Just as Irezumi finished his sentence, there was a loud gulp. Amidst the silence, the grand prize swallowed his saliva loudly. The ponytail in his hand fell to the ground and his long hair fell to his shoulder.
"H-hunted a consular officer?" The grand prize stuttered. He looked guilty, "What happened exactly?"
Number 46 immediately looked at him and raised his eyebrows thoughtfully. Seeing that, Qing Jiuliu sighed softly. He turned to the grand prize and said, "Look at you. It's as if someone is going to kill you the next time. It's just a few deaths. Can't you be a little braver? "
Number 46 glanced at Qing Jiuliu again but he didn't say anything.
Irezumi obviously didn't notice the slight change in Number 46's expression. He patted the communicator unhappily, causing Number 46's image to shake a few times. Then, he said, "Let him tell you the details. This is because the information was brought back by one of his candidates. Look at him!"
After he said that, he glared at Lin Sanjiu and the others resentfully.
None of them said a word.
The communicator could not withstand the force of Irezumi's large hand. After a long while, the image finally stopped vibrating. Number 46 nodded at the few people on the screen with a helpless expression on his face.
"I am another examiner sent to this world. My name is Cyrus." He introduced himself as he looked at them calmly. It was as if he had never seen Lin Sanjiu before.
However, it was funny. Lin Sanjiu had been through a life-and-death situation with him, but this was the first time she heard his name.
Number 46, also known as Cyrus, had a cold expression on his face as he continued, "Other than one candidate who is missing and possibly dead," when he said this, Lin Sanjiu and the others exchanged glances with each other. They were reminded of the bespectacled man who was swallowed by the dimensional rift. "The other candidates have also found their consular officers during this period of time … Let's not talk about their lives."
"The first consular officer, let's call him A. He was found in a small posthuman colony."
After discovering that the food in this world could cause people to go insane and lose their abilities, how to extend their lives without eating became the main goal of the evolvers who were lucky enough to still be conscious.
The leader of this gathering place was a posthuman who happened to be born in the World of Famine. Since there was no grass or tree bark left in his hometown, he evolved an ability that allowed him to survive by drinking the northwest wind. Not only could he drink the northwest wind for himself, but he could also share it with others. Just like that, a small gathering place quickly developed around this man who had no fat on his body.
Next to the leader, A was the second most popular person in the colony. When he was found by the candidates, most of his visas had already been issued in the colony. He had even exchanged his visas for various resources. Therefore, when A heard that an organization was looking for a consular officer, he wasn't very interested.
"After the candidates entered the colony and quietly expressed their intentions, A died the next week." When talking about the dead, Cyrus's tone was flat. "Along with A, there were five normal posthumans who had no grudges with each other. Even the leader of the posthumans who drank from the northwest wind was one of the dead. The gathering place was in an uproar at that moment. My candidate was the last to enter the colony, so she became the first suspect. She only managed to escape after losing an arm. "
"By the time Consular Officer B was found, he was already a dead body." Cyrus frowned slightly when he said this. "Obviously, B had just arrived in this world. I estimate that he had only been here for less than two days. I find it unbelievable that he died so quickly."
"How do you know that he had just arrived?" the grand prize asked.
"Because I cut him open," Cyrus said calmly. "Judging from the contents of his stomach and intestines, he must have eaten less than ten hours before his death. Only people who have just arrived in this world and don't know what's going on would eat rashly."
As a severe germaphobe, Ji Shanqing scrunched up his face.
The next two consular officers didn't escape the same fate. One of the candidates had just found out about C's location. When he went there, he found out that he was greeted by a corpse that had been dead for a long time. D, on the other hand, was well-informed. No one knew what she had been asking about, but she actually came looking for protection. After she issued a visa and proved her identity, she died that night.
"I didn't expect so many things to happen during this period of time …" Lin Sanjiu was a little surprised. She quickly asked, "How did these people die?"
"They died in all kinds of ways," Cyrus replied. "It seems that the killer doesn't really care about his personal style as long as he can kill someone. However, all the consular officers who died were robbed. "
"If only you had listened to me. You shouldn't have given that Special Item to her," Irezumi suddenly interjected with a pained expression. Irezumi suddenly interjected with a pained expression — he was obviously referring to the last Consular Officer D, "That [X-ray machine] is so powerful. Anyone it touches will die. Look at what happened now. It was basically given to that assassin. Sigh, you are still too inconsiderate. "
Cyrus's calm expression finally twisted a little because of Irezumi's belated remarks.
"The visa she issued before she died can't be used anymore," Irezumi sighed. "Even though I don't want to go to the 'Olympics' … it's such a pity."
"So, what do you want us to do today?" Ji Shanqing asked as he played with his hair.
"Judging from the time of death of these consular officers, the assassin in the dark isn't after us. His goal seems to be to kill all the consular officers, although I don't know why he would do that." Cyrus frowned. He picked up a glass of water from the side of the screen and took a sip, "So, your most important mission now is to find a living consular officer before the killer does and protect him."
For the first time, the mission given by the nameless organization coincided with her goal.
When she thought of this, she couldn't help shooting a glance at Magus. When her grayish-blue eyes were closed and her lips were no longer curled into that enchanting smile, she looked like she had aged. Wherever time passed, her firm skin seemed to relax and soften.
If she wanted to bring Magus with her, a visa was a must. Although the grand prize could issue a visa for her as well, his visa seemed to be unreliable. It was more like a joke.
"Alright," Lin Sanjiu retracted her gaze and agreed readily, "We will set off after resting for a while. Do you have any clues about the consular officers?"
"Oh, I brought a map," Irezumi suddenly took out a crumpled map from his communicator and unfolded it in front of them. There was a line of words written vertically on the left side of the map. It looked almost the same as Chinese, but there were a few strange strokes and symbols mixed in between the words. Even so, they could still tell that the words were "Eastern Region Top Ten".
"The administrative division of this world is a little awkward," Irezumi said as he pointed at a circle drawn with a blue ballpoint pen on the map. "Our current position should be the Third Division. Do you see the red circle? "
Lin Sanjiu and the others gathered their heads and nodded at the same time.
"This big red circle is the area where the consular officers were found dead. They are found from Top Ten all the way to Top Six. This is not a small area. Beyond Top Ten is the ocean. No matter how you look at it, this area is as big as a few medium-sized countries. "
The so-called ten 'ding's were more like ten irregularly shaped circles, one ring on top of the other, and the whole was pulled into a pointed semi-oval. According to Irezumi, this map covered at least a quarter of the world.
"There are four to five consular officers in this area. I think that's about it," Cyrus said thoughtfully. Cyrus said in deep thought, "If I were the killer, I would head to a place I've never been to to find a consular officer."
"But we don't know where he came from," the grand prize asked immediately. "What if the direction we are going is the direction he came from …"
"So, we will split up," Cyrus answered. "We will split into different groups and go in different directions. This killer is very powerful. He also took a lot of things from the consular officers. None of us can defeat him alone. So, once we find a consular officer, we must inform the others immediately. "
Now that they didn't have to be secretive and they had a common goal, everything went much smoother. After discussing the details for a while, they quickly came up with a battle plan. They decided that Lin Sanjiu and her team would travel in the direction of the 10th Ring while looking for consular officers.
Even though Irezumi looked like he couldn't wait for them to set off immediately, Lin Sanjiu and the others were exhausted after such a long day. The moment Irezumi left, the grand prize and Qing Jiuliu immediately spread out the pillows and blankets in the "ALADDIN" suite and jumped into the king-sized bed in the master bedroom. Both of them liked the bed, so they didn't want to move to the guest bed in the other room. So, they decided to play rock-paper-scissors when it was time to sleep. The winner of two out of three rounds would get to stay. Since the bed was very big, the person who stayed could share the bed with Lin Sanjiu.
Lin Sanjiu didn't really care who would share the same bed with her. After all, in her eyes, these two people were no different from B.Rabbit and Dr. Hu. She dried Magus' body carefully and changed her into a set of dry clothes according to her favorite style. After she settled Magus on the chaise longue, Lin Sanjiu let out a long sigh of relief. She sat down by the window and took out the small ball that Magus left for her.
"Aren't you tired, sis?" A face popped out from the thick and fluffy bed. It was the grand prize. "What … What else do you want?"
"I want to see if I can awaken my [School of Higher Consciousness]," she replied, "I can only return to the Astral Plane if I can awaken my [School of Higher Consciousness]."
The grand prize buried his face in the blanket and mumbled.
"What did you say?" Lin Sanjiu didn't hear him clearly. She used her Higher Consciousness to float a small ball and asked.
Before the grand prize could reply, the blanket on the bed suddenly moved a few times. It was Qing Jiuliu. His head arched out from under the blanket, revealing his drunken and lazy face. His eyes were watery as if they were filled with stars.
"He said," the moment he opened his mouth, he let out a drunken burp, "... It will be troublesome if we go back."
Ji Shanqing raised his head and glared at Qing Jiuliu.
Lin Sanjiu raised her eyebrows slowly and looked at the grand prize, "... What do you mean?"
"He misheard," the grand prize said after some thought. The grand prize thought for a moment and came up with such a lame excuse. Qing Jiuliu immediately replied, "I didn't." The grand prize stiffened his neck under Lin Sanjiu's stare. In the end, he gave in and said, "I … I mean, even if you return to the Astral Plane, I'm afraid you won't be able to find Magus anytime soon."
"... Why?" Lin Sanjiu narrowed her eyes.
"When you left the Astral Plane last time, weren't you in a two-player, three-legged prison break game?" The grand prize sighed. He knew he had to say it. Initially, he didn't want to tell Lin Sanjiu this conjecture because he didn't want her to feel pressured. However, he didn't expect that Qing Jiuliu would expose his conjecture today.
After thinking for a while, he carefully worded his words. "Based on the game environment and some of the rules that you described, I'm guessing that the mechanical life J7 would not be able to complete this two-player game without you. If you go back to the Astral Plane, I don't mind. But I'm afraid that you will go back to the prison game … If that happens, I'm afraid that you will have to work with J7 to get out. "
Lin Sanjiu's mouth was agape. She had a shocked and surprised expression on her face. It wasn't that she couldn't figure out why the grand prize didn't want to tell her. Blinking her eyes, Lin Sanjiu stammered, "So, J7 might still be in the prison game? Waiting for me to go back? It's been such a long time — "
"It's just a guess," the grand prize didn't give a clear answer. Instead, he tried to console her, "After all, I've never been there, so I don't know much about it. I might be wrong."
Lin Sanjiu pursed her lips and looked at Magus, who was sitting on the chaise longue. She didn't say anything. No one knew what was on her mind.
After a while, she sighed and said softly, "Both of you can sleep here tonight."
"Huh?" The grand prize was stunned, "But … He reeks of alcohol …"
"I plan to push my limits tonight," Lin Sanjiu replied. Lin Sanjiu nodded and looked at the ball in her hand. She couldn't tell what her expression was from the side of her face.
For a moment, neither of the two people in the room spoke a word. A crescent moon slowly appeared in the night sky outside. The moonlight shone through the window, casting half of Lin Sanjiu's silhouette in silver and the other in darkness.
"Sis …" The grand prize was interrupted by Lin Sanjiu before he could utter a word.
"Ever since I came to Hyperthermal Hell, I've been living one day at a time," Lin Sanjiu turned her head and said softly. She flashed him a comforting smile, "Whatever God has arranged for me, I'll deal with it as it comes. Although there was no lack of struggle, he still managed to survive by drifting with the flow. But, that's not enough. "
As her voice faded away, a few balls suddenly floated in the air and began to circle rapidly in the air.
"If I want to control how and where this ship goes, I need to be able to steer it," Lin Sanjiu said softly. Every word she said was soft but firm. "I want to grow faster. I want to decide how I want to go in this apocalyptic world. "
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