Doomsday Wonderland Chapter 1690: Lin Sanjiu and the Tour Guide's Long Journey Home

Chapter 1690: Lin Sanjiu and the Tour Guide's Long Journey Home

When the tour guide asked Lin Sanjiu to repeat what she had just said, her mouth slowly formed a wide "O."
Visibly, her earlier fear of the duoluozhong had faded, only to be replaced by a new kind of dread. "No way, right?" she stammered, suddenly panicked. Throwing down the bundle of fabric she had been holding, she said in a trembling voice, "You mean to say... the thing you just smashed was an exhibit?"
'I just saved your life, you know,' Lin Sanjiu thought.
"Do you know anything about this place?" Lin Sanjiu asked. "What's so interesting about duoluozhong that someone would want to come and see them?"
Even if someone paid her to look, she wouldn't be interested, let alone in the so-called "experience" whose purpose she couldn't even grasp. The massive, flesh-riddled thing under the glass display not far away had become a visual black hole for her. She refused to even glance in its direction.
"I don't really know what this 'Experience Hall' is for," the tour guide said, tugging on Lin Sanjiu's arm and gesturing for her to follow toward the center of the hall. With two of the "wooden partition walls" now missing, the white wall on the opposite side had transformed into a screen-like partition that they could walk around on either side. "But I do know the Twelve Worlds Centrum regularly hosts all kinds of exhibitions, so it's not surprising for there to be one about the duoluozhong."
She sighed, both anxious and impatient. "For something dangerous like a duoluozhong to be exhibited here in Cloudwalk Heights, they must have gone to incredible lengths to collect them from other worlds. These exhibits must cost a fortune! If someone finds out we killed one of them, how could we ever afford to pay for it? We need to leave before anyone notices."
Lin Sanjiu bent her knees and hopped along behind her, asking, "If the exhibits are so expensive, why weren't they better secured? How did they even manage to escape?"
The question reminded the tour guide of the other duoluozhong that had shed their coverings and escaped earlier. She shuddered but didn't hesitate, quickly rounding the screen partition and diving into a cluster of deep red fabric coverings. Her determination to flee the scene of the "crime" was unmistakable.
The enormous duoluozhong behind them stood inside a glass display on a high, round pedestal. It seemed to notice their attempt to flee, immediately pressing itself against the glass. Like suction cups, all the fleshy tubes on its body opened, revealing countless needle-like pores beneath its quivering, undulating surface. Even catching a fleeting glimpse out of the corner of her eye made Lin Sanjiu feel her lunch threatening to rise.
"Who knows," the tour guide muttered. "Once they broke out, they must've messed up multiple steps in their workflow..."
Amid the towering exhibits draped in deep red coverings, which nearly touched the ceiling, the two carefully moved forward, pausing occasionally to listen for any noise. The entire floor had been opened up, with rows of screen-like walls reminiscent of art galleries forming interconnected corridors. This layout undoubtedly made it harder to track the duoluozhong.
One thing seemed certain: after one duoluozhong was abruptly destroyed, the others appeared startled and had withdrawn far from the pair. Their whereabouts remained unknown.
After walking for several minutes without encountering any new illusion traps or hearing any unfamiliar sounds, it felt as though the duoluozhong were avoiding them now.
"You're way too optimistic," the tour guide grumbled. She had torn off a long strip of fabric and was sweeping it ahead of her as she walked to avoid stepping into an illusion trap. Though crude, the method seemed effective.
"Duoluozhong always prey on the weak," Lin Sanjiu remarked, finding herself struck by how much her current self shared in common with them. "If they see we're not easy to mess with, why would they stay? The windows here are all open, and the stairways connect to the upper and lower floors. As soon as they turn and leave, there are plenty of fresh, easy targets outside."
Her words served as a reminder not only to the tour guide but also to any duoluozhong still lurking in the exhibition hall. As far as Lin Sanjiu was concerned, as long as they stayed out of her way, she didn't care what they did once they left.
1
"You're probably right," the tour guide admitted, though her voice remained steeped in worry. "Once we're out, I'll have to figure out which organization to report this to. Honestly, how could the people running this exhibition be so careless?"
"Hold on a second," Lin Sanjiu suddenly called out. "I think I see a display stand one of the duoluozhong escaped from."
At the far end of the corridor to the right, a glass display case stood beneath a deep red covering. Upon closer inspection, the fabric had slipped askew, with a gap in the middle that looked as though something—or someone—had squeezed through it.
A narrow strip of glass casing peeked through the gap, shrouded in shadow and appearing dim and ominous. The glass tube was likely soundproof; if one closed their eyes and ignored the exhibits, it would be easy to believe that this silent hall contained only the two of them.
"Let's go take a look," Lin Sanjiu said, turning and hopping over without waiting for a response.
Not long ago, she had been the one clinging tightly to the tour guide, but now the roles were reversed. Despite her confusion and reluctance, the tour guide had no choice but to follow Lin Sanjiu to the display stand.
To avoid seeing anything that might haunt her nightmares, the tour guide averted her gaze, squeezed her eyes shut, and yanked the fabric covering down with force. Bathed in the soft glow of the spotlight, the cylindrical glass tube instantly shed its shroud of darkness.
No one expected that there would be a person on the display platform inside.
As the fabric fell, the woman standing stiffly upright on the platform immediately took a cautious step back, as if guarding herself against the people outside. She locked eyes with Lin Sanjiu without blinking. ṙА𐌽Ŏ𝖇Êȿ
"Huh?"
Despite her fear, the tour guide couldn't suppress her curiosity. Peeking cautiously through barely parted eyelids, she gasped quietly. "Isn't this supposed to be a duoluozhong exhibit?"
Inside the glass casing stood a tall, slender woman with refined features. Had she not appeared so worn and haggard, she would undoubtedly have been a stunning beauty. However, her sallow complexion, cracked lips, and expression of fear and vigilance lent her a pitiful, tragic air rather than charm.
"Who are you?" Though her voice didn't carry through the soundproof glass, Lin Sanjiu was able to make out her words by reading her lips. The woman's gaze shifted briefly to the metal chains on Lin Sanjiu, misunderstanding the situation. She quickly looked at the tour guide and asked, "Are you going to buy me too?"
Too?
"Are you being held here... to be sold?" the tour guide asked hesitantly. "But that doesn't make sense. In Cloudwalk Heights, human trafficking is strictly forbidden."
Watching her lips, the woman frowned, clearly struggling to make sense of the situation.
"You're not here to buy people? This is Cloudwalk Heights?" she mouthed. "No wonder they've hidden me among the duoluozhong to sell..."
Lin Sanjiu knocked on the glass with her Higher Consciousness. "You knew this place was full of duoluozhong?"
Though uncertain of Lin Sanjiu's identity, the woman nodded. "I knew. Ever since I was captured, I've been sold and transported under the guise of being a duoluozhong, moved along with the real ones... There were times I was so close to them."
She spoke slowly to ensure they understood. As she described it, she shuddered, her face twisting in revulsion.
"What do you mean by 'under the guise of being a duoluozhong?'" The tour guide, torn between a desire to leave and her curiosity, couldn't help but ask, though she immediately regretted it. Her face betrayed her realization that this went against her usual survival instincts.
While the tour guide spoke, Lin Sanjiu had hopped around to the back of the glass tube. There, she noticed a small placard attached to the other side, likely present on every display. Earlier, the fleshy duoluozhong must have been large enough to obscure it, which was why she was only seeing it now.
She bent down and read the placard for a few seconds.
The answer to the tour guide's question was clearly written there.
"Miss Bee," Lin Sanjiu called softly, her voice low and deliberate. "According to the description on this placard, this display contains a duoluozhong that can perfectly disguise itself as a human and is highly skilled at lying and acting."