"Follow me!" she shouted, hunching her back and lowering her head. She dashed forward as if she were running while trying to pick up money from the ground.
The long-range attack she was worried about never happened as she jogged into another mercial street. Once she entered the mercial street, the Southwind Goose vanished behind her. Lin Sanjiu had started to feel an almost friendly familiarity towards it and felt somewhat lost without its presence. Nevertheless, she could finally stand upright and walk like humanity's ancient ancestors.
"Advaita lost three of her most significant advantages and was heavily hit by the Southwind Goose. I don't think she will chase after you for a while," the Life Coach said. "But that doesn't mean you can relax and rest... This mercial street is too close to that mall, you need to keep running."
"She might be even more injured than you think," Lin Sanjiu said, dragging her battered body. "After she swallowed me into her bubble space, Silvan probably wouldn't just stand by. So, she didn't immediately overpower me with her abilities... because it would likely be too strenuous for her."
However, she had no clue where Silvan had gone.
Lin Sanjiu took a stack of cards from the Life Coach. Looking at the [Caster] card, she decided to wait until she found a safe spot to un-card it and ask about Silvan's whereabouts. With gratitude, she watched the cards disappear one by one from her palm, returning to the card inventory. She had never felt that [Planar World] was so precious before.
Her series of escapes left her in a very disheveled state. The paper crane that Advaita gave her and the shadow she caught were lost somewhere along the way. Miraculously, the only surviving thing on her was the Munitions Factory municator on her waist.
Holding it hesitantly, Lin Sanjiu dialed the Munitions Factory again.
After hearing her explanation, the male voice who assigned her tasks sharply reprimanded her. "Were you held up just now? Couldn't you even open your mouth to speak up?"
Lin Sanjiu wasn't bothered by such minor issues anymore. She chuckled and apologized, then asked, "Do you have a specific location for the fugitive Marcie? I can go look for her immediately."
"If we had it, we wouldn't be casting such a wide net," the man replied. "We can only be sure that she's within approximately a hundred kilometers of your current location."
In some sense, this location was already precise enough. After being separated from Marcie across countless universes, suddenly knowing she was just a city away made Lin Sanjiu feel the urge to bend over, cover her face, and sob softly. Her first friend since the apocalypse began held an irreplaceable significance for her.
However, this range also meant that while she was searching for Marcie, Advaita was searching for her.
"I've seen a woman nearby... uh, I think her name is Advaita?" Lin Sanjiu tentatively asked. "Which department is she from? Do we need to work together?"
The man on the other end of the municator seemed momentarily stunned.
"No need," he replied. "Don't get involved."
Before Lin Sanjiu could ask how that would be getting involved, he hastily ended the conversation. After putting away the municator in card form, she still had no information about Advaita.
There was no other option. Both the grand prize and Marcie were within this range. Even if Advaita was looking for her or if ten ghostly Puppeteers were after her, she couldn't leave this area. Now, it all depended on how well she could stay hidden.
Though she knew she was on the run, Lin Sanjiu's feet seemed to have a mind of their own. Before she realized it, she had returned to the apartment building where she initially parted from Ji Shanqing. There was no ongoing game inside, making it look deserted and open to anyone.
Standing in the dust-covered hall, Lin Sanjiu looked around and sighed. Whether it was Ji Shanqing, Silvan, or Marcie, her friends might be nearby, but she felt utterly lost, unsure of where to turn.
"Well, hiding is hiding no matter where," she murmured. "I'll wait for him here."
That volunteer had mentioned that Ji Shanqing would eventually be returned to this place. Lin Sanjiu used the [Tornado Whip] to clear all the dust in the hall. This way, there would be no footprints for Advaita to find. She also created some false traces outside on the road and decided to take refuge in this building.
The first thing she did was pull out a paper crane.
She didn't know if this would work and was aware of the risk of Advaita discovering it, but she had to try, as she had no other options.
"Marcie," Lin Sanjiu whispered to the paper crane, "are you okay? I'm nearby."
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