Doomsday Wonderland Vol. 13: Sleepwalking in Dreamland

1641: Slaughter Prodigy

The moment Xie Feng took a step forward, it felt like someone kicked her legs out from under her. She collapsed to the floor, half-falling, half-kneeling.

Her evolution had only just begun—her body was not yet hers to command. What she didn't know was that no posthuman, no matter how experienced or capable, forced themselves to act during evolution; it was nearly impossible.

Falling again seemed to break the grip of fear that had frozen Qiu Chantian. He half-turned, gasping for air, his eyes wide, fixed on her.

After a second's hesitation, he released Dong Luorong's hair, taking a step sideways, never breaking eye contact with Xie Feng.

When Xie Feng, with her arm still rippling like liquid, tried to prop herself up and slowly raised her head, Qiu Chantian couldn't hold back a startled cry.

"Hey!" he called as he backed toward the door, glancing between her and Dong Luorong. "Aren't you close with her? Go check on her! Hold her down and stop her from moving! This is strange—she shouldn't be able to move! She shouldn't be able to move!"

Dong Luorong slowly pushed herself off the desk, her dark hair slipping down over her pale face and shoulders. Her eyes shimmered like the surface of water stirred by the wind. She coughed a few times, clearly still in pain from the beating she'd taken.

Unaware of herself, Xie Feng attempted to stand again, which sent Qiu Chantian into a panicked frenzy. "Hurry! What are you waiting for?"

"You planning to call for help?" Dong Luorong asked calmly, leaning against the desk, her breathing unsteady. Blood seeped from a split along her temple, trickling down her cheek and eye, the varying shades of red forming a pattern like an abstract painting.

Seeing that Dong Luorong wasn't going to cooperate, Qiu Chantian cursed furiously and glanced once more at Xie Feng lying on the floor. Then he turned and bolted for the door.

Dong Luorong stepped forward, though she could barely keep herself upright. The sharp intake of breath from her pain cut through Xie Feng's hazy awareness like a cold needle.

The two of them disappeared from Xie Feng's limited field of vision, heading into the hallway.

"Let me go!" Qiu Chantian's enraged voice echoed, followed by a dull thud as if someone had slammed into the closet door. "I swear, I'll kill you right here! You believe me?"

Dong Luorong laughed softly.

It was the same laugh she'd made that day. Xie Feng remembered waking from sleep to see her sitting alone by the floor-to-ceiling window. The gray-white light outside drifted through the rain like smoke, and Dong Luorong sat half-shadowed in the dimness.

That quiet laugh—calm, distant, as if her soul were detached from her body—was exactly the same.

"How long do you think it'll take to kill me?" Dong Luorong asked, almost with interest. If not for her uneven breathing and the occasional cough interrupting her, she would have sounded completely at ease. "Ten minutes? Twenty? How long will it take her to finish evolving?"

Without waiting for an answer, she continued, "You're in such a hurry to leave—she probably won't take that long. Go ahead, do what you need to do."

"Move!" Qiu Chantian barked, his voice carrying more than just rage—there was a trace of fear woven in, almost imperceptible. "Are you insane? Do you have any idea what you're doing? Don't you know posthumans can destroy society? When she wakes up, you'll die too, along with everyone in this city! Millions of lives. Do you even understand?"