Tour groups for posthumans really were nothing like those of the old world.
Lin Sanjiu recalled how, back in the day, tour operators were terrified of accidents. Activities were meticulously planned to be safe and conservative, with participants often required to sign waivers before setting off. At first glance, the tour in Cloudwalk Heights seemed no different: sightseeing, birdwatching, and a relaxed day capped off with an exhibition. So peaceful, so safe, right?
She'd forgotten to ask what the mid-day activities were.
When the eight-member tour group arrived at a narrow, translucent aerial path, Lin Sanjiu initially thought it was just another scenic activity. The path, seemingly made of crystal or ice, shimmered under the sunlight, reflecting the sky, distant buildings, and the colors of everyone's clothing like a vibrant ribbon of living ice.
The path was so narrow it could barely accommodate two feet side by side, and there wasn't even a rope to hold on to. Everyone had to line up and walk single file. Extending from one end of a building, the path dangled over the vast blue sky, with no structures in sight and nothing below but endless smog thousands of meters down. This was evidently the edge of the CBD.
"Be careful, everyone," the tour guide called out from the front. "The path is narrow. Don't slip and fall."
Looking back, Lin Sanjiu realized she couldn't blame herself for not noticing anything amiss. What was suspicious about the guide's warning? It was entirely reasonable, wasn't it?
"What are we doing here—" Lin Sanjiu began to ask the plump woman beside her, only to hear a male tour member ahead laugh and say, "You can't really slip and fall."
'Huh?'
Before Lin Sanjiu could process the statement, the guide turned back and shouted, "Is everyone holding hands with their neighbor?"
The plump woman immediately grabbed Lin Sanjiu's hand.
'What's going on?'
The guide, suddenly seeming to remember something, leaned forward and exclaimed, "Wait one moment! We have one extra—"
And then, before Lin Sanjiu could piece it together, someone let out a loud cheer. The sound acted like a trigger, instantly electrifying the atmosphere. The tour members on the ice path erupted into excitement. Lin Sanjiu could almost feel the adrenaline surging in the air. It was then she realized these people weren't just casual tourists out for a leisurely stroll. Despite their calm appearances, they were still posthumans.
Lin Sanjiu barely managed to utter "Wait!" before the plump woman gripping her hand yanked her off the path. Together, they plummeted into the open sky.
The screams of the tour group, mingled with the howling wind, echoed loudly in her ears.
'What the hell? Are they insane? Did they all jump off just to kill me?'
Lin Sanjiu didn't have a single item on her that could help her stay afloat. The instant the weightlessness struck, her heart nearly leapt out of her chest, and cold sweat burst from every pore. Reacting swiftly, she twisted mid-air and flung out her Higher Consciousness, trying to latch onto the icy path above.
At her speed, she would have succeeded—if not for the tall, heavy woman pulling her down.
The speed of her descent, dragged by the woman's weight, outmatched the rapid reach of her Higher Consciousness. She could feel it skim past the underside of the path, missing by a hair's breadth.
In that split second, as she hurtled downward, Lin Sanjiu caught sight of the tour guide still standing on the ice path. Her large golden eyes were wide, her slightly open mouth frozen in shock.
"What's going on?!"
Lin Sanjiu's roar was stretched into a long, distorted wave by the rapid descent. If this were a comic, she might have been able to use that last drawn-out syllable to hook herself back onto the icy path.
The plump woman tumbling down with her didn't seem to hear anything. As soon as her feet left the path, she let out a continuous, high-pitched scream of joy. Lin Sanjiu, gripping the woman's hand tightly as if it were a lifeline, suddenly felt the descent slow. ṘаꞐО฿Е𐌔
In an instant, Lin Sanjiu found herself swinging mid-air like a fish caught on a hook. The sudden jolt, combined with the cold sweat coating her palms, nearly caused her to lose her grip on the woman. The plump woman, startled by the pull, stopped screaming and shouted nervously from above, "Hey? Where's your ribbon?"
She finally realized something was wrong.
By now, Lin Sanjiu had wrapped her Higher Consciousness and both hands tightly around the woman's arm, clinging to her like a koala. Dangling in the sky, still shaken and both furious and scared, Lin Sanjiu looked up and snapped, "What ribbon? What's going on?"
Only then did she get a clear view.
Scattered across the sky were the other six tour members. Although everyone had jumped in pairs, they were now spread out, each with yellow ribbons tied around their wrists, obviously Special Items.
When thrown, the ribbons seemed to briefly grip the air, pulling the user upward as the ribbon retracted. Once the captured air dissipated, the person would start falling again, only to repeat the process and "jump" through the air over and over.
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The plump woman also had a pair of ribbons tied to her hands, but the one arm Lin Sanjiu clung to was immobilized.
"You don't have ribbons?" the plump woman blurted, as the two of them began descending again. With her free hand, she quickly performed the same routine—throwing a ribbon, gripping air, and pulling them upward. However, with one ribbon unavailable and an extra person weighing her down, their jumps were far lower and slower than the rest of the group.
"Of course, I don't!" Lin Sanjiu shouted, both anxious and furious. Hearing the other tour members scream in exhilaration like they were on a rollercoaster, she finally understood what kind of activity this was. "Why did you pull me down?!"
"It's safer for two people to jump together—less chance of accidents! How was I supposed to know you didn't have ribbons?" The plump woman, clearly struggling under Lin Sanjiu's weight, looked pale. She kept tossing her ribbon, but their altitude was still gradually decreasing.
"Just take me back up," Lin Sanjiu said through gritted teeth, refusing to look down at the thousand-meter drop and the endless smog below. "Then you can jump back down on your own. What's so fun about this, anyway?"
"It's thrilling..." the plump woman muttered, glancing back toward the ice path. "I'm struggling. I need to pick up the pace."
No need to say it. Lin Sanjiu could already tell their altitude was steadily dropping.
"If you can get close to the bottom of the ice path, I can use my Higher Consciousness to pull myself back up," she said hurriedly.
In the distance, the tour guide, who was now kneeling on the ice path and craning her neck to look at them, seemed to realize their plan. Waving her arms frantically, she shouted, "Come back quickly! She doesn't have ribbons!"
"Thanks for the reminder. I already know that!" the plump woman grumbled, performing another laborious jump toward the ice path. Since she had jumped outward earlier, they were now further away. Although the distance wasn't far, the gradual loss of altitude made it impossible to return in one swift motion.
Suddenly, the tour guide lowered her head and looked toward the smog below. It was unclear what had caught her attention, but she silently stared for a few seconds, her back to Lin Sanjiu and the plump woman.
A sense of foreboding welled up in Lin Sanjiu's chest.
"Don't go over!" the tour guide abruptly turned back and shouted at them from a distance. "Get away from there!"
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