Doomsday Wonderland

Chapter 1450: Regaining Freedom

After repeatedly comparing the chocolate cake card with the chocolate cake on the back seat of the car, Lin Sanjiu felt her chest heating up and a swelling sensation within her. Her palms itched and sweat formed. If her method truly worked, could she be stepping into the ranks of creators?

The logic of her solution was clear and straightforward. No matter how she analyzed it, she couldn't find any faults with the reasoning.

A cake drawn on a card, combined with a written description, had materialized here. Regardless of why it appeared, it was essentially creating a chocolate cake from nothing.

Creating a portion of matter also meant creating some energy. So, if the woman from the Munitions Factory provided the appearance and description of the equipment, couldn't she replicate an identical piece of equipment?

To obtain this equipment, Lin Sanjiu instructed the Artist to use the patch of ground beneath the nearby utility pole as the background. This way, when the item appeared, it would materialize against the established background. She asked the woman seven or eight times until the illustrated object seemed accurate based on the description. Only then did she have the Life Coach write the textual description—after all, her right hand was still held by the Southwind Goose, making it quite inconvenient.

Compared to drawing images out of thin air, writing was much simpler.

By the time the Life Coach finished writing the description, Lin Sanjiu had been waiting under the utility pole for a long time. She received the card, her heart pounding. If the [Energy Dilution Device] really appeared here, the difference between her ability and that of a creator would be almost negligible.

Could her ability really be this powerful?

After a few minutes, it seemed fate had provided an answer—the cement floor remained empty.

"That's strange, there's nothing wrong with the textual description," the Life Coach murmured.

The hope that had sparked within her quickly deflated, leaving a hollow feeling in her chest. Lin Sanjiu's unease grew. After confirming the content with the Munitions Factory communicator, her unease turned into distinct frustration. "Could it be the image? Is that why it didn't appear?" she asked, though she knew the Life Coach didn't have a concrete answer. "Because it doesn't match the original, it didn't appear?"

But that didn't seem plausible.

Using the chocolate cake as an example again—both its appearance and design were the Artist's own creation, without any reference samples, so there was no concept of "matching" or "not matching." If she only needed an image plus a description to create an item, then theoretically, regardless of what the [Energy Dilution Device] from the Munitions Factory actually looked like, she could have the Artist paint one, and she would obtain a corresponding [Energy Dilution Device].

Lin Sanjiu pondered deeply, searching around the utility pole, yet she found nothing. The Artist's attention to detail was very precise; the patch of ground he depicted was unique and unmatched. She had already guessed that she wouldn't get any results before she even started searching.

"Is there any difference between the two?" the Life Coach asked heuristically as Lin Sanjiu returned empty-handed. "Finding the differences might help you understand why only one appeared."

One was edible, and the other wasn't? One was a rare item, and the other was ordinary? Lin Sanjiu dismissed several initial thoughts. She stood by the car window, gazing at the chocolate cake and its card, then suddenly took a sharp breath.

She turned around and called out to the Artist, handing him a new blank card. "Draw a wooden board on the same background; I want to see something."

The Artist took the card and quickly drew a wooden board. Lin Sanjiu kept her eyes fixed on the patch of cement, which remained motionless. However, as soon as she blinked, a wooden board lay quietly on the ground, as if it had always been there.

"Now draw a smartphone."

Even the humanoid items were growing impatient, but the smartphone still didn't appear. The Life Coach muttered, "What's this? Low-tech items can appear, but high-tech ones can't?"

Lin Sanjiu was about 70-80% certain about what was happening. The anticipation that had fueled her earlier excitement had now dissipated, leaving her feeling hollow.

"It's because of me," she said with a wry chuckle. "Simple things like the wooden board and the cake, I understand completely. For instance, I know where the wooden board comes from and how to make a cake. Even though smartphones are common and I've used them for years, I have no idea how they're manufactured, the technologies involved, or their internal structure. And I know even less about the Munitions Factory's [Energy Dilution Device] than I do about smartphones."

"So, what do you plan to do?" Caster said. "If you need me to use my divination..."

Lin Sanjiu didn't respond. She was lost in thought, completely absorbed in her own reflections.

The Southwind Goose was still gripping her hand, and she felt as though pulling it out might resolve all her issues. Having come this far, she refused to give up. She didn't believe she could be pushed to a point with no options left.

While Lin Sanjiu was deep in thought, the Artist circled around her, holding the two cards, seemingly unsure of what to do with them. Lin Sanjiu didn't want to see the cards at all. She snatched them from him and promptly wiped away the images.

"Let me think alone," she said, waving her hand to keep the Artist at a distance. But as she turned her head, her movement froze.

Once the images were erased from the cards, the wooden board in the parking lot vanished as well.

This seemed natural, but with this turn of events...

Lin Sanjiu stared at the spot where the wooden board had been, lost in thought.

"Artist," she said slowly, handing over the card with the chocolate cake. "Can you modify this drawing? Change it to show a bite taken out of the cake?"

The Artist obediently took out his paint. Lin Sanjiu listened to the rustling of his brush behind her, her gaze fixed on the chocolate cake inside the car. After a short while, the cake changed as if an unseen person had taken a big bite out of it.

She closed her eyes and exhaled shakily.

"Now, stand opposite me," she commanded when the sound of the brush stopped. The Artist, carrying a stack of items, stood in front of her, and she raised her hand. "Draw this trash can. Be careful with the background, and don't include me in the composition. Remember, it should be instantly recognizable as this trash can at first glance, not any other trash can in the world."

The Life Coach exclaimed, "Oh," seemingly understanding her intent.

Even though she wasn't a researcher, Lin Sanjiu was methodically using experiments to confirm or refute her hypotheses.

If adding new items to this space didn't work, what if she tried subtracting things from it?

Regarding the cake with a bite taken out of it, although the subtraction involved matter, it also contained energy within that subtracted matter. So, was it possible for her to directly subtract energy?

"Done!" the Life Coach exclaimed as soon as the Artist put down his brush, sounding more anxious than she was. Lin Sanjiu stared intently at the trash can in her hand—she was worried that if she blinked, another identical trash can would appear on the ground. After waiting a moment, she gradually let out the breath she had been holding.

Everything remained the same; there was nothing extra on the ground.

Exactly. If she didn't understand the underlying principles of something, it wouldn't be created. The Artist's depiction of the silver trash can was so realistic that it was unmistakable. Just as she had suspected, the silver trash can had been accurately drawn but hadn't been created as an extra item in this space.

"Life Coach," she said hoarsely, "I'll now describe this trash can to you, and you'll write it on a card."

The Life Coach, forgetting to ask for a fee, nodded and took out a pen.

Once everything was done, Lin Sanjiu held the freshly created [Silver Trash Can] card and felt a bit dazed. If she were to convert the silver trash can into a card now, she would obtain an identical card. Yet, the trash can was still hanging from her hand, and she now had an extra card.

It seemed a bit convoluted and required careful thought, but she didn't have time for that now. She handed the card back to the Artist and whispered, "Now, draw a notch on this card with the trash can."

Caster smacked herself on the thigh.

"So, that was your idea!" she exclaimed, but no one answered her. The Artist was busy working on his drawing with his head down. Lin Sanjiu and the Life Coach focused on the trash can in her hand.

Since she couldn't disperse the energy forming the trash can, she decided to try having a piece of it missing. The woman from the Munitions Factory probably didn't know everything either—there were likely means to make energy disappear in this world.

Under the intense gaze of everyone, a long seam gradually appeared on the silver trash can. The body of the can was consumed bit by bit until a large opening was torn open.

The force gripping Lin Sanjiu's fingertip suddenly released her. A gust of wind rustled the loose strands of hair near her ear—something was coming out.

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