance.

Lin Sanjiu took a closer look, and the faded remnants of words on the board roughly read – "Recent products south... Rosemary road area... large-scale... danger... no longer delivering."

A large-scale game?

Did these games wipe out everyone like relentless meat grinders?

Lin Sanjiu looked around and realized they were standing between the cashier and the customer service desk, with numerous product sections unfolding in front of them: women's clothing, accessories and footwear, household goods... She wandered around, feeling as if she had returned to the ordinary days when shopping malls were a part of daily life. Perhaps it was the carefully arranged lighting or the display design, but she felt a hint of nostalgia for past shopping experiences. And she wasn't alone – she noticed Silvan had casually picked up a magazine to browse.

"Can you tell what kind of game site this might be?" Lin Sanjiu asked, pulling a sweater off a shelf to inspect it. It felt a bit cold after nightfall.

"Facilities are intact, no bloodstains, so hard to tell," he replied, putting back the magazine and picking up a box of chocolates. He suddenly looked surprised. Lin Sanjiu's heart jumped, thinking something was wrong, but when she rushed over, Silvan looked up with wonderment, asking, "How can candy be sugar-free?"

"Don't you know?" she said with a mix of amusement and surprise. "Other sweeteners replace sugar... Wait, were you born after the apocalypse?"

Silvan thought about it for a moment. "Maybe, I'm not sure."

As they chatted, they continued to delve deeper into the mall. Some goods on the shelves had been taken sporadically as if it had been a normal business day, and they hadn't had time to restock. It didn't show the usual disarray left by posthumans collecting resources.

No matter how they looked at it, the mall seemed too normal.

This sense of normality persisted until late into the night. Since entering this apocalyptic world, this was the first time Lin Sanjiu found herself with nothing to do but unable to rest easy. If she didn't keep her hands busy, she felt agitated. She decided to make dinner but got so caught up in the seasoning section that she overcooked the meat patties. Silvan ate one dutifully without a change in expression but refused to accept a second.

"I have an item called [The Fortune Teller]," Silvan said, draping his long legs over a side table, seemingly tired as they chatted on a display sofa after their meal. "If you're really worried about Ji Shanqing, you can use it to divine..."

Lin Sanjiu chuckled. "I've had enough divination. Let's see what happens tomorrow—"

She suddenly stopped talking; both tilted their heads slightly in the same direction. From the mall's main entrance, they had heard a faint rustling sound, so quiet it almost went unnoticed.

Someone had walked in through the automatic door.

The two held their breath for a few seconds, hearing no footsteps.

What broke the silence was a gentle female voice.

"I've heard that Silvan is here," the voice said softly. "Could you come out, please? It's time for you to pay for your crimes against the Munitions Factory."