Doomsday Wonderland

Chapter 1447: Escaping Through the Octopus's Mouth

Lin Sanjiu instinctively pulled her hand back in surprise, but her wrist was firmly held. As she tried to free herself, her fingertips caught on the edge of the trash can. After several unsuccessful attempts, she was covered in sweat. Desperation filled her voice as she called into the can, "Who's t-there?"

Her trembling voice drew the attention of the chatting humanoid Special Items.

"Who's on the other side?" she said. "Let go!"

Lin Sanjiu wasn't sure if her voice could reach whoever or whatever was holding her. The force gripping her hand was unyielding, as if it was rooted in place. It seemed intent on trapping her right hand inside the trash can forever.

The thought horrified her, causing goosebumps to rise on her skin. She shook her arm vigorously, but the silver trash can clung to her wrist, flashing with silver light. Whatever had her in its grip, its hand was like an unhealed sore attached to her wrist. No matter how she struggled, she couldn't free herself.

Just then, the Life Coach hurried over and asked, "What's happening?"

Lin Sanjiu shouted, "Didn't you say you can destroy your collected Special Items? I'm hiring you to use this trash can. Destroy it!"

The Life Coach examined it and shook his head. "A spatial item, right? Your hand is already on the other side. If I destroy it now, you might lose your hand."

Lin Sanjiu gritted her teeth and cursed under her breath, drenched in sweat. Her fingers couldn't even curl into her wrist, so even if she used [A Twinkle in the Sky], it wouldn't help—

Wait, what if it were a card?

She had converted most of her items back into cards, so perhaps there was something she could use to push the hand down. Lin Sanjiu quickly scanned through her card inventory, swiftly finding a small palm-sized dagger. The card then materialized in her hand.

All she needed to do was grab the handle and thrust the blade toward her wrist—

Before she could finish her thought, an intense pain, like an electric drill burrowing into her brain, darkened her vision. When she opened her eyes and regained her senses, she found herself on the ground, unsure when she had fallen. Cold sweat covered her body.

She felt her right hand, trapped in another space, trembling violently. Desperately, she fumbled as she attempted to rotate the dagger's card in her palm.

The center of the card now had a gaping hole.

And the hand gripping her tightly showed no signs of letting go.

"What's happening?" she asked, hoping someone would give her an answer. "My cards—"

"Get rid of it, quickly!" Mrs. Manas exclaimed. "No, it won't work!"

Lin Sanjiu quickly let go of the card. "What's going on?"

Then, she understood. She felt a long, worm-like thing crawl into her card inventory.

No wonder the card had a hole. That thing was trying to get in.

Having one hand trapped in a different space and feeling an invisible object crawl into her mind was equally panic-inducing for Lin Sanjiu. She had never imagined that something foreign could enter her card inventory, which wasn't supposed to accommodate living creatures.

As soon as she had this thought, the worm-like thing suddenly retracted, swiftly withdrawing from her card inventory.

"Why did it suddenly leave?" she muttered, her heart racing.

"What left?" Caster asked, looking around. "No one was here."

Could it be that the card inventory couldn't accommodate living beings?

Lin Sanjiu steadied her breathing and tried to calm down. She yanked her right hand again. If what trapped her hand was a wall, her strength would have shattered it. Although the grip remained firm, the slight give revealed it wasn't a hand at all.

She initially thought it was a hand because it felt like elongated, tentacle-like structures tightly bunched together, resembling a palm wrapping around her hand. When she squeezed it, the overlapping tentacles made her realize it was more like an octopus tentacle or tree roots.

No wonder it could dig a hole in her card despite not moving. In the unseen alternate space, who knew how many elongated structures made up that thing? Just one of them branching out could damage the card.

If she could compress the tentacles further, maybe she could make it release her hand.

To generate more force, she needed momentum. With newfound hope, Lin Sanjiu leaned her right shoulder forward, pushing half her forearm into the space on the other side of the trash can. This way, when she pulled back, she would have more leverage.

However, as soon as she extended her forearm, the "hand" came to life, rapidly crawling up her arm. Despite her quick reflexes, the "hand" had already moved halfway up her arm, firmly trapping her at the edge of the trash can's opening.

Just a moment ago, she was only at risk of losing her hand. Now, almost half her forearm was stuck.

"This is troublesome," the Life Coach said, understanding the situation. Caster and the Artist could only peek over to look. "Is that thing not moving?"

"It won't move unless I move it," Lin Sanjiu replied, her mind in a jumble. She was having a hard time understanding what was happening.

"Even though it damaged your card, at least it hasn't harmed you," the Life Coach said, trying to console her.

'Not yet, but what's the use of that?' Lin Sanjiu thought, then froze.

Even with [Defense Forcefield] protecting her, if that thing could destroy cards, it could pierce through [Defense Forcefield] and enter her flesh. Since it hadn't, perhaps it was only interested in entering another space, not consuming her.

The fact that it immediately tried to enter the card inventory when it saw the cards confirmed this. As for what it was and how it found her card inventory space, Lin Sanjiu had no way of knowing.

Thinking this way, it made sense why the thing clamped down on her arm near the trash can's exit. It must be because the bottom of the trash can was connected to the bubble space she was in. It probably wanted to get in. It must be quite large; otherwise, it would have squeezed through the gap between her arm and the trash can long ago.

'I want to get out, while you want to get in?'

She was almost amused by her own luck.

Lin Sanjiu glanced down at the bottom of the trash can, where the silver rim had swallowed her arm. The gap still appeared like a typical can, preventing her from seeing the other space.

Taking a deep breath, she looked into the distance at where she and Silvan had stood. The large stone they had been on had long disappeared.

[The Power Of Word Picture] could make the ground swell into a long strip. So, could she use it to make her arm swell into a circle?

Lin Sanjiu closed her eyes, her voice trembling as she described her forearm. When she finished speaking, a wave of pain hit her, nearly causing her to pass out. She didn't realize she was crying out in agony, unable to stop the intermittent screams. Her body curled up into a fetal position.

[The Power Of Word Picture] could only rearrange the cells of her flesh and blood. It felt as if someone was tearing off her muscles and skin, relentlessly tugging and stirring. If it were just a momentary or short-lived pain, it might have been bearable. But now, she had to endure pain as if every cell in her body was being affected. Her vision blurred, and it seemed like every cell in her body was on the verge of collapse.

"It's okay, it's okay," Mrs. Manas said, half-comforting and half-urging. "It has swelled enough!"

Amid waves of excruciating pain, Lin Sanjiu gritted her teeth and moved her arm slightly within the trash can. Her forearm had swollen to two or three times its normal size. The thing gripping her arm still clung tightly, adapting to the effects of [The Power Of Word Picture], gradually stretching its tentacle-like structures to maintain its hold.

If she could continue to expand her arm, perhaps the thing would lose its grip and fall off. However, the effects of [The Power Of Word Picture] depended on certain conditions, and she was nearing her limit of endurance.

"Cancel!" Lin Sanjiu shouted hoarsely, retracting [The Power Of Word Picture]. As the effect disappeared, her raised arm's skin, flesh, and blood deflated rapidly like a balloon. Lin Sanjiu had prepared for this moment. In the split second her skin separated from the thing, she wrenched her arm back.

That thing was incredibly fast.

Even though it was taken by surprise, it frantically caught hold of Lin Sanjiu's fingers again at a speed beyond imagination. When she finally yanked her hand out of the silver trash can, she inadvertently pulled the thing halfway out as well.

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