Chapter 916: Feasting on Meat
The tall and silent dark figure before her lowered its head even further, seemingly puzzled by her "confession."
Lin Sanjiu looked at it and let out a laugh from her nose.
If she managed to escape from here tonight by some stroke of luck, she would definitely consult Bohemia on how to enhance her consciousness. She couldn"t even remember how many times her consciousness had saved her in critical moments. She hoped this time would be no exception.
With a flick of her hand, a silver, cold, fang-shaped arc of light smoothly cut through the air. It was hard to imagine that such a quiet and silent strike could be so swift. Just as the person behind the door was about to utter a murmur, the silver fang pa.s.sed by Little Hole and disappeared into the night.
Immediately, a distorted howl resounded from the darkness not far away.
"Number 4!" the voice behind the door exclaimed in surprise, "What have you done? Can you see?"
In the pitch-black surroundings, Lin Sanjiu couldn"t see anything, of course. However, her consciousness scan could extend along with her gaze, like a fine-meshed sieve sifting through every inch of the ground and things moving on the ground.
"It seems you really like this perforated guy," she regained her composure and smiled faintly, "Does it have a name? The one that has been playing tricks on Naga-as.h.i.+ is not bad either. Why don"t you give it a name?"
In just a few words, Naga-as.h.i.+ came to a halt. It hesitated and looked around in confusion, apparently still not completely awake from the fabricated illusion. Its gaze quickly settled on the silver fang-shaped arc not far away. It took a few quick steps and pulled it out from the ground.
The creature that was pierced by the arc, pinned to the ground, was instantly lifted up. As its body slid down along the fang, it emitted a weak and unpleasant whimper. The creature looked like a dwarf, with a pointed cone-shaped head—perhaps that was also one of its weapons, albeit one that it didn"t have a chance to use.
Naga-as.h.i.+ looked around and spoke with a panting voice, "What... What"s going on? Where is the monster that fought me?"
"There was never any monster fighting you. It seems like the others have retreated. After you responded to this cone-headed dwarf once, everything it said became your reality. You"ve been swinging your weapon at thin air all this time, and I have been influenced by this thing," Lin Sanjiu turned to look at the ma.s.sive creature before her, covered in countless hollows. She let out a sigh, "He doesn"t need to send out more monsters now."
"What?" Naga-as.h.i.+ was still having a hard time understanding the current situation, but a quick glance revealed that something was amiss with Lin Sanjiu. They stood face to face with the non-humanoid monster, yet there was no resistance from her, and she didn"t even have anything in her hands.
"I can"t resist this thing, so I don"t care anymore. I plan to surrender," Lin Sanjiu smiled at Naga-as.h.i.+, "After all, both the posthumans and I are on the same side. I have a way out, so there"s no need to fight alongside a duoluozhong. I hope you can hold on longer under those monsters."
Naga-as.h.i.+ froze.
The person behind the door reacted swiftly. While they exchanged a few words, he had already relayed several commands behind the door. "Quickly go and save Number 4!" he shouted, "Also, kill that duoluozhong as fast as possible!"
Coincidentally, Lin Sanjiu let out a breath inwardly—this statement happened to serve her purpose.
"Look," she sighed softly to Naga-as.h.i.+. After dealing with the Black Market for so many days, she knew exactly what tone of voice could provoke that duoluozhong. "He just wants to kill you, right? Because while you were immersed in the illusion just now, we made a deal. I won"t help you or reveal any secrets, and in return, I get to keep my life... Sorry, but you won"t get your revenge."
Before she could finish her sentence, Little Hole suddenly moved slightly. Taking advantage of her attention being focused on Naga-as.h.i.+, its flat face full of holes approached Lin Sanjiu. Startled, she quickly took two steps back, but it was too late. The gravitational force from the holes seemed to lubricate her throat, and she involuntarily blurted out, "I have acquired several types of evolutionary abilities, one of which is called Horizon—"
Her teeth sank deeply into her tongue, and the taste of iron-like rusty blood immediately filled her mouth. The intense and sobering pain abruptly cut off the second half of her sentence. But before Lin Sanjiu could feel relieved, a wolf-like silver light appeared behind Little Hole, cutting through the night wind and tracing a deadly arc toward her.
Finally, Naga-as.h.i.+ made its move!
Lin Sanjiu could hardly believe it. Instead of attacking its formidable enemy, it attacked her first. She swiftly dodged the silver light, then advanced and pounced on Little Hole.
Dodging consecutive strikes from the wolf-shaped silver light, which Naga-as.h.i.+ wielded like a sword, was not difficult. As she closed in on Little Hole, she suddenly felt a cool breeze behind her head. Acting instinctively, she dove forward and collided with a leg-like object supporting the ma.s.sive creature.
As soon as she made contact, numerous small holes opened up on the flat surface.
Lin Sanjiu quickly twisted her head and caught sight of the wolf-shaped arc of light. "I bought a s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p," she heard herself say, her words slightly m.u.f.fled due to her injured tongue, as if someone else was controlling her voice. "I parked it near the orange orchard on a nearby mountain."
Her full attention was focused on the arc of light, so she realized too late that she had revealed important information. If the arc of light continued its trajectory, it would smash into Little Hole"s chest—the very outcome she had planned for. She had hoped to use Naga-as.h.i.+"s hand to defeat Little Hole.
But no matter how much hope she had, no matter how important the information she had leaked, the wolf-shaped arc of light, filled with her hopes, suddenly stopped half an inch away from Little Hole.
Naga-as.h.i.+ held the wolf-shaped arc high, with the umbrella still hanging from its waist, maintaining that rigid posture for a second or two. Its intact arm trembled slightly, and the arc of light s.h.i.+mmered like a moon reflecting on the surface of the sea, constantly flickering and fragmenting.
Lin Sanjiu stared at it and realized something was wrong. She lowered her gaze and saw the card she had thrown on the ground, not far from Naga-as.h.i.+"s feet.
"When I was 14 years old, there was a period of time when I couldn"t get enough to eat," Naga-as.h.i.+"s voice came intermittently from beneath its rising and falling mask. "So, along with Timo, I wore masks and pretended to be a working duoluozhong. We sneaked into the kitchen of a restaurant and stole a lot of meat."
It seemed to have a stronger desire to confess than Lin Sanjiu did. It spoke softly to the holes, almost dazedly, "I remember every detail, but I don"t remember how we felt when we were huddled in the alley, devouring meat. I just want to recall that... What did it feel like?"