Doomsday Wonderland

Chapter 1522: A Chance for You to Live

"Heh!"

With a slap that wasn't particularly forceful, Lin Sanjiu's hand landed on Edgar Allan Poe's left cheek, bringing him back to his senses with a snap. He had been staring blankly at the carpet before him, so lost in thought that he hadn't even noticed her approach and bend over him.

The drowsy state she'd just experienced, as though she'd been hypnotized or put to sleep by a potent sedative, lingered even after her consciousness had escaped the black sea. It left her feeling groggy, unable to clear her head. It took her a good ten or more seconds to realize that Edgar Allan Poe was silently daydreaming.

Lin Sanjiu glanced at the female corpse behind him—Yu Yuan had slowly moved behind Edgar Allan Poe, holding up half a sheet of [Migratory Letters] with both hands. The freshly-written words were large, as though fearing she might be nearsighted.

"I've seen how he communicates with others," the paper stated. "So, I think there's a chance he's lost in thought because he's communicating with other Creators."

As Lin Sanjiu turned back, Edgar Allan Poe had already recovered his wits. Startled by the slap, he quickly stammered, "I... I will cooperate... What do you want me to do?"

She stood straight—exactly as Yu Yuan had described.

"You just informed the other game makers, didn't you?" she said softly, glancing back at Master Zhang's silent phone. "You skipped Master Zhang so as not to let me know, right?"

If anyone thought that Edgar Allan Poe's face couldn't look worse, they were mistaken—his gaunt face paled even more as he stammered, "What... What? I... I... Who are you?"

He almost added, "How do you know so much about us?"

Lin Sanjiu tapped her temple and smiled. "Your messaging system is in your brain, isn't it?"

Edgar Allan Poe stared at her as if she had just peeled off her face to reveal an alien underneath. He must have assumed that putting the communication channel in his brain would prevent detection. He probably never expected that after using it just once in front of Yu Yuan, it would be discovered.

Seeing that he was momentarily speechless, Lin Sanjiu nodded and said, "I don't care where it is, just tell me exactly what you said to them. Three."

Realizing she was counting down, Edgar Allan Poe didn't even wait for "two" and immediately spilled everything. "I... I told them about Master Zhang's death... Now they all know you... you can make the protective letters on a person shrink... They... they say they want to band together to take you down. They even said that this is the biggest crisis in the history of new game launches."

"What can they do?" Lin Sanjiu was genuinely curious.

"I don't know what..." Edgar Allan Poe began, lowering his face, but then he suddenly looked confused. "I really don't know."

Lin Sanjiu looked at him, raising an eyebrow. Just as she was about to continue her questioning, she saw Yu Yuan lift the [Migratory Letters] again out of the corner of her eye. Looking up, she saw the paper read: "He really doesn't know now."

What?

Lin Sanjiu looked at the paper, then back at Edgar Allan Poe. The latter seemed to be puzzled, furrowing his brows, seemingly trying hard to recall something. It looked as though he had forgotten something important—

She suddenly understood and slapped her forehead.

Yu Yuan had described to her an ability that could make a lie become reality, and the effect of [Pygmalion Choker] could last for five minutes; the time limit hadn't yet been reached. Edgar Allan Poe had clearly known what the others were going to do but had wanted to hide it from her. As a result, the lie came out of his mouth, and he truly went from knowing to not knowing.

Lin Sanjiu's annoyance turned into an idea. "Hey, you may not know, but although I'm not a game maker, I've just obtained your permissions."

Wasn't it about making lies come true? Then she could also—

Just as she was delighting in this thought, she saw Yu Yuan standing behind her, expressionless, slowly shaking his head. The Veda seemed much more relaxed now, almost exuding the demeanor of a teacher grading homework and encountering a wrong answer.

It didn't work? Why did it work for them but not her?

Edgar Allan Poe looked up, half-believing her.

"Don't worry about what permissions I have, just ask now," Lin Sanjiu ordered. "Ask them what exactly they are going to do. You're still in my hands. If they want to come after me, it's normal for you to ask for your own safety."

Nodding, Edgar Allan Poe's eyes dulled for a moment, looking entranced again; after a good minute or two, when he turned his gaze back, his lips were trembling.

Seeing his expression, Lin Sanjiu understood somewhat.

"I... I don't understand..." his voice trembled, almost ready to snap. "Why... why aren't they responding to me?"

Lin Sanjiu only wanted to sigh.

Does this need to be asked? Edgar Allan Poe himself knew the answer very well.

In her silence, he once again activated communication—probably repeatedly calling the remaining game makers, his pupils constantly trembling. This futile attempt was finally abandoned after a few minutes.

For a moment, in this spacious living room, no one spoke.

Lin Sanjiu squatted down, looking into his eyes. "Why did you tip them off?"

This man had completely forgotten about the "girl" he had used as a human shield, and his actions and words were so annoying. However, he had chosen to warn others rather than sell them out to Lin Sanjiu for his own safety.

Just for this, Lin Sanjiu had a little more patience with him.

"Why do you ask?" Edgar Allan Poe mumbled. "I... I didn't think much about it, just felt it was significant news. They should know, so I warned them."

Yu Yuan put away the [Migratory Letters] and said, "This instinct is in the genes to ensure the survival of the group. When a monkey sees a predator approaching from a distance, it will cry out to warn the troop to take refuge." His words caught their attention.

Edgar Allan Poe turned and looked at him with an almost stupid expression—he seemed to realize just then that Lin Sanjiu hadn't laid a finger on Little Demon, who hadn't run away either.

Lin Sanjiu looked at him, frowning.

According to this explanation, had Poe gradually developed a sense of group identity with others over the months of the game's conference? So, he sent out a warning to his group immediately after Master Zhang's death?

And then, he was immediately abandoned by the group.

She stood up, as if hearing someone sigh long and deep within her soul.

She reached out and grabbed Edgar Allan Poe's collar, yanking him to his feet. "Come on, you don't need to be surprised or downcast. The remaining six, no matter how hard they think, are all going to meet their end here today."

"You... you won't kill me?" Edgar Allan Poe still couldn't believe it, staggering to his feet "What do you want me to do?"

Lin Sanjiu looked around and her eyes settled on Master Zhang. The fat man was not dead yet, and his process of falling into a coma from serious injuries might take quite some time. She gestured for Edgar Allan Poe to pick up Master Zhang, dragged him to the door, and then asked Yu Yuan, "Have you seen all of his computer?"

"When he lost consciousness, the computer automatically shut down," Yu Yuan calmly replied, facing Edgar Allan Poe's incredulous gaze. "I only saw the list of text that he had before he passed out."

"That's the text they can summon?"

"Yes."

While the two were talking, Lin Sanjiu had already opened Advaita's seed ability. That ability could contain human or humanoid figures, so she simply collected the "Yu Yuan" that Veda had written into it. Since the two had no need to hide anymore, she yanked the body out and threw it to the ground, saying, "You can go back."

The way Little Demon fell, twisting and crashing, and how Yu Yuan managed to get up from the ground, shakily using his hands to support himself—Edgar Allan Poe caught all of it. He looked like he was about to faint, his face even greener than a corpse's. "So... it was a dead body all along?"

That's what you get for calling yourself Edgar Allan Poe.

Lin Sanjiu pushed him forward, and with Yu Yuan following, they all left the room. As soon as they stepped out into the corridor, she again felt the omnipresent, dense surveillance, heavy as if sticking to her skin.

But this time, she wanted everyone to see.

Once in the round hall, Master Zhang was flung onto the long dining table like a live pig ready to be slaughtered. Lin Sanjiu gave him a cursory check and then pulled over a chair to sit at the table.

When she felt that she had become the focus of attention in the entire underground space, she cleared her throat and spoke.

"What Edgar Allan Poe told you is correct. I knocked out Master Zhang. I used the protective text on him to crush his ribs. He reacted well and managed to undo the text before a broken bone pierced his heart. Although, I could have easily killed him. The point is, you have two choices now," she declared, her voice echoing near and far in the hall. Everyone should hear it if nothing went wrong.

"First, continue to confront me. Then every single one of you, each and every one, will soon experience the same fate as Master Zhang.

"Second, disband the new game launch conference here and leave this place altogether. As long as you leave, I will let bygones be bygones."

Lin Sanjiu looked around the empty hall and the dark corridors. "What will you choose?"