Chapter 145: What Are You Planning?
Translator: Pluto Editor: Vermillion
While they chatted, both women were already more than halfway to the top of the tower. If Lin Sanjiu looked down from where she stood, she could only see a murky darkness below her. The silver light from her [Ability Polishing Agent] could only reach the handrails of the segment of staircase one story beneath and darkness swallowed anything beyond that. Being close to 200 meters above the ground, Lin Sanjiu felt her palms getting sweaty when she looked downward, even though she couldn’t really see anything clearly. She quickly looked away and wondered why she never realized in the past that she was a little acrophobic.
She looked at the silhouette in front of her and then at the remaining stairs leading upward. The top floor was about ten stories above them and they would be reaching it soon.
“Ah…” Li Tao—or rather the woman who called herself Li Tao—suddenly raised her head and let out a long sigh. She stroked her own hair and said, “Really.” She turned to her side under the dimly lit space, showing her very slim side silhouette.
“Is this what you call a ‘beast-like instinct’?” she cocked her head asking. Lin Sanjiu could not see her expression in the darkness, she could only see the woman’s black, shiny eyes. “How could you see through my performance if you can’t even understand that pocket dimension?”
“Who are you?” Lin Sanjiu said icily with a monotonous tone.
Li Tao smiled unexpectedly and ignored both Lin Sanjiu’s question and animosity. Li Tao continued up the staircase, one step at a time, minding her own business. She seemed totally unconcerned that Lin Sanjiu might just spring a surprise attack from behind. She stopped only when she reached the next turning point on the spiral staircase. She lowered her head and looked down at Lin Sanjiu. Her previous lively, lighthearted persona, which was akin to a small animal, faded gradually from her face just like melted snow. It was replaced by the aura of a calm and mature woman.
“Say, how did I expose my identity?” she asked gently, enunciating each word clearly.
Lin Sanjiu knew that if she wanted to reach the top of the tower, she had no choice but to go through ‘Li Tao’. She took a deep breath and continued climbing the stairs.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” While she noticed ‘Li Tao’s’ slightly surprised expression, Lin Sanjiu tightened her muscles and forced a relaxed smile, “If you also want to head to the top of the tower, why don’t you come along. Let’s talk along the way.”
‘Li Tao’ was stunned for a moment and finally uttered softly, “Ballsy.”
Lin Sanjiu smiled faintly, but she walked cautiously close to the wall. When she saw ‘Li Tao’ slowly climbing up the stairs again, she explained slowly, “If I didn’t have my Diary Card, I wouldn’t be suspicious of you.”
“Oh? You mean the card you told me to stick on Gong Daoyi?”
“Yes.” Lin Sanjiu replied as she narrowed her eyes and looked at the woman nearby, who was still ahead of her. The woman seemed relaxed and unguarded and Lin Sanjiu couldn’t really understand why. “One of the features of my Diary Card is that it will address the people I know by their names. Yet, though I know you, the Diary Card just referred to you as ‘super-cute girl’.
If it was once or twice, I would have accepted that it is due to the crappy personality of the card. However, when I was bathing, I already had a very slight suspicion about it because my Diary Card did not refer to you as ‘Li Tao’ even once.”
“But seriously, your card is a little…”
“Unreliable, right?” Lin Sanjiu finished her sentence, “Since I’ve never seen it do that, I really couldn’t be sure. But when you said, ‘If I entered that pocket dimension’, I suddenly realized that there was a problem… Why weren’t you sucked into the pocket dimension when you entered the black tower?” Lin Sanjiu asked rhetorically while she stared at Li Tao’s back. Anyone else would think that once they broke out of the pocket dimension, the next person who entered the tower would not face the same problem. However, Lin Sanjiu remembered a small detail. She remembered the words “No. 72 Pocket Dimension Quest”. That is to say, every person that entered that pocket dimension should confront a different situation. Even if the fairytale scenario had been solved, the pocket dimension still existed and Li Tao should have been sucked into a different scenario. But that didn’t happen. From the time she walked through the door till now, nothing had happened to her. That would only mean that Li Tao had already escaped that pocket dimension once.
“I see.” Li Tao sighed but seemed unaffected. “I was a little perplexed when I found out that your experiences in that pocket dimension were different from mine… I admit I am too engrossed with the three timelines, I missed this detail.”
Lin Sanjiu didn’t say a word.
That wasn’t the only reason. When she looked into Bluebeard’s room, the person she saw was Li Tao. Recalling that image, the aura of the person in the illusion was closer the latter’s current persona than her previous pretense.
“What are you planning?”
When Lin Sanjiu said that, she probably wouldn’t know that the Aliba, the Chief of Police, asked the same question at the same time while he was far away in his own abode. When Aliba woke up from his dream, the woman beside him was still fast asleep. Even after a while, he still felt groggy as if his mind was still tethering between his dream and reality. He didn’t know what woke him up. He only noticed the shadow of a person sitting at the end of his bed when he sat up to grab a glass of water. The person was watching him with folded arms and he didn’t know how long that man had been sitting in the dark.
Not fully awake, Aliba froze for half a second. The green led digits on his clock skipped, showing “01:26”.
“Hi,” the voice from the black shadow was like a refreshing spring, lithe and even with a tinge of humor, “Good evening.”
[There is a gun in the bedside drawer.] Just as this thought flashed in Aliba’s mind, he suddenly heard a ‘click’ sound from the man’s hand. A few pieces of black metal parts dropped from the man’s hand onto the carpeted floor, creating a muffled noise. Aliba knew that he certainly couldn’t dismantle a gun that fast.
“Gong… Gong Daoyi?” Aliba asked quietly, he tried his best to keep his voice calm as he controlled his suddenly palpitating heart. “I advise you to leave now. If I activate the alarm, this place will be securely surrounded within ten seconds.”
“But, I only need three seconds to kill you.”
The person leaned forward slowly. The moonlight from the window lit his sharp jawline and beautiful face. His fair skin contrasted with his black hair which covered half his raven eyes. It was indeed Gong Daoyi.
Aliba did not doubt his words in the slightest. Not just anyone could enter the smuggling business. Other normal posthumans could barely survive 14 months, let alone engage in such operations. On top of that, he knew that Gong Daoyi was carrying a large amount of Special Items.
Aliba knew that he was only alive now because Gong Daoyi had something to say to him. It wasn’t hard to guess. Consequently, he pursed his lips and remained silent.
It was as if Gong Daoyi understood his thoughts. The man smiled forgivingly and said, “Mr. Chief of Police, why are you so nervous? If I wanted to hurt you, I would have already done so.”
As Aliba lowered his eyes, Gong Daoyi’s polished shoes reflected the moonlight coming through the window. He suddenly realized that the man actually wore a full ironed suit even in such a situation.
“I have information that I’m sure would interested you, Mr. Chief of Police.” The person under the dim moonlight smiled.
“Among the posthumans who have escaped the Lunar New Year Fighting Tournament, 43 of them have formed multiple small teams which will attack various landmarks in Garden of Eden tonight.” Even though Gong Daoyi spoke softly, Aliba quickly looked up, astounded.
“What time? Where? How did you get this information?” he immediately questioned…
Gong Daoyi crooked his head and looked at the luminous clock as he held his chin, thinking—as if he was considering something difficult. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers and laughed, “They’re already on their way. Mr. Chief of Police, if you don’t hurry, you might be too late.”
When Lin Sanjiu split up the team and their tasks, Gong Daoyi was not around. By then, Lin Sanjiu had already cordially invited him to leave. However, Gong Daoyi had other means of getting that information which did not require him to be present, “They are going to attack some strategic locations. So, I am sure Mr. Chief of Police would definitely know better than me.”
That was a given. Alibra was already thinking of various locations where their anti-radiation resources were kept, but he quickly hid his thoughts and gave a cold laugh, “What do you get out of this?”
“Let me put it this way. I’ve already earned my keep.” Gong Daoyi replied, grinning.
Aliba somewhat got his point. This man had already stolen that batch of Special Items, but they would only be valuable if he could move them out of Garden of Eden. Judging from the situation, he probably planed to escape while both sides were fighting. He sneered inwardly and asked, “Why should I believe you?” Despite saying that, Aliba was already planning the allocation of his troops in his mind.
“You must be joking, Mr. Chief of Police.” Gong Daoyi didn’t say anything more about it and stood up soundlessly. In the same soothing voice, he concluded, “Since I’ve already passed the message, I’m leaving—”
Before he could finish his sentence, he was abruptly interrupted. The woman who had been lying on the bed suddenly woke up. A bright beam of light flowed through her arm as she created circular gestures in midair. Following which, halos of light were sent in Gong Daoyi’s direction. Though the attacks were as quick as lightning, when they reached Gong Daoyi’s position, the only thing pulverized was a chair in Aliba’s bedroom. When the naked woman with disheveled hair turned around, she realized that Gong Daoyi was already at the edge of the window.
“It isn’t nice to treat your guest like this, Mr. Chief of Police.” Gong Daoyi unbuttoned the top two buttons on his shirt, revealing his radiant skin. “But I have to applaud you for your vigilance. Placing a humanoid Special Item on your bed…”
Aliba almost turned green. Two explosions later, there was only a broken window frame where Gong Daoyi previously stood. The loud noise alerted the guards and a voice sounded over his radio, “Sir! What happened?”
“I need you to assemble all our troops. Go now!” Aliba roared vehemently.
