Doomsday Wonderland Vol. 13: Sleepwalking in Dreamland

1598: No Human Feeling

Like many special items, [Pocket Dimension Setting]'s effects could be undone. However, to reverse the effect, you needed to not only get your hands on it but also meet one critical condition—it could only be undone by the person who activated it. That's why Milan was so determined to track down Wu Yiliu: she had to take him to the consular officer to retrieve the [Pocket Dimension Setting].

When the two of them stood on the rooftop of the high-rise, a wind swept across the city. Wu Yiliu had never been on the top of a commercial building before. At dozens of stories high, the wind tossed their hair, clothes, and even their words around, as if one strong gust could lift them up and carry them far away.

"I've never seen such... such chaos before," Milan said, pulling her gaze back from the view below. "Especially when I think about how peaceful this world used to be, where I could have lived a normal life. I just don't get it." She looked at Wu Yiliu and asked, "Did you really set the whole world on fire just to evolve yourself?"

Wu Yiliu kept his eyes on the ground below, silent. He still felt a bit dazed and weak, and her metaphor struck him as strange—especially considering their current situation, which was more the opposite of "burning."

It was hard to tell where the roads and sidewalks used to be, except for the occasional car poking out of the water. The swirling gray-blue water had swallowed up the streets between the buildings, filling every gap and steadily rising. He couldn't even tell which direction the taxi had crashed into the tree anymore.

This part of the city—just this part, as a few blocks over everything was back to normal—felt like a woman sinking into a bathtub, patiently waiting for the water to rise from below and wrap around her.

While Milan was telling him about Professor Qiao's final decision, neither of them noticed that at some point, a posthuman carrying a mini-doomsday had arrived in the neighborhood.

By the time they spotted the flood rushing around the corner as if it were alive, it was too late to run. In a hurry, Milan grabbed Wu Yiliu and pulled him into a nearby commercial building, dragging him all the way up to the rooftop. They waited there, hoping the unknown posthuman would leave—once they were gone, the pocket dimension would vanish too. No one was going to settle down here, after all.

"I asked you a question," Milan said, glancing at him. Her tone was casual, but her eyes were not; her dark pupils seemed to sink into deep pools, watching him from afar, as if she was weighing her options on what to do with him.

"Yeah, that's right," Wu Yiliu replied, leaning his weight against the rooftop's edge. Milan had given him something to drink, and he was feeling much better now. Still, he craved any chance to rest his body, no matter how small.

Milan was taken aback. She hadn't expected him to admit it so easily and didn't know what to say for a moment. When she finally spoke again, her voice was cold. "Then you'll be a dangerous person after you evolve, won't you?"

Wu Yiliu couldn't argue with her assessment and muttered, "I... I don't think so. I've never intentionally hurt anyone."

Milan scoffed, and the conversation ended there.

Although it wasn't clear how the posthuman was moving, they left the area about ten minutes later, just as expected. The water had completely receded, leaving no trace of the flood behind.

Still, Milan wasn't taking any chances. She grabbed Wu Yiliu and, keeping her feet off the ground as much as possible, leaped across rooftops, treetops, and car roofs. Wu Yiliu never wanted to experience anything like this again.

They didn't need to worry about their direction. The fake pocket dimension above them was a whirlwind of light, storms, and bizarre objects impossible to identify. These things would occasionally shoot high into the air, making anyone who glanced at them from a distance feel uneasy.