Chapter 1144: An Ambitious Player
Regardless of who the newcomer was, the fact that he had seen her but hadn't revealed himself meant he certainly wasn't Hei Zeji.
Lin Sanjiu exerted force on her feet and shot out from her original position like a bullet, her body transforming into a blur. Although she didn't know what the person hiding in the shadows had planned, if he couldn't even catch her shadow, he wouldn't be able to follow up with his next move.
Unexpectedly, right after she accelerated, she suddenly caught a soft "pff" sound in her ears. It was as if someone was trying hard to suppress laughter but couldn't hold it in and, finally, a burst of air collided with their nasal cavity.
Even though it was a short and quiet nasal sound, Lin Sanjiu immediately recognized it. In fact, there were only three registered players in this area, and she never expected finding him to be so difficult. She cursed silently in her heart and didn't run toward the direction of the nasal sound. Instead, she turned around and dashed toward another building in the opposite direction.
She couldn't afford to startle the snake this time, or she might run into another dead-end.
"You can run," said a voice, just as she moved ten meters away from the store. All the various objects floating in mid-air around her, attacking her non-stop, suddenly stopped moving and fell to the ground. The voice of the old smoker still buzzed excitedly inside the clothing store, and the glass door closed without her realizing it. "You'd better run far away. Tell your companions that whoever dares to target me will meet a bad end! I'm not afraid to let you know that this store and the surrounding area have become my personal domain, ruled by rules set by me. Anyone who enters will have a bad ending. If you don't believe me, you can come and try!"
This person was clearly suffering from persecution delusions!
Lin Sanjiu quickly reached a brick wall. Just a moment before crashing into it, she jumped and grabbed the sign hanging on the side of the building. She used the force of the rebound to land below a window on the second floor of a nearby building.
Not only did the brick wall shatter, including the window frame and glass, but they also turned into flying debris as if they had been hit by small artillery shells. Lin Sanjiu took advantage of the recoil force from her leap and shot out of the exploding fragments like a fish. She soared through the air and landed on the fire escape of the opposite building.
With her hands grabbing the iron frame of the fire escape, she quickly climbed up to the rooftop. Hunching down like a mountain cat, Lin Sanjiu took a few steps forward. She looked outside and saw the back of a person on the second floor of another building, searching for someone.
The [Tornado Whip] stirred up a gale that shattered the entire wall in the blink of an eye.
Breaking through the wind she had caused, Lin Sanjiu landed inside the office after a few tumbles. Ya Jiang had just turned around, raising one arm to shield his face. For some reason, he was still clutching a mop in his other hand, like a competent janitor.
"Are you looking for me?" Lin Sanjiu asked with a faint smile, reaching out to grab him.
"W-wait, wait!" Ya Jiang exclaimed suddenly, jumping several steps backward to the doorway. Waving the mop, he shouted, "This isn't fair!"
Seizing the opportunity when Lin Sanjiu paused for a moment, he kept retreating to the entrance. Swinging the mop, Ya Jiang continued, "I'm not the person who attacked you. If you don't want to cause trouble with the person in the store, why are you looking for me?"
"He's an illegal immigrant and knows nothing," Lin Sanjiu replied calmly, taking a step closer. "What's the use of hiding in his turtle shell? Apart from venting your frustration, it won't achieve anything."
"I feel that you are young and shouldn't be so emotional," Ya Jiang said, raising his empty hand again. "Wait, I have something to say!"
"Say it."
"I... I used the sitcom protagonist effect on myself. No matter what happens, I'm sure I'll always turn bad luck into good luck and restore everything to its original state—"
If she believed in his words, she might as well also believe in the fact that she truly possessed the [Super Duper Extremely Unrivalled Otherworldly Powerful Weapon] in her hands.
Lin Sanjiu interrupted him, "I just want to ask you a few questions. Why are you so nervous?"
Ya Jiang scratched his head, and it was apparent that he cherished his long hair, which he kept well-groomed and smooth despite the doomsday.
"Alright, alright. If you just want to talk, I have no objections. I love socializing," he said, raising his hands in surrender while still holding the mop. "How did you find me this time?"
"Because you found it amusing when I was attacked by the sweater."
"No... I didn't," Ya Jiang started to deny but seemed to remember the suppressed nasal sound he couldn't hold back. He cleared his throat and forced a smile. "It was the first time I saw a woman trying on clothes like that."
"You'll never see a woman stuffing her fist into your mouth," Lin Sanjiu said, then couldn't help but ask, "How long have you been in this area? Have you seen another registered player?"
"Oh my, it's not the first time," Ya Jiang said, smiling at her. Two narrow vortexes formed on his slender face. "You're lucky to have found the hidden player information spot so quickly. His name was Hei... Hei..."
"Yes, a relatively young man who looks quite fierce," Lin Sanjiu said, feeling that the description was close enough. As a child, Hei Zeji had gone through hardships that molded his ruthless temperament. His fierce aura had likely remained unchanged even after many years.
"I haven't seen this person," Ya Jiang immediately said. His response was so swift and natural that it made people suspicious about whether he was making it up. "But let me tell you something."
"Go on."
"He might already be dead. Even if he's not, he's in great danger."
"What do you mean?" Lin Sanjiu asked, taken aback. "You said you haven't seen him, so how would you know?"
"Follow me," Ya Jiang said, waving his hand, turning around, and walking towards the exit. He still held the mop, and Lin Sanjiu couldn't figure out its purpose. They navigated through the wreckage, finally making it into a corridor. Following the corridor, Ya Jiang led her into a room that looked like a meeting room.
"Why are we here?" Lin Sanjiu asked. The conference room, furnished with a long table and chairs, reminded her of her days working in an office. Looking back, it felt like a completely different lifetime.
Ya Jiang didn't answer but placed the mop handle between his legs and adjusted the projector at the back of the room. As light and text slowly lit up on the white screen, Lin Sanjiu was taken aback.
"Player information?" she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. "To think it's here... Wait, the players have changed!"
"I just found out a moment ago," Ya Jiang said, pulling out the mop and keeping a tight grip on it. "I discovered this meeting room during the early rounds, but I don't tell just anyone about it. The locations of player information are different each time, but the only place to find them is from this projector—"
"That's not important!" Lin Sanjiu interrupted him, pointing at the screen. "Hei Zeji is gone! He was originally the third-ranked registered player!"
Replacing him as the new third-ranked registered player was Bonnie Bunny, whom Lin Sanjiu had seen once before in the registry. "Player 3, Bonnie Bunny. Female, a survivor for the first 13 rounds, currently on her 14th round, high survival rate."
As Lin Sanjiu turned her surprised face, she saw Ya Jiang sitting on an office chair, spinning around and saying "wheeee." When he noticed her turning, he quickly used his toes to stop the chair from spinning, put on a serious expression, and said, "Yes, I told you I found Bonnie Bunny in this area."
"Who is she? What has she got to do with Hei Zeji's disappearance?" Lin Sanjiu asked, remembering the term "help" that the old smoker mentioned. Could that be Bonnie Bunny?
"I haven't met her, but I've heard about her," Ya Jiang said, licking his lips. "Surviving for 13 rounds means she's no small fry... She has quite the reputation in Lava."
"What kind of reputation?"
Ya Jiang didn't answer directly. After a short "hmm," he seemed to consider where to begin.
"Do you know that players in Lava have to complete a mission?" he asked.
Lin Sanjiu nodded. "But..."
"But you don't know what the objective is," Ya Jiang said, using the mop as if it were a long spear. The dirty mop cloth swayed back and forth. "No problem, I don't know either. Not just you and me, I don't think there are many people in this game who know what the objective is... except that completing it allows you to leave Lava."
This surprised Lin Sanjiu quite a bit. "No one knows?"
"More accurately, no one can be certain, but everyone has a guess. For example, me," Ya Jiang said. "I believe that the objective in Lava is to find the 'Informed Consent,' and only then can you leave... But not everyone may be as pacifistic as I am."
He leaned over to look out the window. From the meeting room's view, they could see the Los Clothing Store across the street. "One of the reasons Bonnie Bunny has such a reputation is that she seems to believe she can only leave if she eliminates all the players in Lava."
"All of them?" Lin Sanjiu asked.
Ya Jiang sighed. "I don't know why, but I've heard many rumors that the 14-months teleportation mechanism isn't working well... I've always hoped we wouldn't be teleported, but if we were to be trapped in this world, which seems like the product of a lunatic's imagination, I would be very upset... I think Bonnie Bunny might have lost hope in being able to leave through teleportation and decided to kill everyone instead."
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