When the dense forest appeared in front of her again, Lin Sanjiu felt as if all her strength had been drained out of her body. Her legs gave way, and she fell to the side of a shrub in a half-sitting position. There was no one around except for the rustling sound of the wind. She looked around and finally heaved a sigh of relief.
"Are you alright?" Yu Yuan asked as he stopped and panted.
Lin Sanjiu nodded. She was also panting heavily and unevenly. It had only been two days since she had left for the Munitions Factory. However, after a few close calls, it felt like a year had passed.
"I really don't understand," Lin Sanjiu sighed as she recalled the assassin from the Munitions Factory. "I went to the Reverie Libretto to look for a clue … How did I end up bringing that parasite with me? After going through so much trouble, I still don't know who wants to kill me. "
"Someone wants to kill you?" Yu Yuan was stunned.
Lin Sanjiu extended her hand to him and used his strength to pull her up. "Let's talk while we walk," she patted Yu Yuan's shoulder and pointed ahead.
The two of them walked into the forest. The bushes and grass parted and closed under their feet, leaving only two faint traces. As they walked, Yu Yuan suddenly stopped and looked around, "Is this the place where you were attacked?"
"How did you know?"
Seeing that Lin Sanjiu was shocked, Yu Yuan smiled and picked up a branch. He gestured with it a few times, "Even though it has been two days, look … I can still see the broken branches and the traces of someone stepping on the grass."
"The traces can last for so long?"
Lin Sanjiu didn't have much experience in outdoor activities, so she could only stare at the broken leaves. She frowned and nodded.
"I left a Special Item here," Lin Sanjiu picked up a branch and poked the bushes at the place where she last saw the [Cutie, Keep the Colorful Times]. "Maybe I need your help to look for it."
"What item?" Yu Yuan asked as he walked, "What does it look like?"
At that time, [Cutie Duo, Keep the Colorful Time] turned into a withered leaf and fell to the ground. Due to the urgency of the situation, she could not retrieve it so she just left it in the forest. However, as soon as she finished speaking, the young man immediately turned around. Even the tattoo on his face could not conceal the dumbfounded expression on his face. "You want to find a leaf in the forest?"
That was indeed unrealistic.
"Fortunately, this forest is only a camouflage projection and can be recycled."
As Lin Sanjiu explained, she took out the camouflage control device that she bought with Exodus. Although she had already developed trust in Yu Yuan, she still did not put away the entire forest. She only adjusted the range to a few dozen meters around the two of them and gently turned the round button.
The trees in the forest, the thick layer of fallen leaves on the ground, the bushes … All of them twisted and shrank into the ground, disappearing into the soil. Amidst the thick layer of green, the color of an empty patch of sand grew larger and larger. It looked like an expanding bald spot. Finally, it stopped when it reached the edge of the range Lin Sanjiu had set.
Without the forest projection, it was much easier to find their target. After both of them looked around for a few rounds, Yu Yuan suddenly called out to her, "Look, is that it?"
Lin Sanjiu looked toward the direction of his voice and saw that he was pointing at a small yellowish-brown shadow on the ground with the branch in his hand. It seemed to be a leaf.
Just when Lin Sanjiu was about to walk over to take a look, a figure suddenly leaped out from the surrounding forest. A flash of red and white flashed across Lin Sanjiu's eyes as the figure charged toward the yellowish-brown figure on the ground. Lin Sanjiu reacted quickly. She charged at the figure with her Higher Consciousness, and before the figure could pick up the yellowish-brown leaf, Lin Sanjiu sent the figure flying with a loud bang.
The figure fell to the ground, and the flash of red and white immediately slowed down, revealing the shape of its umbrella skirt. She threw back her head, revealing a sharp, white-painted chin.
It was Lollipop — or rather, one of the girls named Lollipop.
"She's from the munitions factory!" Almost at the same time, Lin Sanjiu and Lollipop leaped toward Leaf, who was lying on the ground. "Yu Yuan, help me keep an eye on the surroundings!"
After all, Lollipop was the closest. Before she could finish her sentence, she had already rushed to the side of the withered leaf. Lin Sanjiu repeated the same trick and released another surge of Higher Consciousness. At this moment, Lollipop raised her head and looked at her. Her umbrella skirt began to spin rapidly. A few streams of air rose from the hem of her skirt and formed a few high-speed vortexes around her.
That wave of Willpower collided with the airflow and was immediately sucked in, disintegrating and disappearing in an instant.
Lollipop heaved a sigh of relief. She quickly bent down and reached out her hand to grab the leaf from the protective airflow.
Lin Sanjiu's back was instantly drenched in sweat. A surge of Higher Consciousness surged forward, but this time, it wasn't targeting Lollipop. Her Higher Consciousness and the girl's fingertip collided with the withered leaf at the same time. Lollipop's finger slipped from the girl's Higher Consciousness, and the withered leaf floated up and landed a few steps away from Lin Sanjiu.
"Don't stop me!"
The girl turned her head and screamed. She raised her hand, and a shadow pressed down on Lin Sanjiu. Lin Sanjiu halted, activated her [Defense Forcefield], and dashed forward again. However, in less than half a second, Lollipop had already scooped up the withered leaf.
The moment she stood up, the shadow disappeared. Lin Sanjiu didn't even get a clear look at it. Perhaps, it was just a prop to deter the enemy.
"Thank you for your special item," Lollipop said, as if a huge stone had been lifted from her heart. She smiled at Lin Sanjiu in a relaxed manner, turned around, and dashed forward. "Goodbye!"
Then, she heard a dull thud. It was as if she had crashed into an invisible barrier. She sat down limply in the air in front of her. She had gathered all her strength to run at full speed, so the impact was very heavy. Soon, two streams of blood trickled down from her nose.
Lin Sanjiu was startled, and she stopped in her tracks. She searched her surroundings and found that Lollipop was encased in a transparent barrier. When she looked around, she saw a black lid slowly protruding from the air, sealing the transparent cabinet.
"Thank goodness," Yu Yuan walked up to her while she was still in shock, "I managed to stop it in time."
"You did it? What is this? "
Lin Sanjiu stared at the transparent cabinet. She found that various things were growing inside it. A string of light bulbs lit up on the lid, a metal rod stretched across the glass cabinet, and a plushie popped out from the glass on the other side. Lin Sanjiu looked at it carefully. She felt that it was a little familiar, but she couldn't remember what it was. "Is this your ability?"
"No, it's my Special Item. But it has something to do with my ability," Yu Yuan said as he stared at the transparent cabinet.
As he spoke, a control panel rose from the outside of the transparent cabinet. When he placed his hand on the control lever, Lin Sanjiu suddenly remembered something. In order to confirm her guess, she looked up again, and sure enough, she saw a metal claw that had just reached out and was still swaying in the glass cabinet.
"Isn't this a claw machine?"
"... Yes," Yu Yuan squeezed out a word.
Under the bright light, Lin Sanjiu could see that his tattooed skin was flushed. Without raising his head, Yu Yuan took out a coin from his pocket. The moment the coin rolled into the claw machine, the lights in the claw machine lit up as if it had come to life.
"It needs a coin to activate," Yu Yuan said softly as the music played, "That's why I collected a lot of them in every world."
Lin Sanjiu stared at the lollipop in the glass cabinet. She didn't even know what to ask, "So, what are you going to do next?"
[Claw Machine]
It was one of the most popular scam tools in amusement arcades and casinos. The items that were grabbed would always drop before they reached the exit. Perhaps, there was a chance to grab a plushie, but if the machine was filled with ice cream, electronic products, or US dollars, the metal claw would be as hard as paper. Even the action of "grabbing" would seem so fake.
Now, this claw machine was being used for robbery.
The purpose of this Special Item was to create a dynamic balance between the robber and the victim. Even though the victim who was trapped in the glass cabinet had lost their mobility and temporarily became a "plushie", it didn't mean that they were meat on the robber's chopping board. In order to grab what they wanted from the victim, the robber had to be skilled in operating the claw machine. They had to spend a coin and use the joystick to grab the item bit by bit before moving it to the exit.
PS: Every time you use this Special Item, you only have five chances to grab the claw machine. After five chances, the claw machine would be taken back, and the victim would regain their freedom. Of course, if the victim didn't manage to run far and got trapped again, the robber would have another five chances to grab the claw machine.
Suddenly, there was a patch of barren land in the middle of the quiet forest. Lin Sanjiu could hear the sound of the rustling forest in the distance, but she could hear the tinkling of the cheerful music. Her vision was filled with the flashing lights of the claw machine.
"In other words, you have to use this metal claw to grab Leaf from her?" Lin Sanjiu asked hesitantly.
At that moment, Lollipop was leaning against the glass wall. Her forehead was bruised and swollen. The lower half of her face was covered in blood, but she couldn't even raise her hand to wipe it off. She could only blink her eyes. Her hands were lying motionlessly on the ground. One of her palms was facing upward, and there was a yellowish-brown leaf on it. It was the [Cutie Duo, Keep the Fun Times].
"That's right," Yu Yuan exhaled and grabbed the joystick. "Where did this person come from?"
"She was one of the people who attacked me that night. But I don't know why she wants my Special Item so badly."
As soon as Lin Sanjiu's voice trailed off, a muffled sound came from the glass cabinet. At that moment, the girl could not move a muscle on her face. Her eyes were wide open, and no one knew what she was trying to say.
When the metal claw swayed toward the girl, Lin Sanjiu started to feel a little nervous, "Are you good at claw machine?"
"I bought this claw machine from the black market. Guess how much I spent on it?"
As Yu Yuan spoke, the metal claw slowly descended and landed on Lollipop's palm. The tip of Lin Sanjiu's nose was pressed against the glass as she stared at the claw. The metal claw slowly closed and scratched the girl's palm as if it was scratching an itch. It scraped past the brownish-yellow withered leaves. When she finally lifted it up, there was nothing in it.
Lin Sanjiu looked at the metal claw swaying back and forth. She couldn't hide her disappointment, "I can't guess."
"I only spent 50 Rontes." Yu Yuan's expression didn't change. He looked as calm as usual. He was probably used to the claw machine grabbing empty air.
"So little?" Lin Sanjiu was shocked, "How can a Special Item be so cheap?"
"Because no one can catch anything," Yu Yuan said as he put another coin in. "I'm not exaggerating. At that time, there was a special product exhibition of a gamified apocalyptic world. Someone tried thirty to forty times in a row, but he couldn't even catch a doll — a normal doll — so it wasn't sold until the end."
On the second try, the metal claw finally caught the leaf. However, as Lin Sanjiu swayed towards the exit, she saw the withered leaf fall gently through the gap between the metal claws.
Lin Sanjiu couldn't help sighing as she watched the third coin being inserted into the machine. She didn't want to stare at the metal claw anymore, so she asked Yu Yuan, "Why did you buy it?"
"Well, one of the reasons is that I like to play claw machines." Yu Yuan controlled the metal claw and picked up the dried leaves again. But not long after, he reached into his pocket and took out the fourth coin. "I'm the kind of person who always thinks that I can catch something next time. Every time I went to the arcade, I would spend a lot of money on the claw machine."
Lin Sanjiu glanced at Lollipop. "In other words, I need to be prepared for another battle …" The girl's eyes were fixed on the metal claw. It seemed that she would grab the leaf the moment she regained her freedom.
"Of course, I can't catch a 10 RMB ice cream even if I spend 40 RMB," Yu Yuan sighed and took out the fifth coin.
"Is there any other reason?" Lin Sanjiu had already given up hope. She tensed up and waited for the claw machine to disappear so that she could release her Higher Consciousness.
"Yes." Yu Yuan answered as he manipulated the metal claw, "The ability I acquired during the apocalypse made me very suitable for this Special Item."
"Huh?"
Lin Sanjiu was startled. She turned to look at him. The metal claw opened at that moment, and the yellowish-brown leaf slowly fell into the exit. Yu Yuan bent down and took out the yellowish-brown leaf, handing it to her. He smiled and said, "Well, I'm naturally more proficient than others when it comes to manipulating machines."
With a thought, the leaf turned into a [Cutie Duo, Keep the Colorful Time] card. It disappeared from Lin Sanjiu's palm in a flash.
The claw machine then disappeared, and Lollipop leaped up from where she was standing. The two of them took a step back. Lollipop wiped the blood from her nose and mouth and said in a hoarse voice, "I want your Special Item because I stepped into the Check-In Instance Dungeon that you set up! Since we couldn't find it, Fire Arm and I didn't check-in for two days. Fire Arm died in an accident this morning. How dare you say you don't know why? No matter what, I must get it today! "
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