Doomsday Wonderland

Lin Sanjiu remained calm.

For a person analyzed as data, re-materializing was merely a reverse command. If Lily could turn into text, then text should be able to revert into Lily. The only problem was neither she nor Yu Yuan knew how to reverse the process.

"How many floors have we descended?" Having been initially shocked at seeing Yu Yuan and subsequently lost in the illusions, she assumed she had lost track of time.

"Based on our descent speed, we should be around the 30th floor now," Yu Yuan answered.

No wonder Lily couldn't even maintain her human form. Lin Sanjiu asked, "What do you think we should do now?"

"I don't care about this person's fate, so I have no reason to act," he said and paused before continuing, "and no reason to advise you."

Hearing these words from Yu Yuan's mouth was hard for Lin Sanjiu. She turned her head, staring at a silvery pillar in front of her, shrouded in a mist as if from cold. She tried to separate the Yu Yuan from her memories and this Veda who was no longer the same person.

"I'll figure it out myself," she said softly.

As her words trailed off, the elevator gave a slight jolt and continued its descent. Although there were now two more people in the elevator, the pre-programmed punishment seemed unable to immediately adjust, still functioning systematically.

This was good news for her, although not necessarily for Lily.

Lin Sanjiu entered the elevator not just to save Lily.

The punishment Lily received hinted that Lin Sanjiu would have a chance to infiltrate behind the game organizer. Now that they had the grand prize, following Lily meant that Lin Sanjiu might find a shortcut to it. Her original plan was to save Lily once she got in and then proceed downwards herself.

What she hadn't expected was for Lily in the elevator to transform into three characters: '和', '百', and '合'.

What was this? A person? A substance? Was there still any semblance of life? Could it be turned into a card? What if the part that got carded was essential, like her heart? Would Lily die?

Faced with a potential life at stake, Lin Sanjiu didn't dare act rashly. After much contemplation, she couldn't even decide whether to touch the silvery text, fearing those three silent, intricate, cold yet fragile characters would shatter at her touch.

As she walked around in circles, the elevator stopped and moved twice, descending a total of three floors.

Huh? Was she still in the elevator?

Lin Sanjiu looked around.

She found herself in an environment filled with a soft white glow, as if deep in the air, layers of gentle white milk were rolling out. The so-called elevator had long disappeared from sight — this clearly wasn't the inside of an elevator.

So, does that mean a space larger than the elevator was packed into the elevator itself?

"Wait, could this white space we're in be Lily herself?" Lin Sanjiu said, struggling to explain her sudden idea and unsure if Yu Yuan would understand. "Do you get what I mean? Lily was put into the elevator, and during the process of being transformed into text, this space emerged from within her... um, like how humans have a body with organs inside it; this white space is her body, and the text is her... her..."

Lin Sanjiu couldn't find the right words and glanced at Yu Yuan — who nodded in understanding. True to his Veda nature, he grasped even such a mysterious explanation.

"You could also say it's like a cell membrane and DNA chain," she said, making another perhaps not quite apt analogy. Something about Yu Yuan seemed different.

"Even if I dared to card the text, I couldn't card this white space," Lin Sanjiu said, her gaze still fixed intently on Yu Yuan — his facial features, tattoos, and body all seemed unchanged. The more she looked, the more she felt something was off but couldn't pinpoint what.

Yu Yuan revealed the answer.

He slowly raised a hand, pointing to his head. "Are you looking at this?"

Yes.

It was the right stroke atop the character '合'. The end of that stroke, like a silver snow cascading from the sky, paused upon reaching the world, looking like a semi-unfurled peacock tail in silent anticipation.

Yu Yuan had been standing right under that stroke, shrouded in the faint mist emanating from the character. The tattoos on his face and body seemed to move as if breathing. The stroke still looked as stunning now, but unlike before, its length no longer obscured Yu Yuan.

"Did... did it shrink?" Lin Sanjiu asked in a daze.

Yu Yuan nodded. She quickly turned and took a few steps back, continually glancing over the three silvery characters. They seemed to have shrunk proportionally. Without Yu Yuan as a reference, it would be hard to notice their reduction in size at first glance.

"Some of it has dissipated," Yu Yuan said impassively. "With each floor the elevator stops at, these characters, this space, shrink a little. She's gradually melting into this world in a way I've never seen before."

Melting?

Lin Sanjiu felt as though she had been pricked, her muscles twitching in reflex — panic finally set in. She initially believed that the transformation of text was reversible. But if the words that formed Lily were entirely dissolved and integrated into this world, what could she use to reverse it?

Had she known this earlier, what was there to be cautious about? Staying still was the greatest risk!

"Is the opening you made on the top of the elevator still there?" she hurriedly asked.

Yu Yuan nodded and walked to the character '百' and pointed upwards. freёweɓnovel.com

"Move aside. I need to get up there," Lin Sanjiu said, suppressing her racing heart and quickly moving to his side. "Rather than fretting and watching her dissolve, it's better to take a risk... These characters don't seem to be alive anymore. Perhaps my method will work."

Yu Yuan, indifferent to what she had just said, simply stepped aside. "Judging from your behavior, I recognize this as an emotion called 'anxiety'."

"No kidding!" Lin Sanjiu pushed off from the ground, propelling herself upwards.

The space housed within the elevator was much taller than the elevator itself. Her jump fell short, forcing her to grasp the corner of the character '百' mid-air. Using it as a support, she leapt again, aiming for the exit of the elevator. Every time she touched a character, Lin Sanjiu feared irreversible consequences. However, by the time she managed to grip the edge of the exit, the three characters forming 'Lily' still stood undisturbed.

When she clambered atop the elevator car, Yu Yuan utilized his spatial travel ability and appeared by her side instantly — being a Veda, he faced no risk of mental strain and seemed much more at ease than she was. "What are you planning to do now?" Apparently, even the Veda were curious at times.

"As you know, my card ability can't transform living entities," Lin Sanjiu said slightly hoarsely, gazing at the hazy white glow below. "But in her current state, she's not exactly 'alive,' is she? While I was inside, I hesitated to turn her into a card, with three separate characters. If I turned them into cards one by one, what if it's akin to dismembering her?"

Yu Yuan nodded. "I think your speculation and concerns are valid."

"It's different now that I'm out," Lin Sanjiu said, taking a deep breath as she steadied herself. "Since she's still contained within this elevator, if I transform her and the elevator into a card, then perhaps..."

Yu Yuan suddenly raised his voice. It wasn't urgency, for he lacked such emotions, but to Lin Sanjiu, it sounded urgent. "If you do that, then that means—"

"Yes," she whispered. Placing a hand on the top of the elevator, she smiled faintly in the dim light at the Veda. "Hold onto me tightly."

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No sooner had her words fallen than the elevator beneath them vanished. A sensation of free-fall enveloped Lin Sanjiu, and she found herself plummeting into the abyssal darkness below.