Chapter 1221: Donkey Sanjiu
Lin Sanjiu understood why the NPC asked for the former guard as nourishment. She didn't know Gardenia's hiding spot but was sure Gardenia hadn't been considered as pocket dimension nourishment. She was likely hiding, celebrating her luck.
Bohemia muttered, "I don't care about this guy's life or death... but why do I feel so unhappy?"
Lin Sanjiu also felt unhappy.
Taking advantage of the intense shaking of the ground, the former guard who was previously crouched nearby suddenly jumped up and ran towards the door like a startled snow weasel. Unfortunately, Lin Sanjiu was prepared for this. With her long arm, she swiftly grabbed his neck and threw him to the ground.
She pulled the former guard back and firmly held him. Her right hand, clad in the metal gauntlet, was like a steel ring tightening around his neck. Due to the former guard's short stature, his feet were off the ground when she lifted him.
"By contributing nourishment to the hospital, it gains strength to fend off the pocket dimensions' invasion?" Lin Sanjiu said to the NPC, signaling Bohemia to take Magus away from Hei Zeji. She positioned herself between the NPC and her group, obstructing his view. Despite the room's tremors and cracks, she kept her balance and approached the NPC. "That doesn't add up."
"How does that not add up?" the NPC said, eyes tracking Bohemia's group behind her.
"If the hospital grows stronger, how do you plan to consume it?" Lin Sanjiu pressed, her tone fraught with tension. "Unless you're actually aiming to eliminate us, the disruptors of its operation."
She had suspected this for a while. Their actions had significantly disturbed the hospital's functioning, causing deviations, delays, and even lockdowns. The pocket dimension, needing to maintain a certain operational mode, might rely on intelligent NPCs to address issues.
"Oh, you fear being deceived by the hospital," the NPC said, his eyelids drooping. "I assure you, I haven't misled you. Your logic holds. Hence, I only asked you to sacrifice the gamer to the hospital. Any more, and the hospital's power might become overwhelming. After witnessing your timely rescue of the headless person, I chose to toss the gamer over. Consider this: the hospital, experiencing a player's nourishment, will lower its guard when offered more. It wouldn't anticipate its second meal being me."
He glanced around the trembling room, adding, "You eat food with confidence, yet it harbors bacteria and viruses. Simple, right? If I were you, I would do my best to help."
"Oh?"
"The battle with the hospital will be lengthy," he continued. "During this struggle, the entire pocket dimension will destabilize. Perhaps you could exploit this to earn points, conduct repairs, trade for items, reclaim collateral, and leave freely. All these benefits from trading a stranger. Isn't that worthwhile?"
Lin Sanjiu could sense the fear emanating from the former guard's skin. His several attempts to resist and struggle proved futile. Nature's balance meant his miraculous resurrection ability came at the cost of diminished physical prowess. Even when attempting to use a Special Item, he lagged, and Lin Sanjiu had long countered and subdued him.
She sighed. "It's worthwhile."
"Then why are you hesitating?" the NPC said with a smile, steadying himself against the tremors. "Even if I've lied, disposing of him costs you nothing. Truth or deceit from me, your odds of benefit far outweigh any risk."
"You have a point," Lin Sanjiu said, nodding.
The former guard made a series of desperate noises in his throat.
"It's just..." Lin Sanjiu sighed, shaking the former guard like a limp fish. "I understand the situation, but my stubbornness is getting in the way. I don't like stepping on others' corpses to cross the river, and neither do I like getting caught in someone's trap."
The NPC's expression soured. The former guard ceased his struggles, unable to believe what he heard.
"If you don't cooperate..." The fatty said slowly, "How will you guys get out of here?"
Lin Sanjiu didn't reply. She had been waiting for the intense tremors, which soon erupted beneath her feet. The ground seemed to be squeezed and then rebounded, lifting her off the ground. Seizing this momentum, she leaped into the air, hurling the former guard towards Bohemia and the others.
"Catch him!" she shouted. As she descended, she kicked a white tree. The trunk snapped under her force with a series of cracking sounds, sending several sharp branches toward the NPC. The fatty screamed as he dove to avoid them, the tremors tossing him into another row of white trees. Aside from a few bloody scratches, he wasn't seriously injured.
Steadying himself with a white tree's support, he found Lin Sanjiu's boots awaiting him.
"I have an idea," Lin Sanjiu said, gripping the NPC's neck, ignoring the pain in her straining arm muscles. "To destabilize the hospital, we don't necessarily have to fight it, do we?"
Dragged towards the door, the NPC struggled in vain against Lin Sanjiu's steel-like grip. "What are you implying? Don't be reckless! You don't know anything about this hospital."
"True, I don't," she said. In a few leaps, Lin Sanjiu joined Bohemia and the rest. Except for the shivering former guard attempting to get up, Bohemia and Magus were crouched on the ground, examining Hei Zeji's calf. Hei Zeji, facing an unfavorable situation, reluctantly accepted their aid, though his expression looked as if he was being tortured.
As Lin Sanjiu landed, all eyes turned to her.
"One thing's certain," she said, motioning for them to clear a path. She hoisted the NPC as she neared the other invading pocket dimension, one filled with woods and darkness. "The hospital's already in disarray, right? So, to leverage its instability, I don't need you. Another pocket dimension exists, doesn't it?"
"Don't... don't spout nonsense. Your friend can't leave."
"Don't worry about that," Lin Sanjiu said with a smile, then forcefully thrust the NPC into the dark pocket dimension.