Chapter 113: The Ghost Amusement Park

Players participating in the official intensive training are all well-versed in a large amount of folkloric materials. They possess much more knowledge regarding folk legends than ordinary players.

Actually, everyone is quite familiar with well-known concepts like the River Wangchuan (River of Forgetfulness) and similar things. When Qi Yongyi mentioned it, everyone immediately realized—they were indeed right. This river, along with the ferry boat upon it, matched descriptions of the Wangchuan exactly.

According to legend, the waters of Wangchuan are blood-yellow and murky, filled with raging waves and countless lost souls who cannot reincarnate. That's why a bridge called Naihe Bridge was built across the river. To cross this bridge, one must drink Mengpo Soup, forget all past life memories, and then proceed for rebirth. Those unwilling to drink the soup and who attempt to swim across the river themselves become lost souls trapped forever in its waters, unable to reach the shore.

The ferry that ferries souls across Wangchuan represents their only hope of reaching land. Once a player is pulled off the boat, they become a replacement soul, also doomed to remain stuck in the river forever.

You Jingmeng complained, "Then what does this have to do with a pirate ship? It might as well be called the Wangchuan Boat."

Ou Wendong replied, "Aren’t those ghosts fighting over the boat considered pirates?"

You Jingmeng: "...Well... if you put it that way..."

"The second round of ghost attacks will be fiercer," Li Zhi outlined the tactics. "This round, Xiao Qi will join us and sit diagonally opposite me. I'll guard the left side of the boat with Chi Yi, while Xiao Qi and Ou Wendong defend the right side. We need to prevent the ferry from capsizing."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

You Jingmeng solemnly handed her chair legs to Qi Yongyi.

When the second round began and everyone boarded the boat again, they were better prepared. Li Zhi and Ou Wendong sat in the first row, while Chi Yi and Qi Yongyi sat in the second. This time, Ou Wendong shared the same row with the leader. Holding his military boots, he looked even more confident than last time, saying to Li Zhi, “Boss, my back’s in your hands!”

Li Zhi smiled and nodded, “Alright, leave it to me.”

With a splash, the boat entered the water once more. White mist surrounded them, and the blood-yellow river surged against the hull, bringing a stench of腥风扑面而来 (a pungent, foul wind). The ferryman appeared at the bow and started pole-pushing the boat toward the other side.

Countless wandering spirits floated up from the river surface, surrounding the small vessel and rushing onto it wave after wave.

Li Zhi began another performance.

Audiences watching screamed with excitement.

This round, with Qi Yongyi joining—a former soldier—the team's combat power visibly increased. Ou Wendong noticed he barely needed to act anymore; Qi alone could hold off the right side. All around them, splashes echoed as enemies fell into the water.

The ferry rocked violently on the surging waves, water pouring into the cabin until it reached their ankles. Li Zhi glanced behind her, grabbed a rising skeleton mid-emergence, twisted its skull off with a loud crack, and tossed it to Chi Yi.

"Use it to bail some water out."

Chi Yi, suddenly handed a skull: "..."

The poor skeleton, decapitated and repurposed as a ladle: "..."

Aaaaah! Ghosts can be killed, but not humiliated!!!

The now-headless skeleton flailed about like a headless chicken before Li Zhi kicked it back into the river.

"We should be near the shore soon," Li Zhi told her companions, calculating the time. "The closer we get to the dock, the fiercer the ghosts will become. Be careful."

Qi Yongyi shouted, "Got it!"

The ferryman at the bow continued pushing the pole, his back turned to them. With each rhythmic motion, the boat sped forward across the river.

After moving a bit further, Chi Yi—who was scooping water out with the skull—suddenly said, "Something feels off, Zhizhi." She looked around. "Why does it feel like the ghost attacks aren't as fierce as the last round?"

Normally, the closer one got to the dock, the more violent the river spirits became. Only when the boat approached the pier would they quiet down.

But now, there was no sign of the dock yet, so why were the attacks weakening?

Splash—

The ferryman at the front kept poling the boat, and the speed grew faster.

In the vast river wrapped in white mist, the players found it difficult to judge direction on the flowing water.

Li Zhi suddenly stood and took two steps forward. The boat shook violently, seemingly trying to interfere with her movement. But relying on her strong core balance, she stabilized herself—and even used the momentum of the rocking to move closer, stepping directly behind the ferryman.

From behind, she seized him by the neck and flipped him backward.

His bamboo hat fell off, revealing a rotting ghost face beneath. A foul stench rose as the face was already infested with maggots, swarming with insects crawling over and eating away at the decaying flesh.

Li Zhi only glanced once before snatching the pole from his hand and kicking him overboard.

The current below clearly became more turbulent. The ghosts encircling them dwindled to just a few. Li Zhi caught expressions of schadenfreude on their eerie faces.

Gripping the pole firmly, Li Zhi steered the boat anew, rowing in the exact opposite direction.

Chi Yi called out, “Zhizhi!”

Li Zhi didn’t look back. “Defend the sides of the boat.”

The boat half-turned and headed upstream.

Once they returned to normal waters, the previously subdued spirits gathered around again. However, the bow seemed to be a protected zone where no ghosts dared approach, allowing Li Zhi to focus solely on steering.

Soon, the dock they had seen during the first round appeared through the nearby mist.

Ou Wendong pointed excitedly, “Boss! There it is!”

As expected, the closer they came to the dock, the fiercer the ghost attacks became. Li Zhi felt the boat lurching violently from side to side, but with both hands occupied, she could only increase her poling speed.

Twenty meters, ten meters, five meters...

Finally, the bow neared the wooden pier built over the water. One water ghost slapped the hull in frustration before diving under.

The river calmed.

The ferry docked with a jolt. Behind them, the Wangchuan vanished. They were back aboard the amusement park's pirate ship, and their soaked shoes, socks, and pant cuffs had dried completely, losing their cold, wet discomfort.

Ou Wendong collapsed exhaustedly in his seat. “Who’d have thought this round the ferryman himself was evil!”

“At least we spotted it in time,” Qi Yongyi stood and disembarked. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t know where he would’ve taken us.”

Stepping off the pirate ship, staff members smiled and handed them the clue box for the second round. Li Zhi accepted it and glanced at the staff member’s hand. She remembered seeing a yellow lantern held during the first round, but after completing it and coming back down, the lantern had vanished, never reappearing.

Was that lantern just decoration? Or a fleeting hint?

Back at the entrance gate, You Jingmeng waited outside, looking recovered. She waved energetically as they approached.

Before she could ask, Ou Wendong eagerly told her about the second round's horror—the ferryman’s maggot-infested face grossed You Jingmeng out entirely.

Li Zhi opened the second round's clue box.

On the card was again an image—a photo of someone—but it showed only the lower half of the body dressed in black clothes. The shot ended at the neck, nothing above visible.

“These clues this round are really strange!” You Jingmeng compared the two photos for ages. “What does it mean?”

Ou Wendong pointed at the second card: “Isn’t this just a headless photo?”

Chi Yi gasped. “Right! A headless photo! So it must be ‘headless,’ right?” She happily patted Ou Wendong’s shoulder. “Not bad!”

Ou Wendong flushed with pleasure, scratching his head.

“It must be a Headless Ghost!” Chi Yi recalled from the Hundred Ghost Wall: “These are people decapitated in life. When their heads fall to the ground, this perspective appears.”

The angle of viewing the sky from the fallen head’s position.

“But we can’t be sure yet,” Qi Yongyi interjected. “There’s another kind of ghost related to heads—the Luotou Clan. Their heads can stretch and detach. Based on these two rounds alone, we can’t determine whether the answer is the Headless Ghost or the Luotou.”

Wanting to skip Round Three? Impossible.

The system has plenty of ways to mess with you.

Chi Yi sighed deeply.

Li Zhi tucked the cards away and asked You Jingmeng, “Can you go again?”

You Jingmeng hesitated, “Do I need to go for Round Three?”

Li Zhi nodded. “The key point in Round Two was the ferryman—he would take us to a deadly area where we couldn’t reach shore. We had to seize control of the boat ourselves and steer toward the dock. In Round Three, I suspect the ferryman won’t appear at all, and we’ll need to find the dock ourselves. I’ll handle the pole; you guys fight off the ghosts attacking the boat from behind. More people make it safer.”

At least four people are required to start the challenge. More participants actually make passing easier.

Hearing this, You Jingmeng didn’t hesitate. “I can go!”

She re-entered with a new ticket, and the five of them walked toward the pirate ship again.

Ou Wendong sighed watching Li Zhi’s back.

You Jingmeng nudged him. “What’s wrong? Scared?”

Ou Wendong murmured wistfully, “Just jealous of the boss’s brain.”

You Jingmeng shrugged. “That’s the difference between casual players and experts—envy won’t help. But even top-tier players can’t pass challenges alone. We may be ordinary players, but we’re essential cogs in the machine. We all play different roles—no need to feel inferior.”

Ou Wendong felt instantly encouraged. He straightened proudly. “You're right!”

Boarding the boat again, everyone knew their positions clearly. Chi Yi and Qi Yongyi sat in the front row, while Ou Wendong and You Jingmeng sat in the second. Again, they formed a defensive formation on both sides. Li Zhi temporarily sat in the front row.

As the boat hit the water and mist surrounded them, the spot where the ferryman should have appeared remained empty.

A pole lay on the deck. Li Zhi quickly picked it up and began steering the boat forward.

From the roaring river, the spirits gathered again.

Even someone with Li Zhi’s excellent sense of direction struggled to navigate the fast-moving waters. Relying on instinct, she rowed ahead cautiously, feeling her way forward while searching for the dock.

Behind her, the sounds of battling ghosts faded into background noise. Li Zhi didn’t glance back once—trusting her teammates completely, she focused solely on locating the correct dock.

No one knew how long they rowed, but this time definitely lasted longer than the previous two. Everyone was exhausted, even Li Zhi felt arm pain—rowing was far tougher than weightlifting.

Suddenly, Chi Yi’s excited voice rang out behind her: “I see the dock!”

She didn’t need to say it—Li Zhi saw it too.

The long pier extended across the water, identical to the docks from the earlier rounds, emerging from the mist.

Li Zhi steered toward it.

But then, from the corner of her eye, she spotted something downstream, several dozen meters away—a yellow lantern floating atop the water near the bank.

It looked like a ghost lantern, its dim yellow glow reflecting off the blood-yellow river, swaying gently in the breeze like a flame of the underworld guiding lost souls onward.

The dock was right ahead.

Li Zhi abruptly stopped poling.

She made her decision within two seconds. Not even her teammates battling ghosts behind noticed her momentary hesitation.

The boat spun around and began heading downstream.

Only then did the others realize they were drifting farther from the dock.

Ou Wendong cried out, “Boss? What’s going on? Why stop rowing? Aren’t we landing?”

From the front came Li Zhi’s calm reply: “The real dock is this way.”

They all looked, but except for the floating yellow lantern on the water’s surface, there was nothing else.

Yet, after all these rounds, they fully trusted Li Zhi. If she said so, it must be right. Follow her lead!

Since they were going downstream, Li Zhi found poling much easier. Soon, the boat drew close to the lantern. Li Zhi steadied the bow with the pole.

The next moment, the lantern lifted. Its pale yellow light cleared the mist, and the scenery transformed instantly—they were back on the amusement park's pirate ship.