Lin Sanjiu's hair was fully covered by a red viscous liquid. Her locks of wet hair were stuck to her scalp. Every now and then, she felt small pieces of flesh sinking deep into her hair. The splashed blood on her skin was already dried and the brown patches were itchy and uncomfortable.
Lin Sanjiu tore off the bottom half of her singlet. She used the back part of the fabric, which was not soaked by blood, to clean her face and body. Lin Sanjiu only observed her surroundings after she felt a little better.
—
Wherever she looked, Lin Sanjiu could only see mirrors of all shapes and sizes. After walking through over a dozen mirror chambers, she finally stopped in another one of the nondescript mirror chambers. She exhaled deeply and plopped to the ground. She wasn't feeling exhausted but she was so despondent that she felt breathless.
"So, this doesn't even work? What should we do now?" When Mrs. Manas spoke to her again, her voice was filled with anxiety and helplessness.
Lin Sanjiu rubbed the corner of her eyes wearily and did not make a sound. As a matter of fact, she had already noticed that something was amiss when she used her Consciousness Mimicry at Haunted House Dare previously. Her Nüwa mimicry seemed to be getting weaker and less effective.
When she was at Haunted House Dare, due to the specific circumstances, her main objective of using her Nüwa Consciousness Mimicry was to exploit Nüwa steel-like will so that she could stay sane. As a result, she only had a passing inkling. However, it was different this time. She did not expect that she would need to maintain her mimicry of Nüwu for up to five minutes before she could figure out the internal structure of the mirror maze. Furthermore, even after she deactivated her ability, she still had some energy and higher consciousness.
After taking into her own walking speed as she searched the mirror maze, Lin Sanjiu managed to calculate the perimeter and the approximate area of the diamond building under her Nüwa's mindset. Creating a 3D model of the building in her mind, she added the "known" dattheir shapes and arethat she got from the mirror chambers to infer the missing parts of her stereoscopic model. Based on her model, she moved to seven key areas within the mirror maze. After leaving from the ceiling a few times, Lin Sanjiu managed to get a clearer picture of the building's interior. It wasn't even a far-stretch to say that Lin Sanjiu had mastered the internal structure of the entire building.
Unfortunately, that did not mean that she already found the location of the present.
In contrary, LIn Sanjiu was at a loss as to what to do next once she had an almost perfect knowledge of the building's layout. All the mirror chambers within the building were different. In other words, there wasn't any particularly distinctive mirror chamber with an unusual shape or a special setup. The chambers were arranged in a haphazard manner and followed no particular patterns. The more mirror chambers she entered and exited, the more confused Lin Sanjiu felt.
Lin Sanjiu was no longer in her Nüwa state. In honesty, even if she could activate it again, for once, she wasn't confident that it would be useful.
"I think this is probably because the last time you met Nüwa was already more than two years ago. Your impression of her has probably faded. As your understanding of your target fades, naturally the ability wouldn't work as effectively. I think you might not even be able to successfully imitate Nüwa using your Consciousness Mimicry in the near future."
After Lin Sanjiu heard what Mrs. Manas said, she didn't say a word. She sat on the floor without moving and stared at the mirror in front of her. Her reflection had no head but she had returned to her original lean muscular body. Her extended pairs of skeletal wings were behind her.
"What's wrong?" Mrs. Manas sensed that Lin Sanjiu's wasn't quite right after waiting for a while, "Why aren't you talking?"
Lin Sanjiu moved her flaky lips a few times before her voice finally came out.
"If I can't find the grand prize, I think this round won't end," Lin Sanjiu said slowly. Her voice faltered, "This means that I, the cat doctor, Puppeteer and the others will be trapped here. We might even die, trapped. Maybe, it is too late, and there isn't any way to save Reno and Rena…"
Mrs. Manas had no idea how to comfort Lin Sanjiu.
"Ever since I was in Hyperthermal Hell, I had gotten to know many friends. Luther, Marcie, Hai Tianqing, and others… In the beginning, I thought I was fortunate. But, I'm not so sure of that now," Lin Sanjiu smiled bitterly and closed her eyes. "Look. Who is around me now? How would I know if the last time I saw them might be the final time I'll see them?
"An author once stated in a book I read a long time ago, 'The source of human suffering stems irrevocably from the anger at one's own incompetence.' I think I finally understood this sentence today." Lin Sanjiu sighed and held her face in her hands.
"You—you don't have to be so depressed," Mrs. Manas only came up with a few comforting words after thinking for a long time, "Well, at least you have Meowie Hu with you. Um, you probably don't consider Puppeteer your friend, I guess. Cough. Nevertheless, since they can't exit after entering, so they must be somewhere here. In that case…"
"Wait, what did you say?" Lin Sanjiu suddenly trembled, and sat upright.
"I mean, since you have the map of this place. If you continue walking around, you will definitely meet them…"
"No. That's not right," Lin Sanjiu interrupted. "You mentioned that once they enter the building, they can't exit?"
"Yes," Mrs. Manas replied in a slightly perplexed tone, "You've known this for a long time, right?"
That was true. Even if a player touched a mirror that was behind the outer surface of the building, the player would not be teleported outside. The player would actually be "tossed" to the other corresponding end of the building. Lin Sanjiu had tested this herself.
"Why didn't I think of this earlier?"
Lin Sanjiu slapped her head violently and quickly used her higher consciousness to record the 3D model in her mind. She knotted her eyebrows together but despite her perplexed expression, she showed a hint of excitement, "No, it's strange."
"What is strange?"
Lin Sanjiu leaped up from the floor. Her previous gloom had disappeared from her face. She paced around the mirror chamber while she muttered softly to herself.
"If we compare both sides… the probability… Why… Could it be?" she mumbled for some time. The words she said did not make much sense. Before Mrs. Manas said anything to her, Lin Sanjiu suddenly stopped and turned around.
At that moment, her sharp, predator-like gaze fell on Ji Shanqing. Ji Shanqing was standing by a mirror. He was just about to take a step forward when he suddenly froze awkwardly on the spot. After Lin Sanjiu got over her momentary shock, she stared at him as a smile slowly surfaced on her face.
Ji Shanqing had just come out from a mirror. He looked as if he was a crane on stilts. His legs were long and spindly. His torso was the only part of his body which seemed normal. He was still in his trench-coat and bamboo hat. For a second, he seemed flustered but quickly regained his collected demeanor. He looked at Lin Sanjiu and nodded his head, smiling, "We've met again."
He acted as if he had never even agreed anything with Lin Sanjiu.
"Yes, we meet again," Lin Sanjiu walked to the middle of the mirror chamber. She trained her eyes on him as if a cat staring at its can food. "Isn't this a coincidence? I was planning to look for you and you just appeared."
"That's right, what a coincidence." Ji Shanqing nodded his head firmly as if he had heard a very important message from her.
"It isn't easy to meet someone here. We have an affinity, I'd say. Why don't we chat for a bit," Lin Sanjiu crooked her head and grinned. "Afterall, it is kind of tiring to look aimlessly for a present."
Ji Shanqing pursed his lips. For some reason, he looked very uneasy. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Why don't we start by discussing the issue of you trying to trick me to turn back?" she asked with some amusement. Noticing that his expression did not change and that he chose to be silent, she laughed, "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. Let's talk about that triangular mirror chamber."
Ji Shanqing did not say a word and watched Lin Sanjiu silently. She took out a piece of paper and quickly scribbled a few shapes on it.
"As it is an isosceles triangle, it is only connected to that previous mirror chamber in three ways. To make things simple, I will draw the previous mirror chamber into a square." Lin Sanjiu continued unhurriedly, "The first situation is that the triangle is directly above the square. Under that assumption, due to the curvature of the building, the left mirror is angled in a way that it is closer to the outer wall. Whereas, the right mirror is closer to that square mirror chamber.
"The second situation is that the base of the triangle mirror chamber is close to the external wall. The left mirror points toward the middle of the building. Under this assumption, walking through the left mirror would allow a person to reach a mirror chamber closer to the external ring of the building and going through the right mirror brings a person further from the external ring.
"The third situation is opposite from the second. The base of the triangle is closer to the center of the building. The left mirror is close to the external wall, and the right mirror points toward the next mirror chamber. Even if the mirror is directly behind the external surface, a person will not be teleported outside. On the contrary, a person will be 'tossed' to the other end of the building. The outcome would be disastrous. Herein lies the problem."
Lin Sanjiu stored the paper and pen. She threw a glance at Ji Shanqing who was still pursing his lips.
"You are an intelligent person, otherwise you wouldn't understand my plan the second you saw me. You even thought of a way to trick me so that I would die, on the spot, no less. If that is the case, why would an intelligent person like you give up on trying a route that has a ⅔ chance of being correct. Instead, you told me to walk to another side?
"I am not the most intelligent person around. Yet, I can see the problem. There is no way you would think of it. After thinking about it, the only explanation for this is that you don't care about the boundary line. You don't care to explore the layout of the building. You were only pretending…" When Lin Sanjiu said this, she narrowed her eyes. A cold glint danced across her eyes.
"That is because I already know the interior layout of this building," Ji Shanqing nodded and replied softly.
"You fessed up quicker than I thought you would," Lin Sanjiu smiled faintly and took a step backward. She looked at him from head to toe, "Even though the mirror maze seemed to be arranged irrationally, if a person is patient enough, there are a few way to slowly figure out its layout. You allowed me to take the right route because you were certain that I would turn back. You also predicted that I would die. Second, even if I find out the layout of this place, I wouldn't be able to find the grand prize."
Ji Shanqing's expression started to change a little. He looked back at her with his tranquil eyes.
"I didn't expect you would think it through. I underestimated you." The moment he looked back at her grinning, he did seem like a young lad but there was a hint of insanity in his eyes. "Since you have already brought this up, I will be honest with you. This final pitstop is just a joke! I have already walked through every mirror chamber in this building but I couldn't find any present. There isn't any way out, not above, not under, not anywhere. I can't eat, I can't drink and I can't even sleep because of the three minutes limit! There was a few times that I only reacted when the countdown nearly ended. Do you know what this means? I am only twenty two but I will die trapped in here! If that is the case, why shouldn't I get a few more people to die with me!?"
His voice grew louder and louder until he was screaming at the top of his lungs. Even the veins on his forehead popped. However, Lin Sanjiu crossed her arms and did not move. She waited for him to finish before she clapped her hands.
"What a great speech," she narrowed her eyes and laughed. "That was exactly what I was thinking before this. Oh, of course, I don't need others to die with me."
Ji Shanqing probably didn't expect her to react in that manner. He stood in the same spot, stunned. His chest rose and sank as he stared.
"Since you mentioned about the three minute limit, I thought of something."
When Lin Sanjiu saw the lad's sinking face, it was as if she had seen the most interesting sight in the world.
"Before you came in, I have been wallowing in my own anger and self-pity for quite some time. After you came in, I bought time by intentionally saying a lot of bullshit. But, guess what?" She felt her opponent tensing up the moment she smiled, "It has already been more than three minutes but there is no announcement."
"What was that announcement? 'Please leave the mirror chamber at once and look for the location of the grand prize', right?" Lin Sanjiu repeated the words exactly. With her eyes on Ji Shanqing's face, she added, "I thought that was a warning, but it is actually a hint. When it isn't broadcasted, does that mean… I've found the grand prize?"
"I think you've gone crazy thinking about the grand prize." Ji Shanqing laughed dryly only after some time.
Lin Sanjiu's expression turned stoic as she looked at him unblinkingly. "If I am wrong, why aren't you leaving? You only need to reach out and touch a mirror, I have no way of making you stay."
Ji Shanqing pursed his lips tighter. His expression turned darker, he did not move.
"Well, that's because if a player recognizes the grand prize for what it is and it runs instead, that would be quite ridiculous, right?" Lin Sanjiu said pleasantly, "This explains why you don't seem male or female… An item is genderless, right? You travel around the mirror chambers just to create the false impression that you are also a player, no?"
Ji Shanqing took a deep breath and lowered his head. The words he said next were so soft that Lin Sanjiu nearly couldn't hear them, "You might die more comfortably trapped in this maze, but you chose to challenge the fate of calling me out."