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Chapter 517: Floral Birth Mark

Lin Sanjiu turned her head to look back through the flames with squinted eyes. Her heart was overwhelmed with sadness, and her mind went blank.

“... Hiliu’s dead.”

As the thought came into Lin Sanjiu’s mind with splendid clarity, she had the impulse to run back and retrieve Hiliu’s body so that she could bury her somewhere outside and she could finally find her peace. However, her rationality put that urge in the shade, prompting her to continue to rush towards the mouth of the cave.

The pale sunlight that filtered into the cavern heralded that their great escape was soon coming to an end. Just as Lin Sanjiu turned the corner and darted toward the entrance, she stopped. She stretched her arm to block her grand prize and pushed him to the ground as a streak of lightning zoomed past their heads. The lightning continued to move forward until it hit the wall and exploded into sparks.

“What—”

Before the grand prize could say anything further, he saw the lips of the host from the [Weather Forecaster] open and close rapidly. He understood everything. Pulling him up from the ground, they both doubled back further into the cave, “We are too late. At least twenty abilities are waiting for us outside. We’ll be as good as dead if we step out now.”

“Then, what should we do now?”

Lin Sanjiu bit her lower lip so hard that it turned white. Her brain spun rapidly like a spinning top, but nothing came to her mind. Dragging the grand prize with her as they traced their steps deeper into the cave, they soon took cover around a corner. After waiting for a few seconds, she stuck her head out and looked around, only to find that the *duoluozhong *had not chased after them.

However, the grim expression on her face did not fade away.

“Sis’...” Ji Shanqing had noticed that something was amiss, “... Did I see it right?”

“No, you are not mistaken,” Lin Sanjiu coughed twice and pulled him to crouch beside her, “One of them used its ability and sealed the entrance. The smoke can’t get out.”

As she talked, she took out two bottles of water and a shirt from her card. She tore the cloth into strips, then wet them with water. They covered their nose and mouth with the damp pieces of fabric as they laid on their stomachs on the ground. Their expressions were ugly.

The dark smoke that billowed out from the nursery cave filled the entire passage in a split second. One would tremble in fear and become drenched in cold sweat once they raised their head to see the rolling dark smoke above them. Covering their mouth and nose was merely a temporary fix. If they did not find a way to get out of the cave, forget about her grand prize, Lin Sanjiu was certain that she would choke to death first.

It seemed to them that the only solution was to sally out their encirclement, but the [Weather Forecaster] suggested otherwise. Her mouth hadn’t stopped since just now. As the attack became more intense, she talked so fast that Lin Sanjiu couldn’t follow her broadcast. It was apparent that more and more *duoluozhong *were gathering at the entrance of the cave now.

For a moment, Lin Sanjiu was totally at lost of what she had to do to break through the besiegement.

“Can’t we do something to the barrier?” The grand prize asked. Since the smoke had little to no effect to the grand prize, he could still talk perfectly fine without covering his mouth. On the other hand, Lin Sanjiu could only wrap her mouth with the wetted cloth and shook her head.

According to the [Weather Forecaster], the barrier could only be destroyed in the near vicinity. Besides, the barrier was unidirectional. Nothing could escape from inside, but the duoluozhong could send their hails of attack from outside just fine. Lin Sanjiu believed that if she threw everything to the wind and launched an attack recklessly, the thing that greeted first her would be a salvo of abilities before she could reach the barrier.

Then, Mrs. Manas chimed in, “Your Higher Consciousness is running low. You won’t last long against their attack.”

Overwhelmed by her frustration, Lin Sanjiu punched the wall. Nothing came to mind, nothing at all.

For years, she had overcome innumerable of life and death situations, and she would never accept the fact that she was going to choke to death in a burrow like a pathetic rodent. However, even as witty as the grand prize was, he couldn’t think of any ideas right now to turn the tide in their favor. All he could do now was lock his brows tightly in a desperate crease.

“Screw it. Let’s force our way out.”

No sooner had Lin Sanjiu put down the damp cloth to speak that she was assaulted by the thick, choking smoke that filled her throat and chest as she began to cough. Under Ji Shanqing’s intense gaze, just when Lin Sanjiu rose to her feet, a loud cry cut through the raging fire and drifted into their ears.

Stunned, Lin Sanjiu immediately looked at Ji Shanqing. Both of them remained utterly still, pricking up their ears.

“Mom...”

“What did the hell happen?”

“I remember those kids wouldn’t talk or say anything, so how...” The grand prize muttered. His face was clouded with perplexion, “Sis’, should we return and take a look?”

Before Lin Sanjiu could reply, a loud bang occurred as if something had fallen followed by another cry from the child. She did not sound far, as though she was just right next to the nursery cave, crying and coughing, “Somebody, help my mom!”

“Her mom...?”

Once the figure of Hiliu, the only female adult in the ablaze cave, came into her mind, Lin Sanjiu pressed the damp cloth firmly to her mouth and nodded to her grand prize. Together, they scurried on their knees and hands towards the heart of the heavy smoke.

When they once again arrived in the underground nursery cave, everything had changed.

The hundreds of baby cribs were aflame, while thick, dark smog rolled on the ceiling. Countless babies in flame writhed and groaned in their beds. Some of them did not feel pain at all, sitting motionlessly in the cot as the fire consumed them whole.

Hiliu’s lifeless body was laying on the ground, but beside her sat a tiny figure. She was hugging and nudging Hiliu’s shoulders as she coughed. Nobody could tell if she was coughing due to the smoke, her face full of snot and tears, or both.

Lin Sanjiu’s heart seized at the scene. She fumbled over to the child and lifted her. Using the burning fire as her light source, she studied the kid meticulously.

Unlike other children, who had a deadpan face and strange behavior, this little girl, though she was scrawny, her eyes were bright and lively, and she was apparently sane. When she made eye contact with Lin Sanjiu, she shrunk back a little bit. However, after she found Lin Sanjiu held no hostility against her, she cried, “My mom—”

“She’s your mother?” Frowning, Lin Sanjiu moved the wet cloth away from her mouth to cover the little girl’s mouth, “... How do you know she is your mother?”

The little girl took in two deep breaths behind the wet cloth before taking it down and said, “I used to sneak out and play... Somebody from outside told me that she’s my mom, but she never came to see me.”

“Why are you different from the other kids? Where were you just now?” Once again, Lin Sanjiu eyed the girl ultra-careful. She had a flat stomach, and her appearance and behavior were nothing different from the healthy kids before the apocalypse arrived. If she had seen such a child that behaved like this little girl just now, she would definitely stop Hiliu to set the nursery in a fire at all cost.

“I don’t know,” the little girl seemed a bit scared as she huddled closer to Hiliu, “They said I’m one of a kind... I don’t know what that means. There’s no one here to play with me. When I returned, I found my mom here, but she wouldn’t move no matter how many times I called her. It’s so hot...”

“When you returned?”

Lin Sanjiu’s eyes glowed. Before she could say anything, Ji Shanqing had rushed forward, pressing his agitating palms on the little girl’s shoulders, “You mean you just came back? Where did you come in?”

The little girl was startled. She shilly-shallied for a moment and stammered, “T-there’s a path over there.”

“There’s another path to outside!”

Two of them were awash with the feeling of extravagant joy and relief at the same time. With a lightened face, Lin Sanjiu put Hiliu’s body into her card after a short moment of contemplation. Then, she picked up the little girl, “Don’t worry, little girl; your mother has gone to a better place. Now, can you show us the location of that small path you mentioned earlier?”

“Over there,” the little girl was confused about what had transpired in front of her, but she pointed a trembling finger at a direction beyond the sea of flame. Her legs dangled over Lin Sanjiu’s arm. There was a floral birthmark on her toe.

Although the [Defense Forcefield] wasn’t very effective against the barrage of attacks, it was more than enough to shield them from the sea of fire. Thankfully, the path wasn’t too far away. After they had traversed it after a few minutes, they arrived at the “small path,” the little girl had pointed to them.

When they had arrived, they found out that the small path was, in fact, a crack in the rock.

It was a crack that gradually turned into a small tunnel as times passed by. It was spacious enough for a little girl to squeeze through, but that wasn’t the case for Lin Sanjiu and Ji Shanqing. They would, without a doubt, not able to cram themselves into the tiny space. Out of desperation, Lin Sanjiu then struck the crack with the [Tornado Whip] and made it large enough for them to fit through.

When they finally came out from the other side of the tunnel, Lin Sanjiu had lacerations all over her body. Her grand prize wasn’t in good shape either: Two layers of his clothing were torn into strips, dangling over his body and swinging back and forth as he moved. Though both of their expressions were ugly, they still felt relieved as they had finally escaped from the *duoluozhong *and the thick smoke.

The place where they stood now was a residential cavern on the second top-level hallway.

Due to the crack, this cave had been left uninhabited, giving the little girl chances to come here and play whenever she wanted.

“Go up again, and we’ll be outside,” the little girl tried her best to explain things using simpler words while at the same time spreading her arms wide, “The world outside is this big—And I heard it’s scary.”

“Don’t be afraid,” Lin Sanjiu comforted her as she walked forward to survey for any lurking dangers. In the distance, she still could see a growing crowd of *duoluozhong *gathering outside the entrance of the large nursery cave. The deep green color they formed made her stomach churn. Turning her head, she glanced at her grand prize and, without making any sound, both of them skedaddled out from the cave, climbing onto the top layer and leaving their pursuers far behind.

The little girl seemed to know that they were now in a critical moment. Aside from occasional sniffing, she remained quiet throughout the entire trip. At long last, Lin Sanjiu finally escaped from the large, bowl-like City of Ant.

Even if they had escaped, they did not dare to slow down. They kept running at full tilt for the next couple of hours, only came to a stop when they felt the temperature around them plummet. Trembling in the cold, Lin Sanjiu looked around in a daze.

The landform of the world Salvation of God did not follow any law of nature. It was a complete mess.

The City of Ant was dry and hot, full of rocks and soil while its perimeter was surrounded by a large swath of dust-laden trees too sparse to be considered jungle. As they traveled further and farther away, the trees peeled back like the hairline of a middle-aged man until there were no longer any large trees in their vision.

What replaced the green was the thick ice layer beneath their feet.

The everlasting white fog continued to curl over their heads, blotting out the sky and covering the sun in its whiteness. Lin Sanjiu allowed her gaze to travel out far, but what reached her eyes was a great glacial plain. She even saw the accumulating snow at the end of her vision that had formed into a snow hill along the horizon.

The little girl sneezed and snapped Lin Sanjiu out of her reverie. A cold breeze blew past, and she had a gooseflesh all over her skin. On the other hand, Ji Shanqing was very cautious with his steps, as he did not welcome the sensation of almost biting the dust again. The three of them moved sluggishly. Step by step, they traversed the vast expanse of snow and ice, not knowing what to expect.

When she realized the little girl limbs were turning blue due to the freezing temperature, Lin Sanjiu stopped.

“We’re now hundreds of mile away from the City of Ants,” the grand prize said, “... We should be safe now.”

“Then we’ll take a break here. Let’s build an igloo to warm us up,” as she spoke, she took out another black tank top and wrapped around the shivering little girl, “I read about it. The Eskimos built a snow hut to maintain warm.”

However, Ji Shanqing did not seem so inclined at that idea, “But... what if Deva comes after us? A hundred miles is merely a few steps for her. Besides, even if we want to build an igloo, we have to take snow from there. I suggest we continue to move forward. Maybe we can walk out from this glacial plain...”

“Mainly because of her,” Lin Sanjiu pointed her finger at the little girl in her embrace, “If we don’t warm her up now, I’m afraid she will freeze to death.”

Sighing, Ji Shanqing’s eyes darted gloomily at the little girl, “... Okay.”

“Oh come on, don’t give me that face. If it weren’t for her, we would never be able to get out from there,” Lin Sanjiu placed the little girl on the ground, comforting her, “Hey little girl, big brother and big sister are now going to build an igloo. Very soon, you will not feel cold anymore. Be a good girl and wait at here for us. Don’t run around.”

The little girl nodded. Her teeth chattered uncontrollably as she smiled sweetly at Lin Sanjiu.

Stunned, Lin Sanjiu immediately replied with a smile. She rose to her feet and walked towards her grand prize. As she walked, she asked, “Do you know how to build a snow hut?”

Pulling a long face, Ji Shanqing turned around. Then, his expression froze on his face. His jaw dropped opened wide in horror, and no words were coming out from his mouth.

Lin Sanjiu hastily turned around, and she froze as well.

The little girl had vanished. The black tank top that kept her warm was now being stepped underneath a foot as large as a house.

Two enormous feet stood side by side on top of the ice. The torso above the calves had disappeared into the white fog. There was a floral birthmark, on one of the toes.