Doomsday Wonderland Chapter 1675: Successful Tag-Along...?

Chapter 1675: Successful Tag-Along...?

Ever since her memories had been altered, Lin Sanjiu couldn't deny the newfound benefit she felt: severing ties with her former friends had left her feeling unburdened, light, and carefree. In this vast and open new world, she was no longer pushed along by an endless stream of tasks, persistent worries, or relentless quests.
Marcie wanted her to visit the Karma Museum? That sounded like trouble; she had no intention of going. Bohemia had been split into five different lives; what was she supposed to do, stitch them back together? Ji Shanqing held the data for Han Suiping and Nu Yue, and whether they could return to the world was up to him—what did that have to do with her? As for Magus or Silvan's whereabouts, everyone had their own fate. Could she be expected to take responsibility for everyone she met?
Even the question of what Gong Daoyi had erased from her memory barely mattered to her now.
Her memories had already been reshaped by Ah Quan. What difference would a little more or less make? Was she unable to eat or sleep without those memories? Obviously not. If anything, following the breadcrumbs Gong Daoyi had left to uncover the truth would only lead to disaster.
2
The only truly pressing task was to find a posthuman in Cloudwalk Heights who could unlock items. Keeping Pete confined in the ship indefinitely wasn't a long-term solution. No matter what she ultimately decided to do with him, the man needed to be released from the glass container first. But there was no rush.
Before she started asking around, she might as well take some time to explore, have some fun, and enjoy herself. It wasn't every day she found herself in the Twelve Worlds Centrum. She ought to seize the chance to indulge a little.
For the first time since entering the apocalyptic world, Lin Sanjiu felt truly unburdened and at ease, free to wander and marvel at her surroundings without a care in the world. Everything fascinated her.
The light yellow building connected to the parking lot was square and unremarkable. Openings had been added to every level of its outer walls, creating new entrances and exits. After passing the parking lot management office near the main entrance, the tour guide cheerfully announced that they were officially entering the CBD.
If Lin Sanjiu hadn't already known the history of the CBD, she would never have guessed she was walking through what was once a commercial skyscraper.
Aside from the necessary load-bearing walls, every internal wall, window, and partition had been completely removed, transforming the former office building into a lively plaza.
Clearly accustomed to hosting tourists, the area was lined with rows of simple stalls that extended unevenly into the distance. There didn't appear to be any planned roads, only naturally formed pathways that twisted and changed over time.
Each stall displayed screens and signs advertising a variety of services: "Comprehensive Water Resource Cooperation," "Integrated Utilities for New Construction Zones," "Private Property Protection Services," "Hunting Association," "Twelve Worlds Centrum Human Resources Allocation and Employment Center," and even "Bananas! Cherries! Apples! Fresh Fruit!" The multiple exclamation marks revealed the owner's enthusiasm.
1
The crowd was a chaotic mix of posthumans and ordinary people, wandering between the stalls, climbing in and out of windows that connected to skywalks, and loudly debating topics like class-based education. Conversations, footsteps, music from an unknown source, and the hum of traffic on the sky streets all blended into a lively symphony under the ancient human-made ceilings.
"Anyone interested can give this a try," the tour guide said, stopping at a small viewing platform. Clearly designed for tourists, the platform offered a chance to look into the depths of the smoke layer for three fog spheres per minute—not at the distant sky or horizon, but at the surface of the ground buried beneath the smoke.
"What lies at the deepest point of the smoke layer is one of the greatest mysteries of Cloudwalk Heights," the guide explained. "Many methods have been developed to investigate it, one of which is this direct-light telescope. It allows us to peer into the smoke layer, though the deeper you look, the harder it becomes to discern what you're seeing. Beyond satisfying curiosity, studying the depths of the smoke also helps maintain the fragile balance of this world, ensuring the safety of our aerial society and individuals, especially ordinary people."
"Does personal safety really have anything to do with it?" a white-haired old man asked.
"Of course," the tour guide replied with a bright smile. "The duoluozhongs all live on the ground, after all."
The small tour group of seven or eight people immediately broke into a low hum of discussion.
Lin Sanjiu realized she had never actually thought about where the duoluozhongs lived before.
"Don't they climb up here?" a middle-aged woman asked.
"In Cloudwalk Heights, keeping the duoluozhongs out of our aerial society is one of the most important safety measures," the tour guide explained enthusiastically, smoothly steering the conversation toward the tourist facilities in front of them. "One such measure is this direct-light telescope. Why not give it a try? You might just catch a glimpse of duoluozhong activity. And if you report any unusual movements, you'll even receive a 300-fog-sphere reward!"
Lin Sanjiu didn't have any fog spheres. If she did, she would have liked to take a look herself. In fact, she should probably exchange some local currency soon. If only Ji Shanqing had left her with some funds; he was always good with money.
1
Several people in the group paid with their fog spheres, lifted the curtain to the observation platform, and took a look. Through the curtain, Lin Sanjiu could only hear scattered exclamations like, "Wow, it's so dense," "Is that a plant?" and "I can't really see anything." 𝘙𝘈ɴŎꞖĘ𝐒
As the group waited, the tour guide turned her attention to Lin Sanjiu, walking over with a polite but pointed expression.
"Is there something I can help you with?" she asked in a courteous tone, though the meaning was unmistakable.
Even the altered Lin Sanjiu felt her face flush slightly.
The memory pocket dimension had changed her significantly, but it hadn't gone so far as to make her bold enough to casually say, "Oh, I'm just looking."
"I was wondering," Lin Sanjiu said reluctantly, using Pete as an excuse, "if you know where I can find someone who unlocks Special Items?"
As it turned out, the one thing she wasn't in a rush to resolve was solved within five minutes of her stepping into the CBD.
The tour guide, with a professional air of authority, immediately pointed toward a window that opened onto a sky street not far away. "Head out onto Michen Road up ahead and walk straight to the next building, the Fucai Commercial Bank Tower. Somewhere around the 20th floor, you'll find several independent service providers."
For a moment, Lin Sanjiu just stood there, at a loss for words.
The tour guide folded her arms triumphantly, as if she had won, watching Lin Sanjiu leave. With no other choice, Lin Sanjiu nodded awkwardly and trudged forward, her pace slow and reluctant. Gradually, she distanced herself from the line of tourists waiting to use the observation platform. Just as she neared the window leading to Michen Road, hurried footsteps echoed behind her, followed by the tour guide's voice, surprisingly close, "Hey, you're new around here, right?"
Lin Sanjiu turned, startled that the guide had chased her down several dozen meters just to ask such a trivial question, leaving her group back at the observation platform.
"Yeah," she replied, studying the guide.
The tour guide was clearly a posthuman, though her combat level was nothing impressive. She had few distinctive traits, save for a pair of unusually large, bright golden eyes—her most striking feature, setting her apart from ordinary posthumans. At this moment, those golden eyes darted past Lin Sanjiu to glance at something behind her, then quickly snapped back.
1
With a faint hint of nervousness in her tone, she said, "If you'd like to join the tour, that's fine too. I'll even give you a discount. Just stick with us, okay?"
Lin Sanjiu's suspicions deepened.
"I only have these red crystals on me," she said, deliberately offering a small handful, testing the guide's intentions. "Would that work?"
The tour guide's focus was clearly not on the crystals. "That's fine," she said hastily, not even glancing at them. Instead, she lightly touched Lin Sanjiu's arm, signaling her to follow, while raising her voice to say, "I'll take the payment. Just stick with the group; our tour route is really fun!"
Without a word, Lin Sanjiu followed the guide back toward the observation platform, but her thoughts were elsewhere.
What had the guide seen?
Why did she feel the need to pull Lin Sanjiu away?