Chapter 881: Lin Sanjiu's Last Resort
"Wait, wait—"
Bohemia was filled with reluctance, her gaze still lingering on the path leading to the outside. She wanted to run, but couldn't help looking at the dead person who had disappeared in a flash. She also had to be on guard against the girl with the slanted eyes. She was in a state of chaos, jingling with unease. "I-I don't want to play. I want to leave!"
"Want to leave? Just because you said so, I should let you go?" The girl giggled, and her large teeth were fully exposed from her lips. "Although you can still see the outside, you are already in my pocket dimension."
Lin Sanjiu reached out and grabbed Bohemia, signaling her to calm down. Then she looked around. This pocket dimension was different from every other one they had experienced before. It had no specific form—no boundaries or special spaces. Other than the little girl in a golden dress standing before them, it felt like they were still outside.
However, the fact that they couldn't run far proved that they had been captured by another pocket dimension.
"After all, this is a pocket dimension for playing Landlord," the little girl seemed to sense their thoughts. She shrugged her shoulders, her eyes unnaturally close together, as if trying to pierce through people's skin with her gaze. "If you don't gather three people, you can't play. It's not often that there are enough people, so we have to wait until someone else enters to make up three or a multiple of three. So, there can't be any obstruction, or else newcomers won't be able to see."
Bohemia took a deep breath, but it did little to ease her distressed expression.
"Why did you have to capture us?" Regardless of how much she had been hit, Bohemia always managed to rally with a fierce demeanor. "You have a pair of big eyes. Didn't you see someone running away just now?"
"That person is already dead. Can't play cards anymore," the little girl said with a playful smile. "If you don't want to play Landlord, you can die like him."
"He can't run away if he's not dead!" Bohemia angrily retorted. "That must have been an illusion caused by some object!"
"I don't care about that," the little girl smoothed her sparkling skirt and, when she raised her hand again, a stack of playing cards appeared out of nowhere. "Anyway, now that you're here, you have to play Landlord with me."
Lin Sanjiu and Bohemia exchanged glances.
This pocket dimension was undoubtedly full of traps and games that tested intelligence... Unfortunately, they had already used up their "borrowed" consciousness during the confrontation with the Grand Prize. If they were to "borrow" again, they would have to enter the consciousness starry sky once more. However, the little girl before them didn't have the same patience as the previous pocket dimension owner. "What are you staring at? Hurry up, I'm impatient. It's been so long since I played."
As she spoke, she stomped her feet, shuffling the cards in her hands at a dizzying speed. "All right, I'm being fair. I even shuffled the cards for you. Did you see that? Now, come on, I'll deal the cards. Take them!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the two stacks of playing cards in her hand spun in the air and flew straight towards them. Both Lin Sanjiu and Bohemia took a step back and caught them.
As they held the playing cards, both of them couldn't help but lower their heads and take a look. Unlike the usual dealing in a game of Landlord, these stacks of cards were thin, and to their surprise, there were only five cards in each stack.
"Wait, how can you call this fair?" Lin Sanjiu interrupted the little girl before she could speak. "You and the previous pocket dimension, the one for the Match Three game, are the same, right?"
"What do you mean?" The little girl turned half of her face and raised an eyebrow.
"He was obsessed with eliminating posthumans—presumably you are too?"
The little girl blinked, gazing at her intently for a few seconds before finally responding with an "Uh-huh."
"All 27 of you pocket dimensions gathered here for the same purpose?"
"You have so many questions," the little girl sighed. "Yes, and so what? If we all scatter, our destructive power won't be strong enough, and with a little carelessness, you might survive."
Bohemia squinted her eyes at her, her lips pursed in anger.
"It's useless for you to care about other pocket dimensions," the little girl casually flipped the cards in her hand. "Focus on getting out alive from here first, and then you can think about the other twenty-six pocket dimensions."
"Wait, did you say twenty-six? You said twenty-six?" Lin Sanjiu's words trailed off as she suddenly realized something, and her face turned pale. At the same time, the narrow-eyed little girl burst into laughter as if she had witnessed something amusing.
Bohemia paused for a moment, then realized what she meant. "You must be mistaken. We've already passed the Clear the Blocks pocket dimension, so after we leave here, there are only twenty-five pocket dimensions left—"
"I didn't make a mistake," the little girl found great pleasure in their reactions. "The Clear the Blocks pocket dimension owner won't be eliminated; it was just a game that he lost carelessly. So what's so terrifying? I just need to catch you again! I dare say that guy is probably nearby, waiting for an opportunity."
Even in a war of attrition, there would be an end as long as they held on. But this endless challenge of pocket dimensions could only end with their deaths.
No wonder so many pocket dimensions gathered here! Lin Sanjiu was shocked and angry, gripping the playing cards tightly in her hand, almost bending them. After a few seconds of silence, she suddenly turned her head and asked Bohemia in a low voice, "What specific purpose does your Silver Net serve— the one you use to intercept the light shadow people?"
"Do you want to use it to separate us from the pocket dimensions?" When it came to combat, Bohemia immediately understood what she meant. After pondering for a while, she tucked a strand of long curly hair behind her ear and whispered, "Maybe we can try it after we leave the pocket dimension."
In any case, they had to get through this game of Landlord first.
"Struggle all you want," the little girl grew visibly impatient after just a few seconds. "I don't care. I want to play Landlord!"
"What about the rules?" Lin Sanjiu raised the cards in her hand. "Why are there only five cards here?"
"Oh, it's so bothersome," the little girl wrinkled her nose, her eyes squinting even more. "Actually, the rules are very simple. Each person now has a wild card in their hand. Look, it's like this, right?"
Bohemia snorted, "You shuffled the cards quite evenly."
The little girl didn't respond directly but explained, "The wild card is bigger than any other card. It can beat any card. This is important, you know! Besides the wild card, the rest are just number cards from 1 to 10, progressing in numerical order. For example, 2 beats 1, 3 beats 2... You understand, right?"
Lin Sanjiu glanced at Bohemia, who immediately became displeased. "We people from the Twelve Realms know how to play poker too."
"The player who goes last must play a card that is bigger than the previous card played. That's easy to understand, right?"
So far, it was all ordinary poker rules, and both of them nodded.
"But in the Landlord pocket dimension, you're only allowed to play one single card at a time," the little girl raised a finger and giggled again. "And regardless of what card is played, the next player is not allowed to pass. If you don't have a card big enough to beat the previous one, there will be consequences."
"Which means," Lin Sanjiu interrupted before the little girl could explain the punishment, pointing at Bohemia and asking, "If I play a 10, but she doesn't have a card bigger than 10, does she have to play the wild card?"
"Yes, and whoever is forced to play the wild card becomes the Landlord. Just like in a regular game of Landlord, the first person to run out of cards wins," the little girl explained.
Lin Sanjiu interrupted her again suddenly.
"Wait, it's too complicated. I don't understand at all." Ignoring the look Bohemia gave her, she proposed, "Why don't we play a round first to better understand the rules... How about that?"
The little girl paused.
"You can't understand such simple rules? How did you even get through the Clear the Blocks pocket dimension?"
"It's all thanks to her quick thinking," Lin Sanjiu gestured toward Bohemia, smiling slightly embarrassedly. "If it weren't for her, I would have died inside."
"She...?" The little girl's skeptical gaze shifted between the two of them, and suddenly, she seemed to think of something and burst into laughter again. "Okay, let's play a round then."
Bohemia's expression tightened, as if she suddenly understood the trap in the little girl's words. However, before she could object, Lin Sanjiu, as if relieved, played a "2" as her first card. "Is this okay?"
"Yes—"
Before the little girl could say another word, Lin Sanjiu pushed Bohemia and said, "It's your turn."
"What's wrong with you?" Bohemia glanced at her, puzzled and annoyed. When their eyes met, she swallowed the rest of her words, and reluctantly, she cautiously played a "3".
"You keep interrupting me. Can't you follow the rules?" The little girl raised her voice and threw down a "6".
"Oh, I have a 7, I have a 7!" Lin Sanjiu hurriedly played her 7 and pushed Bohemia again. She turned to the little girl and said, "Okay, continue."
Bohemia hesitated for a moment, biting her lip, before finally playing a 10.
"Ah-ha!" The little girl suddenly became happy. "It seems you've grasped the essence of this game! That's right, you have to force the next player to play the wild card. For example, me right now—"
"Sorry, please wait a moment."
For the fourth time, Lin Sanjiu interrupted her, taking out a crumpled tissue from her pocket and smiling sincerely at the little girl. "Can you feel it?"
"Feel what—"
Before she could finish her sentence, the little girl's expression suddenly changed. Her thin eyebrows shot up as if she were greatly surprised. However, at the same time, the remaining three cards in Lin Sanjiu's and Bohemia's hands disappeared in a dazzling white light.