Chapter 1225: When a Person Is About to Die, Their Words Become Good
The panicked NPC had just uttered into the microphone, "Police, Security—"
Gardenia suddenly twisted her body, and a black, flat fan shadow flew towards his throat. The man never expected that she would attack, and his flesh made a tearing sound as it was ripped apart, spewing blood from the palely lit payment counter.
After killing someone in one stroke, Gardenia turned around as if her legs had suddenly weakened. She held onto the counter and exclaimed, "Don"t leave! I... I just killed him! How can an NPC kill another NPC?"
The telephone dropped, banging against the wall repeatedly.
Lin Sanjiu turned around, her gaze falling on the microphone. She paused and questioned, "If pocket dimensions can erode other pocket dimensions, why can"t NPCs kill NPCs?"
Gardenia"s lower lip trembled, and she continued clutching the mirror tightly, refusing to look into it. With a forced smile, she said, "You... this is just sophistry. It"s not a valid reason!"
She seemed like an anxious debater, as if as long as the other person"s argument was not valid, whatever they said could not be true.
"In fact, you can"t be completely unaware, right?" Lin Sanjiu said softly, observing her now average-looking face. "That female NPC who always guided you and led you outside, you can"t find her anywhere. When you mentioned her, your face was filled with anxiety, but you barely mentioned it, as if it wasn"t important at all, and s.h.i.+fted your focus elsewhere."
Gardenia unconsciously arched her now less slender waist and buried her face deeply in her arms as if enduring some physical pain.
"Your mission was another matter that you should have been very concerned about, but you didn"t mention it at all when we met outside the laboratory."
This was perhaps the most perfect form of revenge: she systematically fulfilled everything that the other party feared, hated, and unwillingly faced. She was the one who pressed the other party into reality.
Lin Sanjiu, however, derived no pleasure from it whatsoever.
"You said I was your last target, and once you pushed me into the laboratory, your mission would be completed, and you could leave Lava. You didn"t expect that not only did I successfully get out of the laboratory, but I also dragged out the previous target, Red Face." She paused for a moment and sighed. "If it were me, I would be worried about the status of the mission and what I should do next in your situation. But you met an NPC after such difficulty, and yet you didn"t ask anything about your mission, as if your mission had suddenly ceased to exist.
"I was thinking of asking the NPC whether your mission had failed and if there were any consequences," Lin Sanjiu confessed. "But one thing led to another, and I never had the chance, nor did I need to. Because then I saw how you looked." Lin Sanjiu paused, reluctant to say more, aware that any further words might be too cruel for Gardenia. After all, she used to be someone who would consider being praised as "pretty" as almost an insult.
"What"s wrong with how I look?" Gardenia asked with a strained smile, as if it might crumble at any moment. She threw away the mirror, shattering it in the corner of the wall. "There"s nothing wrong with my appearance!"
Lin Sanjiu didn"t refute her.
It was evident that there were consequences for failing the mission. They now knew what that consequence was: all NPCs who interacted with players could barely be described as plain-looking. Even an extreme case like the previous fat NPC was still unpleasant to look at due to his abundance of flesh, which drowned out his features. If there was an NPC with Gardenia"s appearance, wouldn"t they be too radiant, too attention-grabbing?
As for later, when the fat NPC wanted to feed players to the hospital, he did not target Gardenia, who was close by, but instead let her escape—this was, of course, because she was no longer a player. The fat NPC just wanted to feed the hospital with one NPC, and that would be himself.
Of course, Lin Sanjiu didn"t say any of these words to Gardenia.
Lin Sanjiu felt that it was time to leave. However, as soon as she turned around, a voice tinged with desperation cried out, "Wait!"
She turned to look at Gardenia, her gaze dropping to the latter"s appearance. Despite experiencing numerous doomsdays, there were still times when she couldn"t bear to look. Compared to many mangled bodies, Gardenia"s current appearance wasn"t that horrifying. But the emotions she stirred in people far exceeded the grotesque appearance of an injured body.
"I just want to get out of here," Gardenia said as she wiped her face. As she was about to let go, her fingertips suddenly dug deep, leaving several b.l.o.o.d.y streaks on her skin. She seemed unaware of her own actions. "Even if I don"t look good anymore, it doesn"t matter. I just want to leave this place, please... please, I saved you once too."
"If I can get you out, I will," Lin Sanjiu said from the bottom of her heart.
"There must be a way, there must be!" Gardenia said. Then she suddenly appeared dazed, as if she realized that she had no way to accomplish anything.
Shaking her head, Lin Sanjiu was about to leave when she was called back once again.
"I have something to tell you," Gardenia said. She was still bent over the counter, arms stretched outward, grabbing the edge of the counter. Her nails were white from exertion and stained with blood from her face. Since she couldn"t jump over the counter like a player, she maintained a posture that stretched as far outward as possible, as if being a little further away from the hospital was better. "It"s something you"ll find important, maybe even a matter of life and death."
Lin Sanjiu considered it for a few seconds, going over Gardenia"s tone, expression, and the surroundings in her mind before finally saying, "What is it?"
"If I don"t warn you about this, you will be in danger. I will tell you, but I have a request—no, it"s a plea. This request won"t be difficult for you; it"s just a small gesture."
Lin Sanjiu waited for a moment but when Gardenia didn"t continue, she couldn"t help but ask, "What is your request?"
Gardenia raised her eyes. Her eyeb.a.l.l.s protruded slightly, her upper eyelids drooped a bit, and the corners of her eyes took on a different angle—while the changes weren"t extensive, they made her look completely unattractive.
"Kill me."
Before Lin Sanjiu could respond, Gardenia lightly chuckled. "There were many things I wanted to do after getting out, but now I can"t do any of them."
"So... you"d rather die?"
Gardenia didn"t answer and instead looked past Lin Sanjiu at Bohemia and the others in the distance. "As long as you agree, I will warn you about what you should pay attention to. Not only that, I can also cancel your fugitive status."
It was an almost impossible offer for Lin Sanjiu to refuse. Moreover, even if Gardenia didn"t exchange anything, seeing her begging like this, Lin Sanjiu couldn"t bring herself to turn and leave. However, this request did carry significant weight, and after thinking for a moment, she forced a bitter smile and said, "As long as you"ve made up your mind."
Gardenia had made up her mind. In fact, with each pa.s.sing second, her determination seemed to strengthen. After making a call and contacting some unknown department, to prove that Lin Sanjiu had indeed regained the qualification to trade organs, Gardenia called Bohemia back, exchanged some points for a [Hospital Pa.s.s], and then sold the [Hospital Pa.s.s] back to Lin Sanjiu, giving her three points. Gardenia moved with incredible speed; the whole process took her only three or four minutes. It was as if she was in more of a hurry to die than they were to leave.
With their status and points secured, leaving the hospital was now within their grasp. The path out of Lava was finally clear: draw lots, complete the mission, and leave this world.
After everything that needed to be done was completed, when Gardenia leaned on the counter with her hands, her face alternated between red and pale, and her body trembled slightly.
"Although I"ve made many bad decisions, there were also good ones," Gardenia said, her face shrouded in shadows as Lin Sanjiu approached the counter step by step. She raised her head in the dim light, not sure if she was smiling or tearing up. "If I hadn"t impulsively saved you, I would have been stuck in this place forever."
Bohemia was unusually silent. She retreated a few steps, looking at the two from a distance.
Gardenia leaned forward and whispered something in Lin Sanjiu"s ear. The latter was taken aback and couldn"t help but look closely at Gardenia before asking, "Why...?"
"Because of this," Gardenia said, raising her hand and drawing a circle on her collarbone. The explanation that followed felt a bit far-fetched to Lin Sanjiu. It was more like Gardenia was speculating from a detail that couldn"t really reveal anything. But that didn"t matter.
After Lin Sanjiu fulfilled her promise, Bohemia softly said, "Shall we go? Someone will be coming soon."
They had to find a place to put Magus first, and after the commotion caused by the deaths of two NPCs subsided, they would return for Puppeteer"s body. Otherwise, even if Lin Sanjiu was no longer a fugitive, they would still look quite suspicious.
"Let"s go," Lin Sanjiu said and glanced back one last time. Gardenia maintained her posture, arms stretched out and drooping, as if she could climb over the counter at any moment and escape to the world outside the hospital and Lava.
"What did she tell you?" Bohemia asked as they walked towards Magus and the former guard.
Lin Sanjiu kept her eyes on the two in the distance, taking a moment before responding, "Gardenia"s words have no solid basis, so we shouldn"t fully believe her yet. It"s better to just keep it in mind."
"So, what should we be cautious about?"
"She said... the former guard has a very abnormal mental state, and we should be careful around him."