Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Yes, this is a pocket dimension.”
This was the fifth time the pocket dimension said that.
No matter how many times she asked, whether it was a subtle or a direct attempt, she would receive the same answer every time.
She looked at Ryuji who was standing outside the warehouse. His shoulders were slumped and his head was held low while his face had taken on a gloomy expression as he mumbled something under his breath, “How is this happening? Could I have remembered it wrongly? But, but I don’t remember reading this pocket dimension in the Mokugyo Forum.”
He seemed unable to keep his emotions in check and would always slip into a “everything has been done for” mindset not long after that.
“Well, no matter if it’s a pocket dimension or not, just don’t come near. I don’t want you to be trapped inside as well.”
Using the [Ability Polishing Agent] to light up her surroundings, she picked up a broken steel bar to sweep the rubbish on the ground. She felt like she was getting better and better at collecting the rubbish. Perhaps she had the potential to be a ragpicker all along.
“What’s going on with that dead body?”
“He is the victim of a murder case that happened before the apocalypse. I wish to know what is going with him as well.” She sighed. “If you don’t have somewhere to go, maybe you can stay here. I could use your help.”
Ryuji let out a long deep sigh and said dejectedly, “Alright, alright, I’ll stay, but I doubt I can be any use to you.”
“Can you quit being so negative and be more positive?” Lin Sanjiu squinted her eyes and picked up a torn piece of cloth from the ground. After she examined it for a moment, she threw it away. “I wonder how you survived the apocalypse.”
“Maybe it’s because of my ability,” Ryuji answered as he squatted down. He sparked a lighter and looked at the frame on the ground. “This does look like the frame of a door…”
“Yeah, right. By the way, what is your ability?”
For a moment, Lin Sanjiu could see the hesitation on his face. His mouth opened and closed several times, but no words came out. In the end, he just gave an ambiguous answer.
“Oh please, have you forgotten that I’m the one who saved your life? If I want to hurt you, do you still think you can stand there and talk to me?”
“Okay, fine,” he drawled. Then, he continued listlessly, “The name of my ability is very long. It’s called ‘He seems like a guy who would die by himself sooner or later, so why bother wasting time on him?’”
‘What kind of ability is that?’
Lin Sanjiu could guess what his ability could do even though she did not know the details. Picking up several pieces of glass from the ground, she examined them and asked, “So, do people normally ignore you?”
Ryuji nodded again. He looked as if he had lost all motivation to stay alive. He was so dejected that he did not even want to speak a full sentence. “Yeah, and duoluozhongs as well.”
Looking from a certain angle, this was quite a wonderful ability.
Just as Lin Sanjiu turned the glass into cards, she heard something from the darkness in front. Startled, she raised her [Ability Polishing Agent] and looked ahead. In the silvery light, she was surprised to see that the crooked figure had once again moved closer to her. Right now, it was standing about ten steps away. When she was rummaging through the garbage on the ground, she held the [Ability Polishing Agent] so low that it could only lit up a small patch before her eyes, leaving the rest of the warehouse shrouded in deep darkness. That was why she had not noticed it in the first place.
Besides, since the dead body was a pocket dimension being and not a true entity, her hypersensory ability could not detect its movement. When she moved her [Ability Polishing Agent] away, it would seize the moment and vanish out of sight.
It seemed to her that avoiding the corpse would not be as easy as she thought.
Without wasting any second, she turned to another direction and drew a large distance between her and the dead body. As she walked, her foot kicked something on the ground. She looked down to see a push-pull handle that Mrs. Manas had mentioned before. Looking from its size, it should be the handle of a window. There was a metal plate attached to the lower part of the handle. Then, she saw something that caught her attention.
At first, she thought it was just a slit. However, as she looked closer, she realized that she was wrong. The slit was actually a keyhole.
‘So, there are locks on the window that require a key?’ Lin Sanjiu thought inwardly.
Nevertheless, considering the fact that this building had previously been a warehouse, it was reasonable for them to have fixed a lockable window to prevent burglary. With that thought in mind, Lin Sanjiu continued to examine the handle as she commented, “The keyhole looks so small…”
Then, she thought about the key that dropped from the windbreaker’s pocket. The size of the key seemed to fit into the keyhole. To test her conjecture, she called out the key that was caked with rust and slipped it into the lock. She turned and twisted the key several times, yet she could only fit the front part into the hole.
“Maybe it’s because of the rust,” Mrs. Manas said, “Let’s scrape off some rust and then try again.”
“Ryuji!” Lin Sanjiu raised her voice and shouted before walking towards the edge of the concrete slab. “Help me take care of the dead body. I’m going over there.”
An unenthusiastic voice then rang out from the bush, “Alright, alright.”
Crouching low, she held the key close to the edge of the concrete slab and began polishing it. She had to scrape off the rust while being careful enough not to snap the key into two. For a person with immense hand power, this was indeed a real challenge for her.
After she figured it should be enough, she tried to slip the key into the lock again. This time, not only did the key go into the keyhole smoothly but after she turned the key, she heard a slight click. If the lock had not broken, it would have opened up already.
“So, this key is to open the window.” Lin Sanjiu sighed.
It was like putting two pieces of a puzzle together. Everything went smoothly up until this point. However, where was the next piece? Lin Sanjiu had no idea.
“Why don’t we rebuild the window first?” Mrs. Manas asked, “We got some broken glasses, right? You try and see if they are solid enough to be the factual basis for the description.”
“Look out!” Ryuji suddenly shouted, “The dead body is behind you!”
Lin Sanjiu jerked her head back and saw the dead body had lifted its leg again. When the leg fell and touched the ground, the distance between them suddenly shortened by a large gap. In such proximity, she could even clearly see its skin around its neck area that was slightly protruded. Startled, she propelled herself from the ground and leaped far away.
Perhaps because she had sprung too far away, she felt her sight go blur and when she touched the ground, she realized that she had been sent back to the front of the dead body again. This was the first time she saw the front profile of the dead body. The neck had been twisted 90 degrees while the head was buried deep in front of its chest, and its spinal cord protruded out of its skin on its back.
A bare arctic-white arm then reached out to her, accompanied by a low groan.
Lin Sanjiu hastily turned around and dashed towards the other side of the warehouse to put a large distance between her and the dead body. Squatting in the bush, Ryuji’s face had gone pale. When he saw her, he snapped back to his senses and stammered, “This place is dangerous. How long do you need to come out?”
“How am I supposed to know?”
“Isn’t this a locked-room murder case? What clues do you have now?”
Stunned, Lin Sanjiu jerked her head and stared at Ryuji. “What did you say?” Her voice was shaking. “Can you repeat?”
