Chapter 58, "Have Fun!" Project is about to begin.

This is a dilapidated little house that looks extremely fragile. The building did not have a deep foundation and seemed to be just floating on the surface of the ground. If a gust of wind were to blow up on this barren mountain, it would blow this tin hut away.

Liang Jun glanced at the staff member in green sitting inside. Judging by her appearance, she didn't seem very old; she looked more like a college student working part-time there.

The staff member in green tilted his head. "Buying a ticket?"

Through the window, she waved the stack of receipts in her hand at Liang Jun and Gu Keke.

Gu Keke was about to pick up the walkie-talkie to notify the others, but Liang Jun quickly pressed the button to turn it off.

Liang Xun took two steps toward the window. "What kind of tickets do you sell here?"

"Bumper Cars Single Ticket"

The girl responded casually, her green, rolled-up collar making her face appear even whiter and brighter.

She seemed less obsequious than the woman in red, and less dull than the woman in yellow; instead, she possessed a more vibrant, human energy.

The girl's tone held a hint of confusion, "Aren't you here to buy bumper car tickets? There aren't any other attractions in this area besides bumper cars..."

“We’ll buy them,” Liang Jun seemed to sense a turning point in the situation and quickly agreed. “How much is a ticket?”

The staff member in green answered quickly, "50 points."

That's correct.

After confirming that the project and price were correct, Liang Xun gave Gu Keke a look, and then the latter took out her walkie-talkie again and notified the others to gather.

"We found the ticket booth where the staff in green uniforms work, just to the west of the bumper cars."

Not long after the news was released, the other four people arrived at the scene, exhausted from their journey.

Wang Jianping, pushing Qi Zhixia in a wheelchair, also arrived late. But as soon as they arrived, Liang Jun stopped them.

"If I remember correctly, this should be the area you were responsible for during the first investigation."

Liang Jun turned her attention more to Wang Jianping, "Did you guys notice this tin shack back then?"

Wang Jianping choked on his words and shook his head, saying, "No."

Liang Jun seemed to notice something was off about him, so she pressed him for an answer: "Really not?"

Wang Jianping was shaking his head when Qi Zhixia, in her wheelchair, spoke up: "We really haven't seen it. We searched this place many times, and we didn't see even a single stone, let alone this tin shack."

If it were just Wang Jianping denying it himself, Liang Jun would still be somewhat skeptical; but now that Qi Zhixia had also insisted on the outcome, Liang Jun had no choice but to believe it.

If Wang Jianping, who was infected by the two seals, chose to hide it from her, then Qi Zhixia, who was not infected by the seals, had no reason to deceive her.

Liang Jun turned around and walked back into the crowd.

She glanced back at everyone, her gaze level. "Who went to check the south side just now?"

Qi Zhixia, who was pushed back by Wang Jianping again, continued, "It's still us."

She seemed to have anticipated what Liang Xun would ask next, so she went straight to the point and said, "We didn't see that mushroom-shaped building from last time."

Then, she directly voiced Liang Jun's suspicions.

"It's as if they vanished into thin air."

Upon hearing this, everyone was horrified.

But Liang Jun, on the other hand, didn't seem to have much of a reaction.

“Normal.” She casually uttered two words. “When we were near the bumper cars, the staff member in green mentioned that he didn’t know the exact location of the legitimate ticket booth, which probably means that the ‘ticket booth’ in this instance will randomly appear.”

After Liang Jun's explanation, everyone gradually felt relieved.

They argued for quite a while, but still couldn't get any closer to the dilapidated tin shack. The green-clad staff inside were getting a little impatient.

She tapped the window frame with the stack of receipts in her hand, making a series of rattling sounds from the metal.

Are you still buying tickets?

Her face was as white as paper, as if it would crumble at the slightest touch.

Fearing that the other party might do something to harm him again under the guise of an NPC, Lao Ren quickened his pace and moved to the window first.

"Buy, buy, buy." He glanced back at Liang Jun first, then casually reached his hand into the window. "I'll buy one."

The staff member in green moved swiftly and decisively.

She pinched the stamp and pressed it heavily onto the inkpad. The blue-green ink spilled out from the gaps in the seal, only to be absorbed back by the inner fiber filling the moment she lifted her hand.

She originally intended to press the stamp onto the back of Lao Ren's hand, but her gaze paused after seeing the existing mark. Then, she deftly rolled up Lao Ren's sleeve and simply stamped the mark onto the inside of his forearm.

Liang Jun stood to one side and could see these movements clearly.

She could also see that the moment the stamp touched Lao Ren's skin and left its mark, a look of extreme surprise flashed across Lao Ren's eyes.

Before Lao Ren could express himself or she could ask anything, the green-clad staff member sitting in the tin shack waved impatiently and then pointed at Liang Yan by name.

Are you going to buy it or not?

Liang Jun had no choice but to abandon her desire to find out more and quickly moved to the tin window.

Like Lao Ren, she reached her arm inside. Liang Jun noticed that the interior of the tin shack wasn't as bright as the mushroom-shaped building. Perhaps it was because it was getting dark, but it was always pitch black behind the green-clad staff member, and she couldn't see anything clearly.

The staff member in green repeatedly pressed the stamp against the inkpad without even lifting his eyelids.

"How many?" she asked Liang Jun casually.

Liang Jun said, "One."

After receiving a response, the staff member in green quickly stamped her forearm.

It seemed that there was too much ink this time. When the stamp was lifted, the excess blue-green ink, which had not yet dried, dripped down Liang Yun's forearm.

Liang Jun subconsciously wiped her fingers, and the ink stained her fingers.

Almost at the same moment, Liang Jun personally experienced what Lao Ren had just felt.

That long-lost system voice, which was almost thought to never sound again, struck Liang Jun's mind like a bolt of lightning that went straight to her vitals.

Her pupils dilated in that instant.

[Detection detected: You have successfully spent 50 points in the game.]

Your current points total is 420,862.

Clutching the ticket she had just received tightly in her hand, she moved almost stiffly toward the side of the tin shack.

On the surface, she seems to be confused and in a daze; but in reality, Liang Jun is trying to gradually unravel the truth behind these things.

She should have thought of that sooner.

Points are rewards earned by players upon successfully completing the game; they are the players' personal property. If points are used in the game, just like purchasing items in the in-game store, the system should notify the player of the point deduction.

This time, they bought tickets from the staff in green uniforms and received a message that points had been deducted from their account.

So, what about last time?

She lowered her eyes, placing the ticket beneath them. Even Liang Jun herself didn't notice that her hands were trembling.

She tried to figure out if there was anything wrong with the ticket. But the more she wanted something, the less she got it.

Liang Jun simply took out the previous ticket that she had put in her pocket as well.

The two tickets were placed one above the other, and Liang Jun's eyes followed the movement of the tickets up and down.

The identical lettering and layout suggest that the only difference is the code on the back of the ticket.

But Liang Jun always felt that something was different.

The large, gilded characters were prominently displayed in the center, like a great provocation, stimulating the nerves in Liang Yan's eyes.

She couldn't figure it out...

After the last person bought their ticket, the staff member in green breathed a long sigh of relief, as if they could finally go home.

"Alright, you can go and experience the attractions now."

As soon as she finished speaking, she reached out and pulled the window shutter, slamming the window shut with a loud bang, completely blocking the view between herself and the player.

Luo Chuango stroked the ticket in his hand, his expression quite unpleasant.

"You also received the message about points being deducted, right?"

A gust of cold wind blew by, causing everyone to shiver involuntarily.

"right……"

Gu Keke replied softly, her voice almost ethereal, "Both tickets cost 50 points, but we only received a system notification the second time the ticket was stamped. If the second purchase deducted points, then the first time the ticket was stamped..."

As she spoke, her fingers climbed up to the first mark on the back of her hand.

The blue-green stamp had long since dried completely in the wind, and no matter how hard she tried with her fingers, she couldn't erase it in the slightest.

Qi Zhixia sat in a wheelchair, the light not falling on her face.

She asked, seemingly calmly, "So what exactly did you pay for the first time?"

They made a deal with the unknown without even realizing it.

They all belatedly broke out in a cold sweat, feeling the atmosphere around them grow even more sinister.

Staying here any longer is clearly not a long-term solution.

Liang Jun pursed her lips into a thin line. She stuffed the discarded ticket back into her pocket.

"Let's go, before it gets completely dark, let's go play on the bumper cars first."

Walking along the rugged loess mountain road, the group returned to the familiar area with heavy hearts.

I thought I would encounter NPCs from the green faction this time, but to my surprise, as soon as I walked over, a strange staff member in a yellow uniform stood at the ticket checkpoint.

Liang Jun felt as if something had suddenly exploded in her mind.

It was fried into a mess.

Having no clues whatsoever, they are completely unable to grasp any patterns in this game instance.

Liang Jun decided to try anything, even if it seemed hopeless.

Although she didn't know if she would scare the other party away again, she still handed the second ticket to the staff member in yellow.

"Hello, we'd like to try the bumper cars."

The staff member in the yellow uniform gradually raised his facial muscles, revealing a forced, strained smile.

"Okay, I'll check your ticket right away."

The six people lined up neatly in front of the staff member in yellow and handed over their tickets one by one.

When it was Qi Zhixia's turn, the staff member in yellow raised an eyebrow.

"It seems you're not feeling well enough to participate in the bumper cars activity..."

The staff member in yellow crouched down, his eyes filled with pity as he looked directly at the cold-eyed Qi Zhixia. "Are you sure you want to continue participating?"

"Sure."

With a "click".

The ticket in Qi Zhixia's hand was cut open, leaving a hole.

After all six tickets had passed through his hands, the staff member in yellow turned around and faced the players who were already in the venue.

He took a few steps back, then closed the iron gate of the ticket checkpoint and hung a rusty lock on it.

"The project is about to begin. Have a great time!"

After uttering those words, the staff member in the yellow uniform disappeared into the inexplicably thick fog.

The surrounding fog grew thicker and thicker, seemingly isolating the entire bumper car area from the outside world, creating a complete arena.

The six players huddled together in a corner of the arena. The overwhelming darkness before them made them hesitant to move.

Just as they were hesitating, a light bulb suddenly went off above them.

After the sound subsided, the huge bumper car area was bathed in light.

The brightly colored bumper cars were scattered haphazardly across the track, their paintwork pristine, creating a striking contrast with the track riddled with holes.

Every so often, there would be a small puddle on the ground, like shards of a mirror scattered in the messy environment.

Along with the lights came the intermittent lullabies emanating from the old stereo.

Nursery rhymes are supposed to be lighthearted and cheerful, but this cassette-like pause adds an eerie atmosphere to the entire song.

"The wind... changes... the scenery... is changing..."

The lyrics were disjointed, and even after listening intently for a while, Liang Jun could only catch a few scattered words.

Just as she was concentrating most, the stereo seemed to be suddenly cut off, and a harsh electrical noise assaulted their ears—

【Rules for Bumper Cars at Wuxie Amusement Park】

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Author's note: I'm late! I apologize to everyone!

I swear, I'll come earlier next time (kowtows)