Doomsday Wonderland

Lin Sanjiu stood in the empty elevator lobby, her short hair fluttering due to the air currents from the aircraft engine. Staring at the elevator that took Lily away, she for a moment despised her own inaction. It took mere seconds for Lily to go from the 60th floor to the 59th. Despite understanding the limited time window, she felt powerless.

She was well aware that regardless of whether she started to break down the doors or tried to locate the staircase, it would be futile against a building that could self-repair and modify its structure.

So, what should she do to save Lily?

As her anxious indecision grew, even the triangular aircraft seemed to recognize it would stay here for a while. Its roaring engine soon quieted down to a gentle hum. Without the gusts, the elevator lobby, marked with signs of struggle and blood, appeared even more desolate.

"Screw it. Even if it's futile, I have to try."

Determined, Lin Sanjiu waved her hand, and the metal gauntlet "clacked" onto her fist. As she punched the elevator door, the heavy, sharp metallic impact was intertwined with the sound of the doorframe deforming. Lin Sanjiu briefly felt hopeful, but her joy was immediately dashed: as one side of the doorframe deformed, it also began to self-repair, reminiscent of gentle waves settling back into calmness.

"You can't destroy it faster than it repairs itself," a voice commented from behind. "That won't work."

Lin Sanjiu, gazing at the elevator door, absentmindedly agreed. "Yeah."

It took her half a second to suddenly feel a shiver down her spine. She spun around, unable to comprehend how she hadn't noticed someone behind her and even casually responded.

It was only when her gaze landed on the front of the aircraft that she felt as if she had been plunged into icy water, a chilling realization coursing through her.

On the aircraft, which was roughly the size of a hotel room, a door had opened—just large enough for an adult to duck and pass through. The only one who could have possibly leaped out without her noticing, or to be precise, who wasn't human anymore, was standing before her.

Staring blankly, she called out his name without realizing.

"Yu Yuan?"

The young man in front of her nodded slightly.

As he moved, a strand of hair slid down the side of his face, falling past those deep-set eyes, faintly covering the dark tattoos on his skin. His tall, straight stature and defined features made him look exactly like she remembered—still the same young man from the human utopia who had braved the gunfire of Peanut Town with her.

It was only when he spoke that Lin Sanjiu suddenly felt a sense of unfamiliarity.

"Ji Shanqing must have told you that I would come to find you," said Yu Yuan—or perhaps it would be more accurate to say the former Yu Yuan and now Veda, in a very calm tone. "I thought you'd be more receptive to a familiar face."

Lin Sanjiu shivered. "How... why are you here now?"

Her mind was in turmoil. As she spoke, she couldn't help but glance back at the elevator. The digital display had just jumped to "59" and then paused.

Indeed, the grand prize had mentioned that Yu Yuan was on his way to see her, but Lin Sanjiu never expected him at this moment. Thinking back, the anomaly she had overlooked in the heat of the moment now made sense: When she posted a purchasing request on [eBay], one of her specifications, due to her unfamiliarity with the operation, was voice control. But which aircraft could accurately recognize external voice commands before a person even entered?

No aircraft would hand over its controls to a random external individual. The reason the aircraft had turned around to rescue her was solely because Yu Yuan was inside.

"To share what I've experienced during this time and clarify my intentions, I believe it would take at least fifteen to thirty minutes," Yu Yuan said, looking up at the elevator. "Would you like to talk now?"

This wasn't the same young man she had faced gunfire with. When Lin Sanjiu once lay beside him, holding her breath waiting for the enemy to appear, she had felt the warmth emanating from him, from his very soul. A fervent life force, filled with pursuit and desire.

Now, Yu Yuan was like a meticulously polished piece of metal, without a hint of warmth or heartbeat.

Lin Sanjiu had to constantly remind herself that he had joined Veda voluntarily to prevent her nails from piercing her palm in frustration.

She didn't know if she had been lost in thought for too long, but when something caught the corner of her eye, she jolted back to reality. Looking up, she realized that the elevator's display number had changed to "58". An anxiety gripped her—they needed Lily to stay on each floor for a duration much shorter than she had imagined. She had to hurry.

"You're right," Lin Sanjiu quickly replied. "I don't have time to talk right now. A friend I just met was taken away by the elevator, and I need to rescue her immediately."

Yu Yuan tilted his head slightly. For a split second, she had the illusion that he was about to smile and say, "You haven't changed at all." But the emotions that would lead him to utter such an exclamation had faded away, like a shadow receding with the mist, disappearing from the very end of his personality.

Yu Yuan simply responded in a calm tone, "Understood."

Lin Sanjiu exhaled shakily and looked around. The organizers behind this game seemed to want to consume the other three posthumans but were reluctant to let Lin Sanjiu approach their core. In this building, which could morph at will, force was of no use.

She glanced again at Yu Yuan. This wasn't Yu Yuan anymore, she had to remind herself. The one in front of her was a Veda devoid of emotions and feelings. She wasn't sure if she could still trust him, but she couldn't think of any other options.

"How much do you know about this world's game?" she asked.

Yu Yuan shook his head—a response Lin Sanjiu had anticipated. "Not much; it's not in our database."

"I thought so," Lin Sanjiu said with a faint, forced smile. "If you were to analyze this building now, it would probably take some time, wouldn't it? I have a way to rescue someone. Out of caution, I hope you can help me... for old times' sake."

"To me, there's no—"

"I know, no 'old times'," Lin Sanjiu interrupted, taking a deep breath. "Can you analyze me right now?"

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