Kisaragi Station || Apocalypse Paradise #3

190: Don't Go to Bamboo Grove Mountains Scenic Site (1)

In retrospect, Lin Sanjiu realized how naive she was for thinking she could go against this world just because she destroyed a human-sized cardboard standee. She lowered her head silently; her jacket was useless against the cold, so she would try her best to endure.

Someone opened the second-floor window and peeked out. The person fixed his emotionless eyes on Lin Sanjiu, and his lips curled into a wide smile. "Where are you going? Don't you want to play some video games?"

That window was neither from room 205 nor room 207—Lin Sanjiu's room. The Teru Teru Bozu was still hanging from the ceiling. Looking up, Lin Sanjiu could only see a black outline of it, slowly spinning above Douglas's head. There wasn't a glimmer of light in Douglas's eyes. Apart from his stiff, perfect smile, his face was like a mannequin's; he stretched his neck out the window.

Right now, he looked just like those students and their teacher at Mausoleum Elementary Station.

'Why didn't I realize this before?' When she thought carefully about it, that wide, perfect smile that almost reached his ears had been plastered on his face for nearly the whole day. 'Isn't that very abnormal?'

"Why are you standing here stupidly? Run!" Mrs. Manas's fierce voice rang out in her mind. When Douglas raised his slightly puzzled eyes, Lin Sanjiu couldn't stand it any longer. She turned and ran. Her surroundings were dark, and she was too flustered to consider her route, as she couldn't see clearly. The only thing on her mind was to run away from the hotel. Unfortunately, her body had stiffened from the cold and was not cooperating. After running for less than ten minutes, she felt her lungs burning and had difficulty breathing.

"W-Where did I run to?"

There was a death-like silence behind her. No human or object was chasing behind her. But, of course, the lights from the hotel far away had already been switched off. Lin Sanjiu held her knees, bending over, panting. The cold numbed all her rigid limbs, and she felt her athleticism had returned to the level before she evolved.

Lin Sanjiu didn't know when patches of forest surrounded her. Even though they were a design feature of this city, she didn't see any streetlamps around. Through her intense gasps of air and tightly strung nerves, she turned to look behind. Luckily, the cold didn't affect her eyesight. She peered straight into the darkness and suddenly jumped up, speechless.

A convenience store stood by the roadside, not far behind her, featuring a cardboard standee of a beautiful flight attendant at the entrance.

This time, the flight attendant's gaze didn't direct itself towards the train station. Instead, it seemed to follow Lin Sanjiu. Facing the standee directly, Lin Sanjiu noticed the flight attendant's smile, as radiant as ever, showcasing eight white teeth in the darkness.

Realizing she was on the road to the Bamboo Grove Mountains with the convenience store now behind her, she recalled Douglas's warning: "Don't go to the Bamboo Grove Mountains."

For reasons unclear to her, Lin Sanjiu could recall Douglas's warning with vivid clarity.

"This world is bewildering and unfathomable. You must shield yourself using your Higher Consciousness," Mrs. Manas said weakly, fully aware of Lin Sanjiu's thoughts. Seizing this guidance like a lifeline, Lin Sanjiu promptly employed her newly acquired skill, [Defense Forcefield], as Mrs. Manas had instructed.

"Your survival now hinges on every fraction of your Higher Consciousness, so I will refrain from embezzling it for the time being," Mrs. Manas said solemnly. "My existence also depletes your Higher Consciousness. As you engage your [Defense Forcefield], I will disappear temporarily to fortify the barrier."

Aware that Mrs. Manas's absence would leave her isolated in the dark, Lin Sanjiu nodded with some difficulty. When silence followed her gesture, Lin Sanjiu realized that Mrs. Manas had already vanished. She silently activated her [Defense Forcefield]. White light illuminated her whole body, flashing a few times before going dark again. Gritting her teeth, Lin Sanjiu summoned the white light again, only for it to quickly dim.

Had Mrs. Manas been present, she would have undoubtedly sighed at the sight.

In its initial phase, an active [Defense Forcefield] should lightly illuminate the user's skin, subtle enough to escape notice. However, Lin Sanjiu's intermittent glow resembled a malfunctioning light, underscoring her need for further practice.

Lin Sanjiu had to meticulously manage the flow of her Higher Consciousness to ensure a constant supply to her Defense Forcefield. At the same time, she moved swiftly, unwilling to linger in any one spot. Despite the challenge, Lin Sanjiu had no alternative but to persevere with every passing moment.

At this moment, Lin Sanjiu had problems figuring out where to go next. Every location within Kisaragi Station seemed fraught with danger. Facing away from the hotel, Lin Sanjiu was determined not to look back, terrified by the notion that the cardboard standee might creep closer if she did.

She forced herself to calm down and tried to use logic to analyze her current situation. "Everywhere poses the same risks, doesn't it? It seems to me that everything related to humans is dangerous, so I might as well enter the mountains.

"At least, there are no human cardboard standees and no clothes worn by the deceased."

However, Lin Sanjiu had only walked a few minutes on this dark, dusky road when she discovered that her [Defense Forcefield] had a critical flaw. She smiled drily. This ability wasn't bad, but the flaw stemmed from her poor proficiency at controlling her Higher Consciousness. Once she activated her ability, her whole body would flicker like a bad light bulb; sometimes, the white light surrounding her would be far brighter than it should be, and when it was dark, there would be no light.

Anyone who used a mobile phone in the dark would understand this situation. Whenever one looked away from the edge of that bright screen, their room would appear darker than usual.

This was especially true for Lin Sanjiu. With the flashing light, her eyes did not have sufficient time to adapt to the lighting of the environment, which was constantly changing. Lin Sanjiu couldn't walk quickly; she had to be extra careful since she couldn't see what was ahead. She walked in this manner for five minutes before suddenly hitting her head, wanting to curse herself.

How could she forget she had the [Ability Polishing Agent]?

Lin Sanjiu heaved a sigh of relief and took out her [Ability Polishing Agent]. At the same time, she also took out her vibroblade. Holding her lamp in one hand and a knife in the other, accompanied by the intermittent white light from her [Defense Forcefield], she felt more confident.

However, this confidence didn't last for long.

After walking for a while, she kept feeling that something was amiss. The spot behind her, on her left, seemed especially dark. She slowly turned her head around.

Not far behind her, she saw a lanky man walking in the darkness at the boundary of her silver light. He was almost five meters tall and seemed to have noticed her slowing down. He bent down his very long neck.

His flat, sheet-white face with no features faced Lin Sanjiu directly.

Sure enough, no one should walk in the darkness because they would never know what followed behind them.