Chapter 395: I Will Be Your Present, Dead Or Alive

Lin Sanjiu actually didn’t expect that her plan to take advantage of the situation would be so successful. Perhaps, people think better when their life is on the line. At the very moment when the torrent of air from the vortex gushed toward her, she suddenly gained a sort of “enlightenment”. Not only did she properly analyze her situation but she even came up with a solution. It was simple. She would play dead.

Both Ji Shanqing and Geran were intelligent and calculative people. At least, they were far more intelligent than Lin Sanjiu. However, being in the thick of things and buried by their numerous detailed plans and schemes, they overlooked something. Something that Lin Sanjiu discovered.

Who would actually verify a player’s death?

If there was really a rule in the amusement park that the grand prize would belong to the last man standing, the pocket dimension could definitely verify the deaths in the attraction with its omnipotent and incomprehensible powers. However, that rule was just something Ji Shanqing made up to trick the others.

Ji Shanqing could only observe and judge the situation with his own eyes and by listening to what the other players said. When he noticed that Geran was the final victor in the fake battle royale setup, he instinctively assumed that everyone else was dead. After all, considering the harrowing display of power when Geran attacked Lin Sanjiu, there was no reason why Ji Shanqing would need to doubt Geran.

However, Geran generated that attack while he was emulating Hei Zeji. After spending a few days interacting with Hei Zeji, Lin Sanjiu gained some understanding about that man. Apart from his bad temper, his incredible combat prowess, and whatever surface impression he gave, Lin Sanjiu knew, more or less, what Hei Zeji would do and he wouldn’t do. For example, he wouldn’t attack a person who seemed dead just to ensure that he did a clean job.

Hei Zeji definitely wasn’t someone that would check and make sure that his opponents were really dead. To him, if a person appeared to be dead, he was dead. He had full confidence in all his attacks. Even if his opponent really survived, he knew he had the ability to kill that person many times over. On the other hand, checking an opponent to make sure that he or she was dead was something that a cautious person like Geran would do.

However, Geran was too enamored by Hei Zeji’s combat system that he trusted it blindly.

Nevertheless, this wasn’t all that surprising. Hei Zeji’s fighting ability was probably 100 times better than Geran’s own skills. Naturally, Geran was reassured by any judgment he made while he was emulating Hei Zeji.

When a person viewed the world with his own perspective for too long, he would usually assume that other people’s views were similar to his.

This was also the reason why Lin Sanjiu turned her head to one side. She wanted to create the impression that her neck was broken. After that, she didn’t hear Geran walking toward her. Instead, she heard his shouting happily and also Ji Shanqing clapping his hands as he walked out from the mirror.

Even though Lin Sanjiu’s body was already on the brink of collapsing, Lin Sanjiu smiled faintly. Next, she only needed to wait for Ji Shanqing to deal with Geran.

“I have to thank you properly,” Lin Sanjiu laughed with some effort. She picked up her [Ability Polishing Agent] and directed the light in it toward Ji Shanqing. Breathing was difficult for her now, and it took a lot of effort to just take a single breath. “I was having trouble with that fellow.”

As a silver light washed over Ji Shanqing, she saw his sour expression. If a player recognized him, he could leave the particular mirror chamber however and whenever he wanted.

“You’re are really hard to deal with,” Ji Shanqing took a deep breath as if to calm himself. “To be honest, I am starting to admire your tenacity. I just can’t get rid of you and you just wouldn’t die. Yes, I am starting to admire you but I am getting irritated as well.”

Lin Sanjiu grinned, showing him her blood-covered pearly teeth.

“But judging your condition, I guess you’ll be dead soon,” Ji Shanqing said coldly. He was visibly angered by her smile. “You should have expected this. Since I can create a battle royale here, I would also take into account the possibility that you can defeat all the other people in the room.”

As he spoke, he gestured once. The group of ‘Gerans’ moved and left an empty space in the middle of the chamber for them while they continued to detain the real Geran.

“Do you think I can’t fight because I am just a prize? Looking at your current condition, even a child could easily kill you,” Ji Shanqing said gently while he waited for Lin Sanjiu to react.

Unexpectedly, the bloodied person sat down on the floor with a thud. No, she didn’t sit, rather she collapsed. Lin Sanjiu panted heavily. Without even looking at Ji Shanqing, she sounded like she had already given up hope as she taunted, “Sure. You can just come at me.”

This time Ji Shanqing was really angry. He growled and charged toward her. He stuck his hands out from his trench coat and a ribbon suddenly appeared in his hands. Lin Sanjiu was still lying listlessly on the floor. She lay down in a carefree manner as if her opponent was so weak that she didn’t even need to get up. When Ji Shanqing nearly touched the woman with that hateable attitude, he felt a tight grip on his ankles. Suddenly, someone pulled his legs forcefully from under him. He lost his balance and fell to the floor, face first.

“That looks painful.” Despite the wounds on her body, Lin Sanjiu gasped on behalf of Ji Shanqing when she saw him fall. Before she finished her theatrics, she immediately snapped out from her previous portrayal of a near-death state. While Ji Shanqing struggled to stand up, Lin Sanjiu immediately bolted toward him. Then, she secured both his hands behind his back.

The person under her stopped struggling.

“That’s enough. That’s enough,” he heard the woman on his back saying breathlessly. “You can go now. That was expensive… Oh, please leave that man behind.”

“What’s expensive?”  Ji Shanqing did not dare to display any signs of struggling. He turned his head slowly and saw two “Gerans” releasing his ankles. They returned to the group and brought the real Geran over. Then, they forced Geran to sit on the floor.

Ji Shanqing was stunned.

A few hundred thoughts ran through his mind and they finally coalesced into one single question. Before he could recover from his shock, Lin Sanjiu let out a burst of irritating laughter while she sat on his back. She quickly answered the question he had in his mind, “I have an ability which allows me to command living things… But, you fell just after someone pulled your ankles. Well, the grand prize ability to fight must be pretty average.”

She was obviously describing her [Scrooge McDuck Power]. Unless she had a proxy, Lin Sanjiu wasn’t going to survive another battle. When she bolted toward Ji Shanqing, she had already spent half of her remaining strength. Sadly, even though she only “employed” two “Gerans”, the cost was shockingly high. Seeing them burned through the Stamina Points she had accumulated, she quickly stopped them when her Stamina Points were almost all used up.

“If I were you, I would cooperate and stay still,” Lin Sanjiu placed both her hands on Ji Shanqing. She wasn’t really threatening him but rather she was using his body as a support. “I have an ability called “Mosaic Censorship”. Ah, it’s too troublesome to explain… You just have to lie still… Do I take off your clothes now?”

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Ji Shanqing’s face turned red immediately. He turned his head to Lin Sanjiu and tried to look at her, “D-Don’t touch me! Let me tell you, you haven’t succeeded!”

“Huh?” Lin Sanjiu stopped untying his belt.

“I will cease to exist once you unwrap me,” Ji Shanqing said with a sneering yet frightened tone. “With that, the replicas would just leave. If they don’t bring that man into the mirror, he would slowly regain his consciousness after a short time. My replacement ability ensures that his original body is replaced by the atoms in the mirror. That is the only way he would be trapped in the mirror so that he could never escape.” Without taking a breath, he continued, “Since you recognize him and chose not to kill him now, I guess you need him for something. If you unwrap me, there will be no one to control him. When he wakes up, you would still die, right?”

Ji Shanqing did not give up even though he was well aware that no one could resist the temptation of the grand prize. When pushed to the extreme, even a desperate man armed with only a wooden stick would wave it to try to survive.

Lin Sanjiu did not say a word. She looked at Ji Shanqing and then at Geran, who was in a daze. Originally, she only needed the information about Reno and Rena’s location from Geran. Now, she even had to look for Hei Zeji. She knew she couldn’t let Geran off. However, if she needed Ji Shanqing to control Geran…

” Wait, control? I have an idea!” Lin Sanjiu thought to herself. Gathering her thoughts, she couldn’t help smiling to herself. “It’s alright. I still have enough Stamina Points,” she said light-heartedly as she tightened her grip on Ji Shanqing.

“How is this even related to Stamina Points?” Ji Shanqing thought to himself. He froze. He had exhausted all his options and he couldn’t think of anything else. He pressed his face against the mirror on the floor expressionlessly. His throat felt dry. He felt something flowing from the corners of his eyes.

“Can you please not unwrap me?” he murmured. He really didn’t know what to do.

As the grand prize in a pocket dimension, this was the first time in his short five-month-life that he came so close to death.

Surprisingly, the woman’s soft reply seemed to explode in his ears, “Sure.”

Ji Shanqing lifted his head up from the floor. He could still feel the pair of hands on his back.

“Wh-what? Y-you won’t unwrap me?” he stuttered almost as if he was afraid that Lin Sanjiu was just toying with him.

“I can spare your life for now,” Lin Sanjiu replied quietly. “But first things first, even if I don’t unwrap you, do you still belong to me?”

“Is she serious?” After careful consideration, Ji Shanqing bit his lip and nodded. He was mind-boggled. The moment he nodded his head, a calm female announcer’s voice, that Lin Sanjiu had already heard for the umpteen time, rang out through the entire mirror maze. “Congratulations! Player 57, Lin Sanjiu has won the grand prize. You’ve successfully completed this entire game session. Please return to the outer mirror chamber so that you can be teleported outside. We look forward to your next visit to Starry Carnival Amusement Park Pocket Dimension.”

“This is the actual announcement. It is quite uninteresting.” The mirror maze did not change even after the announcement ended. At first, Lin Sanjiu thought that the building might shake or that something would happen.

“Wh-what happens now?” Lin Sanjiu was a little confused. “What will happen after I leave this place?”

“I will leave this place with you,” Ji Shanqing seemed really down and out of luck when he said that. “I am your present now. I have to follow you wherever you go… That’s if you don’t unwrap me.”

Lin Sanjiu was finally relieved. The moment she let her guard down, she lost all her strength. After she took a deep breath, she slipped from Ji Shanqing’s back. She lay on the floor for a long time without moving even an inch.

Ji Shanqing watched her with hopeful eyes. He waited for some time hoping that she would die from her wounds. Disappointingly, Lin Sanjiu sat up once again, exerting much effort. She started applying some sort of ointment on her body.

After Lin Sanjiu stored her Bone Growth Ointment, she converted her remaining Stamina Points all into bottles of [Another/Way – A Mermaid Cultivation Drink]. Plop. A carton full of pink mineral water bottles fell on the floor. “Feed him a bottle of this water every few minutes… Feed him about ten bottles and we will observe the effects,” she instructed Ji Shanqing.

Ji Shanqing showed her a defiant expression. Then, she added, “If you don’t feed him, I’ll unwrap you.”

In the end, Ji Shanqing conceded and took a bottle of mineral water.

As Lin Sanjiu’s injuries were too serious, she had difficulties breathing even after doing very little. She had to lie on the floor and regulated her breathing before she could finally question Ji Shanqing again.

“I have a question. You mentioned that all the players have gathered in this mirror chamber… But, I didn’t see my friends? There was a man in a black leather jacket. He had a cat and another person with him. Where did they go?”

Lin Sanjiu watched Ji Shanqing’s back as he continued his chore. For a second, she was afraid that he would turn around, smile vengefully at her and then inform her that Puppeteer and the others were dead.”

Ji Shanqing did not turn to look at her. He answered her with a surprisingly casual tone, “Oh, he is still in one of the pitstop attractions. He just isn’t in this one.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know a bit about this, right?” Ji Shanqing turned to look at her, “Starry Carnival Amusement Park does not only exist in Red Nautilus. It is a pocket dimension that exists concurrently in multiple apocalyptic worlds. Time moves a little faster in the pocket dimension. When it is time for someone to move to another world, he or she would be transported to the corresponding Starry Carnival Amusement Park in that world.”

Lin Sanjiu stared wide-eyed at him. She suddenly remembered Horse-Face. How could a person from Dark Forest appear in a pocket dimension in Red Nautilus? The answer was that simple. She stood in the same spot for quite a few seconds. She could figure out the missing details.

As the cat doctor and AYU had been modified by Puppeteer, they were already his puppets. When it was time for Puppeteer to go to another world, they were involuntarily sent to the next world with him. Lin Sanjiu held her face. She wanted to scream.

“So, meeting and parting is just part and parcel of life?”