Chapter 1184: What Goes Around, Comes Around
The oppressive feeling of familiarity gripped Lin Sanjiu's heart more and more tightly. The longer she stayed in this misty room, the clearer and more familiar the gradually increasing sense of weakness inside her body became. She had experienced this sense of weakness once before when she accidentally bumped into the guard. However, that time it was like being hit by a wave, coming and going quickly. Now, she was like an apple soaking in wine, slowly being permeated through her skin and tissues.
"It seems you haven't managed to get your hands on the Lava Player's Handbook," Gardenia said, moving her gaze away but seeming well aware of Lin Sanjiu's condition. She sighed lightly, "You won't have the chance to see it either."
"Then tell me!" Lin Sanjiu said.
Gardenia didn't pay attention to her and seemed lost in her thoughts. "The last one," she murmured, her voice trembling slightly. "You are the last one... I can finally leave. Take care of yourself."
After saying that, the hazy colors on the semi-transparent window flashed and turned back into the metallic color of the laboratory. Lin Sanjiu's heart leaped into her throat, and her fist on the door became increasingly weak as her body repeatedly slipped down.
In the brief exchange of words just now, she glanced back and saw that Red Face on the ground was gradually opening black cracks on his face. Worse still, even though he had started to guardify, his eyes were still open, indicating he still had consciousness. Lin Sanjiu couldn't see clearly, but she felt his pupils expand greatly due to fear.
She didn't dare to glance at Hei Zeji.
"Wait, wait a moment," Lin Sanjiu said, struggling to sit up straight with Mrs. Manas' warning echoing in her mind. "I... I have one more question."
"What?" Gardenia asked, stopping a distance away from the door. She seemed to feel a little guilty when speaking to Lin Sanjiu. If not for this trace of guilt, Gardenia would probably have left earlier.
"How many of your Special Items were deducted?"
This question came suddenly, and Gardenia was clearly taken aback. "My... my Special Items?"
"Yes," Lin Sanjiu said quickly, but her legs suddenly went weak, and she collapsed to the ground like a falling building. The muffled sound of her fall seemed to make Gardenia outside the door pause for a moment.
"Why are you asking this?" Gardenia asked, sounding somewhat suspicious. "Are you trying to use Special Items to make me let you out?"
Gasping and trembling, the fluctuating [Defense Forcefield] on Lin Sanjiu's skin seemed like it could be extinguished at any moment.
Now, when she spoke, she could even feel strands of gas threatening to flow into her body through her lips and throat. This indicated that the protection of the [Defense Forcefield] was weakening and being eroded more severely. She could only try to keep her lips closed and continue speaking with an unclear voice. "Y-yes, just think of it that way... Then, will you agree?"
"I did have many of my Special Items deducted," Gardenia said. "But I'm going to get them all back now. So, even if you have that intention, I won't let you out."
'Endure a little longer—endure until I figure out what I need to figure out, and then I will definitely be able to leave—'
Even just picking herself up from the ground once was difficult. Lin Sanjiu stumbled and managed to throw herself at the door. Looking through the window, she found that Gardenia's blurry figure had moved farther away. She clenched her teeth and hit the window with her fist. "Hey!"
This time, Gardenia seemed determined not to turn back, no matter what Lin Sanjiu did or said.
She didn't have a suitable Special Item to open the door. Regardless of how unlikely it was, she had to admit that the possibility of getting out relied heavily on Gardenia. She couldn't afford the cost of letting Gardenia leave.
"My, my tent... It only works for people carrying no more than two Special Items... When you entered it back then, the tent worked... This means that you had a maximum of two Special Items on you at the time."
"You've held on much longer than I imagined," Gardenia said, her shadow pausing as she turned slightly. "So what?"
This by itself didn't prove anything, but Lin Sanjiu had to find a way to catch Gardenia's attention and make her stop.
"You can actually walk without a cane, right?" Lin Sanjiu said, forcing herself to get to the point despite her panting threatening to interrupt her words. "You're not using a cane now."
If she could only walk with a cane, how could Gardenia silently follow behind Red Face?
"That's because my feet are intact. In fact, I am whole from the inside out," Gardenia said calmly. "You can't see my right foot because of my ability."
Lin Sanjiu recalled her ability to release illusions before people's eyes with a single touch. It seemed like many abilities could be explored in different ways.
"But so what?" Gardenia repeated.
Lin Sanjiu remembered that when she dragged Gardenia into the tent, the cane happened to fall on the counter. She had been worried that most of Gardenia's Special Items were stored in the cane, allowing Gardenia to be smoothly pulled into the tent. But now, that possibility was finally ruled out.
Gardenia wasn't using the cane now, which meant that it was not a storage item, at least—after all, a storage item couldn't store itself. This also meant that she indeed had a maximum of two Special Items on her, and there was even a possibility that she had none. Therefore, whether she had a storage item among her Special Items had become a matter of life and death.
"Do you have a storage item on you?" Lin Sanjiu asked.
The weight of Lin Sanjiu's question was immense, and she struggled to maintain her composure. Her voice, trembling despite her efforts, might have already betrayed her intentions. She feared this question would immediately tip off Gardenia, potentially shattering all her plans. Yet, she had no other option; this was the only hope she clung to.
For a brief moment, Gardenia appeared taken aback. "No."
To Lin Sanjiu, who had thought Gardenia wouldn't answer her, those two words were like a symphony from the heavens.
Indeed, none!
Lin Sanjiu's gaze sharpened as she peered through the window. The X-ray machine stood as a barrier, obstructing the doorway. From her limited angle, it seemed like there was no one else in the laboratory.
Gardenia herself seemed somewhat astonished by her own compliance in answering. Then, with a clear sigh, she said, "If it weren't for your aid, I would've left by now. It's the first time since I entered this world that I've encountered someone with genuine intentions to help. I had changed my mind before, thinking it wouldn't be bad not to lure you in. But just as I was about to send the last person in, you walked out and stood by the door.
"The temptation was too strong," Gardenia said slowly. "I've waited for too long."
That was all Lin Sanjiu needed.
She had received the implicit confirmation necessary from their exchange. Now, her hope was that Gardenia wouldn't ponder too deeply on the same lines.
Silently gathering her strength, Lin Sanjiu whirled around and lunged at Red Face. [Planar World] flickered erratically, intermittently functioning. In mere moments, her hands rifled through the man's clothing, jewelry, belt, and pants. Having reached her transformation item limit for the day, she couldn't acquire any new cards; thus, everything remained in its original form on Red Face.
However, items previously transformed into cards were exempt from this restriction.
"Please, please," Lin Sanjiu's heart pleaded silently as she searched frantically. "You seemed so confident, so assured back then. Surely, you must have had a plan to control Gardenia, right? Don't let it be just a façade."
As her hand delved into Red Face's pocket, a soft gasp from Gardenia echoed from the doorway. She understood now.
Gardenia's footsteps hastened towards the door, and Lin Sanjiu increased her speed in response. She knew this was her final opportunity—if her guess was wrong, or if she failed before the gas completely filled the room, she and Hei Zeji would be trapped forever in this hospital, condemned to wander its dim corridors, faceless and lost in an unknown world.
She ran through her deductions—thoughts, guesses, and facts intertwining.
By freeing the Artist from his card form and placing him in the net bag, there had been two entities within. Gardenia didn't possess a storage item and was under someone's control. Red Face would surely target Gardenia's organs.
Thus, Red Face was bound to discover the Artist.
When a card suddenly materialized in her palm, it felt like a long-lost pet returning home. Overwhelmed with relief and elation, Lin Sanjiu couldn't suppress a low cry. Swiftly, she dropped the Artist onto the ground. He appeared, still clutching his canvas and paintbrush bucket, as bewildered as ever.
"The door," Lin Sanjiu said in a low voice, using her last bit of strength. "Don't paint the door!"