"Isn't life a little too strange?"
Lin Sanjiu squatted on the floor in a daze. Her mind was a mess. She couldn't figure out what was going on even after thinking for a long time.
She stared at her hands in disbelief. A few hours ago, she had thought of entering the Astral Plane by force, even if the School of Higher Consciousness had not been upgraded to the highest level. However, after a nap, she had a dream where she was separated from her grand prize and had a fight with Bohemia. Now, she was really in the Astral Plane.
"How did I get in? How did I come back? "
"Mrs. Manas," Lin Sanjiu called out in her mind, but she didn't get a response. She raised her head in confusion.
The room was dimly lit. There were two tattered straw mats on the floor, and there was a description written on the rough cement between the mats: "A two-player, three-legged prison break game. This is Alcatraz Penitentiary. The goal of the players is to escape from this prison. Players will form a team of two. Every time you pass a checkpoint, you must maintain physical contact. Otherwise, you will be sent back to your cell. The game will continue until the players have escaped from Alcatraz. "
This was the game she entered with J7.
Lin Sanjiu's heart skipped a beat. She knew that her grand prize's speculation was right. She called out softly, "J7 —"
The moment she called out, a calm voice came from behind her, "I'm here."
Lin Sanjiu shuddered and quickly turned around. From the shadow in the corner of the room, a complicated mechanical body with smooth lines slowly walked out. Amidst the whirring sound of the mechanical body, the stapler-shaped part turned to face Lin Sanjiu. As the long light above its head flashed a few times, J7's voice came from it, "... You're back."
"Yes," Lin Sanjiu exhaled. She couldn't help feeling apologetic when she thought about how J7 had been trapped in this narrow and gloomy cell for almost half a year. She took a step forward and was about to explain when J7 suddenly turned its' head 'away and slid past her, "It's good that you're back. I can finally go out."
"J7, I didn't expect to be dragged out of the Astral Plane all of a sudden," Lin Sanjiu followed behind J7. Following closely behind J7, Lin Sanjiu said anxiously, "I thought that you would be thrown out of the game if you were the only one who didn't comply with the rules …"
"Mhmm," J7 answered flatly and continued to move toward the door.
Lin Sanjiu had a vague feeling that its attitude was different compared to the last time they met. However, it had been a long time, so she couldn't remember it clearly. She wanted to see his expression, but he didn't have a face, so it was hard for her to tell.
"You also know that my Willpower has not risen to the highest level, so even though I have been trying to come in, I have never succeeded …"
J7 suddenly stopped. Its "feet" were actually a pair of balls wrapped in caterpillar tracks. They were very convenient for moving forward, turning, and retreating. "Are you at the highest level now?"
"No," Lin Sanjiu answered hesitantly.
"Then how did you get in?"
"I don't know either …"
The white light on top of J7's head flashed a few times as if it was trying to express some kind of emotion. In the end, it didn't say anything. It just pointed at the cell door with one of its long and thin parts and said in a flat tone, "I think we should figure out a way to get out of here as soon as possible."
The calmer its attitude was, the more guilty Lin Sanjiu felt. As if she wanted to make it up to J7, she quickly said, "Leave this door to me. I will pry it open —"
The top of J7's long and thin mechanical part suddenly opened up. A few nimble metal claws extended out of it and pulled the door open. The door creaked loudly as it was pulled open.
J7 turned its stapler-like head to Lin Sanjiu. Lin Sanjiu stared at it blankly as J7 said emotionlessly, "I've already pried it open."
"Then, then why don't you get out?"
Lin Sanjiu immediately realized what was going on. She scolded herself inwardly for being so stupid.
"Two players, three kicks!" J7 suddenly raised its voice as if it couldn't stand it any longer, "This game is two players, three kicks! If I go out alone, I'll be thrown back in again and again! It's been half a year! "
Lin Sanjiu stood still and lowered her head. She didn't dare to say a word. When J7 stopped talking, she raised her head cautiously and extended her hand toward its mechanical part, "It's all my fault. Should we go out now? "
But J7 wasn't done yet. It grabbed Lin Sanjiu's hand with its metal claws while it continued to yell at her with a much louder voice, "You humans never keep your promises. You are all liars! You told me that you couldn't leave the Astral Plane. You even asked me to help you think of a solution. But in the blink of an eye, you disappeared. I've waited for half a year, and I don't even know if I can get out of here … Liar, I will never believe you again. "
It stopped talking. Lin Sanjiu waited for a while. When she saw that J7 had finished talking, she tried to explain herself in a low voice, "I didn't mean to lie to you … I'm sorry."
"Liar," J7 repeated stubbornly. "You told me that you didn't reach the highest level, but you managed to enter the Astral Plane again. You must be lying to me."
Lin Sanjiu sighed. She had no idea how to convince J7. She thought for a while and was about to ask Mrs. Manas again, but Mrs. Manas spoke first, "You were brought here by Bohemia."
Lin Sanjiu was startled. Her face turned pale.
"That wasn't a dream?" Lin Sanjiu immediately understood, "I was really … separated from the grand prize?"
"Yes. She used her ability to make you think you were dreaming. Then, she put a Special Item on you and you followed her into the Astral Plane, "Mrs. Manas sighed. "But I have no idea where she is now."
"So, you are saying that I'm lying unconscious in a place like Salvation of God?" Lin Sanjiu sprang to her feet. Her face darkened. Without waiting for Mrs. Manas's reply, she pulled J7 along, "Let's go!"
"What's wrong?"
"It's a long story, but it has something to do with how I got in here this time —"
"You're not going to tell me that someone dragged you in again, are you?" Even J7's robotic voice seemed to be filled with suspicion.
Lin Sanjiu was stumped. She thought about it carefully and realized that she couldn't bring herself to say it. Even she herself felt that being dragged in here and then being dragged out again sounded like an excuse made up by a person without any imagination.
Regardless, the most important thing right now was to break out of this prison as soon as possible.
Fortunately, Lin Sanjiu and J7 could reach a consensus on this point. Holding each other's hand, they pulled the door open as if they were facing a formidable enemy. Then, they quietly walked into the corridor.
If there was still a dim light in the prison cell, then the corridor was completely dark. Lin Sanjiu and Lin Sanjiu stood at the door cautiously. Since they couldn't see anything, they didn't dare to move. J7 said in a low voice, "Wait, let me turn on the light."
"You're like a Swiss army knife. It's so convenient," Lin Sanjiu couldn't help praising J7. She vaguely remembered that J7 did carry a light tube with it. J7's stapler-like head immediately turned around and stared at Lin Sanjiu with its metallic surface. Lin Sanjiu suspected that she had said something wrong when she saw J7's stare, so she didn't say anything.
As the white light on J7's body grew brighter, Lin Sanjiu finally saw where the two of them were.
She finally understood the meaning of the word "heavy" in the name of Alcatraz Maximum Penitentiary.
"Go back now!"
When Lin Sanjiu looked into the darkness, she felt goosebumps all over her body. She spun around and pushed J7 to the ground. Then, amidst the sudden burst of gunfire and fire, she crawled on the ground and dragged J7 to the back of the cell door. Almost as soon as both of them entered the cell, the gunfire stopped immediately.
"This is ridiculous!" Lin Sanjiu cursed. Her heart was still pounding.
She had seen clearly that Alcatraz Maximum Penitentiary was a cylindrical building. It was hollow in the middle, and the prison cells rose up in a ring shape. The gaps between each floor were filled with heavy automatic machine guns. It seemed that no matter which cell showed any abnormal movements, all the machine guns on that floor would turn around and focus their firepower on that cell.
"What will happen if you get shot?" Lin Sanjiu turned around and asked J7.
"I don't know. I've never had a chance to get shot," J7 said matter-of-factly.
Lin Sanjiu let out a sigh. She had nothing else to say. She was now in the Astral Plane, and she was just a body formed by her Higher Consciousness. She couldn't use her hypersensory, ability, Special Items, or defensive forcefield here. She had a lot of tricks up her sleeves, but she couldn't use them.
"The machine guns didn't fire when we walked out," Lin Sanjiu analyzed, "They only sensed us after we lit up the light. Let's try again. This time, we can't use the light. Let's go in the dark. "
J7 said, "Wait a minute." Then, its mechanical body slowly opened up and reconstructed itself. When the sound of the mechanical core finally stopped, it had completely changed into a new appearance. The smooth, metallic parts had been pieced together into a streamlined, flat, and beautiful machine. The two balls wrapped in treads didn't change, but they were positioned one at the front and the other at the back. This way, J7 could glide smoothly on the floor.
"Done," it said to Lin Sanjiu, who was still in a daze. J7 purposely left a tail for Lin Sanjiu to catch. After that, both of them cautiously went out of the door.
They lay on the ground in front of the door and waited for a few seconds. This time, the automatic machine guns didn't fire again.
It seemed that the building was designed to be especially gloomy. A large cylinder was tightly sealed, leaving no room for light to pass through. In the absolute darkness, Lin Sanjiu had no idea whether she should go left or right. However, when she remembered that the entire building was a cylinder, she stood up and picked a direction at random. Then, she slowly moved forward with J7.
They walked for four to five steps, but nothing happened in the dead silence. Lin Sanjiu let out a sigh of relief.
"I thought there would be detectors in the corridor," she said to J7, lowering her voice to a whisper.
"My face is here," J7's soft voice came from the other side of the metal body.
Lin Sanjiu took a step forward awkwardly. Just when she was about to say something, a loud bang came from the cell door beside her. Before the two of them could react, a loud voice bellowed from inside, "There's someone outside! Discipline, there's someone outside! Prison break! Prison break! "
"There's someone else in this cell?" Lin Sanjiu cursed under her breath. Since she couldn't see anything, she had no idea who the "corrector" the guy was talking about was and where he would come from. While her mind was in a whirl, J7 quickly yelled, "Squat down!"
Lin Sanjiu's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately crouched down. At the same time, she finally saw what was coming at them from the darkness. It was a grayish-black color that was only a shade lighter than Absolute Darkness. It was in the form of a light wave, forming a semicircle. With a swoosh, it went past her head and disappeared into the distance in the blink of an eye.
Judging from the speed of that thing, if they were to be touched by it, the consequences would be dire.
Before Lin Sanjiu could even catch her breath, the voice from the cell next to hers shouted again, "Discipline, it didn't hit! It didn't hit! Discipline! "
By then, Lin Sanjiu could tell that the voice wasn't a real person, so it must be another challenge set up by the prison. Before she could react, she saw another semicircle of light wave coming from the other end of the corridor. This time, she was lying flat on the ground, and the light wave barely grazed the tip of her nose.
As soon as the semicircle disappeared behind her, Lin Sanjiu rolled on the ground and used her elbow to hit the lock of the cell door. According to the pattern, the next light wave would sweep across the floor. She had to kill the person inside before he screamed again.
However, as a higher consciousness entity, Lin Sanjiu didn't have a strong physical body to support her. Clang! The door lock wasn't damaged at all, but her elbow was numb and painful. She couldn't even lift it.
"Discipline!" The person inside the cell shouted again, "Discipline, you didn't hit —"
"Let me hit the lock," J7 only managed to say a few words before the semicircle of light wave appeared again. It was so close to the floor that Lin Sanjiu almost didn't see it. She grabbed J7's tail and leaped into the air by stepping on the wall. J7 was flung into the air along with her. The light wave passed by in a flash, and both of them landed on the ground with a thud.
The voice inside the cell paused for a moment, like the calm before the storm. Both of them knew that the next attack was going to be fatal. J7 didn't have time to say anything. He raised his gun and hit the lock. As expected, the lock fell to the ground. A few sparks rose from the darkness. Lin Sanjiu's heart skipped a beat. Before the lock fell to the ground, she grabbed J7's tail and hurled its heavy body backward.
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