Doomsday Wonderland

Chapter 1281: Good Evening

Even when Lin Sanjiu left, the rope remained on the ground. When Hakain struggled to break free from the rope and jumped down, he even remembered to take back his Special Item, indicating that he had no idea the security was already nearby. However, as she turned to look at the clock, he fell into the 'security's' what was that? Should it be called the 'security's body'?

If she were a drifter, could she have escaped?

Lin Sanjiu hesitated but decided to pick up the rope, convert it into a card, and store it away. Two hours ago, after the security guard glanced at the villa and lowered its head, it disappeared outside the courtyard wall again. Then, the night came back to life, with the faint chirping of cicadas and dim, soft streetlamp lights. From its arrival to its departure, neither of them inside the house had noticed any signs.

"Sis," the grand prize gently closed the courtyard door from behind and called to her softly. "We should leave now. There are already lights lit up on the beach... It will take us seven to eight minutes to walk from here to the beach."

They couldn't find the villa key, couldn't lock the door, and couldn't take the property certificate with them. It was truly worrisome. Lin Sanjiu raised her chin toward the courtyard door, asking, "Can you seal the door in the wall as you did before? It's an additional precaution, better than doing nothing."

The grand prize nodded and placed his hand on the door gap, making a left-to-right gesture. "It will be done soon," he said.

"How did you do it?" Lin Sanjiu looked at the door gap slowly merging with the wall as if it were melting and became somewhat interested. "Don't you need to analyze it?"

"A door is such a simple thing. I've analyzed all the entrances and exits here long ago," Ji Shanqing said, smiling at her. "On another note, if I were to analyze you, it would also be very quick."

"Why?"

He bit his lip, thinking for a few seconds. His skin seemed enveloped in a layer of smoky vapor in the moonlight-like mist, looking almost unreal.

"How to explain it... I already have your model data, 'Lin Sanjiu,' obtained from the Veda. Let's put it this way: It's like the core of 'Lin Sanjiu.' Even if you turn into a fish one day, as long as you still have self-awareness, this core won't change."

Seeing Lin Sanjiu nod, he continued, "So, analyzing you again doesn't require starting from 0 to 100 but rather tracking, analyzing, and updating based on the changes. The number of calculations and data involved is not at the same level."

Lin Sanjiu held her arms, thinking for a while. It wasn't until the door had fully merged that the two of them walked on the villa estate's path in the night, and she couldn't help but ask, "Am I like a computer software that needs updates?"

Ji Shanqing found it difficult to explain. "Sis, as long as a living being doesn't die, data is an eternal and constantly changing flow," he said, after thinking, "You said you forgot something, but that change is not present in my raw data."

In other words-

Lin Sanjiu walked down the stone path, looking at the distant beach among the tree shadows, but she remained silent.

"So, as long as I analyze your current state and compare it with the previous data, I'll know what was taken from you." Ji Shanqing seemed completely oblivious to her silence and continued, "If even Higher Consciousness can't recover your memories from your subconscious, it means that thing has been completely erased from your mind... Only using my original data can we find the answer through comparison."

Although she didn't understand the Veda's exact workings, to be honest, this was almost similar to what she had guessed before. The grand prize indeed had a way to deal with the 'forgotten memory.'

"Sis." Walking side by side on the path, neither looked at the other. Lin Sanjiu just listened to his voice, light as a breeze, saying beside her, "Do you want me to help you find out what you forgot?"

Lin Sanjiu walked down a flight of stairs, her mind buzzing. "You carry my core data with you?"

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"I have one copy, and another is stored in the Data Stream Library. I also hid one copy in a safe place, just in case," the grand prize replied with his usual intelligence and sensitivity, completely unaware of anything wrong with what he said. His tone was natural. "I can't take any risks with your data."

In other words, he could recreate her from several years ago as long as he wanted. Perhaps 'recreate' was not entirely accurate because each version would still be her. If someone told her right now that she was just a 'Lin Sanjiu' created by the grand prize based on data, her reaction would be exactly the same as the real Lin Sanjiu's.

Although she had vaguely realized this, she still felt somewhat uncomfortable when she faced this fact. She finally understood why Magus would rather risk complete amnesia than allow herself to be interpreted like a book.

However, the grand prize hadn't recreated himself, right?

"So, as long as you're willing, we can find out what you forgot when we return from the beach tonight," Ji Shanqing added.

She really wanted to know what memories Gong Daoyi had deleted from her mind. So far, no matter how she recalled, no part was missing. Sometimes, before going to sleep at night, Lin Sanjiu would start recalling from the first day she met Ren Nan, and while she couldn't remember many details, the overall timeline remained intact.

"Sis?"

"Oh." Lin Sanjiu snapped back to reality, knowing she had to say something. However, her "Sure" was stuck in her throat for a long time, and she couldn't bring herself to say it. She had already been analyzed once; others could manipulate what constituted her as a person and her life. The last time, she was fortunate that the Veda didn't rewrite her, but what about this time?

The grand prize had endured so much suffering alone in the Data Stream Library, and as his true form became more immense, his yearning for his one relative became increasingly intense. The only thing that could stop him was his own statement from the past, "I don't want to stay in the Data Stream Library forever."

Right after they separated, the grand prize still followed her wishes. Now, he could fundamentally change her wishes, and the restraints preventing him from doing so were weakening.

"I... I don't need it now," she pondered her words, feeling as if a knife was stuck in her throat. "I think what I forgot might not be something significant. If I feel the need to know in the future, I can come find you... Now that you can access the Astral Plane, I can ask Bohemia to take me there to find you. It would be convenient."

Ji Shanqing didn't say anything; he just nodded and made a sound in agreement from his nose.

They walked in silence for a few more minutes, and just as Lin Sanjiu was considering discussing the beach barbecue, she turned her head toward the grand prize. Suddenly, her surroundings darkened, and her entire body tensed up: they were still moving forward, but in her peripheral vision, she saw a face directly facing her, flickering in the dim air.

It wasn't the grand prize's face.

She pulled Ji Shanqing behind her and whispered, "Come here!" She twisted her body and took a few steps forward, holding [Tornado Whip] in her hand.

In the darkness among the trees' shadows, a pale-skinned woman was floating in mid-air, pushed and wrapped by unseen darkness, swaying gently. Her eyes were still wide open, and she stared at Lin Sanjiu, slightly puzzled. Perhaps she hadn't finished her confusion before being swallowed by the security guard.

"Another one..." Ji Shanqing stammered quietly, "This one's body doesn't have Hakain..."

The enormous shadow folded into an even deeper and denser darkness within the pitch-black night. Apparently, while they were walking, the security guard's head had already turned towards them, gazing at them the whole time—yet the two of them thought there was only the darkness of the forest and remained unaware. The deceased woman was trapped inside the head, and at first glance, it looked as if a tiny face suddenly appeared on top of the giant security guard's head.

"Let's go." Lin Sanjiu grabbed Ji Shanqing's hand and swallowed hard, saying, "It doesn't seem like it's going to attack us; it probably knows we are the villa's owners."

If that security had attacked just now, both of them would have been floating in the darkness along with the dead woman.

Lin Sanjiu held on to the grand prize and closely watched the security as they slowly stepped backward. Only when it finally turned its head and disappeared into the woods did she breathe a sigh of relief and hasten her pace, pulling the grand prize along.

"That was too close. How can we detect its presence?" she complained softly. "There must be a way; otherwise, the drifters here wouldn't be able to survive the night..."

After this fright, the heavy atmosphere that had surrounded them dissipated between . Ji Shanqing mumbled, "I need to research this thoroughly," and walked down the stairs to the beach with her.

In the distance, several groups of people had gathered on the beach, standing near the campfire. The sea roared as the waves washed up, creating white froth before receding into the darkness.

Walking barefoot was actually more comfortable. The beach still retained some warmth from the daytime sunlight, and each step made a soft sound as they sank into the sand. Lin Sanjiu held the grand prize's hand as they approached the small group. Just then, one person suddenly lifted his head—his movement was so drastic that it made one worry for his neck. The other villa owners noticed and turned their heads to look at them.

"Mr. Ito." Lin Sanjiu waved at the man and smiled, saying, "Good evening." 

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