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

1487: Literal Downfall

In this seemingly intricate game, Occam's razor has been proving its worth time and again. If Lin Sanjiu had to solve a truly complex problem, she might have been outmatched. However, she had a knack for dissecting intricate issues to unveil the simplest answer.

From Lin Sanjiu's experience, the simplest answer was often the truth.

"Why couldn't Lily hear her whistle?", "Why didn't Lily notice Qian Dao leaving earlier?", "Why couldn't Lily locate the second office rented by Qian Dao nearby?" All these questions shared a single answer: Lily wasn't close to Qian Dao's office at all.

Why wasn't Lily near Qian Dao's office? Didn't she claim to be there?

It was because she didn't know where Qian Dao's office was and couldn't determine if she was close by.

Only Whit E. knew the address of Qian Dao's company from the beginning. He led Lin Sanjiu and told her, "Lie low here; Qian Dao's company is nearby." Naturally, she had no reason to doubt him. That's why she confirmed her arrival on the [Migratory Letters].

So where was Whit E.? Where had he taken Lily, and why?

No, the real next question was, why didn't Qian Dao look up when he heard a whistle sound from the air vent above—a place from which no sound should emerge? Any normal person's instinctive reaction would be to check the source of the noise, especially for Qian Dao. He would want to find out what's going on if someone was in his office vent.

The answer was straightforward—Whit E. couldn't perfectly mimic the appearance of his targets.

Lin Sanjiu had noticed this when he impersonated a search employee. Although he resembled the real employee at a glance, a closer inspection revealed differences in facial features. "Qian Dao" didn't look up because he didn't want Lin Sanjiu to see the face that should've belonged to Qian Dao. Now, it merely resembled a vague similarity.

The real danger was: if Whit E. was here, where was Qian Dao?

There was no need to answer this question anymore.

All these thoughts flashed through Lin Sanjiu's mind in an instant. By the time she realized the situation, she also knew what she had to do. She had been too late; she should've acted right at the five-minute mark. Now, she could be eliminated from the game at any moment.

"Attack!" she whispered, gripping the fan blade tightly.

After a moment that seemed both instantaneous and endless, she heard the game announcement.

To be precise, there were two overlapping announcements that were almost indistinguishable.

"Congratulations to Lin Sanjiu Company for successfully capturing Qian Dao Company's headquarters. Best wishes for your business."

"Congratulations to Qian Dao Company for successfully capturing Lin Sanjiu Company's headquarters. Best wishes for your business."

Then, simultaneously, two more announcements overlapped.

"Lin Sanjiu Company has declared bankruptcy. We express our regrets. After the game, player Lin Sanjiu will face the penalty for failure."

"Qian Dao Company has officially gone bankrupt, and we regret to announce it. After the game, player Qian Dao will face the punishment for failure."

The entire floor plunged into an eerie silence, so quiet that even the sound of breathing seemed to be choked off. Messages from Lily kept popping up on the [Migratory Letters], she didn't even bother to write words anymore, continuously sending: "???????"