Chapter 1455: In Reality, Everyone is Rather Unlucky
When Lin Sanjiu later reflected on the events, even she, who had experienced it firsthand, found it astonishing that so many changes and details occurred within just sixty seconds. No matter who it was, their awareness spread out like a spider's web, constantly sensing and reacting to even the slightest vibrations. Sometimes, they even managed to respond to multiple incidents simultaneously.
For example, after Lin Sanjiu had fallen, she quickly got up while asking questions and maintaining a defensive posture. At the same time, her attention was drawn to the light point beneath the car to her left, and she noticed a peculiar movement in Advaita's eyes.
This movement was strikingly unusual. Something inside her pupil turned while the pupil itself stayed still. It was as if there were layers of eyes within her eye, each capable of independent movement.
This raised a chilling question for Lin Sanjiu: how much of Advaita was still human? The hairs on her back stood on end.
Despite the enigma of Advaita's eyes, Lin Sanjiu realized that the eye within the eye was searching for the spot where she had fallen. This suggested that Advaita was also considering the possibility that Lin Sanjiu might have dropped something when she fell.
Had Advaita seen her drop something from the bubble space?
Advaita's eye within the eye returned to its normal position, appearing like a regular human eyeball once again, with no additional layers of pupils. She had not found the light point Lin Sanjiu was supposed to have dropped. Raising an eyebrow, Lin Sanjiu quickly said, "Sorry to disappoint you, but I can't follow in your footsteps and drop things."
"Then let me knock it out of you," Advaita replied coldly.
The car was more than ten steps away, with another dusty red car in between. Under normal circumstances, it would take time to find the right angle to squat down, reach under the rear wheel, and search—all while drawing attention. Lin Sanjiu's control over the Higher Consciousness wasn't precise enough to retrieve something as small as that light point; she had to pick it up herself. In the time it would take her to squat and reach out, Advaita would have numerous opportunities to strip her of her assets.
"I can retrieve it," Lin Sanjiu said, holding up a paper crane in one hand and raising the other as if to surrender. "Hitting me won't make anything fall out, but I could bump into that car and—"
"Then hurry up!" Advaita urged.
The Life Coach hurriedly moved a few steps as well. These humanoid Special Items remained quite loyal to their owner until they were transferred to someone else. Thus, they tried their best to stay close to Lin Sanjiu.
Lin Sanjiu stopped next to the dusty red car, the closest one to her. If she bypassed it for a further one, Advaita would surely become suspicious. From here, she had to continue figuring out a way to proceed.
She raised her arm, pretending to strike the red car, while her mind raced so fast it felt like it might overheat.
[Planar World] was just a few steps to her left, but it felt like a mountain was in between them. Why did she have to fall there, of all places — huh?
Oddly, the light point that fell from her should have landed nearby. So, why did it travel at a 50-degree angle to her left, covering such a distance and even crossing over a car?
When she yanked the Southwind Goose out of the hole, it vanished ahead while she fell. The gravitational pull should have pinned the light point close to her. Since it wasn't nearby, it meant some force had propelled it outward. The light point ended up several steps away, right next to a car's rear tire.
The only possible force behind the light point's movement could have been the Southwind Goose.
However, even though Lin Sanjiu realized that the Southwind Goose was responsible, it didn't change the situation at hand. Sometimes life is just infuriating. Insights obtained in crucial moments have no relevance to the pressing situation at hand.
Frustrated, Lin Sanjiu almost felt like rushing forward. She gave her wrist a light bump, but the impact was too weak to achieve anything; she needed to try again. This brief pause gave her a moment to think.
"That's not right," Mrs. Manas said. "When you fell, the Southwind Goose charged straight ahead. I remember it clearly; it didn't veer left at a fifty-degree angle."
Time was crucial, and Lin Sanjiu hadn't realized that her subconscious was still grappling with the issue. Even if the Southwind Goose had charged straight ahead, what did that imply for her?
In those fleeting seconds, Mrs. Manas, representing Lin Sanjiu's subconscious, continued to ponder despite her conscious thoughts. "That means the Southwind Goose must have changed direction. But why would it do that?"
The answer emerged quickly: it was searching for an exit.
The Southwind Goose aimed to return to its land of origin, usually by drilling a hole through the spatial wall. When it couldn't do so, it would seek an exit to another space, as it had in the landfill space.
But why couldn't it bore a hole here? This was merely an apocalyptic world, similar to the layers of other spaces containing more apocalyptic worlds that overlapped like layers of onion skin—or rather, nest closely like honeycombs. Logically, it should have been able to enter the next space without issue.
Could it be that this small space, containing the mall and parking lot, was an independent space like the landfill?
Lin Sanjiu felt her thoughts drifting. Her arm inadvertently landed on the trunk of the car again, and she wasted another moment. This time, a light point fell out—[A Twinkle in the Sky].
"This isn't yours," she said, holding it in her other hand. "If I hold onto what's mine, yours will eventually fall out."
"We don't have much time!" Advaita urged again.
"I understand!" Mrs. Manas suddenly exclaimed, causing Lin Sanjiu to get goosebumps. As her subconscious, Mrs. Manas's epiphany surged through Lin Sanjiu's mind like waves washing over a shore.
Regardless of the current space, the Southwind Goose's behavior remained the same. If it couldn't bore a hole, it would relentlessly search for an exit. It was this search that led it to turn left after moving forward briefly—where [Planar World] had fallen.
So the question was: had the Southwind Goose found its target, or was it still wandering this space in search of an entrance?
"Quick, release Higher Consciousness!" Lin Sanjiu ordered, gritting her teeth against the peculiar sensation of nearly depleting all her Higher Consciousness. Despite using a significant amount, her remaining power was still considerable. Once spread thinly, it quickly covered most of the parking lot. To avoid raising Advaita's suspicions, she avoided sweeping Higher Consciousness over the part of the lot where Advaita was.
With Higher Consciousness in place, Lin Sanjiu lifted her arm again and waited.
If her guess was correct, the Southwind Goose might still be in this space. Her speculation had little basis, but she wondered why, during the game and even after it ended no outsiders had appeared.
Outsiders couldn't get in, the Southwind Goose couldn't get out... What about her? Could she get out?
As this thought crossed her mind, she felt it.
An unseen, colossal entity suddenly burst into the area covered by her Higher Consciousness from the far end of the parking lot. It sped through her defenseless Higher Consciousness in a flash, circling the parking lot in the blink of an eye.
Perhaps only one or two seconds had passed by the time it was about to complete its fourth pass on the same route. Lin Sanjiu made a split-second decision. She propped herself up with a hand on the dusty red car's trunk and lunged into the air, heading straight for the car where [Planar World] was.
Advaita, watching closely, likely thought Lin Sanjiu was trying to escape and immediately followed. Although Advaita moved a fraction of a second later, both of their feet landed simultaneously. As Lin Sanjiu bent over, gritting her teeth and taking a risky move, she saw Advaita also leaning over, reaching out toward her.
"Please, please," Lin Sanjiu whispered, ignoring Advaita and reaching straight for the light point beside the car tire, hoping it wouldn't change its trajectory. The instant her fingers touched [Planar World], the persistent Southwind Goose once again raced along the route it had just circled—now intersecting with Advaita, whom Lin Sanjiu had led there.
The wind stirred by the Southwind Goose was minimal, barely lifting short hair, and went unnoticed unless it rushed directly in front of someone. By the time Advaita realized something invisible was rushing past her, it was already too late.
Hearing a muffled "thud," Lin Sanjiu turned around with [Planar World] in hand to see Advaita had vanished. She had been struck by the Southwind Goose and sent flying to the right.
Another light point was flung high into the air.
"Thanks," Lin Sanjiu muttered as she snapped the regained [Planar World] back into her body with a "pop." She leaped into the air and grabbed the third light point that had fallen from Advaita.
For a powerful posthuman like her, who could pursue Silvan, it was not her lucky day.
Having succeeded with her move, Lin Sanjiu had no intention of lingering. Seizing the moment when Advaita was knocked out by the Southwind Goose, she dashed toward the distant streets. Even though she didn't understand why the Southwind Goose was trapped in the parking lot, the volunteer had clearly instructed them to escape and hide in the city before the money tree timer expired—meaning she shouldn't be trapped either.
She didn't dare to reserve any strength, running at her top speed toward the distant streets. She was so fast that even the peripheral vision of her eyes became blurry.
Yet, sometimes, even such speed isn't enough.
"My God," Mrs. Manas exclaimed, "the Southwind Goose is chasing us!"
Lin Sanjiu's heart tightened as she felt the presence of the invisible massive entity rushing toward her from behind. For some unknown reason, the Southwind Goose wasn't circling the parking lot as it had before. Instead, it seemed to be charging with immense force, as if aiming to break her spine. Behind the Southwind Goose, Advaita hurriedly got up and chased after her as well.
Lin Sanjiu inwardly swore, realizing the gravity of the situation.
"Does the exit only open when a player tries to leave?"