Chapter 86 Operation Manual "Not one can be missing."...

What grandson?

Luo Chuange and Shao Feng were inspecting the drop tower seats. Jiang Zhiling and Gu Keke, on the other hand, were trying to trigger the drop tower's internal rules.

Upon suddenly hearing the old lady's incoherent words, everyone turned around in confusion and looked towards the gate.

Liang Jun was closest to the gate, but she still couldn't spot the old lady.

One second the elderly man was staggering and almost unable to take care of himself, the next second he walked briskly and disappeared from everyone's sight in an instant.

Only the traces of blue-green ink remaining on the ground prove that this person did indeed exist.

"Sister Jun, what is she saying?" Gu Keke leaned closer, a hint of suspicion in her eyes. "My intuition tells me something's not quite right..."

Liang Jun remained silent, her brows furrowed as she stared intently at the space outside the gate, deep in thought.

The gate has been sealed. Despite its fragile appearance, it still retains the basic functionality of restraining players as mandated by the system.

Under normal circumstances, Liang Jun would have no way of establishing contact with the outside world.

But right now, her twin guardian spirits are still here.

"Wishing you a peaceful life, and a bright future—"

Liang Jun first tentatively leaned against the wooden railing, and after finding that there were no restrictions, she simply leaned her whole body against it. "Come here for a second!"

Upon hearing Liang Xun's shouts, the black and white wolves, who had been stationed at the previous intersection, quickly rushed over.

Zhu Shengqing and Zhu Bieming stood on either side of Liang Xuan, separated from her by only a wall.

"What's wrong?"

Noticing that the players behind her seemed to be moving closer, Zhu Shengqing took a slight step back. "What are your orders?"

This is nothing shameful in itself, and besides, no one can understand the language they use to communicate.

Liang Jun did not deliberately lower her voice.

“This project might be quite different from the previous ones,” Liang Jun carefully chose her words, “and some other people might appear out of nowhere during our process.”

She paused for a moment, then said, “If we are unable to get out after the gate opens due to some unforeseen event, you must do everything in your power to get us all out.”

Liang Jun lowered her voice, "Not one can be missing."

Zhu Bieming, who usually enjoys joking around, also realized that something was wrong at this moment.

His snow-white upper lip slowly drooped, and his eyes gradually became sharp.

“Liang Jun, you…”

"I see."

Zhu Shengqing interrupted any questions he might have had, calmly replying, "Don't worry, we'll wait for you here."

His wolf-like eyes, gleaming in the sunlight, shone with the purest gold Liang Jun had ever seen in her life.

"You'll be alright."

With mixed feelings, Liang Xun nodded and watched as the black and white wolves confirmed their positions before turning back.

Gu Keke approached anxiously, "Sister Han, what were you talking about just now?"

“The situation is a bit complicated, so I told them to make temporary preparations outside, just in case,” Liang Jun truthfully reported.

Meanwhile, Shao Feng and Jiang Zhiling, who were constantly exploring, were also calling out to everyone.

The two of them stood in the most inconspicuous control panel area. "Come and touch this control lever, it will trigger the rules of the drop tower!"

As the crowd lined up to enter the small hut, their palms touched the rusty iron bars.

[Rules for the Drop Tower at Wuxie Amusement Park]

[1. This drop tower ride utilizes world-leading fully automated technology, requiring no operator intervention. It automatically starts operating once a player is seated.]

2. If you find an abandoned employee operation manual near the control panel, please place it under the drop tower seat while the drop tower is running.

3. No one will remain in the area while the drop tower is operating. If you unexpectedly find someone there, immediately cover your neck with both hands as if suffocating; you will be safe.

4. Due to the mechanical operation, some parts of the drop tower may generate high temperatures. Please be careful to avoid burns.

[5. To reiterate: Overheating of the drop tower is normal. If you require assistance, please seek help from the operator.]

6. The drop tower is the only ride in the park without staff. Please carefully check for any unusual situations.

7. We hope you have a great time at the Wuxie Amusement Park and rediscover your childlike wonder.

Although the rules weren't significantly different from previous ones, everyone fell silent after hearing the system notification.

Overall, there are more contradictions in the rules this time.

The long-abandoned control panel was cramped and narrow, unable to accommodate ten people at the same time, so everyone had to stand on the slightly scorched earth outside.

"The first point emphasizes that 'the drop tower is not operated by staff,' but then it frequently mentions 'the employee operation manual' and 'seeking help from the operator'..."

Qi Zhixia rested one hand on the armrest of her wheelchair and the other hand lightly supported her chin. "If we still follow the previous principles, where later rules take precedence over earlier ones, then—"

Her fingertips traced lines on the armrests of her wheelchair. Her slightly grown nails left scratches on the surface of the armrests.

"Rules 1, 5, and 6 can be completely trusted. Similarly, emergency avoidance methods are only mentioned in rule 3. If no contradictions with the hidden rules emerge later, perhaps this is also something we can trust."

Qi Zhixia's analysis was not wrong, but just as everyone was trying to digest these rules and logic, Shao Feng turned around again and plunged into the control panel.

Before long, he walked out of that cramped space.

"Um, I wanted to ask, why is the second rule incorrect..."

Shao Feng hesitated before raising his left hand, where he found a thick, old, yellowed booklet.

“I just found the manual,” he said, carefully brushing away the thick layer of dust covering the surface of the manual, which immediately created a cloud of dust. “I just haven’t had a chance to tell you yet because you’re all still analyzing the rules.”

Even Jiang Zhiling, who had been with him the whole time, was a little surprised by his actions.

"How come I don't know this? Where did you find this?"

"Right at the bottom of the control panel, there was a piece of floor that looked like it had been burned. It was easy to lift up, and that's when I found this booklet while searching."

Shao Feng covered his mouth and coughed twice. "I just flipped through it. There's not much text inside. It's mostly blank pages, and most of them are charred black and would crumble at the slightest touch."

Liang Jun's gaze toward Shao Feng was inscrutable.

"Put it back where you took it from." Her tone was indifferent. "Rule number six states that 'there are no staff members here,' so naturally there is no operating manual that only they would use."

Liang Jun's gaze shifted down to the booklet in his hand.

"Furthermore, according to this rule, we can also conclude that the elderly woman in yellow who greeted us outside the door was also a fake staff member."

Surprisingly, metal name tags cannot be used as the sole criterion for determining the authenticity of staff members.

Liang Jun unconsciously bit her lower lip so hard it almost bled.

Hearing Liang Xun say that, Shao Feng lowered his head and said, "Oh..."

He had little presence in the team to begin with, and thought he had finally found something groundbreaking, but he never expected that his starting point was wrong.

Shao Feng seemed rather downcast. He turned and went into the control panel, fiddled with it for a while, and then came out.

Jiang Zhiling stood beside him, gently taking Shao Feng's right arm. "Is everything taken care of?"

Shao Feng lowered his eyes, nodded, and let out a muffled groan.

He still seemed somewhat unwilling to give up, and looked up at Liang Jun standing opposite him, "Is your deduction really correct? Is the second rule really false?"

Liang Jun was about to get onto the drop tower when she heard Shao Feng's question. She was confused at first, and then slowly turned around.

Do you have a better explanation?

Instead of immediately affirming or denying Shao Feng's point of view, she explained comprehensively: "If you have better logical reasoning, feel free to tell us. Maybe a different approach will lead to a completely different interpretation of the rules."

Unexpectedly, Shao Feng lowered his head again.

This time, he was like an ostrich preparing to run away, wishing he could bury his head in the scorched sand beneath his feet.

"I just feel..."

"Actually, my thoughts are not much different from those of my sister."

After hesitating for a long time, Jiang Zhiling finally spoke up and expressed her opinion, "Shao Feng, sometimes you tend to shut yourself off and don't want to express your opinions; but once you've made up your mind about something, no matter what others say, you're not very willing to accept it."

She loosened her grip on his arm slightly. "Actually, I've wanted to tell you this for a long time..."

"sorry……"

Seeing that Jiang Zhiling had such a big problem with him, Shao Feng's nose turned red, and he seemed about to cry again.

"I'm sorry, I promise I won't insist on my own opinion anymore. I'll listen to you completely, Ling'er, please don't be angry..."

That's not what I meant...

Jiang Zhiling sighed helplessly, seemingly feeling more exhausted than ever before.

"Alright, you two lovebirds can talk about your breakups and reconciliations after you get out of here alive."

Tang Cailei scoffed, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and simply brushed past Shao Feng.

"If you're going to dawdle and not want to start, then I'll go first myself."

He plopped down in the brightly colored drop tower seat and expertly fastened his seatbelt.

Seeing his actions, Lao Ren also hurriedly prepared to join him.

He didn't forget to urge Luo Chuange beside him, "Hurry up, Luo! Otherwise the machine will start running automatically in a bit, and none of us will be able to get up!"

Old Ren's words reminded everyone.

Fearing that this stage might fail due to a delay in starting, they all rushed to their seats.

The long, narrow drop tower seats were filled with ten people in the blink of an eye.

Qi Zhixia's wheelchair was placed near the control panel. That was a safer spot where the drop tower wouldn't touch it during its ascent and descent.

After everyone fastened their seatbelts, the drop tower seats began to sway slightly.

Both feet have slowly left the ground.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, Shao Feng quickly took something out of his pocket and threw it into the space below, which was only a few centimeters high, with lightning speed.

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Author's note: Another day of pushing myself to the limit to finish the manuscript (wiping away tears)