Hyperthermal Hell || Apocalypse Paradise #1 [Complete]

100: McDonald's

Puppeteer had mentioned that Lin Sanjiu would fare better if she died of starvation in the depths of the ocean. But judging by the current circumstances, it probably wouldn't happen because...

Lin Sanjiu stood right in front of the doors of McDonald's.

It has already been a month since she'd nearly been caught by Puppeteer. Lin Sanjiu had not a single good night's sleep for the whole month, so she had very prominent dark eye circles. Unable to find portable water, she could only sustain herself with coffee; thus, she was constantly in a sleep-deprived, hyperaroused state. Despite this, she did not give up searching for clues regarding the whereabouts of B. Rabbit and the others.

Puppeteer had probably decided to settle down at the pier, for his mannequins occupied the entire coastal area. Due to this situation, Lin Sanjiu did not dare to go near the shore. She could only search in a circular manner as she continued deeper into the ocean.

But her search was futile, and she even got lost.

Logically speaking, it was quite predictable. If a person was thrown in the middle of the ocean without a nautical chart or a compass, they would definitely lose their bearings. By that point, Lin Sanjiu did not know where the shore was, and that could be a life-threatening problem.

Without any seawater, the sun-baked seabed emitted an odd-smelling fishy stench that wouldn't go away. The seabed was not entirely flat, and soon she saw more seamounts and knolls until the terrain was like a forest of rolling hills. After climbing quite a few of these hills, Lin Sanjiu stood midway of the tallest hill and started feeling a vague sense of anxiousness.

She took stock of her supplies and realized that she had only three boxes of chocolates left. She was almost out of food, but she was still clueless about the road ahead.

When she reached the peak, she looked out and saw that there was a fissure on the ground about one kilometer away. It only looked like a patch of black, so she couldn't tell much about it. She only knew that it was an oceanic trench.

After descending the hill, she went to the edge of the trench.

Even though the probability of finding food in the deep sea was even slimmer, Lin Sanjiu was very curious, as she had never seen an oceanic trench before. She leaned over the edge and looked down. The seabed instantly fell away, and it was as if her feet were dangerously close to a cliff's edge. It fell steeply a few thousand meters down into the dark, deep base of the trench without a single gentle slope. It was impossible for the light from the stars in the night sky to reach the trench, so Lin Sanjiu could only see an indiscernible darkness and the extremely steep precipice.

'Anyone who'd still think about climbing down after seeing this is crazy...' Lin Sanjiu rebuked herself as she held on to a jutting rock with some difficulty and climbed downward carefully. Her palms hurt badly, as they were scratched by the abrasive surface of the rocks and the salt crystals on them. Even professional rock climbers would think twice before taking on such a challenging climb. If her body weren't physically enhanced, this trench would have easily been her burial ground.

"Why didn't you turn back before?" she asked herself a little regretfully.

'So what if I'm lost? If I continue walking toward the flatter areas, there should be a greater chance of survival than going down this trench, right?'

Just when she had decided to turn back, she suddenly heard a familiar sound. She had not heard this sound since the apocalypse had descended. It was the sound of water.

It sounded like waves gently hitting the sides of the rock wall. Lin Sanjiu crouched for a moment, staring into the dark abyss, imagining what the seawater looked like. Even though almost the whole world had died, in the depths of the ocean, there was still water, and she was still alive. Just like how mankind would still live on.