Chapter 108: Ghost Amusement Park

Before them stood a drop tower stretching straight into the clouds. The group looked up, barely able to see its peak. The flickering lights at the top seemed like stars hanging in the night sky.

Chi Yi had even strained her neck looking up. "I'd say it's over two hundred meters," she said to her companions. "Have any of you ever ridden a drop tower before? I've never dared."

You Jingmeng and Owen Dong both shook their heads nervously. "Never!"

Qi Yongyi said, "I did once. The feeling of falling is truly terrifying."

All eyes turned to Li Zhi, who scratched her cheek slightly. "I ride it every time I go to an amusement park. My younger sister loves this."

You Jingmeng gave her a thumbs-up in admiration, "Your little sister is hardcore!"

It seemed that the younger they were, the more they enjoyed these thrilling high-altitude attractions and had more courage to try them. Every time Li Shuang rode one, she wasn't satisfied after just one round. She would make Li Feng queue again downstairs and drag her sister along for another ride, sometimes a second or third time.

Therefore, Li Zhi was now numb to such high-altitude rides. Having played them so many times since childhood, she practically had muscle memory.

But the drop tower at the Ghost Amusement Park was clearly different. When they reached the entrance, a staff member wearing blue workwear smiled and said, "Welcome to the Skyfall Drop Tower experience. This activity requires a minimum of three participants. Please show your tickets and line up to enter."

Only requiring three people, the danger level seemed manageable—probably simpler than a roller coaster.

Everyone let out a slight sigh of relief.

Qi Yongyi volunteered, "I'll sit this one out. You guys can go first."

He had already experienced several attractions in a row. His popularity should be sufficient by now; he needed to give his teammates some chances.

Chi Yi clenched her fists eagerly, "I'm going!"

You Jingmeng looked at Owen Dong with a modest expression, "I took your chance last round; I won't take it from you this time. You go ahead."

Owen Dong: "..."

Thank you so much!!!

They all knew he hated high places the most! Whether spurred on by pride or fearing a drop in popularity after missing two rounds, Owen gritted his teeth and rolled up his sleeves: "Fine, I’ll go!"

Chi Yi pondered aloud, "What kind of deadly rule will this drop tower have? It’s similar to the roller coaster—maybe something like not closing your eyes or screaming?"

Li Zhi walked ahead and handed her ticket to the staff member, adding another stamp—the drop tower—to the empty space in her booklet.

Conventional drop towers usually had 12 or 16 seats, but this one only had three, each spaced about an arm's length apart. Owen hadn't even sat down yet and his legs were already shaking.

The trio scanned their surroundings. There were no text or image clues around the attraction, meaning the hint would likely still come through the speaker system.

Owen swallowed hard and whispered to Li Zhi, "Can you sit in the middle?"

That way, if anything dangerous happened, having the expert in the center meant she could protect both sides.

Li Zhi chuckled, "Sure."

She went ahead and sat in the middle seat. Chi Yi sat to her left, and Owen to her right. As soon as the three were seated, there was a hiss, and the safety bar automatically lowered across their laps.

Chi Yi felt sweat forming in her palms. This was actually her first time riding a drop tower, and instinctively she reached toward Li Zhi: "Zhi Zhi, can we hold hands?"

Li Zhi extended her hand, clasping Chi Yi's icy fingers, giving them a comforting squeeze.

The live comments began erupting:

[Chi Yi is so good!!! I ship this couple now!]

[How did you ship this??? Obviously Li Zhi is the more affectionate one!]

[Li Jianxi must be crying inside the mascot costume—he hasn’t even held his wife’s hand yet!]

[Li Jianxi: So my balloon was a waste?!]

[Dream Dream, stop playing with that balloon! We’re talking about You Jingmeng! Breaking it will upset Little Li!!]

[Now it's Butterfly’s spotlight! Other couples please keep your distance!]

[LOL, look at Owen Dong—he seems like he wants to hold Li Zhi’s hand too.]

...

Click—

The suspended seats moved slightly beneath them as the drop tower began rising steadily. The ascent wasn't fast, but watching the ground fall away beneath them made Owen panic loudly: "Where's the warning?! Where's the clue?!"

No announcement, no signs, no text or images.

Absolutely nothing.

Higher and higher the tower climbed, wind howling past their ears. This vertical ninety-degree ascent was more thrilling than the roller coaster. Li Zhi scanned every visible area within her sight, but except for the cross-shaped landmark of the park that became visible once airborne, she found no clues.

Chi Yi shouted, "Why isn’t there any clue, Zhi Zhi? We're almost at the top—who do we follow?!"

Li Zhi raised her voice so both could hear: "Stay focused! Don’t panic! Hold onto the safety bar!"

No clue meant the hint would appear directly in the upcoming scenario.

What would happen next? Reaching the peak—and then the fall.

Would danger occur during the descent?

Frowning in thought, the tower quickly reached the summit, where all three heard a sharp metallic click. After a brief pause of a second, the tower suddenly plunged downward, speed piercing through the air, accompanied by a shrill sonic boom in the wind.

Total weightlessness—a sensation akin to dreams of falling off cliffs in the dead of night. Her heart seemed to rise into her throat, ready to leap out.

Li Zhi drifted into a momentary daze.

For that second, she truly felt herself plummeting from a great height. She even saw scenes unfolding on balconies across various floors.

Someone was planting flowers on a balcony, someone else drying patterned quilts. People standing outside noticed her fall and wore expressions of shock.

It was so real she could clearly see what clothes those people wore.

But only for a second—then she snapped back to full awareness.

Opening her eyes, she was still sitting on the drop tower, halfway down.

Instantly, Li Zhi understood the death rule this time.

An illusion!

The drop tower pulled people into a vivid illusion of falling. If players couldn’t break free from the illusion of falling, they would really die from the impact!

"Chi Yi! Owen Dong! Wake up!"

Li Zhi shouted loudly, turning first toward Chi Yi. From this angle, she could only see Chi Yi tightly shutting her eyes, face contorted in struggle. Li Zhi stretched her hand out, fingertips barely touching Chi Yi’s shoulder. Straining forward, she grabbed Chi Yi’s collar and yanked hard twice.

Chi Yi’s collar twisted painfully around her neck. Already struggling against the illusion, the tugs finally helped pull her consciousness back.

Without checking Chi Yi’s condition yet, seeing her stir, Li Zhi immediately turned the other way to wake Owen Dong.

By now, they were very close to the ground. Owen had weaker mental strength than Chi Yi. Trapped in the illusion, he kept screaming. Li Zhi had tugged him repeatedly without success. She could already see the staff on the ground below—they had less than five seconds before the drop tower crashed completely.

At the last moment, Owen's unconscious body tilted his head to the left, resting it on his shoulder.

Li Zhi nearly flung her upper body entirely out from under the safety bar. One hand gripping it tightly, the other slapped Owen Dong’s face twice.

Smack! Smack!

Finally, the two hard slaps woke Owen Dong up completely. At the exact moment his eyes opened, the drop tower fully landed at the bottom with a loud clank.

"Aaaaahhh!" Owen screamed from deep within his chest, "I nearly died!!"

Chi Yi had woken earlier, her forehead soaked in cold sweat, voice trembling: "It was an illusion! This round's death rule is illusions! That's seriously cheating!"

No warning at all. During the fall, players were suddenly drawn into an illusion. Any player with even slightly weak mental power wouldn't stand a chance of breaking free.

But for someone like Li Zhi, whose mental strength was abnormally powerful, this round’s death rule was basically ineffective.

The safety bar in front of them automatically lifted. Owen staggered forward a few steps, his legs nearly failing to support him. The illusion of falling had been too real—he had fallen from hundreds of stories high, flipping midair past floor after floor, neon-lit streetlights flashing around him, and the increasingly near bustling road filled with car lights.

That was the clue this round.

They were on an amusement park drop tower—it couldn’t possibly display residential buildings, nor could the ground realistically feature a busy street with glowing headlights. Therefore, everything seen was fake. Once players realized this, they could awaken.

But this required immense mental strength from players. In the intense sense of weightlessness during rapid descent, panic was natural—how could anyone focus on distinguishing reality from illusion?

"You cannot join round two," Li Zhi said sternly. "Let Qi Yongyi come instead."

Owen couldn’t speak, only nodding pale-faced.

Qi Yongyi, after all, was an officially trained player. Among everyone present, aside from Li Zhi, probably only he had enough mental strength to handle this challenge.

She turned to Chi Yi: "Will you be okay for round two?"

Chi Yi gritted her teeth: "Yes! Now that I know it’s an illusion, I won’t be caught off guard."

Even if not ideal, they had no choice. You Jingmeng might have even weaker mental strength than Chi Yi. Thinking carefully, Li Zhi pulled out the sunflower pendant from her pocket and handed it to Chi Yi: "Carry this with you."

Chi Yi recognized it instantly: "Isn’t this the token Li Jianxi gave you as a love letter?"

With frequent jokes about it online, everyone referred to the pendant this way now.

She hesitated slightly: "Isn’t that inappropriate?"

If Li Jianxi found out, wouldn’t he chase her down?

Li Zhi took Chi Yi’s hand, placing the sunflower in her palm: "If it helps you, he’ll be happy too."

Chi Yi laughed softly, hiding the pendant while muttering sarcastically: "You really understand him well, huh?"

Li Zhi also smiled, saying, "Yep."

If it helped a player, he’d definitely be happy.

In every副本 (copy/instance), Li Jianxi was always a friendly NPC.

A staff member approached: "Congratulations on completing the first round of the Skyfall Challenge. Here is your reward."

Li Zhi accepted the clue box. The three walked toward the barrier at the exit corridor, where Qi Yongyi and You Jingmeng were waiting eagerly. To their surprise, besides these two, four others stood not far behind the barrier, near a tree.

It was Pei Hongyu’s team.

From afar, Li Zhi met his gaze briefly. Too distant to read his expression clearly, she sensed some displeasure.

Standing beside him, Tang Nanshan nodded at Li Zhi, offering a friendly smile.

As they drew closer, You Jingmeng winked excitedly at her, whispering enthusiastically: "Big Expert Zhi, they want to cooperate with you."