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

1480: Gathering of Heroes

When someone hears the phrase "you will be thrown down sixty floors," their instinctual reaction is to think of how to avoid falling.

How can one stay afloat? Should one cling to the walls? Are there trees below that could cushion the fall?

When Lin Sanjiu began contemplating how not to crash to the ground, she was essentially pondering how to avoid getting close to the grand prize.

"Do you mean, he... he's on the ground? No, that's not right," the Life Coach said. "Underground?"

"Where else could he be?" Lin Sanjiu, with palms sweaty from excitement, paced around. "When they lose, they get sent down floor by floor, and the deepest part of the elevator shaft is underground. Remember, there's an ant nest-like game space beneath the surface of this world. If descending from this building to its deepest depths means coming into contact with the textual structure, then throwing me out from the sixtieth floor is a great way to do it— the underground would completely become my blind spot; I wouldn't even think about it."

The Life Coach hummed in agreement. "So, when you were initially about to go down the elevator shaft, before you even started descending, the elevator rushed up as if it didn't want you to go down."

This was a point Lin Sanjiu hadn't considered. With the Life Coach's insight, another coincidence came to her mind: ever since the grand prize disappeared, she had encountered two games but was never drawn to the underground space again.

Lin Sanjiu felt her face heat up with the thrill of the revelations. Although she knew her deductions weren't 100% concrete, there were too many possibilities. When there are too many choices and possibilities, it can be paralyzing. What she needed to do was identify a direction and, in the course of her actions, eliminate other possibilities one by one.

"You have another person to save?" Lily asked incredulously.

Caught between mentioning "brother" or "sister," Lin Sanjiu simply replied, "Yes."

"Is this a habit of yours? Some kind of OCD?" Lily shook her head, seemingly perplexed. "What are you going to do now?"

She still couldn't afford to lose the game. If she were thrown out after losing, who knows if she'd ever make it back in. Upon this thought, Lin Sanjiu suddenly realized that JoyBee never mentioned what happens to the winner— what happens to the winner? Do they take the elevator and leave the building?

"Anyway, winning is better than losing," Lily muttered.

As long as her search employee continued to bring back clients, she'd have enough money within the next hour to clean out the companies of both Qian Dao and Whit E. The search employee had limited time; the two of them couldn't possibly stay in the room forever. Amidst Lin Sanjiu's anxious wait, footsteps approached again.

Jumping up, she swiftly opened the door. Having detected the noise early on, she met the search employee before he reached the door. They all looked alike, so she wasn't sure if it was the same one from earlier. Lin Sanjiu ushered in the little girl he had brought. There's a saying that women and children are the best clients, and her office was indeed gathering premium clients.

Before the search employee could even approach the company, his hands were empty, but it didn't affect his actions. He paused for a moment, then pivoted on his heel. As Lin Sanjiu was closing the door, she peered out and caught a glimpse of another one of her search employees peeking from around another corridor's corner. This employee hadn't found a client yet, which wasn't surprising, as this area was within Lin Sanjiu's perceptual range, and thus, there shouldn't be any clients.

"Keep it up," Lin Sanjiu said to the two search employees, one in front and one behind, as she retreated back into the room. As the door was about to close, she thought: It's strange, there clearly shouldn't be any clients nearby, yet this employee came here looking for one. This seemed a bit unlike his peers.

As this thought crossed her mind, the door shut with a "thud."

Lin Sanjiu took a step back and lowered her head. The shadow of the search employee who brought the little girl flashed under the door slit, disappearing to the left. She stared at the door slit, remaining motionless and silent, waiting intently for a few seconds, not knowing where this focus came from.

Another shadow flashed beneath the door, chasing after the first one.

Lin Sanjiu swiftly opened the door.

She dashed into the corridor so suddenly that the latter search employee didn't notice her at all. Only when she was right behind him did the nearly imperceptible breeze, she caused stir the fine hairs and sweat on the back of his neck. The search employee shuddered and jerked his head around to look, but it was too late.

"You do a good impersonation," Lin Sanjiu whispered coldly. "You're Whit E., aren't you?"

If Whit E. could enlarge and morph himself, disguising as a search employee shouldn't be surprising. With a little thought, she realized: Whit E. is indeed a bit tricky. He obviously recognized Lin Sanjiu's search employee early on but didn't kill him to snatch clients. Instead, he followed, allowing the employee to lead him straight to Lin Sanjiu's new office.

Luckily, her hearing was far superior to the average posthuman. When she went out to retrieve the client, Whit E. hadn't turned the corner yet. Otherwise, with just one glance at Lin Sanjiu's portrait on the office door, he could immediately kill the employee and seize the client.

"Sorry about that!" the search employee exclaimed, his voice unmistakably Whit E.'s. He spun around and sprinted towards her office, shouting, "Attack! Attack! Attack!"

No matter how many times he yelled 'attack,' it was useless if he wasn't close enough. Lin Sanjiu swiftly followed, quickly overtaking him. She kicked against the opposite wall, blocking Whit E.'s path with her long legs like a barrier. No one in the game could match Lin Sanjiu's speed. By the time Whit E. was stopped, they were still a good ten meters from the office.

Lin Sanjiu glared at the face that belonged to the search employee – it wasn't an exact match, but close enough to deceive – the two stared at each other, neither speaking for a moment. Just then, she heard it.

The office door she had left open was suddenly half-closed by someone from behind. As the door hinge made a soft sound, Lily's deliberately lowered voice, filled with urgency, rang out, "Defend, defend!"

Lin Sanjiu was taken aback, then suddenly understood.

She no longer cared about Whit E., turning and rushing back.