Doomsday Wonderland

Chapter 1434: Do You Think Advaita is Stupid?

Lin Sanjiu's idea had been mulled over in her mind multiple times, and at first glance, it seemed flawless. Silvan couldn't speak, but he could still communicate with his humanoid Special Item and had already conveyed the plan to Caster through some means—she had verified this with Caster earlier.

However, his plan involved the future. The moment it pertains to the future, Caster would activate its core function, which is to speak nonsensical gibberish. So, the solution was to disable this particular function of Caster, making it faithfully relay Silvan's words, right?

It seemed perfect no matter how she thought about it.

Indeed, her plan was good. Caster, following her command, began to recite Silvan's words verbatim.

Unfortunately, Lin Sanjiu overlooked one thing.

"She will try to have her territory of shelves remain hidden," Caster whispered, being pushed by her collar by Lin Sanjiu as they walked, just before Chen Hanwu could catch up. "That is, of course, till the end of the game is near."

"That's enough; stop talking." Lin Sanjiu shook her a bit, feeling a headache coming on. It was even more challenging than listening to Caster's gibberish. Not only was Caster's pronunciation impeccable, but it also relayed the message word for word, including the tone; sadly, she could only understand the tone.

Who would've thought she'd need to know English even after the world's end?

Having communicated so smoothly with Silvan usually, she forgot he always used a translator. It seemed she would need one as well.

"Don't just take off like that." Chen Hanwu caught up, his face wary as if thinking Lin Sanjiu had a trick up her sleeve. "What were you doing just now?"

"Don't worry," Lin Sanjiu replied, feeling agitated but keeping herself in check. "I stayed within your sight, didn't I? Walking slowly like that wastes time. If there's no trap ahead, we can speed up."

By the end of their conversation, they had reached the end of the corridor, turning at the H12 shelf. Ahead of them was another long hallway formed by shelves on both sides. The first shelf they encountered was labeled B10, which had no relevance to them.

Since she couldn't decipher Silvan's message, Lin Sanjiu had to think on her feet. As she walked, she discreetly activated her [Higher Consciousness Scan] and used it on Chen Hanwu. Every breath, every turn of his head, every blink of this dark-skinned young man was faithfully recorded by the Higher Consciousness. Even the occasional minute wrinkles on his face were magnified in her mind.

She was waiting.

She didn't know the numbers of their team's other ten shelf territories, but Chen Hanwu did. Even if Advaita had instructed him not to reveal it, the sudden sight of the shelf number would likely make him react. Even the most seasoned and composed posthuman can't hide the physiological signs of surprise: a slight dilation of the pupils, a quickened heartbeat, or a slightly deeper breath than usual. She was waiting for any sign from Chen Hanwu.

But it seemed there was no target shelf for them in this aisle.

Chen Hanwu calmly walked through the entire corridor, occasionally glancing at the shelves. He was smart; if he saw a plastic model of a product on a shelf, he could deduce what the target item was. However, given the sheer volume of items in the entire store, the odds of finding the target item were low. After searching half the aisle, he gave up.

Just as the two were about to turn into the next corridor, a dull sound echoed from beneath the mall's ceiling. "What was that sound?" Chen Hanwu exclaimed.

'So when he's startled, he instinctively recoils his neck,' Lin Sanjiu noted, watching the replayed details from Mrs. Manas.

"It seems to be coming from the opposite team," she said, her view obstructed by the towering shelves. "Wait here, I'll climb up and check."

Silvan's familiar figure stood atop a shelf in the other half of the mall.

He smiled, seeming to have noticed Lin Sanjiu, who only showed her eyes. He stepped into the cluttered merchandise on the shelf, crushing items beneath his feet and sending some tumbling down into the aisle. The blonde man, hands in his pockets, focused on the side of Advaita's team, leisurely walking atop the shelf as if on a stroll.

"I don't know what he's up to," Lin Sanjiu admitted to Chen Hanwu as she climbed down. "Maybe he's monitoring our movements?"

"Or waiting to see who falls into his trap first," Chen Hanwu replied without much enthusiasm, now fully buying into Lin Sanjiu's fabrications. "Oh, right, we should inform Advaita, so she can..."

Did Advaita need any reminders?

Before he could finish his sentence, all the items around them, from the front and back and the two aisles they had passed, suddenly levitated — as if a force had suddenly loosened the gravitational screws holding everything down. They floated gently, forming a curtain made of cookies, jams, olive oil, pasta... and so on. Before Lin Sanjiu's stunned gaze, all items slowly gathered above shelf G2, tightly forming a wall, obscuring Silvan's figure and gaze.

"It takes a lot of effort for me to do this," Advaita's voice suddenly echoed. "Aren't you two going to search faster?"

As if awakened from a dream, Chen Hanwu called out to Lin Sanjiu and hurriedly continued forward.

Lin Sanjiu, however, remained still.

"What's wrong?" Chen Hanwu asked, looking back.

"Advaita..." Lin Sanjiu furrowed her brows, unable to believe she hadn't thought of this earlier. Right, why would Advaita completely trust the two of them without having a backup plan? "How... how does she know which shelves we've checked?"

"What do you mean?"

"Look," Lin Sanjiu said, pointing back in the direction they came from. The empty steel shelves exuded a sense of desolation. "All the products she moved were from the regular shelves we've confirmed. But the volunteer suppressed her abilities. How can she see us?"

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