Chapter 1216: Chapter of Confusion
Lin Sanjiu stood still, still holding Bohemia"s robe tightly, the ta.s.sels lightly brus.h.i.+ng against her knees in the darkness; the scent in her nose was undoubtedly Puppeteer"s unique fragrance.
"Bohemia?" she called out tentatively, but there was no response. She tried again, "Puppeteer?"
Regardless of whom she called, there was no reaction from the person she caught, not even a twitch. Instead, Hei Zeji"s impatient voice cut through the silence, "What are you doing? We need light!"
Lin Sanjiu couldn"t explain now, so she quickly searched through her card inventory. The grand prize gave her many flashlights, but unfortunately, she lost one every time she used it. Now she didn"t even know if she had any left. Just then, there was a "snap" sound not far away, and a light suddenly dispelled the darkness and filled her vision.
The sudden and dazzling light from the absolute darkness made her squint. Subconsciously, she lowered her head, trying to raise her hand to s.h.i.+eld her eyes—it was in this instant that she suddenly froze.
The person standing in front of her was very tall, much taller than Bohemia, but they were wearing Bohemia"s robe. It couldn"t be Puppeteer either because the robe clearly outlined the silhouette of a head. Beneath Bohemia"s robe, a long piece of cloth covered the person from head to toe.
Who did Red Face catch?
Lin Sanjiu stepped back two steps, her gaze still fixed on the person in front of her, and even forgot to look around until Hei Zeji suddenly yelled, "Stop!" Startled, she stopped her feet just in time.
"What"s going on?" she murmured, turning her head, and her gaze fell on the reason Hei Zeji told her to stop.
At first, she had no idea what she was looking at—no, she should say that even after staring at it for several seconds, Lin Sanjiu still didn"t understand. There were too many questions exploding in her mind, to the point where she didn"t know where to start and even wondered if she was under an illusion.
The floor under her feet was ordinary, no different from any other place in the hospital, but about several inches outside her heel, the floor seemed to have melted like b.u.t.ter. It lost its original shape and texture, appearing like a swirling pile of sand dunes, yielding and retreating before the intruder. Above the floor...
In order to describe it, Lin Sanjiu had to search her mind for suitable words.
The NPC"s voice, trembling slightly, brought her back from her thoughts, "I understand this is hard to comprehend, but I haven"t lied to you. This is indeed where the points of the deceased players are stored."
The room was shockingly large. When she stood at the entrance and looked inside, the wall at the other end was no bigger than a fingernail. Instead of calling it a room, it would be more accurate to call it a giant warehouse. The room was filled with tall, white tree-like objects made of an unknown material. Each white tree extended many branches, all arranged neatly in a row until the end of the room, like an orchard covered in white snow. The only empty s.p.a.ce without white trees was the area near the entrance where they were standing.
Sitting below the wall with a calm expression, the NPC explained, "Each branch represents a deceased player. As I mentioned, if Gardenia"s theory about a hidden way to earn points is correct, I can make an exception and retrieve the points for you."
At this point, whether they could obtain the points of the deceased players had become the last question in Lin Sanjiu"s mind. The sight of the white tree forest in front of her and the strange thing not far behind her was far more extraordinary.
She stared at the tall figure next to her, still covered in a cloth robe, and then gazed at the strange thing behind her for a while. It was clearly something that shouldn"t exist in this place, as it pushed the floor open like waves. To describe it, it was like someone had taken a piece of a jungle night and squeezed it into this hospital s.p.a.ce. Thick layers of branches emerged from above the floor, and when they got closer, they could even smell the faint scent of gra.s.s and soil from the forest. At the border where it met the hospital, the light and matter seemed to be slightly distorted, blurred, and oscillating, like one illusion overlapping another.
"What, what is this..." she whispered, as if afraid to startle the thing.
"What do you think it is?" the NPC asked in return.
Staring blankly, Lin Sanjiu finally said, "This is another pocket dimension."
The NPC clapped his hands twice, his applause startling her so much she nearly jumped. "You guessed it right," he praised. "There"s no basis for your conjecture here, yet you guessed correctly. It"s impressive!"
It was really a pocket dimension? What was going on? Why was there another pocket dimension inside a pocket dimension?
Her mind was almost exploding with questions. Just then, Hei Zeji made a deep sound in his throat, but Lin Sanjiu didn"t understand its meaning. She turned her head in the direction of the sound and finally got a clear view of him.
At first glance, he didn"t look any different from before they entered the room. He stood on the other side of the wall, arms folded, and still had the same annoyed expression. But after a closer look, Lin Sanjiu suddenly froze.
Behind Hei Zeji, the same distorted light and shadow appeared faintly, but the color tone flashed by too quickly to determine what was wrapped inside the light and shadow. The scale of that thing seemed to be smaller than the one next to Lin Sanjiu. It was almost blocked by Hei Zeji"s body—but upon closer inspection, she felt a chill in her heart.
He wasn"t just standing there.
The pocket dimension had caught his ankle.
"Don"t come any closer," Hei Zeji said, his face stern. He seemed to have guessed what she wanted to do. "This pocket dimension behind me is constantly trying to break free."
"What do you mean?" Lin Sanjiu rubbed her temples hard. "You... are you using your body to block it... from squeezing out?"
Hei Zeji snorted noncommittally. "You don"t have to come over. Who is that person?"
He never liked others helping him. Thus, Lin Sanjiu followed his lead and turned to look at the tall figure under the robe, feeling completely lost like never before. There were too many questions, and it seemed like it didn"t matter where she started to solve them. She walked up, grabbed the robe, and said in a low voice, "I don"t know either... let"s find out."
She pulled the fringe robe belonging to Bohemia off the person, and another long cloth slipped down with it. The person underneath trembled slightly, as if wanting to move but holding back.
Under the two layers of fabric, Lin Sanjiu"s gaze fell on an empty shoulder.
Above the collarbone, there was nothing.
Below the collarbone, the body was wearing a hospital gown just like the other patients. The gown was loosely draped, and she could see the tight black leather underneath.
"Isn"t he alive?" Gardenia said with surprise, standing next to the NPC. "I saw movement in the net before."
Lin Sanjiu felt like she was dreaming, but she quickly threw the robe away. She reached out and held the person"s hand—indeed, it was Puppeteer"s hand. She remembered how pale his skin was, with blue veins on the back of his hand resembling the veins on a leaf. His fingers were cold and thin, only bones remaining, almost like fragile ice when not exerting any force.
But—but—
She quickly picked up Bohemia"s robe and covered Puppeteer"s body once again. As expected, just like before, the fabric fell along the shape of a head above the apparently empty shoulder.
"Who is that?" Hei Zeji asked with a slightly irritated tone, disliking the confusion. "Does he even have a head?"
"Can you hear me?" Lin Sanjiu stared at Puppeteer"s body without blinking. "You... are you Puppeteer?"
The person under the fabric raised a hand. Under the gaze of the few people present, that hand swung left and right.
"Not... not Puppeteer?" Lin Sanjiu"s forehead was covered with sweat. The person clearly could hear her; otherwise, he wouldn"t have raised his hand in response. But if he wasn"t Puppeteer, then who could he be? No, if he really were Puppeteer, how could he walk around without a head? "Then, who are you?"
The person under the fabric raised both hands. This time, he extended both arms up and bent his wrists inwards—an action that Puppeteer wouldn"t do even if it killed him. Lin Sanjiu felt her heart sink. At this moment, she realized that this person was indeed not Puppeteer.
What was going on?
"What do you mean?" she murmured. "Are you gesturing something... the letter "M"?"
As soon as she said that, she almost choked on her own saliva.
"M—Magus!" Lin Sanjiu jumped on the spot. "Magus!"
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