The Twelve Worlds Centrum was a consortium of twelve gigantic, fortified worlds chosen, built, and modified over generations of posthumans. Nobody knew if these twelve worlds were geographically and dimensionally close to each other. There isn't any real alliance between them. In the early days, some large worlds didn't even know each other's existence.
Due to their natural resources and level of development and modifications, they were gradually grouped and named Twelve Worlds Centrum. Even though this wasn't Lin Sanjiu's first meeting with a resident from the Twelve Worlds Centrum, she was very curious and had many questions. Unfortunately, it was difficult to ask them these questions now.
Thankfully, Rena was very proud of her hometown. Without asking much, Rena chirped non-stop about her world like a little bird, "Red Nautilus isn't the largest world among the Twelve Worlds Centrum, but it is at least in the middle in terms of geographical area. In the beginning, the ecosystem of this world was invaded by some extraterrestrial organism called red nautilus. It caused a mass extinction of animals and other organisms. Naturally, humans couldn't survive, but now... Hey, why are you hitting me?"
"You talk too much," Reno glared, "who wants to hear your history lesson?"
Lin Sanjiu quickly spelled: ME.
Instead of continuing, Rena narrowed her eyes and giggled, showing Lin Sanjiu a serves-you-right expression. Once again, Lin Sanjiu felt the frustration from the [Did you check your almanac before leaving your house today?] curse.
"Let's get back to the main topic. How did you become this?" Reno still had his mind on the issue. "We have been here in this world for a couple of months for our training. We haven't seen any exceptions. If a person is totally corroded by dark matter or somehow killed by the duoluozhongs here, there are only two outcomes: that person dies or becomes a ghost. After becoming a duoluozhong, that person knows nothing but deception, murder, and threats. This is the first time I've seen someone in your form..."
The brain nodded a few times, but the siblings didn't know what it was trying to express.
This also stirred Rena's curiosity. She approached Lin Sanjiu, acting as if she wanted to look out of the window, and crept up behind the brain. Rena stretched out her finger, trying to touch it. However, Lin Sanjiu could sense the area around her like it was part of her current 'body,' so when Rena turned around, Lin Sanjiu had already floated upward to avoid her finger.
"Are you a guy?" Rena stared. "Why won't you let me touch you?"
Lin Sanjiu didn't know how to reply. After thinking for a second, she spelled out: FEMALE. NO. Meaning that even though she was a female, you shouldn't go about touching people without their consent.
Rena fully understood and sneered. She went back to her seat while her brother laughed. Lin Sanjiu floated closer to Reno, who seemed easier to deal with, and spelled: TALK ABOUT KISARAGI.
"Do you mean... you want me to tell you more about Kisaragi Station?" Reno said, rubbing his smooth chin. The brain nodded as expected. "Well... This world seems effortless to us because we did our research and came prepared. You asked the right person. Huh? Why the question mark? Of course, we got information from people who've been to this world! In any case, you have to be very careful when you're in a B-level world. You shouldn't... Even though I don't know what happened to you, it can't be good."
When Lin Sanjiu heard that this was a B-level world, she was shocked but then became frustrated again.
"I guess you already know about the corrosive nature of dark matter here, but that is a small problem. Even though most posthumans don't develop the dark matter resistance ability, you'll be fine as long as you don't eat or drink anything from this world. Considering our body constitutions, it isn't hard to survive 14 months. I guess the duoluozhongs here are the hardest to guard against."
Rena seemed to agree with her brother wholly as she nodded her head.
"We've been to quite a few places, but we haven't been to a world where there are so many variations of duoluozhongs. Other than the duoluozhongs on this train, who wait for people to fall into their trap, there are others that will deceive you. They'll trick you into believing they will protect you from the other duoluozhongs..."
Lin Sanjiu remembered the students and teacher from Mausoleum Elementary, who seemed to warn her against staying on the train. In hindsight, their warning proved correct. However, according to Reno, if she had gotten off at that stop, nothing good would have come of it.
"...and there are also duoluozhongs who disguise themselves as normal humans..."
Douglas's face appeared in Lin Sanjiu's mind.
"Some possess human-like items or things related to humans, so it's easy to overlook them."
The old cloth shoes, cardboard standee, the Teru Teru Bozu, and others.
"Then, there are all sorts of supernatural beings. They'll randomly follow you or appear in one of the stories..."
Lin Sanjiu thought of the tall men in the forest.
Reflecting on her encounters with various duoluozhongs in a single day, Lin Sanjiu realized it could fill an encyclopedia about this world.
"Even though we came well-prepared, we suffered along the way. It wasn't always this effortless," Reno added, probably to comfort Lin Sanjiu.
"Says who? Weren't you scared away by the Kitty Provincial Hospital?" Rena teased her brother.
"That's because I'm afraid of cats, not duoluozhongs!" Reno retorted, reigniting their bickering.
Lin Sanjiu smiled bitterly to herself, realizing that the siblings differed greatly from her. They were born into a world where apocalyptic worlds were commonplace and survival skills were ingrained from birth. Thus, they found it easier to adapt mentally and physically to such situations.
'So, is the Twelve Worlds Centrum as ideal as they say?' Lin Sanjiu wondered.
Reno stopped bickering, suddenly remembering something. He turned to Lin Sanjiu and asked, "Hey, what's your name?"
As Lin Sanjiu began to spell out her name, she froze, recalling another individual from the Twelve Worlds Centrum—Puppeteer. Thankfully, she had only written: LIN SANJ
The siblings exchanged glances before exclaiming in unison, "Are you Lin Sanjiu?!"
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Kisaragi Station || Apocalypse Paradise #3
HorrorHer skin was warm and moist when she was alive, always with a honey-colored tan. It had only been an hour, but her body had stiffened, and her skin was pale white. At first glance, one could even imagine how cold her skin would feel. Her eyes were w...
