Chapter 1161: Falling Out
The words, "I want to trade," hung in the air, slowly dissipating, but no one approached the payment counter. Surely Lin Sanjiu was not the only one looking around now, but it seemed that no one could discern where the voice had come from.
Yet the female NPC at the payment counter suddenly stopped urging. From her perspective, she could only barely see the intersection of the path, but it did not affect her mood. She leaned over, her arms resting on the counter, seemingly expecting something, her chubby face squeezed into an even rounder shape by her smile.
In the silence, the half-person Ya Jiang, whose severed upper body floated above Lin Sanjiu's right arm, inhaled gently through his nose. In the semi-bright, semi-dark light of the wall lamp, the sultry, muggy air flowed past, reminiscent of a dirty stream in a tropical jungle. Gardenia scratched the back of her neck, her crimson fingertip disappearing into her pale golden hair. Time seemed to stretch in the waiting, each second becoming strikingly heavy, forbidding anyone to ignore it.
How long had passed? Lin Sanjiu was getting a little anxious. From the moment that person said, "I want to trade," several minutes may have passed, right? He didn't show up. Why didn't the female NPC urge him? There was no movement around. How long did they have to wait there?
'They'... The word made her involuntarily raise her head to glance at the two people beside her. Of course, with Ya Jiang "sitting" on her right arm, all she could see was his leg wrapped in jeans. Gardenia's fair, slender hand rested on her cane next to her, and she also moved away one step, moving from in front of Lin Sanjiu to the side of the wall.
Why did she move away? Did she not want to turn her back to Lin Sanjiu?
Perhaps this was a paranoid guess. But as if to confirm her suspicion, Gardenia slightly turned her body at that moment and swiftly glanced at Lin Sanjiu. Seeing that Lin Sanjiu was also looking at her, Gardenia smiled but did not turn back. This way, her back was now towards the wall.
'She doesn't trust me,' Lin Sanjiu thought quietly.
She claimed she wanted to find newcomers who had not been corrupted yet, but in reality, she was also wary of them. Speaking of which, was her character really as straightforward as she showed? Who could tell?
Just as she thought about this, Ya Jiang moved a little and whispered to her, "Um, can you put me down? It's not very comfortable like this."
Good, her arm was getting sore. Lin Sanjiu did as he said, looked at Wushi Fan on his back, and reassured him, "Don't worry, if there's danger and you can't run, I'll carry you again."
Ya Jiang nodded, his hair sliding down.
Honestly, in the entire general hospital now, aside from Puppeteer and Bohemia, who were nowhere to be found, the only person she could trust was Ya Jiang. After all, both of them were in the hospital for the first time... huh?
"He's the one who told us he's never been in the hospital before, right?" Mrs. Manas suddenly said. "Didn't his survival chances drop significantly? Is there any way to confirm this is really his first visit to the hospital?"
'No,' thought Lin Sanjiu, 'unless he suddenly pulls out a steel reaper.' Remembering how close his head had been to her own, she couldn't help but tighten the muscles in her back—what was she thinking? How could she be so careless and lack guard? Of course, what Ya Jiang said could be true. But until she could confirm this, how could she let him get close to her?
Gardenia glanced at them again. She probably thought her gaze was fast, but Lin Sanjiu still noticed it.
"How long has it passed?" Gardenia said as she straightened her hair, her long locks falling down like water, covering her cheeks. Behind the veil of hair, her eyes quietly shifted back to the two of them. "About three to five minutes, I guess?"
The effect of the coffee was still there, Lin Sanjiu comforted herself. If things really took a turn, at least she could fight—just then, she abruptly shivered and quickly looked up at the wall beside her. It was empty, the two posthumans from before gone.
Damn it. How did she not think of this sooner?
Was the posthuman lying on the high wall really just there by coincidence? Thinking about it, she was the first one to notice someone on the wall. After she had noticed, Gardenia pretended to have just discovered the person, greeting the individual on the wall. With that said, the reaction of the posthuman on the wall was quite strange, facing an unexpected greeting as if not knowing what to do. Was he simply dazzled by her beauty at that moment? Or was he taken aback by an unplanned change?
No matter how she looked at it, Gardenia didn't seem like someone who lacked companions or was lonely.
If it turned into a three against one...
Lin Sanjiu slowly and quietly exhaled, trying to calm her suddenly raised hairs. When she felt the first drop of cold sweat slide down her back, a bright white light suddenly flashed from head to toe. Her [Defense Forcefield] was activated.
The two people beside her suddenly turned towards her.
"What's the matter?" Ya Jiang seemed to want to smile, but his facial muscles remained stiff, looking like he was trying to stretch a thick plastic mask. "Why did you suddenly turn on the protection?"
She hadn't originally intended to activate the [Defense Forcefield]. It was Mrs. Manas, who, as a subconscious manifestation, was affected by her own anxiety and suspicion, and naturally turned on the protection, but Lin Sanjiu couldn't tell the truth.
"Because it's not safe around here," she said, realizing how dry and sharp her voice was. "Didn't Gardenia tell you?"
"Right, I've turned mine on too," Gardenia said with a smile, looking at Ya Jiang. "Don't you have protective gear?"
"I do," Ya Jiang said immediately, as if afraid she would suspect him.
It seemed that he also didn't trust Gardenia. Regardless, Ya Jiang was still more trustworthy than Gardenia. Lin Sanjiu thought for a moment and then whispered, "What about Wushi Fan's brother?"
Gardenia licked her lips.
"He's hidden somewhere nearby," she said and looked around, tilting her head with a smile. "How would I know?"
The so-called ugly old man only existed in her words. Oh, even whether Wushi Fan was really four or five years old was something she had heard from Gardenia. Lin Sanjiu only knew two facts: one, Wushi Fan indeed looked like a child; two, they had been out for so long, yet the so-called younger brother was nowhere to be seen.
"Stay away from me!"
A thunderous roar suddenly came from a distance, followed by a deafening boom; the walls shook with the ground, startling everyone. Just as Lin Sanjiu instinctively looked in the direction of the sound, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Gardenia seemed to move simultaneously. Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly turned and retreated, only to be a step too late. The [Defense Forcefield] on her body was grazed by the attack, immediately flashing brightly and flickering for a few seconds.
By the time she steadied herself, Gardenia's thin silver cane was still hovering in the air. Ya Jiang, who was closest to Gardenia, was paler than the cane.
"There really is a problem with you," Lin Sanjiu said, sneering. "Where's your companion?"
"You don't need to worry about that," Gardenia said, her smile still dazzling. "I should thank you, though. I can use new points to get recovery ointment."
She would be a formidable opponent!
Lin Sanjiu violently unleashed a wave of Higher Consciousness at her. While Gardenia had to lower her cane to maintain balance, Lin Sanjiu quickly lunged at Ya Jiang, reaching for his wrist. "Come with me—"
Before she could finish her sentence, her hand felt as if it had been drilled into, causing deep pain. The [Defense Forcefield] on her hand once again flickered.
With a touch of disbelief and shock, Lin Sanjiu looked up.
"Sorry," Ya Jiang said, expressionless, retracting his hand.
What was going on?
Lin Sanjiu had no time to think; Gardenia had already retreated quickly. Once distance was created, Lin Sanjiu had no idea what tactics she might employ. She couldn't care about the mobility-impaired Ya Jiang at that moment. She tossed Wushi Fan to the ground and chased after Gardenia. She was good at close combat; as long as she could get close to Gardenia, she was confident she could take her down quickly.
Gardenia seemed to have anticipated this move. Her empty hand pinched and clawed at the air, and as she spread her fingers towards Lin Sanjiu, Lin Sanjiu's vision was suddenly filled with a new scene. It was as if the camera angle in a movie had changed, or a new picture had been projected; the path, maze, high walls, and payment counters all shattered, replaced by a theater backstage. Makeup tables were filled with various tools, and the bulbs above the mirrors shone brightly. A few figures in costumes whispered to each other in the corner.
Lin Sanjiu's momentum did not slow.
It was simple, all of this was certainly an illusion. Even if she couldn't see her real surroundings, she just had to continue chasing in the direction Gardenia had retreated, and she would certainly catch her. However, the next second, her thigh collided with a makeup table. The bottles and jars rattled, and a fluffy makeup brush fell off, caught by her as she bent down to pick it up.
Just as the makeup brush was about to fall into her palm, it vanished.
Along with the makeup brush, the previously hyper-realistic theater backstage also disappeared. Lin Sanjiu stood dumbfounded, facing a wall. What she had just bumped into was this wall. Turning around, she found that Gardenia had vanished.
That woman would certainly come back with her companion. After all, she had put so much effort into deceiving people and probably wouldn't want to let her prey escape easily.
Lin Sanjiu turned and looked at Ya Jiang. He also knew that he couldn't get far, hugging his thigh and standing still, staring at her with both hands holding small rod-like objects.
"She's gone," Lin Sanjiu said softly. "But I have a feeling she's not far away. What about you? It's your turn to explain what's going on with you."
Ya Jiang remained silent.
At this moment, near the intersection, screams, angry shouts, the shrill whistling of Special Items, and the tearing sound of abilities cutting through the air all roared like a boiling pot. Lin Sanjiu was about to take a step towards Ya Jiang when she suddenly raised her head and saw a figure leaping down from the high wall, grabbing Wushi Fan from the ground, and swiftly rushing off in another direction.