Chapter 360 Lin Jiujiu encounters a life-and-death crisis - Socially Anxious Witch in the Apocalypse

Su Miao gazed into the distance where the residual ashes on the ground were undoubtedly left by those who had previously entered the inner world. Xia Xiaoan and Su Luoli studied these traces, filled with an increasing sense of dread. "Let's go, we need to be cautious," Su Miao said, leading the way with her alloy staff. "Try to sense the nodes of these twisted spaces as we move." "Alright," replied Xia Xiaoan and Su Luoli, nodding their heads in agreement. Considering the inconvenience of having Su Luoli explore the surrounding environment, Su Miao released two magical phantom doppelgangers that flew in opposite directions to scout the area. Unlike before, these doppelgangers used flight magic, which consumed minimal magical energy from their purely magical bodies. Su Miao's main body halted near a twisted space node—a flat open area devoid of weeds, perfect for camping. "Let's wait here," she instructed. "Try sensing the nodes of twisted space, and once my doppelgangers return, we can proceed." "Okay," Xia Xiaoan and Su Luoli agreed, their steps unsteady with uncertainty about the twisted space's location, both longing to return to Earth. The inner world was too perilous! Su Miao retrieved a simple military flat-building from her magical space—a cutting-edge military camp developed by Shelter No. 1, designed to seamlessly blend into its environment, concealing it from hidden enemies. It featured three rooms: a kitchen, a living room with a bathroom, and a bedroom. The roof was made of rock with special photosensitive material that mimicked its surroundings, adapting from desert sands to forest stones. "Remember, the twisted space node is there. Don't get too close," Su Miao cautioned, marking a safety line. Xia Xiaoan and Su Luoli etched this line into their memories. "I'm going up to take a look," Su Miao added, before taking off into the sky. The air thinned and temperatures dropped as Su Miao ascended past one thousand, five thousand, and up to twelve thousand meters, pausing where the altitude rendered further ascent fruitless. What used to be a star-filled sky now revealed colossal planets dominating the horizon. Only at the far edges could other planets be vaguely discerned, all devoid of oceans or greenery. Her gaze returned to the supergiant planets with barren surfaces pockmarked by craters and lifeless mountains, deserts, and storms. It felt like she could reach these planets with just a little more flight. However, recalling the changing starry sky, she suspected continuing would reveal yet another view of the cosmos. Below, Su Miao surveyed the ground of this 'inner world,' questioning its nature. Was it merely another expansive planet? The boundless surface beyond eyesight suggested so, with its slightly curved horizon implying a planetary identity far exceeding the size of the visible supergiant planets. New questions arose: science dictated that gravity's formula—G=mg—meant that in this world, different from Earth's 9.83 N/kg, she should feel a stronger gravitational pull. Yet, Su Miao felt no such discomfort from gravity in this inner world. Did physics cease to exist here? Looking back to the universe where the massive planets seemed almost tangible, she pondered this universe's alien laws beyond her ken. Surveying the planet again, finding no signs of life, she realized she perhaps stood amidst sheer desolation. Yet, she spotted a railway approximately three hundred kilometers distant. Given the world’s ruin, such a railway should be overgrown or buried in dust, yet it was not, sparking further curiosity. The magical phantom doppelgangers, having traveled far, returned, revealing only ruins and weeds—no trace of Lin Jiujiu. "It's strange," pondered Su Miao's doppelganger, halting. Finding Lin Jiujiu seemed futile amidst an endless world. A sense of urgency gripped her: finding her parents in this vastness was daunting. Then, eyes turned toward her, piercing the invisibility surrounding her. Following them, she saw travelers materializing, perhaps beast-people, akin to a merchant caravan. Each beast carried goods on substantial crocodiles, jingling bells as they moved. Yet their emergence from nowhere suggested an invisible spatial barrier—like a game apparition. "Is this space folded here?" Su Miao mused from the heights, yearning to inquire about the world but hesitant due to her social anxiety, daunted by the notion of approaching strangers. Fortunately, the caravan harbored no hostile intent; instead, they panicked at the sight of her, bowing in reverence, fearing her wrath. Su Miao merely glanced at them and departed, confirming two things: beings existed here despite the barriers parsing the spaces apart, suggesting the futility of skyward searches, as views remained illusive. Her phantom doppelgangers remerged into her, imparting their gathered knowledge. "Your Highness, did you find Lin Jiujiu?" asked Su Luoli. Su Miao shook her head, worry mounting from the fragmented spaces twisting the region peculiarly. If Lin Jiujiu wandered through a barrier, the distance from them could be unfathomable, complicating their search. Moreover, the point of entry into this world offered no exit—it seemed random portals controlled passage, although their mass arrival contradicted such random displacement. "Su Miao, I think I hear Jiujiu's thoughts," Xia Xiaoan remarked. Su Miao inquired promptly, "Where?" Xia Xiaoan pointed, "Over there. She's being chased!" Immediately, Su Miao dispatched a phantom doppelganger with half her magical power for certainty, vanishing in an instant. Some time prior, entering the dream bubble leading here, Lin Jiujiu felt a turbulent whirl akin to the plummet of a nightmare. Startled, she instinctively used her Dream Control to stabilize herself mid-air. "Is this the inner world? Why does it look completely different from what was described?" Lin Jiujiu wondered as she stood in the void, bewildered. Suddenly, the ground beneath her became solid, transforming into a lush green meadow stretching into the distance, leading to a lake adorned with beautiful trees and an extravagant villa. The villa's design was somewhat abstract, defying conventional aesthetics. "Should I go see it?" Lin Jiujiu wondered, fascinated by the villa. But just as quickly, she cautioned herself, "Curiosity killed the cat. I shouldn't approach." No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than she found herself at the villa's doorstep, with no recollection of moving at all. She carefully sensed the environment, trying to understand where she truly was. This was a dreamscape! It lay somewhere between reality and illusion, but was fundamentally a dream. Being a dream, it was easily manageable. Dream Simulation! Lin Jiujiu's hair abruptly turned pink, her performance outfit morphing into Su Miao's witch robe, her weapon transforming into a long staff. An application of her dream control abilities, this allowed her to cosplay as anyone she desired within the dream, granting her similar powers. The effectiveness of these powers depended largely on the authenticity and imagination applied in the simulation. The closer the simulation and imagination mirrored the real, the stronger the attack power. She stepped forward and, in an instant, was hundreds of meters in the air. She imagined the elegant Su Miao, pointing her staff at the bizarre villa. For some reason, embodying Su Miao amplified her destructive urges. Initially, she only wanted to damage the villa, but now she aspired to obliterate it, eradicating any potential dangers at their source. Lin Jiujiu recalled a new spell Su Miao had tested near the platform that connected the worlds. She began to replicate its casting. Starlight Burst (Imitated)! Boom! A dazzling burst of starlight rained down, eradicating the villa, with a magnificent mushroom cloud rising from the ground, a destructive shockwave sweeping outwards. In an instant, the entire dreamscape burst like a water balloon and dissipated. When Lin Jiujiu opened her eyes again, neither the explosion’s aftermath, the mushroom cloud, nor the villa remained—vanished as if they had never existed. Before her lay a steep, winding path leading somewhere unknown. Lin Jiujiu hesitated to tread upon it, fearing it might lead to another dreamscape, or possibly a deeper one. She examined herself, realizing she had already reverted from her Su Miao simulation state. Was this place not a dream, but reality? Lin Jiujiu felt an overwhelming sense of confusion. Suddenly, a roar issued from behind her. A monstrous creature emerged from the mountainside—a colossus nearly fifty meters tall, like a mountain come alive. Its body was tattered, as if freshly bombarded, bleeding profusely. The wounds seemed eerily similar to those caused by her prior attack. Bizarrely, the creature's blood was red, indistinguishable from human blood. She couldn't allow the monster to advance! With a wave, her voice resonated on a stage, turning her surroundings into a dreamscape once more. She transformed back into the likeness of Su Miao. Starlight Burst (Imitated)! Boom! The devastating mushroom cloud rose again, a direct hit! Lin Jiujiu watched the dissipating cloud, hopeful that this would finally destroy the creature. But in the next moment, the mountainous monster surged from the residual dust. Unscathed, it let out an agonized roar, resonating like a chorus of thousands in torment. Its blood scattered like a veil over the sky, morphing into mutated creatures rushing towards her. "What on earth is this?" Lin Jiujiu was alarmed. Preparing for a third imitation of Starlight Burst, she felt unprecedentedly weak. She remembered that while simulating, one had to account for mental, soul, and physical strength; otherwise, even in a dream, executing such techniques exacted a massive toll. Unattended, her body risked being overextended. Escape! Instead of battling the monster, Lin Jiujiu trusted her instincts and sprinted toward the path. The Taiji Flow technique she practiced daily propelled her with unparalleled speed, landscapes rushing by her like fluid lines. "Help! Help! Su Miao, help!" "Su Miao, help!" Lin Jiujiu's mind screamed in desperation. Who knows how long she had been running when she spotted a familiar dream bubble ahead—the very portal she had used to enter the inner world. Why was it here? Could it mean she hadn't been in the inner world? Regardless, Lin Jiujiu barreled into the dream bubble, stumbling through and out. Suddenly, her surroundings brightened, the unsettling scenery transforming into barren ruins. Yet, the monsters trailed closely behind. Lin Jiujiu kept running, only to feel her body abruptly restrained. Su Miao's voice whispered urgently by her ear, "Don't move. It's dangerous ahead." (End of Chapter)