Chapter 860: The Body"s Memory
As the faint rumbling in the sky gradually faded away, the whale-like s.h.i.+p broke through the waves of clouds and disappeared completely into the distant sky like a messenger summoned by the G.o.ds, leaving a lasting impact on the hearts of those who witnessed it, no matter how many times they had seen such a gigantic s.h.i.+p.
Lin Sanjiu withdrew her gaze from the sky and recalled the speculation that had crossed her mind when she boarded the s.h.i.+p.
...No matter how she thought about it, she found that the speculation was too unbelievable. Perhaps it was just her wild imagination, and she had guessed wrong?
Regardless, the most important thing now was to hurry to the orange orchard.
Suppressing the restless and chaotic thoughts in her mind, Lin Sanjiu looked around. The type of s.h.i.+p she boarded this time, perhaps due to its size, never landed on the ground. Pa.s.sengers had to enter and exit through a long sky tunnel. Maybe it was because of the use of anti-gravity materials, but the s.h.i.+p seemed to have no fuel shortage concerns. Even when it was docked, it remained suspended in the air.
The posthumans who descended from the sky tunnel dispersed as soon as they landed, walking in pairs or small groups towards the plains ahead. Several winding paths traversed through wild flower fields, extending in various directions. Sunflowers as tall as a person, cl.u.s.ters of dense wild roses, intertwined with vines and wild gra.s.s, swayed gently in the breeze beneath the blue sky.
The scent of earth, evaporating after being bathed in sunlight, the fragrance of blooming and withering flowers, combined with the moist wind, gently brushed against their cheeks, making it feel almost unreal that this was a part of the post-apocalyptic world.
The posthumans quickly walked onto the different paths, and soon, their figures were swallowed up by the flower fields. They didn"t need to be familiar with the terrain here, and even Lin Sanjiu didn"t need to be, because there were several giant hand-shaped signposts standing in the flower fields. It was unclear where they had been taken from, possibly dismantled from some facility. Hanging from the index fingers pointing in different directions were several road signs.
"This road leads to the orange orchard..." Lin Sanjiu approached one of the giant hands and looked at the sign on the index finger, reading aloud, "World Cla.s.sification Zone."
It was evident that these large hand signposts came from a zoo before the apocalypse. Upon closer inspection, one could still make out the words "Panda Pavilion" and similar phrases that had been blacked out.
However... World Cla.s.sification Zone?
She looked up and found that this path was very popular, with more posthumans walking on it than any other path. She hesitated for a moment, but instead of taking this path, she stepped over to another giant hand. This index finger was pointing in almost the opposite direction.
"This road leads to the orange orchard, Character Cla.s.sification Zone."
What did all of this mean?
She had originally planned to investigate the information about the orange orchard before coming, but the incident with the physical projection had disrupted her plans, and she arrived completely unprepared. Besides the "World" and "Character" zones, the orange orchard also had an "Event" zone, "Ability" zone, "Delusion" zone, and so on. Among them, the path to the Delusion zone had the fewest people, and occasionally someone would pa.s.s by in a hurried and secretive manner.
Just as Lin Sanjiu wanted to stop someone to inquire, she discovered that everyone who had descended from the s.h.i.+p with her had already disappeared. After thinking for a moment, she simply chose a path leading to the "Other" zone and walked into a large patch of iris flowers.
Since she knew nothing about the orange orchard, it didn"t matter which path she chose.
The path was long, and the soil, mixed with gravel and stones, was trampled flat. After walking for a while, the lush green lawns, water puddles, and wildflowers along the road gradually became spa.r.s.e, replaced by dense woods. Finally, Lin Sanjiu stopped next to a wooden sign.
"Orange Orchard, Other Cla.s.sification Zone." The sign was rough, as if it had been made from a broken tabletop. "Please note that once you cross this sign, you will enter the orange orchard instance. This organization is only responsible for managing the orange orchard and the growth of oranges. We are not responsible for any events that occur within the orange orchard."
"Wait a minute," Lin Sanjiu couldn"t help but be surprised as she looked at the dim and silent woods ahead, taking two steps back. "This is an instance?"
She remembered that the map didn"t indicate that this was an instance, so how...
"Watch out!" Without realizing it, another posthuman behind her almost collided with her. With her keen senses, Lin Sanjiu hadn"t noticed when this girl had caught up with her. The girl, pet.i.te and doll-like, had lively and moist black eyes. However, her usually cute face now wore an incongruous and provocative expression, giving a sense of disharmony.
"Don"t block the way," she raised her eyebrows with a hint of inexplicable arrogance. "I hate you trash who stumbled into the Twelve Worlds Centrum by mere luck. If you don"t know what the orange orchard is, then don"t go in. No one wants oranges from trash like you."
Oranges?
No, no, no, who is the trash here?
Lin Sanjiu stood still, not moving from her spot, blocking the girl"s path instead.
This girl seemed extremely young and had an unbridled demeanor. Lin Sanjiu had only seen such a temperament in people born in the Twelve Worlds Centrum—perhaps it was due to the lack of a normal human society education. This girl had a bad temper and seemed to have no understanding of courtesy.
However, Lin Sanjiu wasn"t the least bit angry.
Not because of her exceptional patience, but because her past experiences had taught her that she had a natural advantage against people like this.
"Do you know what the orange orchard is?" Lin Sanjiu asked slowly.
"Nonsense," even though the girl had a lively and gentle appearance, an indescribable air of arrogance hung on her face. "Get out of the way quickly. I"m in a hurry!"
Lin Sanjiu acted as if she hadn"t heard and smiled mischievously, arms crossed. "Well, then why don"t you tell me about it? I happen to have no idea."
"Are your ears just for decoration? Who would bother telling you?" The girl frowned in disgust, seeming to hold Lin Sanjiu in very low regard. "Ugly middle-aged men like you, I don"t even want to waste my energy on hitting you. If you were a woman, I would have already knocked you out."
Only then did Lin Sanjiu remember that she was wearing a mask on her face—she had recently developed a fondness for masks for middle-aged men and had bought several from the same series.
"Oh dear, you have such a bad temper," she continued to keep her hands clasped together and smiled as if nothing had happened. "It feels familiar because I used to know a girl with a bad temper just like you. You"re so lacking in personality that you don"t even have a bad personality."
The last sentence was a bit confusing, and the girl was stunned for two seconds before finally understanding. Her face turned red instantly. Without waiting for her to show any sign of attacking, Lin Sanjiu preemptively asked, "Have you heard of Route 300?"
The girl was taken aback but quickly reacted, her expression changing abruptly. "You... you took my... that"s impossible!"
Almost everyone who fell for the "Have you heard of Route 300?" trick had a similar reaction.
"Don"t worry, this is my ability. I can hijack special items. Actually, I don"t want to fight with you. I just want to chat with you. Once we"re done, I"ll return your special item to you."
The girl incredulously clenched and unclenched her fingers, and a string of jingling bracelets slid down her wrist. She seemed to be testing her special item, but after realizing that she couldn"t summon any item, she clenched her teeth tightly, veins popping up on her forehead. It took her a while to speak again.
"Even without my special item, I can still crush you with my ability," the girl smirked coldly, her anger twisting her mouth. "I don"t believe your ability would still work once you"re dead!"
"Are you dumb? Before I die, I can just tear the ticket."
Lin Sanjiu had no intention of fighting her at all. She casually scratched her chin, which seemed to further infuriate the girl. However, although she tightly clenched her fists, she refrained from launching an attack. She seemed to still have some rationality and didn"t dare to risk everything.
"That"s right," Lin Sanjiu applauded her sarcastically. "Impulsiveness is the devil."
"Your mother is the devil."
"You have no manners." The girl showed no signs of getting angry—she had forgotten when she acc.u.mulated enough experience to know that the less she showed her anger, the more the other person would burn with rage. "Don"t judge me by my abilities. You might not have much talent, but you sure have a temper."
"I don"t have much talent—I—do you even know who I am!" The girl"s voice turned shrill with anger, but just as she was about to utter her name, she forcefully swallowed the second half of the sentence.
"I don"t know. You seem like just another insignificant fish." Lin Sanjiu honestly replied, "And I have no interest in knowing who you are. Why don"t you tell me about the Orange Orchard? Once we"re done chatting, I"ll return your special item."
The girl clenched her lips tightly and remained silent, her eyes gleaming with coldness.
"Why must you clash with her?" Mrs. Manas suddenly asked, "Provoking her may not necessarily lead to truthful answers."
Lin Sanjiu tilted her head and pondered.
It was a matter that could have been resolved by letting the girl go first, but she didn"t know why she had deliberately provoked her. It seemed like a subconscious action on her part, naturally riling up the other person. The method she used was almost second nature to her.
Why did she do it...?
Just as she began to feel confused herself, she saw the girl suddenly crouch down and grab something from the ground. Lin Sanjiu"s spirit tensed, and she quickly took two steps back. The girl stared at her and abruptly opened her mouth.
"Your shadow at morning striding behind you, or your shadow at evening rising to meet you..."
So that"s what it was!
A s.h.i.+ver ran through Lin Sanjiu"s body, surprised by the speed at which she unleashed her power. In an instant, she leaped into the air, and her shadow already enveloped the girl.
"I will show you fear in a handful of dust—" The girl hurriedly stepped back, never stopping her words but instead speeding up her pace. A gust of wind rushed from behind her as if something was taking shape and growing stronger along with her voice, building up to unleash its power.
Lin Sanjiu urgently covered her face with her hand, but the girl suddenly twisted her head, causing her fingers to slide off her cheek.
But that was enough for the "Planar World" to activate on the girl"s face.
Feeling a card in her hand, Lin Sanjiu tumbled back to the ground with a thud. With a loud shout, her voice blending with the unfinished verses of the girl, she exclaimed, "Bard!"
The girl"s voice finally had its first pause.
After Lin Sanjiu took the card, a cascade of smooth, s.h.i.+ny, chestnut-brown curls slid down from behind her ears like waves. In her haste, she flicked her hair, and countless bracelets and earrings on her wrist and ear jingled melodiously.
"Hey, Bohemia!" Lin Sanjiu"s eyes lit up. "It"s me!"