Though they knew the world within the story would inevitably feature vengeful spirits, seeing so many drifting ghosts right from the start still sent a bone-chilling shock through several participants.
"L-let's not look anymore. We should go... go do the tasks."
Although Wei Ran tried his best to appear calm, his trembling voice betrayed the fear in his heart. Still, his words reminded everyone: if they didn't complete the story's required tasks quickly, they wouldn't have to worry about fear or trouble after that.
Because the dead no longer feel fear or worry.
"The nearest attraction seems to be the carousel. How about we start there?"
At this moment, Bai Yin appeared relatively composed. Following the direction she pointed, not far away, a beam of light shot into the sky, clearly one of the attractions participants were required to complete.
"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way, oh what fun, oh what fun, we're riding on a sleigh..."
"Through the great snowstorm, we ride on the sleigh, dashing across the fields, laughing and singing, the horse's bells ring, lifting our spirits high, how joyful to ski tonight, singing the skiing song..."
A cheerful melody pierced the night, drifting through the amusement park. The colorful carousel spun merrily around its lamp post, rising and falling in delight. Contrasting this joyful scene were the pale, floating souls in the surrounding air, like dead fish standing upright in water.
What made it even more chilling was that, in front of the carousel attraction, there was actually a long line of "visitors" waiting. But these "visitors" looked far from normal—some were missing an arm, others had two bloody eyeballs dangling from their sockets...
In other words, these queuing "visitors" were all ghosts, and this so-called Magic Mountain Theme Park was nothing but a blatant, ghost-filled necropolis!
Seeing the nearly motionless line of "visitors," Wei Ran, Gao Jie, and the others all turned pale.
"What do we do... With so many ghosts, how can we even play..."
The story's task required completing four attractions before midnight. If every attraction had such a long line, at a normal pace, their group would never finish all the rides within the time limit.
"In other words, the hidden challenge of this task is that we have to... 'cut in line' among the ghosts!"
Hearing Chen Mo's deduction, Wei Ran, Gao Jie, and even the chubby guy instantly showed expressions of utter despair.
These queuing "visitors" were all vengeful spirits. Any normal person would avoid them at all costs, yet now they had to actively push ahead of the ghosts. If they angered one, wouldn't that be a pointless death?
"You, you're trying to get us killed!"
Gao Jie and Wei Ran immediately rejected Chen Mo's reasoning. Neither had the courage to try cutting in line with a bunch of ghosts, so they instinctively turned their pleading eyes to Li Yan.
In their view, Li Yan, who was also participating in this story task, was their greatest hope.
But after frowning and thinking for a moment, Li Yan's words shattered their last shred of hope.
"Chen Mo is right. To finish the attractions within the time limit, we participants have to 'cut in line' among the ghosts. I think that's the difficulty the story has added for us."
"However, I do have an idea... we don't necessarily have to directly interact with these ghosts."
With that, Li Yan's gaze shifted to the long line of ghost visitors. Perhaps due to the long wait, their expressions had grown increasingly ferocious and terrifying with impatience.
Even though Li Yan was fairly brave, he only had one life. Even he dared not personally approach the ghost crowd. So, he thought of another compromise...
At that moment, he gritted his teeth, forced down his fear, and walked straight toward the end of the long line of ghost visitors. At the front of the line stood a "staff member" of the amusement park, clearly handling the "ticket checking" for the ghost visitors.
Compared to the ghosts missing limbs or with dangling eyeballs, this staff member at least looked relatively normal. Approaching him, Li Yan took a deep breath and then spoke the words he had prepared.
"Hello, sorry to bother you."
"We're tourists who came from far away drawn by your reputation. Since we're short on time, could you make an exception and let us go first on this ride?"
Though the staff member appeared normal, as the ticket checker of this necropolis, he was surely no pushover. Yet Li Yan managed to stay calm and speak to him, a courage that earned Chen Mo's silent admiration.
But then again, navigating the supernatural world of the story was about surviving against the odds. The more fear held one back from exploring and trying, the less hope there was of survival. Perhaps Li Yan wasn't just brave—he simply saw things more clearly.
After saying this, Li Yan's back was already soaked with cold sweat. He barely kept himself composed, waiting for a response.
Life or death might be decided in an instant.
Still, having dared to make such a move, Li Yan had some confidence. The story wouldn't set unsolvable puzzles for participants, and he had some faith in his reasoning.
A few seconds felt like an eternity to Li Yan. Just as his heart was under immense strain, the staff member stopped checking tickets, turned his head, and stared at him eerily.
"What did you say?"
"I said..." Li Yan was about to steel himself and repeat when he suddenly noticed that all the queuing ghost visitors had turned their heads, fixing their ghostly, malevolent gazes on him. The look of resentment and malice sent a sudden chill through Li Yan's heart.
Damn...
His instinct, honed from multiple story tasks, told him he was wrong this time.
In the story, being wrong often meant triggering a dead end.
Though panicked inside, Li Yan forced down the urge to turn and run. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead. The ghosts hadn't acted yet; he was still looking for a final chance!
After staring at him eerily for a while, the staff member spoke again.
"Do you know who I hate the most?"
"I hate people who don't follow the amusement park's rules. Such people must be punished."
As he spoke, a bloody, massive pair of scissors suddenly appeared in the staff member's hand.