Chapter 59 The Uninvited Guest He seemed to see a human face...
[1. No music will be played during the bumper car ride. If you hear music, please leave the area immediately.]
2. Each bumper car has a maximum seating capacity of three people. For your safety, please wear safety equipment and fasten your seatbelt at all times.
3. Please remain seated and hold on tight. Do not leave the premises under any circumstances. Leave in an orderly manner after the activity concludes.
4. Please do not linger on the track. The bumper cars are very safe; please have complete trust in the vehicle you are riding. Your trust is the guarantee of our operation.
5. Due to the limited number of vehicles available, there may be periods of high passenger volume, which could lead to carpooling. Please do not worry.
6. There will be no objects inside the vehicle that could restrict your movement. If you find any, please ignore them and do not use them. You will be solely responsible for all consequences arising from any violation of this rule.
7. Wishing you a wonderful time at the Wuxie Amusement Park and that you rediscover your childlike wonder.
With a "click," like an old-fashioned tape recorder being paused, the rusty, regular sounds abruptly stopped in their minds.
The chill of the fog made them shiver.
Gu Keke stood with her hands clasped at her sides, her eyebrows almost twisted into a knot. "How come the system's known rules have appeared again..."
She didn't blame Liang Jun at all; instead, she began to think seriously about it herself, "But this broadcast only seems to be about the rules for the bumper cars..."
"Conditions for playing".
Liang Jun suddenly spoke up from the side.
The group was momentarily confused, exchanging bewildered glances before asking, "What are the conditions for the tour?"
"It's just as we guessed, only slightly different."
Liang Jun was deep in thought.
Inside the venue, the flickering lights shone on her face, casting a perfect shadow beside her nose.
"What they told us, supposedly from the staff, were the general rules under the big picture; but the precautions for individual attractions were still given to us in the old way."
Although that's what she said, there was an inexplicable sense of uncertainty in her words.
"But there's still one thing I haven't figured out..."
"What is it?" Luo Chuange asked anxiously from the side. "Tell me?"
But Liang Jun simply shook her head, the shadow on her face growing even larger.
"I can't quite put my finger on it, but I have a feeling that the rules this time are different from the previous rounds..."
"That's right, it's bound to be different!"
Once inside the venue, Lao Ren was no longer as timid as he had been outside—it seemed that his fear had lessened considerably.
"The background of our previous levels was different from this one, so the rules will definitely have to change accordingly. I don't think there's anything wrong with that."
Despite saying that, Liang Jun did not give him any positive or negative feedback. Instead, she tried her best to calm down and fully recall everything they had encountered after entering the instance.
But the noise around her kept her from calming down. Liang Xun clicked her tongue, then looked up to see the broken, grating nursery rhyme still playing.
When the system announced the known rules, didn't the music in the venue pause?
A sense of foreboding immediately crept into Liang Xuan's heart.
When did this song start playing again?
Hearing her ask that, the others gradually shifted their attention to the speakers that looked malfunctioning.
The speaker was dilapidated and hung high in the equally dilapidated ceiling. The sealing ring and mesh cover were suspended in mid-air, but the eerie nursery rhyme was indeed coming from there.
"It must have been shortly after the system announced the rules."
Sitting in her wheelchair, Qi Zhixia also looked up at the rickety speakers, then met Liang Xuan's gaze.
"But we were all busy discussing things, so no one noticed the music was playing."
As if to confirm this point, the halting singing gradually slowed down.
This time, however, it truly reached everyone's ears.
But Liang Jun immediately became serious.
Since the system issued the rules, they have to pay close attention to every tiny change in the scenario.
At first glance, the first rule seems to be reminding players that when the music starts, they should leave the bumper cars and exit the venue as soon as possible.
However, if we reverse the logic of this statement, we can obtain a new clue.
It is known that they are not currently riding the bumper cars, but music is still playing in the scene—which means that the music is present and does not pose any immediate threat to them.
Then it can only serve as a reminder.
No music will be played during the bumper car ride.
At this moment, the music almost stopped. Does that mean the project is about to begin?
"Quick, get in the car!"
Leung Yung urged them to hurry to the center of the field, "We need to get on the bumper cars before the music completely stops. The music here is the switch for the bumper cars; once it stops, they'll start running!"
Everyone was on edge the whole time.
Upon hearing Liang Jun's words, they rushed out quickly.
All the bumper cars on display were brand new, as if they had just been purchased from the supplier, with their bright, colorful paintwork particularly eye-catching under the lights.
Wang Jianping pushed Qi Zhixia in her wheelchair. Since it wasn't convenient for the two of them to go to a more distant place, they chose a car with a big red flower printed on it nearby.
He first helped Qi Zhixia to her seat, and then Wang Jianping also got into the bumper car. Each bumper car can hold three people, and Wang Jianping also placed the empty wheelchair next to him to prevent any unnecessary accidents from happening after it started running.
The remaining four people automatically split into teams without any apparent hesitation.
Luo Chuange led Lao Ren to a dandelion-shaped bumper car located in the center. Liang Xun and Gu Keke, on the other hand, found a flamingo bumper car near the wall to avoid the puddles.
They paired up, which gave them more space in the car compared to Wang Jianping and Qi Zhixia's group, making it less crowded.
Liang Jun sat on the side closest to the car door. After she sat down, she didn't even have time to catch her breath before quickly closing the car door tightly.
In the instant she glanced down, she noticed the helmet at her feet.
The helmets were placed in fixed positions, so even though they got on the vehicle hastily, they didn't kick any of them.
Liang Xun bent down, took out the helmet in front of her, and then looked at Gu Keke beside her, "You have a helmet on your feet."
At the same time, the people already seated in the vehicle also noticed the equipment at their feet. Just before putting their helmets on, they all instinctively looked in the direction of the others.
Only after confirming that everyone was aware of the helmet's presence did they feel comfortable putting it on.
Liang Jun gripped the helmet straps tightly with both hands, pulling on the two elastic cords to align the buckles at her chin.
Just after the buckle made a crisp sound, a sudden, intense push came from behind.
The bumper cars started so suddenly that they weren't prepared at all. Fortunately, they all instinctively closed the doors after getting on, which prevented them from being thrown out of the cars.
With the car's accelerator pedal fully depressed, Liang Jun could only hold onto one side of the car door to barely keep herself from swaying.
The steering wheel of the car was in front of Gu Keke's seat. Liang Jun suppressed the dizziness in her head and propped herself up to look at Gu Keke.
"Did you step on the gas?" The car was roaring loudly, so Liang Jun could only shout at the top of her lungs.
"What?"
Gu Keke could barely make out a few words. With her hands on the steering wheel to control the direction, she couldn't help but turn her head a little closer to Liang Jun.
"I didn't press the accelerator! Didn't you step on it?"
broken.
Liang Xuan quickly and thoroughly digested this information.
The bumper cars in the amusement park have no drive mechanism. They cannot control the acceleration or deceleration of the vehicles themselves. They can only use the steering wheel to adjust the direction as much as possible during the predetermined speed movement.
Just as Liang Xun was about to remind Gu Keke to be more careful, a rusty iron curtain wall rushed into view.
Unlike ordinary amusement parks, this place does not place tires at the boundaries of the area to cushion the impact of a collision.
In other words, if a vehicle drives straight toward the boundary, it will crash into the metal wall at high speed.
Bumper cars are completely open-top, so even if you're wearing a helmet, the chances of survival after such a violent impact are slim.
A dark figure rapidly approached, and Liang Xun shouted, "Watch out!"
Gu Keke reacted extremely quickly, instantly turning the steering wheel to its furthest left.
The vehicle was suddenly swerved at high speed, its tires scraping against the worn-out ground with a piercing sound like fingernails scratching a blackboard.
Gu Keke made a particularly decisive turn, almost risking a rollover, to avoid the wall in front of her.
Just before the car collided with the wall, it veered completely sideways. The immense force caused the two people inside to sway violently; Liang Jun clung to the car door, and Gu Keke nearly lay on top of Liang Jun.
Fortunately, she held the steering wheel tightly the whole time, and the moment the steering wheel returned to normal, Gu Keke used the force of the steering wheel to pull herself up.
"Thank goodness I didn't get hit..."
Gu Keke breathed a sigh of relief, but this was not the time for her to relax.
The wind has picked up again outside.
The overhead lights swayed back and forth with the wind, casting flickering shadows on everything in front of her. The puddles on the ground varied in depth, and to prevent accidents, she had to avoid each one as much as possible.
Just as she turned her gaze further ahead, Gu Keke's expression suddenly turned extremely ugly.
"Sister Jun, there are others too."
There were only six of them, and there should have been only three bumper cars in operation. However, the vibrant colors passing by reminded them that there were far more cars in operation than that.
Locking onto a fast-moving vehicle is no easy task, requiring a high level of dynamic vision from the observer.
Liang Jun leaned forward, her pupils rapidly moving from side to side, trying her best to pay attention to the unusual situation in the driver's seat of the vehicle in front of her.
However, it seems that nothing was found except for a semi-transparent medium.
Liang Jun felt that the gloomy atmosphere around her had become even stronger.
This feeling seemed to intensify after the staff in yellow checked the tickets and locked the door.
The noise around her was deafening, but Liang Jun could still hear the heavy, powerful beating of her own heart.
"Be careful, that might not be a 'person'."
She was about to turn her head to look at Gu Keke when she unexpectedly discovered that suspicious semi-transparent medium between the two of them.
This time, being even closer, Liang Xun realized almost instantly that this medium also seemed to have an outline.
It appeared as layers upon layers of fabric, accumulating from the space between the two people. Then, the fabric gradually rose, as if it ended at shoulder height.
Whether it was the tight helmet pressing on her optic nerve or not, Liang Jun suddenly realized that she seemed to see a human face—
A translucent, still-childish face faced me, and two hollow parts, which could be tentatively called "eyes," also peered out.
A translucent wildflower was tucked into the little girl's hair. Its stem and roots seemed to have penetrated deep into her brain, drawing the most abundant nutrients, and its translucent petals were in full bloom.
As soon as she opened her mouth, her voice was as sticky and sweet as honey.
"Hello, may I share a ride?"
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Author's Note: I've been working on the outline these past few days without updating, and I realized that the outline I made before was a complete mess...
Now that things are sorted out, updates will resume as soon as possible!
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