Chapter 106: The perilous situation was kept secret, leaving the system to manipulate things at will...
The five-minute time limit had passed, and the Ferris wheel resumed its rotation once again.
The life-saving vines still clung to the elevator car, as if no emergency had occurred. The car slowly passed the highest point and began to descend.
Liang Jun sat cross-legged on the ground to calm her breathing. Once her heartbeat returned to a normal rate, her dull and lifeless face finally regained some color.
Liang Xun raised her eyes and looked at Ge Lin, who was diagonally above her. "What mane?"
“This is it,” Ge Lin said without hesitation, brushing off the mysterious hair that was wrapped around his fingertips and handing it all to her. “Look, Sister Jun.”
The yarn, now coated with the other person's sweat, became slightly sticky. Liang Jun, as if playing with a small toy, neatly gathered the yarn back together.
She recognized the familiar color and feel, and without even thinking, Liang Jun had the answer in her heart.
A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes. "Where did this come from?"
Ge Lin had guessed about half of it correctly, but he hadn't quite grasped it yet.
He pointed to the vines that were stuck together outside the window, "They must have been accidentally torn off from these vines when I closed the door just now."
As if the previous earthquake-like shaking was not caused by it, the car descended very smoothly, and Liang Jun did not even need anyone's help to stand up steadily on her own.
Her lips were pressed into a thin line, and without saying a word, she squeezed into the empty seat next to Ge Lin.
The once crystal-clear elevator windows were now completely covered by slowly wriggling vines. Even the small areas the vines hadn't yet touched were now stained with a thick, blurry secretion.
Liang Jun gripped the back of the chair with both hands, her forehead pressed tightly against the cool glass of the night, separated from the decaying fluorescent vines by only one wall.
Now, the carriage is wrapped in these mysterious vines so tightly that Liang Jun doesn't need to worry about it falling apart again.
My gaze wandered over the vines with their mane-like strands in front of me, then through the glass blurred by slime, and finally reached the original frame of the Ferris wheel in the distance.
That was the gathering place of these decaying vines, but even after Liang Xun squinted and stared for a long time, she couldn't see any trace of brown or yellow on those dense fluorescent vines.
She turned around and happened to meet the probing gazes of everyone in the carriage.
Old Ren's gaze lingered on Liang Xun's fingertips for a moment before hesitatingly moving to Liang Xun's face.
"What...what's going on?" Old Ren barely managed to control his voice, but his trembling lower limbs betrayed him. "Is it...is it that little baby?"
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Liang Jun opened her tightly clenched fingers.
Clumps of brownish-yellow mane were thus freed from their restraints and drifted leisurely to the ground.
Liang Jun nodded, and the outside light shone through the gap in the glass, casting varying shades of light and shadow on her face.
"Everyone has seen this mane before; the material and feel are exactly the same as that toy pony."
"But didn't we return it to that little girl a long time ago?"
Old Ren still seemed confused. "Then how come you're here?"
Liang Jun is not a system; she is also a player.
They are players who are kept in the dark and manipulated at will by the system.
In response to this phenomenon, Liang Jun could only offer a bold yet somewhat absurd conjecture.
"Perhaps the gondola was originally destined to crash at the top of the Ferris wheel. However, because we had already returned the prop to the little girl, she was able to save us all in the critical moment."
This seems to be the most apt conjecture.
Otherwise, how do you explain those hairs that are tightly wrapped around the vines like hemp rope?
"So that's how it is..."
Sitting next to Liang Jun, Gu Keke sighed deeply, then clasped her hands together in front of her chest with the sincerity of making a birthday wish, and murmured softly, "Thank you, little girl. I hope that in the future, no one will ever take away your most beloved doll again..."
Liang Jun and Qi Zhixia exchanged a knowing glance, then raised their arms and placed them on Gu Keke's shoulders in a comforting manner.
But just as she turned her head back to look at herself, Liang Jun suddenly caught a glimpse of Jiang Zhiling's unpleasant expression.
Her brows were furrowed, and her bright, watery eyes were squeezed into a narrow shape by her facial muscles.
Unconsciously, Jiang Zhiling bit her lower lip, tearing off a piece of transparent lip skin with her pearly teeth, and bright red blood instantly gushed from the corner of her mouth.
"Ling'er, what's wrong?" Liang Jun asked in a deep voice.
The familiar address made Jiang Zhiling pause, and her eyes widened suddenly.
Due to the rapid twitching of her facial muscles, Jiang Zhiling appeared to be overly tense.
As expected, her voice trembled uncontrollably, "Sister, my sister and the others didn't return the props with everyone else, so what happened to their sedan chairs...?"
At this point, Jiang Zhiling's throat tightened, and her voice became choked with emotion.
Xin Sang, now recovered, sat down next to Jiang Zhiling.
The usually outgoing woman was speechless at this moment, and could only reach out and embrace Jiang Zhiling, who was covering her face and sobbing, and gently pat her like she was comforting a baby.
Looking at the situation before her, Liang Xuan didn't know how to explain it.
The cleverly designed partitions in the gondolas prevent players inside from seeing anything in other gondolas.
Jiang Chunhua and Tang Cailei were in the gondola behind them, and their position should be above them at this moment. Liang Xun tried to look up and observe the upper part of the Ferris wheel, but found nothing.
Liang Xun was uncertain, but in order to appease the person in front of her, she had no choice but to give a white lie.
"Try to look on the bright side; your sister might be safe and sound."
Liang Xun leaned down slightly, trying to align her gaze with Jiang Zhiling's. "Ferris wheels don't have strict rules, so perhaps not every cabin will fall from the top. Besides, if it does fall, we'll definitely hear a sound in mid-air—"
"But now, we haven't heard anything from the outside world."
Liang Xun pulled up the corners of her mouth, forcing a smile that wasn't too bad—
Although she didn't remind Jiang Zhiling, the soundproofing strips in the elevator car were enough to block out all noise.
"Really...really?"
Jiang Zhiling groggily raised her head, her eyes glistening with tears. "So, my sister also passed the test smoothly, right?"
Since it concerned other people's lives, Liang Jun dared not easily nod and make a guarantee.
She could only force a smile and look at the other person, which eventually turned into a bitter smile.
Some things don't need to be said too explicitly. Jiang Zhiling is smart enough; she'll probably understand.
Liang Jun thought.
As with the previous ascent, the car will still go through a five-minute cycle interval during the descent.
However, those who had already survived the life-or-death situation paid no attention to such minor tremors.
Everyone remained seated, closing their eyes to rest and prepare for the moment of landing.
Until the car reaches the last stopping point before landing.
Along with the "click" sound of the support arm coming to a stop, came the long-awaited system announcement.
[Current progress: Complete experience of all rides (the last one must be the Ferris wheel) 7/7...]
[Congratulations, player! You have successfully passed the third level: Innocent Amusement Park! Score calculation is currently underway, please wait...]
Liang Jun suddenly opened her eyes.
The surrounding scenery remained unchanged.
The companions instinctively looked around warily; piles of withered vines still clung to every piece of metal in the carriage, gleaming with a faint, eerie fluorescence.
So, after enduring the ordeal at the top of the Ferris wheel, this instance is finally over...?
While waiting for the system to settle the accounts, Liang Xun looked up at Jiang Zhiling across from her.
She seemed to realize the problem as well, her eyes momentarily glazed over, and she didn't even notice Liang Xun's gaze.
If things really go as Liang Jun thinks, then every palanquin carrying players will inevitably be dismantled on the mountaintop.
Jiang Chunhua and Tang Cailei are likely doomed.
Liang Jun's lips trembled, but she couldn't open them.
She crossed her arms over her chest, sat back down, and waited for the system's settlement notification.
The player survived for a total of 502,825 seconds and earned 502,825 points.
[Player's rule deciphering rate is 87%, totaling 87,000 points.]
Your current points total is 753,487.
Liang Xun opened her system details panel and checked her points several times in detail. Only after confirming that the system had not "embezzled" her points did she close the page with peace of mind.
They failed to enter the instance in time when it opened, which resulted in a slight disadvantage in the "survival time" category, losing a small portion of their points.
Thinking of this, Liang Xun's gaze fell back on Xin Sang in the corner.
Xin Sang probably received a considerable amount of points.
A happy smile appeared on her face, which was taut from the wind. This happiness seemed to clear away all obstacles for her, as if even if the sky were to fall, Xin Sang would have the ability to solve the problem.
Thinking of the business ambitions she had mentioned during their late-night chat, Liang Jun shook her head and smiled indulgently.
Gu Keke, who was standing right next to him, suddenly clenched her fists. "Great! We've reached 800,000 points! Now the captain doesn't have to worry about me running out of money anymore!"
She nudged Liang Xun's lower back with her elbow and, mimicking Xin Sang's earlier gesture, winked at Liang Xun.
Liang Jun finally relaxed.
She pushed Gu Keke, "No, this is only the third level and we've already used up so many points. The points required for the later levels will only increase. You should save them for yourself."
At this point in her speech, Liang Jun paused.
Based on the precedent of the previous levels, once the system completes the dungeon settlement, players can simply push open the door that allows them to leave the space and will be immediately teleported back to the dungeon's login point.
Based on the current situation, this "gate" should be the sliding door of the elevator car.
Having confirmed this, Liang Xun's gaze wandered around the inside of the sedan chair.
These few people were alright; they all logged in from room 602 of Wangjiang People's Hospital.
However, Jiang Zhiling, Xin Sang, and Ge Lin are all players who met by chance in the instance, which means that once the sliding door is opened, the three of them will immediately disappear from everyone's side.
The familiar "click" sound came again, which meant that the elevator car had resumed operation and was only a few feet away from the ground.
Liang Jun cleared her throat. "Do you want to continue the challenge together?"
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Author's note: I just realized the nutrient solution count has exceeded 1,000!
I'll deliver a bonus two-in-one chapter tomorrow!
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