Chapter 1042: The Ramblings of a Lunatic
Inside the dark tunnel of the mountain cave, dim lights illuminated the insides at regular intervals. The winding mountain road stretched ahead, half-illuminated and half-shrouded in darkness, with no visible exit in sight. The clattering sound of footsteps and heavy breathing grew closer, disrupting the otherwise eerie silence.
Bohemia finally stopped when she couldn't see the entrance anymore.
"That thing is gone," Dr. Hu said, perched on her shoulder while craning its neck, "It seems like we've shaken it off."
"Let's not get careless," Bohemia replied, catching her breath as she walked ahead. She looked at the bracelets on her arm, one by one. "What are these? Do you know, Doctor?"
"It looks like something straight out of my hometown. Who knows what it is?" The little cat exhaled sharply through its nose. "It seems like the driver's death earlier is somehow connected to it."
Rarely did they get transported to a world six months prior, and already, after just two days, everything was in chaos, leaving them physically and mentally exhausted... Was it because of the Great Deluge?
Bohemia realized that whenever she faced a critical moment recently, she didn't know which Special Item to use. She fiddled with her bracelets, feeling that they were all useless. None of them seemed suitable for the current situation. In frustration, she pulled down her sleeves and asked Dr. Hu, who was following closely beside her, "Do you have any items that would be useful right now? Preferably for protection."
"I have plenty," the cat replied, its paws stepping on her shoulder blade as it settled down, seemingly rummaging through its backpack. "Let me see... Ah, this Five-Star Hotel is made just for situations like this!"
"What does it do?"
"Ah, you'll see. We've reached the exit." A small voice by her feet chimed cheerfully.
Great, they reached the exit, so they no longer needed to be on guard.
The Pocket Dimension was coming to an end, and she hoped that this round would bring some rewards... Oh right, she remembered waking up once in a Pocket Dimension. Which Pocket Dimension was it again? She lay in bed, her eyes blurry. She only remembered the chilling surroundings, with several dolphins standing upright and silently moving around her.
She had even forgotten that she had such a memory.
Bohemia sat down on a rock. Beneath the dim cliff, the rustling of the forest could be heard. In the distance, a vast black sea stretched out. She loved the sea—whenever she saw it, it made her happy. Just below the roadside rock was a steep slope. She dangled her legs from the rock, her skirt swaying in the wind.
"What did I ask just now... Oh right, what does this do?"
The small cat figurine she had picked up on the road looked adorable and lively. Her fingers gently caressed the smooth wooden surface of the figurine, and its emerald-like eyes seemed to glisten in the dim moonlight.
This was probably a Special Item, right?
"It... protects, I suppose."
The voice in her ear dissipated like a lingering dream. She turned her head, but her shoulder was empty, and the night was peaceful. Not far away was the dark tunnel entrance she had just emerged from.
She placed the cat figurine on the ground, and it swiftly scampered away, disappearing into the darkness between the trees, never to be seen again.
Oh well, she shouldn't dwell on it.
She waited quietly.
The Great Deluge had arrived, and if she guessed correctly... a critical turning point was fast approaching. She knew the turning point lay ahead, which was why she had stayed by Lin Sanjiu's side, lurking and waiting, even using various excuses...
No, that's not right, Bohemia thought, feeling confused. Until today, she didn't know what she had been waiting for all this time. She thought she was simply obeying her survival instinct, living day after day, continuing her existence. But upon realizing that she had spent half her life living for something, she trembled with fear and a faint sense of relief: fortunately, even if her life was no different from that of an animal, it still held meaning...
"The price for one night,"
In the hotel lobby adorned with thick carpets and dim yellow lights, the pale-faced waitress spoke. Each word drifted out of her mouth, vividly colored, some blue, some yellow, dissipating into the air. The latter half of her sentence was a fresh shade of pink. "Is 500G of salmon."
Though she didn't know what kind of fish salmon was, it seemed expensive.
"It seems like both you and this gentleman are interested in checking in," the waitress said, standing beneath a blue road sign, her smile crooked, her lips turning red and gradually distorting. But, Bohemia didn't feel afraid. "Due to the limited amount of rooms, the prices have gone up..."
Bohemia turned her head and looked at another guest.
It was a shapeless, filthy mess, trembling and soft, as if it couldn't stand on its own and would dissolve into its surroundings at any moment.
She felt that she recognized the gentleman.
The guest had a polite attitude, even though it was a chaotic mass of colors. It stretched out something resembling an arm and lifted its black hat, giving a nod of acknowledgement to Bohemia. As it spoke, two red lips suddenly emerged from the chaotic mass, faintly revealing teeth when they moved—seemingly the lips of the waitress. "You don't need to stay at the hotel. Your home is right here."
Oh, right.
Strangely enough, when it mentioned "home," Bohemia thought of the backs of those dolphins—tall and large, with a bluish-gray body that looked so smooth that even water couldn't touch it.
"Excuse me, do you have 6 kilograms of salmon, a surgical knife, or Lin Sanjiu?" The waitress asked the chaotic mass with a charming smile. Her mouth had indeed disappeared, having transferred to another guest, but she was still smiling. Bohemia knew.
Who was Bohemia?
Her mind felt hazy. It was uncomfortable, like spinning in place and getting dizzy.
"No... I don't have salmon, a surgical knife, or Lin Sanjiu..." The chaotic mass muttered as it turned towards her. "Then I'll dissolve her cognition... I don't need this cat anymore. It's been a long time since I replenished my posthuman self, even if it's just an additional one..."
"Wait!" A familiar, sweet voice exclaimed urgently, but Bohemia couldn't remember who the voice belonged to. She was still in a daze, unaware of her surroundings, when suddenly she felt a sharp pain—although she didn't know where exactly it hurt. The pain quickly turned into a sour and bitter taste that spread from her tongue.
"Why no response?" The voice echoed from afar. "Wake up!"
But she was always very awake, neither in a dream nor unconscious. She couldn't feel her left foot, but she could still clearly sense the numerous tentacles connected to her right ankle.
"Is it a problem with cognition?... But I'm not a neurologist... Ah!"
The speaker seemed startled, let out a sudden cry, and then disappeared. The word exploded in front of Bohemia like fireworks, shining brilliantly across the night sky.
"How annoying," another voice buzzed. She understood every word, and it was her familiar language, but she didn't know what they meant. "We're about to catch up, and now we've gone back into the hotel."
The voice approached her.
Who was this "her"? Who was narrating?
"The reverse effect of Descartes' famous quote seems to be activating soon." It spoke with incomprehensible words. "Who are you? What are you thinking?"
Not far from the billowing black smoke of the truck, Bohemia still stood on the road, just like before, blankly staring, without saying a word, her pupils vacant—because even her thoughts had been scattered and obliterated.
"'I think, therefore I am...' Have you heard that? Even if we cannot confirm the reality of the external world or its existence, when the 'I' as a subject thinks, it can confirm that at least the 'I' exists. Unfortunately, you are about to cease to exist. Once the mind ceases to exist, even your material foundation will disappear. It's truly fascinating..."
"Every time I see your vacant face, I can't help but say a few more words." The surface of the road gradually distorted and bent, transforming into a formless, filthy chaos, extending towards Bohemia's face. "Welcome, you're about to become a part of me."
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