Doomsday Wonderland

The axe paused mid-air as Lin Sanjiu froze, only slowly turning her gaze.

From her vantage point, she could only see the elevator on the far left of the lobby. As she heard the elevator door slowly open, the one visible remained shut. She lowered her axe, straining her ears for any sounds.

After the door fully opened, several seconds passed in silence. No one came out, and no one went in. It felt like her ears had been taken off and buried underground in a coffin.

The Life Coach silently mouthed, "Shall I take a look?"

Lin Sanjiu nodded. He was an object; the chances of him being noticed were slim.

The Life Coach's expression was a mix of sheepishness, suppressed excitement, and a need to be serious. He raised his hand, mimicking a crushing motion.

Charging just to take a look? What a rip-off.

Reluctant to give up an item, Lin Sanjiu decided to go herself. Observing the stillness in the elevator area, she gently propped the axe against the wall. The spot where she placed the axe marked where she intended to strike, ensuring she wouldn't forget her direction.

She silently moved to the corner, crouching down. After a few breaths, she stealthily peeked around the wall.

Ads by PubFuture The elevator area was spacious and well-lit. There were two rows of four elevators on each side, a few brass-colored trash bins, withered potted plants, and decorations along the walls, but not a single person. The elevator that had arrived was the farthest from her. Its doors had receded, revealing an empty cabin bathed in soft light, devoid of human presence.

Just as Lin Sanjiu pondered whether to approach, a gentle female voice, accompanied by a faint buzzing sound, emerged from the empty elevator. "Please prevent the new game launch within an hour. If unsuccessful, you will participate in the next game."

She was taken aback, then the voice, now dripping with commercial enthusiasm, continued, "Selecting only the freshest green leaves, picked after the early spring rain on green mountains, brewing a unique tea aroma..."

To hell with the game launch. Lin Sanjiu was almost amused by the advertisement displayed in the elevator.

She had anticipated some danger or a posthuman presence, making her unnecessarily anxious. At a time when the grand prize truly needed her, she had no interest in any damn game. Even if volunteers showed up later, intending to take her to another venue, they'd have to contend with her fists first. She hoped for a fight. If the volunteers were competent, they would drag out whoever was behind all this—she had scores to settle.

She turned around and briskly walked back, grabbing her axe once again.

The Life Coach glanced at the elevator area and then at the visibly furious Lin Sanjiu and asked, "What do you plan to do?"

"In an hour, I'll be long gone," Lin Sanjiu declared, raising her axe. "Let them come find me!"

As her words fell, so did her axe. Swinging with an astonishing force, the sound it made as it cut through the air was sharp enough to seemingly pulverize a speeding train. With a tremendous force, she buried it deep into the wall. Debris flew everywhere, causing the Life Coach beside her to duck, quickly shielding his face with his arm.

"Be careful!" he shouted, perhaps worried Lin Sanjiu might not hear him while striking the wall. As he stepped back, he hurriedly added, "This is what I use for sustenance – I rely on it—" freewёbnoνel.com

Lin Sanjiu's axe, raised once more, suddenly stopped mid-air. His words were abruptly cut off as their attentions were involuntarily drawn to the wall before them. Much to their disbelief, the huge crater made by her axe rapidly returned to its pristine state. Even the white plaster launched into the air hadn't had the chance to land before the wall was completely restored.

Stunned, the Life Coach approached and touched the wall, mumbling, "So fast..."

Lin Sanjiu commanded, "Move!"

The Life Coach, agile in his response, swiftly dodged the shadow of the descending axe. Lin Sanjiu didn't hold back this time, striking repeatedly with all her might. Mrs. Manas summoned a thin layer of Higher Consciousness to protect her body, which shimmered with every blow and flying shard.

By the time Lin Sanjiu paused to catch her breath, the marble wall had simultaneously finished repairing its last small dent, regaining its smooth, hard surface, even faintly reflecting human figures.

The speed of the wall's restoration matched the speed of her destruction.

If there was any difference, it was that Lin Sanjiu had limits to her strength and speed, while it seemed the wall's repair speed could continue endlessly.

"Is this the game venue?" the Life Coach speculated.

Ads by PubFuture

"Go to the main entrance, see if we can get out," Lin Sanjiu instructed, but she already had a hunch about the answer. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she resisted the urge to throw her axe in frustration and propped it up properly. Almost immediately after setting it down, [The Power Of Word Picture] deactivated, and the axe reverted to its original material, scattered and pointing toward the grand prize. She strode into the elevator area, noticing that the elevator at the farthest end still had its doors open as if waiting for someone to enter.

Lin Sanjiu didn't enter but merely peeked inside. This commercial building had up to sixty floors, so the elevators were divided into two sections: one for the lower floors up to the thirtieth and the other for the higher ones. The elevator she was looking at belonged to the lower section.

She approached the elevator for the higher floors, opening her card inventory, when she heard the Life Coach's footsteps approaching. From a distance, he called out, "The main door won't open. It seems they don't want us to leave."

Just when the grand prize needed her the most, she couldn't reach him. Lin Sanjiu closed her eyes, for once hoping she could contact Gong Daoyi. She was willing to pay any price if he could help her escape her current predicament and find the grand prize.

She quickly suppressed this irrational thought. Taking out a long iron rod from her card inventory, she flattened one end with force. In a muted voice, she told the arriving the Life Coach, "I plan to pry this door open."

"Why?"

"In commercial buildings like this, elevator shafts usually lead to underground parking," she explained. "Maybe we can exit from there."

Though she said this, she knew it sounded more like wishful thinking. Even the Life Coach didn't encourage her with words like "You can definitely do it!" or even ask, "What about the direction?" The hope of getting out was already slim; they didn't have the luxury to worry about direction now.

With Lin Sanjiu's strength, the elevator doors were soon creakingly pried open. She gritted her teeth, separating the doors to reveal the dark elevator shaft behind them. She extended the iron rod to probe and, seeing no immediate danger, peered inside.

Cool air greeted her from the darkness. When she looked up, the light from the doorway disappeared into the dark tunnel stretching endlessly above, consumed entirely, so black that she couldn't see the end.

Lin Sanjiu took out a flashlight, sweeping it downwards. She then noticed that the elevator was positioned at the first basement level, blocking her way to the parking lot. She descended along the cable, examining the top of the elevator—she recalled scenes from movies where people often escaped through the roof of elevators, but no matter how she searched, she couldn't find an opening.

Despite several punches, the elevator remained as immovable as the walls in the lobby, equally despair-inducing.

"I can't believe this," she muttered. "I have to get out."

A muffled female voice echoed from below in the elevator as if to remind her, "Time left to stop the new game launch: twenty minutes."

Had she already wasted forty minutes?

Lin Sanjiu felt as if her insides were doused with chili water, making her incredibly uncomfortable. Standing atop the elevator, she thought for a moment before shouting to the Life Coach outside, "Jump down, I need to store you in my card inventory."

"What are you planning to do?"

Mrs. Manas was already loudly protesting in her mind. Lin Sanjiu was also afraid, her voice trembling slightly as she said, "I intend... to use Advaita's spatial traversal ability to get out of here."

The Life Coach was taken aback and immediately peeked in. "Isn't that dangerous? Didn't you say it has a strong impact on your psyche?"

It was indeed a huge impact, one she didn't even want to think about.

Seeing Lin Sanjiu silent, the Life Coach seemed to understand and advised, "One of the keys to success is to recognize unnecessary risks in life."

"But how else am I supposed to get out of here?" Lin Sanjiu said impatiently.

Ads by PubFuture

The Life Coach was momentarily speechless. After a few seconds, he said, "If you really want to traverse space, I suggest you come up and use it near the main entrance. You are currently in the elevator shaft; where can you go from here? Without a clear spatial reference, you might end up stepping into emptiness again. Who knows where you'll fall? It's different in the lobby. With the glass door in front of you, you have a clear spatial reference. You just need to pass through the door, minimizing the duration of your traversal through different spaces."

In her haste and frustration, Lin Sanjiu hadn't considered this. Realizing it now, she responded, "Alright, I'll come up," and reached out to grasp the cables in the elevator shaft.

"The advice just now was free. The next one will come at a cost, even among close ones, we should keep clear accounts," the Life Coach said.

Given Lin Sanjiu's current mood, this comment was almost comically out of place. Just as she was about to reply, "Understood," she felt a slight tremor beneath her feet. Before she could even process its meaning, a thunderous echo resonated within the elevator shaft. The elevator below, acting almost like a rocket, propelled her straight up into the dark tunnel as if aiming to squash her like a bug against the end of the tunnel.