Doomsday Wonderland Vol. 14: Cloudwalk Heights [Complete]

1711: Lin Sanjiu and the Tour Guide Finally Return Home

"When my native world suffered doomsday, I couldn't evolve because my Potential Growth Value was too low. I gradually turned into what you call a 'duoluozhong'... Do you think that was my choice? No, I was just another victim of the apocalyptic world. The things I did as a duoluozhong don't represent my true nature. No sane person in the world would willingly become like this."

As he spoke, the young man pointed at his feet.

Despite inhabiting a human body now, the flattened rat was still eloquent. But no amount of reasoning could compare to the impact of what he had just dragged out: the flattened rat, as a duoluozhong, had his entire head severed. It looked like a deflated sack of fur, with the white, crescent-shaped eye at the front stained with black blood.

Perhaps due to the shock, the two people beside Lin Sanjiu remained silent, unable to say a word.

Lin Sanjiu thought for a moment and asked, "You planned this for a while, didn't you? When R Chen's consciousness left your duoluozhong body, you decided to target this comatose body, didn't you?"

Recalling the events, she quickly pieced together the flattened rat's scheme. Though it felt strange to say it, her preoccupation with dealing with R Chen had left some seemingly trivial, unnoticed gaps—gaps that became opportunities for the flattened rat to change his fate.

Like that password note R Chen wrote.

When the flattened rat shouted that the mastermind had left his body, Lin Sanjiu had no recollection of the password note R Chen had dropped on the ground. One number was obscured, but by trying each possibility, the correct one could eventually be found. The flattened rat must have noticed the note immediately but said nothing. When she was busy fighting, he quietly returned, cracked the password, and entered the young man's body.

"It might sound bad, but... I quickly realized that there was a way to shed my duoluozhong identity, lying right before me," the young man said softly. "I thought I'd hesitate or feel reluctant to kill my old self, like a human consciousness instinctively protecting its original body. But in the end, it felt like taking out the trash when a bag is full. I guess it's because, deep down, I knew that duoluozhong... was never truly me."

As logical as it sounded, not everyone could muster such a decisive will.

The man gave a bitter smile and said to Lin Sanjiu, "I planned to wait until you left, then pretend I was the original owner of this body. But I couldn't help myself. I wanted a better look at this passage, and you caught me. What do you plan to do with me? Will you give me a chance to live as a human again?"

Lin Sanjiu found herself at a loss. Human morals, wisdom, and principles were shaped by past experiences. When faced with a completely new dilemma, she felt she lacked the foundation to judge.

The original owner was dead. Denying the flattened rat the body would likely lead to a worse outcome. Besides, having one less duoluozhong and one more human could only benefit the world, right?

More importantly, she didn't feel qualified to decide whether the flattened rat should live as a human.

Unexpectedly, despite being pale and shaken, Gisa kept his composure. "You... you'll cooperate and testify with me, right?"

"Of course!" The man jumped at the chance. "I'll definitely cooperate. It's the best way to avoid suspicion."

Gisa turned to Lin Sanjiu. "I think with one more person vouching, the organization will be more likely to believe me."

"But he still has a duoluozhong consciousness inside him!" The tour guide's disbelief was evident.

Gisa glanced at the flattened rat, then motioned for Lin Sanjiu and the guide to step away. When they were far enough, he whispered, "I've entered a duoluozhong's mind myself. I figure the reverse is similar. His human thought processes will now restrict the reckless malice he had as a duoluozhong. Besides, Ah Teng, the original owner, wasn't very strong. I'm better in a fight than he was. The most important thing is something I think he doesn't know."