"I must have the worst luck in the world to run into you!"
The tour guide's face was unusually vivid with emotion: what was normally an ordinary expression now glowed faintly pink with anger. Her golden eyes, brimming with tears of frustration, gleamed like those of a lynx as she glared at Lin Sanjiu. If it weren't for the need to keep quiet and avoid attention, Lin Sanjiu had no doubt the guide would have punched her in the face.
The moment they plummeted from the sky, the tour guide knew something was wrong. According to the plan, once the group jumped out of the building, everyone was supposed to scatter immediately to avoid being tracked. But with a massive iron cocoon clinging to her, even with the help of her yellow ribbon, the guide couldn't get far. In desperation, she dove through an open window in the side of the Ziguo Building, Lin Sanjiu in tow.
Luckily, this floor was empty.
No vendors, no pedestrians—this wasn't one of the windows connected to the sky streets, just an ordinary one. Inside, the opposite wall was plain and white, with large wooden panels blocking off both sides. The purpose of the room was unclear. Only this carpeted area, soaked in faint yellow light, broke the silence.
Even whispering, the guide was determined to vent her frustration.
"Do I owe you something? Let go of me with your Higher Consciousness! I don't need you acting as a makeshift belt!" She smacked at her waist in frustration, though the Higher Consciousness was invisible. "Since you've already dragged yourself out with me, I'm not going to throw you back. Let's part ways here. Goodbye!"
"Wait, no," Lin Sanjiu pleaded. She knew she was taking advantage of a stranger's kindness, but her current self, timid and selfish, couldn't bring herself to face the consequences alone. "Look at me! I'm bound head to toe with this iron chain. Other than standing, I can't do anything. Leaving me here is no different from sentencing me to death!"
"You're really good at moral blackmail, huh?" The tour guide looked like she was about to laugh out of sheer anger.
"Wait, even in the doomsday, you know that phrase?" Lin Sanjiu blinked in surprise. "I didn't think it would still—"
The guide turned on her heel and walked away. The Higher Consciousness tugged her back, causing her to stumble. When she turned again, her glare was sharp enough to pierce Lin Sanjiu.
"Please, you're a good person—just help me one more time. I really have no other option," Lin Sanjiu said, alternating between soft pleas and practical arguments. "Just take me to someone who can undo these chains, and I promise I won't bother you again. Uh... I'll even pay you."
"As if I need your measly four red crystals." The guide let out a cold laugh, but clearly, she was the type whose resolve softened under flattery. After a few more coaxing words from Lin Sanjiu, her anger diminished slightly.
"Fine... but let me make this clear. I don't have time to take you there right now. My home isn't far from here; you can wait there while I go find the rest of the tour group. Can you walk?"
She must be easy to trick, Lin Sanjiu thought as she tried to gauge her bound legs.
"I can hop," Lin Sanjiu said regretfully.
The guide rolled her eyes, clearly not even considering the suggestion of leaving Lin Sanjiu behind and coming back with help later. She must have seen through Lin Sanjiu's lack of trust in people.
"Fine, hop your way there if you don't mind the effort," she muttered. "Just extend your Higher Consciousness so you're not so close. What, do you think you're walking a dog?"
"Wait, people in the Twelve Worlds Centrum walk dogs?" Lin Sanjiu tried to shift the conversation as she hopped forward. With a loud thud, she landed heavily on the carpet.
"Keep it down," the guide snapped, exasperated. "If this turns out to be someone's private property, we'll be thrown out in no time."
The two of them, one walking and the other hopping, looked like zombies from a horror film taking a dog for a walk. At last, they reached the wooden wall on their right. The tour guide glanced around but found no opening—it was sealed tightly. The wooden planks were thin and ordinary, easily breakable even for a regular human, let alone a posthuman.
"But we can't just break it," the tour guide said worriedly. "Who knows what this place is? Offending someone here could cause big trouble. Maybe we should just go back out the window."
"No way," Lin Sanjiu replied. "The Shark Nexus people—oh, that's the organization—are probably already in the room by now. The tour group escaped through the windows, so those guys are bound to be searching outside. If we go out now, we'll walk right into them."
"So, what's your plan?"
Half arguing and half brainstorming, the two exchanged a few sentences before falling into silence.
The tour guide blinked, then cautiously pressed her ear to the wooden wall. She and Lin Sanjiu exchanged a glance and instinctively held their breath. A few seconds later, Lin Sanjiu could tell from the guide's expression that she was hearing the same thing Lin Sanjiu was. ɽÁƝǒ𐌱Ęṩ
Behind the wooden wall came the faintest sounds of breathing. It was so quiet it was almost imperceptible, but it wasn't just one person breathing. Still, apart from those breaths, there was no sound—not even the rustling of fabric.
"What's going on...?" the tour guide mouthed silently, her face pale.
Lin Sanjiu, even more timid than her, nudged her to act. "Maybe there are gaps between the planks. Why don't you peek through?"
"Don't talk nonsense," the tour guide hissed, her voice trembling. "When you encounter something this strange, the safest move is to leave immediately and not investigate further."
This must be the survival wisdom of a posthuman with average combat skills in the Twelve Worlds Centrum.
1
"But it's not safe outside either! We're stuck here," Lin Sanjiu muttered in frustration. "We can't jump out the window, and we can't go deeper into the building..."
"We've been here nearly ten minutes, and nothing's happened. That means as long as we don't poke around, we'll be fine. Let's just wait by the window," the guide suggested, nodding toward the window. "Those people from the Shark Nexus won't stay out there forever. Once it's safe, we'll jump out. But I'm definitely not going further inside."
With that decision made, all that was left was to wait.
To avoid drawing attention from anyone outside, the two stationed themselves by the walls near the window, exchanging uneasy glances and keeping as quiet as possible. But once you'd heard it, the breathing behind the wooden wall became impossible to ignore. Whether it was real or just her imagination, Lin Sanjiu felt like the sound was growing louder and clearer with every second.
The tour guide's forehead glistened with sweat, though she tried to appear calm. Her hands twisted nervously in front of her as she leaned against the wall, her eyes fixed on the blue sky beyond the window.
"I think it's safe now," she muttered after only a few seconds, clearly unwilling to stay there any longer. Grabbing the window frame, she prepared to climb out. "Hold on tight!"
"Don't go," Lin Sanjiu said.
The tour guide turned and glared at her. "Why not?"
Lin Sanjiu stared back, wide-eyed, her lips tightly sealed. Both of them froze as Lin Sanjiu's voice echoed in the air, though her mouth hadn't moved, "If you leave now, you'll miss something good."