Chapter 1279: Stepping into the Room
In the moment Lin Sanjiu reached her hand into the water, more than half of the pool water disappeared from its original position. Due to the card's limitation on the number of converted items, she rapidly converted several cards one after another. From an outsider's perspective, it seemed like the entire pool emptied in the blink of an eye.
The pool, paved with blue tiles, instantly returned to its original appearance, except for a small corner in its deepest part. That portion of the pool water appeared like a large piece of transparent jelly, trembling and wavering in the corner. There was nothing inside. Only the blue tiles beneath were visible.
As soon as Lin Sanjiu jumped into the pool, the frozen water block burst open with a loud noise. A large splash of white water splattered into the air, causing her to squint. Taking advantage of that moment, a figure dashed out from behind the layers of water, turned its head, and rushed toward the pool's edge.
If she let Hakain escape from her palm, Lin Sanjiu might as well retire. She took a step to the right, raised her hand, and flicked out a half-arched Higher Consciousness like a whip, striking the figure coming towards them—more accurately, it hit the Higher Consciousness shield that person released just in time.
As the two clashed fiercely, the winner was immediately apparent. Although the shield formed by Higher Consciousness was invisible, it was blasted into countless pieces and splashed into the air. Lin Sanjiu still clearly felt the tremor when the person was struck. Seizing the opportunity, she strengthened the force in her Higher Consciousness whip, wrapping it around the figure and biting it into the pool wall on the other side.
Lin Sanjiu only got a good look at Hakain's appearance when she threw the person down.
The man had thick, curly hair and a large, dark beard, all soaked and plastered against his face. He was thin and didn't have much flesh on him.
"Are you Hakain?" Lin Sanjiu asked while her hands rapidly searched her card inventory for something to trap the person.
As soon as the curly-haired man landed on the ground, he immediately sprang up and didn't spare them a glance, diving towards the villa's main entrance. He was quite agile, almost like an oily fish, sliding past Lin Sanjiu's grasp and rushing out. Just as he took the first step, he bumped into something invisible and was sent sprawling to the ground.
Lin Sanjiu was taken aback—she hadn't even thrown out her Higher Consciousness.
Then she turned her head and immediately understood.
Ji Shanqing raised both hands and formed a framing gesture with his index finger and thumb, perfectly capturing her and Hakain inside it.
It was no wonder, considering that she was the one who captured Hakain. Since they were too close, stopping one person would undoubtedly ensnare the other. Lin Sanjiu reached her hand out slightly but encountered an obstacle, so she quickly pulled it back. She took a breath, not understanding why she was breathing heavily, and said softly, "Grand prize?"
Ji Shanqing was in a daze, staring at the framing gesture between his fingers without speaking.
"Grand prize?"
"Huh?" he finally snapped out of it, his face suddenly changing. Panickedly, he exclaimed, "Sis, be careful!"
Before she could turn around, Lin Sanjiu heard a whistle-like sound behind her. Counterattack, resistance, and combat had long become instinctual to her. Without even thinking, her right hand slapped backward—
The water that had been converted into cards in the pool earlier roared out from her hand, rushing out like a tsunami within the framing gesture, swallowing Hakain in the process. Due to the framing gesture's invisible obstruction, the water waves struck, rebounded, and circled back, engulfing the entire space.
The grand prize exclaimed in surprise and quickly withdrew his hand. A large amount of pool water lost its restraint and poured heavily from them, flooding everything in all directions.
Lin Sanjiu stood in her original spot, wiped her face, and opened her eyes.
She was well-prepared, and as soon as she tapped the Water card, her entire body was enveloped in the [Defence Forcefield]. On the other hand, Hakain, who was the target of nearly a hundred tons of water just now, not to mention in such a small space—despite being a posthuman and activating his protective gear in a critical situation, Hakain was knocked unconscious and swept down the swimming pool by the rushing water.
Lin Sanjiu turned around and quickly reached into the pool. Her Higher Consciousness came out naturally and wrapped around the man's waist, pulling him back up. When she slammed Hakain onto the ground for the second time, she finally had some time to use [The Power of Word Picture] to firmly press him into the floor tiles, leaving only his head exposed.
"This guy was hiding in the water the whole time?" Although it was a rhetorical question, Lin Sanjiu frowned at the thought that, while she was playing with the grand prize in the water, someone secretly hid underwater in a corner.
The grand prize obediently nodded. "It should be the effect of some Special Item, and the item should still be on him."
"Why didn't he attack us when he was in the water just now?" Lin Sanjiu paused, still unable to get over the knot in her heart. "What was he hiding in the water for like a pervert? How did you know he was in the water?"
"Let's take it one step at a time. First, wipe your face clean," the grand prize said, smiling and handing her a thick towel. She didn't even notice when he prepared it. Lin Sanjiu wiped her hair and body haphazardly, sighing about how her clothes never seemed to stay dry for more than a few hours. She listened as he explained, "Hakain wouldn't set traps where he was hiding, but there would definitely be powerful and concentrated traps nearby... Currently, the glass walls in this villa cause the most damage."
Lin Sanjiu gave her hair a few more vigorous rubs and asked, "And then?"
"All the glass walls are designed for viewing, and they all face more or less towards a part of the swimming pool. In addition, he must know the situation inside the villa and hide in a place where he can see most of it. Only a few options meet all these conditions."
"But he was hiding in the corner of the pool. How could he see..."
"Water. He could hide in the corner because he manipulated the water and created an oxygen-filled space in the corner... If he wanted to take action, he had to withdraw the water wall first. If he suddenly absorbed a large wave of water, there was no way we wouldn't notice it at that time."
Ji Shanqing pointed to his wet pants, shoes, and socks. "He used the water to refract the images in the villa to himself. Just think about it: When we looked inside from the outside earlier, that area of water looked completely empty, as if there was nothing... He probably refracted the images from other places there."
Lin Sanjiu looked at the swimming pool and then at the grand prize, a little surprised. "You already figured out that it was a space separated by water?"
"The amount of water splashed when he escaped didn't match the volume of that small space." Ji Shanqing smiled somewhat embarrassedly. "The volume of the water was much smaller than that of the small space."
To calculate the water volume and space volume at a glance... Lin Sanjiu sighed and looked at the two captives in the cage and under the floor tiles, asking, "What should we do next?"
"Wait, wait a minute," a hoarse male voice suddenly spoke from their feet, "I... I am Hakain, the owner of this villa."
"You could have said something we didn't notice," Lin Sanjiu held her arms.
"You are newcomers, right?" Hakain coughed a few times. His nasal passages were probably injured during the water impact, and his voice sounded nasal. "I can tell you about the pocket dimension... I definitely won't hold back any information... Just, just don't hurt me. Let me go and be a drifter."
The two glanced at each other and pulled the chairs next to the swimming pool, sitting down.
"Tell us," Ji Shanqing said, crossing his legs, and his robe hung loosely on him, making him look like an old Taoist priest. "The sun will set soon. Don't waste time."
Hakain's wet beard didn't hide the slight surprise on his face.
"Oh, yes, it seems you already know," lying on the ground, looking up at the two, Hakain spoke with great difficulty. "After dark, the estate will have security guards patrolling... They target any drifters wandering outside. Every night, we have to find ways to avoid the guards and escape from their patrol routes. It's not an easy task..."
"What else does the villa owner face besides resisting the invading drifters?" Ji Shanqing asked abruptly. Lin Sanjiu had originally wanted to ask what the security guards were like and why it wasn't easy to avoid them, but she realized that the grand prize seemed entirely uninterested in such matters. After all, when she saw the security guards, she would naturally know what they were like.
"I... we have recreational activities at the vacation resort..." Hakain replied softly.
"Don't beat around the bush," Lin Sanjiu urged.
"The resort arranges a series of activities for the villa owners, and we must attend each one. When we leave, the villa is completely sealed off, and even if refugees come in, it doesn't count... But these activities are deadly. Eleven people go, but we don't know how many will return."
The two glanced at each other again, thinking of Mr. Ito. Staying in this estate wouldn't be comfortable if they had to participate in elimination games, and there would be no need to call Bohemia and Puppeteer. Lin Sanjiu couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.
"What time is your activity tonight?" Ji Shanqing asked.
Hakain smiled bitterly, saying, "Are you really newcomers? How do you know so much? It was exactly midnight."
Mr. Ito indeed gave a false time.
"What activity?" Lin Sanjiu couldn't hold back her curiosity this time.
"Beach barbecue." Hakain complied with a cooperative attitude since he was now captured, saying, "These are things you only know as a villa owner... Most of the drifters outside know nothing. Otherwise, this woman wouldn't have been in such a hurry to trick people inside before it got dark... Of the eleven villa owners, probably only eight or nine will return, and whichever villa becomes vacant is up for grabs."
"Sis, we can't release the woman in the cage."
Ji Shanqing turned his head and whispered, "Now that she knows this information, she might become the villa owner next time, and she will definitely try to sabotage us during the activity."
Lin Sanjiu was taken aback—although she hadn't thought about what to do with that woman, she hadn't considered killing her either. Before she could respond, the grand prize spoke again, addressing Hakain.
"The most important thing is that you still haven't mentioned," he said leisurely. "How do you change the name on the nameplate at the villa entrance?"
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