Doomsday Wonderland

Pinching the paper in her hand, Lin Sanjiu stared at it without saying anything. The name “Nüwa” had caused her so much shock that it was as if somebody had struck a big old bell hard in her brain. She couldn’t come around even after a long while. It pushed all her thoughts out, leaving only the echoes of the bell in her brain.

She wasn’t very proficient in English, so she could not understand the message Nüwa had written for her. She tried to make Yu Yuan explain it to her, but to her dismay, the common language in Yu Yuan’s hometown was Latin. Both of them got together and studied it for a while, but neither of them could understand it.

Lin Sanjiu bit her lips.

Nüwa knew her language, but she left a message in English…

Why would she do that?

Troubled by the question, Lin Sanjiu exited the pocket dimension together with Yu Yuan. When she once again stepped into the street filled with vendors, she finally saw the light.

The west-bound sun was dipping into the horizon like a huge globe of orange. The sky looked like the face of a drunkard; there were ripples of faint purple and light red fanning across its face. A tall figure was standing in the distance with his hands in his pocket, his shadow long on the ground. At this moment, the golden radiance given off by his hair had softened down. It was no longer as bright as the sun but shimmered like water waves on a lake.

When he did not speak, even the air quieted down. The posthumans that came and went daren’t get close to him. They stood very far from him to admire his beauty.

Considering Silvan’s disposition, appearing outside the pocket dimension right on time to pick her up was something he would do.

“Xiao Jiu!”

The moment Silvan turned his head and saw Lin Sanjiu, he beamed widely. His emerald eyes glowed as if they were stars in the night. “I figured it was about time for you to come out, so I came to pick you up.”

They had just been separated for a day, yet Silvan had grown more attached to her. Bracing against the gazes that everybody threw at her, she walked up to Silvan. She didn’t introduce Yu Yuan but instead handed the piece of paper in her hand to him first. “Yeah… By the way, can you help me take a look at this and explain it to me?”

Silvan glanced at Yu Yuan, then lowered his head. Locks of golden hair cascaded down his perfectly sculpted face like a radiant river of gold. They covered half of his face and made his facial features look even more distinct.

“I have finally figured you out…” he muttered and then looked at Yu Yuan with a confused expression sitting on his face. “Whoever wrote this, it simply means she or he has been figuring you out and now she or he finally understands everything about you.”

“Everything about me?” Lin Sanjiu frowned, falling into her own thoughts. ‘What is it about me that left Nüwa so curious, and what has she found out? Putting aside how she knew Yu Yuan and I would cross paths in the Reverie Libretto, why does she want to figure me out?’

“Where did you get this from?” asked Silvan as he pinched the paper between his fingers. He glanced at Yu Yuan again. The latter was obviously stunned by his appearance as well. He just stood there, stock-still, struck dumb like an idiot. Silvan took the opportunity and offered him an amicable smile as he asked, “Are you her friend? Did you bump into each other in the pocket dimension?”

“It’s a long story,” Lin Sanjiu sighed and answered on behalf of Yu Yuan. “He’s a friend of mine who helped me through the Reverie Libretto. This message… Somebody I acquainted with a long time ago entrusted him to pass to me.”

Silvan turned to her, but he gave no response. His emerald green eyes shone gloomily, veiled behind his golden hair.

Suddenly, Lin Sanjiu had a moment of enlightenment. ‘Could it be that Nüwa knew that Silvan would be with me, so she left the message in English?

‘Even with her [A Perfect Plan Could Occasionally Exist], this is just unbelievable…’

“So you are both from the Munitions Factory?”

It was at this moment that Yu Yuan’s voice rang out and pulled her out of her thoughts. Lin Sanjiu gazed at Silvan, and only then did she realize she was wearing the Munitions Factory’s uniform.

“Oh, I am not from the factory,” she explained. “He lent me this uniform so that I could escape from a bad guy.”

After that, Lin Sanjiu sighed again. She had almost forgotten that she still had one Percival Levin to deal with.

“So how did it go?” Silvan suddenly spoke. There was a smile playing on his lips and his eyes were as gentle as water. “What did you gain from the pocket dimension? Any clue?”

Lin Sanjiu was stunned like a string that snapped into two.

‘What did I gain from the pocket dimension?’

She had been busy curing Yu Yuan, so neither of them got to discuss anything about what they gained from the pocket dimension.

They instinctively raised their eyes and met each other’s gazes. Then, the young man nodded at her. Lin Sanjiu felt that there was a secret between both of them, but she could not remember it. She needed some time to search through her brain for the secret.

She heard Mrs. Manas screaming at her, but her voice was muffled as if she was speaking in the water. Her mind was drifting away as she took one step closer to Silvan. A fig fragrance that was baked by the sun wafted from his body and into her nostrils, tickling her nerves.

Silvan looked a little surprised, but he did not back away and continued to look at her. Upon closer inspection, his appearance was even more impeccable. There was not a single flaw in his face and his hair resembled rivulets of gold when the wind tousled it with its fingers. A single glance at him would steal your breath away and a second glance would make you cry.

He was really the cosset of God.

Lin Sanjiu saw herself raising her right arm. She did not want to lift the arm, but it was raised nonetheless and landed on Silvan’s collar. His deep blue uniform was well-pressed and felt cold. The fabric rose and fell slightly underneath her fingers. She clenched her hand and raised her head to hold him in her gaze. Suddenly, she pulled him towards herself.

Silvan’s face became larger in Lin Sanjiu’s eyes as their heads held close together. For a second, there were two entwined shadows on the ground. They remained in that posture for a few seconds before they backed away slowly.

Silvan was stunned and confused, but the confusion was short-lived. It soon melted from his face, and his expression turned neutral once more.

He ran his fingers across his lips. He glanced at Lin Sanjiiu and then at Yu Yuan.

Smiling, the young man cocked his head and shrugged.

Lin Sanjiu let go of his collar and helped Silvan smoothen the wrinkle on his uniform. Both of them held calm expressions on their faces as if the thing that happened just now was normal.

“…Understood,” said Silvan. He did not move his finger away from his lips and continued, “So that’s how it is.”

“Yeah,” Yu Yuan finally opened his mouth. His voice was still a little hoarse. “So what are you gonna do?”

The sun was getting lower and lower as darkness slowly seeped into the sky. The streetlights were lit up, their warm, orangey hue brightening and dancing about under the evening sky.

“Hold on,” Lin Sanjiu interrupted. Mrs. Manas’s voice was barely audible, just as if she were talking to her with a sea between them. “I have one more chance left… Are you coming with me? I just thought of a nice place.”

“Where are you going? Silvan asked gently.

“Mid Mountsburg. I’m going to Bliss.” Lin Sanjiu did not feel any weird when she said she was going to Mid Mountsburg. She had even decided to go and check-in after she had done her job.

The two men exchanged glances and laughed. “That’s a good idea. Let’s get moving, then.”

The three of them hopped on an airplane and flew to Mid Mountsburg. Even though she had only been to Bliss once, her memory about this place was so fresh, it was as if she just came here yesterday. As soon as she approached the entrance of the building, Lin Sanjiu fell into a momentary trance as she caught a faint cold fragrance in the air.

“I will stay here,” Yu Yuan stopped on the first floor and said as he looked into the corridor. Lin Sanjiu nodded. She knew very well what he was talking about, but she couldn’t tell Mrs. Manas, who had been shouting frantically in her brain. “Good luck.”

“Then we will go upstairs,” Silvan said.

Since Jezebel had given her permission to come and meet her at any time, Lin Sanjiu very soon reached the top floor.

Jezebel looked the same even though Lin Sanjiu had not seen her for a long time. She donned a red dress and her jet-black hair cascaded down her shoulders to her waist, still dripping with water. Lin Sanjiu had no idea but her eyes seemed even bluer. Perhaps it was just the reflection of the swimming pool? When Jezebel saw Lin Sanjiu, she was slightly taken aback. “Wel— Who is this?”

“A friend of mine,” Lin Sanjiu smiled. “It’s okay. Don’t mind him.”

After that, she walked a step closer and held Jezebel’s chin. She pressed forward and planted her lips onto Jezebel’s. Silvan stood quietly behind them. There weren’t any expressions on his face.

When Lin Sanjiu moved away from her lips, Jezebel still couldn’t come around from her shock. Her eyelashes fluttered non stop as she asked, “What… What is this for? You okay?”

The two people standing in front of her frowned at the same time. Lin Sanjiu tilted her head and examined Jezebel from head to toe. Then, she spun around to meet Silvan’s eyes as disappointment crawled upon their faces, despite the fact that even she herself did not know why she felt disappointed.

“Do you still have it?” Silvan whispered into her ear.

“No, I used it up already,” replied Lin Sanjiu dejectedly.

“Erm, I don’t mean to interrupt your lovey-dovey moment, but can anyone tell me what is going on here? What have you used up?” Jezebel furrowed her brows and asked, “Do you want to stay and talk to me alone?”

But nobody replied to her. Lin Sanjiu shook her head and left with Silvan. Jezebel called out to her again, but she received no response. After a short while, she closed the door.

After they returned to the first floor, Silvan sighed. He stood in the gloom of the corridor and said, “I have an idea of where we should go.”

“What’s on your mind?”

“Where is your friend? Tell him that we need to go now.” His brows were slightly furrowed and there was a deep gloom in his emerald eyes. “The Munitions Factory has a batch of products to be auctioned at the Theater of Athens today. My department is tasked with overseeing the auction, so it won’t be difficult to slip you two in.”

“Is it safe?”

“The theater is enclosed, and a lot of people will be going there today.” As if he was consoling her, Silvan spoke through a soft voice, “That is the most ideal location I can think of.”

Lin Sanjiu nodded slightly.