Doomsday Wonderland

However, the door—

The thought had barely surged to the forefront of Lin Sanjiu's mind when a loud crash rang out from the front door, cracked open by someone. The person capable of breaking this door must be a game maker; the scream of Queen Nocturna followed. "Let me go! Let me go!" The second cry grew more distant, as if she was being dragged away.

Lin Sanjiu had always been particularly sensitive to a girl's cry for help. Before Yu Yuan could speak, she rushed towards the door of the mansion. Her leaps caused clouds of dust to billow behind her, and her figure had already darted forward by the time they settled. When she arrived, the door was half-closed by someone behind it. Without hesitation, she delivered a mighty kick, landing on the door with a force that felt as if it had struck a wooden door rather than the iron one it was. Even the sound of a body being slammed heavily against the wall behind was crystal clear.

That person fell to the ground without a cry of pain, a strange gurgling noise coming from his nose and throat. Lin Sanjiu dashed through the door, immediately spotting Queen Nocturna lying not far from the entrance. The girl seemed to have been attacked and was curled up on the floor, gasping and staring at Lin Sanjiu.

"Are you okay?" Lin Sanjiu blurted out, about to approach when Queen Nocturna suddenly looked up.

"Behind you!" she shrieked.

Danger?

Though no warning signal went off in Lin Sanjiu's mind, she instantly turned and lashed out with her [Tornado Whip] towards the door behind her. The lead-grey storm that erupted from the whip obscured everything in sight, swallowing the entire entrance hall with a roaring fury. Amidst the thunderous noise, she heard someone cry out in haste before being completely overwhelmed.

The sound seemed to come from the floor behind the door.

Lin Sanjiu's heart tightened, and she hastily withdrew her whip. Despite the fierce storm, the entrance hall remained mostly intact, as if a gust of night wind had merely rearranged the furniture. As the wind subsided, Queen Nocturna scurried over, joining Lin Sanjiu in staring at the motionless man on the ground and whispering, "Is he dead?" Her voice betrayed a hint of anticipation.

Lin Sanjiu glanced at her.

"Don't we need to question him about the apartment game?" she asked. "How can we ask if he's dead? That's why I held back."

"He just attacked me!" Queen Nocturna was even more enraged. "Why would you hold back? Without him, there's still me. Don't you have to rely on me to find your friends?"

Before Lin Sanjiu could respond, she had already moved closer, cautiously stopping near the fallen man. The fact that he was still breathing after Lin Sanjiu's attacks was a miracle—after all, this "Poe" was of little use to Lin Sanjiu, his abilities merely a hindrance.

Queen Nocturna looked down at his slowly heaving back, silently observing for a few seconds.

"Lin Sanjiu?" Yu Yuan finally arrived, calling from outside the door. "You guys..."

Lin Sanjiu had just turned her head towards the door when something caught her eye. In her peripheral vision, Queen Nocturna had suddenly produced a sharp knife and was plunging it into the man's back. Lin Sanjiu cried out and lunged forward, reaching for the descending blade. In terms of speed, Queen Nocturna was no match for Lin Sanjiu. With a clang, the knife flew out of her hand and landed on the ground.

Queen Nocturna glared at her, demanding, "What are you doing?"

"No, what are you doing?" Lin Sanjiu was almost amused by her anger. "What's going on? Why are you trying to kill him?"

"What's wrong with killing?" The girl's eyebrows rose in anger, her eyelids heavy. "Haven't you killed before?"

Yu Yuan stood outside the main door, peeking in a few times. He seemed entirely unmoved by the two's quarreling.

"Aren't you going to interrogate him?"

Queen Nocturna's face tightened, the corners of her mouth drooping. "He has no value for interrogation. Hurry up and get rid of him!"

The more she urged, the less Lin Sanjiu wanted to comply.

Since coming to this place and meeting these people, the growing doubt in her heart seemed to finally find a way to be confirmed. She picked the man up, giving him a once-over.

He might have genuinely fainted earlier, but Lin Sanjiu's handling made her realize that he was awake now. His eyes rolled under his eyelids but never opened.

Queen Nocturna seemed to misunderstand, a smile appearing on her face. " Hurry up. Then we can go find your friend."

She was dangling a carrot, but unfortunately, Lin Sanjiu was no donkey.

"Don't kill this man," Yu Yuan stated matter-of-factly from outside. "He is our source of cross-verification. I believe I know Queen Nocturna's plan now."

"What plan?" Lin Sanjiu asked without turning her head, keeping her eyes on the girl.

"You're going to listen to an object's nonsense?" Queen Nocturna yelled. "If you don't act, I won't force you. I don't have to put up with your attitude. Move aside, I'll leave right now!"

Her anger fell on deaf ears, evoking little response.

"Lord Tremors summoned text and left immediately; Queen Nocturna couldn't leave, so she removed her text," Yu Yuan said, standing at the door calmly. "This only means that the text summoned by these game makers affects themselves and us outsiders, the posthumans, but not other creators."

Lin Sanjiu looked at Edgar Allan Poe in her hand, then at Queen Nocturna.

"How ridiculous. Such a powerful ability that only affects oneself, do you think it's possible?" the girl said flatly.

"If that's not the case, why did you choose to let Lin Sanjiu attack Edgar Allan Poe?" Yu Yuan pointed to the man held by the collar. "Why did you stab Edgar Allan Poe yourself? You have a powerful text ability; why not use it on him?"

Without waiting for Queen Nocturna's reply, he continued ruthlessly, "Your summoned text only affects you, and there's one explanation for this setting: to prevent you from killing each other. I've been considering that you are all ordinary posthumans—too ordinary and weak, belonging to the most common and numerous batches in the doomsday universe. All of you suddenly receiving the same ability to manipulate text means this ability was given by some external force. And this external force does not wish to see you kill each other."

Queen Nocturna forgot to refute and just stared at Yu Yuan outside the door, at a loss for words.

"Their combat abilities are indeed quite average," Lin Sanjiu muttered. "If they were to kill each other in a brawl, they wouldn't inflict any widespread damage."

"Exactly. If two bears fight, they might both suffer and perish; if two chickens fight, there will just be feathers all over the place," Yu Yuan said. "These people have one function: to continuously create games. If they die, how can they create games?"

"So, her purpose is..." Lin Sanjiu glanced at the girl, beginning to understand.

"For some reason, she wants to kill the other game makers," Yu Yuan said. "When she saw you, she realized that you could be her fastest blade. None of these people would be able to stand in front of you."

Queen Nocturna stepped back several feet before stopping. "I told you, your combat abilities are useless here," she insisted, her neck stiffened. "If you don't believe me, just try attacking me."

As Yu Yuan had said, she indeed had great confidence. Had she used some method to ensure her own safety?

Lin Sanjiu said nothing but simply lifted her hand and lightly slapped Poe a few times.

"Open your eyes; I know you're awake," she said, shaking his collar. "Answer my questions, and we'll take care of your wounds."

Unexpectedly, the man suddenly twisted and struck at her wrist; although his movements were ordinary and slow, he didn't seem injured at all. Lin Sanjiu loosened her grip and then grabbed his collar again, only to realize that the man's target wasn't her hand, but his own collar.

With the sound of ripping fabric, he stumbled and leaned against the wall of the entrance hall. Lin Sanjiu shrugged, not pursuing him, and let go of the torn piece of cloth in her hand.

"Did you use some kind of healing text?" she asked.

The man took a couple of deep breaths and rubbernecked between Queen Nocturna and Lin Sanjiu. "Where did you get this person?" he asked Queen Nocturna. "You pretended to be attacked and screamed. I thought you were going crazy, but you were planning to have her kill me?"

Queen Nocturna's face turned beet red. She whipped her head around and snapped at Lin Sanjiu, "I saved your life, and this is how you repay me?"

Lin Sanjiu valued loyalty but not to the extent of being manipulated. She surveyed the interior of the mansion and ordered Poe, "Close the modifications."

Poe cooperated this time, clapping his hands, and the mansion, dark clouds, and wild grassland all disappeared. In a large gray concrete room that looked like a banquet hall, he and Queen Nocturna looked like plucked chickens, with a somewhat defeated and resentful appearance.

"What is the origin of your abilities?" Yu Yuan asked.

Neither answered, glancing at each other instead.

Poe suddenly smiled, unzipping his jacket. "It's too late. You can't do anything to me now."

Beneath his coat, a dense net of tiny glowing characters floated. Words like "protection" and "armor" formed a layer of mail under his clothing.

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