Chapter 62 Limited Edition Merchandise: "We've arrived."
The coldness of the metal made Qi Zhixia involuntarily withdraw her hand.
In that instant, her fingertips enveloped the tiny brooch, and almost simultaneously, a long-lost voice echoed in Qi Zhixia's mind—
[Current progress: Complete experience of all rides (the last one must be the Ferris wheel) 1/7...]
[Successfully surviving by following the rules will allow you to clear the level. Keep up the good work!]
They had just discussed this topic, and now they have already received system verification.
Qi Zhixia subconsciously looked at her companions around her, but saw that their eyes were still clear.
"What's wrong?"
Wang Jianping asked first, "Is there anything suddenly wrong with your body?"
The light in those grey-blue pupils froze for a moment.
Qi Zhixia tilted her head slightly, "You guys didn't..."
"It's best to wear the brooch on your clothes..."
The staff member in yellow bent down slightly, interrupting Qi Zhixia's thoughts.
She took the brooch from Qi Zhixia's hand again, and then deftly pinned it to Qi Zhixia's collar with her slender fingers.
Qi Zhixia was so startled by her actions that she dared not breathe—not out of fear, but because she felt a strong sense of suffocation the moment the yellow-clad staff member approached her.
A chilling cold air rushed towards her, and Qi Zhixia could only feel the cold air filling her nostrils. It was as if all her cells had been frozen and rendered inactive in that instant. Her shrunken trachea could not transport oxygen, and she was forced to hold her breath.
The yellow-clad staff member's smile widened as the brooch appeared to be pinned in a perfect position.
She rubbed her two bloodless hands back and forth, and the twin ponytails behind her head trembled with her movements.
"That's perfect!"
The staff member in the yellow shirt straightened up again. "This brooch is a special limited-edition item from our amusement park. It's unique and one of a kind! Please be sure to handle it with care!"
Qi Zhixia's fingers traced her collar. "Is this the only one for us?"
“Yes,” the staff member in yellow nodded, “After all, this is limited edition merchandise, so it’s already quite rare. Since there are four of you…”
Her gaze fell once again on the unconscious Liang Jun and Gu Keke, and she covered her mouth, saying, "Since the six of you are together, the amusement park only needs to give you a brooch."
The staff member in the yellow uniform reached up and grabbed one side of her ponytail, then combed it a couple of times.
"After all, you'll be sharing it, right?"
Perhaps it was because of the hidden meaning in her words, but she always left people with a feeling of being in a fog.
Several people's eyes were fixed on her like searchlights, but the staff member in yellow did not feel the slightest bit awkward; on the contrary, he remained very friendly.
As she put away the tray, a polite smile remained on her lips.
"Is there anything else you'd like to ask?"
Is this a proactive way of providing them with information?
Unable to contain his anxiety, Luo Chuange asked, "Excuse me, does your amusement park have a place where we can treat the injured?"
The extent of Liang Jun's injuries is currently unknown, but she remains unconscious; Gu Keke appears to have suffered injuries to her chest and abdomen, and although the blood flow is not large, it is still oozing blood.
After leaving the game level, the injuries sustained inside the instance will worsen. If the two of them leave without any treatment, they could face life-threatening risks after leaving the game.
Luo Chuange couldn't help but become more anxious, "With such a large amusement park and such complete facilities, you must have a place to handle emergency injuries and illnesses, right?"
It seemed that Luo Chuange's words had struck a chord with her, and the staff member in yellow appeared to be very pleased.
She nodded, her attitude softening considerably.
"Just keep walking uphill along the mountain path. The location of the emergency aid station will be marked on the second signpost you pass. Follow the direction of this signpost and you will find the only emergency aid station in this amusement park."
After explaining her location, she seemed to remember something, and the staff member in yellow added, "The staff members in green at the emergency aid station are kind; you can trust them unconditionally."
Seeing that the staff in yellow were open and honest, Lao Ren, who had been carrying Liang Jun, also wanted to ask some questions.
But before he could speak, the staff member in yellow took a step back.
"In that case, I won't take up any more of your time. I hope you all have a great time at Wuxie Amusement Park and rediscover your childlike wonder."
As soon as she finished speaking, just like the staff members who had suddenly disappeared earlier, a thick fog rolled in from nowhere, and the girl with pigtails vanished into the fog.
Old Ren reached out but grabbed nothing, and sheepishly withdrew his hand.
"Is this instance cursed on me? Why can't I ever get to say anything when I try to talk to the staff?"
"Wait a minute before you say what you want to say."
Qi Zhixia interrupted Lao Ren again, and quickly took off the brooch from her collar. "Everyone, come and shake this brooch. This is the standard by which the system determines whether you pass the level."
Upon hearing her say that, everyone swarmed forward.
The exquisite metal brooch passed from hand to hand. Each person who handled it experienced a shift in expression from surprise to acceptance.
Surprised by the changes in the system rules, they also realized that they would need to keep an eye on the physical rewards after clearing the game.
The relief came from the fact that the bumper cars hadn't been a waste after all, and they had made a small step forward in the process of passing the level.
When the brooch reached Luo Chuange's hands, he deliberately slipped it into the hands of Gu Keke and Liang Jun. After ensuring that each of them had touched it for at least five seconds, the brooch was returned to Qi Zhixia's hands once more.
She chose to take the advice of the staff member in yellow and reattached the brooch to the most conspicuous position on her collar.
After confirming that everyone had received the system notification, Qi Zhixia's gaze wandered around, but inevitably returned to Liang Jun and Gu Keke.
Just a moment ago, these two people were full of energy and capable of being the backbone of the team, but now they were both in a situation where their lives were uncertain. Qi Zhixia couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.
She looked up and gave Wang Jianping a look.
"It's getting late, we can't waste any more time, we need to find the location of the emergency aid station first."
Luo Chuange was the first to respond to the call.
In these kinds of situations, he always seems to be the most proactive one.
He gently nudged Lao Ren with the hand he was holding Gu Keke, reminding him to hurry on his way.
Wang Jianping, pushing Qi Zhixia, walked at the very back of the group, continuing along the dusty mountain path towards higher ground.
As dusk approached, the amusement park's lighting fixtures emitted only a faint glow. Moths, like flames drawn to a flame, frantically crashed against the lampshades, casting eerie, dark shadows on the rugged mountain path.
Old Ren nearly lost his footing twice, but Luo Chuange, who was walking behind him, caught him, preventing a tragedy.
Qi Zhixia's wheelchair also moved with difficulty, and although Wang Jianping was careful to avoid the sharp stones, it was still inevitably bumpy.
"We still have a big problem finding a place to stay tonight..."
Old Ren had been carrying Liang Xun for quite a while, and he was quite exhausted. His voice trembled slightly as he said, "Looking around, there isn't a single decent chair for us to lie down on. Are we going to have to sleep on the floor...?"
Luo Chuange had no interest in paying attention to Lao Ren's words.
He carried Gu Keke and took two steps at a time to cross the last mound of earth, successfully reaching the first platform.
The platform was a bit small and cramped, and since the others couldn't get across for the time being, they had to stay on the earthen steps.
“There’s a road sign here.”
The light was too dim, and Luo Chuange had to squint and lean forward to barely make out the words on it.
"Emergency aid station..."
Luo Chuange closed the distance to the road sign once again, “About two hundred meters to the left front…”
He looked up to his left and saw a faint, warm light twinkling at the end of the night along the flat, wide sidewalk.
Luo Chuange felt a surge of hope rush to his head, as if he had shed all his fatigue. Just as he was about to quicken his pace, Qi Zhixia's voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Don't look at this road sign."
Qi Zhixia's voice was so cold it seemed devoid of any warmth. "The staff member in yellow said that the only emergency aid station would be located on the second road sign—this is the first one we've encountered, and it's clearly a distraction."
Upon hearing this, Luo Chuange turned around and looked over, but could only notice a pair of gray-blue pupils in the backlit darkness.
Like two ghosts floating in mid-air, Luo Chuange coughed twice, "Sorry, I didn't notice..."
"The mountain road is too dark, I'll hold up a light for you from behind."
Qi Zhixia pulled a flashlight from her pocket. When the bright light came on, a hint of unease flashed across Lao Ren's face.
He weighed Liang Xuan in his arms again.
"Your flashlight wasn't..."
"It was taken away by your former boss."
Qi Zhixia answered nonchalantly, adjusting the lights to continue uphill.
"This was given to me by my sister-in-law shortly after we entered the amusement park. It's her own flashlight prop, not mine."
Old Ren visibly breathed a sigh of relief in the areas not covered by the light.
With Qi Zhixia's reminder, Luo Chuange, who was scouting the way, was noticeably more cautious than last time.
Fortunately, there was only one main road leading up the mountain. After climbing for another five or six minutes in this direction, the group finally found the yellow earth platform where the second road sign stood.
The signs above were drawn crookedly and looked like they had been doodled by a child.
Qi Zhixia handed the flashlight to Lao Ren. Lao Ren then used his free hand to shine the light on Luo Chuange so that he could see more clearly.
After confirming the location three times, Luo Chuange accurately reported the location of the emergency aid station.
"Turn right and go straight for 150 meters." He glanced at the information on the road sign again. "There's also a pink candy drawn next to it. I don't know what it means."
"It was probably drawn by one of the local children."
With a slight exertion of his hands, Wang Jianping turned the wheelchair under Qi Zhixia around.
He glanced in the direction Luo Chuange indicated, then leaned down slightly. "The path on the right is narrower and has more weeds. If it doesn't hurt too much when you put weight on your legs, you can try to tuck your legs in as much as possible so that you won't get scratched by thorns."
Qi Zhixia nodded. "I understand."
The second road sign indicated a road that was not as wide as the first one.
This is more like a "narrow, winding path" in the literal sense. Weeds grow wildly, making it impossible to tell the season, their rough branches and leaves arrogantly blocking the middle of the road. The dense, thorny thorns, like brambles, can easily tear through the fragile skin barrier and leave bloody marks if you're not careful.
Luo Chuange and Lao Ren did their best to position the girls on their backs as high as possible to prevent their injuries from worsening.
Wang Jianping covered Qi Zhixia's wound with his coat and did his best to control the angle of the wheelchair to avoid the man-eating plants as much as possible.
One hundred and fifty meters is not a very long distance. Despite the obstacles, the group quickly made their way to the end of the path.
After darkness, a medium-sized building emitting a warm yellow light stood before them.
Under this lighting atmosphere, the light pink walls exude a mysterious halo, making people feel warm and light-hearted.
Familiar pink candies are spelled out in cartoon-style letters on a giant cookie, looking exactly like something a child would do.
"We've arrived." Qi Zhixia looked up.
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Author's Note: Today marks the one-year anniversary of Mint's official signing with Jinjiang Literature City~ and also the 119th day since the serialization of "Guardian Spirit" began~
I had a wonderful year in Jinjiang! I hope that the second, third, and many, many years to come will continue to be just as happy!
It's a new year, and Mint will definitely not procrastinate anymore! I swear (really).
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