Chapter 904: The Way Back
As Lin Sanjiu swiftly hid into the shadows, a small path opened up in front of a stone wall in the distance. A figure stumbled out from it. In their hand, they held a black, short stick-like object, which seemed to be the flashlight that had briefly illuminated before being immediately extinguished.
The heavy and rapid gasping sounded as if it would tear through the person's chest, even audible from several tens of meters away.
The figure cautiously raised the flashlight but hesitated for a moment, ultimately deciding not to turn on the light. After taking two steps forward, a hand suddenly reached out from behind and grabbed hold of the person's collar.
"Don't go!" another woman's voice shouted in a low tone.
The shadowed figure remained silent, still gasping for breath.
"There's no one on this path," the woman hurriedly said, "What just happened was definitely some kind of deceit!"
Bending down, the shadowed figure rested their hands on their knees and took a moment to catch their breath. They spoke softly, "No... It can't be, right? I've seen those white paper cranes used by posthumans..."
"Who hasn't seen them?" the woman's voice from behind the wall immediately interrupted him, "But have you ever considered that it might not necessarily be the posthumans using the paper cranes?"
In the quiet of the night, the muffled argument they intentionally kept low sounded as if it had been amplified. They seemed completely unaware that even if they spoke quietly, it would be futile against the majority of creatures in this place.
Under the shadow of a wire fence that extended diagonally from the top of the wall, Lin Sanjiu remained motionless, holding her breath as she listened intently.
"Then who else could it be?" the man holding the flashlight sounded both desperate and excited, his voice trembling, "People like us, can we afford to use paper cranes? Those 'things' they keep... it's even more impossible for them to have them..."
"Why do the posthuman come here?" The woman, seemingly losing her patience at last, grew angry, "If you want to go, go by yourself. I won't accompany you to your death!"
These words made the man hesitate once again. He stood alone at the intersection of the small path under the cover of the night, wiped the sweat off his forehead with his hand, and finally made up his mind. He turned around, intending to retreat from the same way he came—compared to their previous conversation, it was his retreat that unexpectedly made Lin Sanjiu have a little trust in him.
"Wait," she whispered, "Are you ordinary people?"
The shadow of the man froze for a moment—it was rather amusing. Originally, it was his idea to come over and find someone, but upon hearing Lin Sanjiu's voice, he was startled and hurriedly ran into the corner behind the wall. On the contrary, the woman didn't follow suit and hesitantly answered, "...Who, who are you? Don't come closer, we have weapons!"
"Why would ordinary people run in here?" Lin Sanjiu ignored her threat and walked gently towards the corner of the wall. "What did you encounter?"
The man's unclear words of "Let's go quickly" were blown away by the wind, but there was no sound of footsteps for a while. The woman hid behind the wall and cautiously asked, "Are you a posthuman?"
"Yes."
In the Twelve Realms, ordinary people always referred to them as "posthumans," as if the evolved humans were a separate branch of humanity.
The woman let out a loud breath from her throat and peered slightly. She was sure that her actions were fast, but in Lin Sanjiu's eyes, they were sluggish like a rhinoceros trying to wake up from a nap.
"You obviously don't know... You obviously don't know anything." Her voice was filled with bitterness, mixed with sarcasm and anger, and she struggled to control it intermittently. "You come and go, demanding this and that, without even looking at us..."
"Stop talking nonsense," the man tried to dissuade her.
"We are treated like trash," the woman became agitated, and her voice became sharp. "Clearing paths, building houses, farming, giving birth... in the end, we have no value and are thrown here. You don't even know how we were killed. Coincidentally, I don't know how I'm going to die either!"
"Shut up!" The man finally couldn't hold back anymore. After a rustle of fabric and body collision, he seemed to have pulled the woman away and hurriedly walked out from behind the wall. However, he still remained cautious and didn't dare to approach Lin Sanjiu too closely. "I'm sorry, please don't listen to her! We almost died once, please, rescue us and get us out of here! We will definitely repay the money, we will!"
"Are you saying you were captured because of unpaid debts?" Lin Sanjiu asked incredulously.
"If you owe money and can't repay, you become the property of the creditors," the man straightened up, wiped his face, as if exhausted. "Unfortunately, we ourselves are not worth much, that's why we were sold here..."
"If I were younger," the woman suddenly laughed, but there was no humor in her laughter. "Being a prostitute and sleeping with men would be enough to barely survive."
Lin Sanjiu suddenly felt like a spoiled child who had started complaining about her bad luck just because she accidentally entered the maze.
"But there's something I don't understand," she frowned. "What do they want ordinary people like you to do?"
Being attacked by duoluozhong doesn't turn people into duoluozhong—only zombies on TV have that ability.
The voices of the two became muffled and low, indicating that they also didn't know the exact reason.
"Besides you, who else is there?"
"We've seen a few children and a woman..." the man's voice still couldn't hide his disappointment. "Unfortunately, there isn't a single man with some strength."
Just as Lin Sanjiu was about to speak, she suddenly froze.
Children?
"Is there a little girl?" she blurted out before realizing it. "About this tall...?"
"It seems so," the man immediately misunderstood her meaning. "Are you here to find someone? Is that why you're here?"
The woman's voice trembled with hope, "Then you must know the way out?"
Lin Sanjiu cursed silently, without hesitation, she took out a coil of rope and threw it to the two. "Catch it!"
The man was startled but quickly grabbed the rope, only to realize that the other end was still in Lin Sanjiu's hand.
"Don't move from where you are. I'll lead the way with the rope so we won't get lost again," she said while tying the rope to her belt buckle and making a knot.
The two on the other side became anxious and quickly asked, "Where are you going? Please don't leave us behind, it's too dangerous here..."
"As soon as any creatures approach you, I'll know immediately. You won't be in danger," Lin Sanjiu kept her Pure Touch activated all this time, even though it would put a considerable strain on her stamina. Her voice was urgent and heavy, "I have to go back now—because I may have just led a little girl to a dead end."
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