During the last ten minutes when Lin Sanjiu lay on the ground "dead," she was simmering with anticipation, eagerly awaiting the moment when the gray-haired woman would collapse. She'd even rehearsed the kind of triumphant laughter she would let out. Wasn't it only fair? Karma's wheel always turns, and revenge tasted sweet.
Finally, her patience paid off; the gray-haired woman fell to the ground. Lin Sanjiu's long-prepared laugh was about to burst forth, fueled by sheer satisfaction, when a burst of brilliant white light suddenly exploded from the gray-haired woman's body.
Lin Sanjiu, who had been staring at her intently, was caught completely off guard. The flash seared her eyes, and even though she shut them immediately, bright, flickering patterns still danced under her eyelids. Tears rolled uncontrollably down her cheeks, and for a moment, she couldn't reopen her eyes.
"What... what just happened?" someone in the tour group exclaimed.
"Where did that light come from?"
"It seemed to be coming from that woman," said the tour guide, her voice sounding surprisingly calm amidst the chorus of gasps and cries. "Don't panic; the light's intensity won't cause blindness. I'm starting to see a little now..."
After what felt like an eternity of blinking and tear-wiping, the group finally regained their vision. And when they did, they were stunned into silence.
Especially Lin Sanjiu. She stared blankly at the gray-haired woman sprawled on the ground. When she finally processed what was happening, she was so infuriated that she wished she could kick something—or someone.
"She... on her back..." Feng Maomao gasped, her mouth agape. Then, she added with admiration, "Wow, having an organization backing you really makes a difference."
Indeed, it did.
The gray-haired woman had collapsed face-first onto the floor, her back facing upward, her arms stretched forward as though in a posture of reverent prayer. Normally, such a humiliating fall would have been a source of immense satisfaction for Lin Sanjiu. But this time, there was a catch.
Floating above the gray-haired woman's back was a spinning white orb of light.
It resembled a 3D projection, with a glowing white sphere surrounded by glaring text that read, "Alert: Member in Danger/Death." The words circled the orb like a school of luminous fish, clearly intended as a signal to summon reinforcements in case of an emergency.
"I've heard about something like this," murmured the tour guide, staring at the orb. "Some members tasked with special missions, or highly important organization members, have signals that activate automatically when they're in danger. Sometimes it's to call for help or reinforcements, and other times it's to leave a trail."
Lin Sanjiu's suspicion deepened. This woman wasn't even stronger than her, so why would she have an auto-return signal? Could the task of finding Pete truly be that critical?
"So, her organization will send people here soon?" A thin middle-aged man's voice was tinged with panic. "This is ridiculous! I just joined this tour for fun. I don't want to get involved with any organizations!"
"But she's not even dead," the scholarly-looking tour member pointed out. "Why would this thing activate for something as minor as pocket dimension effects?"
"Well, the pocket dimension treats her as dead," the tour guide said, sounding uncertain. "Maybe that just happens to meet the criteria for triggering the signal..."
Feng Maomao, quick on her feet despite her appearance, stood deep in thought. After a moment, she turned her gaze toward Lin Sanjiu. "You said earlier that being picked as the victim twice wasn't a coincidence. Does this woman being chosen as the victim have something to do with you, too?"
Still wrapped tightly in the iron chains, Lin Sanjiu wore a sullen expression and let out a frustrated huff. "Yes, it's because of me."
She knew all too well that [No Coincidence, No Story] was a double-edged sword. While it could create consecutive coincidences, not all those coincidences would necessarily work in her favor. That's why she'd activated [Oh My God! My Wallet Is Missing!] right after using [No Coincidence, No Story]—to avoid being taken advantage of by the gray-haired woman during her vulnerable stint as the victim.
Lin Sanjiu was well-versed in [No Coincidence, No Story] and had realized the moment she collapsed onto the dining table and became the victim that the next round would almost certainly target the gray-haired woman.
"It's because of my Special Item," she admitted reluctantly. After all, Feng Maomao had just saved her life—twice. Even though she didn't want to expose her abilities, Lin Sanjiu felt compelled to offer some explanation. "She's down now. Would someone mind helping me and removing these chains?"
To her surprise, the entire room fell silent.
Feng Maomao hesitated for a moment before quietly stepping back to rejoin the group of tour members. The tour guide shifted her gaze toward the far wall, muttering nervously, "Oh, look, the next clue is up..."
"Hey, I'm part of this tour group too!" Lin Sanjiu shouted, raising her voice in frustration. "Are you all just going to leave me here like this?"
The group exchanged uneasy glances, their faces brimming with doubt.
Lin Sanjiu wasn't blind to the reasons behind their hesitation. They feared that if she regained her freedom, she might retaliate against the gray-haired woman, perhaps looting her belongings. If the organization behind the gray-haired woman sent reinforcements, the entire tour group could be implicated. 𝘙âＮỖβĚŜ
Though she could guess their reasoning, it didn't mean she was willing to accept it.
From Lin Sanjiu's perspective, her needs outweighed their concerns. "Aren't you afraid of offending me?" she called out sharply. "If you leave me here, when her organization shows up, I'll tell them the whole tour group was my accomplice. Besides, if you won't help me, I'll use my Higher Consciousness to try breaking free myself."
"You're quite shameless," Feng Maomao grumbled.
The scholarly-looking man coughed lightly. "Miss Bee, how about this? I don't think there's much point in continuing this situation. Let's help her remove the chains but stop just short of the final step. Right before we free her, Miss Bee, you report the answer. That way, they'll both return to normal at nearly the same time. After that, whatever happens between them is none of our concern. We can just leave this mess behind."
The proposal wasn't ideal for Lin Sanjiu, but it quickly gained unanimous support from the group. Two people stepped forward to help untangle the chains. Meanwhile, the tour guide stared at Lin Sanjiu intently, as if ready to blurt out the answer at the first hint of trouble. Her expression suggested that the case's solution was clenched tightly between her teeth, ready to be revealed at a moment's notice.
Lin Sanjiu grew anxious. She'd didn't go through all that trouble to incapacitate the gray-haired woman just to share the same starting line with her. But even though she felt the urgency, she couldn't think of a better solution. Her Higher Consciousness was powerful but nowhere near as dexterous as a pair of human hands.
"Oh, hey," said one of the men working on the chains, pausing to inspect them. "The last step requires that woman's fingerprints."
"I'll move the body," Feng Maomao said with surprising enthusiasm, already bending down to grab the gray-haired woman's hands.
At that exact moment, the tour guide let out a sharp gasp.
"Wait." She held a hand to her earpiece as if listening to an incoming message. The room fell silent for several tense seconds before she finally lifted her golden eyes "They're t-too fast... Her organization has already sent people. The entrance to the pocket dimension is surrounded."