Chapter 1145: Bonnie Bunny
"Hold on, hold on," Lin Sanjiu said, waving her hand as if instinctively wanting to slow down the flow of information. "I understand that due to the Great Deluge, Bonnie Bunny can't rely on teleportation to leave... But why doesn't she just walk out of this city? You should know that a few hours south from here is another doomsday world!"
Bear City was located at the edge of the Lava world, adjacent to the Mushroom Society. The posthumans here had no reason to be unaware of this fact. However, Ya Jiang widened his eyes in surprise. "Really? Another world?"
"You didn't know?" Lin Sanjiu said, even more astonished.
"I really didn't know. What world is it?"
After Lin Sanjiu explained, Ya Jiang licked his lips, seemingly containing his excitement. He looked out the window, even though he couldn't see the Mushroom Society from there. He gazed at the sky for a few seconds before his shoulders slumped and he let out a sigh.
"But that doesn't matter. If you are a non-registered individual," he said, turning back with a serious face, "then of course, you can leave freely as long as you can avoid the lava lurking somewhere. But once you register, you can't leave the registration area. You and I both registered in Bear City, so we can't leave this city."
"What do you mean we can't leave?" Lin Sanjiu asked.
"I once accidentally came to the edge of the city," Ya Jiang began, hugging the mop lovingly, the dirty mop cloth just inches away from his well-maintained, shoulder-length hair. "At that time, I thought that players from other cities might not be as... aggressive as those in Bear City. I believed if the objective was to find the 'Informed Consent,' then we could cooperate and get out together. But there were too few people in Bear City who shared my thoughts, so I decided to try my luck in other cities. However, before I could even step onto the intercity highway, I received a warning."
He paused there, looking at Lin Sanjiu with eyes sparkling with encouragement.
Sensing what he wanted, Lin Sanjiu smacked her lips a few times and played along. "What warning?" contemporary romance
"It warned me not to go out of bounds," Ya Jiang said, clearly enjoying having an audience. "It said that if I left the registration area, everything around me would start turning into crazy flowing lava, including the ground beneath my feet. The lava would chase me relentlessly until it swallowed me whole. Also, once I left the registration area, the survival rate would no longer apply. Once swallowed, death is certain. Tell me, what kind of fool would see such a warning and still venture out?"
Lin Sanjiu knew there was such a foolish person.
She had been wondering about the posthuman who had rushed onto the highway that night. Even after learning about the lava, she still couldn't figure out where it came from—after all, the three of them had subsequently set foot on the highway without stepping into any lava.
Ya Jiang's explanation helped Lin Sanjiu piece everything together. The lava that had engulfed the posthuman was a unique punishment meant for him alone. It wasn't related to the highway, which had allowed her and her companions to enter Bear City without becoming registered individuals.
"So, that person probably thought he could outrun the lava and reach another world before it caught up with him? That's incredibly reckless," Ya Jiang said, running a hand through his hair. "I'm not as daring as him."
Lin Sanjiu couldn't help but feel she might not easily get along with someone as cautious as Ya Jiang.
"Why do people even bother to register then?" she asked, shifting the conversation and somewhat regretting her impulsive decision to register. "If no one registers, wouldn't everyone be free to leave the Lava world?"
"No, it's not that simple," Ya Jiang replied, shaking his head while observing the white screen. Seeing no change in the player information, he continued, "The rules of this game are designed to make you register at all costs."
"What do you mean?"
Understanding that coercion might not yield much information and questioning the accuracy of any information extracted, Lin Sanjiu deliberately softened her tone and relaxed her demeanor. It was like two strangers casually discussing a soccer game, and Ya Jiang found himself inadvertently sharing more.
"If you push a non-registered individual into the lava," he explained, raising his index finger, "the deducted survival rate from that individual transfers to you. For instance, if I push your feet into the lava and deduct ten percent—though I'm making up the number, I don't know the exact standard—then that ten percent becomes mine."
This revelation illuminated why Sesame Cake and Beardie had desperately tricked her into drinking water.
"Even if you're lucky enough to never step into the lava, you'll still occasionally encounter some guides. I think they're all duoluozhongs, and they even wear work badges on their chests. Their duty is to persuade non-registered individuals in the city to register. Oh? You encountered one?" Ya Jiang asked, surprised. "You went to register on your first encounter?"
Lin Sanjiu nodded. "Yes, but now I'm having second thoughts—"
"Don't regret it," Ya Jiang interjected, shaking the mop he was holding, its cloth replacing his head, swaying as he spoke. "They are the most gentle when they persuade you the first time. If you don't go the first time, they will come find you the second time. If you don't go the second time, they will come find you the third time... Each time, it gets worse, increasingly unfriendly. When they persuaded me twice and I still didn't register, do you know what finally convinced me on the third encounter? When I saw the guide from afar, I finally saw his appearance clearly—he had a chainsaw nearly a meter long, nearly severing his neck, leaving only some tendons and skin attached to his head. For some reason, his face looked exactly like mine, down to the same hairstyle... From a distance, it was as if I had been cleaved in half by a chainsaw, dragging my foot, step by step, forward."
"In that case, I consider myself lucky not to have experienced their growing hostility," Lin Sanjiu mused thoughtfully.
"Of course. And before those duoluozhongs come for you a second time," Ya Jiang said, nodding toward the white screen, "you might first encounter Bonnie Bunny, who is notoriously bloodthirsty. Those people have devious tactics for luring non-registered individuals into the lava. You might escape once, but a second escape is unlikely. Instead of losing your survival rate for nothing and being forced into registration, it's better to register voluntarily; at least then, you won't become a target."
"Oh?" Lin Sanjiu's interest was piqued. "So, even if I trick a registered player into the lava, I won't gain their survival rate?"
"No," Ya Jiang replied promptly, "Otherwise, the game would devolve into a ruthless battle for survival rate, right? I think the real focus here is avoiding the lava and completing the objective."
As the conversation turned to the objective, Lin Sanjiu frowned thoughtfully.
She had gleaned a lot of information from Ya Jiang. Since Bonnie Bunny believed that the objective involved eliminating all players, she would kill indiscriminately, targeting both players and non-registered individuals alike.
And Hei Zeji, seemingly oblivious to the danger, had already significantly lowered his survival rate, making him an ideal target for someone like Bonnie Bunny. Lin Sanjiu couldn't help but connect the dots: Hei Zeji had been in the area until recently but had vanished from the player list, and Bonnie Bunny had replaced him as the third player. It was highly likely that she had either killed Hei Zeji or was currently hunting him.
To be honest, Lin Sanjiu had a gut feeling that Hei Zeji wasn't dead. Perhaps it was the lasting impression he had made on her when she first evolved.
"Bonnie Bunny," she mused for a moment before cautiously asking, "How powerful of a posthuman is she?"
She never anticipated hearing Puppeteer's name at that moment.
"Have you been to the Twelve Worlds? Oh, you have, then you must have heard of Puppeteer," Ya Jiang said casually. "It's rumored that Bonnie Bunny is almost at his level."
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