Chapter 40: City of Happiness
◎ "Why hasn't your happiness value changed?"◎
After this mechanical sound rang out, the entire banquet hall fell silent.
Many people looked horrified. A contaminated core! A contaminated core appeared here!
And the voice didn't end yet:
"The happiness value is being tested, please be patient."
A cheerful ballad sounded:
"If you feel happy, clap your hands~"
"If you feel happy, clap your hands~"
"If you feel happy, just clap your hands quickly~"
There were actually a few scattered bursts of applause in the hall, and then, seeing that most people did not move, the few who were clapping stopped again with embarrassed faces.
After the ballad ended, a mechanical voice announced with a ding: "The initial happiness value test has been completed. Everyone, please start your happy life in the City of Happiness!"
This time it was really quiet.
The young Taoist priest beside him pointed at Gu Nianyi and said in panic, "You, on your head!"
Gu Nian has also discovered that there is a string of red numbers above everyone's head. The numbers vary in size, basically between 60 and 100. This must be the so-called happiness value.
She glanced at the mirror beside her and saw that the number above her head was 100, while the Taoist priest next to her was 80. When she saw Xie Han, Gu Nian frowned. Xie Han's initial happiness value was actually zero. At this time, he was surrounded by a group of superpowers.
Although we still don't know what these happiness points are used for, one thing is certain. The mechanical voice just said that if the happiness value is lower than zero, you will be wiped out.
Gu Nian raised his foot and walked over.
The young Taoist priest looked around and finally trotted after him.
When they got closer, they saw a psychic pointing at Xie Han and saying, "He's a cripple and doesn't meet the standards for admission to the park. He might be the source of the contamination!"
A group of people echoed, "Yes, the Pollution Core is very cunning. Maybe he deliberately gave himself a high happiness value just to deceive everyone!"
Xie Han sat in a wheelchair with his head lowered, seemingly indifferent to everything around him.
His father, Xie Zhengguo, had been escorted away by several psychics the moment the sound was heard. He didn't offer any words of assistance, but rather seemed to acquiesce. Many of the psychics surrounding Xie Han were hired by the Xie family.
Xie Wenzhe glanced at his father without saying anything.
Gu Nian pushed through the crowd and walked over to Xie Han. He glanced down at him, then raised his head and said, "You should have noticed that the speed of this pollution outbreak is not very fast. This is a low-level pollution core and the danger is not high. There is no need to be so anxious. Besides, he may not be the pollution core."
When the sound rang out, Gu Nian felt the pollution outbreak, which was slower than the last time in the Third Mental Hospital. It should be an E-level pollution core.
Moreover, she actually didn't think that Xie Han was the core of the pollution. Firstly, she believed that someone who could split into dozens of personalities to resist the pollution had a strong mind. Secondly, if someone like Xie Han was really desperate to that extent, he would definitely not be just an E-level pollution core.
The young Taoist priest who came along thought what Gu Nian said made sense, so he stood with her and mustered up the courage to speak up for her: "Yes, that's right, you can't just kill people indiscriminately."
However, the psychics around them showed no intention of backing down.
Someone snorted coldly and said, "Maybe you're right, but what if he really is the contaminated core? If we don't deal with it now, it will become more and more troublesome later."
"Yes, we can't be soft-hearted at this moment. We'd rather kill the wrong person than let him go!"
"We are doing this for your own good. We must act quickly while the contamination core is just entering its growth phase, otherwise it will become increasingly powerful."
As he spoke, people with special abilities took the lead and surrounded him.
Gu Nian frowned and was about to speak when Xie Han, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up: "Go away. Don't say you can't save me. Even if you did, I wouldn't thank you."
This is a very ungrateful thing to say.
Gu Nian was so angry that she laughed. She said angrily, "Don't be so self-indulgent, okay? Who said I wanted to protect you? I just want to know if my happiness value will really be wiped out if it drops below zero. You are the only one closest to death in the whole place. Besides, what if you are not the contaminated core? Killing you might also cause my own happiness value to drop. What am I trying to achieve?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the psychics who were about to surround him stopped in their tracks.
Yes, the happiness value sounds very positive. If they really kill the wrong person, will their happiness value drop? If it drops, will they really be wiped out?
On the other hand, if Xie Han is not killed, the other party's happiness value will be zero. As long as it is reduced a little bit, it can be verified whether what the mechanical voice said is true.
Comparing the two, the choice was obvious. The psychics had different thoughts, and even if they really wanted to take action, they didn't want to be the first, so the two sides ended in a stalemate.
Finally, the psychics took a step back and said that they could not kill the person for the time being, but Xie Han must be in everyone's sight at all times, so that if there was any unusual movement, they could take action immediately.
The atmosphere eased temporarily.
Everyone gathered together and began to discuss what was going on.
The park is different from ordinary places. The admission standards here are very strict. There is a high wall outside and surveillance cameras everywhere inside. There is basically no possibility of someone sneaking in.
In other words, the core of the pollution is most likely the people in the park.
But everyone in the park had been carefully checked before entering, and even those with special abilities had their social backgrounds confirmed, so it couldn't be them.
After much discussion, we still had no clue.
At this moment, someone noticed the young Taoist priest following Gu Nian. Someone who had teased the young Taoist priest before pointed at him and said, "Oh, right? Before the pollution outbreak, this Taoist priest said this place was a dangerous place and told us to leave quickly. He must know something!"
Everyone looked at the little Taoist priest.
The young Taoist priest nodded nervously, his face thin. "I, I said, the hexagrams indicate that this place is filled with deep resentment and is a very dangerous place. It's not advisable to stay here for long, so I asked you to leave. As for whether there will be any contaminated cores, I really don't know."
Someone immediately objected, "Impossible! We specially invited someone to take a look before we started working here. How could a mere Taoist priest like you be more powerful than the master?"
For people like them, fate is something they would rather believe than not believe, especially when it concerns their lives. Before starting work, they had consulted more than one person to calculate the situation. This place is clearly a blessed place with excellent feng shui, so how could it be a place of great danger?
Everyone in the hall nodded; they all knew about this.
The young Taoist priest opened his mouth, but he counted three times in a row, and it was clear that there was something wrong here.
Seeing that the young Taoist priest couldn't say anything, and had no idea why a pollution core appeared here, everyone just thought he was a liar who was trying to cheat people, and they just happened to run into him.
The young Taoist priest was a little frustrated. He looked at Gu Nian eagerly and asked, "Don't you believe me either?"
It was the other person who had rescued him from the crowd before, and later he also rescued the guy in the wheelchair. He was a good person. The young Taoist priest went down the mountain for the first time and hoped that he could be recognized.
Gu Nian didn't know she had a good guy card yet. She said helplessly, "Does it matter whether I believe it or not? Didn't you say that your ability depends only on yourself?"
The key point is that this little Taoist priest seems to be a simple-minded person, and it doesn't matter whether she believes him or not.
The young Taoist suddenly understood and said with gratitude: "Thank you for your guidance, I understand!"
The purpose of practicing Taoism is to cultivate the mind. He just needs to strengthen his determination to practice Taoism.
Gu Nian: “…”
How come she doesn't know what she is pointing out?
At this moment, someone suddenly exclaimed: "Why has my happiness value decreased?"
At the same time, many people have found that their happiness has decreased.
Gu Nian immediately looked at Xie Han, and found that his happiness value had not changed, and was still 0. He then looked at the little Taoist priest, and his happiness value had not changed either.
The young Taoist priest also said to Gu Nian: "Your happiness value hasn't dropped either."
Screams rang out in the hall, and soon someone noticed something was wrong on their side.
Someone immediately asked, "Why haven't your three happiness values changed?"
His voice was filled with jealousy and anger. Although the Happiness Points hadn't dropped much this time, not to the point of danger, it would have been fine if everyone had, but why shouldn't some people have?
This is not fair!
The spearhead instantly turned towards Gu Nian and the other two.
Gu Nian looked around and found that the happiness values of these people dropped to varying degrees. Most of them only dropped one or two points, and occasionally a few dropped a little more, but no more than five points.
Thinking about what these people had done just now, Gu Nian looked down at the time.
It has been exactly one hour since the pollution outbreak.
Gu Nian said calmly, "Our happiness didn't drop because we weren't afraid and didn't feel 'unhappy.' As for why yours dropped, that's something you have to ask yourself."
"It's been exactly one hour since the pollution outbreak. Happiness levels are likely to adjust every hour based on everyone's mood. It's unclear whether they'll rise, but if you feel 'unhappy,' they'll probably continue to fall."
Everyone panicked. Fear or not was uncontrollable. Who wouldn't be afraid if trapped in a contaminated area? Even if their Happiness Points dropped by one point per hour, that would still be 24 points per day. Furthermore, there was no telling whether other places would also deduct Happiness Points.
But before I could panic, I immediately remembered that if I was too scared now, wouldn’t that make me feel “unhappy”? Then I would have to continue falling for another hour!
For a moment, everyone tried hard to force a smile, and their expressions were quite funny.
Despite trying hard to control it, when the next hour came, most people's happiness levels still dropped to some extent, and some people even lost more than before.
The person who had previously accused Gu Nian had a gloomy face. He actually lost 5 points this time!
He casually picked up the wine from the robot's tray and took a big gulp. Perhaps it would be better if he got drunk. If he was drunk, he wouldn't feel scared and his happiness level wouldn't drop.
Someone saw this scene and immediately thought of this idea. He grabbed a bottle of wine and prepared to drink it, but before he could drink it, he pointed at the top of the man's head in shock.
"You, your happiness value has decreased again!"
He clearly remembered that the other party's happiness value was 75 points just now, but just now, it became 65 points in an instant, and it decreased by 10 points in an instant!
Before and after the change in happiness value, the only thing the other person did was drink a glass of wine.
At this moment, the robot carrying the tray spoke: "You have spent a total of 10 happiness points. Thank you for your patronage. Welcome to come again next time."
The person who was about to imitate that person and drink quickly put the wine he had snatched back, and couldn't help but feel lucky that he was slow and didn't have time to drink it.
Only the person who had just been deducted points roared with helplessness.
A cloud of gloom hung over everyone's hearts. They had a bad suspicion.
Since drinking alcohol deducts happiness points, what about drinking water? Do they need to eat? According to this deduction method, they can't hold on for long!
Everyone thinks that they must find a way to increase happiness.
Gu Nian also saw the scene just now and showed a thoughtful expression. It seems that happiness value is regarded as a kind of currency in the City of Happiness.
If you think about it, this is similar to the admission criteria for paradise: only the happy can enter, while the unfortunate are expelled.
The rules of the contaminated area are related to the obsession of the pollution core. Could it be that the pollution core this time is someone who was once expelled from the paradise?
But Gu Nian always felt that something was wrong. Although they now understood the reason for the decrease in happiness value, they had not yet found a way to increase it, so they could not come to a conclusion.
But at least we have some clues, so we can rule out one possibility first.
Gu Nian asked the young Taoist priest to look after Xie Han, and went to Xie Zhengguo.
The pollution level this time was low, so the psychics weren't particularly frightened. Consequently, their happiness wasn't significantly reduced, and they were relatively confident in their escape. Despite Xie Zhengguo's generous promise of compensation, they remained as bodyguards, not leaving.
Gu Nian was stopped not far away.
She simply said, "I just thought of some clues and came over to ask."
Hearing that she had a clue, Xie Zhengguo waved his hand and let her pass. He said with a smile, "Healer Gu, I heard that you have entered the contaminated area twice before. I wonder what you found this time?"
The people around immediately pricked up their ears.
Gu Nian stated his guess and asked, "I'd like to ask, is there anyone who once lived in the park but was later expelled?"
Xie Zhengguo quickly gave the answer: "No."
These people were selected through multiple rounds of screening, and being able to move in meant that there were basically no problems. The park had just been completely built, and they had been living there for less than a month. In such a short time, no major changes would occur, and no one was expelled.
Gu Nian got the answer and was not disappointed. He thanked the master and left.
After she left, the smile on Xie Zhengguo's face faded. He stared at where Xie Han was, then turned his gaze away indifferently.
After Gu Nian came back, the young Taoist priest hurriedly asked, "How is it?"
Gu Nian shook his head: "I didn't find anything."
The young Taoist priest exclaimed, "Ah!" and quickly said, "It's okay. The contaminated core is hard to find. We still have time." He then suddenly remembered that Xie Han's happiness value was only zero, and quickly made amends, "Don't worry, we will both help you."
He asked with concern: "Are you hungry? How about I buy you some dessert?"
Xie Han looked at him silently and shook his head.
Then the little Taoist suddenly widened his eyes, "You, you, you, your happiness value has increased!"
The zero on Xie Han’s head turned into a 1!
Gu Nian looked over curiously at first, but when she realized how her happiness value increased, she became angry again. Why didn't he even thank her when she had just helped him so much? Why did his happiness value increase just because the little Taoist priest asked if he wanted dessert?
Gu Nian was so angry that she slapped Xie Han on the back of the head.
He gritted his teeth and said, "You're going too far!"
Then I saw that the happiness value on Xie Han’s head became 2.
Gu Nian was silent.
Xie Han blushed.
The young Taoist priest opened his mouth wide.
What the hell is going on? Gu Nian was speechless. He quickly shook his hands and then looked at Xie Han with an indescribable expression: "Don't you have any special hobby?"
She got goose bumps and was very scared.
Xie Han's face was stained with a thin layer of red, and the boy felt a little helpless for the first time.
The movement here also attracted the attention of others. When they found that Xie Han's happiness value had increased, everyone was excited. It was so easy to increase the happiness value!
Someone immediately shouted to the person next to him, "Give me a slap!"
His companion immediately and mercilessly gave him a big beating.
Happiness value, -1.
Both the one who beat him and the one who was beaten were stunned.
Why? Is this discrimination?
Something must be wrong, this time the two exchanged blows, and it was another ruthless Dabidou.
Happiness value, -1 again.
The two men covered their swollen faces and remained silent.
When the people who were about to fight each other saw what happened to these two people, they immediately stopped.
Since this method doesn't work, how about another one? Thinking about it carefully, this method is indeed a bit abnormal. The little Taoist priest just said that buying desserts seems to increase happiness points, which is more normal.
Someone tentatively asked his companion: "Are you thirsty? How about I buy you a glass of water?"
After waiting for a while, there was no movement in the companion's happiness value, but at least it did not decrease. Everyone tried it at the same time, but without exception, there was no increase.
The two people who had fought each other at the beginning also tried it, but the result was no change. One of them gritted his teeth and actually found a robot holding a dessert tray and picked the smallest piece from it.
The robot's dark blue screen flickered: "Thank you for your patronage. Your total purchase is 3 happiness points."
The person who bought the dessert came to his companion and handed the dessert to him with a painful look on his face. After all, he spent 3 points of happiness, so even if he could get 1 more point, it would be fine.
My companion was very hungry, so he took the dessert and swallowed it in one gulp.
Happiness value, +1.
3 minus 1 equals 2. Not only do you not earn a penny, but you also lose 2 points of happiness.
Everyone was stunned, but soon someone reacted.
"I understand! This is because everyone has a different definition of happiness! For example, if you like coffee but hate tea, then if you drink coffee now, you will feel happy, but if you are forced to drink tea, you will not be happy. We must do things that make us feel satisfied!"
This is exactly what happened to the two people just now.
No one would be happy if they were slapped hard, and their happiness value would naturally decrease. And if you spend your happiness value to buy desserts for others, unless you are sincere, your happiness value will of course decrease.
Gu Nian looked at Xie Han, the only exception, and made a "tsk" sound.
In fact, she didn't use much force when she hit someone just now. There might be other reasons behind Xie Han's increase in happiness value, but at least he himself was not as indifferent as he appeared.
Are all kids nowadays so awkward?
Looking at the boy whose face flushed slightly, Gu Nian at least didn't deliberately tease him anymore.
The little Taoist priest was very happy. He ran to the robot and bought a dessert and a glass of water for 10 points. He fed them to Xie Han and said, "Here, this is delicious."
Xie Han wanted to refuse, but the young Taoist priest insisted, so he had to eat it in the end.
Xie Han's happiness value increased by another 2 points.
At the same time, the little Taoist priest's happiness value actually increased by 5 points. Although it was less than what he spent, it reduced the loss after all, and the little Taoist priest himself was quite satisfied.
Now the situation has become clearer. Happiness value will decrease every hour according to each person's current mood. If you want to increase happiness value, you must do something that can make you truly happy.
This is good news for everyone. Although panic is hard to control, isn't it easier to do something that makes you happy?
Eating and drinking water cost happiness points, which was not worth it. Soon, someone set their sights on someone they disliked. If they beat them up, it would be a happy thing.
Soon, the first person took action.
After he knocked the man down, the other person's happiness value instantly decreased by 20 points, while his own happiness value increased by 10 points. The man immediately smiled with satisfaction and began to look for his second target.
Almost at the moment of seeing this result, someone immediately pounced on the person next to him.
The scene became chaotic for a moment.
The young Taoist priest quickly pushed Xie Han and Gu Nian to a less crowded place, while frantically trying to stop the fight: "What's going on? Everyone, please stop fighting."
But people have already started fighting. The red numbers above the winners' heads are increasing, while the numbers above the losers' heads are decreasing. Then people unwillingly look for people who are weaker than themselves.
The sounds of collisions, insults and quarrels were endless.
Gu Nian watched coldly, just standing silently in the corner, neither participating nor stopping.
There were people who wanted to attack the three of them, but after Gu Nian threw a strong man to the ground, no one dared to come over.
Most of the psychics didn't participate in the fight. An E-class contaminated core wasn't a big deal to them, and there was no need to. Instead, they found it quite amusing to watch these once-well-dressed elites fighting each other.
But in the next moment, the expressions of all the psychics changed drastically.
The speed at which pollution spreads suddenly accelerated!
The author has something to say:
The previous ballad is quoted from "Happiness Clapping Song" ~ Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution between 2023-01-02 00:43:37 and 2023-01-02 23:19:12 ~
Thanks to the little angel who cast the mine: 17488771 1;
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated the nutrient solution: 6 bottles of Fu Sheng Xiao Wang;
Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!
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