Doomsday Wonderland

[Full Title] 1312: Lin Sanjiu, the Light of a Posthuman, Tricks Children and Steals Manhole Covers

Lin Sanjiu faced two choices: hide in the museum until closing time to begin exploring, or leave now and then sneak back in at nighttime.

At first glance, the first option seemed very tempting. However, she had already caused a stir to cut ties with Wu Lun. The museum staff would probably soon receive news of a mentally ill person wandering around the museum—they couldn't allow an uncontrollable lunatic to roam freely inside. And when they realized that this mentally ill person hadn't left through the exit, it would undoubtedly cause trouble for her and even for Wu Lun.

Once she made up her mind, she no longer paid attention to the exhibits and quickly made her way to the back exit of the museum.

The news that a mentally ill person was in the museum spread slower than Lin Sanjiu's pace. Arriving at the exit and scanning the area, she noticed the lone female staff member in the corridor. She appeared calm and unbothered, barely glancing at those exiting the museum. To ensure the staff knew she was leaving, Lin Sanjiu deliberately cleared her throat loudly as she neared the staff member.

The staff member's gaze instinctively shifted to her, prompting Lin Sanjiu to mutter, "I won't be easily fooled. How many times have I nearly died? While I struggled to survive in a pocket dimension and died nine times, you ordinary people were still at home watching TV."

Aiming to mimic a mentally ill person, she recalled the behaviors of those she'd seen on the streets, who often talked to themselves or even shouted at nothing in particular. She didn't have much to say, so her personal experiences slipped into her mutterings. Luckily, with no posthumans present, it wasn't a concern. When the female staff member stared at her intently, Lin Sanjiu quickly turned and yelled at the empty space beside her, "Lower your voice! Don't let them hear you!"

The female staff member instinctively backed against the wall and reached for her walkie-talkie. Lin Sanjiu pretended not to notice anyone around her, confidently striding toward the exit. Once outside and looking back, she caught sight of the staff member peering through the glass door at her while talking into the walkie-talkie.

With this, the notion that the lunatic had left the museum was likely established.

Leaving the museum's vicinity, Lin Sanjiu took some time to scout the area. She hadn't robbed a museum before, so she needed time to plan her actions and hoped there were sports equipment stores nearby with potentially useful items. However, after two hours of searching to no avail, she stumbled upon an elementary school just as the school day was ending.

A group of parents gathered at the school gate, eagerly waiting for their children to appear behind the gate. For a moment, Lin Sanjiu overheard snippets of conversations—"She just doesn't like playing the piano," "Yes, my daughter-in-law can't come today," etc. These ordinary people, who lived their lives day by day, were unaware that a would-be criminal was in their midst, drawing inspiration from their conversations.

Lin Sanjiu deemed the children escorted by their parents too young to be her targets. The older students, around eleven or twelve, exited in groups.

Positioning herself on a flower bed's edge near the school, she sifted through her card inventory. She realized she had become a storage room for the hodgepodge of her and her friends' belongings. There were even two packs of cat litter that Dr. Hu left with her for emergencies.

Seeing that both little girls were almost in sight, she finally rummaged through some trinkets that Bohemia had thrown at her to hold at some point.

Bohemia's interests, apparently, were about the same as a sixth grader's. 

"He never asked me for homework," the girl with short hair said before suddenly stopping. Her gaze stuck on Lin Sanjiu's hand, and she tugged on her friend's sleeve.

Lin Sanjiu looked up at the two girls with an eccentric smile.

"What... what is this?" the ponytailed girl asked hesitantly, unsure of who she was asking.

To these ordinary children, the Twelve Worlds' gadget was very novel.

Lin Sanjiu tilted the handle slightly, and the spherical water orb began to rotate gently in the afternoon sunlight, emitting a soft and gentle radiance.

"Is this water?" The girls leaned in unconsciously, intrigued. "Why does it..."

With their lack of caution, Lin Sanjiu could have easily grabbed them. However, she wasn't here to catch children. Instead, she said soothingly, "Yes, it's water. You can try putting your hand in."

The girl with ponytails seemed to have a bit more courage or, rather, rash. She put her hand into the water ball, startled, and then giggled. "Oh my God! It's like... my clothes are still dry!"

Her friend couldn't resist and also reached in, instantly exclaiming, "Ah! I... huh? It feels like soaking in a hot spring."

When Bohemia was homeless, this little thing seemed to comfort her. She enjoyed the feeling of being in water and almost lived in the bathtub while on Exodus.

"It also feels like a swimming pool and the sea," Lin Sanjiu said. "Do you like this gadget?"

The two children laughed and nodded, reluctant to take their hands out of the water balloon.

"I can give it to you."

'As for who it belongs to and whether they'll fight over it, who cares.'

The children were stunned.

"On one condition," Lin Sanjiu said, pretending to take the tape recorder from behind her back and not out of her card inventory. "You have to repeat a few words I ask and record them."

After the two little girls left with the water sensory ball, which would expire in half an hour, Lin Sanjiu jumped down from the flower bed and entered a nearby old residential area. She walked with her head down as if searching for a wallet on the ground. Every time she approached a manhole cover, she glanced around to see if there were passersby. If the road was busy, she moved on, but if it was quiet, like now...

Raising her foot, Lin Sanjiu concentrated her force into her heel and stomped on the manhole cover's edge. The cover, designed to withstand great pressure, was slightly misaligned with the road surface around its edges, occasionally emitting loud sounds under passing vehicles. Her heel's concentrated pressure was akin to the impact of a falling truck, shattering the cover. Lin Sanjiu's eyes and hands were swift, and with a bend of her back to grab the manhole cover, the manhole cover was fished into her hand as it fell, and immediately transformed into a card.

Worried about walkers potentially falling, Lin Sanjiu summoned her metal gauntlet, gripped the manhole's ladder, and yanked it hard. She then lodged the cover's broken piece into the ground as a makeshift warning. After prying open several more manhole covers, fatigue set in. Leaving the crime scene, she found solace sitting on a flower bed's edge in the residential area, pausing to wipe a bead of sweat from her brow.

The buildings in this residential area were quite old, tightly packed together, with almost no design to speak of. There were quite a few people who had washed their clothes and pulled a rope outside their windows, hanging colorful clothes in a slither; some of them hadn't even dried yet, dripping water down.

There were a lot of black clothes.

Lin Sanjiu rose and surveyed her surroundings before nonchalantly following an old man carrying groceries into the building, making her way to the top floor. There, she adeptly leaped across rooftops as if navigating an oddly shaped mall. When she spotted black clothing in the right size, she bent down and cast down a stream of Higher Consciousness; gripping the clothing and yanking it downward, she quickly took it into her hands. It didn't take her long to gather enough black clothing to cover her from head to toe.

The day's work of thievery and deceit was almost complete when the sun began to set and dusk approached. Knowing there were many more places where she needed to use Higher Consciousness tonight, she must ensure that Mrs. Manas recovered as soon as possible.

"Oh... yes, just like that..." Mrs. Manas said, almost groaning, as if getting a massage for her sore muscles. "Compress it, try to compress... Let the empty space generate new Higher Consciousness."

This cultivation method purified and condensed Higher Consciousness, making it not only more flexible and agile but also increasing her reserve of it. During the practice session, Lin Sanjiu realized that her Higher Consciousness was initially a bit loose.

After concentrating for a few hours, Mrs. Manas finally let out a long sigh. "I feel much better."

"I guess I haven't been practicing much lately," Lin Sanjiu said, scratching her face embarrassedly.

"It's possible. From now on, you should practice a few hours daily," Mrs. Manas said. "Don't slack off on Hei Zeji's physical training either. Haven't you heard the saying 'no progress means regression'?"

"I'm a Growth type," Lin Sanjiu said, standing up. "Puppeteer mentioned that, even without practice, his combat power gradually increases every day." She had asked him this question at the risk of her own life.

"Are you Puppeteer?" Mrs. Manas said.

1

'Well, no.'

Lin Sanjiu stretched her muscles in the darkness and felt quite energetic, with much more energy. She put her hands on her hips, looked in the museum's direction with confidence, and smiled. "I'm coming!"