Chapter 109: The Haunted Amusement Park
Li Zhi had guessed their intentions the moment she saw them.
Given Pei Hongyu’s attitude toward other players, unless there was a situation where he absolutely had to cooperate with her, he would never have sought her out on his own. From this, it was clear that the second or third round of the drop tower ride was extremely dangerous—so much so that even Pei Hongyu couldn’t handle it alone and had no choice but to team up with her.
After You Jingmeng finished speaking, she glanced at Ou Wendong behind Li Zhi. “What’s wrong with you? Your face is as pale as a ghost.”
Ou Wendong looked like he was about to cry again. “I was one second away from falling to my death!”
Tang Nanshan walked over—this was the first time they had greeted each other since entering the instance. “Hello, Li Zhi. I’m Tang Nanshan.”
Li Zhi shook her hand. “Hello.” She got straight to the point. “How many rounds have you challenged?”
Tang Nanshan replied, “Two. You probably already know this, but the death condition of this attraction is illusions. The first round’s illusion was only one layer deep, and external pain could snap someone out of it. But the second round’s illusion had two layers. Even after breaking free from the falling illusion, you’d still be trapped in another illusion.”
She briefly summarized their experience. Both rounds had been attempted by her, Pei Hongyu, and He Yuan. In the first round, He Yuan had only been lightly affected by the illusion—similar to Chi Yi’s state earlier—and had quickly regained consciousness with external interference.
But in the second round, the intensity of the first layer of illusion had increased significantly, demanding even greater mental fortitude from the players. External interference no longer worked, and that wasn’t even the most dangerous part.
The real danger was that after struggling free from the first falling illusion, players would immediately fall into a second illusion.
“At that point, I found myself sitting on the drop tower again, with a ghost unstrapping my safety harness,” Tang Nanshan said. “I fought with it, but soon realized something was off.”
Ou Wendong, listening on the side, felt his heart pound in fear. He couldn’t help but ask, “How did you realize it?”
If it had been him, after waking up from the falling illusion and finding himself still on the ride, he would never have suspected he was still trapped in an illusion.
Tang Nanshan smiled faintly. “Instinct, I guess.”
Li Zhi understood what she meant.
People with strong mental fortitude naturally resisted illusions, able to sense danger and inconsistencies. That wasn’t surprising.
“After breaking free from the second illusion, I finally returned to reality. But no matter what we did, He Yuan wouldn’t wake up. In the end, we had to use an item to snap him out of it. Now, we’re out of items that can counter illusions. The third round will be even more dangerous than the first two, and He Yuan can’t participate.”
As Tang Nanshan spoke, He Yuan, standing beside Pei Hongyu, wore an expression of humiliation, as if he resented Tang Nanshan for exposing his weakness in front of outsiders. But since what she said was true, no matter how indignant he felt, he had no choice but to endure it.
Moreover, in Pei Hongyu’s team, Tang Nanshan held a higher status than He Yuan—after all, she had survived the second round of the drop tower, while he hadn’t. No matter how many schemes he had in mind, he had to keep his head down in front of Tang Nanshan.
Li Zhi understood now.
The drop tower required three people to start a challenge. For the third round, neither He Yuan nor another teammate from their group could—or dared—participate, leaving only Pei Hongyu and Tang Nanshan. They couldn’t proceed with the third round alone.
They could, of course, find another teammate at random, but with so many spectators watching, it was obvious that the third round was a death trap for ordinary players. If Pei Hongyu dragged someone in just to fill the numbers, it would be tantamount to sending them to their death—something that would damage his reputation.
Tang Nanshan wouldn’t allow him to act recklessly. So, no matter how unwilling they were to cooperate with Li Zhi, they had no choice but to seek her out now.
Tang Nanshan had watched the Yucai High School instance. Li Zhi had single-handedly defeated a boss specializing in mental attacks, proving her extraordinary mental resilience. The third round would probably be child’s play for her.
After listening, Li Zhi agreed without much hesitation. “Fine. I’ll join you for the third round.”
Tang Nanshan seemed surprised by how readily she agreed. Even Pei Hongyu, who had remained silent until now, couldn’t help but glance at her.
Li Zhi smiled. “After all, the next two rounds are dangerous. I don’t want my teammates taking unnecessary risks.” She opened the clue box she had just obtained. “What were your first two clues? If all three are different, maybe we won’t have to go up.”
Tang Nanshan said, “The first clue was a nighttime photograph. The second was a rattle drum.”
As she spoke, Li Zhi pulled out a card.
On it was drawn a rattle drum.
She shrugged. “Looks like we have no choice but to go.”
Tang Nanshan chuckled. “Then let’s go. Time’s running out—let’s finish this round quickly.” She turned to Pei Hongyu. “Hongyu, let’s go.”
Pei Hongyu responded indifferently and strode toward the entrance ahead of them.
The two top players, who had been rivals since the start of the instance, were finally teaming up for the first time. The audience outside the screen seemed even more excited than the players themselves, and the barrage of comments inevitably erupted into arguments again:
[So arrogant, so arrogant—what’s there to be arrogant about? I thought he could clear this alone, but turns out he still needs Li Zhi’s help.]
[If not for the system’s stupid rules, Emperor Pei wouldn’t need to cooperate with anyone.]
[Some people should count their blessings. Getting a free clue and still complaining?]
[If you’re asking for help, at least have the decency to act like it. Let’s be clear—Pei Hongyu came begging Li Zhi to cooperate, not the other way around.]
[Li Zhi could’ve just taken Chi Yi and Xiao Qi and gone up by themselves. Why bother teaming up with them and inviting trouble?]
[They shouldn’t have cooperated with Pei Hongyu! Let him cry over not getting the drop tower’s answer!]
[Two top players finally teaming up—this is peak entertainment! Why argue? Just shut up and watch!]
[Exactly! I love seeing strong players cooperate. Let’s bet—who’ll snap out of the illusion fastest on the drop tower?]
[I bet a pack of spicy strips on Pei Hongyu! His individual ability is insane.]
[I bet a pack of spicy strips and a bag of instant noodles on Li Zhi! She resisted a boss’s mental attacks—illusions are nothing to her!]
[Place your bets, place your bets! Minimum one pack of spicy strips—no takebacks!]
……
After scanning their tickets and entering again, this was Li Zhi’s first time skipping the second round and going straight to the third. The staff member noticed her and specifically reminded her, “The third round of Skyfall is about to begin. Please take your seats quickly.”
This time, Li Zhi chose the left seat.
It wouldn’t do to sit between Pei Hongyu and Tang Nanshan, after all.
Once seated, she heard Pei Hongyu ask Tang Nanshan quietly, “Are you sure you can handle this?”
Tang Nanshan smiled and nodded. “No problem. Don’t worry.”
She had originally planned to sit in the middle to avoid putting Pei Hongyu and Li Zhi side by side, given his hostility toward her. But to her surprise, Pei Hongyu took the middle seat himself. After sitting down, he glanced sideways at Li Zhi, who remained perfectly calm, then turned his head back with an indifferent expression.
The audience could sense his competitive spirit in that one look.
[So he sat there just to watch whether Li Zhi gets trapped in the illusion, huh?]
[Acts all high and mighty toward Li Zhi but can’t help seeing her as a rival—what a tsundere.]
[If the sky falls, Pei Hongyu’s pride will hold it up.]
[If someone gets stuck in the illusion later, don’t go crying for Emperor Pei to save you.]
[The strongest person sits in the middle—makes sense. Even Li Zhi tacitly admitted Pei Hongyu is stronger by choosing the left seat.]
[Or maybe Li Zhi just didn’t want to sit next to Pei Hongyu? Who knew someone would be so dense as to sit right next to her anyway?]
……
While the comments section raged on, inside the instance, the safety harnesses automatically lowered. The drop tower shuddered, then began ascending steadily.
Li Zhi kept her eyes on the ground shrinking below. When they were about halfway up, Pei Hongyu suddenly barked, “Nanshan! Nanshan!”
Li Zhi leaned forward and turned. “What’s wrong?”
Pei Hongyu didn’t look at her, his voice icy. “Nanshan’s trapped in the illusion.”
Li Zhi was taken aback. “Already?”
The ride hadn’t even reached the top yet. This time, the illusion had started during the ascent.
Tang Nanshan, seated to her right, showed no reaction, her head bowed and eyes closed. No matter how Pei Hongyu called her, she remained unresponsive.
Li Zhi could sense his growing agitation. Emotional instability was detrimental when resisting illusions, so she felt compelled to remind him, “Calm down first. When the ride starts falling, the illusion will intensify. If you’re like this, you’ll be pulled in too.”
Pei Hongyu shot her a cold glance. “Worry about yourself.”
Li Zhi raised an eyebrow.
Lian Qinglin had been right—you can’t save someone determined to die. Though she didn’t want her teammates in danger, there was nothing she could do if they refused her help. With Pei Hongyu in the middle, she couldn’t see or assist Tang Nanshan.
Li Zhi sat back. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Pei Hongyu fiddling with an item, likely trying to use it to wake Tang Nanshan.
The drop tower climbed higher and higher, finally clicking into place at the peak.
This time, however, it didn’t plummet immediately.
The wind at this height was bitingly cold, chilling Li Zhi’s exposed skin. She tucked her hands into her sleeves for warmth. When she looked up again, a stranger was sitting beside her.
“Sister…” A girl in a school uniform, clutching a doll, sat at the edge of the rooftop. One of her eyeballs dangled out, her face streaked with blood as she grinned eerily. “Are you here to keep me company?”
Li Zhi glanced around. They were on a dilapidated rooftop, neon lights flickering in the distance. The faint sound of car horns drifted up from below.
She and the girl sat side by side at the edge, their legs dangling over a hundred-meter drop. A slight lean forward would send them plummeting.
Li Zhi turned back to the girl and smiled. “I’m not here to keep you company. Jump by yourself.”
As she spoke, her hand, which had already reached behind the girl, shoved her off the ledge.
The girl’s face twisted in shock and fury as she fell backward.
Li Zhi waved. “Bye. Hope you find peace.”
The doll in the girl’s arms suddenly stretched out its plush limbs, elongating dozens of meters as it coiled around Li Zhi’s neck and yanked her down with it.
The sensation of freefall hit instantly.
Li Zhi didn’t resist. She closed her eyes. A few breaths later, she opened them again—the drop tower was descending. The cross above the park, Pei Hongyu slumped unconscious beside her, the balloon she had tied conspicuously at the entrance.
Her mental resilience allowed her to distinguish illusions from reality clearly. Li Zhi was certain she had broken free.
But the problem was—Pei Hongyu and Tang Nanshan still hadn’t woken up. And in less than ten seconds, they would hit the ground.