Doomsday Wonderland Chapter 1666: Lin Sanjiu the Fattened Lamb

Chapter 1666: Lin Sanjiu the Fattened Lamb

Who was it?
There were more than thirty people on this ship—men, women, and even those whose gender was as indiscernible as the grand prize's. The person holding Ah Quan would naturally suspect that Lin Sanjiu was searching for them, which meant they would be hiding carefully, leaving no obvious clues.
How was she supposed to find them?
To maximize efficiency, Lin Sanjiu insisted on questioning passengers separately, even though the grand prize was reluctant to leave her side. Worried she might miss important details, she instructed Mrs. Manas to record each passenger's reactions.
"The grand prize's words shouldn't be wrong," Mrs. Manas said affectionately, her tone soft whenever she mentioned him. "The person must be wary of you, but it's completely unclear how that wariness will show, and how you're supposed to spot it."
1
That much was true. After talking to eight people at the front of the ship, Lin Sanjiu felt more lost than ever.
"Why didn't you see who saved your life if they really saved you?" asked one of the eight, a friendly young woman with an easy smile. "I wish a wealthy benefactor would show up to repay me too, but sadly, I've never saved you."
Could her friendliness be an act? The calmer and more curious she appeared, the less likely she seemed to belong to some mysterious organization that turned people into pocket dimensions to attack others. Wouldn't the person she was looking for have figured that out by now?
"I don't know anything. I'm just going to see a friend," another passenger, a middle-aged woman clutching a small backpack to her chest, said tightly. Her expression was rigid, as though speaking too much might bring disaster upon her. After that one sentence, she refused to say more, shaking her head each time Lin Sanjiu asked another question.
Wasn't such obvious caution and vigilance suspicious? Could it be a deliberate strategy to play the opposite?
The rest of the group reacted similarly. Some answered Lin Sanjiu's questions as though killing time, showing mild curiosity about what rewards might come from helping their "life-saver." Others seemed skeptical about her ability to find this "life-saver" at all, while a few were more interested in Exodus, asking whether it belonged to her and how much it cost.
"I don't think this method will work," a short, chubby man interjected after listening for a while. "Going one by one? This is going to take forever. What if someone lies? Not everyone is as honest as me. I haven't seen you before, and I'm not missing anything."
"Then what's your solution?" Lin Sanjiu asked.
It turned out he didn't have one. "You don't even know what this person looks like. How are you going to find them? It's impossible."
"This guy is annoying," Mrs. Manas muttered in Lin Sanjiu's head.
Just as Lin Sanjiu was about to turn and head to the back of the ship to meet up with Ji Shanqing, she realized the grand prize wasn't there at all. Instead, he was chatting with a few people she had excluded from suspicion earlier. As she passed him, she shot him a meaningful glance, but all she got in return were his innocent, shining eyes as if he'd completely forgotten his earlier words.
At the back of the ship, the reactions were even more varied. Some passengers leaned forward as she approached, curious and eager to talk. Others avoided her entirely, slipping away like fish before she could even reach them. A few cooperated fully, answering every question in detail—which somehow made her even more suspicious.
After questioning everyone, Lin Sanjiu felt as though everyone seemed guilty, yet everyone also seemed innocent.
"Have you already asked him?" an old woman pointed toward Eight-Heads De, who stood some distance away.
Her suspicion of the old woman rose immediately. 'Why is she so interested in my conversation with Eight-Heads De? What does she have to hide?'
"Yes, I asked him already," Lin Sanjiu replied absentmindedly, her gaze flickering over the old woman.
"What now?" Mrs. Manas chimed in from deep within Lin Sanjiu's mind. "Why not explain this to the grand prize and let him decide?"
The benefit of working with intelligent people was the freedom to be clueless without concern.
As she turned to leave, her eyes caught on a face that seemed hesitant to speak. She stopped abruptly and turned back, realizing it belonged to a short man perched on the edge of a seat. When their eyes met, he cleared his throat and slowly stood.
She remembered him. His earlier response had been unremarkable when she asked where he was headed. "I have a shop in Sector Ten of the Second Layer of Giant Gathering," he had replied, nodding toward the others around him as if hoping to advertise his business. "I trade in secondhand goods. If anyone needs anything, feel free to stop by."
As the man approached, Lin Sanjiu couldn't help but wonder. Why would the secondhand goods dealer want to speak to her now?
He gestured for her to follow him to a quieter spot with fewer people. Once there, he leaned in and whispered, "In my line of work, I travel a lot—like this time, I went to the Eastern Sector to pick up some items." Р𝐚𝐍Օ𝐁Еs
'What does this have to do with me?' Lin Sanjiu thought but kept her patience, just as the grand prize finished his conversation on the other side. He hurried over to her like a homing swallow.
The short man continued. "Among those items, there's one I'm considering renting to you. It's extremely rare, so I can't sell it or give it away. I have to keep it myself..."
"What item?" Lin Sanjiu asked.
Clearing his throat again, the man lowered his voice further. "It's something that can determine whether something is genuine or fake. Would you say that's rare?"
For a brief moment, Lin Sanjiu almost imagined he was about to pull out something miraculous. But, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he produced a small display screen with an antenna.
By the time the device appeared, the grand prize had reached Lin Sanjiu's side.
"Let your friend take a look too," the man said generously. "It might not work perfectly every time, but the success rate is high enough to prove its value. I noticed you weren't getting results by questioning everyone one by one. Instead, you could ask a question only your target knows the answer to. This device prevents lying. If you're interested, we can negotiate the price."
From his tone, it was clear he didn't fully believe Lin Sanjiu's story about a life-saver.
With more than thirty people on the ship, not one had admitted to saving her. Either she was looking in the wrong place, or her target was lying. Assuming the first possibility was wrong, why would someone who saved her lie about it?
The short man seemed clever and quick-witted—surprisingly so for his unassuming appearance.
Still, this was a good idea. Lin Sanjiu realized she didn't actually need to spend money to rent a device that might not even work. While Ji Shanqing had mentioned his energy reserves were low and that creating large items within the game world was impossible, coding a small item like this one shouldn't be out of reach, right?
Just as Lin Sanjiu glanced at the grand prize, he subtly shook his head, as if he had already figured out her plan.
"Sis," he pulled her aside and whispered, "This is just a small thread of my main self. I don't have the data for this kind of lie-detecting device on me, so I can't code it. Yu Yuan might be able to, but calling him over would cause a lot of commotion and take too much time. It's better to just spend a bit of money and rent it from him."
Lin Sanjiu sighed. "The Twelve Worlds Centrum really is a place where you can't move an inch without money," she muttered. "I've been on this ship less than half an hour, and I've already made two transactions."
Ji Shanqing raised his chin with a touch of pride. "With me here, Sis, you can spend as much money as you like."
"What were you up to?" Lin Sanjiu asked as they walked back. "Didn't you say the person with the pocket dimension wouldn't be in the center of the ship?"
"That's right," Ji Shanqing replied with a frown. "But Ah Quan's target must be nearby. I thought I might find a clue from their responses. If we can figure out who the target is, we might be able to deduce who attacked him. Unfortunately, I didn't find anything."
Suppressing a sigh, Lin Sanjiu returned to the short man's side. "Fine. I'll take it. How much?"
Before he could answer, the sound of a door opening came from the front of the ship. All eyes turned toward the pilot, who stuck his head out again.
"The previous alert has been canceled," he announced with an annoyed expression. "I don't know where the error came from, but there's no Level Two danger. Everyone, return to your seats and hold on. I'm going to accelerate now to make up for lost time."
'This is bad,' Lin Sanjiu thought grimly. She exchanged a quick glance with the grand prize. The ship accelerating meant they had less than ten minutes left, and she was no closer to finding any clues.
"My device can determine the truth or falsehood of up to five people's answers at once," the short man said quickly, seizing the moment to promote his product. His tone was urgent and earnest. "If you act now, there's still plenty of time!"
"Alright." Lin Sanjiu gritted her teeth, ready to forgo haggling over the price. Just as she was about to agree, two things happened at once.
First, the passengers scrambled to return to their seats or the nearest armrests. Even Eight-Heads De, who had been acting aloof, headed back toward the mast at the center of the ship with a somewhat embarrassed expression. The grand prize jerked to attention and murmured, "So he was there all along," before quickly turning to follow him.
Second, the short man didn't wait for her response and continued, "As for the price, my item is extremely valuable. I'll charge double."
He made a gesture resembling the number "ten."
But Lin Sanjiu wasn't listening anymore. Her gaze, following the grand prize, was locked on the center of the ship. She suddenly understood.