After Lin Sanjiu's body was swallowed halfway by the illusion, there were a full two or three seconds of complete stillness in the exhibition hall, aside from the swirling dust and smoke.
The flattened duoluozhong straightened up, standing on its two human legs, gazing at Lin Sanjiu's remaining half. For the first time, it revealed its belly.
If Lin Sanjiu could see it, she'd understand why its arms seemed endlessly long. Beneath its belly, layers upon layers of folded human arms were packed together, like the underside of an insect with numerous hidden legs. The arms would extend as far as needed, just like a coil of rope unwinding.
Even the sparse hair on its body was trembling. Its white, arched eye flickered with countless black dots, varying in size, a clear sign that it was barely able to contain its excitement.
Bee Sting Venom stood in the dust cloud, covered in grime, sweat, and tears, too stunned to wipe her face. She stared blankly at the two human legs in front of her.
"L-Lin..." she started, her voice breaking the silence and startling herself. Then she realized—if Lin Sanjiu was dead, she would be left alone, surrounded by three duoluozhong.
"Perfect!" the flattened duoluozhong suddenly cried out in joy. "Serves you right! Thought you were tough, huh? Died pretty quick!"
1
Bee Sting Venom bit down hard on her teeth and slowly took a step to the side. The duoluozhong's focus was still on Lin Sanjiu's half-body. The farther she could sneak away, the better her chances of escaping.
The flattened duoluozhong happily crawled toward the illusion, its human limbs rustling beneath its belly. The flesh-strip duoluozhong had vanished somewhere. The flattened duoluozhong called out to it, loudly instructing, "Don't let her die too quickly. That'd be boring. Open her up from the middle. I want to see if that body is still usable. I saw a duoluozhong in one of the displays that can lay eggs inside human bodies."
Bee Sting Venom clamped a hand over her mouth just in time to stifle the wave of nausea. She carefully searched for clear ground, inching backward. The duoluozhong that Lin Sanjiu had smashed earlier still lay scattered like debris, unable to rise. That meant her path backward was likely safe.
If she could just make it to the window, she'd jump out immediately. There was no saving Lin Sanjiu now.
The flattened duoluozhong sniffed around Lin Sanjiu's legs, seemingly oblivious to Bee Sting Venom. Step by step, she finally backed into a wall, putting several meters between herself, the flattened duoluozhong, and the illusion. She turned her head quickly, ready to run, but then suddenly froze.
The partition wall in front of her made a low, stifled sound, like someone trying to hold back laughter.
Bee Sting Venom stumbled back two steps and looked behind her. The pile of duoluozhong debris had vanished.
"You thought I forgot about you?" A new voice, soft and slippery like a worm sliding over skin, spoke. As it did, the wall slowly tilted toward Bee Sting Venom. "I've been curious for a long, long time about what a female posthuman tastes like..."
Bee Sting Venom couldn't even scream. From the corner of her eye, she saw that the wall was long enough to block any path of escape.
The flattened duoluozhong let out a few cackling laughs from a distance and urged the flesh-strip duoluozhong, "Hurry up! What's taking you so long?"
Lin Sanjiu's legs were still planted on the ground, completely motionless, without even the slightest struggle or kicking. The black fissure that had swallowed most of her body hung in midair, neither disappearing nor continuing to consume her legs. It was impossible to tell if she was dead or what was happening inside the fissure. The flattened duoluozhong paused and called out, "Old Sa?"
It had been several seconds since Lin Sanjiu had been swallowed. The silence was stretching too long. Even the wall that had been leaning toward Bee Sting Venom had stopped its motion as if, if it had a head, it would have turned to look at the flattened duoluozhong by now.
"Old Sa?" the flattened duoluozhong called again, but the flesh-strip duoluozhong still didn't respond.
The exhibition hall fell silent once more. The wall seemed to lose its patience and, unable to resist any longer, softened and curved inward toward Bee Sting Venom. Though she couldn't even scream, a desperate survival instinct kicked in. She activated her ability, one with an appropriately lethal name—[Ultra-High Energy Total Corrosion].
A thick, green vapor surged toward the "wall." The corrosive power was fully unleashed, and a startled "Ow!" escaped the wall.
Bee Sting Venom turned and ran into the exhibition hall. It wasn't panic that drove her; the wall had blocked most of her escape routes, and the only chance left was to dash through the hall where the flattened duoluozhong was. Just as she rushed in, the flattened duoluozhong stepped back from Lin Sanjiu's legs, its massive black pupil on the white, arched eye swiveling toward her. It lunged at her with an outstretched hand and shouted, "Speak! If you don't say anything, I'll kill her!"
A gurgling sound, like mouthwash swirling in a throat, echoed from somewhere.
Startled, the flattened duoluozhong hesitated for a moment. Bee Sting Venom ducked low and slipped beneath its extended arm. By the time it tried to grab her again, it was too late.
Suddenly, a hand shot out from the black fissure in midair, clamping onto the fissure's edge with a sharp snap. Accompanied by a tearing sound, like skin being peeled away, the hand slowly lifted the fissure upward. Finally, it pulled the fissure open, revealing a disheveled but unharmed Lin Sanjiu. 𝘙𝘈ΝȰBЕ𝘚
Bee Sting Venom, pale and shaken, looked up and nearly burst into tears. "You're okay? You're alive?" she stammered, her voice wavering between crying and laughing. "W-where are your chains?"
Lin Sanjiu looked like someone who had battled storms for years; a tattered, broken mess. Her skin was marked with deep red and purple grooves left by the chains, but the chains themselves had vanished without a trace.
She held onto the fissure's edge with one hand. Though her fingers were slender, they seemed to contain immense, unyielding strength. The fissure trembled, trying to close, but couldn't.
"H-how..." the flattened duoluozhong stammered, unable to finish the question.
"I should really thank you," Lin Sanjiu said with a faint smile. "If you hadn't had that thing use an illusion to swallow me, I wouldn't have figured out how to break free from those chains."