So, fate handed Lin Sanjiu an answer but didn't give her enough time to fully examine it.
As if drawn by the scent of a companion, the vaguely human-shaped black mist drifted upward, pressing against the glass, a dense cloud seemingly rising from the depths of an abyss. Deep within the mist, a face barely recognizable as human stared directly at Lin Sanjiu.
The kidney inside her was a part of this creature.
Back in that Hospital pocket dimension, there must have been a player in the form of this black mist. Could it have given a part of itself as payment to the pocket dimension, which eventually ended up in her possession?
Even though this black mist creature was more important and fascinating to her—Lin Sanjiu desperately wished she could take the time to study it—she knew she didn't have much time left.
The origin of the black mist kidney was the first answer that struck her during her moment of clarity. The second answer was the hiding place of the mastermind.
The answer was surprisingly simple and had been right in front of them the whole time. But because it was too simple, too obvious, they had overlooked it.
"Miss Bee," she called out to the tour guide. Both she and the flattened rat were standing where they were, neither moving toward the sleeping man on the ground nor noticing Lin Sanjiu's moment of revelation. "Come here for a second."
"Why? Are we still not leaving?" Bee Sting Venom said, reluctantly walking over.
'I'll deal with your problem soon enough,' Lin Sanjiu thought as she approached the glass tube containing the flesh-ball duoluozhong. She pressed a button to open the platform door, revealing an empty base.
After freeing herself from the duoluozhong's illusion, Lin Sanjiu had gathered a lot of information from both the tour guide and the flattened rat, one of which was the tour guide's ability.
"Your ability produces a corrosive mist, right?"
Bee Sting Venom hesitated.
"Well, it depends on the target," she said, looking a bit embarrassed. "If an ordinary human comes into contact with my 'complete corrosion' without protection, their skin might rot and their muscles could be damaged, but for a duoluozhong..."
When Lin Sanjiu was trapped in the illusion, she had heard that "wall" let out a startled "ouch," so she knew she couldn't place too much hope in the tour guide's ability.
"I'm going to blow open the partition between the base and the platform," Lin Sanjiu said in an ordinary tone, watching as Bee Sting Venom's eyes widened. "Then, fill the entire platform and glass tube with your corrosive mist. That shouldn't be too hard, right?"
"What? But—if you blow up the partition, the flesh-ball will get out!"
"Get out?" Lin Sanjiu suddenly smiled, bending down and reaching into the platform. As soon as her hand went in, an explosion roared, drowning out her muttered words—"Getting out makes things easier."
Fragments of glass and air trapped inside the tube burst out in furious sprays, splattering in every direction. Some shards struck the chair inside the platform, others shot back into the glass tube above, and some clearly hit the flesh-ball. The tightly pressed thighs and bellies quivered violently, the faces briefly twisting in pain. ɽ𝖆𐌽𝘰ʙÈş
"Release your ability now!" Lin Sanjiu shouted to Bee Sting Venom.
"But it—"
"The opening I made isn't big; it can't get out. Hurry!"
Her tone was so forceful that the other woman panicked. Though confusion and fear were written all over her face, she obediently reached her hand under the platform and aimed at the crack Lin Sanjiu had blown open. A dense green mist quickly rose from her palm. This was just like the tour guide herself: easily swayed, sometimes giving in without realizing it, even when she didn't want to.
Could the black duoluozhong really mimic even her personality—
Before Lin Sanjiu could finish the thought, the massive fleshbound inside the glass tube suddenly went berserk. The tangled mass of human bodies contracted inward rapidly, pulling away from the glass. Just as they were processing what was happening, it violently expanded again, smashing into the glass. The middle-aged woman's head twisted to the side from the impact, her eyes not blinking once.
The tour guide let out a frightened scream, trying to withdraw her hand, but Lin Sanjiu grabbed her and shouted, "Increase the power, keep going!"
Although the opening Lin Sanjiu had blasted was only the size of a fist, the corrosive green mist poured relentlessly through the gap into the glass tube. The fleshbound seemed to be in agony, thrashing, writhing, and slamming against the glass like a giant elastic piece of chewing gum. Even the tour guide herself was astonished. "M-my complete corrosion... it's actually working?"
Not really.
Within seconds, faint strands of green smoke were rising inside the glass tube. Honestly, her ability wasn't that powerful. The mist didn't affect the glass, and even when the fleshbound emerged from the smoke, its skin was mostly intact, just faintly burned and damaged.
Though not seriously injured, the fleshbound grew increasingly frantic. It seemed to be dissolving layer by layer from the inside out, becoming an indistinguishable mass of legs and feet, a flesh-colored paste surging against the glass. The tour guide looked up in terror and exclaimed, "Huh?"
"You noticed too," Lin Sanjiu said coldly, staring at the glass tube. "Just moments ago, the fleshbound was crammed tightly inside the tube, like it was overstuffed. Now, suddenly, there's enough room for it to stretch and contract, slamming around... Isn't that strange?"
The tour guide's face went pale. "This means..."
Before Lin Sanjiu could explain, the fleshbound made its move.
No one knew if it had heard their conversation, but Lin Sanjiu knew exactly what it was doing. After she had blown a hole in the partition, the entire structure was weakened. As the fleshbound compressed itself tightly, gathering force, it smashed through the partition, breaking it into pieces.
Lin Sanjiu reacted swiftly, grabbing the tour guide by the collar and pulling her several steps away, deftly avoiding the unconscious staff member on the floor. The fleshbound, like a melting mass of human flesh, oozed through the shattered partition, spilling out of the platform and spreading across the floor.
"It's inside it!" the tour guide shrieked. "I think I saw—"
Lin Sanjiu wasn't surprised.
"You saw someone in clothes, right?" She stared at the massive conglomeration of bodies that was slowly reforming and standing upright. "What better hiding place could there be? If the fleshbound wrapped itself tightly around the glass tube, and the mastermind hid in the middle, there was no way we could've found him from the outside."
"But how...?" The tour guide trailed off, suddenly understanding. "The mastermind was experiencing the fleshbound? When his consciousness entered it, he pulled his own body into the glass tube?"
As they spoke, the fleshbound returned to its original form. At its tangled feet lay the unconscious man in the staff vest who had fallen out of its body. Blood smeared his face and hands, the result of the corrosive mist.