Chapter 1220: The NPC"s Plan

The former guard"s ability was truly the most incredible in the doomsday.

Lin Sanjiu rushed over and grabbed the former guard"s arm, pulling him out from under the table. In his terrified state, he made a sound like a quacking duck. She didn"t explain much but just pushed him towards Bohemia, shouting, "Take him! I"ll go find Puppeteer!"

As soon as she mentioned Puppeteer, Bohemia looked as if a needle had p.r.i.c.ked her. All her courage seemed to vanish. "Is... is the big boss also here?"

"Didn"t you throw your robe over his head?" Lin Sanjiu asked.

Bohemia appeared even more perplexed than Lin Sanjiu. Amidst the chaos, she stammered, "N-no... how could I possibly..."

Now was not the time for them to sit down and talk things out. Lin Sanjiu scanned her surroundings and finally caught a glimpse of Puppeteer amidst the shaking, cracking, and converging chaos. Magus had temporarily taken control of the body, but she clearly couldn"t adapt to the rapidly changing environment. She stumbled clumsily, clutching the notebook in her arms. If it weren"t for Hei Zeji standing firmly in place, creating air vortexes to push her away from danger and pull her close to safety, she would likely have been swallowed up by the constantly s.h.i.+fting pocket dimension a long time ago.

"Wait for me," Lin Sanjiu said as she jumped onto the table where the former guard had been hiding. Using it as a springboard, she leaped towards Puppeteer and shouted, "Grab my hand!"

Magus was able to do this much, at the very least.

The thin hand clutched Lin Sanjiu"s tightly, and she pulled his body back, wrapping her arm around his chest and rus.h.i.+ng back in Bohemia"s direction. Bohemia, pale-faced, subconsciously stepped behind the former guard and struggled to speak.

Lin Sanjiu patted her, using the arm that hadn"t grown back yet. "Stop staring, and hurry up!"

Only when the robe slipped off Magus"s head did Bohemia realize that something was wrong with Puppeteer. She snapped out of it and quickly caught up with Lin Sanjiu, running while shouting, "I figured out what happened!"

"What happened?"

"After we separated, before I even reached the utility room, that red-faced fly ambushed me. Do you think I would let him catch me?" Bohemia, who had been a notable figure back in the day, was still nimble on her feet. "I managed to escape, but that paint bucket lid continued chasing me. While running, I saw a weirdo in a bedsheet walking awkwardly. I... I just..."

Her voice weakened at this point. Lin Sanjiu was concerned that her foot might have gotten stuck in a crevice. She turned around and saw Bohemia pouting, looking like she was about to cry. "I just... kicked him down and tossed my robe over him."

Alright, that was another thing Puppeteer didn"t need to know.

Just as she sighed in her heart, a loud voice came from not far away between the white trees, "I"m over here!"

Holding onto their human package, the two of them quickly jumped into the white tree grove. It was much more stable here than in the area invaded by the pocket dimensions. At least they didn"t have to worry about deep cracks opening under their feet. The legless NPC sat beside a white tree, sweating profusely, but there was no sign of Gardenia. "I didn"t expect such a big reaction... So, he turned out to be alive? Great, we can continue with our plan!"

Bohemia threw the bewildered former guard in front of the fatty. The former guard took a few seconds to grasp his role before turning back and saying, "Y-you will bring me out, right?"

Lin Sanjiu, feeling some sympathy for him, said with utmost sincerity, "Of course."

With her a.s.surance, the former guard, still seeming somewhat doubtful, said in a low voice, "Well... I think the hidden way is the [Hospital Pa.s.s]. It"s the only item in the hospital where the buying and selling prices are the same. Meaning, unlike organs, you can buy it for the same price you can sell it for..."

His voice was faint, intermittent amidst the constant rumbling and trembling of the room, making it challenging to hear him clearly. However, the NPC already seemed to comprehend what he was about to say next. He waved his hands and said, "Yes, yes! I"ll get some points. Continue!"

The NPC reached out and wiped something from a white tree branch and then turned to Lin Sanjiu, asking, "Who are the points for?"

As a fugitive, Lin Sanjiu couldn"t use the points. With Bohemia"s status currently precarious, they could only give the points to one person. Lin Sanjiu pushed Puppeteer forward and said, "They"re for him!"

The NPC seemed to only care about completing the transfer to establish a connection to the hospital room, no matter who got the points. He scrutinized the figure before him. "Puppeteer?" Regardless of whether a player was missing a head or how well they were covered, strangely, these NPCs could still recognize them. "Here you go!"

Taking points from one dead person probably wouldn"t be enough. Lin Sanjiu took a step forward, intending to urge the NPC to give more, but she noticed that Magus"s notebook was on the ground, neglected. She picked it up and quickly scanned the pages, then forgot the words she intended to say to the NPC.

The handwriting was crooked as if written by a child who was just learning to write. It covered a large piece of white paper. Magus had put in a lot of effort to write down the few words: "Someone"s escaped... Don"t trust him."

The first two words were probably written when she had just sat down, intending to tell Lin Sanjiu what had happened, specifically how Bohemia had run up from behind Puppeteer. The last three words, however, were a warning Magus added later.

There could only be one person Magus was warning Lin Sanjiu not to trust.

Lin Sanjiu threw the notebook aside and shot her right hand forward like lightning. The NPC was still muttering, "I"ll get you some more points." Just as Lin Sanjiu"s right hand was about to reach Puppeteer"s collar, the NPC suddenly grabbed Puppeteer"s robe, hurling him towards the branches of the white tree. Countless branches resembling hard, sharp deer antlers stood rigidly in midair, seemingly waiting to pierce Puppeteer"s body. Magus was unable to react in time, so Puppeteer"s body tilted and fell into the tangle of branches.

Lin Sanjiu"s fingertips grazed Puppeteer"s clothes. Bohemia was even further away, making it unlikely for her to catch him in time. Just as he was about to fall into the tangle of branches, Lin Sanjiu had a brilliant idea, and a whip appeared in her hand. The hospital had taken away the functionality of the [Tornado Whip] as collateral, but the whip itself was still there. Like a rope, it swiftly extended and wrapped around Puppeteer"s waist, pulling him back forcefully.

Bohemia leaped out from the side. She raised her hand and scattered a string of beads, showering them all over the NPC. Lin Sanjiu turned her eyes and realized only then that the NPC had also grabbed the former guard"s collar, catching him unaware, and pushed him toward several sharp white branches. The NPC raised his hand to s.h.i.+eld himself from the beads, in the process freeing the former guard, who used the opportunity to roll and crawl back to Lin Sanjiu"s side.

After saving both of them from a dangerous situation, Lin Sanjiu glanced up only to see the NPC retreating far into the white tree grove. His legs were gone, but it didn"t hinder his movements at all. Using his hands to support himself on the ground, he swiftly moved back about ten meters.

"What are you doing?" Lin Sanjiu shouted angrily. "Have you been misleading us all along? Do you want to kill us?"

"I haven"t misled you," the NPC said with a gasp. He leaned against a white tree, and the sharp branches seemed to pierce into his flesh. "Everything I told you was true. I just left out a few parts."

Magus struggled to stand steadily on her feet and pointed towards where the NPC was standing, but it was unclear what she meant.

"This hospital can no longer withstand those two invading pocket dimensions," the NPC said, gesturing with his several chins towards where the others were standing. "After I consume a part of their power and gain control over them, they will become weaker. How can they resist those two pocket dimensions? Don"t you want to let your friends escape?"

Lin Sanjiu stared at him in disbelief.

"If you want your friends to escape, you need to let me—that is, the hospital—have enough power to swallow those two pocket dimensions. To have power, you need to have nourishment first. If you don"t want to sacrifice the headless man, it"s okay. You"ve met that gamer before, right? Give him to me, and you and your friends can leave here."