Chapter 93 The Fairy Tale Ball Dragging Us into Hell Once Again
The orange pumpkins swell up like New Year lanterns, with lush green leaves spreading in all directions at the base and vines stretching freely at the top in the open space, creating a magnificent and bizarre sight.
Although the pumpkin carriage was large, the door was designed to be a small one, hidden at the rear by pumpkin leaves. Liang Yun walked around twice before she noticed it.
The smooth handle exuded a cool metallic feel. Liang Jun gently twisted it, and the pumpkin carriage door slowly opened.
A hollowed-out square stool of the same color as the pumpkin carriage was placed in the carriage. The texture of the pumpkin carriage floor was also very strange. When Liang Jun stepped on it, it felt soft and limp under her feet, as if she had landed on a real ripe pumpkin.
She looked around, even thoroughly checking under the seat, but found nothing unusual.
Besides the pumpkin wall next to the stool, there is now an inconspicuous red button.
It's a reddish-orange tone, which can be considered a camouflage color.
Liang Jun was more cautious and didn't press it directly. Instead, she placed her fingers around the button and explored it by touch.
Sure enough, Liang Xun sensed a very slight abruptness directly below it.
Using the car's roof light, Liang Jun carefully approached, her short fingernails meticulously digging into the edge of the seal, then forcefully tearing it off—
The thin orange cloth, resembling pumpkin skin, was torn off by Liang Yan.
The pumpkin smells wonderful, and a small white paper strip is stuck in its original spot.
"Please press the button to enjoy the best treatment."
She read aloud every single note on the slip of paper.
Button?
That must be the red button that was first discovered.
Adhering to the principle that "there is no gain without exploration," Liang Jun touched the red button with her fingertip.
"Boom—"
The giant pumpkin carriage made a deafening noise, startling all the players who turned to look.
"Sister Jun, what's wrong on your end?"
Gu Keke was pacing anxiously inside the princess-themed carriage, so worried that she wanted to get out of the carriage and find out what was going on.
But just as she was about to get up, an invisible force seemed to press her back down into her seat.
"What's going on?" Gu Keke was too busy to care about anything else.
She tried several more times, but still couldn't stand up from her seat. Jiang Zhiling and Jiang Chunhua also tried several times, but without any breakthrough.
Jiang Zhiling's emotions were on the verge of collapse again, "Why can't I stand up..."
Unfortunately, her voice was drowned out by the noise of the giant pumpkin carriage, and no one else could hear it except the three of them.
Liang Jun was already too busy to be in two places at once.
When the sudden sound came from above, Liang Jun instinctively wanted to rush out.
But like Gu Keke, she was also confined to that narrow orange stool.
"What happened?"
Liang Jun gasped, her fingers gripping the edge of the stool tightly, trying to pull harder—
[Hidden rule triggered.]
[1. There are no assigned seats on the carousel. You can choose your favorite ride as you wish. Once seated, you cannot change seats. Please wait patiently until the party begins. You will be responsible for any consequences of forcibly leaving your seat.]
The system suddenly sounded in Liang Jun's mind, and she froze, standing still.
It turns out there are hidden rules in this instance too?!
They tried countless times along the way—so many that they began to suspect that the system had revamped this instance, removing the function of revealing hidden rules.
They naturally assumed that the behavior and speech of their staff were the hidden rules they needed to master.
But now, the long-absent notification sound rang again, giving Liang Jun goosebumps—
The hidden rules have not been erased; they have always existed.
Why had they never triggered it before?
A chill began to spread from the soles of her feet until the warm sun shone on her again, and Liang Xun hugged herself and shivered.
The pumpkin carriage was completely open.
It is no different from the convertible sports cars that are commonly seen.
The top half of the giant pumpkin looked as if it had been ruthlessly sliced off with a knife, the cut surface was neat and smooth, and the pumpkin lid, which had been lifted off, hung behind the car like a giant hoodie hood.
Liang Jun suddenly appeared in Luo Chuange and Ge Lin's field of vision. The two men on horseback looked at each other, their faces displaying a mix of emotions, as colorful as a palette.
Finally, it was the younger Ge Lin who gave Liang Jun a thumbs-up on the back, saying, "Sister Jun, you're so cool!"
With the top down, you can receive more warm sunlight, the air circulates better, and communication with teammates becomes easier, but—
Considering the rule mentions the possibility of "unidentified objects," Leung Jung felt even more strongly that a convertible was not a wise choice.
Fortunately, the position of the red button is still retained.
Under the watchful eyes of the two people behind her, Liang Xun approached it and pressed it again without hesitation—
The expected cacophony did not occur again. Liang Xun turned around and saw the hooded half-pumpkin hanging obediently behind her, without making a sound.
Her gaze shifted slightly upwards, meeting the fixed stares of Luo Chuange and Ge Lin.
They seemed extremely interested in the objects she was manipulating, their eyes gleaming with curiosity.
"It can actually be controlled by humans, that's even cooler!" Ge Lin exclaimed excitedly.
“No,” Liang Jun paused for a moment, “it can’t be controlled by humans now.”
She pressed it many more times, but the half-dried pumpkin seemed to have short-circuited and refused to return to its original state.
The rules didn't say this could only be done once...
Liang Jun turned away resentfully, choosing to accept this fact against her will.
In a corner they weren't paying attention to, the girl in green had already shouted urging them several times.
Unable to bear it any longer, her pale face flushed red with anger, and she shouted at the top of her lungs, "Are you done yet?!"
"Alright, alright, alright!"
Old Ren, having adjusted his distance from Tang Cailei, waved anxiously, "We're ready!"
Following closely behind, the sounds of other players getting ready could be heard.
It felt like a fishbone was stuck in her throat, and Liang Jun couldn't make a sound for a while.
Before she could even say she was ready, the green-clad staff member, eager to leave work, had already pulled the lever and started the dreamy carousel.
The colorful macaron-patterned beams began to slowly rotate, and the carousel's built-in speakers emitted bursts of electrical hum.
After the hissing sound, a clear and melodious piano piece came from the stereo.
The rhythm, both gentle and light, flowed seamlessly together. The piano scales, like a clear mountain spring, rolled into the ears of the audience.
The sound system seemed to have almost no sound quality loss. To Liang Jun, it was no different from being at a live concert.
"This is Bach's Minuet in G major."
Qi Zhixia's voice came from not far away, "This piece is often used in European royal events—especially court balls. It's not surprising in this fairy tale setting."
Liang Jun sat in the slowly turning pumpkin carriage, head bowed in thought.
Could the "ball" mentioned in the hidden rules be related to this part?
The starting of the carousel also symbolizes the opening of the ball.
She connected all the clues in the rules that could be used as much as possible—
Since it is the background of the ball, the "storytelling" mentioned in the fourth rule is very likely to refer to the complete process of the ball.
A ball must have guests, and if nothing unexpected happens, these players will be the "guests" in the "script".
But if that's the case, where did the props provided for the guests go?
Before they began, Liang Jun had already inspected every corner of the pumpkin carriage. Apart from the pumpkin skin that could be torn off, she found no other removable parts.
Perhaps it's because the current storyline hasn't progressed to the point where "guests possess items."
After convincing herself, Liang Jun calmed down, focused all her attention, and paid close attention to the slightest movement around her.
The Minuet in G major was still playing slowly on the stereo for about two minutes before the piano performance gradually came to an end.
Everyone thought the peaceful and tranquil atmosphere would continue, but to everyone's surprise, a noisy background noise suddenly broke in.
The excellent sound quality, however, became a drawback of the speaker at this moment. The booming noise, like that of an early morning market, was amplified without any discrepancy, with both left and right channels assaulting the ears, which was simply a double torture for both the body and mind.
Against this backdrop of chaos, a voice that seemed to have weathered many storms emanated from the speakers—
"Look, look! Who's come to our fairytale ball!"
The voice sounded somewhat aged, yet it was filled with authority. "They are the hardworking miners and postmen, oh my dear friends! And of course, our most esteemed fairytale princess, and the royal guards who protect her—"
The dubbed accent always feels a bit awkward, and it's hard for people not to be able to immerse themselves in the story.
Qi Zhixia pouted and muttered, "It gives me the feeling of Elizabeth doing a folk dance in Northeast China. She might as well just speak English."
But this is clearly an inherent part of the plot, and even if everyone dislikes it, they can only grit their teeth and listen to the NPC continue reciting his lines.
The miners, the postman, the princess, and the guards—and then, only Liang Yan, sitting in her pumpkin carriage, remained.
She was also curious about her role in the ballroom script.
The NPC making the monologue let out a disdainful "Eh," followed by a tone full of contempt.
"How did an evil dwarf sneak in?" The voice from the speakers seemed to cover its nose, suddenly becoming muffled. "Dwarfs are going to ruin the atmosphere of our fairytale ball..."
Liang Jun had thought about witches and magicians, but she never imagined that she herself was a dwarf.
It sounds like he's a villain.
The NPC smacked his lips, and the sound of saliva coming out was quite clear.
"Alright, alright, everyone who comes is a guest. Even if they are dwarves, we should still try to entertain them..."
He seemed to have moved a bit further away, and the sound field had noticeably changed.
Immediately following, two crisp claps came from the speakers.
"I hereby declare the fairytale ball officially open—"
Before he could finish speaking, a more upbeat symphony began to play, drowning out the NPC's hoarse voice.
The violin and French horn had distinct timbres. After listening to only a few notes, Qi Zhixia blurted out, "It's Mozart's Divertimento No. 17 in D major."
Unlike Qi Zhixia, Liang Jun was completely ignorant of these musical pieces and naturally not sensitive to them.
Regardless of whether it's G major or D major, all Liang Jun knows at this moment is that their heads must not be lost.
Because the moment this symphony began, the dreamlike carousel was shrouded in a layer of black mist.
Some figures seemed to be faintly visible in the black mist, but they couldn't be seen clearly.
But just a few seconds later, these so-called "figures" emerged from the black mist—
It is a large and numerous group of ghostly figures.
The temperature dropped suddenly.
The once warm sun was now completely blocked by the terrifying black fog, and no light could be seen.
The cold air hit their throats, and everyone's hearts jumped into their throats.
As the ghostly figure slowly approached, the symphony system stuttered a few times, then emitted an eerie narration—
"The peaceful atmosphere of the fairy tale ball disturbed the restless souls that could not find rest on this land."
"They were once the most honored guests at the ball, but now they can only be buried under this hypocritical soil."
"Hatred, resentment, and disgust—they will stop at nothing to drag these hopeful guests back into hell—"
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Author's note: Thank you all for coming to the dance! Here's a little something extra for you all =v=
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