Wu Yiliu crouched in the distance in the bushes, the camera on a tripod beside him. Through the gaps in the green branches and leaves, a small circular plaza was visible. White tiles, a stone fountain, and the man standing in front of the fountain were all fragmented into several shadows by the foliage.
To get a closer look, one had to watch the man's occasional turns to see the black and white clapperboard in his hand.
Fortunately, the consular officer's physical quality and various abilities were indeed much worse than an average posthuman. Wu Yiliu had evened out his breath, and the other party still hadn't noticed someone was nearby.
"Then you go and help him," the consular officer said, sounding a bit irritable as he spoke into the microphone on his collar. "Don't let the last few people escape. If they run out and spread rumors, who will approach this pocket dimension in the future?"
A voice in his earpiece seemed to respond for a moment, and the consular officer nodded. "Then be quick about it; you've always been quite good at this, resolve the few people lingering at the door as soon as possible. As soon as you throw them back into the pocket dimension, I can activate it here."
He paused to look at the clapperboard in his hand and said, "It's showing here that only five cameras are in 'ready to shoot' status... Hmm, still missing five; that's half. Too many! Patrol again and see who's messed up. If it really won't work, even with fewer cameras, we must start shooting."
Fewer cameras could still activate it? Ah, it meant that if some cameras were missing, the pocket dimension's range would be reduced, but it could still be turned into a pocket dimension, right?
This meant that even if he had taken a camera, he still couldn't guarantee his safety—or the safety of Professor Qiao, whose location he didn't know.
Wu Yiliu silently exhaled a hot breath, tormented by anxiety. Sweat trickled down his forehead into his eyebrows.
The previous conversation had also contained another hint that had shocked him to his core. He initially thought that the posthumans who had rushed out of the pocket dimension after hearing the broadcast were mostly safe, except for a few who had run into Huanzi and others. But from the consular officer's words, it seemed this was not the case.
There were probably no more than four or five still fighting, yet the consular officer was concerned about "not letting them run out and talk"—this could only mean one thing: the others hadn't escaped.
A reason that had prevented all the others from escaping would soon deal with the remaining few, and then he would be exposed.
Wu Yiliu knew that his opportunity was only these few minutes, and he had to act—but what should he do?
The opponent was just a consular officer, supposedly only capable of issuing visas. If he suddenly lunged at him, would he have a chance? Although he was young and strong, enjoyed playing sports, and should have the stamina...
But no matter how he tried to force optimism, his thoughts were shattered by his accelerating heartbeat.
It all seemed impossible. If the other party simply activated something, Wu Yiliu would be done for.
Could he try to deceive him? Claim he was sent by Huanzi? No, the consular officer had seen him once before.
Wu Yiliu's teeth were buried in his lower lip as he pondered desperately for a moment. Not far away, the consular officer had fallen silent too, occasionally glancing at the clapperboard and saying, "Why isn't it ready yet?"
As time thinned and the opportunity grew more elusive, just as Wu Yiliu decided to go all-in but found his legs frozen in place, there was suddenly a "zzap" sound on the radio, followed by the sound of electricity.
YOU ARE READING
Doomsday Wonderland Vol. 13: Sleepwalking in Dreamland
Science FictionOoh, who is that on the cover? The description is too spoilery, so just read to find out. Credit to the arist 孤雨傘裙 on Lofter for the image used as the cover.