Doomsday Wonderland

Chapter 1462: High-Rise Game

The Life Coach truly lived up to his high fees.

Perhaps he had been alert from the moment the elevator began to hum. When Lin Sanjiu was lying on top of the elevator, soaring upwards with it, the place where the first floor had been pried open turned into a fleeting portal of light. In that split second, she didn't even have time to roll out as she passed the door, but she felt a hand touch hers.

The moment their hands gripped tightly, the brightness disappeared before her eyes, and Lin Sanjiu plunged straight into the darkness above. The Life Coach, yanked up by the rapidly ascending elevator, first hit the edge of the elevator door with a clang and was forcefully squeezed into a space less than a hand's width, scraping against the elevator shaft's walls with a cringe-inducing noise. Had he been human, his skin would've been scraped off, and even his muscles, bones, and organs would've been shredded like a grated carrot.

"Conve-ahhh!" The Life Coach couldn't even finish. Technically speaking, there wasn't enough space between the elevator and the shaft's walls for a head, yet somehow, he still had one. Lin Sanjiu quickly turned him into a card and slapped it on top of the elevator. He reappeared, continuing, "Convert me into... Eh?"

Lin Sanjiu wiped the sweat from her forehead and shouted amidst the loud sound of the rapidly ascending elevator, "Are you alright?"

In the darkness, she couldn't see if the Life Coach was injured, but being a Special Item, he shouldn't be damaged by physical force. The Life Coach quickly turned over and lay on the elevator, shouting, "What do we do now?"

If the elevator were to stop midway on any floor, it would be a relief. Lin Sanjiu's biggest fear was that it was heading to the top floor, where the rocketing elevator would smash her against the ceiling of the elevator shaft. With its current momentum, it could easily crush her spine and sternum, turning her into a bag of crushed chips.

Given her understanding of her luck, this elevator would probably not stop anywhere but on the top floor.

"You ask me, I ask who?" After exchanging a few words, Lin Sanjiu felt she had already shot up several floors. The dark elevator shaft walls surrounded her, and there was no place to leverage. Even if she could grab something like a cable, the elevator's momentum could snap her arm in a blink. No matter how strong she was, she was still a body of flesh and cells, unable to withstand such rapid and intense tugging.

In her desperation, Lin Sanjiu suddenly had an idea. She quickly flipped over, laying on her back atop the elevator, and bent her legs upward. Sensing her movement, the Life Coach asked, "What are you doing?"

"If we reach the top floor, I'll use my legs to brace..."

"A lift weighing one or two tons, rushing upward at least forty meters per second, and you want to stop it with your legs?" The Life Coach's voice was filled with astonishment. "You've exhausted yourself today. If your strength isn't enough, your legs could be crushed into your spine."

"What should we do then?"

In a few moments, the elevator would reach the top floor—Lin Sanjiu could feel it. The elevator showed no signs of slowing down, and she had lost all hope of it stopping halfway.

"I have no idea! Why not try teleporting through space?" the Life Coach said, sounding equally frantic.

The situation now was undoubtedly worse than before. Earlier, when she was trapped in the elevator shaft, she had no target destination and a vague sense of location. Now, lying on the roof of the rapidly rising elevator car, she was even more disoriented. If she rashly tried to teleport, she might drop from the highest point of a sixty-story elevator shaft. Before she could gather her senses, she would already be splattered.

"You have a weak grasp on this ability. If you're uncertain about your current location and destination, you might get lost in space. You might not only never return, but also—"

Before Mrs. Manas could finish, Lin Sanjiu suddenly exclaimed.

"What happened?" the Life Coach asked.

She could faintly see the end of the elevator shaft in the darkness. There was no time left to reply. She swiftly converted the Life Coach into a card and activated her ability to traverse space. The engulfing darkness instantly faded, replaced by a reddish-brown land. Layers of shimmering universe and space opened up, retreated, and embraced her, momentarily pulling her away from the roaring elevator that threatened to crush her.

With a "thud," her face hit the hard ground. The impact made her nose sting, and tears involuntarily welled up, but she didn't notice.

Her consciousness wavered like a drunk person losing balance. At one moment, she heard the calls of her long-deceased parents. The next, she saw a pale woman floating at the bottom of a deep green lake. She then felt as though she was slowly being pushed out of a syringe. Thankfully, her journey through space was brief. Before it could completely tear her spirit apart, she was back.

"Where are we?!" The Life Coach shouted, still in shock. Before he could comprehend what had happened, the vibrations from the rapid ascent abruptly ceased. Caught off guard, both of them tumbled over due to the inertia.

"Sixtieth floor, arrived," a gentle electronic female voice announced.

Only then did the Life Coach realize what had transpired. He quickly got up and looked around, murmuring, "You... you entered the elevator by teleporting through space?"

As they spoke, the elevator doors began to open slowly. The number "60" was prominently displayed in red on the screen, urging the person and item inside the elevator car to exit without a word.

"When I was lying on top, the only place that I was related to in terms of location and was close enough was inside the elevator..." Lin Sanjiu panted, her whole body drenched in cold sweat. She even had to sit on the ground for a while before mustering the strength to stand up, her muscles trembling.

Outside was the elevator lobby. Without stepping out, they wouldn't be able to see anything. Lin Sanjiu suppressed her anxious thoughts about the grand prize, took a deep breath, and stepped out. There must be stairs in this building. For now, she didn't want to think about what she'd do if the stairs were also sealed.

"Hi."

Lin Sanjiu was taken aback. As she quickly retreated and turned, she couldn't believe she hadn't noticed someone standing at the end of the elevator lobby. Not until she regained her footing and her gaze landed on the source of the voice did she understand why she had been surprised.

It was a little white robot commonly used in hotels and office buildings for greeting or delivering items. It looked very rudimentary. Compared to J7, it was like comparing a simple sketch to Renoir. It's no wonder she subconsciously thought there was no one in the elevator lobby; it was just an object.

"Welcome to the Mall Warfare game," the little robot said in a childlike electronic voice. "I, JoyBee, will be the commentator for this round."

Behind the little robot was a large transparent floor-to-ceiling window. Located on the 60th floor, most of the surrounding tall buildings abruptly ended below. The open sky, faint wisps of clouds, and the vast lead-gray city stretched in all directions, converging on the distant horizon. There, the reddish hue of the setting sun was slowly sinking into a deep purple.

"It hasn't been an hour yet," Lin Sanjiu said. "Why has the game already started?"

This question was evidently beyond JoyBee's programming. It stood still and greeted in its artificial cheerfulness, "I am JoyBee. How may I assist you?"

Lin Sanjiu realized she couldn't get any useful information from it. She glanced out the window and felt a hint of trepidation despite not usually fearing heights. She called out to the Life Coach, saying, "Let's go find the stairs." Without giving another look at JoyBee, she prepared to walk past it.

"Before the game starts, the area outside the elevator is electrified," JoyBee said in a monotone voice. "Please be careful."

It mentioned the area, not the ground—Lin Sanjiu noticed immediately. She wasn't sure if air could be electrified, but she did know one thing: the mental energy she expended was too great, and she couldn't sustain a protective layer around her body any longer.

Lin Sanjiu turned and fiercely kicked a trash can, which immediately flew toward another elevator in the distance. Taking out her frustrations on objects wasn't in her character. It was just that she was currently in unbearable agony. Coincidentally, right as the trash can hit the elevator door, a light outside the door chimed on. Amidst the "clang" of the impact, a voice from the speaker announced, "Sixtieth floor." This was followed by a cautious voice from inside asking, "Who's there?"

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Lin Sanjiu responded, "It's me. I kicked a can. You can come out; this is the game zone."

After a moment, a man slowly emerged from that elevator. His hands were raised in front of his chest, presumably in a defensive gesture, but it made him look like a praying mantis dressed in men's yoga attire.

JoyBee repeated its greeting and the warning about the electrified space before falling silent again.

"It seems we're both players in this game," the man said, lowering his hands. "We might be early; I think there should be others coming."

Lin Sanjiu didn't say anything, nor did she want to. It appeared she had no choice but to participate in this round of the game.

For the duration of this game, she wondered about the grand prize.

The grand prize—

Looking back at the elevator she emerged from,she suddenly inhaled sharply, realizing she had made a grave mistake.