Chapter 339: Onward!
The lights in the b.u.mper Karts arena were on 24/7. They were never dimmed throughout the entire day. The light was so bright that Lin Sanjiu could see white even when she closed her eyes. Obviously, it wasn"t comfortable sleeping in these conditions. Despite that, Lin Sanjiu quickly slipped into her dreams, taking in every bit of rest she could, like a sponge in water, trying to recover her strength and energy.
Hei Zeji turned his body and sat up from a flight of stairs. He threw a glance at Lin Sanjiu. Seeing that she was fast asleep, he stood up soundlessly and walked toward her.
Lin Sanjiu frowned as she continued sleeping.
He curled his left hand into a fist and suddenly hurled it rapidly. Based on the speed of his attack, if that fist landed properly, Lin Sanjiu might even vomit out her organs. The sleeping woman"s breathing suddenly quickened. Before that punch reached her, Lin Sanjiu turned over and her breathing slowed down again.
Hei Zeji narrowed his eyes.
The moment he raised his hand, something in the surroundings changed. The sudden change was hard to describe. Even though they had fought previously, if Lin Sanjiu was awake, she would have realized that she had not seen such movements before. Hei Zeji placed his hands in the air. Next, as if he was following a rhythm, he slowly drew a few small but strange arcs in the air as his fingers shot toward Lin Sanjiu"s neck.
Even though it seemed strange, that was exactly what happened.
The woman who was fast asleep lay in ignorance. When his fingers were just about to reach Lin Sanjiu"s carotid artery, she opened her eyes immediately. Her wings rose slightly. Hei Zeji"s hand was just a few millimeters away from Lin Sanjiu"s skin. He frowned at her.
Lin Sanjiu, who had just been abruptly woken up from her sleep, was still feeling a little groggy. From his expression, she couldn"t tell if he was praising her or if he was unsatisfied.
"If I didn"t stop, you"d be dead now." Hei Zeji lifted the corner of his lips, flas.h.i.+ng his white canine. "How did you noticed? Why did it take you so long?"
Lin Sanjiu didn"t want to talk to Hei Zeji lying down. She pushed herself up and felt a stinging pain from her chest. The corner of her eyes twitched a little. She looked up before answering him with some confusion, "It was what you taught me yesterday, right?"
"Explain yourself."
It happened in just a few seconds so Lin Sanjiu found it a little hard to describe. She crooked her head and tried to remember what she felt while she was dreaming. When the first punch approached her, she had already noticed.
Without the usual thoughts she had during the day, Lin Sanjiu entered a sort of basic meditative state while she was asleep. It was just like the "somatosensory training" she had yesterday, she could activate control over each part of her body down to her pores. She no longer felt the segregation between mind and body. Her control was absolute. It was clear and nimble.
Under such a state, the movement of air current caused by Hei Zeji"s fist as it broke through the air was like a loud drum. Naturally, she had noticed it very quickly.
"Your reaction… was to just turn to one side?" Hei Zeji raised one of his brows slightly.
Lin Sanjiu exercised her mouth and replied, "Well… Yeah, I knew you were the one throwing that fist at me. It wasn"t just anyone I didn"t know. Oh, but I nearly didn"t sense you the second time? Why? If I didn"t feel the slight warmth when you were about to touch me, I might have just continued sleeping."
The reply she got from Hei Zeji was a slight nod. The man who resembled a black pather gave her a very reserved acknowledgment. "I think you are more familiar with that state now."
"What do you mean?"
"You can only feel movement. That is just the basics."
As Hei Zeji said that, he gestured for Lin Sanjiu to follow him. The two of them walked toward the rink of the b.u.mper kart arena once more.
"As you get a better understanding, you would be able to detect more and more. A person"s breathing, the speed of flowing blood, the trajectory of an attack… It would all become clear to you as if you could see them with your own eyes. Once you reach the purest state, even if you lose all your five senses, you can sense the subtle changes in your surroundings even when someone stands motionless near you. When a ma.s.s exists in s.p.a.ce, you would sense the feeling that s.p.a.ce has been "occupied". The change in the surrounding is caused by the gravitational field that comes with anything that has ma.s.s. Just like a planet"s gravitational force in outer s.p.a.ce."
Lin Sanjiu was tongue-tied as she heard what Hei Zeji said. Compared to the gazillion ton that a planet weighed, a human"s weight was almost negligible. If a person could feel even the almost non-existent gravitational pull that another human possesses, how powerful could that be?
Even if Hei Zeji was already very powerful, it was apparent that he had not reached that stage.
"I told you yesterday that a person"s body can be used in two ways. Sensing with your entire body is just a foundational step, the other way is how you should fight under an hypersensory state."
Lin Sanjiu froze for a second after she leaped into one of the b.u.mper karts, "Aren"t you joining?"
"No matter how difficult this game gets, it will not help you learn how to battle using that state," Hei Zeji replied impatiently, he was a little fierce. "Just complete the next two round quickly with your level of difficulty."
Without Hei Zeji, the difficulty of the game was evidently much lower than what Lin Sanjiu expected, even though it was the second round. If the difficulty of the game with Hei Zeji was 30, the second round, after the difficulty increases by three times, would be 90. Lin Sanjiu was only half as good as Hei Zeji, so her second round was a difficulty of 45. Even though it wasn"t easy, Lin Sanjiu managed to successfully complete the next two rounds.
Just as Starry Carnival Amus.e.m.e.nt Park had been designed, she improved as the game got harder. After Lin Sanjiu found out about the bonuses, she logically made good use of it. When she walked out from the b.u.mper Karts arena, she already had 27 Stamina points.
The old woman in the F1 uniform looked as apathetic toward life as before. She opened the walls of the back half of the arena. As the walls s.h.i.+fted with a loud rumble, sunlight poured from the skies. The next section of the Frog Route was revealed.
"You have completed the first station, would you like to change your route?" she asked dryly.
"Change my route?" Lin Sanjiu asked, puzzled. "I thought that in this amus.e.m.e.nt park you could only move on the route that you have chosen from the start?"
"Unless you complete a station. Once you complete a station, you can choose any route you would like to continue on. When you complete the next station, you can change your route again."
When Lin Sanjiu recalled the layout of the amus.e.m.e.nt park from the map, she felt that it was totally unnecessary to take a different route. Since Hei Zeji did not seem to object, she nodded to the old woman, "I will just continue with the Frog Route. I don"t want to change."
After they left the b.u.mper Karts arena, Lin Sanjiu took out two paper cranes reluctantly as she was still affected by Santa Claus" ability. After she recorded her next destination, she released the paper cranes. The cranes fluttered away.
She originally suspected that Santa Claus had planted some sort of remote control explosive device in her body. However, after she felt her body in her hypersensory state a few times, Lin Sanjiu did not find anything. Clearly, the effect of Santa Claus"s ability was formless.
Hei Zeji was uninterested in these things that did not concern him so it was no surprise that he didn"t ask Lin Sanjiu anything. In fact, when Lin Sanjiu released the paper cranes and turned around, she realized that Hei Zeji had fallen asleep on a pole. The sound of the paper cranes" wings finally woke him up. He rubbed his eyes. After that, he followed behind Lin Sanjiu without saying a word and walked out of the arena.
The second section of the Frog Route seemed almost the same as the first section. The only difference was that the music from the speakers had been changed into a smooth piano piece. There was still a strong sweet scent in the air. All sorts of cute, colorful shops lined both sides of the road. It was quite understandable. Before the first station, who would have extra Stamina Points to spend on items?
When Lin Sanjiu took a closer look, she discovered that the shops were selling all sorts of items. There were balloons, drawing, souvenirs. They were things which seemed useless. There were also shops selling hotdogs, chili noodles, freshly squeezed juice, clothes, sleeping bags and things that were more useful.
After walking for some time, Lin Sanjiu even found a building with a door that had a cartoon. There was a "B&B HOTEL" sign on the door and it was 20 Stamina Points per night.
"If you walk further on Swan Route, and go to the next station, you can even buy guns and bullets," Hei Zeji suddenly said after they walked past a mushroom-shaped store. Suddenly, he added, "I wonder if there are any stores selling Special Items."
Apparently, Hei Zeji had explored quite a bit of the amus.e.m.e.nt park. Lin Sanjiu remembered the man in the bear"s vest. The name of that Growth-type posthuman seemed to be Yidong. Lin Sanjiu didn"t know how he had offended Hei Zeji such that he had to eventually lose his life.
After the two of them walked side by side for a while, they saw the next station up ahead.
Unlike the plain-looking b.u.mper Karts arena, the exterior of this particular attraction was exceptionally beautiful and elegant. Even though the sun was s.h.i.+ning brightly, high above the sky, the brightly colored fluorescent lights that decorated the attraction were so eye-catching that they could be seen from afar. The rainbow-colored lights were extremely striking. The building looked as if it was built of various prism-like blocks and that created a dreamy, princess-like scene.
"What is this?" Hei Zeji"s expression turned glum. "I don"t want to enter."
Lin Sanjiu had more or less accustomed herself to his wilful personality. She had even developed a way to deal with him. After she persuaded Hei Zeji for quite a while, she managed to coax him to the entrance of the new arena. When they looked up, they could see the words, "Time Travel".
"After selecting the story you want, you can personally experience the past… The interactions that the players will have within this attraction are extremely interesting. This attraction is not suitable for people with heart problems and high blood pressure…"
After Lin Sanjiu read the notice at that entrance, she turned to look at Hei Zeji, "Can this help with my combat training?"
"Let"s go," the latter replied impatiently as he gestured to go and walked through the door first.