Chapter 130: The Haunted Amusement Park

The staff member accepted the handful of coins with visible humiliation, and Chi Yi could practically hear her teeth grinding.

Li Jianxi silently let out a relieved sigh and turned to Li Zhi, about to say something, when suddenly, red lights flashed throughout the park. In the blink of an eye, Li Jianxi and the nearby staff vanished into thin air before the players' eyes.

The air grew eerily still. Chi Yi and You Jingmeng stole glances at Li Zhi, noticing her staring blankly at the spot where Li Jianxi had disappeared. Just as they were about to steer the conversation elsewhere, Li Zhi turned around calmly and said, "Let's go."

Owen Dong hesitated, wanting to ask something, but Chi Yi shook her head at him, and he promptly shut his mouth.

The group left the maze area and immediately spotted Han Wenlin waiting outside. Seeing them emerge, he eagerly approached. "How did it go? Did you get the clue?"

Li Zhi nodded. "We did. The answer is 'Bear Granny.'" She glanced around. "Where’s Xiao Qi?"

Han Wenlin replied, "He said he wanted to explore the park a bit. No need to look for him—we’ll just meet up at the verification point this round."

With the red lights already on, the group headed toward the verification area. Along the way, Han Wenlin said cheerfully, "We’re just one last attraction away from getting all the answers. By the way, haven’t you tried the carousel yet?"

The others in the group tensed, afraid of slipping up, but Li Zhi remained composed. "No, we’re saving it for the final round."

Han Wenlin shrugged. "Pei Hongyu’s team probably already did it. You could just ask him if the answer is 'Black and White Impermanence' instead of going through it yourselves."

"That won’t do," Li Zhi said with a smile. "I want to complete all the attractions to get the hidden clue."

Han Wenlin shrugged again. "Suit yourself."

He didn’t press further, and the others quietly exhaled in relief.

When they arrived at the verification point, Qi Yongyi was already waiting, waving at them from a distance. Pei Hongyu’s team had also returned, with no casualties this round. Despite Chen Tianran and the others masking it well, Li Zhi noticed the strange looks they were giving Han Wenlin.

Clearly, Pei Hongyu’s last challenge had been the carousel, and Chen Tianran’s group now knew the real answer was "Soul-Snatching Ghost," not "Black and White Impermanence."

They all knew Han Wenlin had voted wrong in the first round.

Oddly, Wei Xiao, who had been with them, appeared completely unfazed, showing no signs of panic after realizing he’d voted incorrectly. Li Zhi recalled that when Han Wenlin had asked what he’d voted for, Wei Xiao had confidently said, "Black and White Impermanence."

Of the three, only Cheng Jiayue had listened to Li Zhi and voted for "Gloomy Ghost," earning Han Wenlin’s mockery.

But judging by Wei Xiao’s current demeanor, Li Zhi was certain he’d lied.

He’d also voted for "Gloomy Ghost" but deceived Han Wenlin.

Like Li Zhi, the others had silently agreed to keep this revelation to themselves. Chen Tianran’s group didn’t even greet Han Wenlin this time, likely fearing they’d slip up. They were probably internally agonizing over the situation.

Li Zhi glanced at Han Wenlin and saw him chatting with Qi Yongyi, seemingly oblivious to his former teammates’ odd behavior.

The verification point’s doors opened, and Owen Dong, eager to be the first, stepped inside. This round, everyone voted for "Flying Head." It was the sixth round, and Li Zhi still had two answers left: "Painted Skin" and "Bear Granny."

She only had one last attraction to complete before finishing all nine challenges.

While the others voted, Li Zhi stood still, surveying the plaza.

With the NPCs gone, the area felt desolate. The colorful lights on the mushroom-shaped pavilions lining the paths had dimmed, leaving only the eerie red glow of the park’s emergency lights. The once-playful mushroom caps now looked sinister.

Li Jianxi had bought her a skewer at one of these pavilions. There were ten in total, lining the paths leading to the attractions.

Lost in thought, Li Zhi observed them for a while before turning back as the others finished voting. Owen Dong couldn’t wait to ask, "Are we heading to the last attraction now?"

Li Zhi shifted her gaze to Pei Hongyu’s team and smiled. "We’re not playing any attractions this round."

"Huh?"

"We’re going to watch them play," she said.

Earlier, she’d spoken with Tang Nanshan and learned their team had one fewer challenge completed than hers. With two answers already in hand, skipping a round wouldn’t hurt.

Hearing they could sit back and watch Pei Hongyu’s team struggle, the group perked up. "Sounds great!"

It was like being the first to finish an exam while the top student was still scribbling away—pure satisfaction!

So when the verification doors closed and Pei Hongyu headed toward the attractions only to find a tail of spectators behind him, his expression darkened. Tang Nanshan, however, smiled at Li Zhi. "Not playing this round?"

Li Zhi grinned. "Just one left. We’re taking it easy this time—cheering you on from the sidelines."

Tang Nanshan raised an eyebrow, amused. "Sure. This round, Ah Yu and I are doing the Ferris wheel."

Nearly everyone else had already experienced the Ferris wheel or knew its answer, since "Perfect Match" had tackled it first. But Pei Hongyu, as the top-ranked player, refused hints and wanted the hidden clue for himself. Chen Tianran’s group tactfully stayed silent.

For the first time since entering the instance, all remaining players gathered in one place. At the base of the Ferris wheel, Tang Nanshan and Pei Hongyu scanned their tickets and entered. The remaining nine stood outside, exchanging awkward glances.

What to talk about? They barely knew each other, and both teams were wary around Han Wenlin. Silence was safest.

Then Li Zhi suddenly spoke up with a smile. "This instance has a lot of new faces. Mengmeng, what do you do outside?"

Her question drew attention. Out of the 18 original players, aside from the celebrity teams—Li Zhi and Chi Yi, Pei Hongyu and Tang Nanshan, and "Perfect Match"—the other 11 were all newcomers, strangers to each other. Even Qi Yongyi, though teamed with Li Zhi, was a rookie.

You Jingmeng blinked, unsure why the "Zhi Boss" was asking but answered promptly, "I’m a beauty blogger!"

Chi Yi gasped. "You’re a beauty blogger?!"

You Jingmeng scratched her head sheepishly. "Y-yeah… I even did a tutorial replicating your look from the Starlight Awards. Rode your coattails to fame a bit."

Chi Yi: "…Damn." Now curious about the others, she turned to Owen Dong. "What about you?"

Players in the instance always had some level of fame. With the rise of livestreaming, even ordinary people were chasing clout—like those who’d streaked naked and now regularly appeared in instances.

Everyone stared at Owen Dong, who squirmed before deflecting, "What about you, Qi Yongyi?"

Qi Yongyi flashed a bright smile. "I’m a martial arts coach. I teach boxing online." He addressed the hidden cameras. "You can find me on Douya! I post practical self-defense and combat tutorials!"

The group (and viewers) suddenly understood why he was so strong. Official players had cover identities, and Qi Yongyi’s was "martial arts coach."

Li Zhi turned back to Owen Dong. "And you?"

Realizing he couldn’t dodge, Owen Dong mumbled, "I… also stream on Douya."

Chi Yi pressed, "What kind of streamer?"

"…Do I have to say?"

Chi Yi smirked. "We’ll find out once we leave anyway."

Owen Dong took a deep breath and blurted, "I do belly dancing!"

The group: "???!!!"

Chi Yi: "…Pfft—HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Owen Dong flushed crimson. "I knew this would happen!" He pointed at Han Wenlin, who was laughing hardest. "What’s so funny?! What do you do?!"

Han Wenlin wiped tears away. "I’m an online singer. Next time, we should collab—I’ll sing while you dance. Deal?"

Owen Dong growled, "Hard pass!"

The ice broken, the group turned to Cheng Jiayue. "What about you?"

Cheng Jiayue smiled coyly. "Guess."

After several wrong answers, she admitted, "I used to be an extra. After livestreaming took off, I got pulled into instances. Now, when I’m not in one, I stream—singing, chatting, building my audience."

Chi Yi gasped. "An extra? Like Zhi Zhi used to be!"

Li Zhi nodded. "Right." She asked Cheng Jiayue, "Which productions? Maybe we’ve met."

Cheng Jiayue shyly replied, "I was in Love’s Entanglement—one of the palace fairies."

Chi Yi gaped. "Really? I don’t remember!" But as the lead, it made sense she wouldn’t recall an extra. She patted Cheng Jiayue’s shoulder. "What a small world!"

Lastly, they turned to Wei Xiao, who said, "Like Wenlin, I’m an online singer."

Li Zhi asked, "Do you know each other?"

Wei Xiao shook his head.

Han Wenlin cut in, "But we’ve PK’d before." He smirked. "He lost."

Wei Xiao stiffened. "Only that once."

Han Wenlin scoffed. "Because we only matched once."

Noticing Wei Xiao’s discomfort, Chi Yi quickly interjected, "What a mix of jobs! After this, let’s all stream together—Owen Dong can belly dance for us!"

Owen Dong roared, "NO!!!"

The group burst into laughter.

By the time Pei Hongyu and Tang Nanshan returned from the Ferris wheel (a breeze for them), the mood was lively. Tang Nanshan asked, "What’s so funny?"

Chi Yi waggled her eyebrows. "Guess what Owen Dong does for a living?"

Owen Dong yelled, "The way you said that makes it sound like I’m a gigolo!!!"

Tang Nanshan chuckled.

Behind her, Pei Hongyu remained stoic, but at the mention of outside identities, his eyes flicked to Li Zhi with a knowing look.

Li Zhi smiled back.

With this round over, only one unknown attraction remained. Over the rounds, they’d realized the park’s attractions didn’t stay fixed—they appeared based on each team’s progress.

Now, on their way back to the verification point, the final attraction finally revealed itself.

A staff member stood at the entrance, plastic rings draped over their arm, smiling. "Welcome to the Balloon Pop Ring Toss! This is a one-round game requiring exactly ten participants. Please scan your tickets here to enter."

"Ten people?!" Owen Dong paled. "What if we didn’t even have ten players left by now?!"

Chi Yi grimaced. "Then we’d lose our chance! We’d have to vote blindly—and die here!"

Once again, the players (and viewers) felt the system’s malice.

By placing this ten-player requirement last, it was clearly setting them up. If over half the players had died, they’d be stuck.

"Ten people…" Tang Nanshan muttered. "Even more than the haunted house. This must be high-risk."

With only eleven players left, one would sit out.

Pei Hongyu coldly declared, "We vote first. Do this next round."