Doomsday Wonderland

Lin Sanjiu looked at the text vest under the jacket, raised one eyebrow, and folded her arms.

"That's it?"

These words were clearly aimed at Edgar Allan Poe, but they seemed to suddenly sting Queen Nocturna. The girl almost jumped on the spot, shouting at her, "What do you know? Do you think this is like your so-called protective items? Do you think you can resist text power? Don't get me wrong; I don't care about combat power at all, so I didn't bother to train it. In terms of power, you know nothing."

Edgar Allan Poe, who had nearly been killed by her a moment ago, now zipped up his clothes again, and nodded sympathetically.

"Let me explain to you," he said, standing several steps away from Queen Nocturna. "The text power we master is absolute. Do you know what absolute power means? There is no strength comparison, no loopholes. My protective text is absolute; you can't break it, nor get around it."

Compared to the Lord Tremors and Queen Nocturna, Edgar Allan Poe presented a whole new level of discomfort. Perhaps feeling that his defense against Lin Sanjiu and successful escape proved his excellence, his words carried a sense of superiority, a know-it-all attitude. "If you cooperate, I might consider helping you understand this power."

Lin Sanjiu almost found it funny.

Before she could respond, Yu Yuan, standing at the door, said, "What you said is not the whole truth. You're not allowed to kill each other, so protective text power is absolute; I believe that. But attack text, I don't believe it's the same. Otherwise, if you each wrote that you're invincible, how could you decide who wins and who loses?"

"Who are you to stand at the door and talk nonsense?" Edgar Allan Poe said. "I see you're not even that strong yourself."

Lin Sanjiu exhaled impatiently. "Fine, I get it, my power is nothing. I can't break your protection." Then, gently, "Can you help dispel my doubts?"

Edgar Allan Poe blinked. "Dispense? What do you mean?"

"No, dispel my doubts. Can you clarify something for me?"

"Oh, you misspoke." Edgar Allan Poe nodded, looked at Queen Nocturna, and said to her, "Your plan was actually not bad. It's a pity you chose to mess with the wrong guy, and your execution was flawed. If you and I work together, the plan can still continue."

He chuckled and added, "You young girls think things through and recognize them inadequately."

Seeing Queen Nocturna's silent, sullen face, Edgar Allan Poe made the decision for her. He smiled generously at Lin Sanjiu and said, "Say what you want to ask. The few of us can cooperate openly and honestly, no problem."

Lin Sanjiu believed in cooperation between people, but she only sneered in her heart. "The cooperation you're talking about is using me to kill other game makers, isn't it?"

Edgar Allan Poe smiled, brushing his hair back. "You don't need to make things sound nasty just because you're at a disadvantage. After all, if you don't help yourself, you'll be condemned by heaven and earth."

Lin Sanjiu tilted her head and said in a friendly tone, "What if I don't agree?"

"You have to even if you don't want to," Queen Nocturna interjected. "Who saved your life? Don't you care about your friends?"

"She has friends in our hands?" Edgar Allan Poe said, quick to pick up this detail.

Queen Nocturna didn't have a chance to respond. As soon as Edgar Allan Poe's voice fell, a tornado rose from the ground of this huge room—a dark gray, violent howling airstream, which swallowed the two of them in an instant. However, they were protected by words, and even though they were invisible, they were unharmed, faintly shouting in the storm, "What are you doing?!"

Lin Sanjiu wished they would scream more. With a step forward, she entered deep into the storm, where it seemed even the air had turned into a thick flow of mud and stones. Though her vision was affected, Poe's repeated shouts of "You're wasting your effort!" and "You'll regret not listening!" became her guiding signs.

When she raised her hand to retract the [Tornado Whip], the storm gradually dissipated, revealing the room once again. The originally empty concrete room had not changed due to the tornado; the only things tormented were the people. Queen Nocturna was unscathed but disheveled, sitting in a corner with a face full of fear, panting heavily.

Compared to her, Poe was a bit unluckier.

He was now lying on the ground, arms and legs sprawled. Thick, heavy metal rings had appeared around his neck, wrists, waist, thighs, and other places, pressing him firmly to the floor in a twisted position. Clearly struggling to understand his situation, his face contorted as he asked, "What's going on? What did you just do?"

Lin Sanjiu's tone was still friendly as she said, "I didn't attack you. I just restricted your freedom. Although you can't be injured by the tornado, you can't stand or walk in the storm with your abilities. So, wherever your body touched the ground, I extended a metal ring from the floor to trap you. Don't feel down; even if you hadn't fallen, I could still trap you against the wall."

To ensure the metal rings weren't considered an attack, she carefully left a tiny gap between them and the skin when using [The Power Of Word Picture]. Since they didn't even touch, they didn't trigger the protective power of the words. It seems her guess was correct.

Poe stared in disbelief, unable to comprehend for a moment. "There... there's a way like this?"

"The power of protection is absolute, but there are many ways to subdue someone without attacking," Lin Sanjiu said, glancing at Queen Nocturna. The latter was standing near the door, seemingly unwilling to stay yet afraid to risk running past Yu Yuan. Her lips were trembling slightly, one hand on the other's wrist, ready to act.

"You weren't surprised when Queen Nocturna wanted to kill you earlier, and you immediately wanted to join her in killing others. Interestingly, she wasn't surprised either," Lin Sanjiu said as she sat down, glancing at the man on the ground who looked like a dead fish. "You've both been harboring thoughts of destroying each other for a while but lacked the means. Why?"

"There's no need to hide anything. I can tell you right now," Poe answered, blinking rapidly. "The more game makers in an area, the fewer games each person can create. It's simple; the total area available for game sites is limited. More creators mean less space. Once the games are full, we'll be sent out, from creators to participants. We all want to write more games, stay here longer... If I were the only game maker here, wouldn't I be able to stay safe until my time is up?"

The amount of information revealed in a few short sentences left Lin Sanjiu wondering where to start.

"You'll be sent out again?" she said, unable to understand. "You have to participate in the games you wrote?"

If being sent out doesn't keep you from being caught in the games, why create such cruel games? Even if thinking of their own future, they should develop some gentle, boring prize games, like rewarding a stuffed toy to whoever was most polite.

Was there a requirement?

"You're wrong; let me explain." Poe's arrogance remained despite being trapped on the ground. "I won't enter the games I create. Why work so hard? Even if I create a paradise, I can't enter it."

"So, you create a hell for others?"

"No, that's a bit harsh," Edgar Allan Poe said with difficulty, turning his head slightly towards Queen Nocturna. "You should also tell her that when we create games, we usually follow templates. We never intended to create any hell. After all, we're not anti-society, right?"

"Yeah, there are templates," Queen Nocturna replied grumpily.

"How long have you been here? How did you become game makers?" Lin Sanjiu still had a bellyful of questions.

"I've been here for three months," Poe said, seeming particularly honest and civilized when restrained. He twisted his wrists. "It's too tight."

Queen Nocturna, after noticing Lin Sanjiu's glance, sullenly responded, "Same here."

"How did you get here?"

Poe did not answer, and Queen Nocturna waited a few seconds before reluctantly saying, "I don't know."

"You mean to say, you woke up, and you were here?" Lin Sanjiu asked.

"Believe it or not, that's how it is," Queen Nocturna snapped.

Lin Sanjiu looked at her and raised her eyebrows, about to ask again, when suddenly, Yu Yuan at the door turned his head. He had been on lookout by the door and seemed to have caught something from the corner of his eye. He turned and signaled to Lin Sanjiu. "He's writing again."

Lin Sanjiu jumped up, and in her haste, noticed a few more characters behind Poe. Her heart gave a lurch, and she couldn't figure out how he could have written the characters while physically restrained. As she quickly retreated several steps, she realized she was unharmed and saw the characters on the opposite side: "Personal Freedom."

Though the metal rings were still present, Poe managed to scramble up from the ground and rushed towards the door. With absolute protection and personal freedom, Yu Yuan couldn't stop him and was knocked out of the way. Queen Nocturna also came to her senses and hurriedly followed, rushing out the door.

Lin Sanjiu was, of course, much faster than they were, but before she could move, a mountain of characters suddenly rose in front of her, blocking her way. Though the view was suddenly filled with a continuous range of mountains and vast landscapes, she could still hear the sound of the iron door being closed heavily, separating her and Yu Yuan.

"Quickly notify the others," Poe's voice faintly echoed from behind the mountains. "Tell them that someone is trying to prevent the new game's launch. We must join forces to eliminate these two outsiders!"

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