Chapter 990: Corpses Are Truly a Valuable Resource
"Hey, can I discuss something with you?"
Lin Sanjiu sat cross-legged in the boat, contemplating for a few minutes before suddenly raising her voice to ask.
After a thorough search, she had piled up the things she found from the middle-aged gentleman into a small heap in the pedal boat. She had expected Philibert to have more items, but unexpectedly, she only found nine Special Items in total—perhaps he had lost many things in the lake.
But this meant that after deducting Philibert's rent in the pocket dimension, she only had the "Reference Material" left to offset her own rent, which was of no use to her.
Lin Sanjiu decided to try this somewhat far-fetched idea—it was her only option.
"What is it?" Perhaps because there was only one person left in the pocket dimension, the loudspeaker's tone became more relaxed.
"This doesn't belong to you right now," Lin Sanjiu pointed to the "Reference Material" and cautiously said, "Can I use it to replace one of my collateral items that I handed over?"
"Replace one?"
"Yes, I give this to you, and you give me back one of my Special Items. The number of collateral items you have will remain the same."
As she spoke, Lin Sanjiu's mouth felt dry and bitter due to nervousness. In a certain sense, the pocket dimension that allowed the possibility of full team clearance while forcing the team to perish through various means was even more illogical than the pocket dimension affected by the Great Deluge. It seemed like a blend of extreme mercy and cruelty.
If the pocket dimension rejected her proposal, the situation would become tricky.
"Hmm, but it's not really yours..." the loudspeaker seemed somewhat hesitant.
"Didn't you say that we're all in the same team and should naturally share resources?" As long as it didn't outright reject her, Lin Sanjiu wouldn't give up. "I'm using one of my teammate's items to replace mine, so you won't lose anything."
There was silence from the loudspeaker for a moment.
"Alright then," Lin Sanjiu gritted her teeth, determined. "If you agree, I'll give you an additional Special Item as rent when I return the boat."
"Ah," the loudspeaker immediately laughed apologetically, "Actually, you don't need to give me additional rent. I would have agreed anyway... but since you're so enthusiastic, I won't refuse your gesture."
Cursing under her breath, she tossed all nine items into the water. "Here," she shouted.
"Didn't all your items fall into the lake?" the pocket dimension loudspeaker asked cheerfully, "Even if you manage to replace one, it's useless. Are you planning to paddle back to retrieve them?"
"Don't worry about that," Lin Sanjiu replied impatiently. She told it the name of the Special Item. "Hurry up and replace it for me."
As soon as she finished speaking, there was a sudden splash in the water not far away. Lin Sanjiu turned around and her face immediately brightened. At least so far, everything was going smoothly!
She muttered a quick "sorry" and dragged Philibert's corpse into the water. Then, she pulled the blood-stained pedal boat and struggled to change direction, pedaling desperately toward the direction of the splashing sound.
Special Items couldn't drown, even if they looked like a person.
The artist, who had regained his intelligence, was now struggling in the water, swallowing mouthfuls of water one after another. He couldn't call for help, his eyes were bloodshot, and he looked agonized, but he didn't sink.
"Alright," Lin Sanjiu said, relieved as if she had reunited with an old friend. "Come up!"
The artist was a Special Item that couldn't fit into her bag. After [Planar World] was taken away, she had no choice but to leave him at the starting point. Although the water level rose higher and higher, the artist remained rooted in place, watching as the water gradually engulfed his body—Lin Sanjiu couldn't see him anymore after mortgaging all her Special Items. Presumably, because he had lost his "utility," he sank to the bottom like everything else.
Now, she had finally found him again!
Watching the artist, dripping wet, struggling to climb onto the boat, Lin Sanjiu heaved a sigh of relief in her heart. She held onto another boat and pedaled back to the return point. The artist, still carrying his canvas, frame, and penholder, not even a tube of paint less, fell into the bloody puddle, looking confusedly at Lin Sanjiu on the adjacent boat.
He was waiting for her instructions to paint.
"I know the space in the pedal boat is small," Lin Sanjiu kindly reassured him, "but I still hope you can paint a landscape... enemies? Oh, my enemy is water... Yes, don't paint the lake water."
After hesitating for a few seconds, she quickly added, "If you see a body in the water, be sure to paint it. Everything except water should stay at the bottom of the lake. Can you do that?"
She felt her request was simple: a lake landscape without the lake.
The artist sat with his mouth half open, occasionally glancing at the lake's surface and then at the canvas he had unfolded. Fortunately, he seemed accustomed to Lin Sanjiu's odd requests for him to paint various things. After hesitating for a moment, he finally adjusted his colors, dipped his brush, and reluctantly began painting.
With each stroke of the brush, Lin Sanjiu grew increasingly restless and anxious. Everything was based on her assumptions, and unexpected circumstances could arise at any moment. If the artist's plan failed, she would have to try replacing another item instead.
Then, with a "click," the artist dropped his brush.
Startled, Lin Sanjiu quickly looked up at his canvas. However, before she could see clearly, the ground beneath her suddenly shook violently, and she was thrown head over heels. Her vision tilted as a tremendous wall of water surged into the air, obscuring everything in darkness with its deafening roar. The lake had transformed into a colossal water dragon, rushing towards the small canvas with incredible force.
The boat and Lin Sanjiu were abruptly sent tumbling into the depths of the lake. She barely had time to lift her head and see the artist before experiencing a jarring impact that engulfed her body and caused her skeletal frame to tremble within her skin.
For several long seconds, she was tossed and turned, unable to utter a word, only able to blink as she peered through the murky lake bottom, attempting to regain her bearings.
With a "plop," the artist fell next to her, splattering her with mud. Startled, she quickly regained her composure.
Though she hadn't fallen far, a long wooden platform was nearby. As the lake water receded, the supporting pillars beneath the platform became visible.
Enduring the pain coursing through her body, Lin Sanjiu hurriedly climbed out of the boat, which had a long crack and broken oars strewn about. It seemed unlikely that it would resurface from the water. Philibert's boat, on the other hand, remained intact. When she dragged it out of the water later, it would probably still be usable.
Regardless, regret was futile at this point. She had to act quickly.
Lin Sanjiu removed her shirt and used it to secure the boat to the pillars beneath the wooden platform. Then, she trudged through the muddy lake, taking a few steps towards the distance. The lake was strewn with bloated corpses, like stranded whales on a beach. She paid no attention to the boat fragments, trash, or clothing, focusing solely on the swollen bodies.
Philibert was not the only one who died here. If he still had Special Items that hadn't been deducted as rent, then the other bodies likely had some too!
"Hey!" the voice from the loudspeaker suddenly rang out, "What are you doing, emptying my lake?"
As expected, the pocket dimension wouldn't allow such a situation to change the fundamental circumstances for posthumans. Moreover, this time it probably wouldn't take more than thirty minutes to refill the lake.
Aware of the urgency, Lin Sanjiu hastened her search. She found a plastic bag some distance away and began frantically patting down each body, searching for any hidden Special Items. Alongside the sound of distant rushing water, the depressions in the mud gradually filled with water again.
The water was still shallow, barely reaching her feet. However, she had no idea how much time she had left.
Lin Sanjiu stuffed a brass bird into the bag and shouted to the artist, "Help me find the Special Items too!"
The artist, still holding the canvas, followed obediently, looking confused.
Lin Sanjiu sighed inwardly. After all, he was a Special Item whose only skill was painting, so she hadn't expected much from him. She lowered her head and continued searching the bodies, commanding him without looking back, "If you can't retrieve anything, go wait for me on the wooden platform. Don't follow me around. The water is about to rise, and I don't want to drag you through it later."
The artist understood this command and ran towards the wooden platform, splattering mud on her back. After a while, she turned to look, and the artist was already climbing onto the platform, struggling to pull himself up.
An orange leaf, a screwdriver, a coffee cup still filled to the brim, a small white jade Buddha statue, an advertisement flyer that hadn't been soaked by water... Lin Sanjiu searched for anything that resembled a Special Item while keeping an eye on the distance between her and the wooden platform. In this vast expanse of the lake, countless posthumans had died, and there were heaps of miscellaneous items and bodies in all directions. But she had neither the time nor the opportunity now.
The lake water was rising at an almost furious speed. Before she had collected much, the water had already reached her waist. Just seconds ago, she had been able to see the lakebed, but now she couldn't discern the location of any Special Items. If she didn't climb onto the wooden platform quickly, it would be too late. Lin Sanjiu tied the plastic bag and charged forward through the water, stumbling and struggling.
"I'm disembarking!"
Finally, when she managed to hoist her heavy body onto the wooden platform, she felt as though even her breath was soaked, heavy and filled with water. Every movement caused her chest to ache.
"I... I never want to see water again in my life," she lay on the wooden platform, panting, and spoke to the sky.
Of course, no one would answer her.
Lin Sanjiu closed her eyes, her heart sinking into the dim despair. She had searched the area as thoroughly as possible but had only found six items, and she didn't know how many of them had not been deducted as rent.
Having the artist repeat the same strategy again would be of little use because the pocket dimension would refill the lake within a few minutes. This meant she couldn't venture too far from the wooden platform and could, at most, search the places she had already searched.
Letting out a heavy sigh, she mustered her strength and sat up, her arms trembling with fatigue. With this ordinary human body, she still needed to figure out how to pull the boat out of the water and return it to the pocket dimension. Compared to paying rent, this was a minor inconvenience.
Gently, she felt her shoulder being tapped by fingers. Lin Sanjiu turned around and was startled by the enlarged face of the artist, which was so close to her. He couldn't produce any sound or speak, but in his black eyes, there seemed to be some hidden message, gazing brightly at her.
"What... What is it?" Lin Sanjiu forced a wry smile and rubbed her temples. "Did you find a lot of Special Items just now? I thought you only painted and did nothing else."
The artist blinked at her and raised his hand, pointing behind her.