Chapter 1148: The Dramatic Encounter

By the time Lin Sanjiu had the opportunity to grasp her surroundings, the skinny girl had already navigated her and Ya Jiang through four separate black mists. Realizing that their long legs could potentially slip out of the darkness, the girl became exceedingly cautious. She resorted to dragging only one person at a time, ensuring she didn"t lose control of both. As Mrs. Manas had noted, as long as even the smallest part of their body, such as a single strand of hair, remained engulfed in darkness, they couldn"t even manage an independent blink.

Their intervals in the darkness were brief, lasting no more than two to three minutes each time. The skinny girl seemed wary of lingering in the dark too long. Upon entering each new shroud of darkness, she would occasionally glance at a colorful plastic digital watch on her wrist, timing their stay precisely. When the allotted time elapsed, she would part the darkness as if opening a door, revealing a new location each time: sometimes a street with a zebra crossing, other times a small gra.s.sy patch.

Despite spending several minutes in these dark interludes, their actual progress was minimal.

Lin Sanjiu observed meticulously, making mental notes of all she could discern with her rigid gaze. After about ten minutes of shuttling between darkness and reality, the skinny girl"s breath grew labored, yet they had only traversed a mere two streets.

Then, unexpectedly, an incident occurred at the end of the second street.

As the black mist dissipated, the skinny girl emerged as usual, turned, bent down, and grabbed Lin Sanjiu"s arm in one fluid motion, utterly unprepared for any sudden appearance of lava.

Just as Lin Sanjiu was being pulled toward the next black mist, following their usual routine, she heard the skinny girl step on something with a metallic clang. Amidst a startled "ah," the girl was suddenly jerked sideways, instinctively reaching for anything to steady herself. Lin Sanjiu"s limp arms, however, offered no support. The skinny girl"s grip slipped, leaving trails of blood on Lin Sanjiu"s skin, and she fell heavily to the ground.

"Why is there a pit here?"

Lin Sanjiu could roughly guess what had transpired, thanks to the skinny girl"s habit of talking to herself. She then heard the skinny girl gasp softly as she rolled up her trousers.

Great, she fell harder than she thought.

Lying askew on the ground, Lin Sanjiu"s gaze landed on her lower leg. When she was pulled just a moment ago, her body had tilted, causing her lower leg and ankle to slip out of the darkness. The skinny girl, having checked her injuries immediately upon falling, was now inspecting her wounds with confidence — her toes were still partly shrouded in the darkness. Only a small portion of her toes remained in the dark. If she could just fully emerge from the darkness, Lin Sanjiu knew she could activate Higher Consciousness, or even [Planar World], among other abilities.

The sole exception was her ability [No Coincidence, No Story]. It had already taken effect: as the skinny girl was about to step out of the mist, Lin Sanjiu had turned, placing her right shoulder into the newly opened darkness. After that, there hadn"t been a chance to maintain her balance, much less deactivate [No Coincidence, No Story].

But what kind of coincidence could possibly save both her and Ya Jiang?

It would be perfect if Hei Zeji heard her scream and came to their aid, but Lin Sanjiu knew such a coincidence was far-fetched, almost unrealistic. As she muttered to herself, her thoughts were unexpectedly interrupted. It was as if the universe had finally heard her plea. Just as she was pondering Hei Zeji"s whereabouts, the sound of footsteps echoed from a nearby street corner, rapidly closing in from half a block away.

The skinny girl quickly yanked down her trousers, concealing her bloodied leg, and stood up, turning towards the sound of the footsteps. There wasn"t enough time to seek refuge in the darkness, as the person was approaching too rapidly. Whoever the person was, Lin Sanjiu couldn"t see them, her view blocked by the skinny girl"s legs.

"What do you want?" The skinny girl"s voice was tinged with tension. Could it be Hei Zeji?

In the silence that followed, Lin Sanjiu waited with bated breath for several seconds until a sweet voice chuckled, saying, "Illegal immigrants?" Her heart sank at the sound.

The new arrival was unmistakably a registered player. Among the registered players in this area, other than Lin Sanjiu, there was only one other female—Bonnie Bunny.

"What do you mean?" The skinny girl"s confusion was evident.

"Oh, it"s nothing," the sweet voice replied, its tone as soothing as cool honey drizzled over rice cakes on a summer day, almost irresistibly inviting further listening. "I"d like to propose a deal to you. Is that okay?"

"I have no such intentions," the skinny girl responded rigidly.

"Are you not companions with the woman behind you?" If this sweet-voiced individual was indeed Bonnie Bunny, she couldn"t be more than twenty years old—or at least, not more than what twenty would mean for a normal person. In the world of posthumans, where metabolism was far more vigorous than in regular humans, age was a concept that held less significance.

The skinny girl remained silent.

"I recall there was a man with her. What happened to him? Is he not here?" The sweet voice seemed to scrutinize Lin Sanjiu, and she could feel a warm gaze lingering on her face. "Are you using a sedative on her? Well, it doesn"t matter. Why not consider my offer? I a.s.sure you, you"ll be rewarded handsomely."

"I refuse," the skinny girl stated firmly without a moment"s hesitation.

In a world beyond the Twelve Worlds, it was a rarity for two strangers to successfully negotiate a deal, especially when it involved Special Items. The abundance and variety of Special Items meant you could never be sure whether the item you just traded for wouldn"t turn on you, kill you, and then return to its original owner along with your possessions. Lin Sanjiu had heard many such urban legends among posthumans.

"You don"t even know what I want," the sweet voice entreated, and it seemed that few could resist her appeal. "Just hear me out. It won"t do you any harm, right?"

Lin Sanjiu found it puzzling. Bonnie Bunny, who was rumored to rival Puppeteer in strength, was this affable?

If it were Puppeteer demanding something, he would likely intimidate the person into quick compliance; who would dare negotiate with him?

Driven by curiosity, the skinny girl asked in a tone that sounded almost as if she were inquiring about an exotic zoo animal, "Alright, what kind of deal do you propose?"

"Hand over the woman behind you. Keep her in that paralyzed state," Bonnie Bunny"s sweet voice said, her laugh tinged with a youthful glee as if she had just received a gift. "In return, I won"t kill you."

The skinny girl appeared momentarily taken aback by this proposition and fell silent.

"If you doubt my capability to kill you, be a.s.sured," Bonnie Bunny, whose face could not be seen, said earnestly, "It would only take a few seconds for me to handle you."

Her tone had s.h.i.+fted, resembling that of a salesperson promoting a product: "Be a.s.sured, using this product just thrice a week will solve your acne problem."

"You... you..."

"But I have my own life philosophy," Bonnie Bunny said, sighing melodiously. "I enjoy scenarios br.i.m.m.i.n.g with drama. This world is more intriguing and suspenseful with its twists, possibilities, and surprises, don"t you think? For instance, you thought I was pleading with you for a deal, but soon, you"ll be the one begging me. It"s somewhat ironic, but it adds to the intrigue. If I resorted to violence and force for everything, wouldn"t that be as mundane as tomato sauce on chips?"

The skinny girl seemed overwhelmed by shock and fear, unable to speak. Lin Sanjiu could entirely comprehend her rigid reaction. Bonnie Bunny"s words seemed to fill the air with a suffocating, oppressive darkness, making one"s skin crawl and growing increasingly intense and burdensome. While Puppeteer instilled a fear akin to facing an abyss, Bonnie Bunny"s presence felt like countless tons of dense sulfuric acid looming overhead, ready to cascade down at any moment.

In the face of such overwhelming power disparity, there is no need for actual combat for posthumans to understand the imminent danger they face.

"How about it?" Bonnie Bunny"s voice maintained its crisp and refres.h.i.+ng tone. "Exchanging a stranger"s life for your own, isn"t that a fair trade? Oh, and one more thing. You must leave here immediately and head to the mushrooms to spend the remainder of your days. Consider yourself lucky; you can enjoy a hearty meal there."

"I... I don"t understand what you"re talking about..." The skinny girl"s lack of knowledge was even greater than Lin Sanjiu had antic.i.p.ated. "I was just teleported here yesterday..."

"You managed to survive a day!" Bonnie Bunny"s voice carried a note of surprise. "How did you manage that?"

Her question, though laced with apparent interest, revealed that she wasn"t genuinely curious about how the skinny girl had managed to avoid the lava for a day. The skinny girl sensed this too; she swallowed hard, moistened her throat, and then asked with some difficulty, "Can you guarantee that you won"t hurt me?"

Given that she and Lin Sanjiu were strangers, with no connection and a touch of animosity between them, there was no compelling reason for her to provoke Bonnie Bunny on Lin Sanjiu"s behalf. After all, for gathering information, Ya Jiang, still concealed in the darkness, was an option.

"Of course, I swear," Bonnie Bunny said, her tone dripping with delight, savoring her transition from being the beggar to the begged.

"She won"t be able to move for the next five minutes. Can I leave now?" The skinny girl bent down, dragging Lin Sanjiu a few steps closer to Bonnie Bunny. Lin Sanjiu"s toes had entirely left the darkness, but the skinny girl avoided looking at her. Despite the tightness in her heart, she kept lying motionless on the ground.

Bonnie Bunny, oblivious to Lin Sanjiu"s feet now being intact, probably didn"t realize that Lin Sanjiu"s toes were supposed to be "nonexistent."

"Go ahead," Bonnie Bunny said with a smile. "Walk in that direction... and leave this city."

"There"s one more thing," the skinny girl interrupted suddenly, her voice harsh and firm. "I don"t like drama."

With a swift sidestep, she vanished into the black mist. In that instant, Ya Jiang fell from midair, plummeting to the ground.