Doomsday Wonderland

As Lily left those words and turned to leave, Lin Sanjiu wanted nothing more than to grab her sleeve and ask her, "What's the game's punishment?" – How could it not be falling from a height? Wasn't that what the robot called JoyBee said? Did everyone else hear something different?

With a mix of anxiety and anticipation, the Life Coach suddenly took two steps closer from behind. His soft footsteps served as a reminder. She couldn't detain Lily; the sooner Lily left, the better. Every second she stayed increased the risk of Lin Sanjiu's ruse being discovered.

Lin Sanjiu bit her tongue just in time, keeping her questions in. She watched Lily's retreating figure, feeling she should say something; she couldn't believe she'd managed to bluff her way through, nor could she believe she'd misheard the game's details. Amid her shock, confusion, and doubt, she blurted out, "Don't come back!"

Lily scoffed from up ahead and quickly disappeared around a corner. Lin Sanjiu remained at the door, gripping the doorframe tightly, until a couple of minutes after Lily had disappeared. She then felt as if her bones had suddenly relaxed, bending over to exhale heavily.

Supporting herself with both hands on her knees, she felt the Life Coach approach. His usually calm voice was jittery with excitement as he said, "Did... did we really succeed? She left, right? Ah, she really did leave. See? You've proven your potential once again!"

That last sentence was said in the Life Coach's typical tone.

"Am I still fat?" came another question from behind.

Lin Sanjiu turned and looked at the chubby client who had just stood up from his chair.

Wiping her forehead, she laughed and said, "The effects of [The Power Of Word Picture] will wear off soon. How do you feel now? Do you feel... fat?"

Caster, who had been transformed to resemble the chubby client, pondered. "I've never been fat, so I wouldn't know."

"Lucky you weren't too far away earlier. When I called, you came right back," Lin Sanjiu said, extending her hand in a gesture. "Hmm? You don't want to be put away? Well... okay, only go back in an emergency."

Caster seemed surprised but pleased by the outcome of her query. She began to pace around the office with her hands behind her back.

If one looked closely, they'd see that this fake chubby client, altered by [The Power Of Word Picture], wasn't an exact match to the original one. Due to the item's limitations, even though Lin Sanjiu had pointed at the chubby client and said, "Look like him," human facial details are too intricate. The resulting transformation only resembled another individual of a similar age and build.

Fortunately, nobody paid close attention to the client's appearance, and Lily only had a vague impression. Furthermore, with Caster sitting inside the cubicle and only her lower back showing, she never realized that this wasn't the original client.

"We should head back," Lin Sanjiu whispered to the three humanoid Special Items. Noticing the Artist was the closest to her, she extended a hand towards him. At this moment, the Artist became unusually agile, hurriedly stepping back. His eyes darted between Lin Sanjiu and Caster.

"You don't want to go back into the card inventory?" Lin Sanjiu was genuinely surprised. It was the Artist's first time showing personal preferences and feelings, which was somehow more unexpected than Caster's reactions. Perhaps it was because he was a so-called "entry-level" and felt closer to being a thing.

"I don't really mind," the Life Coach said. "But if you plan to let both of them roam outside, having an extra pair of eyes watching from behind is better than none."

It was not like she was herding sheep.

Lin Sanjiu found this amusing. She stepped away from the door and whispered, "Then hurry up."

The three humanoid Special Items carefully walked out of the office. Caster and the Artist both held onto their small accessories to minimize noise. After checking the corridor, they quickly moved a few steps and opened the door to another office two meters away, rushing inside.

Only then did Lin Sanjiu close the door behind her. Apart from the room number, the sleek, polished, light-brown wooden door was blank.

There was no picture of her, no information because it wasn't her office, to begin with.

While remaining vigilant of her surroundings, Lin Sanjiu moved to the office door just two meters away. Just two meters apart... she looked at her own portrait on that door, along with the label "Lin Sanjiu Company Office No. 1." The sense of relief hadn't fully settled in.

Indeed, her plan was that simple: move to the neighboring office before Lily arrived. This way, when Lily reached her office door, she would stop in her tracks.

Although the plan was simple, several steps were involved: Lin Sanjiu turned the Life Coach into a card, called Caster back, pushed the Artist to the neighboring office, made an experimental attack on that empty office, opened the door to let the Life Coach stand in place, and used [The Power Of Word Picture] to transform Caster into the client's appearance. Lily arrived so quickly that Lin Sanjiu barely had time to position the Artist by the door.

Looking back on it now, Lin Sanjiu couldn't help but praise herself for her quick thinking. She deliberately left her office door wide open, so as long as Lily didn't approach and peek inside from any angle in the hallway, she would surely not see the portrait of Lin Sanjiu on the distant door.

Lin Sanjiu had long suspected clients and entry-level employees couldn't leave the office, so she didn't even attempt to test this theory. Instead, she quickly set her sights on Caster. While [The Power Of Word Picture] couldn't modify the appearance of in-game elements, modifying the appearance of her own items should be fine, right?

Just as she had half planned and half hoped, when Lily ran to the end of her tether of consciousness and saw Lin Sanjiu holding the Artist at the office door, she indeed stopped in her tracks. Subsequently, the Life Coach and the client's presence in the room further reinforced her preconceived notion. This office was the headquarters of Lin Sanjiu's company.

"Lily really didn't realize something was amiss with the attack," the Life Coach said.

"It's not surprising," Lin Sanjiu said, chuckling. "Think about it. Before this, Lily never attacked anyone. When I attacked her office, she was standing behind the door. So, she doesn't know what text should appear on the door when the attacks cancel each other out. In fact, she isn't even sure if any text would appear at all."

When she attacked Lily's office, the text on the door read: "Lin Sanjiu's Company attacks Lily's Company. Attack power 1, defense power 1. Canceled out. Attack failed." If Lily had seen this, she wouldn't have been deceived into thinking that the words "Attack Ineffective" meant her attack had failed.

Whether to let Lily see the text on the door was a dilemma that nearly tore Lin Sanjiu apart. The advantage was that the words "Attack Ineffective" would distract Lily, leading her to believe her attack was negated. However, this carried a significant risk—Lily might notice the absence of Lin Sanjiu's portrait on the door.

Lin Sanjiu could be quite rash sometimes, never hesitating to take a risk if she felt it was worth it. However, this time, she did take some additional precautions.

"You're quite cunning, having me shout first before showing her the door," the Life Coach said with a smile.

"She knows you're an item," Lin Sanjiu replied, smiling. "Most people instinctively believe that items, when they speak, are more trustworthy than humans. Plus, I also tried my best to divert her attention."

Randomly dropping the name of Puppeteer or intentionally showing her card ability were all strategies to distract Lily. Even though Lily dropped a figurative bomb before leaving, overall, Lin Sanjiu's nerve-wracking plan went fairly smoothly.

"In a few more seconds, your defense will be restored," the Life Coach said, finally letting go of his anxiety and relaxing his shoulders. As the other two humanoid Special Items bent down to inspect the employee and client, he found a chair to sit on. "What was that penalty about?"

"JoyBee?" Lin Sanjiu tentatively called out. "Could you repeat the loser's penalty for me one more time?"

She waited for a while. The office and the hallway were silent. Regardless of where the company's announcement came from, it seemed one-way. Lin Sanjiu asked two more times, even though she was already certain she wouldn't get an answer.

"Why would Lily think the game's penalty wasn't being thrown out?" the Life Coach murmured. "I wonder what the others heard? It's a pity I wasn't there at the time and didn't hear."

"I remember after JoyBee finished speaking, several of us walked a few steps towards the floor-to-ceiling window to look out. If what they heard wasn't about being thrown out, it must have something to do with this building, or more specifically, with this height." Lin Sanjiu sighed. "Unless Lily purposely misled me."

No matter. Regardless of the penalty, all she had to do was not lose.

Making up her mind, Lin Sanjiu set aside this question and summoned Caster. "Your break is over. Time to get to work."

Caster, still in the form of the chubby client, became serious. "You want to know the future?"

"No, just like before, be my lookout."

"That's not what I do."

Lin Sanjiu acted like she hadn't heard, converting Caster into a card. She had already taken a lap nearby and remembered what the surrounding hallways and corridors looked like. With minimal effort, Caster could poke her head out a little bit from under the door of a hallway a few corridors away.

"What are you doing now?" the Life Coach asked.

"I think the client only appears when the player can't see them," Lin Sanjiu whispered. "Let's test this hypothesis."

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