Chapter 1305: Don't Look at the Ceiling for No Reason
Lin Sanjiu wandered through the empty house without turning on the lights. It was a small one-bedroom apartment that reeked of stale air from being closed up for too long. The mattress in the bedroom was still new, hard to the touch, and wrapped in plastic.
She sat on the sofa for a while, finding it less comfortable than the materials used in Exodus, then stood up and blankly stared at the night view from the balcony, which paled in comparison to the dazzling brilliance of Heaven Underworld. In modern society, even the night sky was steeped in a dull haze, suffocating and gasping for breath under the weight of industrial pollution. There was a machine on the balcony, which she had looked at several times before realizing it was a washing machine—its appearance had changed so much compared to that from a decade ago.
1
Regardless, it was a place to settle down.
Peering out from the kitchen, she could see directly into the kitchen of the house less than ten meters away. There, a housewife was stir-frying in a cloud of smoke, her brows furrowed, forehead slick with sweat, and looking as if she bore deep grievances. If she was so unhappy, why bother cooking at all?
The housewife nearby abruptly threw down her spatula, turned off the stove, and shouted, "Stop playing games! Come and eat!"
Lin Sanjiu quietly stepped back from the kitchen, returning to the deserted living room. The neighbor's household was noisy, each sentence charged as if on the verge of an argument, yet never escalating to one, circling around the edge of a dispute to vent frustrations. "All you do is play games all day, not earning more yet always spending! Can't you help out at home for once?" This made her own dark, empty room feel even more desolate.
In the distance, the tinkling of bicycle bells resonated, someone spat loudly from an upstairs window, a television played a jarring theme song nearby, and the steady rumble of a washing machine—perhaps identical to her own—filled the air.
Sitting in the darkness, Lin Sanjiu felt a sense of bewilderment.
An ordinary day in the life of an ordinary person seemed different from what she had imagined, yet she couldn't pinpoint exactly how.
She and countless others had struggled, resisted, and fought in the apocalyptic tide. The very life they had fought so hard to keep was just being whittled away in front of televisions, washing machines, and stovetops in modern society? Viewed from outside the mortal coil, the world seemed filled with trivial, mundane matters that lacked the peace and happiness remembered from her memories.
There were no duoluozhong, no malicious posthumans, and no pocket dimensions. She didn't know what to do next. Sitting in the dark, she couldn't even turn on the light. If only she still had the [Ability Polishing Agent].
The thought of it brought a surge of spirit to Lin Sanjiu.
It had been over a week since she last checked her purchase advertisement on [eBay]. Perhaps someone had left her a message? Even if there was no news about the [Ability Polishing Agent], it would be good to see what other posthumans were selling or buying. Even if she bought nothing, she could get a whiff of doomsday news.
She quickly summoned [eBay] and closed her eyes, feeling an unexpected fondness for the shopping interface that appeared before her. The grand prize had always enjoyed using her [eBay] for purchases, unable to change his ways even after becoming a part of the Veda, as if the things others sold him were more interesting than the ones he coded himself. He must be trying to find her, so why not pick a small gift for him to brighten his day when he arrived? It might even calm him down a bit.
The comments under her request for [Ability Polishing Agent] were as sparse as a month ago. She glanced over them and opened the list of items for sale; however, after several pages, every item appeared greyed out.
Did this mean that all the items on [eBay] were too far away to be delivered?
Perhaps she should try contacting someone.
Of the two users on [eBay] she knew, one was Gong Daoyi, and the other was Puppeteer. The choice of whom to contact was obvious. Looking at the username Peppy Lil' Sesame, she felt her heart soften with warmth and joy—as if even the thin, cold, and gaunt face from her memories had become gentle and kind, resembling an uncle of hers.
Meatball Peach: Where are you? I've been teleported away.
Message failed to send.
'Hmm?'
Meatball Peach: Are you still in the Lava World? Have you met with Bohemia?
Message failed to send.
Meatball Peach: Potato, potato, I am a sweet potato.
Message failed to send.
Lin Sanjiu was taken aback, as this had never happened before. In theory, the transmission of messages on [eBay] should not be affected by distance; every message sent was a resonance between two [eBay] users, ensuring delivery to the owner. She frantically clicked on everything clickable on the [eBay] page, only to be met with blank spaces or dull, unresponsive grey areas, as if her Special Item had been disconnected.
Opening her eyes, she stored the Special Item in her card inventory. Suddenly, a wave of panic washed over her as if she had unknowingly strayed into a deserted wasteland, unknown to others and unable to find her way out. But the panic was fleeting, swiftly untangled by reason. This world had yet to face its doomsday, and it was natural not to have Special Items in such an environment. Moreover, it was only non-functional now. Perhaps the [eBay] would only work properly during the doomsday?
She tried to recall but couldn't remember if Ren Nan had used any Special Item back then. With her knowledge at that time, even if he had, she probably wouldn't have recognized it. However, the number of Special Items on Ren Nan was pitifully sparse, which seemed odd for an experienced posthuman.
As Lin Sanjiu was lost in thought, she faintly heard a voice from the balcony outside. The apartment was on the sixth floor, so it would be hard for an ordinary person to hear clearly from the ground floor, but the agent's voice was unmistakeable for a posthuman with sharp senses. "Yes, on the sixth floor... Ah, lower floors are better; no need to wait for the elevator... Yes, the furniture is all newly replaced."
Was the agent's business really that busy? Another client within an hour?
Lin Sanjiu quickly stood up and quietly closed the front door. She had forcefully removed the door lock and handle, leaving a gaping hole that couldn't be shut. She took out [The Power of Word Picture] and muttered some words, and slowly, a new lock and handle grew out in the hole, looking somewhat similar to the original.
"Good thing you're still working. Be proud," she said, praising the Special Item.
The makeshift door lock obviously couldn't be opened with a real key, but she had a plan. When she heard footsteps in the hallway, she quickly stepped on the sofa and leaped onto the top of an empty bookshelf in the living room, nimbly climbing up to hide in the corner of the ceiling and then covering the door handle with a smear of Higher Consciousness.
"Using Higher Consciousness for this is sneaky," Mrs. Manas suddenly complained, then disappeared.
"Hm?" The agent's voice came from outside. "What's with this lock... Oh, never mind. See, it's open."
Of course, it was open. Lin Sanjiu had used Higher Consciousness to open the door just as the agent turned the key.
The agent clicked the light switch a few times, but the central light in the living room wouldn't turn on. It was bound not to, as Lin Sanjiu had loosened it when she climbed up. Otherwise, hanging in the corner like a giant spider, she might scare the visitors to death.
"No worries, the landlord will fix this later," he awkwardly explained to a young couple, lighting up the room with his phone.
With this method, no matter how many groups of potential tenants came, they wouldn't discover Lin Sanjiu, who was temporarily residing there. But this wasn't a long-term solution; she needed to find a way to make a living and settle down. If she continued to keep lurking outside society, who knows what trouble might arise. After much thought, she realized she had no skills to survive in the modern society. Maybe she should do as the heroes in old movies did—go out at night to uphold justice and rob the rich to help the poor. Speaking of the poor, she was one of them. Wasn't that ironic?
1
While she was daydreaming, the couple had quickly finished viewing the apartment. Their expressions were noncommittal; they were clearly not interested.
"If you like this area, we have another unit," the agent said with a smile as he opened the door. Just as the couple left, he was about to follow when he suddenly looked down at the floor, rubbing his feet as if wiping mud, then glanced at the door handle.
This guy might not look like much, but he was quite attentive.
When Lin Sanjiu had broken in, she inevitably broke some of the wood inside the door. Even though she had cleaned up in the dark, it was inevitable that some sawdust and debris remained on the floor. And even if the fake door lock tried to pass off as the real thing, it still fell short.
"You two go ahead. I just remembered the landlord asked me to do something," the agent said, smiling and waving at the couple. "I'll be quick. Just five minutes!"
1
Lin Sanjiu watched from the corner of the ceiling as he closed the door and lifted his phone, searching the living room in circles. Perhaps even he didn't know what he was looking for, occasionally returning to examine the door lock and trying the key a few times. However, it did nothing to lessen his confusion.
"This isn't right," he muttered. "Where did it come from... and the light is broken, too."
He straightened up and paused for a moment.
Then, he lifted his phone and shined the light toward the central light in the living room. The ceiling was suddenly illuminated. Lin Sanjiu was hiding right at the edge of light and shadow, crouched on the ceiling, her silhouette barely visible in his peripheral vision.
Before he could turn around, a gurgling sounded in his throat, and his body started to shake. The phone's light trembled slightly, inching toward the corner. In the bright light of the flashlight, Lin Sanjiu's face, heavily made up to obscure her features, emerged from the shadows. Her bloodless lips parted in a chilling smile.
1